"Where are my superpowers?!"
On the panel, many skills turned gray and frozen, and even the passive attribute bonuses from his powers were gone. Disco Elysium panicked and struggled to leave the fixed pod.
At that moment, a cold, metallic hand pressed against his chest, pinning him down. Clearly, a mechanical soldier was preventing him from moving. Disco Elysium, wearing a mask that blocked his senses, was now completely shrouded in darkness, unable to see what was happening outside. He reluctantly gave up the urge to struggle and lay uneasily in place, waiting for the experiment to end.
After an unknown amount of time, Disco Elysium felt the devices binding his hands and feet suddenly loosen. He stood up impatiently, ripped off his mask, and nervously looked around, only to find that the scene around him was still the same as before, with the mechanical guards seemingly standing still.
"My powers are gone, are yours too?" Another player who participated in the experiment was also freed, looking surprised.
"Yeah, mine's gone too."
The two quickly exchanged information and discovered that they were both in a state of [Ability Freeze] with an Infinite duration, which made them somewhat panicked.
Disco Elysium hurriedly asked the mechanical soldier beside him, "What did you just do to us?"
Following Han Xiao's pre-prepared answer, the mechanical soldier stated matter-of-factly, "It's just an experiment. The legion is developing a special device to suppress supernatural genes, which may be widely deployed in the future."
They really are developing a secret weapon!
The two exchanged a glance, both seeing the understanding in each other's eyes. Disco Elysium couldn't wait to ask the question that both of them cared about most:
"Can our abilities be restored?"
"Of course. In the research and development plan, the Immortals are the best experimental targets. According to the Logistics Department's deduction, the Immortals only need to die and be resurrected once to refresh their physical condition and regain their abilities. In the future, we may equip the Immortal Troops with this weapon on a large scale." The mechanical soldier said expressionlessly.
Upon hearing that their abilities could be restored, the two breathed a sigh of relief.
The two had no doubt about the truth of this explanation, after all, there was the example of "Black Star Army Emblem - Evolution" before them, and developing secret weapons sounded like something the Legion would do.
--In the eyes of players, the art style of this evil organization is exactly the same as that of the Black Star Army!
"This is a secret Legion plan. You have all signed confidentiality agreements. Remember, you cannot reveal what is happening here to anyone."
As the mechanical soldier spoke, he returned the communication equipment that had been confiscated before the experiment to the two men, appearing quite serious.
Disco Elysium retrieved his communication device and exchanged a glance with the player next to him; both saw a smug look on each other's faces.
A confidentiality agreement? Heh heh, that won't stop us. You think taking away our communication equipment will prevent leaks? No way, the legion can't possibly control the forum.
If we post something, do you think the legion will find out?
The two were secretly excited and were already thinking about sharing this secret on the forum. It wasn't to harm the legion's interests, but rather that they couldn't stop the urge to spoil it.
Didn't you hear the mechanical soldiers say that the Legion might widely adopt this weapon in the future? Wouldn't that be another suicide attack weapon after the nuclear backpack and the Evolver's Badge? We know about it before anyone else, so we can brag to others.
The two of them naturally had no idea that this was an excuse Han Xiao had made up. He didn't want to expose Evans's existence, so he came up with a reason to hide it and prevent outsiders from becoming suspicious.
The intention was to have the mechanical soldiers tell the two men this information, so that they could spread misleading information and make the players believe that this was a secret weapon development project. This way, when recruiting other players later, they wouldn't need to come up with any other excuses; they could just attribute it all to this.
A notification popped up on the panel indicating that the mission was complete. The two had collected all the items and, too lazy to retrace their steps, simply asked the mechanical soldiers to lend them a hand and send them to their celestial paradise.
With a flash of white light, the two resurrected individuals appeared in the bustling base lobby, immediately checking their status.
"His abilities have indeed been restored."
Disco Elysium was finally relieved. He immediately opened the forum, enthusiastically recorded what had just happened, wrote the title "Shocking! The Legion's secret weapon is actually...", and posted it.
As it turns out, the popularity of the "Shocking Minister" post was justified; it quickly attracted the attention of some players, and people started replying in the comments:
"Is it really true? I've never seen this mission before."
"Suppressing superhuman genes? I remember Black Star used to have a 'Happy Hut ' where he extracted gene-enhancing drugs from space pirates. Could it be that he modified it?"
"If we equip ourselves with this kind of weapon, wouldn't killing other factions' Esper Class players be as easy as slaughtering chickens?"
"Can't you use your imagination? This kind of treasure might be able to take down NPCs, rendering those powerful characters powerless and at the mercy of others."
"Stop talking, I already have 10 gigabytes of images of those laptops in my mind..."
"Speaking of which, the Legion's secret weapons are getting more and more evil. The Aberration was already outrageous enough, but now they're even developing the Ten-Fragrance Muscle-Weakening Powder specifically for superhumans... Are we really a legitimate organization?"
"It seems the deputy legion commander is a superhuman. Could it be that the legion commander is involved in some kind of illicit affair, so he's secretly developing this equipment to use force against her?"
"The husband party is furious!! (▼皿▼#)"
"That scoundrel Black Star is utterly depraved! I will live and die with Hila! (╬◣д◢)"
Just as the players on the forum were speculating wildly and without a doubt, deep within the base, a secret door to a training room opened, and a man in a black hood stepped out. He took off his clothes to reveal his face, which was none other than Evans.
There was a secret passage in this training room that led directly to the laboratory. Following Han Xiao's instructions, he secretly went over and absorbed the superpowers of two immobilized players. Before doing so, he had repeatedly confirmed with Han Xiao that the loss of power by the Immortals was only temporary.
"This is what it feels like to have extraordinary power..."
Evans raised his right arm, clenched his fist, and a subtle force flowed from his cells, penetrating the muscles and bones of his arm.
Bang!
The next moment, his arm visibly swelled up, as if being inflated, and his muscles and bones became more resilient, his strength increasing dramatically.
In his hands, his superpower could only be exerted at the Grade E for the time being. With his meager strength, he couldn't even support the consumption of inflating his entire body. He swung his arms a few times, creating a rumbling sound of wind breaking. Just inflating one arm made him nearly twice as strong as he originally was.
All superpowers have potential ratings. Generally speaking, the rating represents the maximum rank that the superpower user can eventually reach. Although this rule does not apply to players, the rating also represents the growth potential and rarity of the superpower. The rarer it is, the more powerful it is. Some players keep creating new accounts and spending money to farm superpowers in order to get rare abilities.
Physical enhancement is a major branch of superpowers, and even within the same type of superpower, there are many variations. Some ordinary physical enhancement abilities might only be rated Grade D or Grade C, while [Physical Enhancement - Muscle and Bone Inflation] has a B+ rating, indicating that it is a high-quality ability in this category.
This ability is a semi-transformation ability; once activated, a skinny bamboo pole can instantly swell into a muscular strongman.
The other absorbed psychic ability also has a potential rating of Grade B, indicating excellent quality.
Among players, Grade A rating is already a rare top-tier ability, and while Grade B potential is a tier below, it is still excellent enough.
Han Xiao made a special plan, choosing these two high-quality abilities to bestow upon Evans, so as not to waste his ability slots. The combination of physical and mental abilities is beneficial to improving basic attributes. As long as his own rank increases, these two abilities will continuously provide additional strength, agility, stamina, and mental resistance.
Evans was fascinated by his two new abilities and played with them enthusiastically until he was completely exhausted, panting and stopping with a gleam in his eyes.
After decades of living an ordinary life, this was the first time he had experienced the satisfaction that power brought. The shortcut of seizing power from others exuded an unparalleled allure, as if it could entice a person's hidden greed. Evans felt a hunger emanating from every cell in his body, an instinctive craving to absorb new power, like the unrestrained desire to overeat.
"Hmm, Lord Black Star said that changes in the body can also bring about changes in the mind. This must be the change that my superpower has brought about..."
Evans seemed lost in thought; the resilience he had developed through hardship allowed him to suppress the hunger brought on by his superpowers.
He was not a greedy person. Black Star changed his life and paved a broad road for him to become stronger. All he wanted to do was study hard and practice diligently to repay this life-changing grace in the future, and only hoped not to let Black Star down.
The past few months have been turbulent. First, the Glory Arcane joined forces to attack the Black Star Army's stronghold, but were repelled by Black Star. Then, the Beyond Grade A Association was established. The Three Universal Civilizations are now in the eye of the storm and have been the focus of attention of countless citizens and forces.
Today, the Federation of Light and the Arcane Church finally issued an official response to the Hila Rescue Battle that took place several months ago.
The two companies' press releases were worded differently but contained the same content, claiming that their alliance a few months ago was an "impulsive act born of a misunderstanding," and publicly apologizing to the Black Star Army, stating that they would bear all the losses and provide additional compensation.
In fact, several months ago, when the incident broke out, betting was set up in black markets around the world, with odds ranging from whether a cosmic civilization would bow down to the Black Star Army. The odds were huge, and most interstellar citizens believed that even if a cosmic civilization was wrong, it would still be stubborn and did not think that the Black Star Army could get an apology from the Glory and the Arcane, at most they would get private compensation.
Therefore, this statement caused quite a stir, surprising most interstellar citizens.
Throughout the history of the Three Universal Civilizations, they have only yielded to civilian organizations in very rare cases. After all, a public apology would damage the authority of a cosmic-level civilization. However, the Glory and the Arcane chose to yield this time, making the Black Star Army one of the very few private forces to enjoy this honor.
Not to be outdone, the Empire, following the statements from the Glory and the Arcane, officially opened the Evolution Totem business, announcing that the product would no longer be subject to quota controls and would officially enter the free market, where it could be bought and sold at will.
Countless civilizations had been eagerly anticipating this day for a long time, and they gave it their thumbs up. In an instant, a massive number of orders flooded the Black Star Army's mailboxes, and the Legion's stockpiled inventory began to be shipped out continuously. A huge amount of cash flow poured into the Legion's accounts like a surging river.
It's clear to everyone that the Crimson Dynasty's move was an attempt to get closer to Black Star. With Three Universal Civilizations simultaneously showing goodwill towards one person, Black Star's prestige and status have risen even higher in the eyes of others, and even the Beyond Grade A circle shares the same view.
Putting aside everything else, at least Han Xiao's influence as vice president of the Development Federation has been further consolidated.
Today's gamers certainly wouldn't miss such current events, and the discussion is going on endlessly in the Shattered World section of the forum:
[Qing Ningzi: The commander of the army still has a good reputation (.`▽'.)]
[Weiwen Shouming: Do any veteran players still remember version 1.0? Back then, who could have guessed that Black Star would become such an important NPC? Look at the main characters on those newbie planets back then, none of them amounted to anything like Black Star. They were all noobs.]
[Heji: Why am I suddenly feeling a little emotional? Four versions have already been released in the blink of an eye. It feels like watching my own child grow up (p′‵.)]
[The Army Commander's Big Dick: My son Black Star has the bearing of Great Emperor!]
[Zaisan Xuzhongshi: Upstairs, are you going to die?]
Players were already surprised when Han Xiao defeated twelve Beyond Grade A opponents. Having seen so much, they are now much calmer, at most making a few comments about the changes in Black Star over the past few versions.
As Glory and the Arcane fulfilled their deal, Han Xiao also kept his promise and released Tolain and Hedis.
The gateway to the Gaolu Star Cluster, Black Gate Star, is a closed airport terminal.
Officials from both the Glory and the Arcane were waiting there, the two teams clearly separated and ignoring each other.
This group came specifically to retrieve their respective prisoners, and for this purpose, they came to the Black Star Army's territory.
After a while, a Black Star fleet arrived from afar and docked at the pier.
With a whoosh, the main ship's hatch opened, and a team of mechanical soldiers carried the amber specimens of Tolain and Hedis off the ship, placing the two works of art on the ground. Han Xiao followed behind them.
Upon seeing this, the welcoming party of Glory and Arcane immediately stepped forward, surrounded Han Xiao, and respectfully greeted him.
"Lord Black Star."
"Hmm." Han Xiao glanced casually at everyone, and without any formalities, waved his hand and said, "Since you're all here, you should hurry up and take the person away."
With that, he gestured for everyone to step back, then used nanoparticles to block their vision. After a few minutes of hesitation, he finally popped the amber bubble encasing Tolain and Hedis.
Snap!
The two regained their freedom, but one of them stumbled and almost fell to the ground.
Seeing this, Han Xiao snorted and said coldly, "Glory and Arcane have redeemed you. Be careful in the future. If you cause trouble again and fall into my hands, don't blame me for taking some parts off you."
Tolain shuddered, involuntarily taking a few steps back, his face filled with lingering fear. His eyes were filled with terror as he looked at Han Xiao, and he could no longer maintain his tough stance.
These past few months have been a hellish experience. He felt that if things continued like this, he would eventually be driven mad by life in Amber. He never wanted to experience this feeling again and now just wanted to get as far away from Black Star as possible.
Hedis, standing to the side, was equally wary, but he managed to keep his expression from becoming inappropriate.
He was extremely disappointed, having thought he would at least gain some fame from this operation, but he never expected to fail.
Although being defeated by Black Star is nothing to be ashamed of, this label will probably stick with me for a long time.
He hasn't even come up with a nickname, and he doesn't have any noteworthy achievements. What is he supposed to say if someone asks him about his famous deeds in the future? Is he supposed to proudly say, "I was once imprisoned by Black Star...?"
Seeing the two of them standing there motionless, Han Xiao raised an eyebrow and said with a playful tone, "What, reluctant to leave? How about staying here for a few more months?"
Upon hearing this, the two immediately shuddered, not daring to utter any harsh words, and sheepishly returned to their own welcoming party, hurriedly boarding the spaceship and shutting themselves in.
Officials quickly took off, carrying their respective allies away.
Inside the Arcane spaceship, Tolain looked utterly dejected.
"Six Arcane came, but only one was caught. Why am I the unlucky one..."
Just as he was wallowing in self-pity, the spaceship received several communications from Saruman, Taylor, Motes, who had participated in the Hila Rescue Battle. Their images appeared remotely in front of him.
"Hehe, are you alright?" Saruman chuckled.
"I'm not good," Tolain said dejectedly.
"Don't be so pessimistic. We were imprisoned by Black Star before, but we've come to terms with it now," Taylor said with a smile, trying to comfort us.
"... You guys are really carefree."
"Once we get back, let's find a place to get together," Motes said in a deep voice.
Looking at the three smiling faces in front of him, filled with affection, Tolain suddenly understood.
Yes, we've all been to prison, so we have common topics to talk about. Could this be the tacit understanding between fellow inmates?
He hadn't been with the Arcane for long; his past was that of a wanted criminal who couldn't squeeze into the Arcane ' Beyond Grade A circle and was like an outsider.
Unexpectedly, being imprisoned by Black Star turned out to be a blessing in disguise, as he gained acceptance from a group of former inmates.
Tolain's mood suddenly improved.
I've finally found my people...