West Capital. You can join the Stardragon Army at the recruitment office at the outpost. Some criminal gangs in the slums of the Eighth District are recruiting employees, but they only accept men, which fully exposes the discrimination against women in the workplace. Various shops on the street also have countless daily tasks. You might even trigger a daily task like "finding a missing wallet" or "catching a cat climbing a tree" by stopping a passerby on the street. There are also various shops that recruit part-time workers, which can earn money, confirming Long Sky's prediction. The new map contains countless opportunities.
Of course, West Capital is a high-level map after all, and many places are not open to low-level novices. Long Sky and Changzhong also encountered setbacks. Jiang Yuluo found out about the Western Capital Academy but was turned away and was very frustrated. Frenzied Sword Fried Rice went to the First District but was driven out by the sentry with a gun and almost lost his virginity.
The following day, Long Sky, Jiang Yuluo, and Frenzied Sword Fried Rice chose to participate in the conscription and joined the Stardragon Army, becoming soldiers and finally unlocking the combat profession [Recruit]. They enjoyed various training missions immensely, and their faction affiliation became more accurate, changing from "Stardragon" to "Stardragon Army," and their status also changed to [Private].
Long Sky didn't forget Frenzied Sword, who was traveling alone. The group added each other as friends on the train. Long Sky kindly told Frenzied Sword that he could join the army, but Frenzied Sword gave a few perfunctory replies and hung up, leaving Long Sky quite annoyed. He thought Frenzied Sword wasn't interested and shook his head, ignoring him.
Long Sky was unaware that Frenzied Sword didn't care about the opportunity he mentioned at all; he was only focused on clinging to Han Xiao's thick thigh, enjoying himself to the point of ecstasy.
To thoroughly test the limitations of issuing tasks, Han Xiao continuously issued all sorts of bizarre tasks to Frenzied Sword, including "kicking ten passersby's butts," "taking off the pants of a patrolling policeman," "standing on one leg like a swan for five minutes," and "standing up with your butt sticking out and shouting 'Good boy/girl, stand still!' three times," etc.
After testing, Han Xiao finally determined that as long as his reward amount met the difficulty standard, he could issue tasks with any content without restrictions.
The Frenzied Sword, yet the desire for immortality and death, these tasks were full of perverse pleasures that exposed his tastes, making him increasingly terrified of Han Xiao. Just being stared at by Han Xiao would send a chill down his spine.
However, Han Xiao offered several times more experience than the beginner quests. For the sake of experience, Frenzied Sword personally shattered his pure and innocent heart and gave in.
Why are my eyes filled with tears? It's a desperate protest against this grotesque world.
The reward for abandoning his principles allowed him to level up quickly, learn various basic skills from Han Xiao, and contribute experience to Han Xiao as well.
Although the closed beta test was unexpected by Han Xiao, it didn't have much impact on the overall situation. Compared to the entire population of the planet, the closed beta testers scattered across various parts of Planet Aquamarine were just a drop in the ocean. If players wanted to influence the landscape of the newbie planet, they would need to grow for a considerable period of time. The closed beta test only lasted twelve days, so they couldn't accomplish much.
A small, inconspicuous cyclone on the ocean can accumulate over time to become a storm that sweeps across the world.
Beta testers are all poor, they don't have much money, but in the long run, players are the biggest consumer group.
Han Xiao controlled the quest experience, giving him more than the beginner quests, but only a limited amount, just enough to slightly help Frenzied Sword grow. This was his plan. Frenzied Sword, relying on his quests and the equipment he bought from him, should have a standout performance before everyone else leveled up. Even if Frenzied Sword and Frenzied Sword wanted to keep a low profile, his club wouldn't allow it; they would definitely promote him, sparking curiosity among other players and expanding Han Xiao's potential customer base. Then, with a shout and proactive contact, he would be overwhelmed with experience and money. Han Xiao was well aware of Frenzied Sword's desire to monopolize the experience, but he didn't care; it was human nature.
Time passed.
[Public Beta Countdown: 126 days, 11 hours, and 32 minutes]
Besides crafting High Combustion Ammunition to grind experience, Han Xiao spent his leisure time browsing player forums.
The player forum is an authoritative platform for player communication, usually used to kill time while setting up stalls or waiting to respawn. Currently, only beta testers post there.
"The women of Raylen on Planet Aquamarine are all so beautiful and Tu Shu!"
"Urgently seeking players to team up to challenge the Yellow Sand Bandits. Location: Planet Long Song - Fallen Dragon Valley, coordinates..."
"A snapshot of the magical floating city on Planet Palayton."
I was randomly assigned to a tentacle monster, how do I change my race? Waiting for help!
"Damn it, I want to trade with you! I want to be a tentacle monster!"
Posts are generally for asking for help and sharing information, and some guilds also showcase their team's progress to increase their reputation.
There are over a dozen novice planets, featuring diverse civilizations including magical, ancient, sci-fi, martial arts, and religious ones, with numerous races and varied social structures.
The most popular location is Planet Frostwinter, the territory of the Void Demon Race and one of the strongholds of the Extinguished Legion. Most of the players there are not human.
Although their ideology of "extinguishing the flames of civilization" was self-consistent, Han Xiao still felt a subtle, unpleasant ache every time he saw the name of the Extinguished Legion.
Suddenly a new post appeared and was immediately pinned to the top, catching his attention.
"The first Grade B mission!"
Han Xiao exclaimed in surprise. He remembered that the first Grade B mission appeared after the open beta. How could anyone have come across a mission of this level during the closed beta?
Han Xiao clicked in out of curiosity and saw a bunch of players chatting and rambling wildly below.
"You're kidding, I've never even seen a Grade D mission."
"The person upstairs is an idiot, the post has pictures and proof!"
"It must be photoshopped, otherwise why would they only show the task name and not the task details?"
"Are you kidding me? You think I'd release you so you can take on missions?"
"It's definitely going to be very difficult. We haven't even gotten past the beginner stage, how are we going to complete it?"
"The publisher is Gods Guild; they're elites, they might have a way."
"Can anyone with a big dick tell me which planet this is?"
"Laughing and patting everyone's heads."
"Sorry, my dog Wangcai ran away."
Han Xiao smiled knowingly, a touch of nostalgia rising within him. He carefully read through the dozen or so pages of replies before finally looking at the content.
The post only included a screenshot of the task name, and that screenshot instantly made Han Xiao narrow his eyes.
"Grade B Mission: [Investigate Zero]"
Han Xiao immediately thought of the Germinal Organization, and then looked at the poster's ID, which was officially verified: the Gods Guild.
"The Temple Club guild?"
The Temple Club, a powerhouse in the professional gaming world, has produced countless top players and has its own industry chain. Han Xiao once had a grudge against them. He had taken a revenge job before, killing the leader of the Gods Guild multiple times, arranging his corpse in various humiliating poses, taking screenshots, and posting them on forums for a fee to watch. The titles followed the style of the WC Shocking News Department: "Shocking! Why did the Protoss leader... Women cried, men were speechless!" He made a quick buck and was then Pursuit by the entire Gods Guild for a month.
"I really miss the feeling of killing players..." Han Xiao sighed, turning to look at Frenzied Sword.
Frenzied Sword froze, feeling the malice in Han Xiao's eyes. Terrified, he stood rooted to the spot like a wooden statue, sweat beading on his forehead.
Han Xiao shook his head, lost in thought.
In its previous life, the Gods Guild joined Germinal Germinal faction and was one of the largest player guilds on that side, and it seems that hasn't changed.
Even a group of beta testers were able to receive the mission to investigate him, which shows that Germinal is determined to kill him. Han Xiao's eyes flashed, and a hint of coldness appeared.
For today's players, bypassing the Thirteenth Bureau's surveillance and finding Han Xiao, who can easily defeat them, is incredibly difficult, no wonder it's classified as a Grade B mission. Only by relying on sheer numbers and relentlessly attacking can they have even the slightest chance.
However, the Gods Guild doesn't seem to be short of members.
Suddenly, Han Xiao knew which Germinal base to choose next.
The Gods Guild had fifteen beta test slots, fully demonstrating what a privileged class is. The guild leader and vice leader personally led some of the core members of the guild into the beta test. After discussion, they expressed their preference for the technology in the system's questionnaire.
Their idea was simple: since the background of "Galaxy" is the universe and stars, technology must be the main theme. Based on this choice, the Gods Guild was assigned to Planet Aquamarine and quickly raised money to buy a map.
After careful consideration, Chairman Jupiter chose the Germinal Organization as his initial allies, and coincidentally, there was a Germinal base near the Crow Forest Town where they were born.
Jupiter believed that the Germinal Organization should be the strongest faction, opposing all the countries on the planet and still able to exist peacefully. Its power must be unfathomable. As for which NPC faction's ideology was correct, what did that have to do with them? Only those with severe internet addiction would care about the life and death of a group of NPCs. They all needed to be treated by Yang Technology.
As expected, the Gods Guild was not disappointed. After joining the Germinal faction, they were taken to a new location called Dark Crow Valley Base and officially became low-level members of the Germinal Organization, receiving a large number of training missions.
The biggest surprise was the Grade B mission [Investigate Zero]. Even the Gods Guild hadn't expected such a huge reward, and the prize money made them incredibly excited.
The mission hints were very brief, only stating that the mission target, Zero located within Stardragon territory, and no other clues were known.
At this moment, the Gods Guild is holding a tense meeting to discuss how to complete this task.
Jupiter said in a deep voice, "This is our first Grade B mission. It doesn't seem to require combat, and with our current level, we should be able to complete it. The rewards are extremely generous, allowing us to get ahead of all other players. Whether we can surpass other guilds in the future depends on whether we can seize this opportunity!"
"We only know that Zero is in Stardragon, but the area is so vast, it's like finding a needle in a haystack. The chances of finding an NPC are too slim. Besides, the closed beta period is running out, so to complete this task, we can only hope for the open beta. Before that, we should conduct a preliminary investigation," said Poseidon, a core member.
Everyone nodded in agreement, and various ideas were put forward.
Jupiter, who enjoyed uncovering hidden elements, pondered, "The mission hints subtly suggest that Germinal and Zero are enemies. If we capture or even kill Zero, will there be any extra rewards?"
"That makes sense, no wonder you're called Old Pig."
"That's probably Grade A difficulty," Poseidon said pessimistically.
"No task is impossible; we just haven't found the shortcut yet." Jupiter tapped the conference table. "The open beta starts a week after the closed beta. In the meantime, the other veterans need to come up with a plan to continue this task during the open beta. This will be the breakthrough point for pioneering the game."
Vice President Shiva proudly declared, "Once the open beta begins, we'll have the guild's resources to support us. If even we can't handle this task, then no one else will."
"That's right." Jupiter.
Poseidon suggested, "Using the help of other players is much faster than finding it ourselves."
Jupiter's eyes lit up. "That makes sense. We'll post a picture of Zero and offer a reward. As long as someone provides valuable clues, we'll pay them."
The Temple Club is a powerful and wealthy organization.