Chapter 624: One Batch at a Time (2)
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
It was much more effective for the Germinal Tribe to persuade their own kind.
This region had five nests. One had been scared away by Han Xiao, and the Germinal Tribe had surrendered. Over the next few days, Herlous would first cripple the final three tribes before sending the Germinal Tribe to persuade the remnants of the tribes.
This method was far more effective than purely massacring, and the region was cleared out very quickly.
This truly surprised the Sunil soldiers. They had never imagined that the legendary Black Star would have such a brilliant strategic mind, and they were truly convinced by his abilities. They did not need to waste any time chasing after the mutants that had escaped, and the escapees of the three tribes had been convinced by the Germinal Tribe to submit. These mutants then brought their respective Prophecy Stones Base to surrender. This saved them a great deal of effort and prevented many casualties.
The players who participated in the battle were locked in a fierce debate on the forums. After learning that the Subterranean Mutants had intelligence, a portion of the players began to disagree with the action of ‘massacring’ them. As such, Han Xiao’s action of persuading the mutants to submit had gained the approval of many players. However, such players formed the minority, and they were players who were extremely emotional.
In the beginning, only a small portion of players discussed such an issue, and the majority of the players were only bothered about completing their mission and did not think so much. But as more and more threads related to this matter were created, many players could not help but input their opinion and choose a side.
Most people were used to feeling empathy for the weak and after seeing the cruel massacre, many players started to feel apprehensive about massacring the mutants. While the Subterranean Mutants look pretty disgusting, after looking at them for a long time, they were still pretty pleasant to the... what bullsh*t! They aren’t pleasant looking in any way at all!
In any case, despite feeling compassion toward the mutants, the players wouldn’t hold anything back when carrying out their mission.
However, the name of ‘Germinal Tribe’ had truly made all the players laugh until their sides ached.
All these players had been through the events of Version 1.0 and had a deep impression of the Germinal Organization. Thus, they could not help but joke about it on the forums.
“Germinal: Coach, I want to eat a boxed lunch!”
“Germinal: Now that things have developed to such an extent, I shall not hide matters anymore. It is time for me to reveal my true self! Are those of noble birth worth more than us‽”
“Shock! Germinal is actually the true boss. It is a mysterious force in the universe with their alternate accounts all over the galaxy. The Germinal leader that we saw on Planet Aquamarine was no more than one of its doppelgangers. Such a powerful organization has been hidden for billions of years, and we have only seen the tip of the iceberg...”
“Germinal: Hmm? Has my alternate account been exposed?”
“I understand now. This is the legacy of one’s faith and beliefs. I must spread the seeds of revolution throughout the entire universe. Germinal shall live forever! Our spirit will live forever!”
“The Germinals up in the heavens are watching all of you and have given you a like.”
“Continue bragging. The Germinals are extremely pleased.”
The presence of the Germinal Tribe lightened the heavy mood considerably.
In this region, only the final tribe that had escaped was left. Herlous personally led the troops and gave chase to the escaping tribe. All the surrendered mutants led the way with their superior digging abilities. Under the guidance of the radar, they very quickly found the new nest that had been dug by the final tribe.
This time, a battle did not break out, and the Germinal Tribe Leader communicated with the leader of the escaping tribe to convey Han Xiao’s message.
This escaping tribe did not fight back at all. When Germinal displayed Han Xiao’s figure, this tribe immediately recognized him.
Han Xiao was the one who had scared them into escaping and left a shadow in their hearts. This tribe was extremely timid, and the moment Germinal mentioned Han Xiao’s name, they did not even hesitate in the slightest and instantly came to an agreement in their mental network to surrender.
This was the first time that the problem had been taken care of without fighting. From the depths of his heart, Herlous truly felt that Han Xiao’s decision was extremely wise.
The five nests in this region had been completely cleaned up, and Herlous pulled back all of his troops from the underground world. There were many more regions for him to clean up, and dealing with these surrendered mutants would be another problem.
Herlous sought instructions from Han Xiao, and Han Xiao’s reply was simple. Since there were too many Subterranean Mutants and they were not willing to come above ground, together with the fact that it was too expensive to watch over them, the Subterranean Mutants would temporarily remain in their region with the five tribes living together. Han Xiao would then set up some monitoring devices to monitor the actions of those surrendered tribes. Following which, the expedition force would take the Germinal leader and a few tribe members as a diplomatic team to persuade the other tribes.
After seeing the effectiveness of Han Xiao’s plan, Herlous had no disagreements with his arrangements.
...
In the following days, the expedition force adopted the same strategy again.
All the underground mines on Planet Sunil had been detected by the radar, and there were 127 Subterranean Mutant nests in total. They were divided into 41 different regions, and the expedition forces cleared up almost half of the mutants all across the planet. The number of surrendered Subterranean Mutants reached a staggering 1.7 billion, and the number slaughtered would only be higher.
However, the persuasion method did not always work. Every mutant tribe had developed independently, and the level of development differed from region to region. There were certain regions that had not even developed intelligence and were not able to understand words at all, only capable of unintelligible grunts. Without any way to communicate at all, the only way to take care of them would be to slaughter them all.
All the players received great rewards from the [Eliminate Subterranean Mutants] quest, and Han Xiao was extremely pleased as well.
With the players joyfully earning their reward, Han Xiao did not remain idle and continued to harvest the wallets and experience of the players as well. His experience stash slowly approached the one billion mark.
The amount of experience points he would require in the future to level up was a sky-high figure. He had no choice but to work hard and harvest them now.
The expedition force was on track, and Base No. 3 had been fully constructed. A new and majestic Black Star base had taken root on Planet Sunil.
All the players gave a good review and shared its glory.
Everything went smoothly for Herlous, and Han Xiao did not have to personally take action. He had more than enough time to perfect Base No. 3, and this time, he was no longer alone. With Reynold as his assistant, everything went as planned, and both of them very quickly completed the factory for Base No. 3.
Reynold’s personality was far too serious, and he was extremely unbearable normally. But when it came to work, his serious personality was perfect. Han Xiao was extremely pleased with Reynold’s efficiency, and his [Perfect Mechanical Sense] came in extremely handy.
Han Xiao had been eyeing this talent for a very long time already. With both of them working together for a long period of time, Han Xiao tried every possible method up his sleeves to try and activate Reynold’s mission but failed miserably. When facing the blockheaded Reynold, Han Xiao truly did not know how to obtain the [Perfect Mechanical Sense] Molding Ability.
However, Han Xiao did know about other Mechanic talents that were not Molding Abilities, such as [Elementary Grade Mechanical Sense], [Accurate Mechanical Sense], and so on. Their effects were naturally far from being compared to [Perfect Mechanical Sense], but something was better than nothing.
He was a Mechanic after all, and it was truly depressing that he did not even have a Mechanic talent. Looking at all his talents on the interface, those who did not know him would think that he was a main tank.
It was a pity that the Mechanical Sense talents were pretty far away. They were not in this Star Cluster, and Han Xiao did not have time to go right now.
Emerald Grass finally had some progress with her research. She managed to develop an infectious biological weapon that targeted the Subterranean Mutant’s body structure and genes. After being infected, the Subterranean Mutants would slowly become weak with their outer shell slowly shedding. Their appetite would gradually be reduced to the point they were not able to consume anything. They would then die from either sickness or hunger in about ten days.
According to current circumstances, there was no need to make use of this biological weapon. After all, the mission was no longer to exterminate but migrate.
However, since the research had already been completed, Han Xiao still gave some of it to Herlous and instructed him to use it carefully. At the very least, this would greatly increase his efficiency.
On the second day after the development of the biological weapon, the upper echelons of Sunil came to visit.
In the guest room of Base No. 3, the two were seated opposite each other.
“This is truly a magnificent base.”
Otis took the initiative to speak. His words were said with a fawning tone, and the envy in his eyes could not be concealed.
In just a short period of time, Black Star had created an astounding base. The wealth that Black Star had displayed truly made the Sunils feel their inferiority.
“It’s fine.” Han Xiao sat with his legs crossed and slowly said, “The expedition is going smoothly. Is there another reason behind your visit today?”
“Your Excellency Black Star, we wish to make a suggestion,” Otis replied in a deep voice.
“You guys are the employers and have this right.”
“Your plan is remarkably effective, and many of the Subterranean Mutants are gathered together. I think that this is a good opportunity to make use of the biological weapon and kill them all.”
Han Xiao suddenly paused and studied Otis’ expression carefully.
Otis instinctively avoided Han Xiao’s gaze, but then, he felt that there was nothing to be afraid of. After all, Black Star was a mercenary who they had hired, and they naturally had the right to make such a request as the employer. He then mustered his courage to meet Han Xiao’s gaze.
“Those Subterranean Mutants have already surrendered, and I will shift them to another planet. Are you requesting that I give up on this plan and wipe out their race instead?” Han Xiao raised his brows.
“Yes.” Otis nodded heavily.
“Interesting. I am the one paying the cost for the migration, and you guys do not need to come up with a single cent. So, please give me a reason.”
Otis fell silent for a moment and skirted the question. “I think that this is a very reasonable request. We are the employers, and we hope that you will carry out the mission according to our request. You will also be able to save the migration fee this way.”
Han Xiao’s eyes narrowed, and he said with a smile that did not seem like a smile, “Indeed, the mercenaries are supposed to complete the employer’s request. However, we have the right to decide how to carry out the request. You guys only want to control Planet Sunil, and in my eyes, extermination isn’t the best option. While we are mercenaries, we do not have to obey the orders of our employers. I have the right to reject any request that I deem to be inappropriate. If you do not have a reason for this request, this matter shall be put to rest.”
Upon seeing Han Xiao’s stubborn attitude, Otis grit his teeth and revealed his true intentions.
“If we do not remove all future troubles, what should we do if the Subterranean Mutants attempt to snatch Planet Sunil back after they develop on another planet? If you do not exterminate them all, can you ensure that such a thing won’t happen‽”
Heh, they indeed want us to uproot the Subterranean Mutants entirely. Han Xiao then folded his arms and said, “Indeed, I cannot ensure that the Subterranean Mutants will not be a future trouble.”
Otis heaved a sigh of relief. “Then, please...”
Han Xiao then interrupted him and chuckled. “Even if they will be trouble in the future, this is completely irrelevant to the current mission. So what if they come back to attack Sunil? What has that got to do with me?”
Otis was taken aback and almost flew into a rage. However, upon remembering that Han Xiao was not someone whom he could afford to provoke, he could only suppress his rage and reply with a stern voice, “Since all of you are mercenaries, you should have some professional ethics, right? How can you say something like that? We are hiring you to resolve our present circumstances.”
“That’s right. Isn’t the Black Star Army resolving your problems? What else do you think we are doing?” Han Xiao said with a provocative smile. “We mercenaries are not nannies. You guys pay us for our services, and this is a one-off transaction. It does not mean that we will have to take responsibility for your future. Even if the Subterranean Mutants do fight back, that is another issue entirely.”
“How many years will it take for the Subterranean Mutants to gain sufficient strength to retaliate? Without any obstructions, can’t you develop? If both of you really end up fighting... you can just hire us again!”
Han Xiao then folded his arms and gave a ‘what can you do if I want to be unreasonable’ expression.
Otis’ eyes widened, and he was angered to the point he did not know what to say.
To think that there would be such a shameless person!
“Of course, it isn’t impossible for me to wipe out the Subterranean Mutants,” Han Xiao suddenly said.
Otis could see some hope again.
“However...” Han Xiao smiled like a crafty merchant and rubbed his fingers. “You have to add money.”
Otis clenched his fists in anger.
He would definitely have flipped the table in front of him if not for the fact that he could not afford to provoke Black Star.
He was too damn shameless!