Chapter 1

Garron Star System, Fourth Star Zone.

A Gedora public space station, entertainment district, erotic club.

Colorful, psychedelic lights flashed and danced, dynamic and stimulating music amplified the atmosphere. Round and rectangular stages were scattered around, where women of various races, scantily clad, performed provocative dances. Below were virtual screens introducing… or fabricating the background and ages of these women, using tragic or depraved stories to incite the audience's base desires.

Crowds of male species surrounded each stage, eyes glued to the dancers, their laughter crude and boisterous. Every now and then, someone would reach out for a touch. Not far away were bar areas, with semi-private booths, mostly occupied by male species, embracing bar girls of various races, their eyes filled with springtime allure. They fondled them freely, chatting and laughing loudly, acting as if their generosity reached the sky.

Scantily dressed waitresses carried drinks back and forth, occasionally subjected to unwanted touches from the male guests of all shapes and sizes.

Laughter, murmurs, and flirtatious voices rose and fell, the entire venue saturated in a decadent, drunken atmosphere, as if painted with a seductive, dusky pink.

In a luxurious booth, several male species were laughing loudly, downing cup after cup of alcohol. One look told you they were mercenaries.

They held bar girls in their arms, their caresses rough and uncivilized. Some of the girls showed a hint of pain in their eyes, but they dared not object, forced to offer strained smiles.

They knew the origins of these men. The group belonged to a somewhat famous mercenary团, all B-grade Supers. To ordinary people like themselves, B-grade Supers were untouchable big shots.

However, among these pleasure-seeking mercenaries was an anomaly.

Sitting at the edge of the booth was a tall, slender man. No bar girl accompanied him, and his drink remained untouched. He sat upright, meticulous, hands placed on his thighs, ramrod straight. His whole being clashed with the surrounding atmosphere. While others reveled, his expression was as serious as if he were conducting scientific research, chilling the enthusiasm of the other mercenaries.

"Leonard, don't be so serious. Have a drink, I'm paying tonight, enjoy yourself."

The mercenary团 leader couldn't help but speak, looking at his unusual companion. He didn't act superior because he was the leader, but rather spoke with a hint of appeasement.

Leonard kept his upper body still, only turning his neck slightly to stare, his eyes bright and piercing, like an owl in the night. His tone was flat, "Alcohol slows my brain, slows my thinking. I need to stay sharp."

"Uh, then you can find a woman…"

Before the leader could finish, Leonard continued, "Women distract me, interrupt my thoughts. Physical desires also affect my clarity."

"Okay, then…"

The mercenary团 leader chuckled awkwardly. He couldn't do anything about Leonard. Leonard held a high and indispensable position in his mercenary团.

Because Leonard was a B-grade Mechanic.

In the universe, Mechanics were relatively rare, especially high-level Mechanics. Unlike martial artists, Espers, or psychics, Mechanics needed to learn a vast amount of knowledge, only comparable to mages. For Mechanics, knowledge was the fundamental path to becoming stronger.

His team had been working with Leonard for quite some time. Leonard consistently provided weapons, equipment, and repaired ships or machinery, handling the entire team's logistics. He also possessed B-grade combat power. Leonard's position was even higher than his, the leader.

If Leonard weren't so important, the mercenary团 leader would have long lost patience with his eccentric personality.

"Have you guys heard? A lot of free mercenaries are trying to join the Black Star Army lately. They say Black Star will monopolize the mercenary business in the Garron Star System. What are we going to do?" At this moment, another mercenary started a topic.

"Don't worry about them. It's too early for Black Star to monopolize the Garron Star System. We can just find work in other star systems then."

The mercenary团 leader curled his lip, unconcerned.

Suddenly, Leonard spoke expressionlessly, "We're going to join Black Star."

Silence fell immediately.

The mercenaries present looked at Leonard in surprise.

The mercenary团 leader said unhappily, "What do you mean? I'm the leader. Don't make decisions for me."

"Understood."

Leonard nodded, immediately took out his communicator, pressed a few buttons, then stood up and left.

"Wait, where are you going?" The mercenary团 leader suddenly felt uneasy.

"I'm quitting the team."

Leonard walked further and further away.

Everyone was dumbfounded. He quit the team at the slightest disagreement, without a moment's hesitation. Too decisive!

The mercenary团 leader panicked and hurriedly stood up, shouting, "Are you crazy? We've fought alongside each other for so long! We all treat you like a friend! You're just leaving like this?!"

"Our relationship is an equal partnership. I didn't sell myself to you. Why can't I leave?"

Leonard didn't look back, didn't even pause. Every step was as precise as if measured. His figure disappeared at the doorway.

Leaving a group of mercenaries looking at each other, bewildered.

"What is Leonard thinking? Does he think there's no future with us?" Someone complained indignantly.

The mercenary团 leader's face was gloomy. He flung the bar girl in his arms to the ground. Without even a glance, he slammed his fist on the table.

*Bang!*

Spiderweb cracks appeared on the table, startling everyone.

"That bastard!"

Without Leonard, the team's strength would be greatly reduced. At this thought, the mercenary团 leader was furious, but there was nothing he could do.

…

Garron Star System, aboard an interstellar travel ship.

In a passenger cabin, Borick stared at the Black Star Army interview notification on his communicator, his eyes flickering.

He was a mixed-race Gedora, a free mercenary. His resume had passed the initial screening, and he had been notified by Philly to attend an interview.

However, the mercenary was just a superficial disguise. Borick's true origin was that of a DarkStar sleeper agent. Before becoming a mercenary, he was a trained elite of DarkStar.

DarkStar's fleet had been wiped out, and almost all the upper echelons had been captured. However, some DarkStar members didn't travel with the fleet, remaining undercover in the outside world, maintaining their disguises. These people had once been DarkStar's intelligence network, but now they were DarkStar remnants. With their leader bankrupt and on the run, they were leaderless and in a state of panic.

Gedora had recently been clearing out DarkStar remnants, with considerable success. Several secret DarkStar intelligence lines had been uprooted.

For safety, DarkStar remnants no longer contacted each other. Many had different thoughts, some wanted to run, some wanted to whitewash their past, and some wanted to defect.

Borick, however, was one of the best-disguised. Not long after DarkStar was attacked, he had voluntarily cut off contact with other remnants. His mercenary resume was flawless, with no apparent connection to DarkStar. His identity was well-hidden.

But he had no intention of washing his past.

Before DarkStar was attacked, Borick had received orders to infiltrate Black Star's forces. Now, he decided to continue with this mission.

Using his clean identity, he would pass the interview, openly become a member of Black Star, and go underground.

The first reason was that Gedora had a close relationship with Black Star. Having the identity of a Black Star mercenary would better protect his secrets, a case of hiding in plain sight.

The second reason was Borick's main motivation.

He was loyal to DarkStar, hated Black Star, and firmly believed that the DarkStar leader would one day return!

"The Black Star Army is an obstacle. I'll infiltrate early, maybe I can rise to the position of squad leader, cadre, and be able to divide the Black Star Army from within. When the leader returns, that's when I'll play my part. I'll become a thorn in the enemy's heart…"

Borick's expression was cold, harboring ulterior motives.

…

Players bought new equipment and enthusiastically started their new missions.

While doing mercenary work, they were also exploring the galaxy. They were still in the familiarization phase of entering the galaxy. It was estimated that after two or three more mercenary jobs, they would be completely used to the galaxy and become proficient.

On the other hand, the hundreds of thousands of players remaining on Aquamarine Star were constantly passing the tests. Every so often, thousands of players would join the Black Star Army. These players were considered newbies, but after being influenced by the forums, they at least knew how to start mercenary work. They wouldn't start from scratch. If they didn't understand something, they could ask the first batch of players who joined Black Star.

Therefore, in the short term, Han Xiao didn't have to worry about the players' movements. They were on the right track and could play on their own.

Fifteen days passed quickly, and the day for interviewing the new recruits finally arrived.

In the past half-month, Han Xiao had been in seclusion, creating many new machines. However, the workload of upgrading his entire equipment was huge, and he hadn't finished yet. He could only stop his seclusion and take time to interview these mercenaries.

In the magnificent base hall, thousands of mercenaries who had come for the interview gathered here, of various races, some were humans, some were beasts, some were insects, of various genders, some were male, some were female, some were hermaphrodites. Everyone sized each other up, and the hall was noisy.

"This is Black Star's base camp."

"Looks pretty impressive, not bad."

Borick looked around. When he entered with the large group, he had been observing the structure of the base, looking for weak points, memorizing them, and forming a map in his mind.

After waiting for a while, the alloy floor in front of the thousands of people spiraled open, revealing a round hole. Han Xiao, with his windbreaker fluttering, slowly flew up and landed in front of everyone.

Thousands of pairs of eyes immediately gathered on Han Xiao, their eyes filled with curiosity, awe, and eagerness, with the expression of seeing a great figure.

Han Xiao's current fame, strength, and status were truly befitting of a great figure in the Garron Star System.

"This is Black Star…" Borick narrowed his eyes slightly. He had seen Han Xiao's videos. This was the first time he had seen him in person, and he secretly sized him up.

Han Xiao glanced at the crowd and turned to look at Sylvia, who was waiting on the side, nodding in acknowledgement.

Sylvia nodded, stepped forward, cleared her throat, and spoke in a clear voice:

"Welcome everyone for choosing Black Star. Everyone here is an experienced mercenary. Those who pass the interview will be members of our Black Star Army and will need to sign the mercenary alliance's joining agreement. All kinds of benefits and treatments are written in the contract. Of course, there are also the Black Star Army's rules and regulations, as well as the obligations you need to fulfill…"

After speaking, Sylvia obediently retreated to the side. With Herlous not around, she was being used as Han Xiao's assistant.

Han Xiao glanced around and said loudly, "You all know the rules. If you have any objections, you can leave now."

Thousands of mercenaries whispered to each other, but no one left.

"Good, then let's not waste time and go straight to the test."

Han Xiao raised his hand. "The method is very simple. You walk up to me one by one and let me pat you. By touching you, I can roughly sense your energy level. Those who pass, please wait on the side."

Naturally, no one present had any objections, and no one would question the abilities of a Calamity Grade powerhouse.

However, many people were unsure in their hearts. This testing method depended solely on Black Star's judgment. If he said you were good, you were good. If he said you weren't good, you weren't good. There was no hard standard.

At this moment, Han Xiao added, "Don't worry, I won't let those who fail come for nothing. You have two choices. One is to leave, and the other is to accept our Black Star's training, to improve your strength through high-intensity training. During this period, you cannot accept employment. Only after passing the test will you be allowed to use the Black Star Army's name to accept employment."

He valued talent. Of course, the more powerful free mercenaries, the better. But he knew that not every capable mercenary was willing to join his command. Talent needed to be nurtured.

Therefore, Han Xiao decided to set up a mercenary training camp.

Technician Han had this idea a long time ago. This was an important part of the expansion plan. In his vision, every sub-base would not only be a stronghold, but also have the function of recruiting and training soldiers.

His recruitment scope was not limited to mercenaries. He would also recruit ordinary people from different planets. Aquamarine Star was one example. In addition to the players, there were also Aquamarine Star people who longed for the universe, and Sunil would be the next pilot planet.

Hearing this, many mercenaries present had their eyes light up. Even if they failed, they would have the opportunity to join Black Star, which immediately dispelled their concerns.

Everyone obediently lined up, and Han Xiao tested them one after another.

This interview method was to trigger the interface's battle information through contact, so as to view the other party's attributes.

While these mercenaries were unaware, Han Xiao already had a clear understanding of their abilities, even turning over their cards and reading them several times.

It took two seconds to test one person. There were six or seven thousand people here, which would take several hours. This method was very troublesome, but the origins of free mercenaries were very complicated. They came from all over the world, and many were not citizens of the Garron Star System. Who knew what their background was? Han Xiao felt that it was better to be careful. Things had been calm recently, and he could squeeze out this time.

After a while, it was finally Borick's turn.

He was unhurried, stepped forward, and let Han Xiao pat him.

*Testing energy level has no risk of exposure. Black Star can't possibly know he's from DarkStar just by touching him.*

Borick was relaxed and not worried at all.

The opportunity to observe Black Star up close was rare, and it was even a good opportunity for assassination. However, Borick suppressed these dangerous thoughts, did not delay, and prepared to wait on the side like the people in front.

Just as he turned around, he heard Han Xiao's voice behind him:

"You… stop right there!"