In the Happy Hut, an interrogation is underway.
"Who exactly is instigating you?"
Han Xiao pretended to ask a question.
Stefan was bound by electromagnetic restraints, and a piercing high-voltage current coursed through her body, emitting puffs of white smoke. She seemed oblivious, gazing calmly at Han Xiao before her, her face pale and weak. Her lips parted slightly as she whispered, "I told you, you won't get any information from me."
Han Xiao narrowed his eyes but remained silent.
The [Prey] mission is not over yet, and the fourth ring is inactive. Manison can share the senses of a shadow to a certain extent. Han Xiao does not want to reveal that he knows the truth, as that would increase the danger of the next ring. So these past few days, whenever he has free time, he pretends to interrogate Stefan, acting as if he does not know about Manison.
Whether it's outsmarting thin air or not, it's always better to be cautious... Han Xiao thought to himself.
Han Xiao had already extracted hundreds of vials of gene serum from her. An A+ superhuman was much more resistant to disease than Grade B, like a dairy cow with a higher yield. But Han Xiao hesitated about what to do with Stefan next.
If Han Xiao hadn't known that the enemy behind her was Manison, he might have kept her around to extract more medicine. However, Manison can sense shadows, so keeping Stefan around would be a huge hidden danger.
Han Xiao's eyes shifted, and finally he sighed slightly. With a flash of Mechanical Force, nanoparticles were ejected from the compressed sphere, like black quicksand, clinging to his arm and transforming into a Psionic Energy cannon, which was pressed against Stefan's forehead.
Thump thump thump--
A series of cannon shots rang out, and silence finally returned after a long while.
The door opened, and Han Xiao came out, shaking his head.
He didn't want to leave any hidden dangers. Although Stefan's experience was quite tragic, he didn't hold back. Manison's shadow lost its self and couldn't escape control. Death was a relief for it.
Defeating Stefan grants a 280% bonus for killing enemies of a higher level, totaling over 350 million experience points, which slightly replenished his remaining experience pool, and also gave him a Stefan character card.
[Character Summon Card - Stefan: [Resonance Penetration] - Reduces the target's physical defense by 50%~80% through close-range resonance. For every 100 points of stamina the target has, the duration is negated for 1 second. The base duration is 24 seconds, and the minimum duration will not be less than 3 seconds. Uses: 0/4]
Han Xiao closed his eyes, recalling the scene just now. In her death throes, Stefan seemed to briefly regain herself. He clearly saw a look of relief and gratitude appear in Stefan's eyes before she withered and disappeared with her life.
Suddenly, a prompt appeared on the panel.
[You have triggered the quest [Stefan's Last Wish]!]
[Mission Brief: In her final moments, she pleads for your help to make up for the greatest regret of her life.]
[Mission Requirement: Find the last remaining Antetar People bloodline.]
[Reward: 15 million experience points]
[Note: This is a ruins quest; certain characters may be interested in it.]
"A quest has been triggered..."
Han Xiao was somewhat surprised.
The Antetar People were the civilization of Stefan, which has disappeared into the annals of history.
It seems that failing to protect her civilization was her eternal regret. However, after becoming Manison's shadow, her obsession was twisted, and she could only recall it again in the fleeting moments before her death.
Ruins quests are a special type of quest. The rewards shown on the quest panel are minimal, but most of the time they involve places buried by the dust of history. Exploring ruins can lead to additional discoveries.
'If I have the time, I could do it,' Han Xiao thought to himself.
With the holiday coming to an end, Han Xiao thought for a moment, took out his communicator, opened his contacts, flipped through dozens of pages, found Laifer's number, and initiated a call.
Kaya Star System.
In the vast expanse of space, a formidable array of warships, trailing fiery tails like meteors, Stealth moved about. This was a complete guerrilla fleet of the Section Zero, its main force drawn from the frontline cooperative force, the New Feilan Resistance Army. Most of the warships were assault-type models.
In the main control room of the Radiant Raven Class flagship, Commander Morred and his staff were holding a tactical meeting around a silver-white table. The heads of other cooperating forces in the fleet were listening in. Above the table was a three-dimensional star map glowing with blue light, marking the densely packed strongholds and fleets in the War Realm, in a deep red color that represented high danger.
"In our tactical sector, there are twelve strongholds in the War Realm. This operation is based on the highest directive from the operations command. Including us, a total of twenty-seven fleets are participating in this tactical operation. What are your thoughts?"
Morred is a Feilan human, slender and frail, seemingly weak, but in reality, the strength of his muscle fibers is no less than that of an alloy, and he weighs over a ton. He is one of the high-ranking combatants of the New Feilan Resistance Army, a Calamity Grade mecha warrior, with semi-organic metal fused into his body, achieving perfect harmony between man and machine, and possessing an extremely tough physique. He belongs to the "body-based mecha warrior" style of mecha warrior master.
After Han Xiao temporarily withdrew from the main battlefield, the situation in the Secret War changed rapidly. The main force of the War Realm joined forces with the vanguard and advanced with unstoppable momentum, continuously expanding the stronghold territory of the three border star systems of West Wind, Chaida, and Kaya. In two months, they built hundreds of mutually supportive stronghold planets. The locations of the strongholds were carefully selected, and their influence covered several star sectors, completing the first strategic blueprint.
The ruling civilizations of the three border star systems remain aloof and do not intervene in this unofficial Secret War. According to rumors, the War Realm has sent envoys to contact and negotiate with these three star system civilizations. Although only two months have passed, according to big data statistics and public opinion surveys by neutral intelligence organizations, the influence of the Amethyst Civilization in the West Wind, Chaida, and Kaya regions has dropped by about 13.7%.
Weakening the influence of the Amethyst in the border system is the general strategic direction of the Krent Empire. It is true that the system is the territory of the star cluster, but the region of the star cluster is planned later, and the system civilization and the star cluster civilization are not absolutely subordinate to each other.
If the influence of the Amethyst region declines significantly, and the galactic civilizations, under the influence of Krent's recruitment efforts and the future pressure from the Crimson Dynasty, will declare independence and submit to Krent's command. Even if the border systems of the Colton Star Cluster are separated from Krent's Seoul Star Cluster by a Desolate Universe Belt, these border systems can be reclassified into the territory of Krent's Seoul Star Cluster, as they possess cluster-level stargate technology, and distance is not a limitation.
The most important factor in re-planning the star cluster's boundaries is the support of a cosmic-level civilization. This is the source of Krent's confidence in seizing the star system. Amethyst is semi-neutral, and unless Amethyst is willing to become a vassal of a cosmic-level civilization like Krent, the Federation of Light will not help.
The army of the Tyrant Heber consists of battle-hardened elites, and is recognized as a top-tier armed force in the Shattered Star Ring. In a head-on confrontation, the Section Zero would be no match.
Compared to the powerful War Realm, Section Zero's greatest advantage lies in its strategic depth. The operations command adopted Han Xiao's suggestion and made adjustments. During the two months when the War Realm was at its most powerful, they changed their tactics, avoiding the main force and using strategic depth to buy time. They did not care about short-term gains or losses, but dispersed their forces across the vast star system War Realm while waiting for an opportunity.
What Morred and the others were discussing was a large-scale counterattack that had been brewing for a long time, a call to action to launch a counterattack!
"The War Realm's army is the largest in the West Wind Star System, with all eight Vanguard Officers gathered. Apart from Black Star, no one can rival them. In contrast, the Kaya Star System is the war zone with the fewest troops in the War Realm, making it a perfect entry point," a staff officer said.
Morred nodded. "The strategic objective of this operation is to eliminate twelve War Realm outposts in this sector. The enemy is mutually supportive, connecting the twelve outposts with a single warp station. Even with extremely fast reinforcements, their total troop strength will remain unchanged. Our twenty-seven fleets will attack each outpost planet, dispersing the enemy's forces and stretching their lines. Then, our elite forces will raid and destroy the warp station, depriving them of their ability to quickly relocate the battlefield. After that, we will swiftly eliminate the twelve outposts and gradually eliminate any isolated support forces."
Everyone nodded in agreement. The commander's tactical training manual contained numerous tactical cases. This was the correct approach to dealing with warp base stations, where the attacking side took the initiative. The tactics of the Section Zero's combat command were simple and efficient.
"The twenty-seven fleets can be divided into four types: diversionary forces, feint attack forces, standby forces awaiting a major assault on key positions, and spearhead forces tasked with raiding warp jump stations." Morred tapped the table, his expression serious. "And we are one of the three spearhead forces. The enemy has heavily fortified the warp jump stations; our mission is crucial."
"Once everyone arrives at the designated location, we will begin our operation..." The adjutant was interrupted halfway through his sentence by a communication message replacing the 3D star map.
Laifer appeared, hands behind his back, glanced around, and announced loudly, "This operation will be postponed for now. A new reinforcement will join the operation. Morred, you stay nearby and wait to meet with the reinforcements. He will join you in the raid on the warp station."
Was the plan specifically postponed for a reinforcement?
Everyone was taken aback. Morred was the first to react, frowning as he asked, "Who are the reinforcements?"
Upon hearing this, Laifer's face lit up with a relieved and satisfied smile, and his tone became more cheerful.
"Black Star."
Morred's eyes lit up.
It was him!
Two months after the earth-shattering battle, Black Star withdrew from the main battlefield, but now he has finally returned!
"With such a powerful ally, our chances of winning are much greater. At least at the level of high-level combat power, we have the advantage!"
Morred nodded emphatically. No wonder the operation was delayed. If it was to wait for Black Star, then it was an acceptable approach. Black Star could relieve some of the pressure on the enemy's high-level combat forces.
Several days later, the Black Star Army's fleet arrived in the Kaya Star System and joined forces with Morred.
As the main ship docked, Morred and numerous captains waited on the bridge. A hatch in the distance hissed open, and a man in black walked in first, followed by a group of mercenaries. This time, Han Xiao brought six hundred warships, accompanied by Grade B officers such as Melos and Harmon. Reynold was in charge of logistics, and Lagi had not yet returned.
After a quick glance, Morred stepped forward and extended his hand warmly.
"I am Morred, the commander of this guerrilla force, from the New Feilan Resistance Army. Welcome to the team, Black Star."
"Hey bro." Han Xiao shook his hand.
"Then I won't waste any more time, here's the plan..."
The two walked side by side, Morred explaining the steps of the operation to Han Xiao, while the others followed behind, making their way to the control room.
Han Xiao listened absentmindedly to Morred's explanation. When accepting the mission, Laifer had already explained the details, and now he was repeating them.
Laifer had been eagerly anticipating Han Xiao's return to the war effort, and as soon as his vacation ended, he sent Han Xiao to the Kaya Star System to participate in this long-planned counterattack mission.
In the past two months, Han Xiao has basically completed all his set goals: learning cutting-edge knowledge, rebuilding the mechanical legion, advancing to level 195, absorbing a large amount of accumulated experience and converting it into combat power, and even getting an unexpected bonus, obtaining a powerful offensive template specialization, which greatly increased his combat power.
Due to the passive situation in the war, the Amethyst Civilization attached greater importance to him, Han Xiao was given an important position as soon as he returned.
'I've made a good start. As long as I continue to achieve merits, my position in Section Zero will rise rapidly.'
Han Xiao thought to himself.
His goal was to make the Black Star Army a key force supported by Amethyst, thereby gaining access to abundant resources, so he naturally wouldn't refuse important battlefield missions.
He could put the job change quest on hold; his experience reserves were limited, enough for a full ten years of updates to the blueprints, and he feared he'd run out too soon. His current strength was sufficient to handle most situations. There weren't many level 180 inheritance-grade blueprints, and obtaining them was cumbersome. Before his next break, Han Xiao didn't have time to do the job change quest, and the Secret War was a crucial part of his strategy, which he had to take seriously.
Upon arriving at the control room, Morred opened the 3D star map and gave a more detailed explanation, which made Han Xiao perk up and listen attentively.
A tactical mission message popped up on the panel, requiring him to accompany Morred and complete the raid on the warp base.
After analyzing the information, Morred pulled up the data on several individuals, his expression turning serious.
"According to intelligence, the jump station is heavily guarded, equipped with nine satellite fortresses and satellite-level heavy artillery. There are fifteen Calamity Grade personnel stationed there, twelve of whom are powerful warriors recruited by the War Realm from the Seoul Star Cluster, and the other three are direct subordinates and core members of the War Realm."
Morred pointed to a portrait of a ferocious female creature with pale green skin, short blond mohawk, and several hideous scars covering her face. She was blind, using mechanical eyes, and exuded a ruthless aura, clearly a ruthless killer.
"Tamaria, War Realm Arbiter, High-Ranking Calamity Grade, nicknamed ' Poison Bone,' is said to have killed over a billion people, including ten thousand Grade B superhumans and one hundred Calamity Grade. This rumor is exaggerated, but the truth is probably close to the truth. In short, she is extremely bloodthirsty and a notorious madwoman under the Tyrant's command..."
"Green-skinned? She's probably Bloodline." Han Xiao rubbed his chin, sighing inwardly.
--As expected of Tyrant's subordinates, even the women are muscular beauties.
Heber has a wealth of talent under his command. In addition to the eight Vanguard Officers, there are also many infamous Calamity Grade cadres. However, the eight Vanguard Officers are the most famous, having debuted as idol boy groups.
Morred gazed at Han Xiao with deep affection in his eyes.
"This woman, and the other fourteen Calamity Grade, are all yours."
Wow, we've only known each other for less than an hour, and you're already being so impolite!
Han Xiao turned and patted Melos on the shoulder, "Did you hear that? It's up to you now."
Melos looked completely bewildered.
"Just kidding, why would I let you die?" Han Xiao laughed, cracking his neck. "Don't worry, it's just fifteen Calamity Grade enemies... If I can't beat them, I'll just run away!"