Chapter 510: Black Star’s Return!
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
At the same time, in the Black Star Mercenary Group’s previous temporary base in Juberly Hub, dozens of white lights flashed. The professional players who followed Han Xiao had also appeared. They were Frenzied Sword, Hao Tian, Bun-Hit-Dog, and the others. During the update to the new version, they had all gone offline there.
The habit of any professional player was to open up the interface at the very first chance to see any changes to the interface. As professional players, they were most concerned about their stats and equipment.
After confirming the increase in the level limit, all of them looked around and were immediately stunned.
However, the entire base was empty and only a lonely light was lit. The metal walls glowed with a dim white color, reflecting the light. While the entire base was spotless because of the cleaning facilities, the door that was opened and the silent atmosphere made the players feel as though there had not been anyone staying there for a long time.
The items in the room had disappeared, including Black Star’s personal warehouse and his machinery modification room. If not for the fact that even the furniture was gone, they would have thought that a thief had broken into the house.
“Why isn’t there a single person here? Where is my Black Star?” Frenzied Sword asked.
“Who knows how long has passed? It seems like they are no longer here,” Hao Tian said in a solemn tone.
“It is also possible that they are all dead,” Li Ge said and immediately drew the angry glares of those around him. His consideration had historical reasons behind it. He still remembered that a subordinate guild of their Temple of God had once met the tragedy of their mission issuing location being destroyed.
“Idiots, can’t you guys just check on the Faction details?” Maple Moon rolled her eyes at the rest of them. As part of the mercenary group, they were able to check the basic information of the faction and find out the situation of the Black Star Mercenary Group. There was no need for them to guess blindly at all.
However, what the players did not know was that they were only able to see the Faction information because Han Xiao had intentionally added that information into the faction interface. It was so that these players would be able to witness the growth of the mercenary group and build their sense of belonging. From beginning to end, the Great Mechanic Han had only given benefits to the players so that he would be able to snatch more money.
After opening up the faction interface, the players were immediately shocked by the information displayed before them.
“The number of people in the faction had increased, and there are actually over four hundred people. The number of missions completed has also increased. Quickly, take a look at the summary. It is written that the location of the Black Star Mercenary Group’s base is on Planet Golden Gate. So, it turns out that the mercenary group has shifted house... but where is Planet Golden Gate?” Frenzied Sword asked.
“That’s not all! Look at this! Black Star actually killed a Calamity Grade Super on Noriosse! My goodness, he’s too powerful...” Bun-Hit-Dog gasped. He then asked, “Wait... what grade is a Calamity Grade Super?”
At that moment, the players still did not know that Grade A Supers were also called Calamity Grade. They only felt that the name was extremely cool.
In any case, anything above Grade C was something that the players could only look up to.
All of the professional players then fell into a daze. Just what had the Black Star Mercenary Group gone through when they were not around?
Right at that moment, the doorbell to the stronghold suddenly rang and the players jumped up in shock. They then opened up the door, and a three horned snakeman was standing outside the door.
“Are you guys members of the Black Star Mercenary Group?” the snakeman asked.
The professional players looked at each other before nodding.
“I am a captain of the Royal Crown Travel Agency. His Excellency Black Star asked me to send all of you to Planet Aquamarine. Please follow me.”
Hearing that, a look of disbelief could be seen on their faces. They could never have imagined that Black Star would send a spaceship to pick them up.
...
The Mutation Disaster had changed the structure of the entire planet. The rule of the Six Nations was almost collapsing, and the territories of the Six Nations had fallen into chaos with the government losing control.
Because everyone had a chance of contracting the virus, even the government officials were not spared. Officials of all levels contracted the virus, and if the government lost its competent staff, it was as good as losing its strength. Thus, the Six Nations were gradually sliding toward destruction.
The various sectors and layers of society were created by men, and the order of society was what made people submit to it. The justice department, army, economic body, cultural tradition, morals, mainstream ideas, and so on were all there to let people understand the price of going against the rules and thus restricting their own actions. However, the mutation virus destroyed a person’s ordinary sense of logic and fear. They would not consider any consequences when the virus broke out, and all of those social structures completely lost their purpose. The social system that seemed to be unbreakable had turned into a fragile vase in a single night.
Primal chaos.
This was the most accurate description of the current state of society.
No living being could be trusted, and only the cold machine was reliable.
After the outbreak of the calamity, the Six Nations had abandoned all of their former enmity. In the face of such a calamity, their individual benefits were no longer important. They had no choice but to join hands, and the upper echelons of the Six Nations were having a video conference at that moment.
“Twenty days ago, we issued a request for help to the Godoran Civilization. Godora said that they would rush here as soon as they can, but they have not appeared after such a long time.”
The Mutation Disaster was like a virgin who was wearing a chastity belt. Regardless of how they tried, they just could not get her to open up her doors. The Six Nations knew that it would be impossible for them to deal with the Mutation Disaster with their present technology, and all of their means were ineffective. Thus, they had sent a report of the calamity to Godora and hoped for a higher-class civilization to save them.
However, not a single spaceship had landed thus far, and the upper echelons of the Six Nations were growing anxious. They tried to pester Godora time and time again but would only receive a response from an Artificial Intelligence answering machine.
In truth, the Six Nations did not know that the Mutation Disaster had not only broken out on Planet Aquamarine but all over the Garton Star System. Godora was currently extremely busy as well. Han Xiao had not revealed that this was DarkStar’s plot, and thus, Godora was still in the dark and did not treat the Mutation Disaster with great importance.
“Godora’s arrival isn’t something that we can control. Currently, we have a new situation. The Inhumans who disappeared over a year ago have appeared again.”
“This is truly too coincidental. Perhaps they are the ones who brought the mutation virus!” someone said angrily.
The Six Nations had always been suspicious of the Inhumans. Since they were not of the same species, the prejudice and discrimination toward the Inhumans had never disappeared.
“No matter what, the Inhumans are mostly Supers, and they may be able to provide us with some aid. Regardless of who comes to our aid, I only wish to wake up from this nightmare soon. In this situation, I don’t even dare meet my wife, afraid that I may lose control and end up harming her,” one of the officials said in a depressed tone.
“While Bennett has shared with the world the recipe of the suppressant, only Sanctuary Three is able to produce it stably. He said that he isn’t able to give us any extra suppressants, but I do not believe him. They are definitely hiding more suppressants in their warehouses.”
As those words were said, all the leaders of the Six Nations fell silent. All of them knew that everyone present had their eyes on the suppressant.
When a calamity occurred and there was only one item capable of fighting the calamity, the meaning of that item far exceeded its own use. In order to obtain the suppressant, everyone had no choice but to be obedient. Even if Bennett did not have other plans, Sanctuary Three had already become the center of the entire world with an endless stream of people rushing toward it.
The Six Nations wanted to control the suppressant and use it to stabilize their citizens and restore order to their regime. However, if they chose to snatch it, the situation that the people of the world had finally adapted to would be broken yet again, and they would face a huge risk. If they were not careful, they might end up causing an outcome that could not be reversed. Was stabilizing their regime more important than the life and death of the entire civilization?
Some of them were not able to persuade themselves while others could. Regardless of which faction they belonged to, they were still in a dilemma.
“If we really want to do it, we have to be fast,” Raylen’s leader said. “Time waits for no one.”
...
Two days passed by quickly.
The players stayed behind in Sanctuary Three to get used to the new version and participate in the Main Storyline mission.
While the players were many, there was an almost endless supply of missions in the Sanctuary. The missions with the highest reward were naturally the official missions issued by Bennett. There was a limited number of such missions every day, and the other missions could be activated by talking to different NPCs. The endless refugees outside of the Sanctuary had plenty of requests, and they would never be able to finish all the tasks. These tasks that normal people would find extremely troublesome were extremely enjoyable to the players. They performed the tasks with a serious attitude and were extremely passionate about their jobs. Every single player was like a model citizen, and the guards of the Sanctuary seemed to be lacking in contrast.
The vast majority of the mission rewards would award them with [Mutation Disaster] progress. After two days of hard work, the total progress was at 730,000 points. It should have been higher than that, but the destruction caused by the Mutation Disaster every day would lower the total progress. The players needed to continue accumulating progress points. If not, the mission total progress points would keep falling.
While they were not clear about the reason behind the mutation virus, the players did not care. As long as they had the guidance of the mission, they would just follow the guidance and complete the mission.
Because Version 2.0 would give the players a chance to enter the universe, the players knew that this Main Storyline mission was only a single starting plot of the new Version and not the entire storyline. The players on other planets also had similar encounters, facing danger the moment that the version started. It was just that the danger that they faced was all different. Planet Winterfrost faced the funniest storyline. As a planet that the Extinguish Army stationed their troops on, someone had actually launched a punitive expedition against them. How infuriating.
In comparison, the speed at which players on Planet Aquamarine entered the Main Storyline was the fastest. Apart from that, the situation of the plot was largely similar to Han Xiao’s previous life.
The forums were as lively as before the update, in fact, even livelier than before. With the new version being released, many players were sharing information, and new posts appeared at almost every second.
Bennett stood atop the city walls and looked down at the clamoring Sanctuary. The figure of the Inhumans could be seen all around, and they took care of his present manpower shortage. Upon witnessing this scene, his furrowed brows loosened up slightly.
“Thankfully, we have the help of these Inhumans. I never imagined that Black Phantom’s influence would still protect us.” Bennett let out a sigh and muttered with a complicated tone.
Hila was standing behind him and leaning against the wall. Her face was expressionless as she looked at the endless refugee tents.
“Ahhh!”
All of a sudden, a strange cry could be heard from the refugees, and countless individuals had an outburst of the virus. This was the most frightening part of the virus; it could break out at any time.
The refugee camp that was barely able to maintain its order immediately became chaotic. A few million infected individuals became red eyed, and a large battle broke out. The scene was extremely stunning, and the loud commotion was like a deafening tsunami of sound.
A small portion of refugees who did not break out in the virus sat down on the ground while trembling. The guards on the Sanctuary walls were also completely dumbfounded.
Bennett’s expression changed, and his arms grabbed onto the edge of the wall. He used so much force that his fingerprints could be seen on the wall.
“With so many people gathering here, the moment there is a collective outburst of the virus, the consequences are dire. When the symptoms of the virus recede, the number of casualties are probably in the millions!”
All of the players stopped their mission at hand. This was the first time that they witnessed a collective outburst of the virus, and they were extremely shocked. There were some who turned on the recording feature.
They had witnessed war before, but the sight of a large gang fight between a few million people was a first. The refugees did not use any weapons and had only used their fists or teeth to fight. They were like extremely bloodthirsty beasts.
“We must stop them. If not, many people will die. Send out all our forces and knock out all the infected individuals!”
Bennett immediately issued an order. Every infected individual deserved the opportunity to be saved. With so many people killing each other before his eyes, Bennett could not watch without doing anything.
Rumble!
Right at that moment, a loud rumbling sound could be heard from afar, getting louder and louder. Looking toward the horizon, countless beasts were sprinting over in a majestic fashion.
The beasts on Planet Aquamarine had also been infected with the mutation virus. Originally, the environment of the wilderness had been extremely dangerous, and it had become even more difficult to survive now. Furthermore, the outbreak of virus between beasts and humans was different. While the infected beasts would become violent, they would form a large herd and move around together. At times, they would fight each other, and other times, they would attack the cities.
The beast tide charged straight into the refugee camp and began a massacre. The refugees were bitten and trampled on by the beasts, and a bloody scene unfolded. It was as though a heavy cavalry legion had charged into a bunch of defenseless commoners.
Pa!
Bennett crushed the corner of the city walls and shouted with anger, “Not good! A beast tide actually came at this moment. Quickly, save them! If we do nothing, all of the refugees will die!”
At that moment, a huge change occurred on all the player’s interfaces. The total progress of [Mutation Disaster] fell by 10,000 points in the blink of an eye, and all of them triggered an urgent mission. The mission requirements were to save as many refugees outside the city as possible, with the reward ranging from 50,000 to 200,000. The fewer deaths, the higher the reward.
Furthermore, the total progress of their mission was falling rapidly, and if they did not save the refugees quickly, more than half of their hard work over the past two days would go to waste.
“Quickly, go out of the city and save them!”
“Requesting for a party. Anyone will do. I just need to fill up the party!”
The players in the city immediately became frantic and charged out of the city to save the refugees. After knocking out the infected individuals, they sent them into the Sanctuary.
Apart from saving the refugees, Bennett sent out a portion of players to delay the beast tide. The number of beasts was truly too great, and there were 300,000 beasts at the very least. They would not be able to kill the beasts any time soon and could only stall for time so that they could save as many refugees as possible.
Hila had already charged into the beast tide, and her dark red energy was released without any restraint. One after another, the beasts fell. The players in the surroundings also engaged in an intense battle with the beasts, and they were drenched in the beasts’ blood.
Killing was what she specialized in, and battle was already ingrained in her bones. It was an ordinary action to her, just like eating or sleeping. However, Hila truly had a complicated emotion during that battle. She used to be an executioner who killed the innocent ,and this was the first time that she had been fighting in order to save the lives of others who had nothing to do with her.
Rumble!
The entire situation was extremely messy. The refugee camp was sandwiched between the beasts charging in on one side and the players trying to save as many people as possible. Both sides were charging toward the center, and the infected refugees did not know how to escape, still engaged in battle!
Even with Bennett’s strength, he also felt that the situation before him was extremely messy. His palms were covered in sweat as he looked at the situation nervously.
“There are far too many beasts, and their attack rate is at least four per second. We cannot tank the damage at all!”
“Dammit! My morale is crushed! My ass has been smashed!”
“Gaps are everywhere, and we cannot block them at all!”
The players who were blocking the beast tide felt completely helpless, and players were dying every second. While they could revive, they needed time to run out from the Sanctuary, and it would delay time. What they needed most was time, and their mission progress was falling every second, causing all the players to get extremely anxious.
Xiu!
Just as the situation was becoming dismal, a deafening roar came from the sky. Despite the chaotic and noisy environment that they were in, everyone could clearly hear the deafening roar, and they all turned to look up at the sky.
A few hundred egg shaped metal pods then descended down from the sky and began burning up like fireballs. It was like a few hundred descending meteors, and their landing location was right at the doorstep of the Sanctuary.
Boom boom boom!
The metal pods landed on the ground and filled the ground with cracks. The next moment, the doors to the metal pods opened, and a person walked out from every single metal pod.
They were dressed in armor and held weapons in their hands. Their styles were extremely varied, and they were obviously guests from outer space who did not belong to Planet Aquamarine. Everyone looked over with curious gazes and immediately knew that these metal eggs were airdrop pods from space.
These uninvited guests were warriors from the galaxy!
Just as everyone wanted to ask about their intentions, a man dressed in black who was wearing a mask waved his arm, and the hundred or so galactic warriors charged toward the beast tide.
Boom!
The galactic warriors displayed their powerful combat capabilities and immediately took over the battle. The previously seemingly unstoppable beast tide seemed to have run into a metal wall!
A few hundred people displayed strength greater than the surrounding thousands of players.
A look of shock flashed through Hila’s eyes. She was on the battlefield and could clearly feel their strength. Almost all of the galactic warriors gave her a sense of pressure that was even more powerful than what Bennett gave her. Furthermore, Bennett was the most powerful being on Planet Aquamarine at the moment.
This meant that any single one of those galactic warriors was more powerful than Bennett!
With an unknown force interfering, danger was averted. Only the black masked man remained by the gates of the Sanctuary without making a move. Bennett jumped off from the city walls and walked forward toward the masked man. “Who are you? Where do you come from? Why are you helping us?”
Bennett had seen the captured Godoran Observer before and thus did not lose his cool when seeing aliens.
But the very next moment, his expression, which he tried to keep cool, turned into shock.
Han Xiao raised his arm and took off his mask to reveal his appearance. A smile could be seen on his lips, and he felt as though he was extremely suave.
“It’s been a long time Bennett. Why are you so surprised? What, you didn’t think that I’d return?”
Bennett’s body immediately froze up, and he did not dare believe what he had just seen. His lips trembled, and his look of shock turned into one of crazed joy.
Hila, who was far away, was also shocked.
The instant that Han Xiao took off his mask, almost every player fell into shock. Following which, they burst into joy at reuniting after a long parting, and their morale increased greatly. This familiar figure was like a stimulant that injected all the players with a wave of hot blood. All of them were agitated to the point their scalps turned numb!
“It’s him! Black Star has returned!”