Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Jade Green Sky and SliceYouUp were shocked.
A solitary player’s output was actually higher than that of a guild. The EXP earned by a team had to be divided equally among the players, but Maple Moon could keep the hundreds of thousands of EXP to herself. What this meant was extraordinary! In an instant, she had exceeded all the players to hold a safe lead, and that included the other novice planets.
Maple Moon was hit with shock by her unexpected success, her face full of disbelief as she stared at the EXP bar on the interface. She had used a sniper rifle with firm and stable output through the battle and did not expect that she would emerge as the top player. She knew her limitations well. This was only possible because she had relied fully on Black Phantom. This was obviously a benefit that came from triggering the secret quest. Maple Moon made up her mind; she had to persist in unearthing the secret quest. Black Phantom was such a powerful aide, so she had to stay on good terms with Black Phantom.
Han Xiao returned to the car, and Maple Moon immediately returned the sniper rifle.
Some players followed them and were surprised to realize that Black Phantom was actually interacting with Maple Moon on close terms.
Jade Green Sky immediately reacted. “There is a secret quest!”
“She is so lucky.”
Everyone stared enviously at Maple Moon. Maple Moon was not used to the attention from the crowd, so she blushed and hid in the car. Han Xiao saw this but did not chase anyone away. Instead, he started driving his car back to Big Horn Village. The players had no choice but to follow on foot.
As he was driving, Han Xiao scrolled through the forum. Suddenly, a new post was pushed to the top of the forum—”A high-ranking NPC’s combat capability!”
Clicking into the post, the battle scene that just occurred popped up on the page. Some players uploaded their recorded videos. The Germinal Organization’s troops were displaying their formidable combat capability. When Seiberre was murdering players, there were a few barrages. The audience felt as if they were present at the scene—they were tensed up with nervousness. However, the next moment, Seiberre was killed in one shot. The shot blew out explosively, and blood was flying everywhere. Then, the portable battery demonstrated its prowess, crippling the Germinal troops in an instant. The scene was even more shocking.
Responses to the post were posted in the dozens every second, and it soon accumulated a few thousand responses.
“That character was so powerful, but he got killed in one shot!”
“Isn’t Black Phantom the advanced NPC from Big Horn Village? What is his level?”
“Mechanic is so powerful. I think there’s great prospects!”
“Damn, I’m in a planet with a magic background; there are no Mechanics”
Scrolling through the responses that were marveling at the scene, Han Xiao smiled to himself.
Faking it… bah, the idea of showing my strength really worked.
The effect was apparent. Once he got to the settlement, the players that had hesitated in switching their Class were now fervently picking up the basics. Prior to this, the entire Big Horn Village had only twenty percent of players choosing Mechanic. After the video went viral online, players’ excitement for Mechanics was just breaking through the roofs. The players swaying precariously between Classes immediately switched to Mechanic.
A hundred, five hundred, then a thousand …
The EXP on the Interface was just piling up like crazy. Han Xiao kept his face straight to not smile. In the short few days at Big Horn Village, he had collected two or three million EXP just by lazing around, and that was comparable to accumulating EXP through four or five missions. This was way safer and more efficient.
The player market was indeed a market with the most potential. The NPC functions were really useful. Imparting skills was allowing him to gain great profit without any cost, and that was only possible because he owned the interface as well as the NPC functions.
Han Xiao knew that you could not be impatient in grooming students, so he only imparted basic skills. The players that were convinced to switch to Mechanic would come to be his key customers in the future. After all, Han Xiao’s was a Mechanic.
After these version 1.0 players gained a deep understanding of Mechanics, they would realize that they had been scammed. By then, it would be too late. Even if they lamented to heaven and knocked their heads against the earth, it would be pointless. They could only choose to continue or start from nothing again. In this way, Han Xiao’s goal would have been achieved—as long as these players wanted to improve their combat effectiveness quickly, they can only rely on him to buy advanced machinery.
You want to become strong?
How can you not spend money‽
Han Xiao took a smoke, and he thought to himself, After a few versions, you will be thanking me…
In this way, he brushed off his sense of guilt.
…
On one side, Jade Green Sky approached Maple Moon and asked politely: “Babe, I wonder if you’re free now.”
Maple Moon looked up doubtfully and saw a group of male players with a look of thirst in their eyes. She stepped back nervously and warned, “What are you up to? I warn… warn you, this game prohibits any sexual harassment!”
The members of Sky Territory were at a loss whether to laugh or cry. Babe, we are curious about your secret quest, not in you!
Jade Green Sky coughed. “I only want to ask how you triggered Black Phantom’s secret quest. Don’t worry, we’ll reward you fairly.”
Maple Moon shook her head, rejecting his request without a pause. She enjoyed unearthing secret quests, but that was not because of the profit, and she did not want Black Phantom to dislike her.
With no alternative, Jade Green Sky could only give up and walk away. Just then, a member suggested, “We could ask around to see if there were other players who overheard the conversation between Maple Moon and Black Phantom.”
Jade Green Sky’s eyes lit up, and he nodded in agreement. And there were really some results. They managed to find out ‘the secret way to trigger secret quests’ from a player.
Han Xiao was sending off the last few players who had come to switch to Mechanic when Jade Green Sky rushed up to him. With the question that Maple Moon had asked in mind, Jade Green Sky asked, “Black Phantom, why are you enemies with the Germinal Organization?”
Oh, someone is rising to the bait.
Han Xiao looked at him. Although Jade Green Sky was the leader of a guild, his potential was not good at all. It was better to answer directly.
“What does it have to do with you?”
Jade Green Sky was at a loss. Why was he getting a different reaction compared to the response Maple Moon had gotten? Was he cheated?
Not willing to give up, he kept on changing his lines. Han Xiao cast his eyes downward and refused to play along with him. In the end, Jade Green Sky could only give up in frustration.
“Unless it depends on the gender?”
This thought suddenly came up in Jade Green Sky’s mind. He stared at Han Xiao’s unattractive face for a long while, and he felt like he was enlightened.
…
The player’s market potential in Big Horn Village had been temporarily exhausted. It was still only the open beta—the players were rather fresh, and their lack of unity resembled a plate of loose sand. With growth, as they completed more missions, Han Xiao would have more opportunities to exploit them.
Han Xiao had a set of ‘commercial’ plans for players, and this was only the initial link. As players advanced, his plan could then be gradually implemented.
He was not in a hurry to go to the next novice village. He had a friendly chat with Freire and fished out some information on the Germinal Organization’s withdrawal route in South Continent. This is a large-scale war, which meant that he could probably get quite a number of A-level missions. With his character, he was sure to get a foot in. What would become of him if he did not try to get involved?
With the wistful gaze of players in the Big Horn Village, Han Xiao drove his vehicle away.
Maple Moon looked at the car driving off into the horizon and told herself that she would wait until she reached LV 20 before she contacted Black Phantom.
Just half an hour after Han Xiao left, Frenzied Sword arrived at Big Horn Village, panting furiously. He grabbed a player and asked, “Where is Black Phantom?”
“He has already left.”
Frenzied Sword’s face turned white. He was late by half a day because the Western Capital was under martial law to search for Germinal spies.
He felt like weeping but had no tears left! How infuriating!
…
The battle video stayed as the top post on the forum. Han Xiao was the strongest fighter the players had seen so far. He could kill a strong enemy in one shot from hundreds of meters away. Not only that, he could also deploy a portable battery turret. Players were very envious of his capabilities. Whenever he appeared, he was like a dark phantom, omnipotent and mysterious. If not for his unappealing look, due to the Facial Simulator, he would have many female fans.
The first player to upload the videos was Mu Chen. He never had received any responses for his posts in the past, but this was his first time experiencing the feeling of having ten thousand people replying to his post. He was reading through the replies enthusiastically.
Ding Dong.
He received a notification from the system.
Mu Chen was puzzled. He had not added any friends. Who would send him a message?
_____________________
Dear esteemed player,
Your video has been selected as promotional material for version 1.0. The reward will be sent to your account within one working day. Do look out for it.
– Galaxy Official.
_____________________
Mu Chen was completely caught off-guard by the pleasant surprise.
