Chapter 1 The Homecoming

Hundreds of thousands of players crowded the square, their faces filled with anticipation and excitement. Just an hour ago, the shelter's broadcast had announced that Black Star would be giving a speech in the square. To prepare, Bennyte had hastily erected a platform in the center.

The effects of the return were still fresh, and the sensation was immense. Residents from the entire shelter had come, filling the square and stretching for blocks around. The best viewing spots around the platform were naturally occupied by the hundreds of thousands of players, packed in layers.

Everyone wanted to hear what Black Star, returned from the stars, had to say.

Tap, tap, tap...

Han Xiao, his black cloak billowing, walked out from the central area, followed by a group of mercenaries. Eyes turned toward him, filled with excitement and expectation. The crowd parted like the Red Sea before him, creating a path as he walked, his presence imposing.

He stepped onto the elevated platform, his mercenaries remaining at the side. Han Xiao surveyed the scene – a sea of people, a million pairs of eyes fixed on him, every move under scrutiny.

Han Xiao remained calm. With his thick skin, he didn't know the meaning of the word 'nervous.' He slowly raised a hand, and a compressed sphere rolled out of his sleeve, landing in his palm. He casually tossed it behind him.

Zzt!

A flash of blue electricity.

Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, the compressed sphere rapidly transformed. Beneath Han Xiao unfolded a silver-black alloy mechanical throne. He slowly sat down, and the throne rose into the air, hovering ten meters above the ground, the bottom emitting the blue glow of anti-gravity stabilizers as he looked down at the crowd.

Immediately after, three identical Void Mirrors appeared behind him, facing different directions to accommodate the crowd on all sides.

Above the shelter was a fleet in a ring formation, with the square at its center, and Han Xiao at the very heart of it all.

His presence was maximized!

"Damn, that's so cool!"

"A standard appearance for a big shot, I think I'm seeing a second Dragon Emperor!"

"He’s really awesome!"

Han Xiao implemented his way of making a grand entrance, sitting on a flying throne; it felt really good, and it made the players' hearts surge with excitement.

Scanning the crowd, he cleared his throat. His voice, amplified by a miniature amplifier, carried far.

"I have returned."

Boom—

With just those words, the residents of the shelter erupted in cheers. As the creator of the shelter, Han Xiao enjoyed explosive popularity, was highly regarded, and was extremely popular. Infected by the atmosphere, the players’ impression of Han Xiao became even more elevated.

He raised his hand, signaling for quiet. The crowd quickly fell silent, waiting for his next words.

"Two years ago, I foresaw this calamity and resolutely went to the stars to seek a solution. I made a promise that, for the sake of our home, I would return and face the disaster with everyone... Now, I have fulfilled my promise."

"The universe is dangerous. I went through many twists and turns to obtain my current power. You don't need to know the dangers involved; they were the pain I willingly endured, ultimately exchanged for the ability to deal with the disaster..."

Han Xiao's words were vague, glossing over the specifics of his interstellar experiences, giving off the impression that he didn't want to go into detail, which caused many shelter residents to speculate.

The players, however, chuckled inwardly. They had long learned about Black Star's experiences in the stars through Meatbun's videos. Even if Black Star didn't want to talk about it, they knew everything, and Black Star didn't even know it.

Many players exchanged glances and winks, each understanding without needing to say a word, adopting a knowing attitude.

Han Xiao glanced at the players, a slight smile on his lips.

He deliberately spoke this way to give the players a sense of superiority, making them think they knew everything about him. When they had this thought, they had already fallen into his trap, not only making them actively recall and reinforce their impressions, but also providing implicit assistance for his next actions.

"We are all in the midst of this disaster; no one can stand aside. I am willing to generously share the knowledge I gained from the stars to help everyone grow together and overcome this difficulty!"

The eyes of hundreds of thousands of players lit up. This was what they had been waiting so long to hear!

I want to open boxes… pui, to learn skills!

After saying a few more encouraging words, Han Xiao wrapped things up, indicating the end of his speech.

The residents of the shelter dispersed, filled with hope, while the players surged forward, surrounding Han Xiao.

"Long time no see, alien warriors. I can sense that you are more powerful than you were two years ago."

Han Xiao nodded, his expression serious, pretending he didn't know the players.

You’re the one who changed the most!

Many players couldn't help but complain inwardly.

After saying a few simple things that an NPC would say—his acting as natural and harmonious as ever—Han Xiao decisively began selling skills. After holding back for so long, he could finally harvest his adorable players again, his heart almost bursting with joy.

After version 1.0, the players were very familiar with Han Xiao's skill transmission interface and store interface. They were used to it and missed it. It was very nostalgic to see it again.

Selling his own skills and knowledge was equivalent to a mentor passing on skills. He could set his own prices, thereby obtaining "tuition" from the players. Han Xiao mainly sold Mechanic-class skills, and these were the main skills that players could learn on their own once they reached a certain level, providing Han Xiao the opportunity to teach them in advance, while they were still low level.

However, Han Xiao wouldn't teach skills that were too important. For example, Compression Technology and Mass Production Solutions would definitely not be taught to the players. Most of what he gave them were basic skills that increased mechanical affinity, as well as some less important low-level blueprints—blueprint skills were generally very popular.

As for Mechanic knowledge, in addition to the complete set of basic knowledge (after all, most players hadn't even learned all the basics), Han Xiao also selected a few non-critical advanced knowledge to impart. He didn't teach too much advanced knowledge in the past, but now that he was in the new version, he naturally didn't have such concerns. He was doing it to cut off the competition.

Of course, letting players learn future skills in advance wasn't a scam either; it could barely be considered a win-win situation, since learning early meant using it early, just like early cooldown...

In any case, players would have to find someone to learn from. He had a full range of services here, cheap and convenient, making it great to monopolize the market. There were no anti-monopoly laws to restrain him here, it was simply wonderful.

"Wow, so many Mechanic-class skills I've never seen before."

"Heavy Mechanical Modification, Advanced Detection Technology... There's more advanced knowledge than before too!"

The players looked at the dazzling array of skills, their excitement almost bursting from their eyes.

As expected of the new version, so many skills, many of which they had never seen before. Black Star not only had a higher status after going to the stars, but the benefits were also higher.

Because the players had reached their level limit at the end of version 1.0 and could only upgrade their skill levels, everyone had a lot of experience stored up. Han Xiao was aiming for the deposits they had accumulated!

With the new version starting, players wouldn't be stingy with experience. Each was a wealthy tycoon, swimming in money. Technician Han wouldn't stop until he had emptied their wallets!

Not long after he started selling, Han Xiao's panel experience quickly exploded, and message notifications flooded the screen. Large numbers of players unhesitatingly learned skills, spending experience lavishly, allowing him to earn a fortune.

Looking at the numbers constantly jumping on the panel, Han Xiao smiled contentedly, like an old farmer who had worked hard for half a year and finally reaped a harvest. He was completely satisfied.

He had been looking forward to this moment for a long time!

The experience revenue brought by the players learning skills poured in like a river, rapidly filling Han Xiao's dry experience bar. The original number of less than 100 million soared like a rocket.

Two hundred million... three hundred million...

This efficiency was much faster than in version 1.0!

There were hundreds of thousands of players in the shelter, and thanks to Han Xiao's efforts in 1.0, Mechanic-class players accounted for more than 30%, a proportion far exceeding that of his previous life. The market was large, and the spending power was strong. Han Xiao's pricing for skills and knowledge wouldn't be outrageously high, but it wouldn't be low either. Compared to the pricing of thousands in version 1.0, he now based it on tens of thousands, because he was the only one for the time being, and he didn't need to lower prices to compete in the market. This was the benefit of a monopoly.

As long as a hundred people learned a few skills, it would already be millions of experience. The income from the roughly 200,000 Mechanic-class players would definitely be much more than in 1.0, at least billions, but the cost of upgrading at Han Xiao's level was also extremely high, and future expenses would be even higher. The more experience, the better.

Only Han Xiao could level up so quickly in one go. When the players reached his level, they would have to do tasks for a long time before they could save enough experience to level up, and they would be as happy as a daisy... Speaking of which, it was embarrassing. In his previous life, Technician Han was like this when he was a tender newbie. Later, he slowly developed the nature of an old salted fish. Alas, a passionate youth in his younger years, once entering the martial world, time urges him on, a good poem, a good poem.

"At the current rate, the experience gained today should be enough to reach level 120..."

Han Xiao thought to himself. When he reached level 120, he would be stuck on an advancement mission again. He had a mission completion card on hand. If the mission was too troublesome, he was prepared to use it directly. After all, he had to stay on Aquamarine and couldn't spare the time to do missions.

It would take a huge amount of experience to reach level 140, and one harvest wouldn't be enough. Imparting skills and knowledge wasn't a one-time deal. When players learned the same skill for the second time, it was equivalent to finding a mentor to upgrade the skill level, which would bring long-term benefits. Han Xiao was very patient about this.

He not only wanted to get rich in one wave, but also wanted a steady stream of income, for generations to come.

The target group for his personal skills were Mechanic-class players, but he naturally didn't ignore the other two classes on Aquamarine. It was kingly to spread the love evenly.

...

"They're all Mechanic-class skills, this is terrible!"

Black Star was a Mechanic-class mentor, and the happiest were the Mechanic-class players, their faces glowing red, as if they would burst out laughing at any moment. The Martial Arts and Esper-class players could only envy and hate them. Who told them not to have changed their profession to Mechanic-class in the first place? How great it would be if Black Star was their career mentor!

Unable to learn Black Star's skills, the other two classes of players could only open the store interface, only to find that they could open the Black Star Mercenary Group's faction store, which was a great surprise.

"Isn't this the faction store in Meatbun's video? It's open to us too?"

"That's right, I wonder if we can join the Black Star Mercenary Group and become one of them. Maybe we can even be featured in Meatbun's video."

"Hey, these items are all grayed out, you can only look but not buy. Oh, I see, we can only view the faction items, we can't buy them if we don't join."

"Wait, look at the things above!"

Many players carefully browsed the faction store, and suddenly their expressions lit up. They saw that in addition to all kinds of mechanical equipment, there was also advanced knowledge for the Martial Arts and Esper classes!

However, the faction store could only be browsed. It prompted that they had to join the faction to purchase, and the prerequisite for purchasing the advanced knowledge of these two classes was that the mercenary group's faction favorability had to reach [Friendly], which was 1,000 faction points.

"Black Star, we want to join your mercenary group!"

"How can we join the group!"

The players scrambled to squeeze up, asking questions at once. Due to the image that Han Xiao had always cultivated and Meatbun's video footage, they already had a good impression of the Black Star Mercenary Group faction. Seeing these actual benefits, they immediately made up their minds to join, and couldn't wait.

"You want to join my mercenary group?"

Han Xiao put on a very surprised expression, and pretended to ponder for a while, then said:

"It's not impossible, but... our members are all elites who have undergone strict selection. If your strength meets the standards, I will welcome you to join."