Harrison Moore, a renowned interstellar adventurer, dedicated his life to excavating relics and pursuing the unknown. Despite his limited abilities, he always managed to miraculously escape danger. Over the years, he discovered countless historical sites and left behind dozens of books. His fearless spirit of exploration (daring to go to extremes as long as he wouldn't die) attracted a large following in the universe, who regarded him as a spiritual leader and a guiding light.
During the World Tree War, Harrison was old and frail, in a semi-retired state. The Three Universal Civilizations, being the discovered ones, were caught off guard by the World Tree Civilization's surprise attack and suffered heavy losses from the outset. Because they did not know the origin of their enemy, all the civilizations that Explored Universe were basically only able to take the hits in the early stages, adopting a completely defensive posture and passively resisting the endless stream of invaders. Planet after planet was occupied by the World Tree and used as nourishment.
The Three Universal Civilizations exhausted all means to gather clues about the World Tree Civilization, the most crucial of which was the location of the World Tree itself.
The World Tree itself is a Universal Treasure. The World Tree Civilization obtained it during the agricultural and primitive era, which led to a distorted form of civilization. All the development of the civilization revolved around the World Tree, and countless people used every means to nourish and enhance this Universal Treasure.
Due to the unique nature of the World Tree, the problem can only be solved at its root by finding its location. Otherwise, no matter how many invaders are repelled, the World Tree can use the nutrients from countless planets to transform and nurture even more armies.
The World Tree's true form is rooted in Secondary Dimension World, hidden extremely deep, and like the former Netherland Dimension, it is concealed and sealed off. In that era, the Explored Universe basically a nationwide movement, and many volunteer explorers spontaneously organized themselves to search for the Secondary Dimension. Harrison also returned to the cause and joined them.
Through a series of coincidences, he became the first to discover the Secondary Dimension where the World Tree itself resided. Before sacrificing himself, he recorded the dimensional coordinates and threw them into the spatial storm of the Secondary Dimension World.
This coordinate system was like a message in a bottle adrift on a vast ocean, rising and falling, until it finally fell into the hands of Three Universal Civilizations. Harrison's story was thus passed down, and the world learned of his achievements.
--These are Harrison's appearances in his later past lives.
In this day and age, Harrison is just a young, novice explorer. His strong curiosity and desire for adventure led him to give up the opportunity to inherit a multi-million dollar fortune and resolutely step into this bleak industry.
As a newcomer to this archaeological exploration team, Harrison's intuition was clearly not very convincing. His teammates, who all possessed the spirit of not leaving empty-handed... cough, to get to the bottom of things, unsurprisingly ignored Harrison's warnings.
Harrison had no choice, and besides, his curiosity outweighed his vigilance, so he had to suppress his vague worries and continue to follow the team.
A scavenger spaceship pierced through a sandstorm high in the sky, hovering a hundred meters above, and dropped a multi-functional burrowing vehicle. Its outer armor was covered with colorful and unrestrained graffiti, clearly having undergone artistic processing by this group of scavengers with limited cultural knowledge.
The group boarded the drilling vehicle and, following the guidance of the detection radar, broke through the ground, descending rapidly to approach the underground cavity on the map.
Because these underground relics have existed for so long, crustal changes have made their structures extremely unstable, and they are generally at risk of collapse. Therefore, scavengers will not crawl directly into the passage from the side; they will always choose to enter through the main entrance.
Wow!
Soon, the drill tip finally broke through the rock strata and entered a cavity. All the team members got out, turned on their searchlights, and observed their surroundings.
This is an underground cave with signs of artificial excavation, about seven or eight meters high. At the end of the cave is a tightly closed metal door, which is suspected to be the entrance to this underground ruin.
The short explorer jogged over, took out his instruments, and scanned the metal door. He muttered, "Well-preserved, with little sign of rust. This is a high-strength alloy. Based on the preliminary detection, the material's synthesis technology is at least at the galaxy level. However, there's no matching material record in the database..."
Upon hearing this, everyone became even more excited. The higher the level of the lost civilization, the more items in the ruins they could sell on the black market.
However, this also means there are more unknown risks.
"Is there an energy reaction inside?" the captain asked.
"Let me see... Hmm, absolutely nothing. I guess the energy here is exhausted. Even if there are traps or defensive measures, they're all disabled."
"Let's go in and take a look." The captain instructed, "Everyone be careful. No one is allowed to deactivate their shields without my order."
The group used a laser to cut open the gate and crept inside, groping their way forward. The routes inside were intricate and the environment resembled a large underground military base.
Harrison walked up to a sign, wiped off the dust, and tried to get the translator to read the text, but it couldn't recognize it.
"There's no record of this script in the database, so we can confirm that this is the remains of a civilization that has never been discovered before," Harrison said in the channel.
"What a lucky day! No wonder A Xiang finally responded to my daily greetings that I've been sending for months," the diminutive explorer exclaimed excitedly.
"What did she say?" Harrison asked curiously.
She said "Mmm."
Harrison: "... Good luck."
The group chatted as they explored, proceeding cautiously but finding no danger. Only then did they dare to search each room, but they only found living facilities. There was no special equipment, no text documents left behind, not even the power source or network host. There wasn't even a single defensive structure. It seemed the base had been abandoned long ago, West Capital had been removed.
The flames of excitement in everyone's hearts were extinguished as if doused with a bucket of cold water.
"No way! We discovered an unknown ruin, but we didn't find anything of value. Did we just make a wasted trip?" the short explorer wailed.
"It wasn't a complete waste of time. At least we discovered a new language and an unknown civilization that once existed." Harrison waved the translator in his hand; he had already recorded the text on all the signs he encountered along the way.
"What's the use of this kind of archaeological finding? Do they think we're historians?" someone couldn't help but complain. "If it weren't for the chance to dig up something valuable, who would want to come to this godforsaken place?"
The scavengers had little sense of propriety; their patience quickly ran out, and they searched faster and faster until only one room remained, located at the core of the base's base.
The group pushed open the door and went inside, all taking a sudden, sharp breath.
A triangular object, about three or four meters high, was embedded in a recess in the floor in the center of the room. It was completely black and smooth as a mirror, looking somewhat like obsidian, but the detection showed that it was a metal material. On one side, there was a raised area with a display screen on it.
The room contained only this one thing; nothing else. It was like a private storage room.
"Haha, finally we've made some progress."
What is this?
The crowd gathered around excitedly, touching and tapping it here and there. Although they didn't know what it was, judging from its condition, they were sure it would sell well on the black market if packaged properly.
The diminutive explorer went to the triangular prism's display screen and pressed a few buttons, but there was no response. He fumbled around for a bit and suddenly discovered a movable panel next to the display screen. Lifting it revealed a socket, which seemed to be used for charging.
"Hmm... I've never seen an interface of this shape before, but there shouldn't be any problems." The diminutive explorer pondered for a moment, then took out his instruments and got to work, quickly modifying an energy transmission line to fit the connector.
He was preparing to charge the triangular device when Harrison, who had been frowning the whole time, spoke up instinctively.
"Wait a minute!"
Everyone turned to look at him.
What's wrong with you now?
"I... I think it's better to be cautious. Nobody knows what this device does. What if it's a weapon that's run out of energy?"
Harrison hesitated. When he saw the triangular object, he felt a sudden pang of fear, as if a voice inside him was warning him that it was dangerous. His innate intuition had never been so strong before.
"Don't worry, I just checked it. It's actually a sophisticated, one-time-use safe device. It'll destroy itself if you open it. The innermost layer is made of a material that blocks detection, so I don't know what's inside," the short detective said without turning his head.
As he spoke, he directly plugged the connector into the interface, inputting a small amount of energy. The display screen of the triangular device lit up, and a password input interface popped up.
The captain leaned over for a look, "Can the code be cracked?"
The diminutive explorer fiddled with another device for a while, then confidently stated, "The password for this security device changes in real time. It requires access to a quantum network and then deciphering it using virtual technology... The tools I have now aren't up to par, but with a more powerful decryption device, it can definitely be opened."
"I see..."
The captain hesitated for a moment, then said, "How about we don't open it? You said it yourself, this thing is disposable. If what's inside isn't valuable, we'll actually lose money. We might as well just put this safe up for auction on the black market and let someone else draw the winnings. Anyway, this kind of thing is quite common on the black market..."
"Can we discuss this later?" Harrison seemed inexplicably uneasy. "Let's get out of here quickly; I have a bad feeling..."
When has your intuition ever been good?
The captain glared at him, but didn't refute his suggestion, and told everyone to move the device onto the drilling rig.
The only valuable item in the ruins was this one. Without hesitation, the group left with the triangular device and returned to their spaceship.
Suddenly, one of the team members said thoughtfully:
"This is really strange. Logically speaking, since there are relics left by an unknown civilization on this planet, there should be other traces as well. But the detection results only show this one, which doesn't make sense. Could it be that the civilization only dug an underground facility on this planet?"
"You're right, I felt something was off earlier," another person agreed.
Just then, the short surveyor glanced at the radar screen, exclaimed in surprise, "Captain, that ruin just collapsed!"
Everyone rushed over to take a look, and the underground cavity in the scene had been filled in and disappeared without a trace, making it impossible to go back.
"That's strange..."
The captain muttered something, shook his head, and ordered, "Never mind that for now. Mark this planet, and let's go to the nearest black market planet to get an estimate for today's haul."
Upon hearing this, everyone acted quickly without much thought, piloting their spaceships away from the planet.
Harrison stood alone by the porthole, gazing at the planet that was growing smaller and smaller in his line of sight, when suddenly a chill ran down his spine.
All the signs gave him the feeling that the purpose of this strange ruin was specifically to store this triangular device.
The ruins collapsed immediately after they left, as if they had been silently waiting for outsiders to take them away...
Harrison couldn't help but glance back.
In his view, the triangular device lay quietly in the rear cabin, like a Pandora's box waiting to be opened.
The Black Star Cup opening ceremony was a complete success, and the qualifiers were in full swing the next day. The Legion was incredibly lively, with hundreds of millions of members active on the field, which also ignited the enthusiasm of audiences throughout the universe.
With so many events, each media outlet provides live streaming and video replay capabilities around the clock. Viewers can freely adjust their cameras and choose to watch any event, venue, or athlete. Countless viewers happily watch all day long with their communication devices in hand.
The Black Star Cup maintains a very high viewership rating across the universe. Currently, its average viewership in various regions is second only to the news broadcasts of the Three Universal Civilizations or local civilizations.
The Black Star Cup organizing department, which was established just over two months ago, compiled statistics showing that the highest-rated events, besides the various combat competitions in the three groups of Grade B, Grade A, and Immortals, were entertainment-oriented events, especially talent shows, singing, dancing, and talk shows. Countless interstellar citizens enjoyed watching superhumans, who are rarely seen in daily life, showcase their unique talents on screen.
Many talented contestants have attracted a large following, and online viewers have been debating the merits and demerits of each contestant... This proves that, regardless of the era, talent shows are never short of topics.
As Han Xiao predicted, the competitions with the lowest viewership were indeed the technical ones, such as the mechanical repair, mechanical modification, and blueprint drawing competitions that Reynold had applied for...
Those who are willing to watch tech geeks operate machinery are indeed a very small minority.
However, Han Xiao didn't care. He treated those technical projects as pure selections to discover potential talents in various fields for the legion and to replenish fresh blood.
The path to advancement in the Legion has always been relatively clear, with rank and position linked. Merit can be earned, or seniority can be accumulated. The Black Star Cup provides another shortcut to advancement, where the most capable rise to the top. The Legion members are so enthusiastic because this model allows many to see more opportunities, injecting new vitality into the Legion.
Although players are assigned to specific groups, most prefer to join the regular rank groups and have fun interacting with the NPCs.
As the Evolution Badge shone brightly in lower-level group battles, more and more players began purchasing this item, causing sales to surge rapidly in a short period of time.
Using the Evolution Badge in matches below Grade B can give players a huge advantage, but it doesn't guarantee a win. Aberrations are powerful in melee combat, but their weaknesses are also obvious: their magic and mind resistances are drastically reduced, and their short range makes them extremely easy to kite, while also causing them to continuously lose health.
Against some telekinetic masters and magicians, there are also players who have undergone aberration and are repeatedly beaten to a pulp.
In the Grade B group, the Evolution Badge is not as effective, Grade B superhumans have the strength to directly confront the Extreme Aberration.
While the competition was in full swing, with all sorts of players vying for attention, the factions of other players in the Shattered World were much quieter.
Players from various countries watched with envy and resentment as nearly ten million legion players enjoyed themselves immensely, their eyes red and their handkerchiefs biting.
Forget about participating, we're not even eligible to place a bet!
The word "conformity" can be broken down into five parts. "People." Most people have this mentality, and this effect is even more pronounced among players who chase excitement and fun.
Everyone's having so much fun, I can't leave without joining in!
Compared to the faction wars of more than half a year ago, even more ordinary players from various countries have been shaken by the Black Star Cup League. With this blow, a new hole has been added to the walls of many factions.
Even the Infinite Financial Group had a large number of people poached, but Sorokin keeping a low profile now, saying he's fine.
The most painful situation is for foreign clubs from other factions. They did nothing this time, yet they have to watch helplessly as ordinary players leave again, without even being able to find a reason to retain them. They feel like crying but have no tears left.
What are we going to do now?! You guys are really going to do this!
Are they trying to force us to join the Party?!
Black Star Army! You've gone too far!
Even a clay figure has a temper; you dare push me any further!
If you push me any further, I'll really join you!