Chapter 1271 The Art of Managing Leeks

"Oh, the Main Storyline mission is out."

"Calamity of the Supers? What is that?"

"I guess it refers to the conflict between the three Universal Civilizations and the a.s.sociation. I feel that this name is a little weird though. How could Supers cause a calamity?"

Everyone discussed the mission t.i.tle.

The Calamity of the Supers should have been the name of Version 5.0, but now that it had its name changed to Black Star's Era, no one was familiar with this term.

This mission was not issued by Han Xiao himself but rather automatically generated by the interface. This was similar to the Main Storyline of Version 5.0 in Han Xiao's previous life, except for some subtle changes, such as Han Xiao's presence.

Everyone went to read the Mission Introduction.

_____________________

This is a crisis that affects the entire Superpower cla.s.s. There is a deep-rooted contradiction between individual power and collective civilization. Black Star chose the route of seeking peace through deterrence, taking the initiative to ignite the fuse and detonating this calamity in order to create a new era. As a Super, you should have your own position and philosophy in this storm. Choose your faction, and fight for it.

As a member of the Black Star Army, it is hoped that you will stand at the front of the army in such times of crisis, to complete the great goal of the Black Star Army.

_____________________

Everyone continued reading and saw that this Main Storyline was more of a faction struggle. As an S-ranked Main Storyline, it stretched for a long period, allowing players to continuously acc.u.mulate rewards. However, they were required to choose a faction to partic.i.p.ate in this storm to fight for, and everyone's faction there was preset as the Black Star Army. During this storyline, every time they completed the a.s.signed missions given by their faction, they would obtain extra Contribution Points and Experience, which was very tempting.

"The rewards are plenty, and the mission rewards are even higher than the previous versions. The bar has been raised once again."

"This is an incident that affects the entire Superpower cla.s.s, so it feels more impactful compared to the previous version of Flickering World development. While the version also mobilized the entire universe, it focused on exploration, and most of the events were confined to a single Star Field. There was little impact on the other regions. Furthermore, this Calamity of the Supers seems very antagonistic at first glance, since Supers permeate across the whole universe. This will cause the entire Galactic Society to become turbulent."

"Actually, I feel that this is pretty good as well. The Main Storyline came out as soon as the version opened, and our goal is clear."

Everyone talked in small groups, feeling extremely delighted.

While it felt a bit sudden to get involved in such a big event as soon as they came online, the army players quickly accepted this reality, excited.

After marveling at Black Star's deeds for a while longer, the players finally s.h.i.+fted their attention to the other aspects of version update changes.

"That's right, fifty years have pa.s.sed. The army should have upgraded a lot of their internal products. Let's take a look."

It did not take long for someone to open up the army's faction store to check on the equipment and weapons provided.

The equipment sold by the army had always been the focal point for the players. While it was a little pricey, the quality was guaranteed, and its performance was excellent. After-care repair and enhancement services were even thrown in. A large number of players were thus using the army standard suits. Every time the Army Logistics Department launched a new series of equipment, it would be the time for the army players to collectively improve their overall combat capabilities. At the same time, they could also lose the weight in their wallets.

With a glance, the players all froze before shouting out in joy.

The number of products offered by the army had doubled compared to before the version update. There was a lot more equipment, including weapons, raw materials and special props that had never been seen before, and they were all high-quality items even when compared to the current update and iteration.

Many of this technology came from Jayz's treasure trove, and Han Xiao merely picked up a few suitable ones to throw toward the logistics department, allowing them to greatly expand the scale of the faction's unique products.

"Yo, the army has done a lot of research in the past few decades. There are so many new products now!"

"I'm still wearing the 7th Generation battlesuit, but they've already updated to the 12th Gen, and the performance has been optimized so much!"

"It's over. My current suit is now outdated. Replacing it will require a large sum of money, and I still have to strengthen, refine, and enchant it… I feel that my wallet is going to die."

The players' eyes turned red upon seeing so much good stuff. Their desire to buy was unprecedentedly strong.

It was a pity that the national war and the Pro League at the end of Version 4.0 had emptied the acc.u.mulations of most people. They could only channel their desire to buy stuff into the desire to earn money.

At this moment, the players received an internal email from the Army Commander.

In the email, Han Xiao represented the army in welcoming the return of the Immortals, declaring that the current situation was sensitive, and thus, he hoped that everyone could be a little more low key. At the end of the letter, a note was also attached, indicating that their previous location for the national war, Planet Milton, had been purchased by the army and would be given to the Golden Alliance as a gift.

No one was expecting such a bombsh.e.l.l, and they suddenly felt dizzy from the surprise at their luck.

"This… Our Commander directly bought the national war planet to give to us? Am I dreaming‽"

"Maybe this is the legendary banknote ability…"

"Why did Old Black do this? He shouldn't have known about our national war, right?"

"That's hard to say. At that time, many of the galactic organizations were paying attention to us, even though they did not know about our national war. However, our Golden Alliance beat everyone else, so maybe Old Black thought that we were winning glory for the army."

"That feels possible!"

Everyone was full of excitement.

As the stage of the national war, Planet Milton had the potential to become the Players' Main City, so having the army directly buying it and giving it to the Golden Alliance meant handing over the sovereignty of this main city to the Chinese players. Originally, the management rights belonged to the NPC organizations, but unexpectedly, they fell into the players' hands. This was not a small gift.

This would be the first time a player-managed guild owned a planet!

Many of the players partic.i.p.ated in the national war, but none of them expected that there would be such additional reward. They could not help but feel surging joy.

Speaking of which, most of the Chinese players were also old timers who partic.i.p.ated from Planet Aquamarine itself. This gift might be Old Black taking care of them.

Thinking of this possibility, people like Frenzied Sword started to feel emotional. This proved that Black Star had always paid attention to them!

Before long, this matter spread to the forums, where it caused envy among countless players.

"Another benefit of the Black Star Army! How can their faction be so good‽"

"Nasty, I'm so jealous of them!"

"Black Star is indeed the model of all factions, knowing how to win the hearts of the people. I also wish I could have such a faction leader."

"Wuwuwu, lemons are also good (cries)"

Seeing this, the various foreign club players felt their sanity snap and their stomachs churn.

The national war had been over for quite a period of time, and these partic.i.p.ants had also re-adjusted their mentality. While they had lost, there was no substantial loss to them. But at this moment, these players felt that their hearts had been stabbed once again.

Seeing the Golden Alliance happily receiving a planet as a gift, these foreign clubs only felt upset.

If we had worked harder at the last moment and won the national war, then this planet might have belonged to us…

Oh wait, we're not part of the Black Star Army either way. Even if we won, the faction behind us would not have bought Planet Milton as a gift…

This was even more frustrating to think about!

As soon as the tens of millions of players returned, the long silent forum instantly turned lively.

Because the version had just been updated, everyone was busy trying to level and upgrade their equipment. Their top priorities were to enrich their wallets. After many of the army players understood the current situation, they could not wait to start.

…

At the same time, inside the Army Commander's office, Han Xiao switched off the surveillance in the great hall, glancing at his experience bar, which had begun to rise rapidly once again after being stagnant for so long. He felt great comfort.

Ah, this is the fragrance of leeks…

Nice.

The players' savings were almost all spent in the previous version, and now that the new version has just been released, they also have the need to upgrade themselves, so I can only use new products and discounts to stimulate consumption, maintaining my efficiency of harvesting experience.

Rubbing his chin, Han Xiao's eyes sparkled.

His upgrade costs were astronomical. He had also acc.u.mulated some experience during the version update, and according to the normal harvesting efficiency during the opening periods of the version, he would take about eighteen months to three years to acc.u.mulate enough to reach the level 360 advancement. This would also depend on the speed at which the players acc.u.mulated experience.

If he used his own proficiency in leek management, he might be able to speed up the players' efficiency.

Before his advancement, Han Xiao also planned to have his G.o.d's Trait Transformation Void branch reach the maximum level. This would also need time as he needed to craft more Universal Treasures.

This Main Storyline was a battle of factions; thus, the a.s.sociation would appear more attractive to the players. Furthermore, with him as the head of the a.s.sociation, there was no need to be afraid of anyone trying to poach his people. The players would automatically join his faction.

"Now that the players have returned, the fuse for the Calamity of the Supers has been readied. We have to see how the three Universal Civilizations will respond," Han Xiao muttered.

…

On the Federation of Light's mother planet, in the President's Office, Louis stood by the window. He turned back to look at his Head of Intelligence, his brows furrowed as he considered this sticky situation.

"The Immortals have returned? Tsk, another bunch of troublesome fellows."

"Do you need us to take action?" the Head of Intelligence asked.

Louis slowly returned to his seat, stroking his chin as he thought.

"Immortals… Is their resurrection principle also related to the Sanctum Revival?"

In this past year, the three Universal Civilizations had studied the Sanctum Revival theory, but even with astronomical sums of money poured in, they were still far away from actual results. While the three Universal Civilizations might have been at the forefront of the explored universe in terms of Information Form technology, it was still not perfected.

The three Universal Civilizations leaders would inquire about the progress of the research every few days, so Louis started to think that the players' resurrection abilities had something to do with the Sanctum Revival. In his opinion, both of them were strange methods to revive, which could be seen as a connection.

After thinking about it further, Louis said in a solemn voice, "The Immortals are impenetrable, and we are still unable to find out the reason for their resurrections… Increase the funding for the Immortals project. We might find a breakthrough there."

"Understood."

The Head of Intelligence recorded it down.

Louis paused for a while more before asking, "How's the situation in the outside world now?"

"The Cla.s.s segregation is going well. We have succeeded in shaping a group of Supers who believe that the a.s.sociation's excessive ambitions have affected the order through different treatments and one-sided propaganda. These are basically people who have been affected and have lost their benefits, thus allowing us to split the Supers into two opposing voices. While the contrasting voices are not many at the moment, they are enough. As long as they exist, those that support the a.s.sociation will always try to one-up them, pus.h.i.+ng the a.s.sociation toward breaking ties with the three Universal Civilizations."

"Well done." Louis narrowed his eyes. "The greater the height, the greater the fall. The a.s.sociation has too many expectations on them. The moment we can make them suffer a small setback, we will be able to obtain twice the result with half the effort, hitting the a.s.sociation's prestige hard and shaking more people's hearts."

The three Universal Civilizations did not wish for a Super organization that would herd the rest as a pack leader to appear. Not only them, but the Super Star Cl.u.s.ter Alliance was also secretly adjusting their strategies, splitting the voices of the Supers through public opinion.

It was just that the time had yet to come, so there was no need to see this method to the end since the disadvantages would outweigh the benefits.

Waving his hand to dismiss the Head of Intelligence, Louis waited for a while before two remote projections appeared in the room. They were the 'Mechanic Empress' Mornisa and 'Defender' Romo, both of whom were Beyond Grade A mechanics directly related to the Federation of Light.

"You've come," Louis said. "You asked to see me. Did you manage to discover the location of the Mechanic Emperor's true body?"

The Mechanics in the Federation of Light had been searching for the location of Manison's body all these years, but they had never succeeded.

Romo shook his head. "He's hidden himself too deeply. We still have no news regarding this."

"Then, why did you want to see me?" Louis frowned.

Mornisa took a step forward at this moment, slowly saying, "I used to study under the Mechanic Emperor, and thus, I am familiar with the style of his Virtual Technology. A while back, I made a breakthrough with my technology, so I would like to enlist the help from the three Universal Civilizations to aid me in raiding Manison's database through Virtual Intrusion!"

Louis was a little stunned. "What's the purpose of you doing this?"

Mornisa's eyes flashed. "I've taken a fancy to the Mechanic Emperor's technological treasures. I wish to obtain his life research!"

She used to be the Mechanic Emperor's student and was more familiar than everyone else with just how deep Manison's reserves were. She had long thought of owning Manison's knowledge, and thus, their relations.h.i.+p had become more and more estranged, partly due to her attempting to steal a portion of his research. This was also why she had to flee to the Federation of Light as a direct descendant in order to obtain protection.

Ever since Manison lost his authority, Mornisa had again coveted his research. In the past, she was not so certain, but due to her sudden breakthrough a while back, her confidence had grown.

Based on her calculations, she believed that with the help from the three Universal Civilizations, her current Virtual Technology would have a more than fifty percent chance of invading Manison's database… The Mechanic Emperor might be strong, but he would not be able to stop so many people from attacking him.

"If it's just for this reason, then I cannot accept your request." Louis shook his head. "Furthermore, the Mechanic Emperor's reputation is not for show. Are you sure you can crack his Virtual Technology?"

"Hehe, I also remember that the Mechanic Emperor has always liked to secretly infiltrate the database of the Federation of Light. For so many years, it is unknown how much secrets he has stolen, but you guys have turned a blind eye for too long. Don't you think that our Federation of Light should fight back? No one should be able to pick at us, and we can destroy all the secrets he has collected about the Federation of Light! In addition, we might even obtain secrets from the Super Star Cl.u.s.ter Alliance in the Primeval Star River, which is the true enemy of the three Universal Civilizations."

Louis' eyes gleamed. He was a little tempted.

The three Universal Civilizations did not wish to provoke the a.s.sociation, but if it was purely infiltrating the database of the Mechanic Emperor, it should be fine. The three Universal Civilizations might be jittery toward the a.s.sociation, but they had never stopped their small tricks. Plus, the Mechanic Emperor was no longer the president, and he had never been on good terms with Black Star.

At this moment, Mornisa coldly laughed as she added, "As for my ability… hehe, now that more than half of the Machinery Faith has been taken by Black Star, the Mechanic Emperor's strength has decayed and is no longer at his peak.

"As long as the three Universal Civilizations a.s.sist me, I'm sure I can invade his database. After this event, the federation will be able to obtain all the copied technological information."

Louis weighed the pros and cons for a while before slowly nodding.

"I'm agreeable to your request. I'll help you contact the dynasty and the church. We can give this matter a try and test the reaction of the a.s.sociation. Don't disappoint me."

Hearing this, Mornisa revealed a delighted smile.

"Relax, I'll make you so happy you won't even be able to talk."