"Our mission this time is to Reconnaissance areas with unusual signals outside the border defense perimeter. We will most likely encounter the World Tree Fleet, so everyone needs to be prepared to sacrifice themselves."
Inside the ship's cabin, the remote commander's pale blue projection hovered above the tactical command platform, explaining the mission details to the players in the room. He wouldn't use the word "sacrifice" with normal people, but it didn't matter to the Immortals; everyone participating in this mission was a player.
These kinds of speculative Detection missions are mostly futile and yield little result. If it weren't for players who are part of a suicide squad, the command might not even be willing to send people to Reconnaissance.
Most people were listening attentively, but Hong Cha was distracted, staying at the back of the crowd, chatting and flirting with female gamers on the forum.
As a veteran player who started playing in version 1.0, I've seen Hong Cha all. Now I'm more interested in female players. The process of these combat missions is pretty much the same: charge in, die, collect the money, and that's it.
No matter how much the commander says, when it comes to actual execution, they still need to improvise. Hong Cha is very experienced and already has his own way of doing things. In his opinion, there's no need to listen to the details. He'd rather spend that time flirting with a few girls. Aren't good girls more appealing?
Not long after, the warp light covering the ship dissipated, and the Reconnaissance team had arrived at its destination. In the outer space outside the window, there was a World Tree squad, seemingly searching for something in this area. The number of warships was less than half of the Reconnaissance team. As soon as they saw the Reconnaissance teams of the Three Universal Civilizations, they quickly turned around, as if they were about to flee.
"World Tree Fleet detected, attack!"
Without hesitation, the commander immediately gave the order, and the Reconnaissance force opened fire on the World Tree exploration team. The interceptor accelerated, carrying a group of players in hot pursuit, and soon caught up with several World Tree exploration ships that were unable to escape.
Bang bang bang—the interceptor launched assault pods, which latched onto the hulls of several enemy ships, pierced through their outer armor, and embedded themselves inside. The players inside boarded the ships with a clatter, intending to take control of their spaceships.
High-temperature flames erupted, and laser energy shot out in all directions. The players immediately went on a killing spree in the probe ship, fighting alongside the World Tree members. They were utterly devastated, burning World Tree warriors to a crisp, smashing them into mincemeat, or riddling them with bullets. The ground was littered with mutilated corpses.
Hong Cha slightly turned his body to dodge a laser beam, then pointed with his backhand sword finger, unleashing a streak of white martial arts energy that shot out like a sword of qi, piercing the chests of three World Tree warriors and instantly killing them.
"How about it, handsome, right?"
"Hey bro, you're so good, can you take me through dungeons sometime?" the female player in the video said sweetly.
"It depends on your performance."
With a smug smile on his face, Hong Cha spoke in the private chat channel. Even on the battlefield, he was still flirting with girls, opening a video call so his sweetheart could see his heroic figure.
In the past few months, he has completed the level 180 advancement quest (http://m•hetushu. com. com), successfully advancing to the Calamity Grade. He is undoubtedly a leader among today's players. This kind of boarding battle is no pressure for him. He can fight and flirt with girls at the same time with ease.
The reason he chose the martial arts profession is naturally because it is the most glamorous of the five elements. Whether you are strong or not is a matter of one version, but whether you are cool or not is a matter of a lifetime.
While the others were chatting and flirting over Hong Cha, their teammates were already crushing the World Tree Warrior's defenses, killing him further and further away.
Watching the group frolic away, Hong Cha didn't follow. He smiled and shook his head, revealing the air of a refined gentleman, and said, "You can't get carried away when doing missions. Look at these people, they're a classic example of what not to do. They finally got a chance to be unstoppable and then they went all out. You have to use your brain when you're on a mission. Learn from them."
After casually showing off, Hong Cha didn't follow the main group. Instead, he turned and walked alone into the adjacent corridor, casually breaking open the bulkhead or floor, heading straight for the hull of the ship.
Soon, he arrived at a gate without any hindrance. The gate was marked with signs in the script of the World Tree Civilization, such as "Analysis Room" and "Research Area". Because the spaceship had been invaded, all the guards had gone to protect key areas such as the energy core, power engine, control center, and bridge. There was no one here, only some simple defensive facilities, which were quickly dismantled by Hong Cha.
"Hey bro, what are you doing here all by yourself?" the female player blinked, asking in confusion.
"Hehe, I told you to use your brain. Think about it. Our mission is to Reconnaissance unusual situations in this area, but the World Tree forces are here before us, seemingly searching for something. This proves they've already discovered something. The World Tree detection ship is equipped with a simple analysis and research room, so there might be clues here. That's the key objective of our mission. If we can seize the World Tree's detection results, we won't need to risk staying here to conduct Detection, and we might even be able to save our lives."
Hong Cha solved all the defenses, and he walked into the room while chatting idly.
"Wow, you're so experienced!" the female player exclaimed, full of admiration.
"It's alright, I've seen a lot of things."
The man who made the offer of Hong Cha modestly was secretly pleased.
Although he was indeed experienced, he was just showing off, trying to demonstrate his wisdom and show that he was different from those scumbags. Whether he gained anything here or not was irrelevant.
However, at that moment, Hong Cha suddenly stopped and looked up at one of the transparent experimental chambers, where a Glimmer was floating. As he looked over, the panel jumped and a prompt popped up.
[You have triggered the hidden quest [The Source of the Cataclysm]]
[Mission Brief: You have discovered a crucial clue that could change the course of the war. It is of immeasurable value, and bringing it back will significantly impact the direction of the conflict.]
[Mission Requirements: Contain the clue using a container and bring it back to the Three Universal Civilizations to report.]
[Reward: Subject to evaluation]
The Hong Cha was suddenly stunned.
Seriously? I was just bragging, and it actually shipped?!
"See, I told you there would be clues here with the Tu Shu!"
Hong Cha immediately got excited, shared the mission interface with the girl, and then went straight to the experimental pod. After fiddling around for a while, he found the containment button and pressed it.
A series of tiny arcs of electricity flickered inside the experimental chamber, guiding the Glimmer into a small, palm-sized cylindrical container. The lids at both ends of the container automatically twisted shut, and the precision mechanical parts inside, imbued with strong magnetism, nested together, making a clicking sound as they fit together perfectly.
The tube then slid along the transparent pipe and popped out halfway through one of the holes in the control panel, indicating that it could be removed.
With a click, Hong Cha opened the chest section of his mecha, inserted the cylindrical container into a storage slot, then closed the armor to protect it. Without another word, he returned along the same route and immediately reported the situation.
This skirmish did not last long. The Reconnaissance force drove off the World Tree exploration team, leaving only remnants to escape. Because this place was relatively close to the World Tree's base, the Reconnaissance force did not want to pursue them.
Originally, they didn't care about the sacrifice and planned to stay here for a while to Reconnaissance the unusual situation. However, after receiving information from Hong Cha, the team changed their plans and withdrew directly to avoid being pursued by the World Tree's follow-up forces.
No sooner had the Reconnaissance force left than the World Tree's support force arrived belatedly. They gave chase briefly before abandoning it near the border defense perimeter, watching the Reconnaissance force, which had intercepted a coded particle, return to the Three Universal Civilizations camps.
Before long, at the front-line base research institute, the container that Hong Cha brought back had been transported there, and under the study of a group of scientists, it gradually revealed its true form.
"This... this is..."
The research team leader stared wide-eyed at the deciphered content, his face filled with utter horror. He stumbled back a few steps, unable to believe what he was seeing.
"Team leader, what's the discovery?" The officer who was waiting for the results felt a pang of anxiety and hurriedly stepped forward.
The research team leader snapped out of his daze, lunged at him, and grabbed the officer's shoulder tightly, his voice filled with panic and anxiety:
"Something terrible has happened! Quickly inform the three leaders, and also Lord Black Star! Our entire territorial star map has been leaked!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the expressions of all the officers and researchers present changed drastically.
On the other side, the Tree King's Palace.
"Your Tree King, as you instructed, we have delivered a portion of the coded particles to the enemy. They should now believe this is intelligence they have intercepted."
"Well done."
The Ancestral Tree King narrowed his eyes and nodded.
Given the close proximity, the frontline troops had already discovered the peculiarity of the encoded particles. How could such an oversight occur? This was clearly intentional. Their reinforcements only arrived belatedly after the Three Universal Civilizations' Reconnaissance forces repelled the World Tree exploration team, making it appear as if they couldn't catch up, but it was all a ruse.
The real purpose was to allow the Three Universal Civilizations to obtain a copy of the coded particles in a way that would lessen their suspicions.
"That's a good move. If they see the leaked information, they'll most likely suspect there's a mole inside, and things will definitely get chaotic." Anchor Tree King in agreement.
"A powerful fortress can be breached from within; suspicion is the best weapon," Ancestral Tree King said calmly.
Whoever leaked this information to him, in his view, was most likely someone who didn't want to be discovered by the Three Universal Civilizations, so he did the opposite.
The Ancestral Tree King doesn't mind being used, but he won't make those who use him too happy either. If they want to use him, then they must bear the corresponding risks.
On the other hand, even if the users don't care, the Ancestral Tree King wants to use this method to incite suspicion and even division within the Three Universal Civilizations.
"That's right, after all, not all civilizations can be as united as we are, with everyone connected to the Mind Network, coordinated by the Mother Tree, and there are no secrets." Anchor Tree King chuckled in agreement.
The Ancestral Tree King narrowed his eyes and glanced at him, unsure whether it was the man's true feeling or a hidden meaning.
In the offices of the three leaders of the Three Universal Civilizations, Mabrus, Louis, and the leader of the Arcane Cult received an urgent report from the front lines regarding the encoded particles and immediately convened a meeting.
As they watched the endless stream of deciphered information revealing countless details about the Explored Universe, the three men's faces turned ashen, a barely concealed anger emanating from them.
"How dare someone collude with the enemy!"
The leader of the Arcane Sect slammed his hand on the table, his tone furious.
"Whoever it is, we must find them!"
Fury burned in Mabrus' eyes.
The situation was initially very favorable. Relying on the border defense perimeter and Han Xiao, they were well-positioned to withstand the World Tree for many years. However, their comfortable days on the high ground were short-lived, as a traitor emerged from within their ranks, leaking countless pieces of intelligence!
With these coordinates, the World Tree can perform spatial jumps, bypass border defenses, and launch a full-scale invasion, opening countless fronts, breaking the stalemate, and regaining the initiative.
Their efforts over the years to protect the territory from invasion have now been in vain—the three men are beyond furious, wishing they could devour the traitor's flesh and drink his blood, and grind the traitor to dust!
Just then, Han Xiao arrived as invited, his image projected into the room. His brow furrowed, he cut to the chase:
"You're saying there's been an intelligence leak from interstellar society? What exactly happened?"
"See for yourself."
Mabrus split off a section of the virtual screen and flew it to Han Xiao's front.
Han Xiao glanced at it and quickly understood the situation; his expression shifted.
His first thought was that the World Tree was using a divisive tactic, obtaining information through some means and then inciting suspicion among them... But this information was so detailed that it was impossible for anyone who hadn't spent a long time Explored Universe to have collected it, so it was more believable that someone had leaked the information.
"Either a traitor has colluded with the enemy, or a third party is taking advantage of the situation," Han Xiao said, his mind racing.
"That's what we think too," Mabrus said grimly. "But by comparison, the possibility of a traitor is much higher!"
Han Xiao stroked his chin and pondered, "If it's the work of a traitor, then their goal certainly isn't survival. Because given the current situation, the entire interstellar society basically believes we can withstand the World Tree, so the traitor must have other interests, such as revenge against you, or taking advantage of the chaos..."
"We naturally understand that."
Louis's eyes flashed with a cold light. Before this, they had already discussed the suspects. The most suspicious were the Super Star Cluster Alliance and the next-level star cluster civilization. Even the Beyond Grade A Association was a suspect. Therefore, the three of them were also wary of Han Xiao.
Although the current favorable situation is largely due to Black Star, the three's positions make them suspicious of Han Xiao, because even with Black Star's numerous contributions, he still has a motive...
At this moment, Han Xiao's eyes suddenly flashed, and he whispered:
"We obtained this intelligence, perhaps deliberately leaked by the World Tree, with the aim of causing internal divisions within us..."
However, Han Xiao stopped halfway through his sentence and shook his head helplessly.
Even if the World Tree did it intentionally, the leak of information is real. Even if they guessed that it was a scheme by the World Tree, they couldn't let go of their suspicions. This was an open conspiracy.
If we go to another level, and the intelligence leak was orchestrated by a third party, it's unclear whether they anticipated this step, helping the World Tree World Tree while simultaneously using it to sow suspicion within interstellar society.
Han Xiao paused, putting aside his speculations, and changed the subject, saying, "Regardless of the circumstances, the battle situation has changed. The most important task is to prepare as quickly as possible to deal with the World Tree's full-scale invasion."
The three nodded, their brows furrowed with gloom.
Although the Three Universal Civilizations had made preparations for war in various star systems, compared to the scorched-earth borders of the Shattered World, the defenses in other areas were naturally much weaker, and there were countless planets scattered around, allowing the enemy to enter a familiar rhythm of war to sustain war.
"The traitor must be found. Since he has done such a thing, he will inevitably take action to benefit himself at some point, and he will expose himself sooner or later," the leader of the Arcane Sect said coldly.
"The sooner we identify the target, the better. I'll immediately order the formation of a special team to thoroughly investigate this matter," Louis said.
At this moment, Han Xiao thought for a moment and said, "I need to study these coded particles myself; perhaps I can find some clues."
Upon hearing this, the three exchanged glances and finally nodded.
"We can give you some of the encoded particles to study; hopefully you'll find a clue soon."
"OK."
Seeing the three men's expressions, Han Xiao knew he was also a suspect. He shook his head, not caring about such things at the moment. If he were in their shoes, he wouldn't trust anyone either.
'I didn't expect the version name to come true so quickly. Who on earth is behind this... Could it really be them?'
Han Xiao secretly pondered, the sneaky Super Star Cluster Alliance flashing through his mind, followed by the image of that wave of Revenge Takers.