Less than five minutes after all players logged off, reports from various Black Star Army bases were sent to Han Xiao. This wasn't the first time many of the legion's officers had experienced something like this, and although many still found it amazing, no one was particularly surprised.
To outsiders, the players' disappearances seemed random; only Han Xiao, who also possessed a player panel, knew the exact time.
Version 3.0 marked the true rise of the Black Star Army, with upgrades in personnel size, armed forces, and status. Han Xiao remembered that at the end of version 2.0, the Black Star Army only had twenty or thirty space bases, thousands of warships, and nearly two hundred million Enas in savings, with some influence only in the Garton Star System. But now... the improvement is more than ten thousand times!
This is enough to prove how much he has gained in this version. He seized almost every opportunity he could, and his promotion to Beyond Grade A was like a carp leaping over the dragon gate, completing a transformation.
Given the current size of the Black Star Army, while the offline status of all players will affect the armed mercenary business, it will not hinder the normal operation of the legion's business.
"This version update spans two or three decades; back then, Shattered World was in its fourth phase of development..."
Han Xiao leaned back in his chair, habitually tapping the table as he pondered silently.
Compared to the scale of a civilization, a few decades is a very short period of development, enough to reproduce one or two generations. However, if there is external interference, this short period of time is enough to cause a disruptive upheaval.
When all knowledge can be answered by outsiders, and technology no longer requires slow, trial-and-error research, it is entirely possible for the Black Spirit Race race, with its terrifying learning efficiency, to advance from an indigenous civilization to an interstellar civilization in just a few decades.
Excessive interference in the development of lower-level civilizations violates the Pan-Universal Civilization Contact Treaty. While ostensibly aimed at restricting lower-level civilizations from taking shortcuts to development, its fundamental purpose is to reduce interstellar conflicts. Expansionary desires are directly proportional to one's strength; avoiding over-saturation of advanced civilizations in various regions can reduce friction... On the other hand, it also protects lower-level civilizations.
However, the same principle applies: even the best rules must be implemented according to the individual. Given Han Xiao's current status, as long as he doesn't go too far, no one will bother with such a trivial matter. Moreover, the Black Spirit Race is still under his name, so no one will use this matter to attack him—having territory means he can do such things without interference.
While thinking, Han Xiao took out his communicator and dialed the number of the Empire's contact.
"Lord Black Star, is there something you need from me?"
"What do you think? Otherwise, why would I be looking for you?" Han Xiao replied irritably, then asked, "How long until the first phase of the Shattered World development is finished? Two years ago, they told me it would be done soon. Now the star map data for those three star regions is basically complete. When will the Imperial high command announce the completion of the first phase of development?"
"I'm not entirely sure about the exact time, but I estimate it will be at the latest this year."
Let me know if there's any news.
"Don't worry, Commander-in-Chief Tarrokov will definitely inform you in advance."
At this moment, the imperial liaison paused, and his tone suddenly turned serious:
"By the way, there's something I need to tell you. The Blood Gold Organization has ignored the Empire's warnings and hasn't stopped its activities of seizing Evolutionary Totem. Our allies are quite resentful about this."
Han Xiao was somewhat surprised and pondered, "It seems they've found a powerful backer?"
"Well... to be precise, it was their backer who actively sought them out. The Federation of Light provided protection, allowing them to hide in the Star Cluster Abyss star system and remotely control their subordinates to continue accepting plunder and employment."
The Federation of Light? Sure enough, they couldn't resist starting to target the Evolutionary Totem... Han Xiao narrowed his eyes. The intervention of a cosmic-level civilization was as he expected. After the Federation of Light finished observing, it wouldn't sit idly by and watch the Empire monopolize such a strategic item.
Currently, the Federation of Light's plans are still unclear. Han Xiao believes that the Federation of Light will not be limited to such small-scale plundering. This amount of production is far from meeting their huge demand. There must be a deeper scheme behind it. The most likely scenario is that they will use some means to force the Empire to open up the right to sell Evolutionary Totem.
In this respect, the Federation of Light and he himself had no conflict of interest, and Han Xiao also wanted to expand his business.
However, now that the legacy of the Sorokin has been spread, and the methods for creating the totems have been mastered by many forces, they may try to seize the Evolution Cube directly, but the chances are slim.
The Arcane Church tried to steal from the Empire while they were unaware of totem technology, but their painful experience was still fresh in their minds. Now that totem technology has been exposed, the Empire's focus on blocks has risen to a strategic level. Unless absolutely necessary, no one will risk a real war to seize blocks, as the losses far outweigh the gains—but we still cannot afford to be complacent.
What's the Empire's reaction?
"The higher-ups anticipated this situation and made considerable preparations in secret. Although the Empire borne most of the pressure, there are still risks on your side. The higher-ups suggested that you stay within the Empire's territory and only use mechanical troops for external operations. Even if the Federation of Light has High-Dimensional Apocalypse Teleporter, they wouldn't dare to teleport into the Empire's territory."
"That's certainly safer, but I can't stay in the Central Galaxy forever; that's no different from being imprisoned." Han Xiao sighed helplessly. The Federation of Light's teleportation technology is unparalleled in the universe; there's no reason to guard against thieves for a thousand days straight.
As long as he doesn't hand over the Evolution Cube, he will always face this dilemma. Profits always come with risks. To completely resolve this, he must make the entire universe fully acknowledge his ownership of the Evolution Cube, preventing any thought of taking it away. His own strength is one factor, but allowing the Empire to open up the right to purchase it is also an important prerequisite.
This is a calculated move; the Federation of Light is indirectly forcing me to speak up for them...
"Anyway, thank you for reminding me. I'll think about it some more." Han Xiao shook his head and hung up the call.
After sitting for a while, Han Xiao stood up, pushed open the door, went straight to the combat training room, closed the door, opened the attribute panel, and looked at the experience bar.
The player has logged off. This stored experience is an important asset for improving his strength during version updates. In the two years from the middle of the version to now, Han Xiao has accumulated a massive amount of experience, which is more than enough to reach level 300.
The Empire is beyond our control, so all we can do is improve our own strength.
Han Xiao let out a breath and poured a lot of experience into upgrading.
[The Mechanic Dominator has been upgraded to Lv21. Strength +360, Agility +5, Endurance +12, Intelligence +15. You gain 12 free attribute points and 1 potential point!]
[The Mechanic Dominator has been upgraded to Lv40 (Max). Strength +1200, Agility +5, Endurance +12, Intelligence +15. You gain 12 free attribute points and 1 potential point!]
The massive amount of experience points served as fuel, propelling his total level from 280 to 300. Streams of heat flowed through his body, and energy burst forth from his eyes, lasting for several minutes before subsiding.
At this level, upgrade costs snowball and the increase will only get higher. Without a quick way to replenish experience, the cost-effectiveness of continuing to upgrade is limited.
Han Xiao then poured all his free attribute points into Intelligence to boost his damage output, before looking at the panel prompts.
[You have reached the level cap for your main class, and you have triggered the class change quest -- [Erudite]!]
[[Erudite]: At least 30 professional knowledge areas must be at Lv5 (maximum level), including three Ultimate Knowledge —the power of a mechanic comes from knowledge; only by solidifying the foundation can one climb to new heights.]
[You have reached level 300, and you have triggered the advanced quest - [Energy Abundance]!]
[[Energy Abundance]: Qi Strength Level reaches Lv19 -- The more powerful the ability, the more energy is needed to support it.]
"These two tasks... seem pretty good."
Han Xiao raised an eyebrow.
Compared to challenging tasks, Han Xiao prefers advancement or job change tasks that have strict attribute requirements. He was already planning to improve his professional knowledge level, and [Erudite] was exactly what he wanted.
[Energy Abundance] requires a Strength level of Lv19, which is 120,000 Strength points. Han Xiao had been training [Radiant Energy Absorption], which added some Strength. With the benefits of leveling up 20 times, his Strength just exceeded 100,000 points, reaching Lv18. He was still about 20,000 points short of the requirement.
Most Beyond Grade A characters have over 100,000 mana, but Han Xiao belongs to the group with very little mana. If it weren't for his special mana regeneration technique, his endurance would be at least three levels lower.
If you can't upgrade, you'll need a lot of stamina training to fill the gap... Although the requirements are demanding, stamina is indeed a key attribute, affecting the efficiency of health and mana exchange. Completing this task step by step will be beneficial to you.
However, despite saying that, Han Xiao's body still obediently opened the random reward page.
During this period, Han Xiao had the mechanical troops perform some missions outside, accumulating more than twenty opportunities for random rewards.
"Hopefully I'll get Mission Settlement Card. It's impossible to go through more than twenty attempts without getting a single item..." Han Xiao prayed silently.
Even Fording can't get this stuff by drawing it. Luck increases the drop rate of high-value items, but Mission Settlement Card are cheap for players. High luck actually makes it harder to draw them. You'll probably get a slightly higher drop rate if you just rely on your Big Black.
Without saying a word, Han Xiao started smoking repeatedly. He went out to wash his hands halfway through, then came back to continue smoking.
I drew all the random rewards more than twenty times in a row. More than half of them were common items like experience crystals. In addition, there were 3 potential points, 2 low-level skills, 1 basic feat, 1 Blank Character Card, 1 Skill Enhancement Card, 1 Double Experience Card, and two Mission Settlement Card.
After more than twenty consecutive draws, he only got two cards. Was this good luck or bad luck...? Han Xiao's lips twitched.
Two Mission Settlement Card could directly complete two requirements, but Han Xiao thought about it and decided not to use Mission Settlement Card here, feeling it wasn't worth it.
"These things are so hard to get. I finally came across two missions that weren't too difficult. I'll need the Mission Settlement Card for future advancement and job changes, so I'd better keep them." Han Xiao thought to himself.
[Erudite] is not difficult, as he originally intended to upgrade his knowledge anyway. [Energy Abundance] has demanding requirements, but it can be completed with some effort.
He could afford to wait this long. He had two Mission Settlement Card in hand, just in case. He would only use them in an emergency, otherwise it would be a real loss to waste his "precious" Mission Settlement Card here.
Han Xiao opened the attribute panel and browsed through it. Since there was no advancement or job change, only a slight increase in attribute points and potential points.