"Got it!"
Han Xiao's eyes lit up.
He had long admired these three abilities, and it took him a whole version of the game to finally reap the rewards.
Both [Oath of Vengeance] and [Kunde's Wrath] require consuming health. The former is a passive feat; the more health you lose in a battle, the more your attack power will gradually increase, capped at 25%. The latter is a skill that greatly increases mental resistance for up to 40 seconds and also grants immunity to almost all negative mental status effects.
Of the three abilities, the most powerful is [Proof of Leadership].
This is what players call a "semi-template feat," which even players can obtain. The mechanism is that when you are a faction leader, you receive a comprehensive bonus, and the bonus increases with the size and level of the faction. The most terrifying feature is that there is no upper limit.
No matter how powerful a player is, they can't reach the level of Beyond Grade A power and can't get enough bonuses from this specialty, but I'm different.
The Black Star Army holds a unique position in the universe. After a version update, it is now much more powerful than when the mission was triggered, and can gain more benefits from its specializations.
The [Proof of Leadership] provides a comprehensive range of bonuses, including but not limited to basic attributes, health, stamina, energy, ability strength, class-specific energy attributes (Mechanical Affinity, Magic Affinity), various resistances, attack power, skill levels, and more.
Han Xiao glanced at his specialization and found that the scope of the assessment was not limited to one faction. In addition to the bonus from the Black Star Army, it also showed that the Beyond Grade A Association provided some bonuses. The vice president's status could also be considered close to the [Proof of Leadership], but this part of the effect was incomplete. Only the president's position could receive the full upgrade.
Overall, the [Proof of Leadership] brought him a huge boost; one specialization directly increased his energy level by 5400 Ona!
As his energy level increases, the actual combat power difference between each point becomes increasingly astonishing. He is currently at an energy level of over 100,000. At this level, an increase of 5,400 Ona represents a significant leap forward, resulting in an extremely high increase in combat power.
Feeling the astonishing energy surging within him, Han Xiao let out a long breath, his eyes shining with delight.
"This expertise is indeed a perfect fit for me, and I've taken another big step closer to the next level."
Han Xiao watched the effects of [Proof of Leadership] several times with a smile, completely captivated by it.
With his long-cherished wish fulfilled, he couldn't help but feel a sense of relief.
The Kunde Race must join the Legion voluntarily. The Empire's early lifting of the ban will reduce the number of volunteers, but it also allows him to reap the greatest benefits sooner.
As for the future development of the Kunde Race, Han Xiao does not intend to interfere frequently unless something major happens.
Since the Kunde Race now live in his territory, even if they return to normal civilization, they will still have to pay him taxes, which is equivalent to protection money. If the Kunde Race want to expand within his territory, they will need to rent or buy planets from the Legion.
Controlling a region is indeed an excellent way to make money. By selling land, leasing land, and providing various services, one can harvest the surplus labor of the Kunde Race as a whole and share their actual output. Having the power to regulate the prices of planets within one's jurisdiction means that the extent of the harvest is entirely under one's control. One can either exhaust the resources or make a steady profit. Han Xiao naturally prefers the latter.
"Hmm, in that case, I can attract Kunde Race superhumans to join the legion through special benefits. For example, every junior officer who rises through the ranks within the legion can receive fee reductions for Kunde Race resource purchases, or accumulate contribution points for the entire tribe to exchange for certain resource support..."
Han Xiao secretly made his plans.
The empire certainly wants this, and is unlikely to want to see this happen, but it cannot easily tear up the agreements it signed previously.
Therefore, once the Kunde Race is unbanned to a certain stage, the Empire will definitely try to get the Kunde Race to make a request for immigration. The underlying struggle is complex and troublesome, and Han Xiao can already guess what methods the Empire will use.
However, with such a large operation as the Black Star Army, he doesn't need to do everything himself; there are naturally people below to handle it. Moreover, this situation is unlikely to occur for decades to come, so there's no need to worry about it now.
Han Xiao shook his head, thinking to himself, "In any case, let's first issue the regulations to attract more talented people to join the legion."
A few days later, the Black Star Army announced a new policy to the Kunde Race, stating that in order to respect Kunde Race Civilization, the Legion would not provide benefits through charity, but would instead offer the Kunde Race numerous job opportunities to enable them to become self-reliant.
The Black Star Army stated that this move serves two purposes: firstly, to guide the Kunde Race into interstellar society, and secondly, to provide Kunde Race with a channel for acquiring resources. All Kunde Race members accumulate contribution points through their work, which can be recorded under the entire Kunde Race. The Kunde Race can then use this special currency to purchase various services to accelerate the reconstruction of their civilization.
The system was met with enthusiastic response from the Kunde Race as soon as it was introduced. Putting aside Han Xiao's reputation, these hundreds of billions of Kunde Race who were released from the ban were not only freed, but also lost, with many not knowing how to integrate into interstellar society.
Now, the Black Star Army has provided a clear direction, and as a result, many have responded.
Han Xiao is already very familiar with cutting leeks. This method is exactly how he harvested Aquamarine Star players in version 2.0, turning himself into a leading camp. It can be used not only on players, but also on the Kunde tribe.
Large numbers of high-quality Kunde Race laborers poured into the Black Star Army, and the number of grassroots superhumans increased rapidly.
The Black Star Army is currently expanding its branches in other star systems, and the arrival of the Kunde Race people has come at just the right time.
The human resources department arranged for Kunde Race people to leave their hometowns and go to different star systems to develop branches. Working outside would allow them to accumulate contributions for the tribe and also break up the group into smaller units to avoid large-scale cliques.
The Crimson Dynasty also introduced a similar policy, but due to the short period of reform, only a very small number of people were willing to work for the Empire, far fewer than the scale of the Legion's recruitment.
However, more Kunde Race stayed within their community to rebuild civilization instead of working for other factions, and the Empire's approach did have some effect.
While the Black Star Army was absorbing the Kunde Race labor force, Sorokin began his operation.
"We've finally arranged an escape route; we can act at any time..."
In the headquarters office of the Infinite Financial Group, Sorokin sensed the actions of the various entities possessing his body, a look of relief appearing on his face.
Over the past few months, he returned to the headquarters of the Infinite Financial Group in the Sea of Star Spirits, preparing his escape route according to plan, leaving behind secret warehouses in various star systems and certain Secondary Dimension World, storing a large amount of resources.
Sorokin knew the power of the virtual mechanics, so he left no trace in the database; all of this work was done by his mind possessing the body.
The related fund transfers were disguised as normal business transactions, circumventing financial regulations, and involved embezzlement by senior executives of the conglomerate, draining the conglomerate's coffers.
But the conglomerate originally belonged to him, and the business was thriving with no operational crisis. The boss had absolutely no reason to run away. This behavior was like stealing from his own body, and few people would realize the problem.
At the same time, Sorokin also left the Infinite Financial Group with the potential for a broken capital chain through a series of business operations. If he had been unharmed, the problem could have been easily resolved afterward.
If something were to happen to them, the trust between their partners would plummet, and any debt collectors would come knocking, severely damaging the Infinite Financial Group. Other large consortia wouldn't miss the opportunity and would inevitably swallow up many of the Infinite Financial Group's business units, dismantling it. In this way, all the shareholders of the Infinite Financial Group would be left with a mess, and even if they wanted to inherit it, they would have to pay a considerable price to fill the hole.
This was also one of Sorokin's backup plans. He would rather destroy years of hard work than let someone else benefit from it, especially since Black Star, a guy he hated to the core, was among the shareholders.
"My collection of Universal Treasure is readily available, but the most helpful for this operation is still the Soul Flame..."
Sorokin's eyes flickered.
He was once the host of the Soul Flame and was extremely familiar with the abilities of this superhuman. In his view, if he could regain this ability, the success rate of the plan could be increased by 20%.
Having abandoned his identity Spirit Emperor, he didn't know where the Soul Flame had gone. To keep his identity secret and avoid being recognized by any acquaintances, Sorokin had long ago used the characteristics of his supernatural abilities to change his soul frequency, essentially giving himself a makeover on a spiritual level.
However, he did not completely sever his mental connection to the Soul Flame. Instead, he separated it and drew it out, turning it into a Soul Seed that remained sealed. Once the seal is broken, he will be able to sense the approximate location of the Soul Flame.
Sorokin has always disguised himself as a common psychic in the universe, never displaying all the characteristics of his abilities. Therefore, although both are psychic, their specific abilities seem quite different from those of the historical "Spirit Emperor".
To avoid arousing any suspicion, he hadn't dared to retract the Soul Flame. Since he had the Sensing Force in hand, he felt that no matter where the Soul Flame went, it was still his for the taking and use at will.
Sorokin narrowed his eyes slightly, located the long-sealed soul seed in his sensory field of vision, and regardless of the distance, retrieved it back into his body, breaking the seal.
The next moment, Sorokin's eyes underwent a subtle change, revealing a hint of indifference.
Each soul seed is like a fragment of his personality. The more he recovers, the more complete his personality becomes, and the more he resembles the true "Spirit Emperor" Rovel Sisok.
As the soul seed was unsealed, a distant sensation appeared in his perception, pointing to a certain direction.
Sorokin turned his head and gazed at the deep starry sky through the floor-to-ceiling window.
"The Soul Flame is in that direction... the Ancient Star Desert, is it?"
Meanwhile, the Sanctum Organization.
The Oathkeeper, who was playing the Veyne Cards with the others, suddenly sensed something, turned his head sharply to look out the window, and looked puzzled.
Why do I suddenly have this feeling of being spied on?
Before he could think it over, Baigel across from him impatiently slammed his hand on the table.
"Stop spacing out, I have a weapon from the Mechanic Emperor, do you want it or not?"
The Oathkeeper came to his senses and threw down a card.
"A Black Star, for you."
"Tsk, what bad luck... No, no, keep going."
The Oathkeeper's attention returned to the card game.
The Veyne Cards Veyne Cards encompass almost all factions and figures in interstellar space, making them an extremely efficient way to understand the current cosmic landscape and history...
It's definitely not because we like playing cards!