Several days later.
At the outer base of the Black Star Palace, groups of Black Hole Edge players looked around with curiosity. Their equipment and uniforms were a motley collection, making them look like a bunch of low-level soldiers, a stark contrast to the regular army-like legion members around them.
A large number of Southeast Asian players have switched sides and joined the Legion. Some have completed their registration in strongholds such as Black Gate Star, eager to enjoy the Legion's benefits, making large purchases, and accepting the Legion's main questline, "Shattered World," to begin their development. Other, more casual players, after joining the Legion, have come to the Black Star Palace in groups, seemingly to familiarize themselves with the future main city of their faction.
Most of the visitors were Mechanic Class enthusiasts who came to visit the Black Star Palace with a pilgrimage-like mentality.
Most of the Huaxia players had gone out to do quests, and now the Black Star Palace was bustling with the arrival of this new batch of players.
"This is the Black Star Army's headquarters in the Shattered World? It's quite impressive."
"What a grand setup! The facilities are complete; it looks very professional."
"I wonder if I'll be able to run into Black Star?"
A group of Black Hole Edge players chattered excitedly, admiring the scenery of the Black Star Palace, their eyes dazzled by the sights.
These three versions roam the universe, and the factions they once served are incomparable to the Black Star Army. Just looking at the scale of their main city, they are not even in the same league. In fact, the home planets of many star cluster-level civilizations are not as large as the Black Star Palace. Many people are visiting such a magnificent place for the first time, and they feel like country bumpkins visiting the Grand View Garden.
"There are so many high-level NPCs here, a whole bunch of extremely deadly characters."
"If you cause trouble here, you'll definitely get slaughtered."
Most players restrained themselves and dared not cause trouble on Black Star's territory.
They were not afraid of low-level factions like the Resek Corps and were fearless. However, when faced with a top-tier faction like the Black Star Army, a considerable number of them dared not act recklessly because higher-level forces had the ability to punish them.
A few players in the crowd were spies sent by Southeast Asian club guilds. Because the Black Star Army basically accepted all players, they managed to infiltrate the group smoothly.
Ignoring the noisy ordinary players around them, this group of spy players with a special mission glanced at the dazzling array of factions, the book store, and the mission list, and immediately beamed with joy.
Once you successfully join, as long as you work hard to increase your contribution points and raise your Legion rank, you can enjoy more benefits and act as a purchasing agent for the guild.
Plans in place!
Just then, Hadavy, Fording, and other guards hurried by from a distance, attracting the attention of the group of players.
"Hey, look over there, the infamous Black Star Guard!"
"A high-ranking figure from the Black Star Army. I have their complete card deck. I've finally met them in person."
Fording! I love you!
Hearing the shouts from afar, Fording paused, turned around, and saw a group of brightly colored Immortals. He smiled helplessly and waved as a greeting.
Fording is extremely famous among players, and his fame extends far beyond the Shattered Star Ring.
Since these Black Hole Edge players joined the Legion, they must have done their research beforehand. Moreover, thanks to the promotion of the Veyne Cards, Fording is quite a popular idol in the Black Star Army.
"Why are you so popular? Even the newcomers like you so much?" Hadavy said sourly.
"Just look in the mirror and you'll know," a guard muttered under his breath.
Hadavy: "..."
Seeing Hadavy's pained expression, Fording couldn't bear it. He smiled helplessly, patted Hardaway's shoulder, and softly comforted him, "Don't take it to heart. You're not actually that ugly."
"... I'm not happy at all."
The guards didn't stop to pick up the new players they wanted to build rapport with; they quickened their pace and soon disappeared from everyone's sight.
At the same time, many spy players in the crowd had their eyes gleaming.
Some of these individuals not only have the mission of purchasing goods for the guild and enjoying legion benefits, but also another special task: to infiltrate the legion and monitor its movements.
Although the Southeast Asian clubs did not switch sides without authorization, the Shattered World offers many opportunities to come into contact with higher-level factions, and they have also made secret contact with some forces, the most active of which is the Infinite Financial Group.
Sorokin has always had a strong interest in the player community. He once tried to test the Black Star Army's players, but they suffered a minor loss at Han Xiao's hands. Now that players from other star systems are gathering in the Shattered World, it is also an opportunity for him. He secretly sent people to contact some players from the Black Hole Edge.
Although there was no control panel, through long-term research, Sorokin had figured out some patterns among the players. He specifically sought out players who hadn't immediately switched sides and joined a legion to issue repetitive mercenary missions. The missions involved players providing intelligence on the Black Star Army's movements, especially Black Star himself. The rewards were very generous. Although he didn't know the underlying principles, it had been proven that as long as the money was right, players could become excellent intelligence spies. This was based on his experience.
Using money to pave the way, many Southeast Asian guilds secretly accepted Sorokin's mission, essentially planting spies within the Legion.
Sorokin's monitoring of Han Xiao's movements was purposeful. Not long ago, Gorutan and Hila had a conflict, and the Glory and the Arcane had developed different ideas about Hila and even harbored murderous intentions. As a collaborator, Sorokin had no choice but to keep an eye on Han Xiao's location, provide the Glory and the Arcane with additional intelligence, and look for suitable opportunities to act.
Many spy players exchanged glances and whispered among themselves.
"The guards are all at the Black Star Palace, which means Black Star should be here as well."
"Can the mission be considered complete without seeing him in person?"
"I guess so. The duty of the Royal Guard officers is to provide close protection. Wherever they are, Black Star is almost always there too."
On the other side, Hadavy and the other guards arrived at the inner ring base and entered an advanced combat training room. A Dominion avatar stood guard at the door, while Aurora sat in the center of the room, her whole body radiating life energy, like a white-gold hazy ball of light. With her breath, the brightness fluctuated, sometimes bright and sometimes dim.
"Legion Commander." Everyone greeted the Dominion's clone, then turned to look at Aurora.
Hadavy took a deep breath, feeling refreshed, and exclaimed, "Such rich life energy! It seems to have been elevated in quality again?"
Fording nodded. "Black Star, is Aurora advancing in rank?"
Han Xiao, controlling his Dominion avatar, nodded. "Her accumulated life energy has finally broken through the critical point, bringing about a qualitative change in her life level."
Before the release of version 4.0, Aurora had said that she was close to the threshold of Calamity Grade. Now, after more than half a year of accumulation, her life energy has finally reached the standard, and she has taken this step.
Under everyone's gaze, Aurora closed her eyes, her long eyelashes trembling slightly, and the life energy emanating from her skin grew brighter and brighter, gradually turning the room into a white blur.
After a long while, the light gradually returned to Aurora's body, and her body underwent some changes. Her platinum-gold hair moved without wind, becoming smoother and silkier, with each strand exuding a rounded texture and containing a full vitality.
Her skin became smoother and firmer, flawless, and her milky white skin exuded a holy aura, crystal clear, like an exquisite work of art.
Aurora opened her eyes and slowly exhaled a breath containing life energy, which refreshed the air in the room, as if she had eaten a hundred Green Arrows. Despite being a stern, all-metal room, it exuded a feeling of nature.
Her advancement differed from most Calamity Grade advancements; it was entirely natural and undestructive, thanks to the abundant life energy that allowed her to progress smoothly without any bottlenecks.
Aurora stood up, her eyes sparkling with joy, and walked to Han Xiao's Dominion, excitedly saying, "Uncle, I've Calamity Grade! Can you tell if I've changed?"
Han Xiao looked Aurora up and down. She was originally petite and cute, but now she had grown taller, had a better figure, and more delicate features. In addition, she exuded a holy aura that made people want to get close to her, and her pure and flawless white skin was like a blank sheet of paper, making people want to add their own colors to it. Compared with Hila's Blades and cold beauty, she was a completely different style.
"You've become even more beautiful." Han Xiao joked, "Other Grade A are Calamity Grade, but you look like an auspicious omen, completely unrelated to the word ' Calamity Grade.' Very good, I'm very proud of you."
Aurora blinked, beaming with delight at the compliment, but then, remembering something, she couldn't help but pout and mutter, "Hmph, all that talk, you went to see my sister anyway, you didn't even come to see me advance to the Calamity Grade."
Han Xiao was helpless. He had just left the Black Star Palace a few days ago and secretly headed to the Emerald Star Cluster.
He knew very well that with a large influx of new players into the Legion, it was inevitable that spies would monitor his movements. Therefore, he left his guards behind as a simple diversion. His main purpose in going to the Emerald Star Cluster was twofold: first, to compete for the Chaos Mysterious Energy that would emerge in the future; and second, to reduce the potential risks to Hila by personally protecting her. The combat power that the Dominion's avatar could exert was naturally not as great as his main body's presence.
However, this caused her to miss out on Aurora's advancement.
Han Xiao coughed lightly and gave Fording a wink.
Fording was well-versed in "Emotional Intelligence," and even though his mechanical body lacked eyes, he understood Han Xiao's meaning. He proactively changed the subject, asking, "How much have your abilities changed after the Calamity Grade?"
Upon hearing this, Aurora her eyes at Han Xiao before turning to look at Fording. She carefully sensed the changes in his body, then raised her hand and flicked out a ball of life energy, its texture more solid than when she was at Grade B.
"My daily life energy accumulation efficiency is many times that of Grade B, and its healing power is much stronger. Now, the same amount of life energy should be equivalent to three to four times what it was before the advancement..."
Upon hearing this, Han Xiao felt a little regretful that his main body wasn't here, otherwise he could have tested on the spot how much Aurora's healing power had increased.
Hadavy couldn't wait. "Let me test your abilities."
Aurora glanced at him, released a wisp of life energy, and merged it into his body.
The next moment, Hadavy's eyes widened, and he tilted his head back in ecstasy, groaning.
Ah~~
Han Xiao shuddered, almost unable to resist switching to silent mode.
Damn, that's a really loud moan!
When I first met you, you were a cool, battle-crazed guy. How did you turn into this pathetic jerk?!
Have I damaged my brain over the years?
It's heartbreaking, so heartbreaking!
"What's your name?!" Everyone felt a chill run down their spines.
Hadavy quickly covered his mouth, and after a few seconds, he regained his composure and exclaimed in delight, "That feels so good! I feel so much lighter, like a huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders!"
Seeing his exaggerated performance, everyone was somewhat skeptical, but after receiving Aurora's energy, they all believed it, staring at her with amazement as if she were a national treasure.
Aurora felt embarrassed by the stares and whispered, "After advancing, my ability seems to have gained a few new uses. While accelerating injury recovery, it can also stimulate the target's potential, improving their condition and providing buffs."
"That's true." Fording nodded. "I feel my mind is sharper, my energy is more active, and not only that, her life energy seems to have gained a calming power; my emotions have become much more peaceful."
Han Xiao was quite surprised, because his main body was not there, so he could only take pictures of the guards and observe their combat attributes to deduce the changes in Aurora's abilities.
In addition to healing, she can selectively provide various buffs to living beings, such as increasing maximum health, stamina, and mana by 20%, increasing base recovery rate after healing, increasing all resistances by 12%, increasing all attributes by 7%~11%, and increasing ability strength by 10%~15%, etc. Each healing session can be accompanied by one of these buffs, and the buff amount will gradually increase as she develops her abilities.
Not only is she a healer, but she's also become a super-powerful buff support!
At the same time, her life energy can soothe the target, calming a manic target and dispelling Berserk mental states, whether beneficial or detrimental. It can even eliminate the target's hostility towards her and generate a protective instinct towards her—although her ability is extremely lacking in offensive power, it also has a special self-defense capability.
In addition, the shelf life of life energy after leaving the body is extended by dozens of times, and the blood connection between Aurora and Hila is sublimated again, seemingly like quantum communication, allowing them to sense Hila's vital signs regardless of distance.
Aurora still has a vague feeling that if she further develops her supernatural gene chain, she might be able to share life energy with Hila regardless of distance. However, she still needs to become more familiar with the Calamity Grade changes in her abilities before she can achieve this.
"As expected of an Grade S potential ability, the higher the level, the more characteristics are unlocked." Han Xiao thought to himself with delight.
In her previous life Aurora turned into a monster too early, and no one knew what Aurora would look like. Now, however, she gave him one big surprise after another.
Just then, Han Xiao suddenly had a flash of inspiration and remembered something. He hurriedly pulled Fording and Aurora to the biological laboratory inside the legion and asked the two of them to cooperate in the experiment.
Han Xiao had Aurora repeatedly replenish Fording's life energy, and each time he took Fording's cells, collecting a large number of samples with different levels of enhancement to test the cells' basic activity.
Not long after, the experimental results came out. Han Xiao looked at Phillip's calculated experimental report, couldn't help but cover his forehead, and sighed helplessly:
"Really, I should have known. The two sisters have completely opposite abilities. Hila can shorten people's lifespans, Aurora... of course, can extend them!"
The experimental report clearly showed that the basic cell activity of the later samples increased only slightly.
In other words, the more Aurora milk you receive, the longer your lifespan will be.
At Grade B, this trait hadn't awakened yet, and she's currently only at the Calamity Grade, so the life-extending effect is still very weak, far less than the life-shortening effect Hila has on people.
But if she's allowed to grow up, wouldn't she become...?
An enhanced version of Tang Sanzang's flesh?!
It feels like we've just gained another powerful tool for backing each other...