The group turned around and found that only Han Xiao remained in the lounge, sitting on the sofa playing with his communicator. He glanced up and said casually, "You're back. We were just waiting for you."
Li Ge asked in confusion, "What do you mean?"
"Everyone else has registered for mercenary status and joined my mercenary group. What about you?"
Li Ge was stunned.
Does that mean everyone else already has mercenary qualifications? Then all their efforts were wasted!
What is a mercenary group?
A bad feeling arose within me.
"We already have mercenary qualifications," Li Ge said truthfully.
Han Xiao raised an eyebrow and immediately issued a mission: join the Black Star Mercenary Group. Li Ge and the others had nowhere else to go, so they accepted immediately and then made their way back to the mercenary hall to join the mercenary group.
Immediately afterwards, the quests that other players had already accepted were triggered by them. Upon seeing the faction introduction and quest requirements, the group's eyes widened, and they looked annoyed.
Li Ge's face was grim. This was originally the treatment they were entitled to, but because of their unauthorized actions, they had fallen behind the other players. Thinking about how his teammates had been so smug just now, he felt ashamed. Not only had he wasted his efforts, but he had also fallen behind in the mission progress.
After asking other players, Li Ge also discovered that other players received an extra 300 contribution points as a first-time joiner, while he did not.
He was utterly frustrated and filled with regret. He should have just stayed put from the start; what was the point of running around? Did they really know more about interstellar space than Han Xiao?!
Li Ge's tragic fate was spread by word of mouth among the other players, who couldn't stop laughing and became even more determined to follow Han Xiao's idea— Han Xiao was indeed a guiding light. They knew very little about interstellar travel, but following Han Xiao would definitely bring them the greatest benefits, much more efficient than trying their luck everywhere.
Through the players' efforts, the mercenary group's credit points are accumulated little by little.
Han Xiao rented a mechanical modification room and conducted several trials of new knowledge blueprints. Using resources brought from Planet Aquamarine, he manufactured an independent combat helmet called [SIN-A Carbon-Based Biological Detector (Helmet)]. It contains multi-layered detection capabilities, scanning for life signals within a range of several kilometers. It also has a more powerful radar function and possesses certain protective features as well as life support systems such as air filtration. Master Han made dozens of them, intending to sell them to players as essential auxiliary equipment for overseas deployments and hires.
After a few days, Meat Bun finally edited out the first episode of the interstellar adventure, which was released to great acclaim on the forum.
Galaxy Adventure Log: Black Star Chapter (1)!
The title of this episode already foreshadowed that this was a new series. The opening scene had changed to a cosmic view of the Short Horn Star and the Juberly Hub, along with a variety of bizarre interstellar creatures. Within minutes of its release, a large number of viewers flocked to the show. Meat Bun's previous Black Phantom series had already built a solid fan base.
His new series was highly anticipated when it was first announced. As the first show to enter interstellar space, its audience was not only players from Planet Aquamarine, but also foreign players from other newbie planets. The viewership expanded several times over, and in just ten minutes, it almost matched the highest viewership of previous episodes.
The Meat Bun has become incredibly popular this time, with its popularity skyrocketing, making it the undisputed king of the video section.
"Wow, you actually remembered to update!"
"Holy crap, 320,000 people are watching at the same time! Am I seeing things?!"
"Gentlemen, I'm so excited!"
"My foreign friends showed me your hands!"
The screen shows Meat Bun's big face, and he begins his usual opening with a cheeky tone. "Welcome to the Galaxy Adventure Diary, I'm Meat Bun. Feeling like something's missing? That's right, there's no opening poem this time! Because I haven't thought of one yet!"
The barrage of comments went wild.
"It's impossible to guard against!"
"This streamer is shameless, I've followed them."
"I'll beat you to death, you bastard!"
In the first episode of the Black Star series, Meat Bun used a special editing style, no longer focusing on introductions as usual. He edited the process of Han Xiao leading the players to the Juberly Hub on the Short Horn Star into a movie-like feel, with a smooth narrative. He abandoned the introductory tone and only occasionally added some humorous narration, along with some color rendering, which immediately gave the audience a refreshing feeling, like watching a TV series.
Because there was too much material, Meat Bun couldn't decide what to use, so he simply made it into a story-based video, exceeding an hour in length. Moreover, the success of the Black Phantom series spurred him to become even more ambitious, no longer limiting himself to an introductory and cheeky style. He then made a new attempt with a more artistic style, and the effect was obvious, resulting in great success.
Han Xiao gave him ambition, and he also gave him opportunity.
As the video progressed, the interstellar scene unfolded before the audience's eyes: the vast universe, the endless stars, and the spaceships of various shapes, captivating the audience like Black Hole. When Han Xiao appeared, the comments section went wild for the second time.
"Xiao Chi has arrived!"
"Close-range, frantic inhalation of the Black Phantom!"
"He picked up the Black Phantom and sprinted a hundred meters!"
"Han Xiao is my husband, and I won't accept any arguments against it!"
"Wow, Black Phantom has ascended to the heavens! There are no more chests to open now, but I still want to gamble! I want to prove my Bloodline!"
"Go to sleep, bro. You can dream about anything."
A dense barrage of comments scrolled by, many of them seemingly female fans, but it's unclear how many were actually burly men...
Meat Bun also included clips of interactions between professional gamers, which was naturally with their permission. These gamers knew each other well, often joking around, and their interactions were quite entertaining. The presence of these gamers attracted many fans to watch the video, with many fans of the players sending comments. Then, a scavenger attack occurred, and Han Xiao led the players to protect the spaceship. The comments section was filled with all sorts of remarks.
"Wow, in this interstellar travel simulator, you can even fight monsters and level up!"
"Black Phantom is still formidable. Not only is it powerful on Planet Aquamarine, but it can still crush its enemies in interstellar space."
"Seeing that Han Da Diao is still so awesome, I feel relieved."
Arriving at the Juberly Hub, the massive space station greatly impressed the audience. As the video neared its end, the final scene showed Han Xiao leading the players to the Mercenary Alliance. Everyone registered for mercenary status, Han Xiao formed a mercenary group, and players joined one after another. Then, the camera suddenly zoomed in, focusing firmly on the five large characters "Black Star Mercenary Group," freezing for a full three seconds! The audience also watched for a full three seconds!
Then, the screen went black, and the frustrating "To be continued" message popped up.
Meat Bun chose to end the video here because he saw that this faction had great potential. Apart from the leader, the members were all players. Watching a familiar NPC lead a group of players through interstellar adventures was sure to pique the audience's interest.
As he expected, when the video ended, the viewers were left wanting more, barely noticing the time had passed, completely engrossed, and even feeling like they were following a TV series.
The final three seconds, coupled with the audience's strong interest in the mercenary group's future, made the name "Black Star" unforgettable.
Of course, another consequence is that the number of requests for more chapters this time is unprecedentedly large...
"This is so exciting! Please update soon!"
"Looking forward to the second episode!"
"Ahhh, I really want to lock Cai Bao in Enderman and have sex with her until she dies if I can't make a video!"
"Hmm... I think he might enjoy it."
"What are you thinking upstairs? 'Slap slap' clearly refers to a slap in the face! Your thoughts are impure. I'm ashamed of you. If I were you, I'd die on the spot!"
This episode saw a terrifying surge in viewership, creating a phenomenal sensation. Viewers went wild, while other professional players who weren't selected by Han Xiao felt envious and resentful, secretly regretting not being able to last thirty seconds. The impact of Meat Bun's episode even prompted the Galaxy Times, which followed the show, to hastily add a segment sharing the video and providing its own commentary.
"Many years ago, we deduced that characters in the story had their limitations; once their storylines were completed, they became just ordinary people to the players. But this time, we discovered that this deduction was wrong. [Black Phantom] Han Xiao... oh, now we should call him [Black Star] Han Xiao, he proved us wrong. His activities are not limited by the civilization level of the planet itself. He went to interstellar space, pioneering a new path for Planet Aquamarine, and from him, a new storyline has emerged!"
"We used to think that Han Xiao was just the protagonist of Planet Aquamarine, but now it seems that everyone was wrong. He has more than one main war storyline; he has a main storyline that goes much deeper into interstellar space. Compared with other novice planets, Planet Aquamarine itself has very limited development potential, but a pioneer like Han Xiao has emerged, who has always guided the plot forward."
"Black Star Han Xiao, he's more than just a planet-level protagonist!"
The Galaxy Times ' willingness to admit its past misjudgments and its sincere attitude were widely praised by the audience. This also amplified the sensation caused by Han Xiao Han Xiao, elevating his image in the players' minds from a mere "planet-level protagonist" to an even higher level, thus sparking even greater curiosity among players.
How far can he really go?
Han Xiao also watched the two programs, and the effect achieved his original intention. His increasingly high status in the eyes of the players meant that he was being accepted on a deeper level.
Countless players on the forum were excitedly discussing it, and the topic continued to gain momentum, becoming the hottest topic.
But no one expected that Meat Bun's video would not only be a short-term hit, but its popularity would also last longer than anyone imagined. Countless people will return to "archive" it in the future, earning it the title of --
The origin of Black Star!