July 17, 704 (Galaxy Calendar)
Black Star Army Headquarters.
Ding ding ding...
In the bright alloy corridor, a tall figure with waist-length the Sight of Father's Back walked gracefully forward. Her alloy combat boots made a resounding footstep on the ground. Her white-gold female light armor with purple trim only covered her vital parts, and underneath was a jet-black high-strength nanofiber technology bodysuit that accentuated her graceful figure. As she walked, her waist swayed, and the surface of the black bodysuit gradually lit up with blue-green matrix patterns following the movement of her muscles, especially with the densest patterns at her waist.
Several low-ranking soldiers of the Black Star Army emerged from around the corner, dressed in identical Black Star standard armor. Upon seeing the woman in the distance, they all straightened up, stood at attention, and saluted.
"Your Excellency, Chief Affairs Officer."
She paused, a polite smile spreading across her exquisite face, radiant like a hundred flowers in bloom, captivating the men. Only after she had walked away did they come to their senses, their faces filled with lingering admiration.
"So beautiful, no wonder she's the Black Star Army's number one beauty..."
"I wish you would even like me."
"Keep dreaming! Lady Sylvia is a Calamity Grade powerhouse and the Legion Commander's chief apprentice. How could she possibly be interested in you?"
The woman, who had walked quite a distance, twitched her ears and overheard their conversation; a hint of helplessness appeared in her eyes.
It was Sylvia.
Over the past seven years, she has diligently cultivated (struggled to survive), and through repeated rigorous training (suffering), the potential hidden deep within her genes has been extracted, finally achieving the accomplishments she should have had in her previous life's 3.0 version, and stepping into the realm of Calamity Grade!
As his strength increased, his reputation also soared, and he rose to the position of Chief Affairs Officer of the Black Star Army. At the same time, he could proudly admit his status as the chief apprentice under the Black Star. People would no longer joke about this title, but would acknowledge it.
The lifespan of Calamity Grade being is exceptionally long. Seven years have sculpted Sylvia into a stunningly beautiful woman, fully developed with flowing long hair, tall and graceful—a natural beauty who could easily score 9.5 out of 10. With her good looks, strength, and high status, Sylvia is adored by a large group of rugged men within the legion. In terms of popularity, among all the officers, she is second only to Fording in popularity within the Black Star Army.
Sylvia arrived at the open-air platform at the top of the base, the highest point on the Black Star headquarters Galaxy. Surrounded by the star-studded universe, she could see the nearby Planet Golden Gate with just a glance up, as if a huge planet was hanging upside down in the sky, dominating a large part of the sky.
At this moment, many officers were standing on the platform, and they all turned to look at her. Sylvia glanced at them and saw that basically all the key members of the legion who held important positions were here: Vice Commander Lagi, Logistics Director Reynold, Fleet Commander Melos, Chief Cultural Instructor Lothaire, and so on, about twenty people in total, of which fifteen were Calamity Grade!
"Everyone's here. How's the preparation I asked you to do?"
A deep male voice rang out, and Sylvia looked in the direction of the voice. A tall figure stood on the edge of the platform, dressed in a specially made black outfit made of nanomaterials. His back was to the crowd, and he looked up at the Planet Golden Gate in the sky. It was Han Xiao.
"As you instructed, everything is ready." Sylvia nodded.
"Very good."
Upon hearing this, Han Xiao turned around, his expression calm, but his eyes revealed a hint of anticipation.
Compared to seven years ago, his appearance hasn't changed much; he still looks young. But after all, seven years have passed, and he's almost forty. The wrinkles aren't etched on his face, but rather on his heart. Although he's still handsome, his demeanor has become more composed and weathered.
The cadres present had a deep understanding of his transformation. If Han Xiao seven years ago was like a fierce tiger, imposing and intimidating, then after seven years of accumulation, his reputation had become established. At this moment, Han Xiao gave them the feeling of a majestic lion. Just by looking at him, everyone except Lagi could feel the pressure.
Today is the day version 3.0 is launched, and Han Xiao has been waiting for this day for a long time.
"A full ten years..."
Han Xiao sighed inwardly. For players, this was just background information, but he had truly experienced these ten years. He had made many preparations in advance for the opening of the new version. The cadres present were there to personally report on these preparations, but they were just doing what Han Xiao instructed and did not know the reason.
This 3.0 version of the event has undergone significant changes compared to the original storyline of the previous life.
Over the course of seven years, the Secret War intensified. Due to his own actions, Krent was not as dominant as in the original storyline. The Section Zero and the War Realm fought back and forth, and the Zero Organization was not as passive as before. Both sides entered a heated phase ahead of schedule. The battlefield was not only West Wind, Kaya, and Chaida, but two new star systems were also affected by the war.
The Secret War is one of the main storylines of version 3.0 in the Shattered Star Ring region. Due to Han Xiao's involvement, the Secret War is more intricate than in its previous form, with more forces secretly participating. When players return, the Secret War, which has been modified by Han Xiao, will be one of the main storylines of version 3.0 that players will experience!
Over the past seven years, the Black Star Army's business structure has stabilized, focusing on war, mining, and mercenary operations. It has developed steadily, successfully establishing a foothold in various star systems. Its influence extends throughout the Colton Star Cluster, with over 500 satellite bases, Three Hundred Thousand warships, hundreds of millions of members, and assets reaching the tens of billions level. It has become a behemoth!
With such a massive scale of influence, supporting millions of players is more than enough. Moreover, version 3.0 is a period of explosive growth for new players, and with the good results of the second Galaxy League as a foundation, there will definitely be even more new players in Huaxia. The Black Star Army has ample capacity to cultivate a massive number of new players.
Seven years of war provided Han Xiao with a constant stream of experience, allowing him to reach level 211. The experience level of version 2.0 was indeed struggling to keep up with his late-game leveling needs.
The return of players in version 3.0 presents another opportunity to level up quickly, and Han Xiao has been eagerly awaiting it. Over the past seven years, he has taken time out to do hundreds of hires and stockpile a batch of Mission Settlement Card, all in preparation for leveling up.
Han Xiao's preparations over the past seven years have been akin to sharpening his sickle.
It's safe to say that everything is ready now, except for the leeks (a metaphor for being exploited)!
Han Xiao took a deep breath, looked up at the Planet Golden Gate in the sky, opened the panel, and silently watched the update time countdown.
[Version 3.0 is now available!]
[Retrieving data... Data retrieval complete!]
[Player forum open]
Welcome to Galaxy 3.0 – [Crimson Tide]!
It's finally started!
In version 3.0, players' strength will undergo a qualitative leap, transforming from a quantitative one. The difference between millions of Grade C superhumans and millions of Grade B superhumans is like night and day!
'This version marks the true rise of the Black Star Army!'
Han Xiao's eyes lit up, a smile appeared on his lips, he turned his back to the crowd and waved his hand.
"Send all the spaceships out."
At the same time, Planet Golden Gate.
Due to the relocation of the Black Star Army headquarters, Black Star Number One Base on Planet Golden Gate was transformed into a surface office outpost. It was deserted and empty with few people stationed there.
Suddenly, countless white lights flashed simultaneously, and players appeared one after another. The empty stronghold instantly became crowded with people, and the deserted base suddenly became lively.
"Haha, I can finally log in!"
"New version Lei is here."
"Crimson Tide? Is this version's name really that censored? This is doomed."
"It's already version 3.0, and we still can't take our pants off?! Thumbs down!!" a male player angrily exclaimed.
"Wow, this is the third version already! Are the 'pants-dropping' party still not all dead?" The person next to me looked horrified.
"We, the 'Pants Off Party,' have always been watching, never leaving..."
"Long Sky is awesome! Hao Tian is awesome!" Some people were still immersed in the second Galaxy League, which had just concluded not long ago, unable to extricate themselves from the memory.
Inside the base, over 100,000 players were in high spirits, chattering away like a noisy market.
Before the update, all players logged off at their respective bases, with the largest number logging off at Number One Base, exceeding 100,000. They then reappeared in large numbers.
Frenzied Saber logged in at the perfect time. After the second league ended, he had a good time to relax. As professional players, they couldn't fall behind when the new version opened, so all the professional players logged in immediately.
Frenzied Saber, Hao Tian, Kings and Generals, Li Ge, and others all logged in at Number One Base and gathered together. Professional players' habit is to first check the changes on the panel.
"The attributes and skills remain unchanged, but the level cap has been increased. It seems the level cap for version 3.0 will be 120."
Hao Tian said in a deep voice.
"The faction panel is still there, that's great, the Black Star Army hasn't collapsed yet." Frenzied Saber breathed a sigh of relief, and the others also relaxed considerably.
The Black Star Army is still around, which means that the faction contribution they accumulated in the previous version will not be wasted, and their efforts have not been in vain.
After quickly checking the attribute panels, the professional players breathed a sigh of relief. By then, the other players had also had enough of their excitement and started getting down to business.
Having experienced two version updates, players now have experience, and when a new version launches, the most important thing is to first understand what changes have occurred in the world.
Including professional gamers, everyone in the base took out their communicators, opened their calendars, and checked how long ago the version update had been.
Upon seeing the date, everyone immediately erupted in chaos.
"Holy crap, it took a whole ten years to go from version 2.0 to 3.0?!"
"That's been too long. The NPCs from the last version probably haven't forgotten us, have they?"
"I remember there was only about a year between version 1.0 and 2.0, how come it's increased tenfold all of a sudden?"
"Terrifying, terrifying..."
"Could this be related to the main storyline of this version? It took ten years to develop the main storyline. I remember that before the update, Meat Bun had a video where Black Star personally revealed the existence of the Crimson Dynasty. Meat Bun analyzed that version 3.0 was very likely related to the Crimson Dynasty. Could the name ' Crimson Tide ' come from this?"
A full ten years have passed since the last version, a discovery that utterly astonished players – this is the longest update gap ever!
The crowd discussed amongst themselves, while looking around to see what changes had occurred in the base ten years later.
Soon everyone noticed the anomaly. In the previous version, this base was the headquarters of the Black Star Army, bustling with people and many mercenary NPCs. But now it was deserted, with not a single NPC in sight, as if the place had been abandoned.
"I hope nothing bad has happened to the Black Star Army." Someone opened the Mercenary Alliance interface, only to find that the Black Star Army's mercenary record had disappeared, and the Black Star Army could not be found in the search results.
Then, when everyone tried to open the Black Star Army's subprogram, they encountered a message saying "Version too old, insufficient permissions, please refresh registration information".
Over the past decade, Phillip's subroutines have been updated countless times. Players' subroutines are no longer usable and require authorization from the Black Star Army to re-register before they can be used.
This discovery spread like wildfire, and many people immediately became anxious.
Almost all Huaxia players are in the Black Star Army, and they consider the Black Star Army their own faction. The players are eager to know what the Black Star Army is like when they are not around.
"Let's go out and take a look first." Frenzied Saber was the most anxious and hurriedly walked out of the base gate, followed by the professional players.
Seeing someone take the lead, hundreds of thousands of players filed out of the base, leaving it to find the road clear and unobstructed, with no access control even present.
As they left the base, the players looked back and noticed that Number One Base had shrunk considerably, seemingly having undergone renovations and having many areas demolished, making it appear quite dilapidated. Upon seeing this, Frenzied Saber and the others felt a pang of unease.
Outside the base lies the street of a city on the Planet Golden Gate. Warm orange light spills onto the towering buildings, casting twilight-like shadows. The street is packed with players, making it extremely crowded. Many have no choice but to activate their mechs, fly into the air, and search for clues from NPCs.
There were quite a few people from Goddora not far away. Frenzied Saber, Hao Tian, and the others rushed over first and grabbed one of them.
"Hey, what are you doing?" the passerby asked in a terrified tone.
"Don't be afraid, we just want to ask some questions," Frenzied Saber quickly said.
The passerby nodded timidly, then suddenly noticed the Black Star emblem on the mechs of Mad Frenzied Saber and his group, and his expression changed. "You're from Black Star?"
Everyone's faces lit up with joy. Ten years had passed, and this person still knew about Black Star —there was hope!
Frenzied Saber hurriedly pointed to Number One Base and asked, "Yes, is that the headquarters of the Black Star Army?"
"You're from Black Star, why are you asking me?" The passerby looked puzzled, but still answered honestly, "That's no longer the Black Star Army's headquarters."
"So where is the Black Star Army's headquarters now?" Frenzied Saber asked impatiently.
The passerby pointed to the ceiling, shrugged, and said, "Look, isn't that it?"
In the sky?
Frenzied Saber, Hao Tian, and the others looked up in confusion, their faces suddenly freezing, their mouths gaping wider and wider.
Gradually, more and more players looked up at the sky, as if they had all been frozen in place, their mouths agape as they stared at the sky like motionless turtles basking in the sun.
What immediately caught the eyes of all the players was a massive, steel-colored planet suspended in the outer space of Planet Golden Gate, dominating most of the sky, as if it might fall to earth at any moment!
There's no need to search for it specifically; such a large planet is right next door, it's impossible to pretend you can't see it.
This planet-sized fortress is the current headquarters of the Black Star Army?!
More than 100,000 people looked up at the sky, completely dumbfounded!
In version 2.0, the Black Star Army headquarters was just a base. Ten years later, the Legion had a planetary fortress not much smaller than Planet Golden Gate as its headquarters!
What exactly has the Black Star Army experienced in the past ten years?
What did we miss?!