On the forum, many players and mercenaries were sharing their experiences, making the Planet Aquamarine area the most popular. Players from other beginner planets would occasionally sneak over to check it out.
Some people complained about the various bizarre alien species, some took pictures of the magnificent cosmic landscapes, and some took photos with famous NPCs... mainly Aroshia, Fording, and Sylvia.
Han Xiao agreed to Resta, so he distributed the scenes that Aroshia remembered to all players and created a new quest, allowing hundreds of thousands of players to search together, which naturally made the process more efficient.
Meat Bun and Galaxy Times followed the trend and both released a new video featuring the experiences of the first StarCraft players, introducing the Black Star Army and the various functions of Number One Base. At the same time, the awarding ceremony of the faction leader Black Star received special attention.
Han Xiao was already a well-known NPC in the eyes of players, and he once again made his presence felt.
Interspersed among these posts was another popular thread: the changes on Planet Aquamarine.
There are still hundreds of thousands of players on Planet Aquamarine who are working hard to pass the assessment at Number Two Base. They have witnessed the interstellar consortium's help in the development of Planet Aquamarine and have also received more mission opportunities.
Han Xiao learned from the post that, with the help of the interstellar conglomerate, Planet Aquamarine has experienced a technological explosion, with various fields flourishing and countless buildings springing up, rapidly entering the interstellar era.
He wasn't surprised by this; when he promoted it to interstellar reporters, he knew there would be such consequences.
However, in the players' view, the changes on Planet Aquamarine can be summarized in one sentence:
When one person attains enlightenment, even their chickens and dogs ascend to heaven!
The chronicle compiled by the players clearly records the changes on Planet Aquamarine, and the current transformation was almost entirely driven by Han Xiao alone.
Because of the influence of Black Star in the universe, Planet Aquamarine was able to develop rapidly.
For bringing well-being to hundreds of millions of people on Planet Aquamarine, Black Star is a great figure on this planet.
Such a Glory image possesses immense personal charm, and many players on Planet Aquamarine secretly developed a sense of unity; sentiment is always something that is difficult to explain.
A few days later.
Players' actions can be broadly categorized into four types.
First, stay at Number One Base, familiarize yourself with the new main city, and start by engaging the stationed Black Star mercenaries to trigger missions.
Second, those who suffer from decision-making difficulties and can't make up their minds ultimately stay on the prosperous Planet Golden Gate, deciding to start their investigations from this planet and uncover missions and events.
Third, they accepted different mercenary missions and, following Phillip's instructions, boarded interstellar tour groups with preferential terms for the Black Star Army to travel to different star sectors of the Garton Star System, completing missions while exploring interstellar space.
The last option involves 200,000 players who accepted the Sunil rescue mission, who then followed Melos's Sunil mercenary squad aboard Black Star Army warships, heading to Planet Sunil in a grand procession.
Players are highly proactive, and since they are only in the early stages of entering interstellar travel, they are making relatively cautious choices.
Because of their unfamiliarity with interstellar space, players are likely to violate various laws. Therefore, Han Xiao's hiring is currently limited to the Garton Star System. Furthermore, the Phillip subroutine will provide timely reminders of local laws and regulations to minimize the chances of players breaking the law.
However, there will always be players with an excessively chaotic personality who like to act recklessly. After all, players don't like to be restrained, and their imaginations are as wild as Black Hole.
Han Xiao understood the players' "creativity" too well, so he wasn't blindly optimistic despite the current favorable situation.
As the saying goes, people's hearts are like water and their movements like smoke, especially those of naturally chaotic players. For this reason, Han Xiao had prepared contingency plans long ago, which would be used sooner or later. He did not have a desire for control, but the punishment mechanism had to exist.
Of course, things are still going smoothly in the early stages, and he's still feeling quite pleased with himself for evading taxes.
Most players, filled with curiosity and excitement, left Number One Base to embark on mercenary missions and explore different star sectors.
This was the first batch of hires. After several months of Mutation Disaster and the DarkStar incident, the Black Star Army's operations finally officially began.
Han Xiao set up a pre-order function for equipment in the Phillip subroutine, allowing players who are active outside to view faction goods, which is quite convenient. They can pay in advance and pick up the goods when they return to the base.
However, players can also pay extra for door-to-door delivery service. The cost depends on the distance, and goods will be shipped together only after a certain number of batches have been accumulated. But if you are willing to spend more money to purchase private transportation service, you can ship immediately.
Freight costs exceed labor and fuel costs, which is a way to generate additional revenue. However, players are still quite poor, so this service is currently in the trial phase, and specific details need to be improved. Due to the vastness of interstellar space, the cosmic logistics industry is extremely developed. With Han Xiao's current influence, finding several logistics companies to cooperate with is not a problem. In fact, he can even build his own logistics and transportation channels.
Building a large mercenary group is like building a corporate group. You need to consider aspects such as transportation, logistics, reputation, manpower, assets, compensation, and business scope. Players are like the company's flagship projects, which contain huge profits that can be harvested time and again, bringing in a continuous stream of revenue. Therefore, the current task is to improve the faction's capabilities in all aspects, focusing on the flagship projects.
Melos led the team to Sunil, and just in case, Han Xiao threw an Observation Mark on him; this was the third mark.
Some time ago, he tried out the racial talent of [Chaos Observer]. Its vision can transcend the limitations of physical distance, and its perspective is locked within a certain range of the marker. He saw Aroshia gorging herself and saw Serre V busy with his affairs, while the Observer was completely unaware of it. It was simply a spying artifact.
Number One Base suddenly became much emptier. Apart from the players who remained, only Aroshia and Sylvia were left at the base among the officers. The others had all gone off with their mercenaries to do some medium to high difficulty missions.
Han Xiao also stayed at the base.
With over 30 million Enas in his account, he was incredibly confident and decisively purchased a large quantity of materials.
Money is the combat power of a legion. After advancing to the Calamity Grade, he can create more powerful machines. He plans to strengthen the existing mechanical legion, not only restoring the previous legion structure but also adding some new numbered units.
Han Xiao planned to go into seclusion to manufacture the alloy livers, which would take some time. Fortunately, he had hundreds of thousands of alloy liver workers under his command, operating in a fully automated manner, giving him more free time to do other things.
Since Ames wasn't urging him, he wasn't in a hurry to send Hila and Aurora to Dragon Calm.
"I still owe the Noriosse Financial Group four million in loans. The loan term hasn't even been two years yet, and the interest rate is only ten percent right now. It will increase after two years."
Han Xiao suddenly remembered this debt. He had plenty of savings now, and after weighing the options, he decided to pay it off as soon as possible while the interest rate was still low.
Contact Rockefeller, the leader of the Noriosse Financial Group, and his projection appears before you.
"Black Star? Haha, long time no see. You've been making quite a splash lately."
Rockefeller greeted him with a friendly smile and spoke in a warm tone.
Compared to his attitude when he applied for the loan, he is now showing obvious goodwill.
"Actually, I prefer to keep a low profile." Han Xiao coughed lightly, then continued, "I'm contacting you this time to repay a four million loan, plus interest, making it a total of four million four hundred thousand."
Loan notarization has strong legal effect; the money must definitely be repaid...
Rockefeller suddenly changed the subject, "I wonder if you would be willing to accept a new grant?"
Han Xiao had just transferred 4.4 million Enas and was silently feeling the pinch as he watched the expenditure amount when he heard this. His eyebrows immediately rose, and a playful look appeared in his eyes.
Over a year ago, he approached Rockefeller seeking investment, Rockefeller refused to provide financial assistance, only agreeing to a loan. Now, however, Rockefeller is proactively offering financial support?
Hey, it seems my recent achievements have made Rockefeller think I'm a worthwhile investment, which is why he changed his attitude and offered this suggestion.
Although Rockefeller was rather snobbish, Han Xiao was used to it and didn't mean it with sarcasm. The world is driven by profit; only by demonstrating potential or strength will investors be attracted—that's an ironclad rule.
"Of course, I'm very interested in this suggestion." Han Xiao smiled slightly.
Rockefeller' eyes lit up.
He was initially unsure of Han Xiao's intentions, worried that once Black Star Wings powerful enough, it would no longer need external funding. Although there would be no significant loss, he would regret losing a highly promising investment channel.
Black Star's willingness to continue accepting investment is a good thing, indicating that its initial investment has yielded returns.
Rockefeller thought for a moment and said, "Lord Black Star, I have decided to provide the Black Star Army with an additional 5.2 million Enas."
"So what kind of reward do you want?" Han Xiao stroked his chin.
"Haha, this is just an initial investment. I hope to reach a long-term investment contract with the Black Star Army, with our Noriosse Financial Group funding the Black Star Army's development, including but not limited to mercenary benefits, transportation, business expansion, base construction, etc. We can also, to a certain extent, use the Black Star Army's name to conduct commercial activities in the Garton Star System or other systems that value the Black Star Army. In the event of difficulties that require the use of violence, we can receive immediate assistance from the Black Star Army..."
Rockefeller spoke eloquently, recounting the common terms and conditions for conglomerates investing in armed forces.
Logically speaking, since the Black Star Army is a field armed force of Dragon Calm, investing in Dragon Calm would be a better option. However, Black Star himself has gained considerable influence, making him another investment target.
Han Xiao listened patiently and concluded that the Noriosse Financial Group wanted to contract the Black Star Army's logistics construction.
The Noriosse Financial Group has a good credit record, excellent reputation, numerous businesses, and substantial assets.
He needed to improve the Black Star Army's logistical capabilities, and with Noriosse's help, he could save a lot of energy... More importantly, he could save a lot of money, as the expenses of building an armed force are terrifying.
"A fat sheep..." Han Xiao thought to himself.
"That sounds very good, Mr. Rockefeller. I'm willing to sign the investment agreement."
"Okay, I'll have someone prepare it right away and send it to you later."
Rockefeller was in high spirits and deep in conversation, and laughed:
"If the Black Star Army's business continues to improve, our Noriosse Financial Group can also help you operate the securities market, build a brand, issue credit bonds, and conduct public offerings."
"Let's talk about that later..."
Han Xiao's lips twitched.
So-called credit bonds are essentially stocks. As the economy develops, there will always be shrewd individuals skilled in exploiting retail investors who come up with such ideas. Securities existed in the Galaxy long ago, with countless large corporations and companies listing and issuing credit bonds for purchase by people throughout the universe. Due to the sheer size of the market, different stock markets were established based on regions, typically on a galaxy basis. For example, the Garton Star System has its own dedicated credit bond market.
Players can also purchase credits, offering a high degree of freedom. In the previous life, some players made a fortune through the credit market, while many others lost everything. Given the environment of Galaxy, the volatility of the market is unimaginable.
Han Xiao had a lot of experience making money with credits. In his previous life, when he was practicing gold farming, he did a lot of buying low and selling high. As for how to suppress the price of a company's credits... well, he used to help people level up and boost their reputation, so he never took the proper route. He had already done bad things, so what difference would one more make? He was always in debt.
Of course, the aftereffects were very serious. Now that he has a fortune, he has absolutely no interest in repeating the same mistakes.
As for Rockefeller and the book, which suggested taking the mercenary group public, such examples are rare because the business was unstable and there were frequent casualties.
After the contract was signed, the communicator beeped, indicating a deposit had been made, and the deposit amount increased by 5.2 million Enas.
"The future is long, and I look forward to working with you." Rockefeller smiled broadly, projecting his hand outstretched.
Han Xiao narrowed his eyes and reached out to lightly shake hands with the projection of Rockefeller.
"It's a pleasure doing business with you."