Chapter 137 Hidden Main Quest

"This hidden main quest seems to be related to uncovering history. Logically, it shouldn't have much impact, but since it's a main quest, will it unearth some earth-shattering secret?"

Han Xiao walked down the street, pondering to himself.

No matter what secrets are hidden, it's his mission now. He has ample opportunity to explore, and of course, the most important thing is the rewards.

Having completed his tasks in Red Maple, Han Xiao left that same day. His actions of threatening Red Maple officials had triggered a secret city-wide search by the intelligence agencies, due to the "superbly skilled assassination methods" used to kill an official, resulting in a large-scale manhunt.

For the sake of being in the same organization, Han Xiao took Jin Fox and the other with him to evacuate. Ghost Blade was initially unwilling, but the situation was dire, and he had no choice but to compromise.

Following a tall person meant someone would bear the brunt if the sky fell, but Ghost Blade didn't like being protected, making him even more depressed, and his whole being exuded a low-pressure aura.

After successfully leaving Red Maple, Han Xiao bid farewell to the awkward pair and rushed non-stop to Farian's transport plane. The players in the West Continent newbie village were eagerly waiting, desperately needing his favor, oh wait, his visitation... no, his presence!

The forums had already exploded. Those waiting for Han Xiao were panicking, worried he wouldn't come. They turned to superstitious metaphysics, building prayer threads on the forums, some reaching three hundred thousand posts, making Han Xiao worry about being drowned by the sea of people. It was truly terrifying.

Various players were also having fun with memes.

"Young man, did you drop this Black Phantom, or this White Phantom, or this Yellow Phantom? Hmm, you're truly an honest child. As a reward, pay me to learn skills."

"Shhh~ look what I've found! There's a lone Black Phantom here. We can try to capture it. A Black Phantom can provide us with energy for several days, but it's not easy to deal with. We have to approach it slowly from behind, without making a sound... ah, I've been discovered! Help, it wants to eat me! Kevin, run!"

"Black Phantom used Death Gaze on you. It's super effective."

Finally, after much anticipation, Grand Technician Han arrived at the third newbie village in West Continent. The players waiting for him were a massive crowd, more than in any other newbie village.

As soon as he appeared, the players swarmed like an avalanche, a dark mass. If one didn't know better, they would have thought it was a locust plague.

Han Xiao looked at the players' levels, which had already reached an average of Level 10. On the forum's level rankings, the highest level was already Level 18, with hundreds of people at the same level. Maple Moon was among them, the biggest winner of the prize pool missions thanks to Grand Technician Han's behind-the-scenes operations.

However, other players also had their own opportunities. There were quite a few people at the same level, but they were mostly foreign players from other novice planets. Aquamarine Star was the default base of Chinese e-sports clubs, yet it had the fewest players in the top ranks, which Han Xiao was deeply saddened by.

Disappointing! Give it your all, guys!

However, looking at the crowded mass in front of him, he thought for a moment, then righteously declared, "What's the point of leveling up fast? Being able to fight is the only real truth."

Yeah, that makes sense.

Leveling up without leveling skills was something only players from large guilds who were specifically aiming for the level charts would do. It would be faster at the beginning, but it would get slower and slower later on.

Han Xiao had experience quota for issuing missions. If he wanted to nurture a player, he could make that player grow faster than everyone else, but he wouldn't do that, at least not before the player reached Level 20.

Before Level 20, the [Qi Strength Refining Method] had the best market value. It was a huge profit.

…

He still taught skills, and the players flocked to him. Staying in the newbie village to harvest experience was also a form of relaxation for Han Xiao, giving him time to browse the forums.

On the forums, the phenomenon of the Awakened had reached fever pitch. It wasn't just Aquamarine Star; similar situations had occurred on other planets, and the players were treated differently.

On a magic planet, they were studied by wizards, who discovered their excellent magical talent (the player panel's learning ability), and they were even allowed to join various magic academies on a large scale.

On an ancient planet, they were regarded as envoys sent by the gods and were worshiped.

On Frost Winter Star... oh, the players on Frost Winter Star were the safest. The Demon Race wasn't at all interested in their ability to resurrect. When everyone saw the void demon clan's warships traversing the universe, using gravity capture devices to capture asteroid belts orbiting the planet to collect resources, everyone thought the demon clan's reaction was perfectly normal.

The players' strength was just a pile of ants to the Extinguishing Legion. Who would care what an ant looked like?

Of course, it was also possible that the Demon Race was already used to the ability to resurrect. No one could say for sure; after all, it was all just speculation.

The planets mentioned above were all lucky, while Aquamarine Star was one of the unluckiest. The NPCs were wary of the players, and they were captured, studied, dissected, and brainwashed.

Complaints were inevitable. Based on this, and considering the situation on Aquamarine Star, the players had a new guess.

Black Phantom was probably the game company's compensation to them!

"So that's how it is! So, other planets don't have characters like Black Phantom, only we do!"

"It's a good thing we have Black Phantom, or this game would be pointless!"

Seeing these comments, Han Xiao smiled with satisfaction. His efforts weren't in vain...

And when he saw the players' gazes, his smile became even brighter. His expression was like an old farmer looking at his harvest.

The Awakened phenomenon on Aquamarine Star had reached a crucial moment. Major forces were contacting the players, including gentle ones like Xing Long and Hai Xia, as well as cold-blooded ones like Ruilan and Audiffon. Other warlords and consortiums were also taking action. This wasn't without its benefits. At least the players didn't have to run around, and they had the opportunity to join factions. And the players did just that, with the most players joining the Six Nations.

In his previous life, the most players had joined Germinal, but now Germinal's branch bases had all been destroyed. They could only guard their main base and capture local players, making them miserable, and their numbers were 70 to 80 percent less than in his previous life.

The Awakened phenomenon had also caused another change. Players had developed an interest in teasing NPCs. They became curious babies who liked to ask questions and liked to do outrageous things to see the NPCs' reactions.

The players were having a great time, but in the eyes of the NPCs, their words and actions were extremely strange.

The major forces had unanimously written this slogan in the Awakened's files: "The Awakened generally have mental illnesses, their behavior is unpredictable, and they may do anything. They cannot be judged with normal thinking."

Han Xiao couldn't help but laugh when he saw these forces' slogans in the dark web intelligence. Another slogan made him laugh so hard that he almost cramped up:

"After testing, the Awakened have genders, but no reproductive organs and no ability to reproduce." The game didn't allow players to be completely naked. In the eyes of the NPCs, it was as if underwear had become part of their bodies, which they found very puzzling. How could someone grow up like this?

Han Xiao was almost cracking up. He could imagine how the major forces had discovered this...

The inability to reproduce meant that the Awakened could be ruled out as a new race. Of course, it was also possible that their reproduction method was completely different from the Aquamarine Star people's understanding. There were also various speculations about the appearance of the Awakened on the dark web, with both panic and tension.

Han Xiao discovered that long-abandoned religions seemed to be on the rise, saying that the Awakened were messengers sent by the gods to save the world. Religious superstitions always exploited loopholes and could attribute any phenomenon to themselves.

Some players had the idea of teasing Black Phantom. Since Black Phantom was a newbie guide, would he react with surprise like other NPCs? Teasing NPCs was a lot of fun.

"Black Phantom, your name is Han Xiao, you used to serve in Xing Long, and now you are a member of the dark web organization. Am I right?" a player with the ID "Flying Mantis Shrimp" suddenly said. He had watched Meatbun Beats Dog's video and had the sudden idea to try revealing Han Xiao's identity in front of him to see what would happen.

Black Phantom couldn't possibly know that his identity had been leaked. When he saw a stranger reveal his identity, would Black Phantom lose his composure and be shocked?

Flying Mantis Shrimp chuckled to himself, staring intently at Han Xiao, secretly pleased.