After meeting Harrison, Han Xiao left the prison and ran back to the research institute, where he sought out the Beyond Grade A mechanics.
Are you going on a field assignment?
Upon hearing this news, Manison and other Beyond Grade A mechanics were somewhat surprised, wondering why Black Star would abandon his excellent research and development work to do such manual labor.
"What kind of attitude is that? I responded to the call of the Three Universal Civilizations, led by example, and charged ahead. I am responsible from head to toe." Han Xiao said righteously.
"Then go ahead and go. What do you want with us?" Manison didn't bother to reply, glancing at Han Xiao from head to toe, guessing Black Star's plans.
Black Star is the type of guy who won't act unless he sees a benefit; he definitely won't carry out field missions without any reward. He thinks Black Star's actions are not only about finding the virus's core, but also about carrying out a campaign against the various forces in the Ancient Star Desert and taking the opportunity to infiltrate them.
To be honest, Manison initially had the same idea, but abandoned it after careful consideration.
The Three Universal Civilizations would never allow Beyond Grade A to take the opportunity to expand its power. Their actions would likely only benefit others in the end. Therefore, the usually unruly Mechanic Emperor is now quietly developing a three-piece antivirus suite and doesn't want to cause trouble... Moreover, the attraction of new technology to it is far greater than expanding its power.
At this moment, Han Xiao chuckled, rubbed two fingers together, and said confidently:
"Since you don't need to fight anyway, why don't you lend me some mechanical troops?"
Everyone fell silent.
Lending you troops is like throwing lambs to the slaughter; how could you possibly get them back?
You're not just borrowing them, you're just trying to covet our soldiers, you're despicable!
How much do you want?
"Well, I don't ask for much. This is mainly a moment for the Three Universal Civilizations to see your sense of justice. Just give what you think is appropriate, but don't exceed fifty million per person. I'd feel bad if it were too much." Han Xiao waved his hand modestly.
Bah! A mechanized army of fifty million? You're dreaming!
You're still embarrassed? How shameless!
Everyone secretly grumbled, but did not refuse Han Xiao's request. The Three Universal Civilizations allies and several neutral Beyond Grade A mechanics lent out a number of ordinary mechanical soldiers, totaling about eight million.
Old Manison the most generous, lending out 2.5 million mechanized troops with a wave of his hand; this number was just a drop in the ocean for him.
The stingiest one was "Mechanical Catastrophe" Francisco, who only gave him five thousand troops, and even then he was reluctant and hesitant. Even Jack Gonitz, a mechanized warrior who was not proficient in mechanical manufacturing, gave him more.
Beyond Grade A mechanics have vast resources, so a few mechanical soldiers are nothing to them. Knowing they can't be retrieved, they simply consider them battle losses. In contrast, Black Star's face must be given, and this move is also to show the Three Universal Civilizations our attitude, indicating that although we are too lazy to take action, we strongly support field operations.
Han Xiao was satisfied as he put away the troops "sponsored" by everyone. Although these soldiers were nothing to him, he just liked to see these Beyond Grade A soldiers gritting their teeth and looking helpless.
Upon arriving at the Starport dock, Han Xiao God and took over command authority from the captain. From now on, he would temporarily command the three Imperial fleets.
After a while, the warden hurriedly arrived with Harrison and his entourage.
"Lord Black Star, the paperwork is complete. These people are now in your possession."
The warden spoke respectfully.
"Okay." Han Xiao nodded, looked at Harrison and the others who were beaming with joy, and said, "You're not free yet. From now on, you'll be following my lead. If you cause any trouble, I'll throw you back into prison, understand?"
"Clear!"
Before Harrison could even speak, his teammates eagerly shouted out, afraid that a slow response would cost them their only chance.
Han Xiao nodded, and after seeing the warden off, he ordered the ship to set sail.
The three fleets slowly ascended into the air, departing from the disaster command centers of the Three Universal Civilizations and disappearing into the depths of space.
At this moment, the captain asked:
"Lord Black Star, where are we going now?"
"How do you usually operate?" Han Xiao asked in return.
"We usually patrol the Desolate Universe Belt, or go to inspect planets that have been confirmed to have signs of infection..."
Today, the Ancient Star Desert civilizations at all levels have set up checkpoints at stargate stations, borders of their jurisdictions, and transportation hub planets, where all passing ships must undergo inspection. As for those unknown ships that bypass stargate stations and move freely in the Desolate Universe Belt, as long as they connect to the star field's public link, the Three Universal Civilizations can trace their IP addresses, locate them, and send people to intercept and inspect them. This is the original intention of maintaining uninterrupted network connectivity within the star field, and most of the field fleets are carrying out such missions.
Therefore, the biggest problem is that those ships that have blocked public links and entered stealth mode can only be detected by the dense network of space monitoring buoys in the star system.
Let me think about it...
After learning about the situation, Han Xiao pretended to ponder, but actually opened the player forum and took a look.
The outbreak of the Intelligence Plague has drawn players' attention to the Ancient Star Desert, and discussions about the Ancient Star Desert are now top-ranked hot posts on various forums.
Because the vast majority of players were in the Shattered World, the Ancient Star Desert was immediately sealed off after the Intelligence Plague occurred, preventing outside players from intervening and forcing them to vent their intense curiosity through discussions.
Han Xiao opened the pinned post, and the players' discussion jumped into view.
[Fart-Bulging Tights: I knew it! The first two versions had more than one main event, and 4.0 is no exception. The Intelligence Plague is the main event of the second version.]
[Quadratic Formula: But we can't participate in this main storyline. We can't even enter the Ancient Star Desert. Are we just supposed to watch from the sidelines?]
[Three Gay Men Under the Moon: Didn't you watch the latest episode of "Galaxy Times"? The program made a reasonable guess. They said that this version's main storyline couldn't possibly be something we'd see again; there's definitely a chance for us to participate. So, the possibility of a virus leak is very high. Only in this way could the rest of us have a chance to get involved.]
[Four-Eyed Reasoning Emperor: You're right. There are many missions on the black market right now, all hiring people to try and sneak into the Ancient Star Desert. We players can do the same. Based on our assessment of the main storyline's impact in the previous two versions, this Intelligence Plague event might be something we can push forward. If someone successfully leaks the virus, we can make this event sweep across the entire universe!]
[The Undead Don't Wear Underwear: We've let disaster spread throughout the universe? It's truly the Fourth Calamity! _(:з"∠)_]
[Sun Knight: This is so pathetic! Wouldn't it have been better to stop the disaster? Why do you have to stir up trouble? Don't you have any conscience?!]
[Shi Zhenxiang: That's right, that's right! Did you even teach the legion commander? How can we hold back and let the lives of the Galaxy be ruined?]
In the post, players were divided into several factions, discussing and hurling insults at each other, their emotions running high.
Players are unaware that "Intelligence Plague" is merely a backstory from the previous game, mistakenly believing it to be part of the main storyline of version 4.0. Currently, most players are in the Shattered World and unable to access the Ancient Star Desert, causing many to worry about missing out on the main storyline.
Some believe the main storyline won't be a mere interlude, thus concluding that the Intelligence Plague event won't need to be pushed forward and will be revealed on its own.
Others felt that this main storyline needed to be fought for, that deliberately leaking the virus and letting the disaster spread would allow them to obtain a grand, cosmic-level main storyline.
Among the players across the universe, there are quite a few who support pushing for disaster. Some do it to participate in the main storyline, some to earn rewards, and others simply for fun, wanting to create a big news story, purely wanting to see the world burn, fearing nothing more than chaos.
'No wonder it's the Cancer of the Universe...' Han Xiao shook his head inwardly.
As Chaosists grow stronger, their negative impact on the cosmic environment will become increasingly apparent.
However, he was also somewhat relieved. If the players in his previous life had encountered the Intelligence Plague, probably half of them would have supported pushing for the disaster. But now, with the Black Star Army as a guide, more people are considering the bigger picture and opposing the disaster. The number of lawless, chaotic, and evil players is obviously much smaller than in his previous life.
'My faction-guiding plan is having some effect.'
Han Xiao felt gratified.
He glanced at the other posts on the forum, then his gaze suddenly locked onto one titled "Ancient Star Desert Player Benefits! A Hired Mission with a Reward of 5 Million."
The poster proudly shared a screenshot of a mission: smuggling Virtual Mutiny Virus out of the Ancient Star Desert for a reward of 5 million Enas. This is a huge sum for players, enough to buy a dozen small to medium-sized warships.
Seeing that players who stayed in the Ancient Star Desert had the opportunity to make a lot of money, many comments below expressed envy.
Han Xiao glanced at the ID that posted the message, which was "Melancholy Prince," and narrowed his eyes.
A reward of five million, plus a deposit, seems a bit suspicious... This appears to be specifically targeting players, and the employer behind the scenes must have summarized some characteristics of the players.
'Hmph, the players who remained in the Ancient Star Desert really couldn't hold back any longer. We must use swift Thunder measures to curb this evil trend of supporting disaster.'
Han Xiao made a decision in his mind to make an example of him. This Melancholy Prince promoted his mercenary missions so high-profile was undoubtedly an excellent target.
Only by dealing with him Thunder and showing other players the consequences of causing trouble can we deter many from acting rashly, correct the prevailing atmosphere, and reduce the number of people who dare to cause trouble.
At the same time, we can also follow the clues to investigate the Melancholy Prince's anonymous employer. After all, without buying and selling, there would be no killing. Mercenaries are just following orders. Only by finding out the mastermind behind the scenes can we deter the villains.
Although the Melancholy Prince did not reveal his coordinates, since the other party is a mercenary, there must be records of his whereabouts in interstellar space. As long as the most recent records are locked, the approximate search area can be determined. For a Peak Beyond Grade A virtual mechanic, this is just a piece of cake.
While information about the Ancient Star Desert was blocked, the player forum remained unaffected. With this additional intelligence network, Han Xiao could obtain information that others could not.
'Oh, and while we're at it, we also need to find the black market administrator in the Ancient Star Desert. These mercenary missions for smuggling viruses are all posted through the black market. If we can control this channel, we can monitor the movements of those restless forces and cut off one of their hiring routes.'
Han Xiao's eyes flashed.
If the black market administrators of the Ancient Star Desert do not cooperate, they have the "imperial sword" in their hands and do not need to be lenient. Even the Three Universal Civilizations would be happy to have someone temporarily control the black market channels to reduce the variables of disaster.
With this in mind, Han Xiao had a clear objective and turned to look at the captain.
"We'll split up. The main team, follow me. We're going to catch a few thugs."
In a desolate, Desolate Universe Belt Ancient Star Desert, an interstellar fortress floats in the outer space of a barren planet. Ships patrol nearby, their outer armor bearing the same emblem, a pattern resembling a howling wolf's head.
This symbol represents an interstellar organization called the Keppel Financial Group. On the surface, it is a legitimate consortium, but in reality, it is a black market arms dealer in the Ancient Star Desert, operating a gray business of arms resale.
The organization is family-run, and its leaders are all members of the Keppel Family. The current leader of the organization is Keppel V, who has some beastman blood and a head that resembles a werewolf.
At this very moment, in the chief's office of the Keppel Financial Group fortress, Keppel V received a capable official who had just returned.
"I put you in charge of spreading anonymous hires on the black market. Have you completed the mission?" Keppel V asked in a deep voice.
"It's done. Many black market mercenaries have accepted the mission and are willing to secretly transport the Virtual Mutiny Virus out of the country."
"Excellent! The Virtual Mutiny Virus is a powerful weapon; it will definitely have a market in the future, and we need to master it!"
As a black market arms dealer, the Keppel Financial Group had no reason to let go of such a powerful weapon as Virtual Mutiny Virus; it was purely a business consideration, unrelated to any other factors.
"Boss, there's one more thing. I specifically hired some Immortals Mercenary Groups. I think they have a higher chance of completing the mission."
"Well done! The Immortals are greedy and born mercenaries; they'd risk their lives for enough money. Moreover, their race possesses an unknown method of information exchange, unaffected by the quantum network. Utilizing their abilities can increase the success rate of our plan. Just one out there can create Infinite of virus clones!"
Keppel V was very satisfied with the results of his subordinates' work.
All major factions have studied and documented the characteristics of players, and have more or less summarized some patterns. The Keppel Financial Group is no exception, and has mastered some simple methods to exploit players.
Currently, the Ancient Star Desert is under lockdown, and various shady forces are subject to thorough investigation by advanced civilizations at any time. The Keppel Financial Group has decided to transfer its assets to the outside world and destroy evidence of its shady operations, so it is determined to transport weapons, including the Virtual Mutiny Virus, out of the star system.