Chapter 1 The Black Phantom

Players in Greendale posted screenshots on the forums, showing off the arrival of the Black Phantom, triggering another wave of heated discussions.

"He was at Big Horn Mountain before, and now he's in Greendale. Will he go to the next newbie location?"

"Did the game developers arrange for this high-level NPC to appear? The timing feels so strange. If he's a Mechanic class instructor, wouldn't his whereabouts be too erratic? Could he be the protagonist of the planet written in the official lore?"

"Doesn't seem like it. I think the protagonist of the planet should be related to the main storyline and wouldn't let us encounter them so early. The Black Phantom should just be an easter egg-type mysterious figure who provides Mechanic class advancement… Does this mean that besides the Black Phantom, it's hard to find a chance to advance to the Mechanic class? Is that why the developers let the Black Phantom compensate us?"

"Holy sh*t, does that mean if you want to advance to the Mechanic class, you'll miss your chance if you pass this village?"

The speculation about Han Xiao never stopped. The heat from Big Horn Mountain hadn't subsided, and he was once again trending because of the players in Greendale.

Han Xiao read many posts with great interest and summarized several viewpoints players had of him.

The first was that he was a mysterious merchant-like figure who appeared in the early stages to give newbies benefits, which was the most supported theory.

The second was that he was a Mechanic class instructor.

The third was that he was an important storyline character who could trigger important missions. Because of this theory, Han Xiao had to deal with a bunch of players every day who wanted to trigger his "hidden storyline." Because of Maple Moon’s case that was revealed in the forums, players believed that as long as they showed hostility towards Germination, they could trigger his "hidden storyline."

These people had all sorts of strange lines. Han Xiao naturally rejected them all. There were even players who relied on their good looks (high Charm) and tried a different approach, wanting to capture the heart of the Great Technician Han with their charm, especially the female players. Bi Kong You You, the president of Sky Territory, once posted that women would have an affinity bonus when facing the Black Phantom, resulting in Han Xiao being surrounded by gentle beauties.

Han Xiao remained unmoved.

Did they think they didn't have to pay just because they were good-looking? How naive!

Some players were very arrogant and even tried to attack him. Han Xiao adhered to the doctor's attitude of using violence to correct all problems. As long as this type of player revived, Han Xiao would kill them again. The game refreshed the number of deaths every six days. This was a resurrection mechanism or an anti-addiction mechanism. The players who dared to attack were directly forced offline.

These players who were lawless in the game had obviously gotten used to single-player games where they could save and load. When others played online games, they were cautious and developed steadily, afraid of ruining their accounts. How could they be so rampant? No one sympathized with players who courted death. *The Elder Scrolls* had released its thirteenth iteration; there would always be fearless chicken-killing maniacs challenging the entire world. He was used to it.

One player after another lined up to give money. Many players were attracted by Han Xiao's display of Mechanic class strength, but because this time it required giving gifts directly, some rational and stingy players hesitated, and the line of players paying was relatively sparse.

Han Xiao dealt with them casually and browsed the forums. Suddenly, a new post was pinned to the top, attracting his attention. The title was *Galaxy Times*.

"This section is out!" Han Xiao's face lit up with joy, feeling nostalgic.

*Galaxy Times* was a semi-official section with a variety of content, including official news about *Galaxy*, various anecdotes, movements of professional players, analysis of the game's progress, etc. Han Xiao used to be a loyal viewer of *Galaxy Times* and would urge them to update every time he finished watching. Now that he had joined, he wondered if the content would change.

In the video, a male and female host sat in front of the camera like a news broadcast, with the ever-changing *Galaxy* scenes behind them, the landscapes of various newbie planets.

Male host: "Hello, players! This is *Galaxy Times*, dedicated to sharing first-hand game information to escort your game career."

Female host: "The public beta has been running for ten days, and the players' enthusiasm has not diminished at all. So, first, let's review the major events that have happened in these ten days…"

The first episode of *Galaxy Times* was informative. The next ten minutes quickly reviewed the movements of players on various planets in the ten days since the public beta and introduced the civilization background of each planet. Among them was the ancient background of Changge Star, where everyone wore armor and wielded cold weapons such as swords, spears, and war hammers to fight each other. The background was like a mixture of ancient China and medieval Europe. Obviously, this planet was dominated by Martial Arts and Magic classes. If you added a subtitle to the main storyline, it would probably be something like "Total War," "World Domination," or "I Will Use Your Skull as a Bowl."

There was also Paleton Star, a highly developed magical civilization. The city was like a floating island, with ninety-nine towering magic towers distributed on the edge of the city, forming a resonance with the main tower in the city center to form a city defense magic array, and the super-large crystal ball at the top of the tower provided magical power to make the city float. Occasionally, you could see giant dragons flying across the sky. Newbie players had a hard time surviving in this world and could easily run out of their death limit.

Of course, there was an even more difficult start, which was Frost Winter Star, one of the territories of the Void Demon race's Extinguishing Legion, and the only planet where you could see interstellar battleships. The battleships of the Demon race were ferocious and flamboyant, mixing magic and technology, and the individual combat power of the Demon race was also off the charts. They could even ride cosmic creatures to briefly enter space. The level of power was very high. The players' status here was not even cannon fodder. Fortunately, Frost Winter Star was only a branch territory of the Extinguishing Legion, and the main storyline was not about dealing with the Demon race. Otherwise, the American players who chose Frost Winter Star as their base camp would not even be able to get out of the newbie village.

The richer the resources of the newbie planet, the higher the difficulty of the start. In contrast, the difficulty and resources of Aquamarine Star were relatively mediocre, and the technological background was similar to reality decades ago. On the contrary, there were not too many surprises. Unlike the newbie planets with other backgrounds, even the trash cans on the street could make players feel novel.

However, the heat of Aquamarine Star was very high on the forums. The reason was the appearance of the Black Phantom. He was the first high-level figure to interact with players.

The two hosts changed the subject and talked about the Black Phantom.

"Next is an event that happened on Aquamarine Star. Friends who follow the forums know that the Black Phantom is the first mysterious high-level figure to appear in front of players. Players know very little about him. Qiu Qiu, what role do you think he plays in the storyline of Aquamarine Star?" the male host asked.

Female host: "Current intelligence shows that the Black Phantom seems to have a considerable status. His identity is very mysterious, and he is hostile to Germination."

"Oh, so does that mean he belongs to the Six Nations camp?"

"I don't know." The female host shrugged. "Perhaps only the developers can answer this question."

"Okay, after listening to this not-so-funny joke, let's get back to the topic." The male host changed the subject. "Speaking of the Black Phantom, he seems to be a Mechanic class instructor and can trigger hidden storylines. The latest information shows that the Black Phantom appeared in Greendale, Southern Continent, Aquamarine Star. So, friends who want to advance to the Mechanic class should seize the opportunity. The Black Phantom is, so far, the easiest way to obtain advancement knowledge."

"However, different voices have recently appeared on the forums. Some players who have advanced to the Mechanic class seem to regret it."

The female host pretended to be surprised, "There would actually be such a thing?"

At this time, the barrage started to argue. Most players played whatever class was strong. After being attracted to the game, they found that the Mechanic class skills were not as powerful as they imagined, and they would naturally be full of complaints.

While the two hosts were chatting about this topic, Han Xiao looked down at the replies and found that a reply was pinned to the top. The ID was "Luo Si Men."