The onlookers cast admiring glances at Flying Mantis Shrimp.

This guy was a true warrior, daring to face a life of courting death.

Then, they all took a step back, standing a little further away, afraid of being splattered with blood.

Han Xiao knew the source of Flying Mantis Shrimp's information—the influence of Meatbun Beats Dog's videos. He had leaked some information to pique the players' curiosity about his mysterious identity and increase his popularity; this was something he had tacitly allowed.

The leaked information was almost inconsequential to Han Xiao. The players weren't NPCs; they didn't have a vast intelligence network, and without critical information, knowing his real name was useless. On the contrary, the wider the video spread, the more his influence subtly expanded.

So Han Xiao had long guessed that some players would court death by directly asking him. He calmly grunted in acknowledgment and then said nothing more.

Flying Mantis Shrimp was immediately dumbfounded. This was completely different from what he had imagined. His identity had been revealed, yet Black Phantom could still be so indifferent?

Didn't Black Phantom care at all that strangers knew his identity?

Or… was it that Black Phantom's identity had long ceased to be a secret outside of the players' knowledge? So this method was completely useless.

Flying Mantis Shrimp was very discouraged.

Black Phantom was too stable, seemingly without weaknesses, impossible to provoke.

The onlookers exchanged glances, even more curious.

What kind of person was he?

Flying Mantis Shrimp was not resigned and continued to court death, asking, "I want to join Germinal Organization, do you know how?" As everyone knew, Black Phantom was at odds with Germinal, so he asked deliberately.

Oh, you're trying to provoke me, young man?

Without saying anything, Han Xiao directly reduced his favorability by three points as a slight punishment.

Flying Mantis Shrimp's face immediately turned green. This reaction was too direct, without even a hint of warning!

Suddenly, Han Xiao's heart stirred, and he had a new, mischievous idea. Now that he had some influence in the player community, perhaps he could guide the players in their choice of factions.

So he paused and said, "War is about to break out. The Six Nations are launching a joint expedition. Germinal is bound to lose. If you want to commit suicide, go ahead. If you want to go to the Dark Net, I can write you a letter of introduction. If you want to go to Germinal, get as far away from me as possible."

Everyone perked up. Black Phantom finally had a different reaction and revealed information they didn't know, and they began to whisper among themselves.

"Expedition? The Six Nations and Germinal are going to war?"

"He definitely knows more than we do. His judgment is definitely reliable."

"Then joining Germinal is a bad idea."

The players were agitated. Only those in Andrea Continent had joined Germinal. Han Xiao's words would soon be posted on the forums, and those who had originally wanted to join Germinal would abandon that idea.

He didn't miss any opportunity to strike at Germinal. He hadn't been making trouble recently, and Germinal seemed to have been peaceful for a while, which he couldn't tolerate at all.

The players noticed another key point in his words: "He mentioned the Dark Net. Is that a hidden force? Can he let us join the Dark Net faction?"

Han Xiao smiled slightly and opened the long-unused shop page, adding a new item.

[【Faction Introduction Letter】: With this item, you can unlock the Blood Contract Society faction. Note: The Blood Contract Society is a killer organization under the Dark Net.]

[Price: 250,000 Aquamarine Coins]

"250,000?!" Everyone was dumbfounded. For them, it was an astronomical price, and no one could afford it at all.

Originally, joining the Blood Contract Society required accepting a series of mission trials, but Han Xiao cut them off. With his relationship with the Dark Net, introducing some players to the society was just a matter of a word.

A few months ago, Han Xiao purchased the Blood Contract Society credentials from Antonov for 200,000. He increased the price by 25% based on that, because, after all, there was inflation, and he thought it was a reasonable price increase.

With such a high price, ordinary players were naturally discouraged. Han Xiao's original intention wasn't to sell on a large scale. His target customers were the professional players in those clubs, who could only afford this price with the financial support of large guilds.

Professional players were the kind of players most willing to become stronger by any means. This plan could attract professional experts, which would help him expand his backup team… Of course, the main thing was to make money.

"It's not enough to have cheap and good skills and ordinary goods. I also need expensive luxury goods to enrich my product structure," Han Xiao thought.

250,000 Aquamarine Coins. Basically, no guilds could take that out right now, but they were rich and generous and could buy Aquamarine Coins from other players with real currency.

"It depends on how many guilds can realize the benefits of joining a hidden new faction."

He was now Han Taigong fishing; those who were willing would take the bait.

…

《Unbelievable, the most expensive item to date!》, 《Black Phantom: Germinal is bound to lose》…

Posts with these titles appeared on the Aquamarine Star section, immediately attracting the attention of the players. Seeing the astronomical price of 250,000 for the faction introduction letter, they were all stunned.

"Wow, is this faction inlaid with gold like ((.))?"

"Blood Contract Society, I don't know what it does."

"The price is ridiculously high. Is there anything special about this faction called the Blood Contract Society?"

"Has anyone heard of this faction?" This person just asked casually, but unexpectedly, someone replied, "I triggered the Blood Contract Society's joining mission. It's very cumbersome and very difficult. The introduction is that it's a killer organization. I don't know what the benefits are yet, but if you ask me, it's not worth spending 250,000 just to skip the pre-quest."

The astronomical price of 250,000 caused widespread discussion. The average assets of players now were about 3,000 to 5,000. It wouldn't be too difficult for guilds to raise 250,000, after all, the player base was constantly growing.

However, most guilds felt it wasn't worth it. It was too extravagant to spend 250,000 on a faction introduction letter. The situation wasn't clear, and they were prepared to wait and see.

Han Xiao had influence in the ordinary player community, but guilds had always been very rational and considered things entirely from a perspective of profit. Other players were playing games, but they were running a business.

Compared to the astronomical introduction letter, the players valued Han Xiao's revelation that the Six Nations and Germinal were about to start a war even more, and a clamor erupted.

After playing for these days, the players of Aquamarine Star knew that the conflict between the Six Nations and Germinal was the main storyline, but the war had begun without warning, and it was still an expedition, proving that the battlefield would be in Andrea Continent. Many players hadn't even chosen a faction yet, and their strength wasn't enough to intervene in the main quest.

Originally in the storyline, the war would begin in a few months, and there would be local battles on each continent, and players from all over could participate. But after Han Xiao's intervention, the war not only started early, but it was also an expedition from the beginning, and he believed that the impact players could have was reduced to the minimum.

The most important point was that most players hadn't triggered the main quest of the Six Nations and Germinal yet.

Black Phantom's statement that Germinal was bound to lose made many people shy away from Germinal. Players liked excitement, and there were quite a few people who were inclined toward the evil faction. There were also many potential players who wanted to join Germinal in their hearts.

However, this time Han Xiao's influence came into play, and these players began to waver. If they chose the Germinal faction, they would have to bear the risk of being blown up. If that was the case, it would be better to choose the Six Nations' orderly faction. The embrace of the strong was warmer.

In one sentence, Germinal lost many potential supporters.

Han Xiao's influence on the players gradually grew, solidifying his position in the players' minds as he managed his image.

What he said would be regarded by the players as key game information.

ps: (Seeing some replies, I feel that Red Maple's policy is unreasonable. To prevent the Harmonious Divine Beast from 404-ing, I won't explain too much. I can only say that novels are originally deductions of various possibilities, and it's only interesting to be different. If you have to be serious… Trump will prove that anything is possible. I have a lot of confidence in him!)