Chapter 1 Mission Details

“Our mission this time is to scout the abnormal signal area outside the border defense perimeter. There's a high probability of encountering the World Tree fleet, so you all need to be prepared to sacrifice yourselves.”

Inside the spacecraft cabin, the light blue projection of the remote commander floated above the tactical command table, explaining the mission details to the players in the room. He wouldn't mention "sacrifice" to normal people, but it didn't matter to the Undying, as all participants in this mission were players.

These kind of vague detection missions are usually just wild goose chases, yielding no results. If it weren't for the players acting as a suicide squad, the command wouldn't even bother sending anyone to scout.

Most people were listening attentively, but Hongcha was distracted, hanging back in the crowd, chatting up female players on the forums.

As a veteran player who joined in Version 1.0, Hongcha had seen it all. Nowadays, he was more interested in female players. The procedures for these combat missions were all the same: charge, croak, get paid, and done.

Anyway, no matter how much the commander said, they would still need to improvise during the actual execution. Hongcha was familiar with the routine and had his own way of doing things. In his opinion, the details were unnecessary to listen to; he'd rather spend that time flirting with girls. Wouldn't beautiful sisters be better?

Before long, the warp streams covering the ship dissipated, and the scouting force had arrived at their destination. In the space outside the windows, there was a World Tree squadron, seemingly searching for something in this area. The number of warships was less than half of this scouting force. As soon as they saw the Three Great Civilizations' scouting force, they quickly turned around, as if trying to escape.

"World Tree fleet detected, attack!"

The commander naturally didn't hesitate and immediately gave the order. Without a word, the scouting force opened fire on the World Tree probe team. An interceptor accelerated, carrying a group of players in hot pursuit, and soon caught up with several World Tree probe ships that couldn't escape.

Bang, bang, bang—The interceptor fired a series of assault pods, latching onto the hulls of several enemy ships, drilling through the outer armor and embedding themselves inside. The players inside swarmed out and boarded, intending to take control of the ships.

Blazing flames spewed, laser energy shot everywhere, and the players immediately went on a rampage in the probe ships, fighting the World Tree members. They were utterly destructive, and World Tree warriors were either burned to cinders, crushed into meat patties, or riddled with holes, leaving the ground littered with fragmented corpses.

Hongcha slightly dodged a laser blast, and with a backhand sword gesture, a dazzling white martial arts force shot out, sharp and fierce, like a qi sword, piercing the chests of three World Tree warriors, instantly killing them.

"How about that, cool, right?"

"Little brother, you're so amazing. Can you take me to run dungeons in the future?" The girl player in the video call pleaded coquettishly.

"Depends on your performance."

Hongcha wore a smug smile on his face, speaking in the private chat channel. Even on the battlefield, he was still flirting, opening a video call to let his good sister see his heroic figure.

In the past few months, he had completed the Level 180 advancement quest and successfully advanced, entering the Calamity Grade. He was undoubtedly a leader in the current player group. This kind of boarding battle was no pressure for him, and he could flirt while fighting with ease.

The reason he chose the Martial Artist profession was naturally because it was the most dazzling of the five classes. Being strong was a matter of the current version, but being cool was for life.

While Hongcha was chatting up girls, his teammates had already been mowing down the World Tree warriors and were getting further and further away.

Watching the group of people run off excitedly, Hongcha shook his head with a smile, revealing the demeanor of a refined gentleman, pointing out, "You can't get carried away when doing missions. Look at these people, they're classic examples of the opposite. They finally get a chance to go on a rampage and start acting recklessly. You need to use your brains when doing missions, learn from me."

After showing off a bit, Hongcha didn't follow the main force. He took a turn and walked alone into the corridor beside him, casually breaking open the bulkheads or floors, heading straight into the ship's belly.

Soon, he arrived at a door unimpeded, with signs written in the World Tree civilization's language, such as "Analysis Room" and "Research Area." Because the ship was under attack, all the guards had gone to protect the key areas such as the energy core, power engine, control center, and bridge. Instead, there was no one here, only some simple defense facilities, which Hongcha quickly dismantled.

"Little brother, what are you doing here all alone?" The girl player blinked, asking in confusion.

"Hehe, I told you to use your brain. Think about it, our combat mission is to scout the abnormal situation in this area, and the World Tree forces were here before us, lingering, as if searching for something. This proves that they have already found something. The World Tree probe ship is equipped with a simple analysis and research lab, so there might be clues here. This is the key target of our mission. If we can steal the World Tree's test results, we don't need to risk staying here to detect it, and maybe we can save our lives."

Hongcha solved all the defense facilities, while walking into the room, and spoke eloquently.

"Wow, you're so experienced!" The girl player was full of admiration.

"It's alright, I've just seen a lot."

Hongcha was modest, but secretly pleased.

Although he was indeed experienced, he just wanted to show off his wisdom and show that he was different from those simpletons. As for whether there would be any gains here, it didn't matter.

However, at this moment, Hongcha suddenly stopped and looked up at one of the transparent experimental tanks. Inside, a ball of faint light was suspended. As he looked over, the panel suddenly jumped, and a prompt popped up.

[You have triggered the hidden quest: [Source of Upheaval]]

[Quest Description: You have discovered an important clue that could change the course of the war, with immeasurable value. If you bring it back, it will greatly affect the direction of the war.]

[Quest Requirement: Use a container to store the clue and report it to the Three Great Civilizations.]

[Reward: Depends on evaluation.]

Hongcha was stunned.

No way, I was just showing off, and I actually got something?!

"See, I told you there must be clues here!"

Hongcha immediately became excited, shared the quest interface with the girl, and then immediately came to the experimental tank, groped for a while, found the storage button, and pressed it.

Zzzzz... Tiny arcs of electricity flashed in the experimental tank, guiding the ball of faint light into a palm-sized cylindrical container. The caps at both ends of the container automatically rotated and closed. Precision mechanical parts with strong magnetism intertwined, making a clicking sound, perfectly sealed.

Then the tube slid along a transparent pipeline, popping out halfway from one of the holes in the operating table, indicating that it could be taken away.

With a click, Hongcha opened the chest area of his mecha and inserted the cylindrical container into a storage slot, then closed the armor to protect it. Without a word, he returned the way he came and immediately reported the situation here.

The skirmish didn't last long. The scouting force drove off the World Tree probe team, and only the enemy's remnants escaped. Because it was close to the World Tree's base, the scouting force didn't want to pursue.

Originally, they were prepared to sacrifice themselves and stay here for a while to investigate the abnormal situation, but after getting Hongcha's information, the team changed their plans and directly withdrew, to avoid being chased by the World Tree's follow-up forces.

As soon as the scouting force left, the World Tree's support troops arrived late, making a symbolic chase, but gave up when they approached the border defense perimeter, watching the scouting force that had intercepted a copy of the code particles return to the Three Great Civilizations' camp.

Not long after, at the front-line base research institute, the container brought back by Hongcha had been transported here, and under the research of a group of scientists, it gradually revealed its true colors.

"This... this is..."

The head of the research team looked at the deciphered content, his eyes widened suddenly, showing a look of horror, and he took a few steps back, unable to believe what he was seeing.

"Team leader, what did you find?" The officer waiting for the results felt a sudden lurch in his heart and hurried forward.

The head of the research team came back to his senses, lunged at him, grabbed the officer's shoulders tightly, his voice filled with panic and anxiety:

"Something bad is happening! Go and notify the three leaders, and Black Star! Our territory star map has been leaked!"

As soon as he finished speaking, all the officers and researchers present turned pale.

…

On the other side, in the Tree King's Palace.

"Your Majesty, the Tree King, according to your instructions, we have handed over a portion of the code particles to the enemy. The other side should believe that this is the information they intercepted."

"Well done."

The Ancestor Tree King narrowed his eyes and nodded.

Being so close, the front-line troops had already discovered the special nature of the code particles, how could such a mistake occur. This was naturally done on purpose. It wasn't until the Three Great Civilizations' scouting force defeated the World Tree's probe team that their reinforcements arrived late, making a show of not being able to catch up, but it was all fake.

The real purpose was to let the Three Great Civilizations obtain a copy of the code particles in a way that they would be less suspicious.

"This trick is good. When they see the leaked information, they will mostly suspect there are internal spies, and it will definitely cause chaos." The Fixed Tree King nodded from the side.

"A strong fortress can be breached from the inside. Suspicion is the best weapon." The Ancestor Tree King said calmly.

No matter who leaked this information to him, in his opinion, they probably didn't want to be discovered by the Three Great Civilizations, so he did the opposite.

The Ancestor Tree King didn't mind being used, but he wouldn't let the user be too happy. Since they wanted to use him, they had to bear the corresponding risks.

On the other hand, even if the user didn't care, the Ancestor Tree King also wanted to use this method to cause internal suspicion or even division within the Three Great Civilizations.

"That's right, after all, not all civilizations can be as united as we are. Everyone is connected to the mind network, coordinated by the Mother Tree, and there are no secrets at all." The Fixed Tree King smiled and echoed.

The Ancestor Tree King narrowed his eyes and glanced at him, not knowing if this was the other's sincere words, or a veiled insinuation.

…

In the Three Great Civilizations' leaders' office, Mabrus, Louis, and the Head of the Arcane Church received the emergency report from the front lines about the code particles and immediately convened a meeting.

Looking at the countless pieces of internal information about the explored universe contained in the constantly deciphered content, the three of them were pale, and gloomy anger was faintly visible on their faces.

"How dare they, someone is actually colluding with the enemy!"

The Head of the Arcane Church slammed the table, his tone furious.

"No matter who it is, they must be found!"

Flames of anger burned in Mabrus's eyes.

Originally, the situation was excellent. Relying on the border defense perimeter and Han Xiao, they could withstand the World Tree for many years. However, before they had enjoyed their comfortable lives for long, there was actually a traitor in their midst, leaking countless pieces of information!

With these coordinates, the World Tree could jump through space, bypass the border defense perimeter, directly launch a full-scale invasion, open up countless battle lines, and instantly break the stalemate, regaining the initiative.

Their efforts over the years had been to protect their territory from invasion, and now these efforts had been in vain—the three of them were already beyond furious, wishing they could eat their flesh and drink their blood, grinding the traitor's bones to ashes!

At this moment, Han Xiao arrived at the invitation, his remote projection appearing in the room, frowning and getting straight to the point:

"You said the intelligence of the interstellar society has been leaked? What's the specific situation?"

"Take a look for yourself."

Mabrus split off a virtual screen and flew it in front of Han Xiao.

Han Xiao glanced at it and quickly understood the situation, his expression changing.

His first reaction was the World Tree's attempt at sowing discord, using some means to obtain intelligence and then turning around to cause internal suspicion... But this information was so detailed that it was impossible to collect it without spending a long time in the explored universe, so it was more credible that someone leaked the information.

"Either a traitor is colluding with the enemy, or a third party is stirring up trouble." Han Xiao's thoughts raced, and he said.

"That's what we think too." Mabrus said gloomily, "But compared to that, the possibility of a traitor is higher!"

Han Xiao stroked his chin and pondered: "If a traitor is at work, then the goal is definitely not to survive, because in the current situation, the entire interstellar society basically believes that we can withstand the World Tree. Therefore, the traitor must have other interests, such as revenge on you, such as taking advantage of the situation..."

"We naturally know this."

Louis's eyes flashed with a cold light. Before this, they had already discussed the suspected targets. The most suspected were the Super Star Cluster Alliance and the next-tier Star Cluster Civilization, and even the Super-A Grade Association was somewhat suspected, so the three of them also became wary of Han Xiao.

Although the current good situation basically came from Black Star, the positions of the three made them have to suspect Han Xiao, because even though Black Star had made so many contributions, he still had a motive...

At this moment, Han Xiao's eyes suddenly flashed, and he said in a low voice:

"It is possible that we got this intelligence because the World Tree deliberately leaked it, with the purpose of causing internal division..."

However, halfway through, Han Xiao stopped and shook his head helplessly.

Even if the World Tree did it on purpose, the information leak was real. Even if they guessed that this was the World Tree's plan, there was no way to let go of their suspicion. This was a conspiracy.

Going up another layer, if the information leak was the work of a third party, they might have anticipated this step in advance, helping the World Tree while also using the World Tree to cause internal suspicion in the interstellar society.

Han Xiao paused, put away these guesses, changed the subject, and said, "In any case, the battlefield has changed. Prepare as soon as possible to deal with the World Tree's full-scale invasion. This is the most urgent task."

The three nodded, their brows filled with gloom.

Although the Three Great Civilizations were prepared, having made war preparations in various star regions, compared to the fortified Shining World border, the defenses in other areas were naturally much weaker, and there were countless planets distributed, allowing the enemy to enter a familiar rhythm of war and replenishment.

"The traitor must be found. Since he has done such a thing, he will inevitably take actions to benefit at some point, and will show his feet sooner or later." The Head of the Arcane Church said coldly.

"The sooner we confirm the target, the better. I will immediately issue an order to form a special team to thoroughly investigate this matter." Louis said.

At this time, Han Xiao thought for a while and said, "I need to personally study these code particles. Perhaps I can find some clues."

Hearing this, the three exchanged glances, and finally nodded.

"We can give you some of the code particles for research. We hope you can find clues as soon as possible."

"Okay."

Han Xiao knew from the look on their faces that he was also a suspect, and couldn't help shaking his head. He didn't bother to argue at this time. If he were in their position, he wouldn't trust anyone now.

'I didn't expect the version name to be fulfilled so quickly. Who exactly is making trouble... Could it really be them?'

Han Xiao secretly calculated, the sneaky Super Star Cluster Alliance flashing through his mind, and then the figure of the Avengers.