While Han Xiao and Rockefeller were making their deal, dozens of warships carrying 200,000 mercenaries sailed in a grand procession toward Planet Sunil.
The star map flickered in the cockpit. The closer they got to Sunil, the more excited Melos became, and the other Sunil mercenaries also looked excited.
They are all too aware of the plight of their people. Due to the Calamity, the mortality rate among young adults has remained high, and their compatriots are living in dire straits. Now, there is finally hope to completely solve this problem!
These warriors, who had risked their lives for their people, were overwhelmed with emotion and almost wept with gratitude towards Han Xiao. "We've finally waited for this day."
Melos took a deep breath to calm himself down. https://m. hetushu. com. com
Outside the porthole, Planet Sunil was in the distance, and the fleet descended at breakneck speed, as if the ground were crashing into it.
The main city of Planet Sunil remains Forest City. All the high-ranking officials received the news early and rushed out to welcome them. Army soldiers wearing Sunil armor lined up all around to welcome them, filling a large open space. It was a grand spectacle.
Spaceships landed one after another, and players filed out, immediately spotting the neatly arranged Sunil armored forces. The sunlight reflecting off the imposing steel battle lines exuded a silent, austere, and efficient aura.
"Thank you to the Black Star Army for their assistance. Welcome everyone. I..."
Sunil's high-ranking officials stepped out, preparing to give a speech, but before they could finish, the 200,000 people suddenly dispersed, with many players putting their arms around the bewildered armored soldiers.
"Yo, this is Sunil. Just like in the video."
"Come on, bro, let's take a picture together!"
Upon arriving on the new planet, the players immediately began to have a blast.
"This..."
Sunil's superiors' faces twitched, unsure of what to say. Turning around, they saw Melos stepping out from the crowd and walking over. Only then did they perk up and respectfully greet him.
"Thanks to you, otherwise we wouldn't have been able to hire Black Star's people." Sunil's executive looked grateful.
"You should be more grateful to Black Star. If he hadn't given me the opportunity to follow him, Sunil wouldn't be in his current situation."
Melos looked serious. In this respect, he felt that he had gotten a great deal and didn't deserve much credit.
Now that Black Star is Calamity Grade powerhouse, he has no shortage of Grade B cadres under his command. Rather than saying that he is risking his life for the Black Star Army in exchange for Black Star's help, it would be more accurate to say that Black Star is taking the initiative to lend a helping hand to Sunil!
After the DarkStar incident, Melos gained a deeper "understanding" of Han Xiao. To stand up against an interstellar terrorist organization for the sake of his homeland was incredibly courageous. He was truly a partner of justice, with noble character and a great personality. Helping Sunil might simply be Black Star's way of saving them without seeking any personal gain.
Melos's affection for Han Xiao had long been off the charts; he was incredibly grateful and wished he could do anything for him, even die for him and be his shield.
Upon hearing this, the high-ranking members of Sunil nodded solemnly. They owed Black Star too many favors. First, Black Star enabled Sunil mercenaries to receive better employment opportunities and reduced casualties among their compatriots. Now, Black Star has generously sent a large number of people to help, charging only a small fee.
What a kind person!
After arranging 200,000 "mercenaries," the Sunil leadership spread the news of the Black Star Army's reinforcements throughout the entire tribe, letting countless Sunil people know that a turning point had arrived.
In the streets and alleys, countless people were moved to tears, bowing their heads in prayer.
The name Black Star is rapidly gaining influence in this land.
Melos walked down the street with Sunil's mercenaries, receiving grateful glances from the common people and feeling the renewed flame of hope in the city. He was filled with emotion.
Having witnessed the characteristics of the players, Melos firmly believed that the Calamity would be completely resolved, but then a question suddenly occurred to him.
"Where should I go after the ethnic issues are resolved?"
Confusion struck him like a bullet to the heart.
Yes, I became a mercenary to fight for my people. Once the crisis for my people and the book are resolved, will I still need to be a mercenary?
Melos paused, caught in a dilemma.
The thought that Black Star had helped him, but he was leaving after the matter was settled, filled him with guilt for betraying Han Xiao's trust, and he felt very bad about it.
So... should I stay by Black Star's side to repay his kindness?
Thinking of my noisy mercenary companions, of experiencing different planets and species everywhere I went, of Black Star's majestic and reliable the Sight of Father's Back...
Melos's furrowed brows slowly relaxed.
It felt like I had found a second home, besides my own community.
"Hey, now that we're no longer burdened by our tribe, maybe we can save up some money and marry a beautiful wife."
Melos's mood brightened again, and he was Infinite with anticipation for the future.
On the other side, players entering Forest City were warmly welcomed by the Sunil people and received a welcoming reception with people lining the streets.
"I didn't expect the Black Star Army's name to be so effective."
Everyone marveled. After experiencing it firsthand, the players realized that their faction's influence was greater than they had imagined, and the Black Star Army's name seemed quite prestigious.
Two hundred thousand players were wandering around Forest City. Sunil's higher-ups were still formulating their action plan, and the hiring had not yet officially begun. At this time, no one would stop the players from moving around freely.
Many people followed the old method and triggered additional quests from different characters, and also found functional locations such as equipment shops, skill mentors, and item shops. As a civilization, the Sunil Race has most of the functions of an "NPC resource site", which can meet the needs of a large number of players.
Before long, players were conscripted. The Sunil people listed a large number of tasks, including exploring the wilderness, collecting information on wild animals, clearing out wild animal strongholds, reclaiming abandoned resource points, and mining new mineral veins, among others. There were all kinds of jobs available.
After accepting the task, the player's panel will automatically trigger the corresponding mission. This means that in addition to the hired missions, players can also obtain substantial experience rewards from these sub-missions.
Good missions were quickly snapped up, with the most popular being resource point raiding missions, as most of these resources were materials that could be picked up along the way.
Resource point quests have been mostly divided up by guild players, but Sunil has a lot of work to do to completely resolve the Calamity, and all 200,000 players can get quests.
By accepting these jobs, players also trigger a faction-based questline that requires them to help Sunil resolve Calamity. This questline is unrelated to mercenary missions; even non-mercenaries can come to help Sunil and trigger the questline.
In fact, the real extra reward is the mercenary missions that players receive; this is the benefit that the Black Star Army faction brings.
The quest was like a carrot dangling over the players' heads, and the 200,000 players on Planet Sunil couldn't wait to grind it out.
Several days later.
Black Star Number One Base, Mechanical Modification Workshop.
Countless robotic arms were assembling mechanical soldiers, and Han Xiao was engrossed in his work at the lathe, focused on building his mechanical army, when his communicator suddenly rang.
"Hmm? Who's looking for me?"
Han Xiao put down what he was holding, took out his communicator, and various possibilities flashed through his mind in an instant. Perhaps it was Ames urging him, perhaps the Noriosse Financial Group was starting to organize logistics, or perhaps some players had messed up the mission and the employer came to complain.
A series of thoughts flashed through his mind. He glanced at his communicator and was surprised to see an unfamiliar number calling.
The communication connection was established, and an unfamiliar figure appeared on the screen, immediately questioning Han Xiao fiercely.
"Black Star, where did you put my people?"
"Your people?" Han Xiao asked back.
"Beverly! You haven't forgotten, have you?" The other person's tone was gloomy.
This name sounds familiar...
Han Xiao stroked his chin and suddenly remembered, wasn't this the Fire-Eyed Golden... ugh, the superhuman with fire-breathing eyes? He tried to steal his spaceship, but ended up becoming his prisoner, having his Esper Gene extracted every day, and being drained of hundreds of bottles of gene serum. Now he's so thin he's just skin and bones, on the verge of death.
So... the other party is "Purple Snake" Slaik, Beverly's boss, and the leader of the Purple Snake Space Pirate Group.
"So it was you." Han Xiao raised an eyebrow. "Your men tried to steal my spaceship, and you dared to come looking for me in person?"
"Where did Beverly go? Did you kill him?"
"Hmm, the standard answer to this question is... guess?"
Slaik's expression was grim. "Black Star, hand over my men, and I can pretend this never happened."
Han Xiao exclaimed "Wow!" in an exaggerated tone, "Your men stole my spaceship, and I caught them. Now you want me to release them and pretend nothing happened? You're not even that good-looking, but you've got some pretty good ideas. Should I thank you?"
"Hmph, Black Star, you really are as talkative as the rumors say. But did you think I would contact you unprepared? How do you think I got your contact information?"
Slaik gave a cold smile, his tone carrying an inexplicable confidence.
"I talk too much? Who the hell spread that rumor...?" No, that's not the point. Han Xiao snapped out of his daze, immediately understanding Slaik's reliance, his expression turning helpless. "Who did you capture?"
Slaik smirked, pressed a button, and the scene shifted to a cell where a group of people were tied together.
Han Xiao took a closer look and confirmed that it was indeed a player. He guessed that the player was on his way to another hiring location and had been kidnapped by Slaik's people. In other words, the other party's people had secretly infiltrated the Garton Star System from the Feven Star System.
"Black Star, hand over Beverly, or you'll never see your mercenaries again."
The image disappeared, and Slaik's face reappeared.
"Uh, let's discuss this..." Han Xiao hesitated for a moment, then said, "How about you tear up the ticket?"
"News reports about you are everywhere, do you think I'm blind?! You have hundreds of thousands of undead mercenaries under your command, killing them won't do you any good. However, I guess many organizations are eager to study these undead and will definitely be willing to spend a lot of money... So listen to me, I'm only giving you five days to send Beverly to the designated desolate planet. If you don't see Beverly, or if you try any tricks, my space pirate group will specialize in capturing your mercenaries and selling them to other star clusters."
Slaik's words carried a threat, and he felt he had Han Xiao's weakness firmly in his grasp.
"... Fine." Han Xiao's lips twitched.
"Remember, five days!"
After emphasizing this point, Slaik decisively hung up the call.
If his trusted subordinates hadn't been captured, he wouldn't have wanted to provoke Black Star. Fortunately, he didn't have to hand over the hostages in person. Slaik didn't plan to appear personally; he only sent his men to the Garton Star System, while he stayed far away in the Feven Star System, prioritizing his safety.
Han Xiao rubbed his temples, looking helpless. The players weren't strong enough yet, and sending them out on missions meant they were bound to encounter similar situations sooner or later. He just hadn't expected it to happen so quickly.
Players being kidnapped is their own fate; he's not a babysitter, and normally he wouldn't get involved in such matters. However, Slaik is a Calamity Grade being who has his eye on the Black Star Army, which is a potential threat. It seems he really has to take matters into his own hands.
"Damn it, I can't even have a few days of peace and quiet? Now I don't even have time to make cute little ones!"
Filled with resentment and with a sullen face, Han Xiao arrived at the cell where Beverly was being held. Looking at the unconscious Beverly, he placed an Observation Mark on him.
"Isn't it good to be alive? I'd almost forgotten about causing you trouble."
In the Garton Star System, a raiding ship belonging to the Purple Snake Space Pirate Group silently floats in space.
In the dimly lit spaceship cell, the kidnapped players were huddled together, guarded by space pirates at the door.
"President, I think we've been having a bit of bad luck lately."
Poseidon, a core member of the Gods Guild, turned to look at his guild leader Jupiter, who was standing to the side.
Lately? Damn it, we've been having such bad luck, okay? Who are you looking down on...? Jupiter darkened, and he didn't want to say a word.
He had originally chosen a good mercenary mission, intending to work together with the important members of his guild to complete it. However, before even reaching the location, while enjoying hot pot and singing, he was suddenly kidnapped by space pirates.
Is the universe really that dangerous?
The security here is worse than on Planet Aquamarine! Damn it!!
Vice President Shiva said calmly, "It seems we've encountered an unexpected event; perhaps it's a hidden mission."
"You said the same thing when we suffered a loss last time," Poseidon retorted bluntly.
At this moment, the space pirate guarding them roared, "Who gave you permission to chat? Shut up, all of you!"
Everyone glanced up at him, ignored him, and continued chatting.
The space pirate guarding the hostages choked on his breath, wishing he could draw his gun and shoot them all. However, his boss had given a strict order: the guards were only allowed to guard the hostages, not kill them. Killing them would be tantamount to letting the hostages escape. If the hostages weren't even afraid of death, what else could they threaten them with?
The guards, helpless, could only silently endure the fact that these hostages were even more arrogant than he, a mere robber, their faces flushed red with resentment.
Bang!!
Just then, the ship suddenly shook, followed by screams from the distant cabins.
"What happened?!"
The guarding pirates were shocked and rushed over to check, but when they turned around, they found a majestic figure blocking their way, blocking out all the light. The guard's height only reached the figure's abdomen.
"I've requisitioned this spaceship." The figure spoke indifferently, his voice booming like thunder.
Before the guards could react, they felt a powerful force strike them from the side, moving at incredible speed, with no way to avoid it.
The burly, tall figure casually sent the Watcher Star flying, crashing into the wall and exploding into a radial mass of flesh.
Jupiter looked at the figure.
The figure was backlit, so its features were obscured, and only a blurry outline could be seen. It appeared to have a pair of curved horns on its head, one of which was broken in half.