Responding to the players' enthusiasm, Frenzied Saber and his group pushed through the welcoming crowd and came to Han Xiao.
These dozens of people were among the first to follow him to interstellar space, most of them being top-tier players from his previous life. Han Xiao had always treated them differently, and now, without any formalities, he said directly, "You're late."
Everyone was taken aback. Black Star's familiar tone clearly indicated that he regarded them as his own people, and a special feeling arose in their hearts.
While on the spaceship, they learned that other players could also join the Black Star Mercenary Group, and they were no longer the only players enjoying the benefits of the Black Star faction. They all felt helpless about this, but at this moment, they felt that they, the "veterans," were still being treated differently.
Back with Black Star, I felt much more at ease.
"Actually, expanding in size isn't a bad thing. The Black Star Mercenary Group is a growing faction; with more people, the faction's benefits will grow faster," Hao Tian said.
Other top players agreed, confirming that with more players, the faction could develop quickly, which would benefit professional players in the Huaxia region.
However, we all understand the logic, but it's really frustrating not being able to control Black Star!
Back in version 1.0, Han Xiao had already instilled the concept in players through Meat Bun's videos that his faction would grow as more and more mercenary events were completed, leading players to believe that they could contribute to the faction's development and thus receive greater benefits.
This concept isn't deeply ingrained yet. Once players enter interstellar space and experience it firsthand, they'll not only work hard to complete the hiring process, but they'll also actively invite other players to join Black Star. They can recoup their losses by scamming one player, and make a killing by scamming two.
Furthermore, as players dedicate their efforts to the development of their faction, a sense of belonging subtly takes root in the hearts of some, which is one of Master Han's plans.
These expert players didn't waste any time; like other players, they sought out Han Xiao to learn skills. They longed to be by Han Xiao's side because they realized their advantage—only they had Enas!
The top players went to interstellar space early, gaining an advantage. Han Xiao made them all rich, while the players on Planet Aquamarine could only drool over the goods in their faction shops, while they were the wealthy ones with the purchasing power.
"The shop has updated a lot of equipment, as well as a lot of Advanced Knowledge."
"A new Sunil set? A simplified General-Grade Armor, its stats are much higher than the sergeant-level, it's a pity there's a level restriction."
"Electromagnetic charging shield, that's pretty good. I remember this item wasn't available before the update."
Everyone looked on with curiosity. The faction shop had many new products, and they were almost overwhelmed by the choices. After discussing for a while, they all bought what they wanted, mainly Advanced Knowledge. They figured buying knowledge was definitely a good deal. They had seen the market prices in interstellar space, which were outrageous. The Black Star faction's benefits were much better. One copy of Advanced Knowledge only cost around 10,000, which was more than half the price. It was such a good deal.
The prerequisite for purchasing is consuming 1500 faction contribution points. These top players have several hundred contribution points. Below 1000 contribution points, 50 Enas can be exchanged for 100 contribution points, while between 1000 and 3000 contribution points, it takes 500 Enas to exchange for 100 contribution points. Even so, buying a copy of Advanced Knowledge for over 10,000 is still much more cost-effective than the StarCraft market.
Before the update, these expert players had done sixty or seventy jobs with Han Xiao. After deducting the expenses for repairing and upgrading equipment, they now had savings of around twenty or thirty thousand, making them quite wealthy. They immediately contributed the first income from version 2.0 to Han Xiao.
In less than five minutes, he acquired over 600,000 Enas!
Han Xiao was secretly delighted. He thought to himself, "They say paid knowledge services are a scam, but their future is bright!"
Only when players have money can he reap the rewards. This group of expert players is the first testing ground. Han Xiao has already proven the feasibility of his approach on them, so this gain was expected.
Bringing Frenzied Saber and the others back served two purposes: to let them spend money and replenish his increasingly depleted wallet, and to create a positive example.
--Aren't the other players broke? Let them see the rich up close and experience the difference.
Maliciously inciting class conflict is a dirty trick. Han Xiao glanced around and saw many players looking on with longing and envy.
Originally, none of them had much money; they were all poor peasants. The eldest brother shouldn't say the second brother was poor. Now, seeing Frenzied Saber and the others spending lavishly on things they couldn't afford, acting like nouveau riche, Han Xiao's desires were instantly aroused... Although the players' needs had already been stirred up to a fever pitch, Han Xiao didn't mind continuing to add fuel to the fire.
We're experts at stirring things up!
Having satisfied the needs of Frenzied Saber and the others, it was already late when the sun dipped below the horizon and night fell.
Han Xiao didn't linger any longer. He casually gave Frenzied Saber and the others a faction mission to help the Sanctuary, then turned and left the square. He had other things to do and wouldn't stay there from morning till night.
"Let's level up first. I was distracted for a bit and almost forgot about that."
Opening the panel, Han Xiao immediately threw in the more than 1.2 billion experience points he had just accumulated, and finally the long-awaited upgrade message appeared.
[[War Mechanic] upgraded to Lv20 (Max), Strength +300, Agility +3, Endurance +3, Intelligence +5, you gain 6 free attribute points, you gain 1 potential point]
[Your total level has reached 120, triggering the next stage of the advancement quest.]
[Level 120 Advanced Quest [Secret of Energy]: Reach Strength Level [Lv10]]
"Huh, it's this advanced quest."
Han Xiao raised an eyebrow, somewhat surprised.
[The Secret of Energy] is not common, but it's not difficult, since it doesn't require combat. It mainly takes a lot of time, requiring the character's strength value to reach a specified standard, which is definitely higher than the current level.
Upon reaching level 120, Han Xiao's Qi Strength reached 8360 points, still at [Lv9], meaning that Qi Strength gave him a nine-fold attribute bonus. To put it in an easier-to-understand way, the concept of Qi Strength level is roughly equivalent to something like internal energy cultivation level.
Each time the Qi attribute reaches a certain standard, a new layer of attribute bonus will be gained. When using skills consumes Qi, causing the Qi value to fall below a certain bonus standard, the bonus will be temporarily lost, and the overall attribute will temporarily decrease, which is equivalent to a decline in status during a fierce battle.
A character's attributes are at their peak when their energy is abundant.
The standard for a [Lv10] Qi level is 9000 points of Qi attribute. Han Xiao is still a few hundred points short. This gap is not difficult to bridge. He just needs to find one or two Energy Refinement Method techniques and train them to the maximum level to complete the task.
In the past, increasing the Qi attribute was one of the ways to continue improving strength after reaching the maximum level. Many players would go around looking for NPCs to learn training methods to increase Qi, attempting to reach the standard for the next level of Qi bonus and increase their attributes significantly.
"This advanced quest isn't difficult. Bennett, Melos, or Harmon should all have different Energy Training Method. Given our current relationship, just mentioning it should be enough for them to share..."
Han Xiao nodded. Since the advancement mission wasn't difficult, he decided to save the Mission Settlement Card for later use.
In addition to the advanced quests, there are also the next stage of job advancement quests for the Mechanic Class.
[Job Change Requirements: Learn any one of the following three advanced Mechanic Class High-End Knowledge: [Giant Compound Machinery Technology], [Super Nano Technology], or [Advanced Virtual Intelligence Technology], and upgrade it to the maximum level.]
[Note: The knowledge you choose will determine the outcome of your job change.]
This task was within Han Xiao's expectations. The requirements for the next stage of job advancement for [War Mechanic] are fixed, and every Mechanic Class player encounters the same requirement.
When undergoing the first stage of career advancement in the Mechanic Class, students face Choice between three paths: Gunner, Mech Warrior, and Mechanic. Now, at this stage, Mechanic Class will face a new Choice: to select a dominant inclination among the three branches: Armament, Energy, and Manipulation.
[Giant Compound Machinery Technology] is the large-scale mechanical route, [Super Nano Technology] is the micro-scale route, and [Advanced Virtual Intelligence Technology] is the virtual technology route (excelling in civil war). Each has its advantages and disadvantages. It doesn't mean you can only use one route in the future. After changing jobs, you can still learn the knowledge of all branches, but the focus of the skills will be different.
Just like the three sub-professions of Gunner, Mechanic, and Armed Forces, the knowledge learned is the same, but the skills acquired are different.
Furthermore, the biggest impact is that the cost of potential points will change. For example, if you choose a job change that leans towards the armed branch, the learning cost for the last two levels of knowledge after the High-End Knowledge of the energy and manipulation branches will become three times the normal cost.
As for which branch to choose, Han Xiao didn't need to hesitate at all; he wanted the virtual technology route.
There are several reasons. First, you will definitely encounter advanced mechanics in the future. Virtual technology can guarantee absolute control over your own machinery and prevent it from being taken away by an opponent's network intrusion. He suffered a lot in his previous life. Don't be fooled by how powerful the weaponry and energy branches seem. In fact, the inconspicuous virtual technology is the most important. No matter how strong your machinery is, once it is invaded by an opponent, it is just scrap metal and will even turn around and attack you.
The second reason is that Han Xiao is not afraid of the high cost of potential points. It is almost impossible for ordinary players to learn all the professional knowledge. The sky-high cost is despair-inducing, but it is not impossible for Han Xiao.
He has access to the vast experience pool of players, allowing him to gain experience many times faster than they do. As long as he keeps maxing out each skill, he can gradually accumulate potential points.
Therefore, the negative impact on him is not significant.
"You still have about 200 million experience points left. Don't rush to change jobs. Complete the advancement quests first, then accumulate enough experience to level up quickly, and then level up all at once."
Han Xiao glanced at his level 120 stats, casually threw all his free attribute points into Intelligence, breaking the 900 mark, then closed the panel and returned to his residence.
A separate area was set aside in the core area of Sanctuary for him and his mercenaries to live in.
Smack
After turning the last corner, Han Xiao suddenly stopped, only to see Bennett waiting for him at the door.
"Black Star, the Six Nations wish to speak with you," Bennett said in a deep voice, getting straight to the point.
"They really couldn't sit still anymore."
Han Xiao's eyes flashed. After waiting all day, the Six Nations had finally made their decision. Now it was his turn to extort money from them.
Six Nations once sided with Goddora, but now, they have seized the initiative and intercepted Goddora before she arrived.
My status is now vastly different from before. Whether I can turn this newbie planet, Planet Aquamarine, into a long-term branch base depends on the outcome of this negotiation!