Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
When Han Xiao entered his office, Sylvia brought Frenzied Sword and the others in.
“Black Star.”
Including Bun-Hit-Dog, Frenzied Sword and the rest called Han Xiao’s name simultaneously with excitement.
As the faction developed, Bun-Hit-Dog could not follow Black Star around everywhere anymore. Upon hearing that Frenzied Sword and the others were visiting Hao Tian, he instantly had an idea. For the sake of material for his show, he did everything he could to convince the others to let him join them. He started videoing as soon as he entered through the door.
Han Xiao looked across them and stopped at Frenzied Sword. He then loaded the ‘Faction Leader’ emoticon bundle and nodded. “It’s been a long time, my friends.”
Hearing this familiar tone, the others smiled. They had all been members of that highly skilled group of players, and they felt that Black Star speaking to them in a different manner was a special privilege.
“What important information do you have for me?” Han Xiao was curious. The players would not do things if there were no profit involved, so they had definitely accepted a mission from someone.
“We heard this is a hunting list. You’re on it…”
Frenzied Sword explained about what had happened, took out the list, and passed to Han Xiao.
Ronaldo? Never heard of this name before, and what are hunters? Han Xiao frowned. He scanned through the list, and his name was indeed on it.
Someone is targeting me? Who could it be? Han Xiao pondered. The only similarity the people on the list shared was that they were all well-known Calamity Grades in the various areas of the Shattered Star Ring. Some of their names were very famous. He had even heard of them before in his previous life.
The fact that they dared target these people, no matter what these hunters’ goals were, proved that they had an unfathomable amount of strength.
Are they targeting me because of my fame and strength? Han Xiao contemplated.
The Black Star Army had risen very quickly in these two years. There were barely any opportunities for Han Xiao to do things himself. The fact that he was one of the targets meant that he was seen as one of the well-known people in the Shattered Star Ring.
“Did that Ronaldo say anything else?”
Frenzied Sword shook his head. “No.”
“Looks like we lack information and can’t prove the credibility of this list. I will let Phillip search for the whereabouts of the people on this list. If there really is a group of hunters like he suggested, because he gave too little information, I can’t figure out who these people are either.”
Han Xiao shook his head.
Things like this were not very rare. In other words, Calamity Grades were like rare resources in the universe. They were always targeted by organizations with ulterior motives.
Currently, storms were quietly brewing in the Shattered Star Ring. Version 3.0 ‘Crimson Tide’ was slowly approaching, so all sorts of people might appear. In fact, not just in the Shattered Star Ring, but other Star Fields too. The effects brought by the Crimson Dynasty’s expansion spread across the entire Galaxy.
The three Universal Civilizations had finally entered the ‘exhausted stage’ of peace. Just like the ‘seven years itch’ between partners, although it would not lead to a divorce, quarreling and fighting would become frequent. The couple might be able to sort things out after these small emotional fights, but the damage caused during the fights would not disappear.
In his previous life, the Crimson Tide had been a chaotic era. Many hidden organizations had shown up, made use of the chaotic situation, and blamed the Crimson Dynasty for it. Those were troubled and chaotic times that the players faced back then.
Although Han Xiao was very familiar with the storyline, there was more than one organization that targeted people like him during the Crimson Tide. Some had been exposed in his previous life; some had never been discovered. He could not yet confirm who these hunters were with the limited information that Frenzied Sword and the others had given him.
It might just be an ambitious private organization, such as DarkStar, which indeed did the same thing in his previous life, but it might also be a sign of the ‘Calamity of the Supers’ or the ‘Silver Revolutionary Army’. It was all unclear at this point.
Regardless, this list at least reminded me to be wary of my safety…
Although Han Xiao did not know who the enemy was, he knew that someone had their eyes on him. Hence, he knew that he had to be alert.
According to the intelligence, these mysterious hunters were very strong, strong enough to easily beat usual Calamity Grades. They were very likely Grade A+, which gave Han Xiao a little pressure.
I should find time to deal with the Class Advancement mission. I’m now level 170, and the Promotion at level 180 will be the next Race Evolution. It will make me much stronger. By then, I won’t have to worry about Grade A+ Supers.
Sadly, the information of the enemy was too little. He could only stay defensive and could not search for the enemy. This was like a time bomb.
I shall find the time to go back to Floating Dragon Island and have old man Aesop do some foresight…
This time, Frenzied Sword, who had the highest Favorability with Han Xiao among the rest in the room, spoke again.
“Black Star, do you know about the changes happening in the Shattered Star Ring recently?”
They had received some hidden information from Ronaldo and felt it was related to the storyline of the next version. Now that they had finally gotten the chance to meet their faction leader, they felt that since Han Xiao was the mission target, he might know some of the information.
Frenzied Sword wanted to know as much as he could about it.
“The changes recently? What are you referring to?” Han Xiao raised his eyebrows.
“Ronaldo told us that there has been a lot of unrest in the Shattered Star Ring recently. He said that there’s an organization behind this…” Frenzied Sword broached the subject in a very subtle way.
“Ah, I know, the Crimson Dynasty.”
The atmosphere suddenly became silent.
Frenzied Sword opened his mouth wide.
Hao Tian’s face twitched.
Everyone looked like they were struggling with constipation.
He—He said it this easily…
Although they got the answer they wanted, all of them felt somewhat empty. They had that thought this was a huge secret that no one knew about, but this was only the second person they asked, and he just casually said it.
It seemed that the things happening behind the curtain of the Shattered Star Ring, which Ronaldo took so seriously and could not understand at all, were just normal business to Black Star.
The process was so simple that Frenzied Sword and the others could not help but doubt whether this information was even important at all.
Except for Bun-Hit-Dog, who was the most excited. His eyes were sparkling.
During Version 1.0, Black Star had hinted at Version 2.0’s Mutation Disaster. Now, Black Star gave the hint about the next version once again.
They felt that Han Xiao was more and more mysterious as if he knew everything.
Frenzied Sword had known Han Xiao the longest. Even he could not help but feel he did not know Han Xiao at all.
Han Xiao then changed the topic and said, “The information you have given me is indeed valuable. I have a mission for you guys…”
As he was speaking, he quickly wrote a reward mission and gave it to the players. Its rewards were very rich, and there was even a reward where they could pick one piece of equipment for free. Overjoyed, Frenzied Sword and the others quickly accepted the mission.
Han Xiao gave them a few words of compliment and gave them five points of Favorability. His Favorability was like a product discount. Then, he told Sylvia to send away the satisfied Frenzied Sword, Hao Tian, Bun-Hit-Dog, and the rest.
After they left, Han Xiao leaned back, crossed his legs, and started pondering.
He had always been paying attention to the players. All the players had left their own novice planets and entered the galaxy. Among the others, his Black Star Army was undoubtedly the best guiding faction. The players from Planet Aquamarine were all fed very well and healthy. The second Pro League was about to start. He had quite high hopes for the performance of the Chinese clubs this time as well.
Most players had reached the level limit of level ninety; they would be able to make use of more of their class specialty. Their strategies would vary, so this season would be more exciting than the previous one.
The better the results of the Chinese clubs, the more attractive his faction would become. When the players entered the stage of inter-Star-Field travel in the future, his faction would be able to attract players from other areas. No number of leeks would ever be too much for Han Xiao.
These Genetic Medicines will be very popular.
Han Xiao smiled. After sucking dry countless galactic pirates, he had a lot of these stocked up in the warehouse.
After looking at the forums for a while, just as Han Xiao was about to get up and play with the cuties in the machinery modification room, Sylvia suddenly entered the room.
“Teacher, there’s an important invitation.”
“Invitation?”
“Colton Star Cluster’s ruling civilization, the Purple Crystal Civilization, wants to hire you specifically.”
Star Cluster Civilization!
Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled.
The Black Star Army’s business was limited to Star System Civilizations and had yet to get in touch with any Star Cluster Civilizations. Although Han Xiao had gotten the contact of a Purple Crystal Civilization official during Tyrant’s party, the requests made by Star Cluster Civilizations were all given to selected groups—the Black Star Army was not in them.
Now, they had finally received a mission from a Star Cluster Civilization. The Purple Crystal Civilization was the ruler of Colton. As they had invited him by name, it seemed rather important.
Completing a mission from a Star Cluster Civilization would add a huge amount of value to the resume of the army.
A few years ago, Han Xiao had no contact with any Star Cluster Civilizations because he was in no position to, but now he could.
Furthermore, contacting a Star Cluster Civilization was something that he could not avoid on his path of personal growth.
In the past two years, Han Xiao had learned almost all the High-End Knowledges; he now had to look for the next stage of knowledge—Cutting-Edge Knowledges. Star Cluster Civilizations were a very important part of gaining Cutting-Edge Knowledges.
This is an opportunity!
Han Xiao told Phillip to transfer the communication and added protection to the channel at the same time.
The image flashed, and a familiar face appeared. It was the Purple Crystal Civilization representative whom Han Xiao had met during Tyrant’s party, Ralph.
“Black Star, it’s been some time,” Ralph said in a friendly manner.
Han Xiao chatted with him a little before they started to get down to business.
“You people wanted to hire me specifically?”
“That’s right. Your army has a very good name, so you’re one of our top choices.”
“And what are the mission’s details?”
“It’s an elimination operation. The target is a fleet. They have disguised themselves as travelers, but their background is much more complicated than that. We plan to eliminate this fleet as a warning to the people behind them.”
Ralph described the situation very vaguely. Han Xiao could not help but guess what the organization that the Purple Crystal Civilization wanted to warn was.
After giving it a little bit of thinking, he had a rough idea.
Purple Crystal had decided to find mercenaries to deal with this instead of doing it themselves, which was clearly not because they were not able to, but the identity of the enemies was sensitive, which caused Purple Crystal to not want to do things the official way.
“Klentans?” Han Xiao spoke softly. Purple Crystal and Klent looked like they had a very good relationship, but they were targeting each other secretly. In his previous life, Purple Crystal and Klent had even fought.
Ralph smiled and did not answer this question. He changed the topic and said, “There has been a lot of unrest in the Shattered Star Ring recently. These organizations have been crossing the line more and more, so they have to be dealt with.”
Han Xiao stroked his chin.
Two years had passed, and the effects of the Crimson Tide had been fermenting. Many organizations wanted to make use of it, so many organizations had been showing themselves, the disorder was spreading quickly. The waves created by the Crimson Dynasty made civilizations that stayed neutral such as the Purple Crystal Civilization very annoyed. Strange things kept happening in the Colton Star Cluster, and the security of their territories had become more and more threatened. Purple Crystal finally could not take it anymore and decided to make an example of these people.
“So, Black Star, do you want to accept our hire?”
“Let’s talk about the reward first.”
“Of course, what do you want?”
“Mechanic Cutting-Edge Knowledge,” Han Xiao replied.
Ralph’s face became troubled when he heard this.
“That might not be possible. Cutting-Edge Knowledges are very precious. The people above will not agree. I can only pay you with money…” Ralph paused momentarily. “However, you’re Floating Dragon’s officer, and we respect Ames a lot. Therefore, if we have the chance to work together again in the future, Cutting-Edge Knowledge might not be impossible.”
Cutting-Edge Knowledge is indeed not easy to obtain… Han Xiao had expected this, so he was not disappointed.
What Ralph meant between the lines was, this hire was like an entry ticket for the Black Star Army. If he completed it, Purple Crystal would hire him for more missions in the future. Once he made a big enough contribution, Purple Crystal would be willing to give him Cutting-Edge Knowledges. It was basically the path of increasing Faction Favorability.
Cutting-Edge Knowledges were very precious; only at this stage could one study antimatter, psionic energy, and the like. Han Xiao did not think that there was a problem with the way Purple Crystal was doing it. Nothing was free in the world—he needed Cutting-Edge Knowledges, and Purple Crystal needed stronger unofficial military power to do things for them privately. It was all part of a deal.
Han Xiao pondered for a while before nodding. “Okay, I can try it.”
“Great.” Ralph smiled. “I will send you a gathering location later. There are other people on this mission. The mission details will be sent to you later.”
“Okay.” Han Xiao had no objection. This was not the first time that he had a group mission like this.
