"Hey bro, have you arrived yet?"
"Almost there, almost there."
A small spaceship was parked on the barren, gray-brown land Summer Night Blossoms and her group waited beside the spaceship, some sitting and some standing, for the purchasing agent to arrive.
Soon, another spaceship landed nearby. The shopper stepped off the spaceship, glanced around, and greeted Summer Night Blossoms Hua.
"Where's the merchandise?" Summer Night Blossoms greeted us.
"Where's the money?" the purchasing agent asked warily.
"Didn't I already transfer the money?" Summer Night Blossoms Hua said helplessly.
"Ha, I was just setting the mood for a gangster deal. Don't you think it's exciting?"
The purchasing agent chuckled twice, but seeing Summer Night Blossoms Hua's expressionless face, he had no choice but to suppress his smile and lead him into the cabin to inspect the goods.
"Here, these are all the things you wanted. Take a look at them, or you'll accuse me of ripping you off."
Summer Night Blossoms glanced at the flowers, mentally calculated the result to be correct, and then said, "No need to check, I trust you."
At this point, the purchasing agent rubbed his hands together, looking a little embarrassed, and said, "You know, we've known each other for several years, we're quite close, right?"
Summer Night Blossoms seemed a little confused. "What are you trying to say?"
"I'm just asking you, aren't we playmates?"
What are you doing?
"Since we're friends, could you sacrifice yourself a bit and let me kill a few times to earn some bounty..." the reseller said cautiously. "Anyway, you won't get the Legion's bounty missions, and I can split the bounty with you 30/70. Rather than letting others profit from it, let me have some fun. Just consider it helping me satisfy my needs."
"Get lost." Summer Night Blossoms Hua was speechless.
You're offering a 30/70 split? Can your meager bounty even cover the experience points lost from dying once?
And what do you mean by "letting you experience the taste of meat"? Do you think we're fallen women?!
"Stop talking nonsense, the items are fine, I'm taking them." Summer Night Blossoms said, reaching for the equipment.
At that moment, the shopper suddenly grabbed his hand, chuckled, and said, "No, I think it's better if I keep it for now?"
"What do you mean? Are you trying to renege on your debt?" Summer Night Blossoms Hua was instantly enraged. His companions, their faces grim, surrounded him, seemingly ready to kill him at the slightest provocation.
The reseller remained calm and said slowly, "I'm doing this for your own good. You might get robbed if you take this new equipment."
A sudden sense of foreboding Summer Night Blossoms.
Just then, the sound of air currents from landing spaceships could be heard outside. One small spaceship after another landed on the ground, and a large wave of players rushed out excitedly.
Summer Night Blossoms and the others' expressions changed drastically. He knew perfectly well that these people were after the bounty. He turned and glared at the reseller, his face filled with disbelief, "You betrayed me?!"
"See for yourself." The reseller curled his lip, took out a communicator, which clearly showed the location of the Legion's wanted individuals, marking the location of Summer Night Blossoms and her group. Their coordinates were constantly being monitored, and this rendezvous was no secret to the nearby players.
"How come I didn't know?!" Summer Night Blossoms stared in disbelief, only then suddenly remembering that her legion's internal program had been automatically uninstalled, and she felt incredibly annoyed.
The players' Phillip subroutine switched to background monitoring, constantly tracking their coordinates and sending them to nearby Black Star Army members, like a constant reminder to the legion members, "The traitor is right here, hurry up and go play with him!" Summer Night Blossoms and the others attracted attention like sheep swaggering through a pack of wolves, but they were completely unaware of this.
Only nearby players would receive the coordinates. Summer Night Blossoms and her group had only recently arrived at the W-58 Stronghold, and only players on Blockade Line 027 knew the coordinates. They assumed it was a mission notification and took it for granted. No one posted about it on the forum, leaving Summer Night Blossoms and her group completely unaware.
Suddenly, Summer Night Blossoms realized something and exclaimed in shock, "Wait, you knew our coordinates were exposed all along, but you didn't tell me, and you didn't even cancel the deal?!"
"... I'm sorry, I'm a police officer."
Speak like a human being!
The reseller smiled shyly, "Well, I need to make a living. Since you're already here, I might as well take advantage of you. So, as I said, rather than letting others profit, I'd rather keep the commission. I'll split it 30/70 with you, fair and square."
Summer Night Blossoms's lips trembled, and she pointed at him, unable to speak. Her mood was as if she had just swallowed two pounds of hot excrement and was still choking on it.
You little rascal, you had ulterior motives from the start!
This is a damn trap!
I considered you a friend, and you actually tried to mess with me?
The world is going to the dogs, people's hearts are no longer what they used to be, where has the most basic trust between people gone?!
If the angry gazes of the Krent players nearby were knives, they could Summer Night Blossoms Fan Hua to pieces.
Seeing the players rapidly approaching, Summer Night Blossoms looked indignant and suddenly raised her hand. The reseller thought she was angry and about to fight, so he hurriedly jumped back a few meters away, only to see Summer Night Blossoms standing there with four fingers raised.
"Sixty-four points!"
The reseller's eyes lit up, like a butcher sharpening Butcher knife for a pig, and he kindly reminded the buyer, "Remember to choose your faction's respawn point when you revive, otherwise you'll get killed again."
"Thank you so much!" Summer Night Blossoms Yefanhua's voice, filled with gritted teeth, sounded like metal being ground down with a steel rod. Her grief and indignation were mixed with helplessness, her helplessness with heartache, and her heartache with compromise. It was full of accusations against this society.
Whoosh whoosh--
A familiar white light flashed by.
Summer Night Blossoms Flowers flashed before her eyes, and she was back at W-58 Stronghold. Her face was pale, her heart even more bitter, and she wanted to cry but couldn't.
I'm so tired, I wish I hadn't come to Krent...
Summer Night Blossoms had this thought, but quickly dismissed it, took a few deep breaths to calm herself, and convinced herself to believe in her hypothesis.
Although the road ahead is winding, he still believes the future of the Krent camp is bright.
"I can definitely make up for the losses I suffer now in the future." Summer Night Blossoms secretly cheered himself up, then moved away from the respawn point. He didn't want to become the little white rabbit that the black bear used to wipe his butt, or the target of other respawned companions' venting of anger.
Suddenly, a friend message popped up on the panel; it was from the reseller.
"Your goods will be temporarily stored here with me. We'll meet at another time. Let's arrange it next time."
Summer Night Blossoms almost made her nose crooked with anger.
You monkey, this is entrapment! Are you trying to scam me again?!
"Get out! Give me my money back!!"
Han Xiao also saw this minor incident involving players on the forum. A player posted boasting about being the first to kill a traitor, which Han Xiao thought deserved praise. He transferred a lot of experience and Enas to the player using the faction panel.
Summer Night Blossoms Hua's analysis post was bumped up again, with many people teasing and mocking him in the comments. Summer Night Blossoms stubbornly defended himself, saying that his death was nothing, just a normal factional struggle, and that the later plot would prove him right. This kind of behavior is very much Kong Yiji.
To pass the time, he browsed forums. A day later, Rexon assembled his troops and launched a massive attack on W-58 Stronghold.
With Han Xiao's current experience, he was already used to small-scale interstellar battles at a single stronghold. The two fleets would probe, exchange fire, make contact, and fight. He didn't need to observe the battle to know that this was the standard procedure.
The fleets were engaged in fierce fighting. Han Xiao had been observing from the flagship without intervening or having Hila and Fording, the two Calamity Grade beside him, join the battle. Only after seeing the numerous casualties on both sides did he look at Hila beside him.
"Try absorbing the souls of the dead on the battlefield."
Hila nodded, her eyes slightly closed, a streak of red light flashing across them. Then, a rich black-red energy spread throughout her body, as if her figure had grown twenty centimeters taller out of thin air, and her aura was hundreds of meters high, solemn, vast, and majestic, like an ancient god.
In the vast interstellar battlefield, countless shipwrecks floating in space emanate a hazy aura, forming countless long gray serpents that stretch for thousands of kilometers before converging in Hila's hand, like a whale swallowing a rainbow.
She absorbed the remaining spiritual power of all the soldiers who died on the battlefield.
Hila exhaled a breath as swift as an arrow, her spirits high, and clenched her fist. "The strength and range of my abilities have both increased, at least equivalent to six months of my ability development."
"It works, that's good." Han Xiao was overjoyed. This was good news. The faster Hila was formed, the sooner she could help him maintain order. Some unimportant enemies could be dealt with by Hila.
He decided to call Hila's exclusive quick-learning method "collecting ashes," which is similar to the Northern Darkness Divine Skill, draining others dry to accumulate internal energy. It's also a cheat-like skill.
Just then, an unusual energy suddenly erupted in the middle of the battlefield. Three Calamity Grade high-level combatants flew out from the fleet at W-58 Stronghold. The intervention of these high-level combatants immediately broke the balance of power and became a point that the Rexon forces could not handle. Originally only at a slight disadvantage, they were now being forced to retreat steadily.
"How can there be three Calamity Grade beings! The intelligence clearly only stated Manudo!" The adjutant on the flagship exclaimed in shock.
However, instead of panicking, Rexon even laughed.
"Three wouldn't be enough. With Black Star here, let alone three Calamity Grade, even thirty..." Rexon paused. Although he had great confidence in Han Xiao, he didn't dare to flatter him too much. He coughed and changed his words, "Even if there were thirteen, Lord Black Star would kill them without hesitation. Their arrival would only help us expand our achievements."
Just then, the flagship's viewing window magnified the field of vision, focusing on Manudo.
Manudo made a provocative gesture toward the flagship, and then the flagship received a video message from Manudo. His pale face, sweat-drenched forehead, and awkwardly arrogant expression appeared on the screen.
"Black Star! I know you're in there. Don't hide and stay silent. I'm not afraid of you. The three of us Grade A superhumans are here to challenge you at the same time. Do you dare to accept? Ha, ha, ha!"
At the end, Manudo let out three stiff laughs, cold sweat pouring down his face. If you looked closely, you could see his face twitching as if he was about to cry, and it seemed he was barely managing to maintain his fierce expression.
The people in the flagship command center looked on with strange expressions.
Although the enemy is making threats, they don't seem to have much confidence...
Han Xiao sighed, "Are you serious about using such clumsy acting to provoke me?"
Rexon turned to Han Xiao and said respectfully, "Lord Black Star, we are unable to deal with a Calamity Grade expert. Please help us."
In his view, it would be a piece of cake for Han Xiao to kill three normal Calamity Grade superhumans.
Han Xiao shook his head and patted Hila's slender waist. "These three are yours."
Facing three opponents of the same level alone, Hila showed no sign of difficulty. She turned around and prepared to fight. She was not one to shy away from challenges; she liked to face them head-on. Since Han Xiao could deal with multiple opponents of the same level, Hila made him her goal and set high standards for herself.
Moreover, she also wanted to fight a life-or-death battle against a powerful enemy under sufficient pressure to test her actual combat strength at the Calamity Grade enemy.
While attacking the warship, Manudo and his two companions waited for Han Xiao to engage in battle. For Manudo, every second was agonizing, as if he had already stepped onto the execution ground and was just waiting for the guillotine to fall. If it weren't for Jorde's orders, he would have turned and run away right now.
Jorde was also observing the battle remotely via video, his eyes glued to the screen, waiting for Han Xiao to make his move.
At that moment, a dark red meteor appeared in their field of vision, moving at incredible speed and crashing into them without warning. One of Manudo's Grade A gunner teammates opened fire from a distance, bombarding the dark red meteor with high-energy particle beams, gradually slowing it down.
However, in the next moment, the dark red meteor suddenly erupted, releasing thousands of red energy beams that seemed to cover half of the battlefield. The energy level was extremely thick and dense, like a thousand giant pythons crashing into the War Realm fleet. As if it had taken a rabies pill, it wildly shook its thousands of heads, like whipping, carrying out an AOE attack.
Manudo and his two companions were also struck by dozens of almost solidified red energy beams. In addition to carrying conventional energy attacks such as scorching heat and explosions, Hila's energy beams also impacted and shook the three men's spirits, causing them to feel a pang of fear. They hurriedly retreated, filled with surprise and uncertainty.
"This energy is so strange."
"Just a moment ago, this energy beam was like a suction cup reaching out, trying to pull my spiritual body away."
The release of red energy, like a tsunami, ended, revealing Hila's figure. Her black and red armor was designed to be lightweight and amplify energy release. Instead of a helmet, a transparent energy membrane covered her head, providing an internal life support system and a wide field of vision.
Manudo looked surprised; he had thought Black Star was behind it. Who was this woman?
Does the Black Star Army have Number One person?
"The intelligence doesn't indicate this. Could it be a newly recruited officer?"
"She's very strong; I felt threatened by her."
The three of them spoke on the communication channel, and all felt the pressure.
Jorde, watching from a distance, was also completely bewildered. He carefully examined Hila; he had never seen her before. Black Star had actually sent her to fight three Calamity Grade alone—did he trust her abilities?
"The Black Star Army is truly full of talented people."
Jorde gritted his teeth. Seeing that Black Star wasn't making a move and he had no leads, he had no choice but to signal Manudo and the others to fight Hila and probe her strength.
Meanwhile, others on the battlefield also noticed the standoff between high-level combatants.
The Black Star Army players who participated in the battle were shocked when they saw Hila's appearance.
"Hey, this beautiful woman looks familiar."
"I remember now, isn't this Hila who appeared in both 1.0 and 2.0? She's a familiar face."
"Yes, it's her. I thought she was dead in 3.0, but she's still alive, and seems to have become even stronger."
"She disappeared in the later stages of version 2.0. When did she join our legion?"
"If I remember correctly, in version 1.0, Black Star infiltrated the Germinal Organization to rescue her? Isn't she the Legion Commander's old flame?"
"Oh~"
Many players suddenly realized what was happening, made meaningful remarks, and quietly turned on the recording function.