Chapter 1 Shining World, Emerald Star Cluster, Black Star Army Branch

Hundreds of ships were docked in the silver-white spaceport terminal, colorful and of various models. Groups of crew members who obviously did not belong to the army walked out of them. They stepped onto the platform, curiously looking around, and, under the command of fully armed army soldiers, formed loose rows, chattering incessantly.

"We've finally arrived. As expected of the Black Star Army's base, it looks heavily guarded."

"Haha, my resume was screened four times before finally passing the review. From now on, we are also members of the Black Star Army."

"I hope I can get a job with high benefits..."

"I wonder if we can see Black Star this time. According to custom, each batch of newcomers must undergo an induction ceremony. The army commander should meet us, right? Even if it's just his avatar."

Everyone's face was more or less excited. This group of people were all interstellar mercenaries who had been recruited.

Nowadays, the Black Star Army's sphere of influence covers many star fields, and various businesses bring a wealth of cash flow. Therefore, the army has been recruiting new people, especially after Han Xiao was hired as a high-level consultant for the three major civilizations, the recruitment effort reached a new peak.

After years of Han Xiao's operation, the army has an irreplaceable influence in the universe. According to market research, if a free Esper in interstellar society must join a camp, 41.3% of people list the Black Star Army as their first choice, even surpassing the three major civilizations.

By analogy, the Black Star Army's status is roughly equivalent to a top-ranked Fortune 500 company, and its potential is still being realized, with broad prospects.

While everyone was excitedly discussing, an army spaceship entered the VIP orbit of the spaceport, immediately attracting the attention of everyone present. On the outer armor of this ship were two emblems, one was the army's symbol, and the other was the Crimson Serpent emblem with a dark red background, which was the exclusive symbol of Hela's unit.

With a hiss, the hatch opened, and a group of female armed personnel in red light armor walked out neatly, guarding both sides of the gangway. The emblem on the chest armor represented that they were the elite battle group under Hela, code-named "Three-Headed Serpent Special Forces."

As the vice army commander, Hela had considerable authority in her hands. She had already formed a personal guard and had also recruited some adjutants like Han Xiao.

Tap tap tap...

The sound of leather shoes hitting the ground was crisp, and Hela walked out of the hatch.

She wore a pair of red sunglasses on her high nose bridge, snake-shaped silver earrings on her ears, and a gorgeous red uniform in the style of a women's suit, with gold threads outlining the edges. She wore a black and gold high-necked cape, and the cape collar was a circle of crimson fluff, making her aura full.

Everyone's eyes focused on her, and many people showed admiration, even the surrounding army soldiers.

"She is the army's second-in-command, the Death Goddess Hela. Her aura is really strong..."

"It would be great if I could work under her." Some people showed longing.

"Only the army's elite are qualified to be selected as high-level bodyguards. Even we can't do it. What are you dreaming about?" A nearby army soldier snorted.

At this moment, Hela came to the front of the crowd with her guards, scanning everyone present. Her powerful aura spread out, and the commotion of the crowd gradually stopped. The originally excited people only felt a sense of oppression surging into their hearts, and they did not dare to speak.

Seeing this, Hela lightly opened her lips and said in a cold voice:

"Recently, the army commander is not here. I will preside over your induction ceremony. My time is precious. Skip those welcoming steps and directly test your strength. The army speaks with strength. This is related to your job arrangements after joining the army, so try to stand in front of me for a little longer."

After saying this in one breath, Hela didn't bother to explain to everyone and directly released her own high-level pressure, sweeping the entire field.

Many people present had not yet reacted when they felt a sense of fear coming, and the pressure ran through their bodies and souls. They were trembling all over, and they were about to collapse to the ground at any time.

Plop plop—

A batch of people could not withstand Hela's high-level pressure and fell down with a crash. The longest-lasting ones were only more than thirty seconds, with horrified faces, gasping for breath, as if they had almost drowned.

Seeing this, Hela withdrew her pressure, looked at her watch, and said lightly: "The top 10% of those who stand for the longest time can serve as squad leader. As for the others, Phillip will automatically assign positions based on your performance just now. Join the job immediately, dismiss."

After speaking, she didn't even look at the crowd who had collapsed on the ground, turned around with her guards, and entered the base.

Generally speaking, the induction ceremony for newcomers will introduce the history of the army to cultivate a sense of belonging, but Hela does not have this leisure. From getting off the ship to completing the test, the whole process takes no more than three minutes, decisively and efficiently.

On the way, Hela took out the communicator, called up Phillip, and asked with a frown:

"Can you contact Black Star?"

"I can't buzz..." Phillip lowered his head, his fingers touching each other, feeling guilty.

"Where did this guy run off to? He's been out of contact for several months!"

Hela's face was uncertain.

She knew that Han Xiao had gone to the secondary dimension world, and contact was inconvenient, but even so, Han Xiao and Phillip's main program should not be disconnected.

However, a few months ago, Phillip said that Han Xiao was completely out of contact and could not be contacted in any way. Hela suddenly became vigilant and couldn't help but think of the Covenant Organization she had encountered in the secondary dimension.

Could it be that the army commander was ambushed again?

Hmm...how come it doesn't seem surprising at all.

In order not to cause turmoil in the army and suspicion from the outside world, she asked Phillip to block the news, maintaining the operation of the army on the surface, while secretly investing resources and quietly inquiring about Black Star's whereabouts.

Han Xiao is the soul of the army. Once he loses contact, the army will suddenly become much weaker in terms of Super As. Hela can only temporarily take on the burden, end her training, return from the Underworld, and sit in the army.

After not finding any news for several months, Hela was secretly anxious.

She had already decided that if there was still no information after three months, she would call Emersy and enter the secondary dimension world to find Han Xiao.

Suddenly, Hela stopped and showed a strange expression on her face.

"You guys stand by, I have something to do first."

After leaving these words, her figure suddenly disappeared, leaving the guards looking at each other in place.

...

At the same time.

Hela's figure appeared in the Underworld dimension, and the Land Lady Onise Lu appeared.

"What did you call me for?"

"I found a group of strange creatures approaching the Underworld. They seem to be cosmic-level creatures living in space storms. You know, monsters born in this environment are not easy to deal with. I'm afraid they are species that feed on secondary dimensions." Onise Lu expressed her concerns.

Hela frowned slightly. She and the Underworld are now inseparably linked, and protecting the Underworld is her duty.

"I'll go and repel them."

She soared into the air, turned into a red meteor, and soon flew out of the space wall according to Onise Lu's instructions, but did not go far, just guarded the direction of the enemy's advance, waiting for the rabbit.

The dimensional energy of the Underworld formed a spherical light film on Hela's body, providing protection and preventing her from being swept away by the spatial turbulence.

Before long, vortex wormholes suddenly appeared in the space storm, and huge space lice surged out, an extremely alarming number.

"So many?!" Hela subconsciously clenched her fists.

She had also been in the secondary dimension world and knew that there were some dangers here that could threaten the lives of Super As. Although she had never seen space lice, she instinctively felt a threat, proving that this group of monsters could not be killed casually.

Although Hela was not worried about her own safety, there were too many monsters, and she was alone. She couldn't guarantee that she could protect the entire Underworld.

"If Black Star was here..."

Faced with this situation, Hela couldn't help but miss Han Xiao's mechanical army.

"Now I can only rely on myself."

Hela mustered her strength and prepared to strike first.

However, at this moment, a familiar voice sounded in her mech communication channel, causing her movements to freeze in place.

"Hela?"

In the space lice group, Han Xiao, who was driving away this group of little cuties, sensed Hela's energy fluctuations, turned his head and looked over, and his eyes lit up.

In the next moment, his figure flashed, and he had already appeared in front of Hela with a void jump, and said with a smile:

"It's been a while since we last met. Did you miss me?"

"I miss..." Hela subconsciously wanted to speak, but suddenly came back to her senses and asked in surprise, "Why are you here? Where have you been all this time?"

"I went to the depths of the secondary dimension world for a stroll. The signal there is not good. Did you see this group of little cuties? This is my trophy. I plan to raise them around the Underworld, which can just serve as a layer of defense. Their combat power is very considerable..."

Han Xiao introduced it in a rambling way, pretending not to see Hela's several hesitant expressions.

After being out of contact for several months, he knew that it would definitely cause Hela's doubts and worries, but he did not intend to leak the experience of this trip for the time being, so he decided to hide the truth and perfunctorily pass it off.

After listening for a while, Hela couldn't help but interrupt Han Xiao and asked, "Do you know the impact your loss of contact has had on us? If I hadn't blocked the news, the army would definitely be turbulent now..."

Han Xiao laughed and said, "You are the vice army commander. You are still there when I am not here, so there will be no trouble. I believe you."

Hearing this, Hela's expression improved a lot.

She vaguely felt that Han Xiao was hiding something from her, but if he didn't say it, she didn't want to ask more. It was most important that the person had returned.

Hela didn't pursue the matter, but just told him "Don't do this next time", then turned her head to look at this group of space lice with their willful appearance and asked curiously:

"Can the combat power of this group of creatures combined really be comparable to a peak Super A?"

"The attack power is a little worse, but the resistance can definitely reach this level. They feed on spatial turbulence. Not only will they not attack the secondary dimension, but they will also provide protection. They like the environment around the secondary dimension and will generally settle down and treat it as a nest, and attack all outsiders." Han Xiao nodded.

After he caught a batch of space lice, he and K’Suye went home separately. He conducted some research along the way and had already figured out some of the habits of space lice. They can coexist harmoniously with the secondary dimension and are very suitable for guarding the home. They are simply natural guardians, and placing them in the Underworld can improve its safety.

"Okay, as long as there is no danger, then keep them here. I have no objection."

Hela nodded in agreement, thought for a while, and said, "Teacher has come to you three times and has been turned back by me. Remember to talk to her."

"Okay." Han Xiao responded and asked, "By the way, when I was away, how was the association?"

"The same as before, nothing has changed. It's just that without you and Manison arguing, everyone thinks the meeting is boring and they are basically all daydreaming."

"These slackers, they only expect me to do things..."

The corners of Han Xiao's mouth twitched.

In the eyes of ordinary people, these Super As are aloof and inviolable, but in his eyes, they are just a group of perverted guys.

After exchanging a few words, he rejected Hela's invitation for a beating, left the space lice in the Underworld, and then directly used the Emperor's teleport to return to the army's base in the Shining Star Cluster.

...

With a flash in front of his eyes, Han Xiao returned to the army office and saw Sylvia sitting on his chair with her legs crossed at a glance.

Sylvia was startled by the sudden appearance of someone in the room, but after seeing that it was Han Xiao, she calmed down. Her eyes moved, and not only did she not get up, but she deliberately put her long legs on the table, snorted, and said strangely:

"Yo, isn't this Your Excellency Black Star? You still know how to come back? I thought you had forgotten us."

Han Xiao didn't take it seriously. He walked to Sylvia, smiled and touched Sylvia's head, felt the amount of hair, and said with a smile:

"Well, it seems that you have worked hard these past few months. Thank you for your hard work."

"Get lost." Sylvia slapped Han Xiao's hand away, got up and made way for him, and said angrily: "I couldn't contact you these past few months, and a large number of affairs have accumulated waiting for your approval. Hurry up and deal with them. I'm waiting for them."

After speaking, she didn't bother to pay attention to Han Xiao, turned around and was about to leave. When she reached the door, she suddenly remembered something, and turned back to take away the coat draped over the back of the chair and the gold-rimmed glasses on the table. She also glared at Han Xiao before opening the door and leaving.

"Tsk, a lot of resentment."

Han Xiao curled his lips. He naturally wouldn't argue with the bald little baby at home.

This trip was a huge gain, and he learned a lot of cosmic secrets, greatly expanding his knowledge. For him, returning to the explored universe felt like a lifetime away. But in the eyes of the army cadres, it was just a few months of not seeing each other. Except for a few people, no one was curious about where he had gone.

Han Xiao reconnected to Phillip and encrypted and saved all the information recorded on this trip.

This treasure trove of technology is too rich. Even for a peak Super A like him, the digestion time will be measured in decades, and he will not be able to finish the research for a while. Although Awakening Points and experience points can speed up the research progress, it is somewhat wasteful to use them on this, after all, it is difficult to replenish them before the next version arrives. Fortunately, the 4.0 version update is not far away, so he has time to digest it slowly, and he is not eager for quick success.

He called the housekeeping robot, sprayed air freshener in the room to dispel the elegant fragrance left by Sylvia, then sat back in his seat, dealt with the backlog of affairs, and logged into the forum to check the players' dynamics.

Several months have passed, and the fourth professional league has progressed to the international competition circle, reaching the quarter-finals. China has two teams that have qualified this time, one is the Dynasty team, the most stable of the giants, and the other is Jiangcheng.

After three leagues, Jiangcheng is no longer a new dark horse, but a stable strong team.

The international group stage that has ended is the most dangerous schedule. The crazy snipes of Chinese clubs by clubs from other countries still have an effect, resulting in one less Chinese team qualifying for the top eight this time than in the previous session.

But from another perspective, clubs from various countries are doing their best to block, and some teams are willing to fight to the death with Chinese teams even if they don't want points. In this environment, China still has two teams that have broken through the siege and successfully qualified, which is a gratifying result.

Now the hopes of the whole village are pinned on Dynasty and Jiangcheng. As long as any team wins the championship, they can achieve the achievement of China's three-time winning dynasty. No other team in the top eight wants to see this result. But when it comes to the quarter-finals, it is a fair one-on-one fight, and it is impossible to surround and suppress from all sides like in the group stage. Those chariot racing tactics and some small tricks are useless, and you can only rely on hard strength.

"Now that we are in the quarter-finals, the league is not far from the end. The 4.0 version has at most two months left... I have to prepare for it."

Han Xiao thought secretly.