Players on Planet Aquamarine have only recently integrated into the Enas currency system and have limited financial resources. Players who can afford to buy equipment from Han Xiao can be considered wealthy.
However, even with low average savings, players can still afford 3 Enas. Many players don't have enough money to buy equipment, but they can definitely buy "cheap" detectors. This group of financially strapped players is Han Xiao's target. It's like not being able to afford a meal costing thousands of dollars, but at least being able to eat a bowl of spicy hot pot that costs a few dollars, thus getting more players to spend money.
Han Xiao offered extremely generous rewards for the mission, intending to arouse players' speculative mentality and then make a profit using the detector—the principle is similar to lottery or raffles. He had already sensed the business opportunity when Nagokin the detector; this simple logic was considered basic operation.
Although it's possible to provide quest items for free and let players automatically receive the detector upon accepting the quest, why bother? The opportunity to make money is practically right in front of you. If you don't make a profit, what's the difference between you and a salted fish? If you don't harvest some profits, Master Han would feel like he's betraying his principles.
The task reward costs over 10,000 Enas, but as the saying goes, you get what you pay for. As long as enough players accept the [Lock On to the Source] task, you can not only break even, but even make dozens of times the profit!
Three Enas isn't much, but players don't realize that the detector's cost is extremely low. With just blueprints, it can be made using common materials. This pricing is ridiculously high; it's not just a matter of multiples, it's practically risk-free profit! Master Han understands this situation is inevitable. As long as you master the core technology and own the intellectual property, making big money is easy. It relies on information asymmetry. On a larger scale, this principle of making money applies equally well at the national and civilizational levels.
Generally speaking, even if players could afford 3 Enas, they wouldn't buy such an item because its cost-effectiveness is too low. However, the situation is different now. Due to the mission issued by Han Xiao, the "necessary item for the mission" —the Mutation Source Detector—has been given extra value. Using 3 Enas to gain more than 10,000 Enas seems like a good deal.
Everyone knows the chances are slim, but many people have a speculative mentality. Before truly failing, everyone clings to a sliver of hope, thinking they'll be the lucky one. Generally speaking, those with this kind of wishful thinking are the unlucky ones, while true lucky ones never care about their luck...
Especially for players, taking a gamble only requires a small investment, and there is almost no risk of failure. Under these circumstances, the number of players willing to spend money is enormous. Take a gamble, and you might turn a bicycle into a motorcycle.
Phillip processed transfers rapidly, handing over detectors to players one after another. Han Xiao watched his personal account interface as his savings rapidly increased.
Five million... five million two hundred thousand... five million four hundred thousand...
The rate of increase slowed down when it reached 5.4 million Enas.
"We sold approximately 600,000 units, which means around 200,000 players purchased them. Hmm, our detector inventory is almost sold out, but the detector manufacturing process is simple, and the mass production line can ship them out at any time."
Offering a small profit of over ten thousand Enas in exchange for fifty or sixty times that amount was incredibly lucrative. After taking a bite of that fat meat, Han Xiao felt completely satisfied. He was now able to repay the loan, though of course, it was impossible to do so now; money could generate more money.
Nearly one-fifth of the players chose to take a gamble. Not everyone enjoys gambling, and most casual players didn't join in the fun. However, guilds certainly wouldn't miss the opportunity. Various club guilds and ordinary guilds were the most enthusiastic. Han Xiao liked this kind of ambitious player.
Han Xiao Faction more than ten spaceships under his command, and the players who accepted the mission were transported to different areas of Planet Aquamarine, spreading out across the planet. This number was only a drop in the ocean compared to the entire planet, but Phillip had planned the search areas for each person, which were far apart from each other. In addition, with the probe's range of two thousand meters, the search efficiency was actually not that low.
But luck played a major role.
Not only players, but also the Six Nations sent armies to search for the Mutation Source. They also obtained a batch of detectors, which were provided free of charge.
With a solution in hand, the Bennett, the Six Nations, and the Goddora were all eager to resolve the Mutation Disaster. Once the pilot project on Planet Aquamarine was successful, Goddora could carry out the same action on more than a dozen other disaster-stricken planets, which would greatly alleviate their internal troubles.
A frenzy of searching for the Mutation Source swept across the four continents of Planet Aquamarine. In addition to land, the ocean was also a search area. The navies of the Six Nations were active on the high seas, while Goddora's spaceships were not idle either, diving to search the deep sea, an area inaccessible to ground forces. The enormous beasts in the deep sea could not cause any damage to the spaceships.
All resources were mobilized for a planetary-wide, comprehensive search!
"I wonder how long it will take to find the Mutation Source. Hopefully, it won't be too long..."
In his office at Black Star Base No. 2, Han Xiao sat with his legs crossed, gazing at the Planet Aquamarine map projected onto the wall via a communicator. The map now displayed numerous green dots, representing each probe, still slowly moving.
He improved the detectors so that once a detector pinpointed the location of the Mutation Source, it would automatically send the coordinates back to him.
In the original storyline of the game, the player and Goddora were the main forces fighting against the Mutation Source.
However, in order to prevent accidents and save time.
This time Han Xiao decided
--Do it yourself!
"Damn it, what's going on with the people of Planet Aquamarine? They're suddenly making a big commotion, like they're looking for something. Could it be the Mutation Source?"
Somewhere on Planet Aquamarine, the DarkStar infiltration team was alarmed when they discovered the movements of Planet Aquamarine's forces via satellite.
"That's probably possible. The planet is so big, how could they possibly find it?"
"We can't rule out that possibility either. Could it be that they've developed a device to search for the Mutation Source?"
"It's not clear yet, but I'll write it down first."
"If the people of Planet Aquamarine continue their thorough search, they might find our hiding place. Outer space is filled with the Goddora fleet; we have no way to evacuate, and our situation is very dangerous."
The members of the infiltration team fell silent. When they carried out this order, they knew that their chances of survival were slim. They could only pray that their disguise would not be discovered. Their small spaceship was disguised as rocks, which provided some concealment.
Every planet facing disaster has a hidden team like theirs that monitors the situation.
"In short, report the situation to higher-ups first."
The captain, the only one with Grade B combat power, said in a deep voice.
The report from the Planet Aquamarine infiltration team was circulated multiple times and eventually came to the attention of higher-ups. However, Degulish and the head of the Intelligence Department only glanced at it before setting it aside without paying any attention to it.
The search for the Mutation Source had occurred more than once on other disaster-stricken planets, and in Degulish's view, it was just another futile operation; the content of this monitoring was unimportant.
Goddora did a good job of keeping secrets and did not reveal that they had developed an antidote. For a month, they maintained the critical situation, appearing exhausted and overwhelmed.
Therefore, DarkStar did not notice anything unusual and remained completely unaware of the situation.
Degulish naturally couldn't discern anything wrong from the intelligence gathered on Planet Aquamarine, and his attention wasn't on the disaster planet; instead, he shifted his focus to another major issue.
Meanwhile, DarkStar was making intensive preparations for its next large-scale operation, Degulish was focusing all his energy on it.
The target of this attack was none other than Planet Golden Gate!
Planet Golden Gate is a first-line colony planet located near the Juberly Hub Juberly Hub, which is a transit station connecting various star sectors and star systems. Therefore, Planet Golden Gate is considered a bridgehead for Goddora and has great strategic significance. Similarly, its defenses are extremely strong.
This time, DarkStar's plan is not just to slaughter civilians, but to destroy the entire planet and eliminate Goddora's strategic stronghold!
Without Planet Golden Gate, the Goddora forces would spend far more time traveling between star sectors.
"If this operation succeeds, it will severely damage Goddora and cause even greater panic!"
Degulish's eyes flashed with a fierce light.
This attack was a crucial part of the plan; the DarkStar Leader had granted him permission to mobilize more than half of the organization's fleet!
They really went all out!
Coincidentally, Black Star's base is also on Planet Golden Gate. They didn't take action before because of the plan, but now that they have no more concerns, they can just destroy it.
"Are you in full charge of this operation?" A man whose upper body was hidden in the shadows asked from beside the conference table, his tone indifferent.
Degulish glanced at him and said in a deep voice, "That's right. Everyone involved in the attack, regardless of their status, including you, must obey my orders."
The figure leaned forward, revealing his face from the shadows. It was Ashes, whose aura was even colder. After slaughtering tens of millions of people, he had become taciturn and intimidating.
During the Noriosse incident, Degulish mocked the Ashes for their defeat, but now, he doesn't want to provoke Ashes either. The massacre of tens of millions of people is a deterrent.
"Call me when it's time to act." Ashes nodded slowly, stood up, and without looking back, turned and left the meeting room, ignoring the fact that the meeting was not yet over.
Watching Ashes's retreating the Sight of Father's Back, Degulish frowned slightly. The other high-ranking officials attending the meeting exchanged glances, their expressions varying.
Since the Long Arc Massacre, Ashes has undergone subtle changes, becoming more sinister and arrogant than before, and the higher-ups can no longer accurately predict his thoughts.
"Then let's adjourn the meeting here. All fleets are en route. We will attack Planet Golden Gate in three days!"
Degulish withdrew his gaze, looked around at everyone, and spoke with a resolute tone.