Chapter 14 Retreat, Camp!

"Retreat, set up camp!" Lu Cheng took a deep look at Han Xiao, then swept his gaze over the refugees, ordering the troops to set up camp at a distance, warily watching.

The players stirred, some who hadn't chosen a mission faction yet were observing, and based on the current situation, Green Valley Town seemed to have a higher chance of winning.

The sky darkened.

Han Xiao arrived outside Lu Cheng's camp. When the guards spotted him approaching, they nervously raised their guns.

"Relax, I'm here to talk to your leader," Han Xiao said.

The guards kept their guns trained on him, unwilling to let him enter the camp.

At that moment, Lu Cheng, having heard the commotion, walked over and said in a deep voice, "Let him in."

If Black Phantom wanted to kill him, he wouldn't need to notify him. It seemed he had other intentions. Lu Cheng signaled the guards to stand aside and led the way into a newly erected tent. Kuang Dao Nu Jian followed Han Xiao.

Lu Cheng casually sat down, not worried that Han Xiao would threaten his life. He rested his chin on his interlaced hands and said in a deep voice, "The famous Black Phantom appearing in such a small place... I don't know why you're interfering. Bashas shouldn't be qualified to hire a killer of your caliber. What's the purpose of your visit?"

Han Xiao got straight to the point. "I'm here to help you."

"Help me?" Lu Cheng was puzzled. "We've never met."

Han Xiao casually made up a reason. "I find you more pleasing to the eye than Bashas."

Lu Cheng found it strange. After a pause, he said, "Bashas... he's a despicable fellow, using the refugees as cannon fodder. I really don't understand why these refugees are throwing their lives away. What benefits has Bashas given them? Is he holding their families hostage? I offered them a way out, but they refused."

"They don't have much combat power. Why don't you just crush them? With your armed forces, it would be a one-sided massacre," Han Xiao said with a faint smile.

Lu Cheng was expressionless, noncommittal on the topic, and changed the subject. "Black Phantom, I don't know you, and I don't know why you're helping me. What are you planning to do? Assassinate Bashas? I believe that would be easy for you."

"No, I don't want to kill people," Han Xiao said perfunctorily.

Lu Cheng's mouth twitched. A killer saying he doesn't want to kill people? That's more absurd than a navy officer saying he can't swim!

"Then how do you want to help me?"

"You care about the refugee problem. I can help you solve it."

Lu Cheng raised an eyebrow. "You have a way to persuade them?"

"Perhaps."

"...Then what do you want from me?"

Lu Cheng didn't believe a strange, legendary killer would help for free. There must be something he was after, but he couldn't figure out what Black Phantom saw in him.

"I don't need a reward."

Lu Cheng's eyes darkened. He stared into Han Xiao's eyes, but all he saw was an unfathomable fog. He couldn't see what Han Xiao was thinking. Generally speaking, refusing a reward meant there was an ulterior motive, a greater ambition.

Silence.

Kuang Dao Nu Jian, who was listening, felt confused, but he sensed that the atmosphere had become stiff, and the back of his neck felt tight.

The stalemate lasted for two minutes. Finally, Lu Cheng didn't say anything else, nodding slowly. "Then I'll have to trouble you."

...

Walking out of Lu Cheng's tent, Han Xiao patted Kuang Dao Nu Jian's shoulder and said, "I have something I want you to do."

"You triggered the mission [Spread the Word]."

The mission requirement was to spread the news that Black Phantom had joined Lu Cheng's camp. The reward was calculated based on evaluation—the more people who knew the news, the more experience he would get. Even the players counted toward the number of people. Kuang Dao Nu Jian didn't suspect anything and happily went to Green Valley Town to spread the word.

Perhaps ordinary players would be amazed by this kind of real, interactive mission, but Kuang Dao Nu Jian, having experienced Han Xiao's loving baptism, wouldn't be surprised by any form of mission.

"Now it depends on how much influence I have," Han Xiao thought to himself.

Kuang Dao Nu Jian was very efficient, partly due to his current small reputation. The news spread by word of mouth and quickly reached the player community in Green Valley Town, causing an uproar.

"If we choose Green Valley Town, will we be enemies with Black Phantom?"

"How could we possibly beat him!"

"Is this mission guidance?"

The players panicked. The scene of Han Xiao's fierce battle with the beast swarm during the day was still deeply engraved in their minds. Being enemies with Black Phantom was pure suicide. The mission situation immediately reversed, and Green Valley Town's chances of winning plummeted to rock bottom.

Moreover, choosing to defend Green Valley Town meant attacking Black Phantom, which would lead to a decrease in favorability. It was too much of a loss to offend a powerful figure for a small mission. If they really fought, would they attack him or not? If they didn't attack, how could they defend Green Valley Town? It was a dead end.

The players who chose Green Valley Town were depressed, feeling that they had no chance of winning. To complete the mission, they could only join Lu Cheng's camp, but they couldn't reselect their faction.

Roubao Da Gou was decisive and was the first to go to Lu Cheng's camp. The mission was secondary; the main goal was to film more footage of Han Xiao.

The guards had already received Lu Cheng's orders to let the refugees pass. Roubao Da Gou smoothly joined Lu Cheng's camp. Han Xiao, who was observing from the side, narrowed his eyes and noticed Roubao Da Gou.

"That ID looks familiar... isn't that a game video uploader?" Han Xiao remembered Roubao Da Gou's ID. In his previous life, he was a fairly well-known game video uploader who made many popular videos in the *Galaxy* series.

In that instant, Technician Han suddenly had a new idea... wait, why did he add "again"?

Han Xiao walked out and came to Roubao Da Gou.

"Your choice was wise. I think you have potential. Would you like to temporarily become my assistant?" Han Xiao said.

Roubao Da Gou's eyes widened, looking completely dumbfounded. Had he triggered a hidden plot?

He had never dared to hope for it, but he didn't expect to stumble upon it!

Was this life? What you seek, you cannot obtain, but what you don't seek is delivered to your hands. It was too unexpected. Roubao Da Gou was stunned for a moment.

The surrounding players were in an uproar.

"He triggered Black Phantom's hidden plot!"

"How did he do it?!"

"Does that mean joining Black Phantom's side is enough?"

"Is this mission actually an opportunity to trigger a hidden plot?"

Realizing this, the players who were still watching eagerly joined Lu Cheng's camp, unable to wait, like a refugee wave. The camp was full of players, a sea of people, crowded and unbearable. The guards were stunned, not knowing whether to drive them away.

The players who had chosen their faction rushed to Han Xiao, wanting to trigger the plot, but all they got were refusals.

"Why not?"

"Does that mean only the first person to join the faction can trigger the hidden plot?!"

This was the most likely guess. The players who were one step late wished they could bang their heads against the ground, feeling the pain of buying a lottery ticket and being notified that they had won five million, only to be called back three minutes later and told they had dialed the wrong number.

They originally had a chance to be the first to try, but this opportunity was snatched away by Roubao Da Gou.

One step late, missing a golden opportunity!

The players beat their chests and stamped their feet, wailing everywhere.

Han Xiao took the excited Roubao Da Gou to the side, conveniently increasing his favorability by five points, secretly planning how to use Roubao Da Gou's role.

Having a player who makes game videos was like carrying a reporter with him. He could have a channel to freely transmit information to the players. Selectively giving players some information, only telling them the information he wanted them to know, would be very beneficial to him.

"It seems like I'm playing at a higher level," Han Xiao thought smugly. He wrote a generous follow-up mission, threw it to Roubao Da Gou, then took out a phone that could contact him, handed it to Roubao Da Gou, and instructed him not to lose it. Roubao Da Gou nodded repeatedly, carefully putting away the phone.

Now there were two players following him, Roubao and Kuang Dao. Han Xiao had enough mission quota. After the second advancement, the quota for each level increased from 300 to 500. That is to say, at level 40, the single quota increase was 12,000, but now it had doubled to 25,000, and the total value reached 50,000. He could reward players with a higher quota.

Han Xiao didn't have any news to spread for the time being. He gave Roubao his contact information first, and there would always be a time when he would need it.

"Now I'm interested in three players: Kuang Dao, Feng Yue, and Roubao. The number is a bit small, so I have to expand the backup team." Han Xiao's standards were relatively high, preferring quality over quantity. His quota was destined to take the elite route. If he could absorb the top players in the China region into the team, it would be too profitable. However, Technician Han felt that this possibility was relatively slim, as those super high-level players were very individualistic.

He had only run through two novice villages, and there were more than a dozen waiting for him. Han Xiao had plenty of opportunities to choose people.