Chapter 1 Golden Mountain

Golden Mountain: A large base was embedded in the mountainside. Warships and squads of mechanical sentries circled the sky, its defenses airtight.

This was the main base of the Infinite Consortium's largest guild alliance, the "Apocalypse Foundation." Sixty to seventy percent of the mountain had been converted into mechanical defensive facilities. Relying on this main base, they constantly cleared out small strongholds in the surrounding area, expanding their territory. They had already become one of the two major forces in this region.

On the third night of the guild war, Golden Mountain stronghold dispatched three ace units to crusade against the Hexos Armed Forces of Wind Hunt Valley—the other large guild alliance occupying the region. The two sides had been vying for regional supremacy.

The Hexos Armed Forces detected the enemy attack early and deployed their troops. The two sides engaged in fierce combat outside Wind Hunt Valley, locked in a stalemate.

However, in the midst of the intense battle, a guild alliance called the Reverse Cross Army launched a surprise attack on the Golden Mountain stronghold.

They had planned this long ago, sending troops to lie in ambush nearby a day and a half in advance and setting up secret respawn points. Seizing the opportunity when the main forces of both sides were engaged in a fierce battle, they attacked the Apocalypse Foundation's relatively empty headquarters, intending to take advantage of the situation.

The Apocalypse Foundation found itself in the unfavorable position of fighting on two fronts. They wanted to withdraw the troops crusading against Wind Hunt Valley, but the Hexos Armed Forces seemed to have anticipated the Reverse Cross Army's appearance and stubbornly held onto the Apocalypse Foundation's main force. Clearly, the Reverse Cross Army's ambush was inseparable from them, and the two sides may have reached some kind of strategic cooperation agreement.

At this moment, the Golden Mountain stronghold had become a fierce battlefield. A large number of artillery ships and combat robots were engaged in air combat, fireworks constantly exploding in the sky, while the ground was covered with players across the mountains and fields, killing each other. Every second, large swaths of people turned into light and vanished.

The Apocalypse Foundation's ace units had basically all been sent out, leaving few elite troops to defend the base. Most were peripheral members. Facing the Reverse Cross Army's elite offensive, the Golden Mountain stronghold's defense forces retreated steadily, the battle lines constantly approaching the base.

Unfavorable battle reports were sent back to the main command room of the stronghold, causing the Apocalypse Foundation's leader, "Sisyphus," to be overwhelmed with anxiety.

"No wonder the Hexos Armed Forces deliberately provoked us this morning, trying to lure us into attacking. We actually fell into their trap! Impulsiveness is indeed a devil!"

Sisyphus was filled with regret.

He hurriedly contacted the vice president leading the crusade against the Hexos Armed Forces in the chat channel:

"You guys need to retreat quickly and provide support. The home base can't hold on anymore!"

"Boss, we can't retreat! The Hexos Armed Forces are chasing us too closely. If we want to go back, we'll have to all die once. This is our main force, and the average number of deaths has already reached 5.14. Another point increase would be too passive. And even if the people go back, all the warships and weapons sent out will be seized by the enemy!"

"What time is it now? Just take the loss. Defending the base is the priority!"

"It won't work! The enemy is obviously prepared. If we all die and return, they will definitely take advantage of the situation to launch a raid on the home base and join forces with the Reverse Cross Army to attack!"

Hearing this, Sisyphus scratched his hair frantically in frustration.

Caught off guard, the current situation was a two-on-one. Relying solely on the Apocalypse Foundation, they couldn't hold on. He could only ask other guild alliances in the Infinite Consortium's faction for help.

"Hopefully, we can hold out until reinforcements arrive. This time, we're definitely going to suffer heavy losses…"

With a heavy heart, he turned his gaze back to the real-time battlefield projection. However, at that moment, he was stunned.

"This… what's going on?"

He quickly looked up at the main commander and members of the military staff, only to find that they all had a ghostly expression on their faces, equally shocked.

The monitoring screen showed the front line battlefield outside the Golden Mountain stronghold. One of the battle lines, the Reverse Cross Army's suicide squad, broke through the defense and charged toward a group of damage dealers.

"Kill them!"

Auras of various colors suddenly swelled up. The suicide squad used their skills, about to focus their fire.

But at that moment, their movements stopped in unison, the light on their bodies suddenly extinguished, all their skills were interrupted, and they froze in place.

It wasn't just this suicide squad. Large numbers of Reverse Cross Army players experienced the same situation, as if someone had simultaneously pressed the pause button. They suddenly stopped moving, causing the units to instantly disconnect and the formation to tear itself apart.

And on these people's panels, the same prompt popped up at the same time.

[Sorokin (Possessed Body) has used (Mind Shock) on you!]

[Judgment in progress… Judgment passed, you are temporarily unable to control your body]

[Your skill was forcibly interrupted, you have entered (Stiffness) state]

In an instant, the situation took a sharp turn for the worse. The Reverse Cross Army had originally seen the light of victory, but at this moment, they suddenly slid into the abyss, creating a huge psychological gap.

At this moment, only the phrase "WTF" could accurately express the emotions of all the affected players.

They even called out a Beyond Grade A?!

That's cheating!

Are the guilds of you Infinite Consortium unable to afford to lose?!

The short stiffness caused the situation to instantly reverse. The Apocalypse Foundation's players did not stop, a series of explosions boomed, and a burst of concentrated fire took away a large number of Reverse Cross Army players without any losses, reclaiming the battle line.

The Apocalypse Foundation's players were also shocked, but not entirely because of the sudden stop of the Reverse Cross Army. Even more so because the players fighting on the front lines also received a prompt on their panels.

[Sorokin (Possessed Body) has used (Mental Encouragement) on you!]

[You have entered (Encouraged) state, all attributes increased by 10%]

[Sorokin (Possessed Body) has used (Battle Intent Ignition) on you!]

[Your damage is increased by 18%, your defense is increased by 12%]

"What's going on?!"

"Where did these buffs come from? Did someone use a character card?"

"That's not right. Even if you use a character card, it won't change the user's name!"

The troops on the front line couldn't figure it out, and they didn't have time to think. They quickly took advantage of the enemy's misfortune to kill them all.

Before long, most of the Reverse Cross Army's troops were dead. Everyone originally thought they were in a desperate situation, but they didn't expect to solve the aggressive enemy so easily.

Sisyphus hadn't recovered yet. At this moment, the vice president shouted in the chat channel, his tone surprised:

"President! We actually defeated the Hexos Armed Forces! I don't know why, but their movements suddenly stopped!"

"No way?!" Sisyphus shivered and quickly asked all levels of commanders, only then did he understand what had just happened, and he was immediately dumbfounded.

What's going on? Sorokin came? But we didn't call him! What's he doing joining in the fun on his own initiative?!

Could it be that he saw us in danger, so he took the initiative to help?

Sisyphus widened his eyes, his face completely devoid of the joy of a successful counterattack from desperation, only fear and anger.

In normal times, we might have been touched, but now…

What's it to you?! Worrying about things you shouldn't be, you've screwed us over!!

…

The next day.

"Looking at the clanging iron hooves ~ Trampling across thousands of miles of rivers and mountains ~ I stand at the cusp of the storm, tightly grasping ~ The rotation of the sun and moon ~?"

Han Xiao walked out of the bathroom, humming softly.

A towel was wrapped around his waist, exposing his muscular and slender upper body. Water droplets slid across his taut skin, and the magic circuits on his chest were like glowing dark blue tattoos, flickering with his breathing.

Peak Beyond Grade As could basically never rest, but over the years, Technician Han had always valued the combination of work and rest. He had made seven or eight sets of Emperor mechs in the past few days, and the results were remarkable. He wouldn't be crafting today.

Without regulating his body temperature to evaporate the moisture, Han Xiao obediently dried himself off, lay back on the bed, and habitually opened the forums, intending to browse posts for fun.

However, as soon as he entered the forum section, his expression suddenly became strange.

"Apocalypse Foundation violated the rules and hired a Beyond Grade A helper? Isn't this one of the guild alliances under the Infinite Consortium?"

Han Xiao clicked on the post, only to see that the replies had already reached tens of millions, which was extremely exaggerated.

The content of the post was the Reverse Cross Army and the Hexos Armed Forces' condemnation of the Apocalypse Foundation. After a day of fermentation, this matter had already set off a storm in the player community. Countless players were indignant about it, accusing the Apocalypse Foundation of destroying the rules.

"Too much! We were about to win, but I didn't expect the Apocalypse Foundation's scumbags to be unable to afford to lose. They actually brought out their own faction leader and directly used this method to turn the tables. It's simply cheating!"

"There are tons of videos and screenshots, ironclad evidence. I'd like to see how you explain this!"

"That's right! There were even people trying to whitewash it yesterday, saying it was the effect of a character card. Bullshit! When did character cards become able to change the user's name?"

"This kind of behavior that destroys fairness must be severely punished. I propose that the Apocalypse Foundation's qualification to participate in the war be revoked. If you can't afford to play, then don't play!"

The forum was basically filled with accusations. Han Xiao scanned through it and saw that the Apocalypse Foundation had also issued a clarification post.

"I am the leader of the Apocalypse Foundation. Things are not what you think they are. We did not request Sorokin's help. He acted on his own. It has nothing to do with us. Everyone, please think about it. Knowing the consequences of breaking the rules, how could we deliberately violate them!"

Sisyphus explained a lot in the post, but in the face of the excited player community, it was not convincing at all. Instead, it was ridiculed.

"Hehe, keep making things up."

"So, letting a Beyond Grade A help, as long as you say afterwards that it wasn't us who asked them, you can clear your responsibility. Got it ~"

"What's wrong? Is it just your family that has a Beyond Grade A? Looking down on who?!"

"You want to play this set, right? Someone, quickly go and invite Black Star, our ancestor!"

Most people didn't believe this statement, but the players in the Infinite Consortium's faction believed it by sixty to seventy percent, and they were immediately in an uproar, full of worry.

"No way, is Sorokin this much of a troublemaker? He's a ticking time bomb!"

"This is simply a time bomb! If he does this to us, will we also be disqualified?!"

"Asking weakly, is it still too late to change factions…"

"Level 150 Esper, core skills are all above level 7, asking for a guild to take me in!"

Sorokin's actions had completely frightened the Infinite Consortium's players. In order to continue participating in the World Server War, some people even wanted to switch factions, not daring to stay in this force that could explode at any time.

After reading the post, Han Xiao finally understood what was going on.

"This guild probably didn't lie. This was most likely Sorokin's own decision to take action. As for his goal… well, I remember that he has always been keen on recruiting players. Could it be that he summarized the rules from my operations, so he wanted to imitate me and improve the faction's attractiveness?"

After understanding the cause and effect, Han Xiao tried to guess Sorokin's logic and almost laughed out loud.

"So that's how it is… This guy thinks that what he did was very secretive. He only used some auxiliary mental abilities, wanting others to think that this was an Infinite Consortium player going berserk, or using some special mental weapon. Normally, people wouldn't easily associate it with him… But the battle information has already betrayed you, you stinky kid."

Han Xiao smiled secretly.

Sorokin, ah Sorokin, this time you've shot yourself in the foot. You used the wrong methods at the wrong time. You originally wanted to gain reputation, but now it has the opposite effect. Instead, you've ruined your reputation among the players.

And the worst thing is, this guy can't see the forums. He's still in the dark, not knowing that he's already been scolded by the players.

"This is the advantage of information asymmetry…"

Han Xiao's mind moved.

Sorokin's actions will definitely cause some Infinite Consortium players to leave. It just so happens that when these players are empty, lonely, and cold, I can use my thick pectoral muscles to warm them and recruit them into the legion. No matter how many I recruit, it's a profit.

"Sorokin, it's not that I'm deliberately snatching your leeks. This time, you sent them to me yourself…"

Han Xiao grinned.

This feeling of sitting at home and not having to do anything, just watching the enemy ruin themselves… it's really a bit comfortable.

…

Since intervening yesterday, Sorokin had been paying attention to the subsequent developments. However, he didn't see the expected situation, and he couldn't help but feel puzzled.

Logically speaking, the Apocalypse Foundation had fought a comeback battle with his help, which should have caused other Undying to marvel at the Infinite Consortium faction's strength. But why didn't these people react?

It wasn't until the next day that he saw the Apocalypse Foundation's reaction. It wasn't the victory he had expected. It was the abandonment of the base. All members boarded warships and left the planet, withdrawing from the battlefield.

"Strange, what is this reaction?"

In the office, Sorokin looked at the live broadcast from the front-line news media, feeling a bit unbelievable.

Just as he was racking his brains, Sorokin suddenly received a pop-up report from his AI. After just one glance, his heart skipped a beat.

The report was full of resignation notices from Undying, and the number was increasing rapidly.

"What's going on? Why are they leaving the Infinite Consortium?!"

Sorokin was stunned. He suddenly thought of something and quickly turned his head to look at the news broadcast interface.

In the picture, batches of Undying belonging to the Infinite Consortium flew out of the stronghold and scattered. Some went to visit other neutral factions, but more went directly to the three mainstream factions such as the Black Star Army—the rules did not restrict players from changing factions on the spot. The major guild alliances guaranteed players the freedom to choose. As long as there were no off-site factors, I could fight you today, and join you tomorrow. This was all allowed by the rules.

The Infinite Consortium's nature was that of an interstellar consortium. For players, there was not much faction cohesion in the first place. Those who joined came for the high benefits. There was nothing to be reluctant about when changing factions. Now that the first World Server War was destined to be recorded in the Stellar Timeline, missing this village meant missing this shop. In order to avoid being disqualified for no reason, some Infinite Consortium players did not hesitate to defect on the spot.

"This…"

Seeing this scene, Sorokin was a little dumbfounded.

The methods I used, the principle is clearly the same as Black Star, why did I receive the opposite effect?!

That's not right, the script wasn't written like this!!