“Are you really going to space?” asked Maple Moon curiously. She was a big fan of anything plot and lore-related.
Han Xiao’s eyes flashed. He glanced at Bun-hit-dog before saying in a cryptic way, “This planet is about to witness an unprecedented calamity. Only the endless reaches in the galaxy beyond hold the key to saving the planet.”
Calamity‽ The four were shocked.
Bun-hit-dog had started recording their conversation the moment Maple Moon asked that question. He had a feeling that what Han Xiao had said just then could be something big very soon.
A few days later…
Boom!
Within the flashes and sounds of explosions stood the Second Prince, who was still hanging on for all he was worth.
“Fourteen, thirteen…”
The surrounding crowd counted down in excitement.
“C’mon, you can do it man! You must join the thirty-seconds club.”
Sun Eggplant was fanning the flames from the side. He stood with a small group of people who had all passed the test. Han Xiao had secretly weakened his attacks for certain players as they were the one that he wanted on his team. Most of them were big names in the pro-scene and those that had performed well in the tournament.
The onlooking players could only feel envious about it, and they comforted themselves by telling themselves that those who had passed were all godly pro players. The group of people who had passed were then called the ‘thirty-seconds club’.
“Damn, you just needed another second.”
“Why do I keep finishing early?”
During the days of the selection, Han Xiao never changed his attacking style. He just stood still and controlled the Sonic Spheres and the turrets to suppress the challenger. This gave the players hope, as they believed that this was just like clearing a dungeon. They could always learn and analyze Han Xiao’s moves from the others’ attempts and even their own failures, thus gaining an advantage for themselves later on.
However, try as they might, no matter how much the players learned about the fight, most were completely suppressed by Han Xiao and could not even last longer than ten seconds.
Second Prince, huh… He’s not bad, thought Han Xiao as he slowly let up his attacks.
An opening! Second Prince’s eyes flashed, and he threw himself on the ground and rolled out of the range of the attacks. The rain of bullets slowly inched toward him, and he did not even have time to get back up on his feet before he started to wiggle around on the ground in a desperate attempt to stay alive.
“… two, one, zero!”
“He made it!”
“I can’t believe he used his trump card—Repeated Barrel Rolls!”
The crowd started laughing at the pro player’s sorry state.
Second Prince got back up with a face covered in smoke and dirt, and Sun Eggplant, who stood to the side, raised his thumb before snickering. “You have really opened my eyes today. You even pioneered your own fighting style, becoming the grandmaster of rolls. What a man.”
King Admiral pretended to be comprehending something. “It feels like it would be quite useful. How about you learn it as well, Li Ge?”
Li Ge remained expressionless. “What an embarrassment.”
“Screw off!” Second Prince was enraged.
This bunch of star players were opponents in competitions, but they were also old friends, and they often bickered among each other whenever they hung out.
Han Xiao had basically gotten all the members that he needed. He had already gotten a hold of pro players from the four big guilds and from the top eight teams. Most of the top eights from the individual matches had also joined his team. After counting up everyone, there was a little over fifty people total, but it was not a big deal, as he could simply purchase the new tickets on board.
Thanks to the official tournament, Han Xiao had an easy time looking for talents. He had packed most of the top rankers on Planet Aquamarine into his group in one go.
To him, not only were the players the best cannon fodder, they were also his main information channel. Galaxy offered countless storylines, and Han Xiao could become the middle-man to offer all these missions to the players, just like he did on the planet. That way, a part of all the pro players’ earnings would go directly into his pocket. He had basically acquired a group of sweet, little bees that would work tirelessly for him, earning the resources that would have gone to the other NPCs instead.
This was the correct way to utilize the players’ advantages.
Ultimately, Galaxy was like a theme park, full of distractions. He would need to use some methods if he wanted to ensure that these players stayed by his side. Now, having established his position among the players as ‘one of their own’ combined with the benefits that moving together as a single party would offer, there should not be any problems in the short run. Han Xiao would not have to worry about the pro players being tempted by something else in space for now.
Regardless, Han Xiao had long since become accustomed to being prepared for anything. He had already come up with a more concrete plan to deal with issue. However, he would have to wait until they actually entered space before he could start implementing his plan. This was not some sort of idea that had sprung out from a moment’s brilliance, but rather, a plan that he had thought up after considering the big picture, and it was a crucial step for his future developments.
“They’re all star players. Isn’t this too extravagant of a line-up?”
“Doesn’t it feel like we’re a few persons short?”
The more meticulous fans realized that Hao Tian and Frenzied Sword had not come for the mission.
“All the other pro players came. How could they let go of a chance like this? Even other Long Sky members participated in the selection.”
The star players had also realized this, and Li Ge frowned. “Where are those two? Where’s Hao Tian?”
Sleepy Winter felt helpless. “I have already asked. Old Hao and Frenzied Sword were already qualified to begin with.”
The crowd could not process what Sleepy Winter had just said for a second.
Hao Tian and Frenzied Sword had triggered Black Phantom’s Hidden Storyline. Was that why they got this special treatment‽
The bunch of pro players suddenly felt a sense of unfairness in their hearts. They could not believe that they had to come here to get tortured over and over again, while those two just backdoored their way in.
Where was the justice in that!
The pro players were jealous to no end. They also wanted to receive such benefits.
Once the testing was over, the crowd started, albeit quite unwillingly. However, at that moment, Han Xiao silently sent out another pre-written mission to the surrounding players.
_____________________
The Last Bastion
Mission Type: Prize-Pool Mission
_____________________
The players stopped dead in their tracks and focused on the new information.
“What a sudden mission. Where did it come from?”
“Black Phantom didn’t say anything, right? Could he be the one who sent it?”
“Prize-Pool… What’s this?”
“1,000 experience points are required to accept this mission. Let’s try it out.”
Many could not hold back their curiosity, and immediately accepted the mission. However, they were all surprised when they all found out that this mission was grayed out.
_____________________
Mission Introduction: Someday in the future, a calamity will strike this world, and Sanctuary Three will become the last remaining bastion for humanity. Protect this dwindling flame from the encroaching darkness. Only then will there be hope to overcome this calamity.
Requirement: Protect Sanctuary Three. The destruction rate must not go above 50%.
Mission Status: Frozen
Start Date: Unknown
_____________________
The grayed out nam
e implied that this mission had not started. This was the first time that the players had seen a mission with the ‘Frozen’ status, and many were mystified. Word soon got out, and more and more people learned of this news.
Chapter 316 - Prelude to an Age of Strife (2)
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Han Xiao could assign all sorts of mission, and those that were in the challenging category were more difficult than usual. They were often large-scale mission, where every movement of the individual players could impact the final result. Therefore, they had to work together to complete the mission.
He had witnessed some missions that could affect the version, where millions of players fought for the same goal. Every player’s actions earned contribution points, and the mission needed tens of millions of points to complete. Once finished, it would be the turning point of the entire storyline.
[The Last Bastion] was a mission that Han Xiao had created so that the players would still protect Sanctuary Three after he left the planet. In the mission introduction, he hinted that there would be a disaster that would fall upon the land, yet he was vague in the description. However, it was enough to raise the interest of the players as they tried to guess the future storyline.
Han Xiao did not give out a clear instruction just so that the players would think that the information was a leak from the mission, which would make it credible.
The testing mission that he had published before was just to warm up the players.
Freezing a mission was a special method where the mission would not start until the disaster actually arrived. Han Xiao then could activate the mission from miles away. This was like bait for the players as it lured their curiosity about the fate of their future.
One condition to issue a mission was that Han Xiao could not be too far away from the players. Han Xiao had tested a lot of trials to find out this hidden condition. After he left the planet, it was impossible for him to directly give missions to the players. But now he could activate the mission from far away by using frozen missions.
There’s still a few days before I leave the sanctuary. I have enough time to walk around the entire city and give missions to hundreds of thousands of players, Han Xiao thought to himself.
With this, he could ensure that the players would still hang around Sanctuary Three as if it was their main hub. At the beginning of Version 2.0, these players could protect the sanctuary through the hardest times.
…
For the players, shocking news came wave after wave.
Since Han Xiao had remained in the dark for a quite some time after the storyline of the Germinal Organization, the players had started to believe the analysis of [Galaxy Times], thinking that the character had no more storyline and was just a normal NPC.
But after staying quiet for more than half a year, Black Phantom had started to become active again, and his actions were shocking.
He wanted to take the players across the galaxy!
Not only that, Black Phantom also left a frozen Prize-Pool Mission, and the introduction hinted at a disaster that would sweep across Planet Aquamarine.
The ‘old-fashioned’ ‘NPC’s return from the dead’ started another wave of nostalgia players as they remembered the time when Black Phantom took over the world after the game launched. The scene was now showing in front of their eyes, and it felt rather dear to them.
On the forums, countless of players were discussing what was the upcoming ‘disaster’.
“Alien invasion? Another war from the Six Nations that destroys the whole planet? Or is it a natural disaster?”
“I think this could be the start of a new storyline. Just look at storyline on the other planets, all of them are intense, while Planet Aquamarine is so chill. It’s time for something to happen!”
“Someone once said ‘those long divided shall be united, and those long united shall be divided.’ Is this the start of the romance of the Six Nations?”
With the boiling discussion in the forums, one player out of nowhere connected the two things that Han Xiao had done.
“Is it possible that Black Phantom is trying to escape the disaster and that’s why he wants to leave the planet as soon as possible?”
“No way! I still remember an episode in ‘Cabbage hits itself’—it was a speech from Black Phantom to gather troops, and he said that he would do everything he could do protect the innocent lives. Isn’t that courageous?”
“If that’s the reason, then there must be no hope for us to survive, and that’s why Black Phantom is leaving his hometown. I wonder how devastating the disaster will be… There won’t be that much of a change in storyline, right?”
“Maybe not. It’s possible that Black Phantom is just scared. Don’t you see that he is trying to gather helpers for his escape?”
“Quit joking around. He’s still a main character in the storyline. He wrecked the Germinal Organization by himself. Do you think he’ll still run away?”
“Well, the circumstances are different. A lot of his story with the Germinal Organization had to do with planning. Moreover, there is a history between him and the Germinal Organization. They were each other’s mortal enemies, so of course they would use everything that they had to kill the other. But that’s a different story for disasters. If he has the chance to run away, why wouldn’t he do so?”
“And here I am, still thinking that he wouldn’t have any more screen time after the Germinal Organization incident.”
One single topic would not have only one explanation. Some people stood up for Han Xiao, while others stood against him.
Han Xiao was not bothered at all because having oppositions was not a bad thing. It was through conflict that more people would pay attention. On the other hand, if everyone praised how all mighty Han Xiao was, then it would easily bore the players.
However, Bun-hit-dog did not want the players to look down on Han Xiao for thinking that he was trying to run away. Bun-hit-dog had already decided to start a new space adventure show, and if the audience viewed him as a deserter, then it would negatively affect to the show. On the other hand, if Han Xiao’s reason for going to the outer space was courageous and noble, then their upcoming adventures would touch the hearts of the audience, which fit with the content that Bun-hit-dog had planned.
Because of that, Bun-hit-dog leaked the discussion between Han Xiao and the other three, which could reveal the reason for Han Xiao’s departure—to find a solution for the upcoming disaster. This suddenly boosted the public’s view of Han Xiao.
At the end of the episode, Bun-hit-dog released the preview. “As I looked up the mysterious night sky, my heart and soul were absorbed in the solidarity. I will follow Black Phantom to the world beyond the stars, and for this, I will create a new series recording the moments of the journey in the universe and present them right in front of you. Coming soon.”
Because the topic was hot, Bun-hit-dog’s preview for the show spread like a wildfire. The players then all understood that Han Xiao’s departure from the planet was to save them from a disaster. Without any delay, most of the players all respected him from the bottom of their hearts, while a small minority were still suspicious.
No matter what attitude the players had, they were all paying close attention to the event, thinking about Han Xiao traveling through the galaxy, and they were excited for Bun-hit-dog new show.
These new messages, however, where only visible for the players. The organizations on the planet still had no idea what was happening.
…
In the powering snow and freezing wind stood a mountain range located in the territory of Raylen. There were a lot of wild beasts in the mountains without any civilization. Not even a single town was visible within dozens of miles, and the roar of beasts echoed in the mountain range.
Raylen’s secret laboratory was right there in the mountains.
Inside the laboratory, Kerlodd’s spaceship was hanging in midair, and thousands of pieces of
equipment and wires surrounded the spaceship, detecting any data coming out from the spaceship and presenting it on the big screen. Countless researchers came and went while adjusting the equipment.
After moving the spaceship around for more than ten days, Raylen secretly organized people for this research operation, the best researchers from both the military and the intelligence organization. There were normal people and some mechanic superhumans.
Even with so many talents working together, there was little progress to be seen. The technology that built the spaceship was too advanced for the people on Planet Aquamarine to understand. Moreover, Godoran technology also contained magic, requiring the magic engravings for it to work. It was a completely different type of technology compared to that of Planet Aquamarine.
For the researchers who had never seen magic, they did not know where to start. In their eyes, this spaceship lacked many important components and modules, and they could not even find where the energy source was. They only found some parts that looked related to the energy source, some really ancient parts, and a black liquid object that looked like motor oil. It was stored in an empty test tube on the side and being experimented on.
Chapter 317 - Lift Off
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
The director of the research operation walked in with high officials wearing Raylen’s military uniform. An older gentleman who looked like the leader said with a deep frown, “Any progress?”
“There’s literally no progress at all.” the director responded helplessly. “The alien spaceship technology is too much for us to comprehend. We can’t solve the mystery. The meters from measuring equipment are constantly jumping at the same time, which was completely illogical.
“Then copy just a small part. I only need something concrete.”
“Sorry, but most of the components are too weird in structure, and we don’t even know what they are used for. We tried to copy the engravings on the spaceship, but nothing happened, and we can’t even start the engine up…”
The Legendary Mechanic c1-1385 Page 181
