Han Xiao issued the two tasks, and all the legion players' panels immediately reacted. They all glanced at them and their expressions changed.
"Get extra faction contribution points for helping newbies with quests? That seems like a good deal."
"Completing any mission from the legion is fine, what about running errands?"
"Definitely counts, even the Dungeon Crystal produced by the Legion seem to count."
"These two tasks can be repeated, it's a huge profit!"
"Must I team up with players who have been in the faction for less than a year? Is it only for newcomers born on Planet Dield in version 3.0?"
"Those from the Constellation Corridor should be counted the same way; they only just joined the legion, didn't they?"
The two faction missions were packaged into a single faction event, creating a buzz among players.
The task Han Xiao issued was not coercive, but rather an incentive. Such a rare opportunity to earn contribution points would not be refused by many players. It was just a matter of teaming up with a newbie, so they would not lose anything and would actually gain a lot.
While some players may remain unmoved, many more are willing to seize this opportunity.
His goal was achieved as long as most people didn't confine themselves to their own small circles, but instead actively teamed up with newcomers and took the first step in socializing with unfamiliar players from other star systems.
When new and old players play together, they can easily build some friendships, and it's normal for them to add each other as friends.
The two tasks are complementary and target different groups. [Instruct the Recruits] encourages experienced players to team up with newcomers, while [Seek Advice from Veterans] encourages newcomers to actively seek out experienced players for guidance.
The category of "newcomers" includes not only players from the Constellation Corridor, but also local new players recruited by Han Xiao 3.0 version on Shattered Star Ring, another newbie planet in Planet Dield Shattered Star Ring. Since veteran players in the Shattered Star Ring have the right to choose, they naturally prefer to play with their own people. The "[Seek Advice from Veterans]" feature encourages foreign players to actively seek out veteran players from their legions, rather than only requiring Shattered Star Ring players to do so.
Compared to veteran players who have been in the legion for one or two versions, these newcomers need more contribution points and are more enthusiastic about this task.
Under Han Xiao's covert guidance, the situation at the legion headquarters quickly changed. The various areas where players gathered became lively, with teams broadcasting messages asking to join.
"We're missing one player. We're all veteran players from the legion. Looking for a newbie who's level 100 or higher. No martial artists, please. We can do newbie/veteran quests together to farm contribution points."
"Level 88 Gunner, with [Deadly Firepower] and [Bullet Barrage] selected, all main damage skills are level 4 or higher, main weapons are the O-38 Model Energy-Blasting Arc Cannon and the ' Snake Bone ' Electromagnetic Submachine Gun, using the eighth-generation Mobility Black Serpent Armor, all Legion purple gear. Newbie looking for veterans to team up with for contribution points!"
"A 30-person convoy is preparing for the [Secret War: Defense of the Snail Beast] dungeon. We have four empty slots. We need a few high-level players from the Constellation Corridor, at least C+ rank. We need tanks and crowd control, no DPS! I repeat, no DPS! Hurry up and get a full convoy, let's go!"
The interaction between players suddenly became more active, with players in the Constellation Corridor eagerly seeking out veteran players from the legions to team up with, and the veteran players generally accepted all requests. The previous situation of everyone playing separately was immediately improved.
Foreign players joined teams from different legions, quickly integrating into the environment and doing quests together. Since players were all waiting to complete the Shattered World main storyline, they were currently mainly farming dungeons, which indirectly boosted the sales of Dungeon Crystal.
Players had no doubts about the two missions. A group of newcomers had just arrived from across the star system, and in the players' view, it was perfectly normal for the Legion to have veterans mentor the newcomers.
"Hey Huaxia brothers, do you know when this event ends?"
"Who cares, just swipe it."
"You don't seem surprised at all; such group activities are rare in our star system."
"Haha, our legion has very frequent faction activities. I've participated in many large-scale missions with hundreds of thousands of players participating. You'll get used to it after a while; it's a characteristic of our Shattered Star Ring."
Ordinary players started recruiting others to form teams, and clubs and guilds also organized themselves, with the four major guilds overjoyed.
We just reached a price difference agreement with the foreign guilds, and it's still fresh in our minds, when this task popped up immediately. The Russian and Australian guilds are all newcomers; their representatives had barely left when they came running back to ask for their help.
Even their own factions are helping them!
After monitoring for a while, Han Xiao nodded, quite satisfied with the impact he had made—breaking up countless small groups of players who used to play together in two star regions, allowing ordinary players to actively accept newcomers and gradually integrate into each other's groups, was a good start.
Without any guiding activities, the worst-case scenario might be that Huaxia, Russian, and Australian players form their own groups, and the Tu Shu collection slowly becomes fixed... Of course, the probability of this extreme possibility is very low. If players are allowed to develop naturally, there won't be much communication between the different groups, factions will remain obvious, and it won't be conducive to harmony within the legion players.
By setting the pace himself, he can significantly speed up communication between players on both sides, which is very beneficial to the faction.
He intends to keep these two tasks going for some time.
Soon we will be exploring the Shattered World, with countless quests, which is perfect for players from both sides to work together.
After closing the forum, Han Xiao left the office and returned to his bedroom.
His bedroom in the legion was simply furnished, with silver alloy walls and a skylight in the ceiling offering a panoramic view of the vast universe. In the center of the room was a large black bed, and along the walls were simple living amenities such as mecha display cabinets, bookshelves, a refrigerator, an automatic cooking machine, and a biological waste disposal bin. Only a potted plant in the corner added a touch of life to the cold-toned room—it was one he had planted himself.
After taking off his outer clothes, Han Xiao took a shower and came out wrapped in a loose bathrobe. His strong and slender body was covered in water droplets and steaming. He took out more than a dozen tubes of premium nutritional paste with different flavors from the refrigerator, casually bit into them, and gulped them down. This stuff restored his strength very quickly, but it wasn't cheap either.
Beyond Grade A can basically go without eating or sleeping, replenishing themselves by absorbing various forms of energy. However, they choose to retain the habits of being human. The increase in power and the change in race also alter how life views the world. They don't need rest; they simply use it to remind themselves that humanity still exists.
Because of the astonishing control that Beyond Grade A possesses over his body, Han Xiao is no longer able to fall asleep naturally and can only actively control his brain to enter a state of dormancy.
Two months after arriving at the Central Galaxy, he finally fell asleep for the first time in his own home.
Lying in bed, before falling asleep, Han Xiao's consciousness entered the quantum network and greeted Phillip.
"I'm going to sleep. Call me if you need anything. Goodnight."
Phillip: "Goodnight, Master."
After a night's rest, Han Xiao woke up on time, threw off the covers, got up to wash and get ready, took off his bathrobe, put on a black coat, and resumed his Black Star persona.
The first thing I did was open the forum and take a look. Because of cross-teaming, more and more new players were active in the Shattered Star Ring section, communicating with Huaxia players.
Han Xiao glanced at the forum and noticed a new pinned post, which was the latest episode of the Galaxy Times.
"They'll probably mention interstellar travel..."
Han Xiao's heart skipped a beat, and he turned on the program.
After the familiar opening, the two hosts shared events and interesting stories from various star systems, and soon mentioned the first batch of players who crossed star systems.
"Just recently, the Black Star Army, a well-known NPC faction in the Shattered Star Ring, provided players in the Constellation Corridor with a route to the Shattered Star Ring. According to statistics, a total of 713,000 players chose to follow the Black Star Army, completing the first known instance of players crossing star systems."
"In version 2.0, the Black Star Army served as the guiding faction for players from the Shattered Star Ring to travel to interstellar space. Now, they are guiding players from another star system to cross star systems. Perhaps this sends a signal—in the next version, players will be able to cross star systems on a large scale and freely travel to different regions!"
"We have data to prove that the evolution of player activity areas is as follows: Version 1.0, the starting planet; Version 2.0, entering interstellar space; Version 3.0, exploring the current star cluster... With each version, the player's range of movement expands. Originally, we thought that players would mainly explore their birth star region in the next version, but the actions of the Black Star Army gave us a new idea—because of the theme of ' Galaxy,' players from different star regions will inevitably intersect sooner or later. Therefore, based on this trend, we can deduce that the next version will be a stage where players can freely cross star regions."
After watching the program, Han Xiao shook his head and smiled. This speculation was logical, but the Galaxy Times was only half right.
In the next version, players will indeed be able to cross star systems on a large scale, but unlike what the Galaxy Times speculated, players will not be able to freely choose to go to different regions. Instead, they will gather in the Shattered World.
The Galaxy Times misled a group of players; apart from Han Xiao, no players knew at the time that Shattered World was the main stage for the next version.
Han Xiao smiled inwardly.
"These players who followed me to explore the Shattered World now have no idea how much they've benefited."
After browsing the forum for half an hour, Han Xiao finally got down to business. He toured the legion headquarters and then went to the Logistics Department.
Upon entering Reynold's office, one immediately sees Nero buried in a mountain of books.
"Godfather!" Nero looked up, his deep dark circles clearly visible. When he saw it was Han Xiao, a look of joy lit up his tired face. He threw down the mechanical theory book in his hand and rushed into Han Xiao's arms.
Han Xiao's lips twitched when he saw the terrifying amount of homework Reynold had assigned.
This already falls into the category of child abuse...
While secretly criticizing Reynold, Han Xiao patted Nero's head, "Come on, let's go on a trip."
"Really?!" Nero exclaimed in surprise, almost bursting into tears.
When Nero left Planet Aquamarine, he thought he was just going on a trip with his godfather. Little did he know, even in space, he'd have endless homework to do!
Given Reynold's meticulous nature, his forte is rote learning. For the past two months, Nero has felt like he's been living in hell. Now, seeing Han Xiao is like seeing an angel descended to save him—he can finally escape his misery!
"I promised you, didn't I?" Han Xiao smiled. Actually, he wasn't entirely taking Nero on a trip. His main purpose was to go to the Terra Civilization where Harofal was located to find the location data of the wormhole through which the Sorokin's avatar had traveled.
Besides Nero, Han Xiao only brought Hila, Aurora, and Fording, setting off lightly equipped in the extremely fast Blacklight Stealth —the round trip wouldn't take too long and wouldn't delay the Shattered World's operations.
Since Harofal had already been killed by the Sorokin' minions, the hope of finding the wormhole data was extremely slim. Therefore, Han Xiao deliberately brought along Fording and Nero, his two lucky charms, to try and improve his luck.
After all, the people who believe in metaphysics the most... are Africans.
The Blacklight Stealth jumped through the stargate without stopping, and in just a few days, Han Xiao and his group arrived at one of the ruling planets of the Terra Civilization, visiting the Advanced Mechanical Academy where Harofal had once served.
Given Han Xiao's status, as long as he doesn't harbor malice, all the civilizations in the Shattered Star Ring would welcome Han Xiao as a guest... well, except for the Krent Empire, which curses him daily, and the Star Pupil Protoss, who secretly plots against him.
This mechanical academy is officially recognized and has trained many Mechanic Class for the Terra Civilization. The academy is extremely large and very impressive.
The dean and his men were waiting at the academy gate early in the morning, Han Xiao and his group were welcomed as soon as they arrived.
"It is our honor to have Lord Black Star here." The dean said with a beaming smile.
"You're too kind." Han Xiao nodded and greeted Tu Shu.
"Please follow me." The dean gestured, summoning a series of mechanical hoverboards, which were public vehicles within the academy.
When in Rome, do as the Romans do. Han Xiao got on his skateboard and followed the dean to the reception room, chatting and laughing along the way.
As the group walked through the campus, Han Xiao didn't expect to attract a crowd.
It seemed that some students recognized him, and the news spread quickly, with groups of students following behind them on mechanical skateboards, watching from a distance.
Han Xiao glanced back and asked in surprise, "Those are all students from the academy, right? What are they looking at while following us?"
The dean said helplessly, "Lord Black Star, as you know, this is the School of Mechanical Engineering, and all students here are superhumans in the Mechanic Class..."
"So what?"
"Ahem, you don't seem to be quite aware of your standing among the Mechanic Class students..."
Han Xiao suddenly realized what was going on. He glanced back and saw that the students following him at a distance had expressions of excitement, surprise, and admiration on their faces, staring at him with reverence, as if they were on a pilgrimage.
He was the only Beyond Grade A mechanic in the Shattered Star Ring, and his status was even more special in the eyes of Mechanic Class superhumans. He was equivalent to the authority of Mechanic Class in the Shattered Star Ring. His visit to this mechanical academy immediately caused a sensation among the students.
The dean smiled and said, "Lord Black Star, how about we organize a lecture for you here, where you can share your insights on the art of mechanics? What do you think?"
"Hmm..." Han Xiao thought for a moment, then waved his hand without refusing, "We'll see. If the trip goes smoothly, it's not out of the question."
"What is the purpose of your visit?" The dean's eyes flashed. Han Xiao had only applied for a visit and had not yet stated the purpose of his trip.
"Harofal is my friend; I've come to find a set of data he left behind."
The dean paused, then said with a touch of sadness, "Him... sigh, the academy was attacked not long ago, and he was kidnapped and killed by a group of people. He was a good researcher; it's such a pity, we've lost a talented person."
"The murderer was one of the Sorokin's henchmen; I've already avenged him."
After a moment of sadness, the dean suddenly asked, "Did the Sorokin's subordinates also kidnap him for the data you mentioned?"
This wasn't hard to deduce, and Han Xiao wasn't surprised. He glanced at him and nodded.
"That's right. When Harofal was researching the Terrarium Wormhole Cluster, I visited him several times. On one occasion, I was ambushed by the DarkStar Leader and forced to fight the Sorokin avatar. However, I couldn't defeat him at that time. Thanks to Harofal's help, I managed to exile the Sorokin avatar through a wormhole. And the location data from that wormhole crossing is exactly what I wanted."
The wormhole cluster in the Terrarium Star Cluster is at the center of the Shattered Star Ring. The teleportation location of each unstable wormhole is random, unlike stargates which have fixed coordinates. The probability of a wormhole repeating itself is almost zero, so even if you find the wormhole you traversed, it's useless. Only the location data recorded by the teleportation instrument is valuable.
The dean shook his head. "When Harofal was kidnapped, all the wormhole detectors in his lab were stolen; not a single one was left."
"He'll probably enter the data into your college's internal database, right? I'd like to ask if you can grant me access so I can check it."
"Uh... the internal databases related to the experiments are top secret. I can only allow outsiders access them with permission from the higher echelons of the civilization... and I don't know if Harofal has backed up that data. Also, he probed too many wormholes; if you don't remember the dates and times, we won't know which set of data you need..."
"Then please inform the higher-ups of the Terra Civilization for me," Han Xiao said in a deep voice.
Such an internal database with official backing must have extremely strong virtual defense measures. Given that he could obtain the data through legitimate channels, he did not want to rashly launch a virtual intrusion and antagonize a star cluster-level civilization.
As a Beyond Grade A, he couldn't keep doing things in secret forever, especially since he had no idea what the wormhole data the Sorokin had mentioned was all about.