Colton Star Cluster, the controversial Heidegger Star System.
Six galaxy-level civilizations, including the Goddora Civilization, all wanted to occupy the Heidegger Star System and station troops in the areas they controlled, resulting in a stalemate and constant friction.
Beyond the military territories of the six civilizations, the Heidegger Star System is sparsely dotted with transit planets serving interstellar Traveler. Due to the ambiguous jurisdiction of the Heidegger Star System, these transit stations have become gray areas, places where all sorts of people mingle. Not only are there scavengers, space pirates, and wanted criminals, but even military officers from the six civilizations occasionally come to the transit stations to enjoy themselves, without interfering with each other.
Orange Star Relay Station is such a gray area, and at this moment, a group of players are active here.
Hao Tian, Long Sky, Frenzied Sword Fried Rice, and others walked on the dirty, chaotic, and noisy street. The dozen or so people accompanying them were partly professional players from the Long Sky Club and partly players from the Jiangcheng Club. Frenzied Sword led his teammates to act together with Long Sky.
Both sides accepted the same hidden chain of missions, the final link of which was at the Orange Star Relay Station. Frenzied Saber and Hao Tian got along well, so they hit it off and the two teams traveled together.
Two years have passed in the game. Due to Frenzied Saber 'Frenzied Saber outstanding performance in the first league, Jiangcheng Club has built a new team lineup around him. Most of Frenzied Saber's teammates are newcomers and are still in the process of getting to know each other.
The second Galaxy Professional League has already begun preparations and has been generating buzz for some time. News from the Galaxy Times revealed that there will be new changes to the competition format, and the official start of the competition will be in a while. All teams are making intensive preparations.
More than a year ago, players from other beginner planets finally entered the interstellar realm, and professional players had already reached the level 90 cap. Skills, equipment, feats, special items, and so on were the focus of professional players' pre-match preparation.
Long Sky and Jiangcheng are cooperating because they are after the rewards of the hidden mission.
As the core player of the team, Frenzied Saber is under immense pressure. He wants to achieve good results to prove himself and not let the club down, so he doesn't let any opportunity slip by.
"Captain, the person we're looking for is hiding on this planet. How do we find him?" Xie Xiaojian asked Frenzied Saber.
Xie Xiaojian is Frenzied Saber's teammate, a talented rookie professional. In the entire Jiangcheng Team, only Xie Xiaojian's skills are outstanding, and he can barely serve as a capable assistant. As for the other teammates, in Frenzied Saber's eyes, they can only be considered ordinary blue-collar workers who are neither good nor bad.
"The final step of the mission will definitely be difficult. The mission prompts us to find clues ourselves. Based on experience, entertainment venues in these gray areas usually have a lot of information circulating, so we can start from these places," Frenzied Saber pondered.
At this moment, Captain Hao Tian of the Long Sky team spoke up, his voice low and somber.
"Let's look for clues first, let's worry about safety for now."
Upon hearing this, the group looked around. Pedestrians dressed in various crude combat suits were staring at them with fierce and menacing expressions, their eyes filled with ill intent. They kept scanning the players' sophisticated combat armor and weapons, seemingly intending to rob them.
In the field of vision of players like Hao Tian and Frenzied Saber, most of the pedestrians around them were red names representing hostility, while the rest were neutral yellow names; not a single green name could be seen.
"Space pirates or scavengers...?"
The group remained unfazed, as they were already quite used to fighting monsters. As Black Star mercenaries, they had killed countless space pirates in the past two years.
A bright yellow Mechanical Force flashed across Frenzied Saber's body. A helmet appeared, covering his head. The armor deformed with crackling sounds, and various structures emerged, transforming into a blue and yellow single-soldier heavy armor, the style of which resembled a magnificent knight's heavy armor.
This is a weakened version of the General-Grade Armor, named [Mountain]. It's a rare pink-colored piece of equipment, custom-made by Han Xiao at a high price through guild fundraising. At the player's current level, [Mountain] is a top-tier piece of equipment.
Next, he took off the long box from his back, activated his Mechanical Force, and the box quickly transformed into a long-handled heavy melee weapon with an axe blade and a cannon muzzle. This was an improved version of a slashing cannon, and its size was close to half a person's.
The others all switched to battle mode, their equipment varied widely, with even the lowest-ranking gear being purple-grade. The club guild served professional players and used the guild to support the team, so naturally they weren't short of money. Their equipment level had always been among the best in the player community, so it was normal for them to attract the covetous eyes of space pirates.
The atmosphere suddenly became tense, and the two sides faced off.
The space pirates grinned maliciously, about to attack, when suddenly one of their members' expressions changed drastically, and he hurriedly shouted, "Stop! Don't attack! They're all from Black Star!"
As soon as the words were spoken, the pirates' ferocious expressions vanished, their faces changing drastically. One second they were about to pounce, but the next they hastily retreated, creating distance. Then they carefully examined the players' armor, their eyes slowly widening.
Hidden within the player's armor and weapons is an identical emblem: a perfectly round black circle outlined in white, with four straight rays arranged in a cross shape, separated from the circle by a small distance, representing light, making it look like a black star radiating light.
None of the space pirates present didn't know what this symbol represented.
This is the symbol of the Black Star Army!
All the space pirates looked terrified and hesitant, not daring to make a move.
Just then, a powerful voice rang out from the other end of the street.
"Hmph, it seems quite lively here."
Everyone turned to look and saw several officers dressed in Goddora uniforms slowly walking over, their cold gazes sweeping over all the space pirates.
From the players' perspective, the Goddora officers were the only group of friendly green-named characters they could see.
"Friends of the Black Star Army, do you need any help?"
The leading Goddora officer cracked his neck, his expression stern.
The once ferocious space pirates instantly transformed into trembling little rabbits. In the Heidegger Star System, there is an ironclad rule that must never be violated: no one can lay a hand on officers from the six civilizations, or the garrison will not hesitate to wipe out the gray area.
The entire Colton Star Cluster knew that the Black Star Army and the Goddora were in cahoots, and these Stars pirates deeply regretted their actions. They had kicked a hornet's nest and were truly in deep trouble.
"Run!"
The pirate gang scattered in disarray, like stars in the sky, fleeing in panic.
The players seemed used to this scene, and they all put away their weapons, not wasting time Pursuit the group of monsters.
Seeing Goddora didn't make a move. They nodded to the players, turned around, and left. Their intention was simple: they came to help because they saw the Black Star Army members.
The two factions are allies, and Black Star is the recipient of Goddora's highest honor. As a member of the Black Star Army, one can receive extra help wherever there are Goddora people. The Black Star network that players jokingly refer to is gradually becoming a reality.
The two space pirates, one tall and one short, fled a long way. They looked back several times to make sure no one was chasing them before daring to stop and rest, panting heavily while supporting their knees.
"Phew... I thought I was going to die, thank goodness they didn't catch up." The short space pirate wiped away a bead of cold sweat.
The tall space pirate nodded repeatedly, his face showing relief at surviving the ordeal.
Currently, in the star Garton Star System, apart from those star system-level civilizations, virtually no force is willing to provoke the Black Star Army.
"Luckily, we're just a small gang with no bounty, or we'd be in big trouble." The short space pirate's chest heaved.
"We should be thankful we're not yet wanted by the authorities." The tall star thief smiled wryly, unsure whether he should be happy about it.
Among space pirates, there's a saying that can be summarized as, "Better to encounter the Dragon Emperor than the Black Star!"
The Black Star Army has risen at an astonishing speed in the past two years, partly because it has taken on the business of hunting space pirates. Around the Garton Star System, all the sizable space pirate groups are prey for the Black Star Army Legion. One after another, space pirate groups are destroyed, and all their warships are captured. It is conservatively estimated that at least four hundred warships have been stolen by the Black Star Army.
Pirates in the surrounding star systems were all living in fear. Some large pirate groups joined forces to assassinate Black Star in order to protect themselves. However, they did not expect to fall into an ambush. Black Star seemed to have anticipated their move and mobilized millions of mercenaries to fight. The scene was astonishing. In the end, the allied pirate groups were completely annihilated and wiped out.
Although many major pirates were captured, most of them were hidden away by Black Star. Only a small number were used to exchange for bounties, and they were all reduced to unrecognizable human forms. It is unknown what kind of torture and abuse Black Star had inflicted on them. It is said that once Black Star took a prisoner to exchange for a bounty, and the staff at the office could not recognize the prisoner as the wanted target. They were practically two different people.
After the news spread, countless space pirates were terrified, and they all thought that Black Star might have some special fondness for space pirates. In their eyes, Black Star suddenly became a hundred times more ferocious. The saying "Better to meet Dragon Emperor than Black Star" spread at that time and was strongly endorsed by the majority of space pirates.
Dragon Emperor Ames is neutral, but her field forces are targeting space pirates, preferring to fall into Ames's hands rather than Black Star's.
As a result, the pirate groups near the Garton Star System fled one after another, and the security of several star systems became better than ever before. Now, only small-scale, insignificant pirates remain.
"I didn't expect the Black Star people to be here. Could it be that the Black Star Army's monopoly on the Garton Star System isn't enough, and they're going to expand into Heidegger?"
"Who knows? It's not impossible. In these nearby star systems, besides those galaxy-level civilizations, what other power would dare to provoke the Black Star Army? They're already the dominant force."
After catching their breath, the two continued running as fast as they could.
Frenzied Saber and Hao Tian's groups searched for clues at the transfer station. After several hours, they finally pieced together the clues for the final part of the mission.
The group arrived at a secluded junk repair shop. Their target was a disabled repairman with deep wrinkles, who had lost both hands and replaced them with mechanical arms. He was repairing a severely damaged communicator and had a very ordinary appearance and demeanor.
However, according to the information Detection the player, this repairman named "Ronaldo" was listed as the most dangerous, "extremely lethal," clearly indicating that m. hetushu. com•com was a man of great hidden danger.
Hao Tian and Frenzied Saber exchanged a glance, and Haotian shoved Long Sky forward. This guy had the highest charisma attribute among them, making him the most suitable for interacting with people.
Long Sky took out the quest item, handed it over, and asked in a friendly manner, "Hello, we've been asked to deliver this to you."
They accepted a hidden mission and made a special trip to deliver a quest item to Ronaldo —a letter.
Upon hearing Ronaldo raised his eyelids, glanced at the crowd, put down the machine in his hand, and said calmly, "Who are you people?"
"We are from the Black Star Army."
"The Black Star Army?!"
Ronaldo's expression shifted slightly, his nonchalant demeanor vanishing as he said in a deep voice, "I've heard of you. They say Black Star is a very powerful mechanic. It's a pity, if it were a year ago, when I still had my hands, I'd really like to spar with him."
Frenzied Saber and the others were shocked.
Han Xiao is Grade A superhuman. Since this person dares to suggest a sparring match, he must also be Grade A. This hidden mission seems a bit unfathomable.
"Don't rush off, let me see what's in the letter."
Ronaldo his head, opened the letter, which was covered in coded messages. He lived in seclusion here, and for some reason, he only used letters, this primitive method, to communicate.
The players waited for a while. Ronaldo read the letter and sighed with emotion.
"What a turbulent time! A new storm is brewing. Alas, tell your employer that I have retired and am not accepting any offers. I just want to live here quietly, and no matter how much the Shattered Star Ring shakes, it won't affect me."
The player panel indicated that the final objective of the mission had changed to reporting back to the employer, after which they could collect their reward. However, the professional gamers did not leave immediately. They were very perceptive of the hidden storyline and, upon hearing Ronaldo's words, realized that there was information worth digging deeper into.
"I don't know what you mean by storm?" Long Sky asked.
Ronaldo glanced at him, seemingly finding Long Sky more pleasing to the eye, and said, "Haven't you noticed? In the past year or two, the situation in the Shattered Star Ring has become increasingly turbulent. All seven star cluster-level civilizations have been acting strangely. This is an eerie sign; the vortex is slowly forming. It's only in the brewing stage now. When it surfaces, the entire Shattered Star Ring will be drawn in, and no force will be able to remain uninvolved."
Everyone was completely bewildered. Their activities were currently limited to a few star systems near Garton, and they had little experience of the turbulent events surrounding the Shattered Star Ring, since their main area of activity was not large enough.
Some players explore newer, more distant maps, such as venturing into other star clusters, but the time invested is disproportionate to the rewards; most of the time, they can only admire the scenery and make a wasted trip.
The Galaxy is incredibly vast; the Shattered Star Ring alone is enormous. Going out alone to find a mission is like finding a needle in a haystack. On the other hand, the Black Star Army offers countless mercenary missions to choose from, which are sure to yield results, and the objective becomes much clearer.
Long Sky pressed him for an answer, Ronaldo voice, "No one knows the goals of those star cluster-level civilizations, but all the turmoil is no coincidence. I suspect that there is a transcendent force guiding the changes in the Shattered Star Ring."
"A transcendent force? Are they those three cosmic-level civilizations that have only appeared in the background story for now, or something else...?" The group looked at each other, speculating in hushed tones.
Players were unaware of what happened at the Tyrant's Gathering and naturally knew nothing of the inside story, but that didn't stop Frenzied Saber, Hao Tian, and others from vaguely feeling that this news might be related to the plot of the next version.
After all, this isn't the first time. Back in version 1.0, Black Star already hinted at the Mutation Disaster in version 2.0.
Everyone was delighted; knowing the clues for the next version in advance could give them a significant advantage.
Just then, Ronaldo suddenly remembered something and said, "Oh right, you're Black Star's subordinates. Please give him something for me."
Everyone was taken aback upon hearing this, then nodded; this was clearly a new task.
Then, Ronaldo took out paper and pen, wrote a series of interstellar characters on the paper, and handed it to everyone.
Long Sky suspicion, and the panel indicated that he had obtained a [list filled with names].
"What's this..."
This time, it was Frenzied Saber who couldn't help but ask the question.
"This is a list..." Ronaldo's tone was heavy, as if recalling some unpleasant memory. He gripped the severed arm, a fleeting look of anger and fear crossing his face, and added in a low voice, "A kill list."
"Uh, why do we have to hand it over to Black Star?"
"Because... he's on the list too!"