Chapter 1 The Black Star Legion's New Plan

"Millions of players have disappeared, and the Black Star Army has shrunk in size, requiring new planning..."

Inside the cockpit of the Blacklight Lurker, Han Xiao brushed aside his melancholy and perked up, thinking about serious matters.

His physical age was still less than thirty years old. By the time Version 3.0 started, he would be approaching forty.

Han Xiao wasn't worried about his lifespan for the time being. He was, after all, a Grade A Super and a Void creature, and had also injected a lifespan-extending agent. Living for two or three hundred years would be easy. Ten years later, he would still be youthful, still handsome, dashing, and accomplished.

Han Xiao made a simple plan for how the Black Star Army should develop over these ten years.

"First, we must focus on accumulating strength. Without the high-speed dividend period brought by the players, these ten years will be used to convert all the benefits brought by the players in Version 2.0..."

Han Xiao pondered.

The assets accumulated in 2.0 included twenty or thirty bases in the Garton Star System, nearly two thousand warships, a deposit of more than 170 million Enas, and the tremendous reputation that the Black Star Army had gained from countless player-driven engagements. These were all intangible assets.

NPC mercenaries were different from players. Every death was a loss. Recruiting free mercenaries was one way, but more important was cultivating fresh blood. He decided to increase investment in the training camps to obtain a steady stream of troops, while also saving costs.

In addition to the lower-level troops, high-level cadres also needed to be cultivated. At the current level of the Black Star Army, Grade B was no longer rare and could only be considered mid-level combat power. What was lacking was Grade A high-level combat power. Currently, only he and Lagi were Grade A.

"Hmm, continuously try to recruit external Grade A's, and at the same time cultivate potential stocks, such as Melos, Fording, Reynold and others... I wonder how many more Grade A combatants will emerge in these ten years."

Han Xiao rubbed his chin thoughtfully. In his previous life, Sylvia had become a Grade A Super in Version 3.0. These ten years should be Sylvia's period of rapid growth, requiring more supervision so that she could transform from an incompetent female secretary into a capable assistant as soon as possible.

However, accumulating strength did not mean keeping a low profile. The secret war initiated by Klent was the biggest external conflict, with risks and opportunities coexisting. Han Xiao would naturally not stand idly by.

Han Xiao joined the No. 0 Sanctuary to obtain cutting-edge knowledge and improve his relationship with the Crimson Dynasty—this was one of the safest routes. Cutting-edge knowledge was indispensable. Even if it wasn't a job advancement requirement, Han Xiao needed to obtain it.

At the same time, this was a two-pronged approach. As long as he gained tremendous merit in the secret war, he would be qualified to become a long-term partner of a Star Cluster-level civilization, just like the War Realm, thereby promoting the transformation of the legion. This was an opportunity to take the Black Star Army a step further in the Colton Star Cluster.

With the assets accumulated in 2.0, coupled with the Crimson Dynasty's strong support for the No. 0 Sanctuary, he could recruit more manpower and better accumulate strength. To obtain more resource support, he needed to achieve a higher position in the No. 0 Sanctuary and make more contributions.

Organizations such as Arc Light, Hero Group, and the New Fellan Resistance were both reliable comrades and competitors. They were large in scale and occupied a larger share of resource support. If Han Xiao wanted to obtain more resources, he needed to achieve better results than them.

"Now the two sides haven't officially started fighting yet, and there is still time for pre-war preparations, so there is no need to rush too much..." Han Xiao thought to himself, "In addition to the development of the faction, my strength also needs to be further improved. The accumulated experience on the panel is enough for me to easily level up to level 200 or higher."

Faction power was external assistance, while individual strength was the most core aspect. Only a strong fist could hold people down.

Ten years was enough for Han Xiao to convert all the experience accumulated on the panel into combat power. As for whether he could reach Super Grade A, Han Xiao wasn't sure. He didn't know how many levels were required for Super Grade A.

Referring to the level span between Grade B and Grade A, and the gradual increase in energy level between ranks, Han Xiao estimated that the threshold for Super Grade A was at least around level 240.

The accumulated experience might not allow him to reach Super Grade A, but reaching Grade A+ was basically a sure thing.

If he found some powerful skills and talents, combined with his existing various templates and talents, he should have a good chance of crushing most Grade A's.

"Now I'm at level 170, and the job advancement mission is holding me back. If I want to obtain cutting-edge knowledge to complete the job advancement, I need to start with the Crimson Dynasty and increase my favorability to 6,000 to become a 'Revered' relationship."

...

After setting the development plan, Han Xiao returned to the base and immediately issued a large number of orders.

The first was to shrink the scope of operations. With the loss of millions of high-quality laborers, Han Xiao reduced the frequency of the Black Star Army accepting commissions.

At the same time, Han Xiao took out a large amount of funds to purchase various materials and parts, allowing the military factories of each base to build small spaceships. The logistics department led by Reynold was now different than before. Its scale had expanded many times, and it could independently manufacture spaceships, although it could only build models such as small assault ships, but it also saved a lot of costs. Expanding the fleet was one of the pre-war preparations.

Another wave of funds was used to recruit external combat power. The Black Star Army now had more than 100,000 formal mercenaries, and Han Xiao planned to increase this number by forty to fifty percent. Money was not a problem.

The disappearance of millions of players was also noticed by other Black Star mercenaries, who were quite puzzled. However, Han Xiao did not explain it to them. Even if they had a thousand guesses, they were just guesses and could not change the established situation.

A portion of the high-level officials who knew the special nature of the Heteromorphs, although surprised, were not too shocked. Regarding the special characteristics of the players—especially their immortality—the cadres who had been following Han Xiao had basically gotten used to it, but they were worried about the Black Star Army's situation after the Heteromorphs disappeared.

Han Xiao summoned all senior cadres for this reason.

In the room, the cadres arrived one after another, from Melos, who joined the earliest, to Lagi, who joined most recently. Everyone gathered together.

Han Xiao cut to the chase and said, "The Heteromorphs have disappeared again, and I don't know when they will reappear. This is not the first time. Klent's invasion may happen soon. Next, we will accept the Crimson Dynasty's commission and participate in the war as a member of the No. 0 Sanctuary. You need to be prepared."

The expressions of the crowd varied, and they nodded.

"Lagi, you are the only Disaster Grade powerhouse besides me. If the war is tight, we may have to lead teams separately," Han Xiao said.

"Alas, it's war again. I have a feeling that I will really sacrifice this time." Lagi's face was bitter.

The corner of Han Xiao's mouth twitched.

Okay, your wave of anti-milk at least reduced your chance of death by fifty percentage points.

At this moment, Reynold suddenly interjected.

"Your Excellency Black Star, he is not the only Disaster Grade."

When everyone heard this, they turned to look at Reynold.

Han Xiao's eyes lit up, and he stared at him closely, "Could it be that you..."

Reynold nodded. A rare smile appeared on his meticulous face. "Just a few days ago, I successfully stepped into the Disaster Grade threshold. I am already a Grade A Super, all thanks to your selfless guidance."

Han Xiao was overjoyed. Reynold had also become a Grade A combatant. Together with himself and Lagi, the Black Star Army had three Disaster Grade combatants, exceeding many members of the No. 0 Sanctuary.

Good news!

Reynold had joined his command a few years ago and had been studying for so long. He had finally successfully advanced. Although Han Xiao was surprised, he was not surprised. He had known for a long time that with Reynold's talent, becoming a Disaster Grade was a certainty. The only difference was sooner or later.

At the critical moment when the secret war was about to break out, he had another fierce general under his command. It was just too timely.

Aside, Melos couldn't help but feel a little lost.

He followed Han Xiao the earliest, but now his position was constantly being surpassed by newcomers. However, there was nothing he could do about his lack of strength. Becoming a Grade A powerhouse was not something that could be achieved overnight. He had not yet touched the threshold of Grade A.

After the Sunil incident, Melos swore to follow Han Xiao to the death and was extremely loyal. He only regretted that he could not help Han Xiao more.

Everyone's moods varied. The Volga three brothers were as salted fish as always, Fording smiled silently, Sylvia clenched her small fists and secretly worked hard, while Aroshia was distracted and wandering around.

Han Xiao's gaze fell on Aroshia. The [Reboot] mission on her was still in the second stage. He had found most of the locations displayed by the memory fragments through the players, and occasionally took time to take Aroshia all over the place. There was only one last location left to complete the second stage mission.

However, the last location was too remote, so Han Xiao had not taken her there to complete the second stage. He was not in a hurry to do this mission. Because Risda had already revealed the news, the ultimate goal of the [Reboot] mission was to deal with "Machinery Country" Maineson. Han Xiao thought to himself that he could not handle it in the short term, so he was not enthusiastic about this mission.

He didn't want to be full and have nothing to do to confront a Super Grade A, and the other party was still a member of the Ancient Ones.

...

Not only the Black Star Army, but all members of the No. 0 Sanctuary were also making pre-war preparations and recruiting manpower.

More than ten days later, shocking news swept through the entire Shattered Star Ring, causing shock throughout the entire star field.

The War Realm invaded the Colton Star Cluster from the desolate universe!

It signified that the secret war that Klent and the Crimson Dynasty had been brewing for a long time had officially begun!

This was like a fuse. The chaos brought about by the Red Tide finally broke out completely!

The friction between the seven Star Cluster-level civilizations in the Shattered Star Ring rose to the point of fighting. Many major forces and hidden organizations in the entire Shattered Star Ring were fighting and tearing each other apart in various parts of the star field. The Shattered Star Ring was extremely chaotic, and everyone was in danger. The trend of forming groups began to appear.

For nearly a hundred years, the most dangerous era had arrived!

All members of the No. 0 Sanctuary received a mobilization notice from the Crimson Dynasty, requiring them to rush to the battlefield.

When Han Xiao received the notice, a prompt also popped up on the panel.

[You have triggered the S-level Faction War Mission [Secret War - No. 0 Sanctuary]!]

[Mission Introduction: The Klent Empire is invading the territory of the Crimson Dynasty. You have chosen to stand on the side of the Crimson Dynasty.]

[Mission Requirements: As a member of the No. 0 Sanctuary, follow orders and repel all enemies who invade the territory of the Colton Star Cluster.]

[After the mission is completed, different rewards will be given according to the mission evaluation.]

[Note: This mission is a strategic mission. There are three ways to improve the mission evaluation.]

[1. Complete separately issued tactical objective missions]

[2. Kill or capture enemy forces]

[3. Successfully complete this mission]

"This is one of the main missions of 3.0... Sure enough, I will trigger this mission during the version update."

Han Xiao had expected it.

This was an S-level main mission. Players could choose between the Klent or Crimson Dynasty factions. He had already joined the No. 0 Sanctuary and defaulted to choosing the Crimson Dynasty faction.

At the beginning of Version 3.0 in his previous life, the secret war was at a critical period of white-hotness. Players only returned at that time and chose a faction to intervene in the war.

This main mission was an S-level mission, and the various introductions were relatively brief. Regardless of which side won the war, the players on the losing side could still receive the rewards for the mission settlement. The difference lay in the level of the mission evaluation.

After the players' exploration, there were several ways to lower the evaluation. The first was to disobey the faction's orders, the second was to betray the faction, and the third was to lose the war, failing to successfully protect/invade the territory before the cosmic civilization intervened.

"I triggered this mission at the beginning of the war, ten years earlier than the players..." Han Xiao raised his eyebrows.

This meant that the cycle of this mission would become very long for him. The secret battlefield would run through the entire version update period, and it would take at least ten years or more to settle.

On the other hand, it also meant that he had a lot more time than the players to improve the mission evaluation.

"I'm afraid I'll have to spend these ten years in battle... Well, I've been idle for two or three years, and I've had enough rest."

This time, it was different from those short-term employment operations. This was a long-term, large-scale war.

Han Xiao stood up, put on his coat, and pushed the door open.

"Phillip, gather the troops and follow me on the expedition."