"Millions of players have disappeared, the Black Star Army has shrunk in size, and a new plan is needed..."
Inside the Blacklight Stealth's cockpit, Han Xiao composed himself, composed himself, and focused on serious matters.
My physical age is not even thirty yet, but by the time version 3.0 is released, I'll be almost forty.
Han Xiao isn't worried about his lifespan for now. After all, he's Grade A superhuman and a void species, and he's been injected with a lifespan-enhancing drug. Living for two or three hundred years is still a piece of cake for him. Ten years from now, he'll still look young and handsome, as dashing and promising as ever.
Han Xiao made a simple plan for how the Black Star Army should develop over the next ten years.
"The primary focus should be on accumulating strength. Without the initial high-growth advantage brought by players, the next ten years must be spent converting all the benefits players gained from version 2.0..."
Han Xiao pondered.
The assets accumulated in version 2.0 include twenty or thirty bases in the Garton Star System, nearly two thousand warships, more than 170 million Enas in savings, and the immense prestige brought to the Black Star Army by the countless jobs the player has made. These are all intangible assets.
Unlike player-controlled mercenaries, NPC mercenaries are one less to lose. Recruiting freelance mercenaries is one way, but cultivating fresh blood is even more important. He decided to increase investment in training camps to obtain a continuous supply of soldiers while saving costs.
Besides recruiting lower-level soldiers, high-level officers also need to be trained. At the current level of the Black Star Army, Grade B soldiers are no longer rare and can only be considered mid-level combatants. What is lacking are Grade A high-level combatants, and right now only he and Lagi are available.
"Hmm, we're constantly trying to recruit Grade A fighters from outside, while also cultivating potential talents, such as Melos, Fording, and Reynold... I wonder how many more Grade A combatants we'll produce in the next ten years."
Han Xiao stroked his chin thoughtfully. In his previous life, Sylvia had already become Grade A superhuman in version 3.0. These ten years should be a period of rapid growth for Sylvia, and she needs more supervision to help her transform from an incompetent female secretary into a capable assistant as soon as possible.
However, accumulating strength does not mean keeping a low profile. The Secret War instigated by Krent is the biggest external conflict, with risks and opportunities coexisting. Han Xiao will naturally not stand aside.
Han Xiao joined Section Zero to acquire cutting-edge knowledge and cultivate faction relationships with Amethyst —one of the safest ways. Cutting-edge knowledge is indispensable; even if it wasn't a requirement for job advancement, Han Xiao still needed to obtain it.
At the same time, this is also a two-birds-with-one-stone approach. As long as one makes great contributions in the Secret War, one will be qualified to become a long-term partner of a star cluster-level civilization, just like in the War Realm, thereby promoting the transformation of the legion. This is an opportunity for the Black Star Army to take a further step in the Colton Star Cluster.
With the assets accumulated from 2.0, coupled with Amethyst's strong support for Section Zero, they can recruit more people and better build up their strength. To obtain more resources and support, they need to achieve a higher position in Section Zero and make more contributions.
Frontline organizations such as Arc Light Organization, Hero Group, and New Feilan Resistance Army are both reliable allies and competitors. They are large in scale and occupy a larger share of resource support. If Han Xiao wants to obtain more resources, he needs to achieve better results than them.
"The two sides haven't officially started fighting yet, there's still time for pre-battle preparations, so there's no need to rush..." Han Xiao thought to himself, "Besides developing my forces, I also need to further improve my strength. The experience accumulated on my panel is enough for me to easily reach level 200 or higher."
Power is an external aid, but personal strength is the most crucial element; only the strongest fist can command respect.
Ten years is enough time for Han Xiao to convert all the experience he has accumulated on the panel into combat power. As for whether he can reach the Beyond Grade A, Han Xiao has no idea. He doesn't know exactly what level Beyond Grade A requires.
Based on the rank difference between Grade B and Grade A, and the gradually increasing energy level gap between ranks, Han Xiao estimated that the threshold for Beyond Grade A would be at least around level 240.
The experience he accumulates may not guarantee that he will reach the Beyond Grade A, but reaching the A+ level is practically a certainty.
If I find some powerful skills and specializations and combine them with my existing template specializations, I should have a good chance of defeating most Grade A opponents.
"I'm currently level 170, and the job change quest is holding me back. To obtain advanced knowledge and complete the job change, I need to start with Amethyst and raise my affinity to 6000 to reach the 'Revered' relationship."
Having finalized the development plan, Han Xiao returned to the base and immediately issued a large number of orders.
First, by scaling back operations and losing millions of high-quality workers, Han Xiao reduced the frequency with which the Black Star Army accepted hires.
At the same time, Han Xiao allocated a large amount of funds to purchase various materials and parts, allowing the military factories at various bases to build small spaceships. The Logistics Department led by Reynold is now vastly different from what it used to be, having expanded many times over and is now capable of manufacturing spaceships independently. However, it can only produce small assault ships and similar models, but this has saved a lot of costs. Expanding the fleet is one of the pre-war preparations.
The other wave of funds will be used to recruit external forces. The Black Star Army now has more than 100,000 official mercenaries, and Han Xiao plans to increase that number by 40% to 50%. Money is not a problem.
The disappearance of millions of players also caught the attention of the other Black Star mercenaries, who were quite puzzled. However, Han Xiao did not explain to them. Even if they had a thousand guesses, they were just guesses and could not change the established situation.
While some high-ranking members who knew about the special abilities of the Inhuman were surprised, they were not too shocked. The cadres who had followed Han Xiao were basically used to the players' special abilities, especially their immortality. They were just worried about the Black Star Army's situation after the Inhuman disappeared.
Han Xiao summoned all senior officials for this purpose.
Inside the room, the executives arrived one after another, from Melos, who joined first, to Lagi, who joined recently, and everyone gathered together.
Han Xiao cut to the chase. "The Inhuman have disappeared again, and we don't know when they'll reappear. This isn't the first time. And Krent's invasion may happen soon. We'll be hired by the Amethyst Civilization to fight as members of Section Zero. You need to be prepared."
The group members nodded, their expressions varying.
"Lagi, you are the only Calamity Grade expert besides me. If the battle gets intense, we may have to lead separate teams," Han Xiao said.
"Sigh, war again. I have a feeling I'll really be sacrificed this time." Lagi's face was bitter.
Han Xiao's lips twitched.
Well, this counter-praise has at least reduced your chance of dying by fifty percent.
At that moment, Reynold suddenly interrupted.
"Lord Black Star, he is not the only Calamity Grade."
Upon hearing this, everyone turned to look at Reynold.
Han Xiao's eyes lit up, and she stared intently at him, "Could it be that you...?"
Reynold nodded, a rare smile appearing on his usually meticulous face. "Just a few days ago, I successfully crossed the threshold of the Calamity Grade. I'm now Grade A superhuman, all thanks to your selfless guidance."
Han Xiao was overjoyed. Reynold had also become Grade A combatant. Together with himself and Lagi, the Black Star Army now had three Calamity Grade combatants, surpassing many members of the Section Zero.
Great news!
Reynold joined his ranks a few years ago and studied for so long before finally advancing to the next level. Han Xiao was surprised, but not unexpected. He had long known that with Reynold's talent, becoming a Calamity Grade expert was a certainty; the only difference was when.
With the Secret War about to break out, gaining another powerful general under his command couldn't be more opportune.
Melos, standing to the side, couldn't help but feel a little disappointed.
He initially followed Han Xiao, but now his status is constantly being surpassed by newcomers. However, he can't do anything about it because he lacks strength. Becoming Grade A expert is not something that can be achieved overnight, and he hasn't even touched the threshold of Grade A yet.
After the Sunil incident, Melos became sworn to follow Han Xiao to the death, remaining utterly loyal. He only regretted that he hadn't been able to help Han Xiao more.
Everyone had different feelings. The Volga Three Brothers remained as lazy as ever, Fording smiled silently, Sylvia clenched her little fists and secretly worked hard, while Aroshia stood aside, lost in thought.
Han Xiao's gaze fell on Aroshia. Her [Restart] quest was still in its second stage. He had found the locations shown by most of the memory fragments through the players, and occasionally took Aroshia to visit them all. There was only one more location left to complete the second stage of the quest.
However, the final location was too remote, so Han Xiao hesitated to take her there to complete the second stage. He wasn't in a hurry to do this mission. Since Resta had already revealed that the ultimate goal of the [Restart] mission was to deal with the "Mechanic Emperor" Manison, Han Xiao figured he couldn't handle it in the short term, so he wasn't enthusiastic about the mission.
He didn't want to waste his time going up against a Beyond Grade A opponent, especially one who was a member of the Ancient Ones.
Not only the Black Star Army, but all members of the Section Zero are making pre-battle preparations and recruiting manpower on a large scale.
A dozen days later, a sensational piece of news swept through the entire Shattered Star Ring, causing a shock throughout the entire star field.
The War Realm has invaded the Colton Star Cluster from the Desolate Universe Belt!
This foreshadows the official start of the long-brewing Secret War between Krent and Amethyst!
This seemed to be a fuse, and the chaos brought about by the Crimson Tide finally erupted completely!
Friction between the seven star cluster-level civilizations of the Shattered Star Ring has escalated to the point of physical conflict. Numerous major powers and secret organizations across the Shattered Star Ring are engaged in fierce battles throughout the star field, leaving the Shattered Star Ring in utter chaos. Everyone is living in fear, and a trend of forming alliances has begun to emerge.
The most dangerous era in nearly a century has arrived!
All members of Section Zero received a notice from Amethyst to be transferred to the battlefield.
When Han Xiao received the notification, a prompt also popped up on the panel.
[You have triggered Grade S faction war mission [Secret War - Section Zero]!]
[Mission Introduction: The Krent Empire has invaded the territory of the Amethyst Civilization, and you have chosen to stand with the Amethyst Civilization]
[Mission Requirements: As a member of Section Zero, follow orders and repel all enemies invading the territory of the Colton Star Cluster]
[Different rewards will be given based on the task evaluation after completion.]
[Note: This is a strategic mission; there are three ways to improve mission evaluation.]
[1. Complete the separately issued tactical objectives and tasks]
[2. Kill or capture units of the opposing faction]
[3. Successfully complete this task]
"This is one of the main quests in 3.0... As expected, I'll trigger this quest during the version update."
Han Xiao had anticipated this.
This is an Grade S main quest. Players can choose between the Krent or Amethyst factions. Since I have already joined Section Zero, I have chosen the Amethyst faction by default.
When version 3.0 of the previous game began, the Secret War was at a critical juncture, and players returned then, choosing a faction to intervene in the war.
This main storyline is Grade S mission, and the descriptions are relatively brief. Regardless of who wins the war, the player on the losing side will still receive the mission rewards, the difference being the mission rating.
Through player experimentation, several ways to lower one's rating have been identified. The first is disobeying the faction's orders, the second is betraying the faction, and the third is losing the war by failing to protect/invade territory before the intervention of a cosmic civilization.
"I triggered this mission at the beginning of the war, ten years earlier than the players..." Han Xiao raised an eyebrow.
This means that the cycle of this mission will be very long for him, with the secret battlefield spanning the entire version update period, and it will take at least ten years to settle.
On the other hand, it also means that they have a lot more time than players to grind for mission ratings.
"I'm afraid I'll be spending the next ten years in battle... Well, after two or three years of leisure, I've had enough rest."
This is unlike those short-term mercenary operations; this is a long-term, large-scale war.
Han Xiao stood up, put on his coat, and went out the door.
"Phillip, gather the men and march with me."