"This hidden storyline seems to be related to historical excavation. Logically, it shouldn't have much impact, but since it's a main storyline, could it uncover some earth-shattering secret?"
Han Xiao walked down the street, lost in thought.
Whatever secrets are hidden, it's now his mission. He has ample opportunity to explore, and most importantly, there's the reward.
After completing his mission in Red Maple, Han Xiao left that same day. His actions of threatening Red Maple officials triggered a city-wide covert manhunt by intelligence agencies, as the search was intensified because he had "killed an official with miraculous Assassination techniques."
Out of consideration for being in the same organization, Han Xiao and Golden Fox withdrew together. Ghost Blade was initially unwilling, but the situation was dire, and he had no choice but to compromise.
Following the tall person means there will be someone to hold up the sky if it falls, but Ghost Blade doesn't like the feeling of being protected, so his mood became even more depressed, and a low-pressure atmosphere permeated his whole being.
Having successfully left Red Maple, Han Xiao bid farewell to the two awkward individuals and rushed to the transport plane bound for Farrian. The players in the Western Continent's newbie village were all eagerly awaiting his favor—oh, wait, his patronage... no, his arrival!
The forum was in an uproar. The players who were waiting for Han Xiao were panicking, worried that he wouldn't come. They turned to superstition and built up a thread on the forum praying for Han Xiao's arrival. The thread even reached Three Hundred Thousand posts, making Han Xiao worry that he would be overwhelmed by the sea of people. It was truly terrifying.
Other players, bored, started making memes.
"Young man, did you drop this Black Phantom, this white ghost, or this yellow ghost? Hmm, you're a very honest child. As a reward, pay to learn a skill."
"Shh~ Look, what did I find? There's a lone Black Phantom here. We can try to catch it. One Black Phantom can provide us with energy for several days, but it's not easy to deal with. We have to approach it slowly from behind, without making a sound... Ah, I've been spotted! Help! It wants to eat me! Kevin, run!"
"The Black Phantom's Death Gaze on you is incredibly effective."
Finally, after much anticipation, Master Han arrived at the third beginner village in the Western Continent. The number of players waiting for Han Xiao's arrival was enormous, far exceeding the number of players in any other beginner village.
As soon as he appeared, players surged forward like an avalanche, a dark mass that would look like a locust plague to anyone who didn't know better.
Han Xiao glanced at the players' levels, which had averaged around level ten. The highest level on the forum's ranking list was already level eighteen, with hundreds of players at the same level. Maple Moon was prominently listed among them. Thanks to Han Xiao's insider manipulation, she was the biggest winner of the prize pool mission.
However, other players also have their own opportunities. There are quite a few people at the same level, but they are mostly foreign players from other beginner planets. Planet Aquamarine is the default base for Huaxia e-sports clubs, but it has the fewest players at the top of the rankings, which Han Xiao finds very distressing.
You guys are so disappointing! Come on, guys, and books!
However, after glancing at the massive crowd in front of him, he thought for a moment and declared righteously, "What's the use of leveling up quickly? Being able to fight is the only real thing."
Yeah, no problem.
Only players in large guilds who are specifically focused on ranking up won't level up their skills; otherwise, they'll level up faster at the beginning but slower and slower later on.
Han Xiao has experience points allocated to issuing quests. If he wanted to train a player, he could make that player grow faster than everyone else, but he wouldn't do that, at least not before the player reaches level 20.
Before level 20, the [Energy Refinement Method] is the most popular, and it generates huge profits.
As usual, it was about imparting skills, and players flocked to the newbie village to reap experience points. For Han Xiao, it was also a way to relax and have time to chat on the forum.
On the forums, the Inhuman Phenomenon has become incredibly popular, not only on Planet Aquamarine but also on other planets, with players receiving varying degrees of treatment.
On the magical planet, they were studied by wizards, who then discovered their exceptional magical talent (as shown in the player's stats panel), allowing them to join various magic academies on a large scale.
On the ancient planet, they were considered messengers sent by the gods and were worshipped.
On Planet Frostwinter... oh, Planet Frostwinter is the safest place for players. The demons are completely uninterested in their resurrection. When they see Void Demon Race warships traversing the universe, using gravity capture devices to collect resources from asteroid belts orbiting the planet, everyone thinks the demons' reaction is perfectly normal.
To the Extinguished Legion, the strength of players is like a swarm of ants; who cares what an ant looks like?
Of course, it's also possible. The demon race is used to the ability to resurrect the dead. No one can say for sure, after all, it's all speculation.
The aforementioned planets are all very lucky, but Planet Aquamarine is one of the most unfortunate planets. NPCs are very wary of players, who are captured, studied, dissected, and brainwashed – the treatment is exactly the same as that of Old Black in Africa!
It was inevitable that there would be widespread complaints. Based on this, and considering the situation on Planet Aquamarine, players on Planet Aquamarine had a new speculation.
The Black Phantom is probably the game company's compensation to them!
"I see! That's why other planets don't have someone like Black Phantom, only we do!"
"Thank goodness for Black Phantom, otherwise we'd be doomed!"
Seeing these comments, Han Xiao smiled with satisfaction; his efforts had not been in vain...
Seeing the player's gaze, his smile widened even further, his expression resembling that of an old farmer surveying his harvest.
The Inhuman Phenomenon on Planet Aquamarine has reached a critical juncture. Various factions are contacting players, including gentle ones like Stardragon and Hesla, as well as cold-blooded ones like Raylen and Ordifenna. Other warlords and conglomerates are also active. This isn't without its advantages; at least players don't have to run themselves ragged to join a faction. And indeed, that's what players are doing, with the most players joining the Six Nations faction.
In the previous life, the most players joined Germinal, but now all of Germinal's branch bases have been destroyed, and they can only guard the main camp to capture local players. It's a miserable situation, with their numbers reduced by 70% to 80% compared to the previous life.
The Inhuman Phenomenon" has also caused another change: players have developed an interest in teasing NPCs, becoming curious individuals who love to ask questions and engage in outrageous behavior to see how the NPCs will react.
Players were having a blast, but to the NPCs, their behavior was extremely strange.
All the major powers unanimously added this slogan to the files of the Inhuman: "Inhuman generally suffer from mental illness, their behavior is unpredictable, they may do anything, and cannot be understood with normal thinking."
Han Xiao saw these forces' slogans in the Dark Net intelligence and didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Another slogan made him laugh so hard he almost cramped up:
"Upon testing, the Inhuman has a gender, but lacks sexual organs and the ability to reproduce." The game doesn't allow players to be completely naked; to the NPCs, underwear becomes an integral part of the body, leaving them utterly bewildered—how can someone look like this?
Han Xiao almost burst out laughing; he could imagine how the various powers would discover this...
The inability to reproduce rules out the possibility that the Inhuman are a new race. Of course, it's also possible that their reproductive methods are completely different from those of the Planet Aquamarine people. There are various speculations about the appearance of the Inhuman on the Dark Net, with both panic and tension.
Han Xiao discovered that religions, which had long been rejected, seemed to be making a comeback, claiming that the Inhuman were messengers sent by the gods to save the world. Religious superstitions have always been ubiquitous, able to attribute any phenomenon to themselves.
Some players have been thinking of teasing the Black Phantom. Since the Black Phantom is the newbie guide, will he react with surprise like other NPCs? Teasing NPCs is a lot of fun.
"Black Phantom, your name is Han Xiao. You used to serve in Stardragon and are now a member of the Dark Net Organization. Am I right?" A player with the ID "Flying Mantis Shrimp" suddenly said this. He had watched the video of "Meat Bun Hits Dog" and suddenly had the idea to try to reveal Black Phantom's identity to see what would happen.
Black Phantom couldn't possibly know his identity had been revealed. If a stranger were to expose him, would Black Phantom lose his composure and become terrified?
Flying Mantis Shrimp chuckled to himself, staring intently at Han Xiao, secretly delighted.