Chapter 1 The Situation

Star Sea Calendar, April 1, 782. The three major civilizations jointly issued a sanction order against the Beyond Grade A Association. On April 3, the Beyond Grade A Association responded, officially breaking the conflict. The forces in each star field took action under the influence of the sanction order, and a clear pattern was initially formed by April 26.

Since the Undying returned on March 10, the situation in interstellar society had changed rapidly and dramatically in just one and a half months. The vast majority of civilizations, consortiums, and other orderly forces in interstellar society responded to the sanction order. The Beyond Grade A Association, on the other hand, found new friends. The Super Star Cluster opposed the sanctions, issuing a righteous criticism, arguing that the three major civilizations were abusing their power, and turned to support the Association. Thus, the Association formed an open confrontation with the three major civilizations.

As civilizations everywhere responded, many Beyond Grade A forces began to contract. Branches and bases established within different civilizations were forced to relocate, some moving to desolate cosmic belts, others traveling to the Shattered Star Ring to transfer industries. As a result, Beyond Grade A forces with territories in the Shattered Star Ring became popular, and Beyond Grade A bodies from all over the universe showed a tendency to gather there.

Among them, some Beyond Grade A allies who had established forces within the territories of the three major civilizations were quite distressed. Their industries and bases were temporarily shut down, which made these people very distressed.

The three major civilizations launched an interstellar social blockade against the development of the Beyond Grade A Association. A large number of Beyond Grade A forces were hit, and their scale shrank to varying degrees. The stock prices of their listed consortia also plummeted, proving the market's lack of confidence.

At the same time, all forces supporting the Association were also targeted by the three major civilizations. Among them, Aquamarine Star was singled out as a typical example, and diplomatic relations were almost completely severed, leaving it only able to be self-sufficient. The weaker the force, the more severe the targeting it encountered. On the contrary, the Super Star Cluster, a higher civilization that publicly spoke out, did not feel much, perhaps because it was used to being targeted, like a dead pig not afraid of boiling water.

Some external public opinion believed that the goal of this sanction was to cut off the wings of the Beyond Grade As. Without followers and industries, the influence of the Beyond Grade As would be curbed to the lowest level, isolating them from interstellar society. However, some public opinion also believed that although this move by the three major civilizations was decisive, it was a temporary solution that did not address the root cause. Without being able to deal with the Beyond Grade As themselves, striking their forces was of little significance.

Both views had a large number of supporters. Regardless of the perspective, the increasing tension in interstellar society was an indisputable fact. As the situation became more and more sensitive, the emotions of interstellar citizens gradually turned to fanaticism, fueled by public opinion.

And outside the sight of most people, the interstellar black markets in various regions had almost become secret battlefields, with frequent friction incidents breaking out, in the midst of a tug-of-war for control of the interstellar black market.

…

Shattered Star Ring, a neutral transit station planet.

Among the densely packed skyscrapers, several low-flying vehicles were speeding, roaring through the city, disrupting the orderly traffic flow and frequently causing accidents.

These vehicles were clearly two groups of people. One vehicle was fleeing frantically, while the others were chasing and intercepting it. The escapee's driving skills were excellent, constantly using various difficult maneuvers to avoid obstacles along the way, driving extremely fast in complex road conditions, which was extremely thrilling.

"Faster, they're catching up!"

"Shut up, don't distract me!"

In the vehicle fleeing in the front, a lizardman covered in red scales was jumping up and down anxiously, looking frequently at the rearview mirror, while a burly man wearing a mech combat suit was operating the vehicle with a solemn expression, and a group of passengers in the rear cabin were being shaken from side to side.

This group of people were local black market operators, with legitimate shell companies on the surface, but in reality, they controlled several secret black market business channels. They belonged to a syndicate-like gang, registered with the black market organization, acting as a lower-level distribution channel, entrenched in this neutral planet, living a life of luxury and pleasure.

But not long ago, the syndicate was infiltrated by spies from an unknown force. Their territories and industries were attacked by unknown armed men, suffering heavy losses, and these core figures were also hunted down, constantly hiding.

And just now, their hiding place was discovered, and they hurriedly drove away, while several teams of armed enemies relentlessly pursued, and the two sides staged a life-and-death speed chase in the downtown area.

"What is the origin of these people? When we fought them before, they were clearly well-trained, not like scattered soldiers, but most likely professional armed organizations. Why would these people come after us?" the burly man said in a solemn tone.

The lizardman was furious. "How the hell would I know? These people popped up out of nowhere. I don't even know when I offended them!"

"Could it be that a competitor hired a mercenary organization?"

"I don't care about any of that. All I care about now is whether we can escape!" the lizardman shouted.

Just as he finished speaking, the flying vehicle happened to pass through an intersection, and suddenly a pursuing vehicle rushed out from the side and crashed head-on.

Bang!!

There was a violent tremor, followed by a sudden force. The passengers in the cabin had no time to react and were all slammed against the cabin wall.

The speeding vehicle was hit in the middle by the opponent, rolled over in the air a dozen times, and crashed into the outer wall of a building. Sparks flew, metal tore, and the vehicle crashed in with a bang, emitting thick black smoke. The anti-gravity engine flickered a few times and then stalled with a buzz.

Everyone fell to the ground, dizzy and disoriented.

The burly man got up, clutching his head, kicked open the collapsed cabin door, and saw that the pursuers had already surrounded them. The mounted rapid-fire machine guns on both sides of the opponent's vehicle popped out, aiming at the immobile target.

The accident here attracted many onlookers, who drove their vehicles to watch from a distance, forming a circle. The pursuers were unmoved, seemingly not minding shooting in the downtown area, and did not take the security forces of this planet seriously at all.

Seeing this scene, the people in the cabin all showed horrified and desperate expressions.

These gray figures who operated in the black market dared not engage in armed conflict in the downtown area, but these people were completely unscrupulous, more ferocious than them, and were simply lawless thugs.

"I still have three million Enas in savings that I haven't enjoyed yet. I'm not reconciled!"

The lizardman was so frightened that he was at a loss, slumped on the ground, trembling and unable to stand up.

At this moment, the burly man grabbed his collar, reached into his arms and took out a palm-sized metal ball, and pressed the button on the top. The ball immediately lit up, emitting the sound of a bomb being activated.

"No! This thing will blow up the whole street!"

The lizardman was shocked and hurriedly tried to grab it back, but the burly man kicked him to the ground.

"Don't be stupid, you specifically kept this bomb just in case. Since they want to kill us, let's see if they dare to die with us!"

The burly man looked fierce, raised the bomb high, and turned his head to shout outside.

However, at this instant, a whistling sound like a falling meteor suddenly sounded, approaching rapidly!

Whoosh - Boom!

A figure wrapped in red flames fell from the sky and kicked one of the pursuer's vehicles, as if with the foot of the Buddha.

The huge force exploded, and the vehicle collapsed directly and crashed to the ground with a bang, exploding into a ball of fire.

The figure jumped with the force and landed in the pit smashed out by the black market gang's vehicle, protecting everyone behind him, turned his head to look, gave a thumbs up, and grinned.

"Don't be afraid, you are safe now."

Hearing this, everyone looked surprised and uncertain. The burly man turned to look at the lizardman and asked in surprise, "Did you call for reinforcements?"

"No..." The lizardman looked blank, doubting himself, "Did I call?"

The burly man's face twitched, and he turned to look at the sudden reinforcement, and asked in surprise, "Who are you? Why did you save us?"

"Don't ask me, I'm just doing a mission. As for who I am, you should recognize this badge, right?"

The man turned his head and showed a pattern on his clothes. Everyone hurriedly looked over and trembled.

Almost no one in the universe does not know this pattern now, and they recognized it at a glance.

"You are from the Black Star Army?!"

"To be precise, I am an Undying of the legion. You can call me Crispy Chicken Wings." The man grinned. He was a player.

Hearing this, everyone was shocked.

Why did the notorious Undying suddenly come to help us? We have no connection with the Black Star Army at all, and we can't reach that high!

"Wait for me to get rid of these people, and stay behind me obediently."

At this moment, the pursuers fired, and dense bullets rained down like a storm, firing so fast that they almost formed lines. Crispy Chicken Wings left a sentence, his arm armor shook, and a blue shield popped out, protecting the paralyzed vehicle of the black market gang, blocking all the bullets, making a crackling sound.

The next second, Crispy Chicken Wings' martial arts flames gathered in the palms of his hands, and he created a red *qigong* wave.

Boom!

The fiery red beam of light shot out, sweeping like a whip, hitting all the pursuer's vehicles.

In the next moment, these vehicles instantly turned into fireworks in the sky, and were instantly killed, scaring away a bunch of onlookers.

For a B-level player, this operation is already commonplace and has no difficulty.

Crispy Chicken Wings clapped his hands and smiled. "Problem solved."

Seeing this, the lizardman finally had the strength to get up, snatched the bomb from the burly man, turned it off, glared at him, and then walked towards Crispy Chicken Wings, and said gratefully: "You saved my life, I don't know how to thank you?"

Crispy Chicken Wings glanced at him and shrugged. "You don't need to thank me. From now on, I am your boss."

The lizardman was stunned for a moment, and suddenly a little surprised, and said: "Are you going to recruit me to join the Black Star Army?"

"Dream on, is the legion something you can join if you want to?" Crispy Chicken Wings rolled his eyes unceremoniously, "I mean, your black market business will be temporarily taken over by me. This is the order from above, and this is your black market organization's certificate."

As he said, he took out a communicator and showed a document.

Everyone browsed it and was immediately surprised.

This is a permit recognized by the black market organization. The document states that the three major civilizations have begun to infiltrate the black market on a large scale, and many black market channels have been uprooted. Therefore, in order to maintain the overall stability of the interstellar black market, the black market organization will dispatch some people to temporarily take over the black markets in various places, requiring cooperation from all places.

Generally, black market organizations do not interfere with ordinary black market operators, but this time they rarely issued a notice.

And these people who went to preside over the takeover of the black markets in various places were all members of various Beyond Grade A forces, and the players of the Black Star Army were also among them.

While everyone was surprised, Crispy Chicken Wings opened the panel and looked at the task list.

[【Legion Order: Take Over the Black Market (1)】]

[Mission Introduction: Due to the sanctions of the three major civilizations, the Beyond Grade A Association intends to further control the interstellar black market. The Black Star Army has decided to send you to take over and integrate a planet's black market channels, but your docking target seems to be in danger and needs your rescue]

[First Ring Task Requirement: Rescue the black market operators who are being hunted down]

[This task is a series task, and the reward depends on the task evaluation]

[Current Task Status: Completed]

This was a task released by the Black Star Army not long ago. Many players accepted it and went to different planets to take over the local black markets. Players rarely have the opportunity to stand alone and find it fresh and interesting.

Moreover, compared to exploring the Shattered Star Ring, taking over and integrating a planet's black market requires more consideration and the task environment is more complex, which players find more challenging.

This is just a corner of the black market, and the same thing is happening on multiple planets in various star fields.

…

"Players have launched a large-scale offensive into the black market, the situation is not bad..."

In the office of the Black Star Palace, Han Xiao looked at the star map, monitored the movements of many players, and nodded secretly.

The interstellar black market is currently the key area for the struggle between the Association and the three major civilizations. Now the three major civilizations have not personally entered the game. The manpower sent to infiltrate the black market is not the direct line, but the people of various affiliated forces. Conflicts have broken out with the many takeover personnel sent by the Beyond Grade A Association, with casualties on both sides.

Among them, the legion's progress is the most smooth. Players are as always a useful tool. Other forces are not as luxurious as the Black Star Army, with tens of millions of immortal B-level combat power.

Han Xiao gave this task to the players, on the one hand, to fertilize, and on the other hand, to let the players enter the front line of the battle to maintain their interest.

Distributing and presiding over their respective black market businesses on different planets is simply a world of freedom for many players. He is also very curious about how these players will exert their subjective initiative.

At this moment, the communicator vibrated, and an affairs officer sent a message.

"Legion Commander, someone has come to visit you. She didn't make an appointment, but claims to be an old acquaintance of yours."

Hearing this, Han Xiao raised his eyebrows.

"My acquaintance? How well do I know her? What's her name?"

"She said her name is Loseline."