As the closing ceremony concluded, spaceships took off, carrying the lingering audience out of the venue.
Han Xiao asked Sylvia to entertain the guests who came to support him, while he led a number of officers and guards to the heavy flagship hovering in outer space. All the troublemaking players were temporarily detained here, awaiting their punishment.
brush--
The hatch opened, and Han Xiao led a group of cadres in single file. He immediately saw the tense situation in the room. The players locked up here were divided into two distinct groups. The majority, led by Free Flying, surrounded the spy team led by Wolf Howling East.
"What's going on?" Melos stepped forward and demanded.
The guard rushed forward and replied, "Your Excellency, they've been arguing since just now; it seems there's been some infighting."
"A bunch of rebels, fighting amongst themselves?" a guard officer scoffed.
Although Free Flying delivered a righteous speech at the ceremony, claiming that his actions were for the sake of the legion, most of the legion's officers simply did not believe him. They felt that this was just a pretext for rebellion—attacking the legion commander in public and attempting to disrupt the ceremony seemed like a sign of malicious intent. Unlike Han Xiao, the legion's officers did not know the whole story, and they would not be convinced by a few words.
Han Xiao knew what was going on, but he didn't explain. He came to the crowd without saying a word, just staring at them expressionlessly.
Upon seeing Black Star arrive, both groups stopped arguing and turned to look at Han Xiao.
After Han Xiao's performance and Beyond Grade A's explanation, the "Loyal Ministers" led by Free Flying were now wavering. They were skeptical of their own guesses, but they had not yet dispelled their final doubts, thinking that this might be a performance by the "Legion Commander" to prove his identity.
So at this moment, many people secretly turned on the recording function, wanting to record his private behavior. If it was completely different from his previous behavior, then there must be something strange. They would post the recording on the forum to remind other legion players again that they had not given up exposing the disguise of "Mechanic Emperor".
Free Flying stepped forward from the crowd, speaking with an air of utter arrogance, and loudly proclaimed, "What do you intend to do with us?"
"Don't rush, I'd like to hear your explanations more," Han Xiao said casually, his tone neither too loud nor too soft.
"What else is there to explain? We've made our meaning perfectly clear," shouted Free Flying.
Han Xiao remained calm and said indifferently, "Even if this is just a misunderstanding, your actions will still be punished. Have you thought about the consequences of doing this?"
"Of course I know."
"Even so, you're willing to risk everything for me?"
"We're here for Black Star. Whether you're the real deal or not is still up for debate." Free Flying, hands on hips.
At this moment, Hadavy, standing nearby, coldly spoke up, "Then how do you explain the attack on the audience? Was it also for the sake of the legion commander?"
Free Flying's face stiffened, then a surge of anger welled up within him. He turned and glared at Winter of the Howling Wolf and the others, shouting, "Our plan was just to expose the imposters! We weren't the ones attacking the audience! These guys aren't with us!"
Winter of the Howling Wolf feigned surprise, "What are you talking about? Wasn't this the secret mission you gave us? Now you're trying to wash your hands of it all!"
"You're talking nonsense!" Freedom and Books Soaring angrily, "I never had such a plan, why would you do this?!"
"Tsk tsk, you were the one who ordered it, and now you're turning your back on me?"
Winter of the Howling Wolf did this intentionally, wanting the Black Star Army to believe they were all in cahoots. This would allow them to shift the blame for the attack on the audience onto Free Flying and his group, thereby reducing the Black Star Army's trust in the Immortals.
The two groups of players started arguing again. These guild spies had already coordinated their conversation and insisted that they were in cahoots. The "loyalists" felt that their motives had been tainted and were furious. Refined and amiable greetings poured out of their mouths like a waterfall. If it weren't for the Restrainer stopping them, the scene would have turned into a full-blown brawl.
Seeing this, many officers in the legion curled their lip in disapproval, feeling that it was just a charade to shirk responsibility.
Hila turned to look at Han Xiao and said in a deep voice, "Black Star, the number of Immortals Legions is increasing. I think it's time to strengthen control to prevent this from happening again."
Someone nearby chimed in, "Yeah, we've been too lenient with the Immortals."
Hearing the discussion among the legion's officers, Winter of the Howling Wolf's eyes flashed with a triumphant gleam, feeling that his plan was working perfectly.
However, at that moment, he suddenly saw Han Xiao looking over with a half-smile on his face.
"You're the leader of this group, aren't you?"
"Me?" Winter of the Howling Wolf was startled, but feigned surprise.
Han Xiao snapped his fingers, and the Restrainer surrounded them again, immediately subduing the hundreds of players, led by Winter of the Howling Wolf, who had attempted to attack the audience. The other players were unaffected.
"I have video surveillance of everyone who attempted to attack the guests; I won't arrest the wrong person," Han Xiao said slowly. "Your punishment is to be locked in the Space-Time Amber; you can basically forget about ever getting out."
"That's not fair!" Winter of the Howling Wolf cried out, looking at the others, "We're all in this together! Why are you only arresting us!"
"You're talking nonsense!" Free Flying and the others roared in anger, their emotions running high.
"Stop arguing. I already know exactly what happened."
Han Xiao waved his hand, then suddenly his expression turned serious, and he said:
"When you were planning this, someone tipped me off. I could have stopped you much earlier, but I let you proceed at the closing ceremony. Do you understand why?"
"So you knew all along?"
Everyone's expression changed, but then they thought about it again and realized that it seemed to be normal for traitors to appear, so there was nothing strange about it.
The fact that Black Star didn't stop it beforehand was intriguing, and everyone couldn't help but wonder.
"I know a little about your motives, but I don't really believe you would betray us." Han Xiao stepped into the crowd, patted some people on the shoulder, and pulled out Frenzied Saber and Maple Moon from the crowd. He laughed and said, "You are all the core members who followed the legion from the very beginning. I remember you, especially the two of you. We've known each other for decades. Although we haven't been in contact much recently, I don't doubt you."
Everyone was stunned and greatly surprised, not expecting Black Star to say such a thing, that he actually remembered them.
In an instant, many people were moved, and a sense of closeness welled up in their hearts.
Especially Frenzied Saber and Maple Moon, after a few seconds of stunned silence, suddenly showed excitement, and a surge of "a scholar will die for one who understands him" welled up in their hearts, wishing they could throw their heads and shed their blood on the spot.
Han Xiao was quite moved to see that these two had also participated in the operation. They were both professional players, yet they were willing to take the risk to participate in this matter. Their friendship was truly profound... However, if he were an imposter, he naturally wouldn't be able to get his account banned. Perhaps this was the source of their confidence to take the risk.
Seeing the excited expressions on everyone's faces, Han Xiao smiled slightly, then turned to look at Winter of the Howling Wolf and the others, his expression immediately turning cold and stern.
"Since the Legion expanded, I've known that spies from other forces have infiltrated. The reason I didn't stop you was that I hoped to use you to draw out some of the destabilizing elements within the Legion, and it seems that this has worked... I can tell clearly whether the Legion's core members are spies or not, so don't try to fool me."
Upon hearing this, Winter of the Howling Wolf's mouth dropped open, his expression froze, and he looked utterly incredulous.
Oh my god, how could they see through that? Are NPCs really that hard to fool?!
Although they were mentally prepared for their accounts to be banned when they took action—they were all employees of various professional guilds who were paid to work and didn't care much about their accounts—now that their plan had been exposed, it meant that their sacrifices were useless and the plan had completely failed, which was a huge loss.
Ignoring the guild spies' explanations, Han Xiao took out the Space-Time Amber and sealed hundreds of people inside, turning them into lifelike specimens. Even after they logged off, their bodies would remain inside.
Watching this scene, Free Flying and the others were both moved and excited.
Han Xiao didn't explain, but his appearance with the Space-Time Amber and his performance immediately changed the minds of Free Flying and the others, who basically concluded that he was Black Star himself.
One reason for this was the display of Universal Treasure, but the main reason was that Han Xiao used his "precise insight" to clear their names and prevent them from being blamed, which made everyone feel relieved and satisfied that "the leader understands our good intentions."
As for you...
Han Xiao turned around, smiled slightly, then his face hardened. "Although I trust you, rules are rules. Your actions have had an impact, so punishment is necessary. You'll need to perform some missions to make amends, and your legion discounts will be temporarily suspended for three months. What do you say?"
"Of course, I have no objection."
With a wave of his hand, he exuded Free Flying and pride.
Everyone echoed this sentiment; although they were punished, they were secretly pleased.
Compared to what Winter of the Howling Wolf and others went through, this punishment is nothing; the contrast is too stark.
Han Xiao waved his hand, signaling the Restrainer to withdraw and allowing everyone to leave.
After the players left, Melos couldn't help but ask, "Black Star, are we just going to let it go like this?"
"Didn't I punish them?" Han Xiao raised an eyebrow.
"What kind of punishment is this? It's practically nonexistent. What if others see that the consequences are so lenient and follow suit?"
"Don't worry, I know what I'm doing."
Han Xiao waved his hand and smiled secretly.
He knew that someone in the group of players must have recorded the incident and would definitely post it on the forum afterward. His actions would not only earn the players' admiration for his judgment but also boost his team's morale, which was exactly the way to win people's hearts.
The plan to deal with Winter of the Howling Wolf and several hundred others served as a warning—he could distinguish friend from foe. If they were his own people, he could show leniency, but if they tried to harm the legion, he would not hesitate to offer them a free trip to Amber.
"It's good that you have a plan." Hila nodded.
She rarely questioned Han Xiao's actions, and now that the result was in, she stopped commenting and, with a shout, deactivated the remote projection.
As the crowd dispersed, Han Xiao gazed at the hundreds of amber specimens in the room and fell into deep thought.
"Winter of the Howling Wolf, I remember that guy, he seems to be a key member of the Northern Front... It looks like those guild alliances will still show up, I guess the national war is about to begin."
In the previous version 4.0, a large-scale national war broke out, also known as the First World Server War.
However, although it is called a national war, it is not purely based on national factions. This is because the gameplay of version 4.0 is mainly about teaming up. As the version progressed, the scale of player teams grew larger and larger. Eventually, some professional guilds and casual guilds formed large guild alliances and established formal organizations.
Examples include the Northern Front, Dunland, and the September Conference, primarily composed of Europeans; the Pan-Galaxy Commercial United Community (Pan-Commercial Union), 5C Alliance, Highland Eagle, primarily composed of North and South American members; and the Southeast War Union (Southeast Union), Yanhuang Alliance, and Light of the Tropic of Cancer, among others, all predominantly based in Asia.
These alliances are not simply divided by country. Different guilds in the same country may belong to different alliances. In addition to guilds, free players and solo players will also join different alliances according to their own preferences.
In the past, there were no legions, and the global server wars were not just against one country; everyone was fighting each other. It's just that this time, the Black Star Army was too powerful, so it attracted unified hostility.
The trigger for the nation war was the faction upgrade. Players from different countries began to transition to higher-level factions, such as the Three Universal Civilizations or the supercluster civilization. The conflict between the two in the Shattered World became one of the triggers for the outbreak of the nation war.
The root of the conflict between the Three Universal Civilizations and the Super Star Cluster Alliance lies in the issue of territory allocation. The intensity of the conflict gradually escalates, and it is not a matter of regular armies clashing from the outset. Proxy wars are also an important part of the conflict, and the Immortals Group is one of the proxies, fighting endlessly in the Free Competition Zone.
"National war is a great opportunity to fleece the enemy, but because of the existence of legions, the course of this war will inevitably change drastically, and I don't know what it will turn out to be..." Han Xiao stroked his chin.
Meanwhile, Free Flying and the others, having left the cabin, excitedly posted the video on the forum.