Chapter 1 Opportunities in the Colton Star Cluster

The Colton Star Cluster was rife with opportunities, and the Mercenary Alliance's employment mission database was the most direct display of this. Han Xiao had the advantage of knowing the plot, allowing him to select familiar missions.

Becoming a free mercenary was an excellent choice, allowing him to earn money and interact with various forces through employment, paving a path of free advancement.

However, Han Xiao's plans went beyond this. The next actions were the true focus.

The mercenary identity interface had an option called "Establish Mercenary Group." Han Xiao clicked it without hesitation.

"Establish mercenary group?"

As the name suggested, a mercenary group was a squad composed of mercenaries. They could accept employment missions that required a certain number of people, and the mercenary group had a rating system where the actions of its members would be recorded.

Individual members' completion of employment missions would also count towards the mercenary group's rating. Similarly, if a member committed negative deeds, it would affect the mercenary group's credit rating. Han Xiao's mercenary resume was blank, and the same was true for the mercenary group.

The Heavenly Ring Alliance was a massive mercenary group that undertook large-scale employment with a wide range of services and a high reputation thanks to the contributions of countless members.

As long as one didn't have a heinous record, anyone could establish a mercenary group. One person could only initiate one mercenary group unless the original mercenary group was disbanded. Otherwise, they couldn't establish a new one.

"Please enter the mercenary group name."

After thinking about it, Han Xiao simply used his code name as a prefix and called it the "Black Star Mercenary Group." Upon confirming the establishment, the screen immediately changed from the personal interface to the mercenary group interface.

Han Xiao established the mercenary group with the goal of recruiting the players. They were a group of ready-made coolies... no, warriors. Mercenary work was a dangerous profession, but players would revive and wouldn't suffer any losses, perfectly leveraging their innate advantages. With such hardworking and dedicated members, development would be twice as effective with half the effort. Players were the best support.

"Letting players join my mercenary group will form a faction."

Han Xiao's eyes were deep, and the corners of his mouth slightly curved.

Establishing a faction was a crucial part of his plan. By becoming a single entity of interest with the players and binding them to his chariot, he could increase their cohesion and greatly reduce the likelihood of them leaving. This was the method Han Xiao had devised to plan ahead.

This was also a further sublimation of his relationship with the players, elevating it from a purely transactional relationship to a higher level, turning them into true "insiders"!

Think about it. If he established a mercenary group with professional top players as initial members, that in itself would be a gimmick, attracting many player-viewers to pay attention. Then, by using rewards to motivate the top players' efforts, the mercenary group would grow stronger and stronger, and they would see it as their own achievement.

Emphasizing the players' contributions would drive the faction's growth. Players would feel that their efforts for the faction were meaningful and regard the faction's achievements as their own, thereby generating a sense of satisfaction, accomplishment, and belonging psychologically.

Don't underestimate the sense of belonging. If nurtured over a long period, this would become nostalgia, and nostalgia's lethality to players was unusually terrifying, cultivating fervent die-hard fans!

For most players, games were for fun. Adding role-playing elements, allowing players to choose a faction and adhere to its ideals, would bring a strong sense of immersion. This kind of gameplay was very appealing to players! Everyone has a surge of passion in their heart, a vision of loyalty, a heroic fantasy of dying for a certain force. However, in the so-called "real world," these emotions were suppressed by reason. In the game, there was an opportunity to release these emotions without bearing any consequences. What Han Xiao had to do was to draw out this sentiment from the players' hearts and attach it to himself!

Han Xiao wanted to build his faction into a refuge for players. Han the Mechanic himself would lead the faction, perfectly integrate into the player community, and become a "leader" in the players' minds. As the faction grew, Han Xiao could gain more benefits, obtain good things, and use them as rewards to attract players to contribute to the faction, entering a virtuous cycle. A large number of players would become his support.

The mercenary group was the initial stage of the plan. By constantly showing his presence on Roubao's program, he would solidify his position. When more players entered the interstellar world in future versions, as long as he raised his arms, players would definitely come to join him, driven by herd mentality.

Of course, this was just the principle. The actual operation was more complicated and would take a long time to form. But once successful, it would become an imprint on a generation of players, like the Alliance and Horde in WoW, enduring for a long time.

This was Han Xiao's grand blueprint!!

"If you register for mercenary qualifications and join my mercenary group, I will take care of you," Han Xiao said with a bewitching tone.

Crazy Blade did it without hesitation, always adhering to two principles: first, following Han Xiao would lead to rewards; second, everything Han Xiao said was correct.

Players joined one after another, and Han Xiao watched with a smile, as if he were watching seeds being buried in the soil, ready to take root and sprout.

The screen quickly changed to a new interface.

——

Black Star Mercenary Group

Credit Score: 10

Total Size: 47 members

Grade C: 47 members

Number of Completed Employments: 0

Active Area: None

Resume: None

Founder: Black Star - Han Xiao

Creation Date: October 2, Star Sea Calendar 688

Overall Rating: Trainee mercenary group, small size, average member strength, no significant advantages

——

The mercenary group was newly established and unknown. There were three criteria for judging a mercenary group: size, strength, and credit. The first two were screening conditions for matching missions, while the credit score was equivalent to the mercenary group's "level." Completing employment missions would accumulate credit, representing the mercenary group's reputation.

Many employers had requirements for mercenary credit. If the credit was too low, the employer could refuse the mercenary's application for a mission.

Credit was also equivalent to fame. The archives wouldn't display abstract values like "fame," but the fame data in the panel's reputation system turned the mercenary group's fame into data that only Han Xiao could directly see.

Li Ge and the Temple team weren't present, running around everywhere. They were the only ones who hadn't joined yet, and Han Xiao was a little dissatisfied.

Just then, Han Xiao's panel suddenly showed a prompt.

[Faction Generated: Black Star Mercenary Group]

[Faction Management Function Activated]

A new option, [Faction Management], was generated in the NPC template, located next to [Dungeon Creation].

"As expected!" Han Xiao's eyes lit up, feeling greatly surprised.

Since the Dungeon Creation function appeared, he had been thinking about what other functions were hidden in the NPC template. A faction was obviously a very common function, but he hadn't triggered it for a long time. So, he guessed that he was affiliated with the Dark Net, but Bennett was the boss, so this function had been dormant.

He was eighty percent certain that the panel would only give feedback if he created his own faction. As expected, he guessed correctly.

If the panel didn't respond, he originally planned to generate power with love, but now that he had the panel's systematized management, it would greatly benefit his faction development plan.

Han Xiao quickly entered the [Faction Management] interface to familiarize himself with the functions. After looking at it for a while, his eyes became more and more excited.

One word could summarize this function:

Do whatever you want!