During the closing ceremony, Free Flying and his group of "loyalists" launched their operation. Afterwards, almost all the Legion players stayed on the forums, concerned about the outcome of Free Flying and his group's fate.
To many neutral players who were either observing from the sidelines or choosing to protect themselves, this group acted recklessly and impulsively. Even if they didn't die this time, they would be severely punished by their faction.
However, once the private videos of Free Flying and others were released, they immediately shocked many people and instantly became a hot topic on the forum with hundreds of millions of views.
The video completely recorded Han Xiao's behavior during the private meeting. Seeing the legion commander's confident, wise, and handsome appearance, the atmosphere on the forum immediately changed to one-sided praise.
[Free Flying: From today onwards, the Legion Commander is my big brother. Anyone who dares to touch my big brother, I'll kill them! That's all I have to say. Who agrees, who disagrees, and who wants a book?]
[I Am the Northern God's Sand Sculpture: +1+1]
[Gaze of R'lyeh: The Legion Commander is so handsome, it might sound a little lewd... I'm totally smitten!]
[Mechanic Emperor's Little Spy: Although most of the time it's just empty talk, the Legion Commander's performance today was undeniably awesome, wasn't it?]
[The Frog Has Seen Through Everything: Logically speaking, these spies trying to shift blame should have had a high success rate. At the very least, the legion should have conducted a thorough investigation. Unexpectedly, Black Star's judgment was astonishing; he immediately discerned the different backgrounds of the two groups, and his subsequent actions were precise and decisive. Those truly malicious were banned, while you loyal subjects only received a token punishment. The legion commander's handling of this was quite something.]
[The Disease Is Called Pervert": No wonder he's a leader who's grown to this level after leading the legion for decades... Brothers, sorry! I can't go through the motions, I'm going to just rave about it—the legion commander is simply a man of great talent and strategy, wise and brave, handsome and dashing, good at recognizing and employing people, adept at social maneuvering, ambitious yet unfulfilled, a master of strategizing, a master of deception, a beauty that could make fish sink and geese fall from the sky, a woman of exquisite beauty and gentle fragrance...]
[Tomorrow Will Not Be Better: Wow, I didn't expect the Legion Commander to still remember us old buddies who've been with us since version 1.0. It warms my heart. Praise to Black Star!]
[Meat Bun Hits Dog: I'm a newbie who just joined in this version. Is the Legion Commander really this charismatic? He's practically a rare gem in Galaxy! I'm in love! I'm going to go watch all of Meat Bun's Black Star series videos right now.]
[I Love Dawn: You bastard, next time you pretend to be a newbie and advertise, remember to use an alternate account...]
As Han Xiao expected, the video was posted on the forum, and he had largely achieved his goal of winning people's hearts. This series of actions, which combined nostalgia, wisdom, and clear rewards and punishments, not only made his image more and more like a so-called "leader's charisma," but also boosted the sense of factional identity among a large number of legion players. This wave of sentimental building was enough to plant a seed in the hearts of many players, turning it into another bond with the legion.
Although Han Xiao did not explicitly explain his identity, his subtle hints had dispelled the players' doubts. At this point, the focus of the forum discussion was no longer on whether Han Xiao was real or not, but on why Black Star possessed the capabilities of the Mechanic Emperor.
There have long been rumors among players that Black Star can somehow copy or imitate the abilities of other characters, and today that rumor has finally been confirmed.
As the opinion of a martial arts novel fan gained widespread acceptance, Han Xiao also acquired a new nickname— Galaxy Murong Fu, Void Jiumozhi!
Many players believe that Black Star's special talent is the key reason for his rapid growth: he learns from battle and constantly steals... cough, steals ultimate techniques from his opponents.
In a sense, the players' guesses are very close to the truth. However, guesses are just guesses, and no matter how much they guess, they will never know the specifics of Han Xiao's situation.
Furthermore, this claim lacks conclusive evidence (for NPCs), so it only circulates among players, and even if it spreads outside, it doesn't hold much credibility for ordinary people.
Free Flying became famous overnight for leading this operation and was regarded by players as the Legion's Number One loyalist. He immediately expressed his intention to reorganize the Black Star Support Association and transform it into a regular force recognized by the Legion. He also said that he would communicate with the Legion Commander to specially form an Immortals Guard as his personal bodyguard.
The forum was filled with celebration. Besides praising Black Star, many people were also mocking Winter of the Howling Wolf and others, relentlessly criticizing them.
[Mario's Little Mushroom: Tsk tsk, some people just can't stand to see others do well. They try every possible way to hold you back and prevent you from developing properly, using only dirty and despicable methods. They're not ashamed at all; on the contrary, they're proud of it, and they even put on a sanctimonious face as if they're doing it for your own good. They're simply the best illustration of the word "hypocrisy."]
[Big Smarty: I've learned something. This is basically criticizing the Mechanic Emperor while pointing at Black Star (laughs)]
[Master of Kikkō Shibari: Hehe, too bad our Legion Commander is wise and powerful, and cannot be deceived. Some people are probably going to lose everything!]
However, amidst the mockery from Legion players, the Northern Front openly stepped forward, claiming responsibility for the matter, which immediately sparked a war of words on the forums, diverting the players' attention—there was no other way; compared to praising Black Star, arguing with others was more interesting for the players.
Just as the forum was buzzing with excitement, the Black Star Cup's influence was also spreading throughout the Galaxy. The fact that a Legion member betrayed Black Star on the spot was a highly sensational story that attracted many previously uninterested Star Citizens, who came to investigate the ins and outs of the event with the curiosity of someone looking for gossip.
Shortly after the closing ceremony, Han Xiao, on behalf of the legion, issued a public statement to the entire universe to explain the matter, give the public an explanation, and satisfy the curiosity of the onlookers.
Basically, it was just embellishing Free Flying's public criticism of the Mechanic Emperor, making the details more vivid and rich, and then releasing it for the interstellar citizens to enjoy.
At the same time, the announcement deliberately emphasized that the Mechanic Emperor should not be angry, as this was just someone's heartfelt and genuine opinion, and did not represent the Legion's attitude. We will always respect the Mechanic Emperor, even if they are a bad person. We also hope that the Mechanic Emperor will always maintain the heart of an elder and not hold grudges against juniors.
The interstellar citizens were fine, enjoying the spectacle, while the many Beyond Grade A attendees had only one heartfelt feeling towards Han Xiao:
Wow, you really have no morals!
We love it!