The Rapier Guild's spaceship slowly flew through the universe. Inside the cabin, the Melancholy Prince led the guild members around a 3D star map, analyzing the route.
We are now in this area...
The Melancholy Prince pointed a finger at the star map, drawing a glowing path that circled a Desolate Universe Belt at the edge of the star field, continuing until he crossed the star field's border. He said:
"To leave the star system, we can only travel through the Desolate Universe Belt. The Three Universal Civilizations ' border defenses always have loopholes. Although we have Three Universal Civilizations deployment and patrol maps, we still need to rely on luck..."
As the guild leader explained the plan, the guild members present all nodded in agreement.
After accepting an anonymous offer of 5 million Enas, the Melancholy Prince devised several plans to successfully smuggle the virus out, among which seizing upon a loophole in the defenses of the Three Universal Civilizations and sneaking away was a relatively feasible approach.
In order to avoid being locked onto by the Three Universal Civilizations, the Rapier Guild has severed public links and kept its spaceships in Stealth mode.
Logically, this would mean everyone would be deprived of outside information, essentially becoming blind. However, the Melancholy Prince utilized his status as a player, logging into the forum and secretly hiring other players to provide intelligence via private chat. This is how the deployment and patrol maps of the Three Universal Civilizations in the Ancient Star Desert came about—even with the quantum network connection severed, he still had sources of intelligence to monitor external movements.
In this way, not only can the Three Universal Civilizations be prevented from locking nodes through the network, but the player can also receive information from the outside world at any time. Compared with normal people, the player does have a huge advantage, so it is not surprising that the Keppel Financial Group specifically hired the Immortals.
At this moment, a player spoke up, "Guild Leader, the closer we get to the border, the denser the space monitoring buoys become. If we fail and are discovered, our spaceship will definitely be seized. We only have one chance to catch a loophole in the patrols of the Three Universal Civilizations."
So we have Plan B.
The Melancholy Prince, with a confident expression, chuckled:
"Once we are spotted by buoys or patrol forces, we will employ infiltration tactics, leaving only a few people in the spaceship while the rest log off. Once the spaceship is locked in the warehouse, the remaining personnel will notify us to log back on in the vehicle and infiltrate the enemy base. This way, we can smuggle the virus-infected communicator inside."
Everyone nodded in agreement. This tactic also leverages the player's characteristics, using the online/offline mechanism to create a time difference, making it very suitable for missions such as stealth, ambush, and smuggling.
There are also backup plans that have been exposed, so the only option is to painfully abandon the spaceship, fight a bloody battle to the death, and then resurrect at the designated base. In this way, we can still think of other ways to carry out the mission and have many opportunities to try and fail... Anyway, the reward is 5 million, and as long as we can complete the mission, buying another spaceship is very easy.
With so many advantages, the Rapier Guild members present were all full of confidence in completing the mission, as if they could see 5 million Enas beckoning to them.
As for the possibility of becoming wanted criminals after their scheme is exposed, no one cares much. They've always been involved in the gray market, as black as coal, and never intended to clean up their act. Becoming a wanted criminal can even trigger milestone missions; the higher the bounty, the greater the reward.
The losses caused to ordinary people by the leaked virus are of little concern to them; instead, there is a sense of excitement in pushing the times forward. Most of the players who support the spread of the disaster today share this sentiment.
The Melancholy Prince, full of confidence, smiled and said:
"Alright, since everyone agrees, let's proceed with this plan. Since we can't use the stargate, we'll spend a considerable amount of time on the road, and we expect to enter the Desolate Universe Belt in seven days. Now, I..."
Just then, before he could finish speaking, the spaceship's alarm suddenly sounded.
"Waaaaah--Warning! Spacetime stability in this area prevents jumps. Automatically exiting jump mode!"
The ship shook violently, and everyone was caught off guard by the sudden change. They were all knocked to the ground and got up with bewildered expressions.
"What's going on? There's a time-space anchor here? Whose trap have we fallen into?"
The Melancholy Prince was startled and hurriedly checked the radar screen.
At this moment, dots of light suddenly appeared on the radar screen, deactivating the stealth mode and forming a pocket-shaped semi-encirclement, surrounding his spaceship in the middle.
Everyone rushed to the porthole, glanced at the starry sky outside, and suddenly their expressions changed drastically.
All around them were imperial warships, their cannons all aimed at their spaceship.
"The Crimson Dynasty? Are they here to capture us?!"
The Melancholy Prince and his guild members immediately panicked.
"Could our whereabouts have been exposed? But we didn't hit any buoys on the way! And how did they know we were planning to smuggle the virus across the border!"
After a few seconds of stunned silence, the Melancholy Prince suddenly snapped out of his daze and hurriedly shouted:
"Stop spacing out, everyone log off immediately, or we'll get..."
Before he could finish speaking, a soft voice suddenly rang out from behind them.
"Don't be influenced by anything?"
Everyone froze, their necks stiffly turning to look at the center of the cabin.
A tall, black figure suddenly appeared inside the spaceship, his eyes flashing with electricity as he indifferently surveyed them.
And this face is all too familiar to players!
"Black, Black Star!!"
The Melancholy Prince was utterly horrified.
Everyone present was stunned. They had thought that even if someone came to capture them, it would only be some ordinary fleet and superhuman warriors. No one expected that it would be a big shot like Black Star who would personally come forward!
Amidst the panic, the Melancholy Prince also felt a subtle sense of being flattered.
The next moment, a glint flashed in Han Xiao's eyes, and an aura carrying dazzling arcs of Tu Shu suddenly erupted.
Bang!
The energy shockwave spread out, slamming everyone against the wall.
Han Xiao controlled the damage; this attack wasn't very powerful, its main purpose being to put the player into combat and prevent them from logging off at will.
"I'll fight you to the death!" The Melancholy Prince gritted his teeth, drew a slender, gleaming silver alloy rapier, and swiftly thrust it toward Han Xiao's throat.
Players are fearless and dare to attack anyone, even powerful opponents. Surrender is out of the question. The Melancholy Prince would love to be killed by Black Star so he can resurrect elsewhere, such as in his bound main city, without being captured.
However, this little trick was useless against Han Xiao, who was well aware of the players' characteristics.
He casually grabbed the rapier, snapped the blade in half with a snap, then grabbed the Melancholy Prince's head with his large hand and slammed him to the ground, causing the prince to suffer a dizzying and shocking negative status effect.
Han Xiao carefully controlled his strength, afraid of accidentally killing his opponent. There was no way around it; although the player was much stronger than before, he was still as fragile as a bubble in front of him.
Han Xiao didn't spare the others either. Without even using machinery, he relied solely on his current physical abilities to severely injure the group of players with just a few punches and kicks. Then, he took out the Immortal Binding Rope... cough, electromagnetic binding chains, and bound everyone tightly.
Imperial warships then surrounded the spaceship, connected it to the ship, and firmly controlled it. Imperial soldiers landed and looted the spaceship.
A large pile of mechanical parts was stacked into a small mountain. Han Xiao inspected them and found several communicators infected with the virus. He glanced at the dejected and Melancholy Prince and his entourage, and slowly said:
"You are suspected of smuggling Virtual Mutiny Virus, endangering public safety and cosmic order. Now you have been caught red-handed and formally arrested. Do you have anything to say in your defense?"
"No, I am terribly sinful. A person like me doesn't deserve to live in this world. I beg for the death penalty!"
The Melancholy Prince spoke with righteous indignation; anyone who didn't know better would think he was about to die a martyr.
"You're ugly but dreamy, you shameless rascal..." Han Xiao secretly rolled his eyes.
At this moment, he suddenly paused, chuckled softly, and spoke first:
"Aren't you curious why the Empire knew you had been hired all along and set a trap here?"
Upon hearing this, the members of the Rapier Guild realized that this was a black market hire, which should have been very secretive and prevented any leaks.
"Have you been monitoring our communications?" the Melancholy Prince guessed cautiously.
"No." Han Xiao shook his head.
"So... someone tipped them off?"
"No, not at all."
"What is that?" the Melancholy Prince asked, puzzled.
Han Xiao smiled, meeting the curious gazes of the crowd, and chuckled, "That's because... the people who hired you are the Empire."
"!!"
These words struck like a bolt from the blue. The Melancholy Prince and his entourage were stunned, their jaws nearly dropping to the ground, their eyes bulging in shock.
"What did you say?"
The Melancholy Prince nearly jumped up in shock, his face filled with disbelief.
"Our anonymous employer is Three Universal Civilizations?! How is that possible? What reason do you have to do this?!"
Han Xiao chuckled and casually made up a story:
"What do you think? The Three Universal Civilizations knew long ago that there would be profit-driven individuals who would disregard the Three Universal Civilizations picture and try to hoard and smuggle the virus. That's why they sent people to spread recruitment information on the black market, just to expose these troublemakers and make them easier to catch... Do you really think that with disaster looming, the Three Universal Civilizations would let the black market get away with it?"
The Melancholy Prince stared in disbelief, overwhelmed by a mix of emotions: frustration at being tricked, anger at being manipulated, and regret at falling into a trap. At that moment, all he wanted to do was roar to the heavens.
--This is entrapment!
Looking at the grief-stricken expressions on everyone's faces, Han Xiao grew even more amused.
The players' employers were certainly not the Three Universal Civilizations, but he said it on purpose to give the players the impression of entrapment.
As long as these people post, it will calm down those envious, chaotic, and evil players. Because no one can guarantee whether the jobs they receive on the black market are genuine or traps set by the Three Universal Civilizations. With such preconceived suspicions, a large number of players who dare to take risks and cause trouble will definitely be eliminated.
By engaging this group of people, we can leverage their influence as role models, achieving twice the result with half the effort and saving a lot of energy.
In short, this is a drastic measure.
Master Han wasn't just bluffing; in fact, he also intended to genuinely implement a entrapment enforcement scheme.
However, to accomplish this, the black market channels must first be controlled; otherwise, the black market, in order to maintain its own reputation, will definitely sabotage the plan and refuse to cooperate.
Various thoughts flashed through his mind. Han Xiao took out the Space-Time Amber and gave everyone a kind smile:
"Since the evidence is conclusive, then... you can begin your sentence."
The Melancholy Prince was immediately terrified, his face filled with panic, and he struggled desperately.
"No, no, no... Please, please don't use the Space-Time Amber! I beg for the death penalty, let me die! You... you don't come any closer—"
Unfortunately, the Melancholy Prince's struggles were futile. Under the panicked gazes of the others, his expression froze, and he was trapped in the Space-Time Amber.
Han Xiao used the same method to seal away all the Rapier Guild players who were rolling on the ground begging for death, wiping out the entire guild in one fell swoop.
"That's enough; it'll be enough to intimidate the other players."
Han Xiao clapped his hands.
He had already tested the effects of the Space-Time Amber on players. Players' consciousness could still freely log in and out, but their bodies would not disappear like when they logged out normally. Instead, they would be fixed inside the amber... which meant they could not change their login location. No matter how many times a player logged in, they could only return to the body sealed by the amber.
This means that once a player is sealed by the Space-Time Amber, they will be unable to use their own unique characteristics to escape imprisonment through tricks like logging off, logging back in, or respawning. It's like being punished for cheating; the punishment is enforced, leaving them immobilized and unable to escape.
These troublemakers couldn't possibly have been unaware of the consequences of being caught, yet they possessed an inexplicable confidence. Firstly, they believed that death meant resurrection elsewhere, making their chances of being caught seem slim. Secondly, they harbored wishful thinking; since disaster hadn't befallen them, everyone assumed they were lucky.
Han Xiao wasn't surprised by this. Just like some people who know they'll be banned but still want to cheat, they got punished for it.
He wasn't going to easily release the Rapier Guild; he was using this Thunder approach to intimidate others, to make an example of them, to show others the consequences of near-banning accounts, and to curb the unhealthy trends on the player forums, weeding out the bad apples and preventing others from corrupting potential good players.
Similarly, he wasn't worried about these players not posting on the forum—with their bodies sealed, they couldn't do anything else, so what else could they do besides chat in the group?
Moreover, these people have been defeated by me, and given the players' personalities, they will most likely seek revenge. If they believe my deception, then the only means of revenge they can use is to expose the so-called entrapment, thereby disrupting the actions of the Three Universal Civilizations.
The situation is under control.
Han Xiao shook his head and smiled, then summoned Phillip to hack into the spaceship's AI and retrieve all communication records.
The true identity of this anonymous employer is also a target of his investigation.
Phillip was very efficient; following the clues from the quantum network, he quickly found a lead on the anonymous employer.
"Master, I've found it. This job posting was issued by a brokerage organization acting as the intermediary guarantor. This organization is one of the black market managers, with an excellent reputation and credibility, trusted by countless black market mercenaries and employers—you could think of it as a black market version of the Mercenary Alliance. So they should have clues about this employer. However, this brokerage organization has been a black market manager for many years, and as a long-established intermediary guarantor, they won't leak the employer's information..."
Han Xiao glanced at the intelligence report and nodded to himself.
He had heard of this black market brokerage organization before; it was a highly reputable black market management company, and many black market jobs came from here.
It can be said that although these organizations claim to be neutral bystanders, without their tacit approval, those anonymous hires targeting the virus would not be able to circulate on the black market at all.
They undoubtedly played a part in the crimes of fueling the flames.
"Looks like we need to take down this black market manager first..."
Han Xiao's eyes flashed, and he turned to pat the captain on the shoulder.
"Let's go. Our destination is the headquarters of this brokerage organization in the Ancient Star Desert."
at the same time.
Just as the Imperial fleet was heading to its next destination, the Melancholy Prince, sealed in the Space-Time Amber, couldn't stand it and posted on the forum without saying a word.
Just as Han Xiao had predicted, the Melancholy Prince, speaking as a victim and harboring the intention of warning others and retaliating against the Three Universal Civilizations Three Universal Civilizations, angrily exposed their "entrapment" operation...