Li Yalin's eyes lit up. She was convinced that Black Phantom was Han Xiao, and was very curious about what had happened to him after he left the Thirteenth Bureau. Forgetting her dislike for Di Susu, she couldn't help but ask, "What was he doing when you met him?"
"Back then, his codename was Mr. Black, a Scorpion-level Assassin, who was involved in a defense mission in White Gull City, and it was related to the leader of the Dark Net."
Li Yalin hurriedly asked, "Have you found out any other information?"
Di Susu raised an eyebrow. "Why are you so concerned?"
"I'm very curious about him." Li Yalin had no choice but to explain it this way. He felt that Han Xiao must have had a reason for becoming Black Phantom and couldn't reveal his identity casually.
Curiosity? Oh no! This is usually the first step in the beginning of a relationship. You must nip it in the bud!
Di Susu's eyes narrowed, but her smile remained unchanged as she slowly said:
"Heh, I got some information about Black Phantom from a female assassin codenamed Golden Fox..."
Five minutes later, everyone stared blankly, taking a long time to process this massive amount of information.
Lin Yao trembled, and Lambert stopped wiping his knife at some point.
Li Yalin muttered to herself, "No wonder he didn't feel any desire when he touched me..."
Hou Yue felt his throat was a little dry, and secretly thought that if Han Xiao returned to the team in the future, he would have to stay far away from him.
"Next time you see him, remember to be careful~" Di Susu said with a light laugh, then got up and left gracefully, leaving the team members looking at each other in bewilderment.
Zhang Wei coughed, "He's our teammate after all... don't discriminate against him."
The group nodded hesitantly.
Zhang Wei coughed twice and continued writing his report, but found that the news he had just heard made him uneasy. He couldn't calm down no matter what he did. He forced himself to finish the report, then immediately got up to find his superior, handed over the report, and requested to speak with the minister.
After a few minutes' wait, his application was approved, the communication was connected, and an image of the Secret Operations Department's bald head appeared on the screen. Zhang Wei got straight to the point. "We met Han Xiao."
The Secret Operations Department was taken aback.
Since the last intelligence was leaked, Han Xiao has vanished without a trace and cannot be contacted. Although the Thirteenth Bureau has stopped searching for Han Xiao Han Xiao, they are still very curious about his whereabouts.
The Secret Operations Department became serious and said, "..."
Zhang Wei carefully chose his words and recounted the process of discovering that the Black Phantom was Han Xiao.
The Secret Operations Department initially thought Zhang Wei had seen Han Xiao with his own eyes, but it turned out to be just a baseless conjecture. He stared blankly for a moment, a strange expression on his face, suppressing a laugh, and said, "You... you've mistaken me for someone else."
How could Black Phantom possibly be Han Xiao? One is a super assassin on the Dark Net, a very high level of combat power. Although Han Xiao has shown his strength, he is far inferior to Black Phantom, there is no comparison at all. This guess is too outrageous!
The Secret Operations Department almost laughed. He had intended to tell Zhang Wei that Han Xiao was Agent Zero, but after thinking about it, he swallowed his words. There were confidentiality regulations in the bureau that prohibited revealing Zero's identity to others.
Although Han Xiao's whereabouts were elusive and Germinal was severely weakened, there was no need to hide anything anymore. However, rules are rules, Han Xiao was, after all, an agent on assignment. Doing so could reduce risks and trouble. Therefore, even though Germinal knew that Zero was cooperating with Stardragon, they still couldn't find him. The Secret Operations Department felt it was unnecessary to let Zhang Wei's team know this information.
Zhang Wei's team had never seen Han Xiao's true face and were unaware that his real identity was Zero.
"Ahem, regarding Han Xiao's identity, he couldn't possibly be Black Phantom..."
Zhang Wei was taken aback and misunderstood, thinking that this was the minister's subtext, telling him not to care about this matter anymore. So... Han Xiao was probably sent by the higher-ups to do a special mission and needed to keep his identity secret.
"I understand." Zhang Wei winked.
The Secret Operations Department was somewhat confused.
What do you understand? That look in your eyes is so strange.
After the Stardragon Thirteenth Bureau compiled all the reports and intelligence, the conclusions were handed over to the Seven Seats Committee. The Seven Seats Committee held a meeting to sort out all the important issues that needed to be discussed and decided. In the end, only the matter of Black Phantom remained. The six people other than Gu Hui knew about Black Phantom's reputation on the Dark Net, so the issue to be discussed was their attitude towards Black Phantom.
"He offered assistance, but it's unclear whether it was at the behest of the Dark Net or an action he took on his own."
An old man tapped on the table and said slowly, "The Dark Net Organization contacted us recently. They're preparing to launch the Sanctuary Plan and have requested our material assistance. So this should be the Dark Net Organization extending an olive branch to us through Black Phantom."
Everyone nodded. The Dark Net Organization had always maintained neutrality, so if it showed any inclination towards the Six Nations, it would undoubtedly be a good thing. The Seven Seats Committee quickly reached a conclusion, supporting the Dark Net Organization's Sanctuary Plan, approving material aid, reciprocating the favor, and trying to win them over.
After the meeting, Gu Hui and Old Man Gao pushed open the meeting room door and walked side by side down the quiet, empty corridor, discussing another matter in hushed tones.
"Is there still no news about Han Xiao?"
"He disappeared after providing the intelligence more than two months ago."
Gu Hui shook his head. Han Xiao was the provider of intelligence, and the Thirteenth Bureau really wanted to contact him again, but he wouldn't answer the phone or reply to messages. It was as if he had vanished into thin air. No one knew what he was doing. Thinking of Han Xiao's unreliable and treacherous style, Gu Hui felt heavy-hearted.
I hope they don't pull some other crazy trick again...
As for Zhang Wei's guess, Gu Hui only heard the Secret Operations Department mention it briefly, and since there was no evidence, he didn't pay any attention to it. How could Black Phantom possibly be Han Xiao? His appearance and combat strength didn't match at all.
Zhang Wei's team didn't know Han Xiao's true identity, so they made wild guesses, but Gu Hui knew that Han Xiao was Zero. This information asymmetry led to a misunderstanding.
Intelligence has been updated on the Dark Net, and some information about the Battle of Tedramira River has been leaked. Most people are worried about the future situation, feeling that the shadow of war is once again looming over the planet.
The intelligence report included information about Black Phantom's participation in the war. Many forces are paying close attention to this super assassin. The report indicated that Black Phantom is a powerful mechanic. While there are many powerful superhumans and martial artists, there are only a handful of mechanics with strong combat capabilities. Black Phantom's name should be added to the list.
"He still caused quite a stir."
Bennett looked helpless and took a sip of the medicinal tea to suppress his hidden injuries.
Wang Yuan suddenly received a phone call, his face beaming with joy. He said, "Stardragon has agreed to provide material assistance."
Bennett was somewhat surprised; that was no small sum, and Stardragon had given it to him so readily. He asked, "What did they say?"
"Well, they were very grateful for our help."
Bennett looked bewildered. "Help? What did we do?"
On second thought, Bennett realized that Stardragon must have mistakenly thought that Black Phantom was sent by them. Black Phantom was the Blood Pact Union's brand name, and their operations were always labeled as being on the Dark Net.
Bennett was both amused and exasperated. Black Phantom had inadvertently done him a favor, and he naturally wouldn't bother to clarify this wonderful misunderstanding. He sighed and said helplessly, "Sigh, I guess I owe him a favor. By the way, what did Hesla say?"
Wang Yuan pushed up his black-rimmed glasses, a strange light flashing across the lenses. "Hmph, they're still making excuses."
Bennett shook his head. He already knew Hesla's style. Only Stardragon was relatively easy to talk to. Trying to squeeze some supplies out of the other five countries would be a long and drawn-out affair.
"We've received aid from Stardragon, and our initial resources are almost sufficient. Let's begin the Sanctuary Plan as soon as possible. War could break out at any time, and the sooner we implement it, the more people we can shelter."
Long Sky two completed the faction quest [Battle of Tedramira River]. The evaluation was naturally very low, but since it was a super-level quest, the experience gained was also considerable.
They should have been happy, but when the three recalled Frenzied Sword's performance, they suddenly felt that the mission reward was insignificant. Comparisons can affect one's mood, and the feeling of falling behind is unpleasant, especially since the person who surpassed them was a player who started at the same time. Jiang Yuluo didn't react much, but Long Sky and Frenzied Sword Fried Rice were rather depressed.
After much deliberation, Long Sky sent a chat request to Frenzied Sword.
"Frenzied Saber?"
"Great God Moon, what brings you here?" Frenzied Sword asked humbly.
"I wanted to ask, did you trigger a hidden event? We saw you on the battlefield..." Long Sky sent the recording.
"You guys are here too." Frenzied Saber was somewhat surprised.
The tone sounded a bit unpleasant... Long Sky coughed lightly, chatted casually for a few minutes, and then inquired about Black Phantom. The video had also captured Black Phantom's image; he naturally recognized this high-ranking figure who frequented Big Horn Mountain and was very curious about Frenzied Sword's opportunity.
But Frenzied Sword kept rambling on and on without getting to the point, so Long Sky realized that he was unwilling to share the hidden plot, and could only say goodbye in frustration and hang up the phone.
"Didn't he say?" asked Frenzied Sword Fried Rice.
"No." Long Sky shook his head, somewhat envious of Frenzied Sword, but hidden plots were rare and hard to come by... Suddenly, an idea popped into his head.
"How about we try going to find Black Phantom?"
The sky was beginning to lighten with the first light of dawn.
As requested by Han Xiao, the helicopter landed on a desolate hill. Han Xiao told the pilot to stand by, stepped off the helicopter, took a deep breath, and the fresh air invigorated him.
After flying for most of the night, far from the Taidamila River, he was preparing to advance his cultivation here when Mad Frenzied Sword logged off.
The player logged off by suddenly disappearing, which startled the driver. He only suppressed his surprise when he saw that Han Xiao's expression was normal.
The players exhibited unique characteristics in every way. Although this world has various superpowers, making people more accepting of abnormal things, the special nature of the player group will eventually be discovered, and some interesting changes will occur. Han Xiao couldn't wait to see this event happen, as it would confirm some of his conjectures.
Shaking off these thoughts, Han Xiao focused his attention on the panel. The requirements for advancement had been met; all he needed to do was level up and advance.
He glanced at the experience he had accumulated over the past two months. After deducting the costs of upgrading skills and fusing blueprints, he still had a full 6.1 million experience points!
"Finally, I've reached the Second Advancement!" Han Xiao was secretly delighted. His leveling speed was like a rocket, especially after the appearance of players, which gave him a huge channel for gaining experience!
After this advancement, he will officially become a top-tier combatant at the level cap of Planet Aquamarine. This is just the beginning, meaning he can venture into places he previously considered dangerous, acquire rare feats and skills, and trigger dangerous missions. Feats, skills, and equipment all have a significant impact on combat power.
He's already halfway there if he wants to become a boss -Grade SS character like Bennett or Hila, who possess all the template's specializations.
"Upgrade!"
Han Xiao drew upon his experience.
[Apprentice Mechanic] Upgraded to Lv5: Strength +50, Agility +1, Endurance +1, Intelligence +4, Gain 3 Free Attribute Points, Gain 1 Potential Point!
[You have completed your Second Advancement; your stamina to health ratio has increased to 1:20!]