Chapter 816 Old Feelings

Jupiter was certain he was in for it, so he was stunned for a moment. Suddenly, a surge of emotion welled up within him. He was relieved to have escaped a disaster, but also moved by Han Xiao’s attitude. Memories from Version 1.0 to the present flooded his mind, stirring up a wave of nostalgia and gratitude.

As a professional guild leader paid to do his job, he focused on how to operate the guild. Over the years, he had developed some affection for the Black Star Army, but he didn’t identify with the army’s cause like some ordinary players. The guild’s interests were his top priority.

But at this moment, he felt a warmth in his heart, sensing a hint of sentimentality in Han Xiao’s words.

Despite the emotion, Jupiter couldn’t help but ask, “Is that really okay? After all, we caused some negative repercussions…”

Han Xiao waved his hand. “I’m aware of the cause and effect of the incident. If you had specifically attacked a colony planet, the army would have dealt with you without hesitation. But your target was an enemy who kept disrupting your black market missions. If you didn’t kill him, you couldn’t continue your operations in that area. Since I asked you to take over the black market, I gave you the freedom to act. Although you went a little overboard and displeased me… the Feynir civilization chose to protect him, so they’re obstructing our process of integrating the black market. They’ll bear the consequences themselves. We can’t let our own people be bullied.”

“But the public opinion…”

Han Xiao interrupted him, saying casually, “You may have been the trigger, but the root cause is the conflict between the three major civilizations and us. Even without this incident, they would have found something else to attack us with. I won’t turn around and punish members who are working hard for the army just because of the enemy’s tactics. So, you don’t have to bear the pressure from the outside world this time.”

Jupiter coughed and said softly, “But you’ve also become a target of criticism. Aren’t you worried about your reputation…”

Han Xiao shook his head. “That’s why I hope you’ll reflect on your mistakes this time. Eliminating enemies is fine, and if you encounter enemies who continue to hinder the army’s missions, you can fight them and kill them, but you need to be mindful of the impact and do it cleanly. Unless it’s unavoidable, try not to affect civilians. You can always request assistance from the army for any operations. Don’t act on your own and cause such a stir like this time.”

After speaking, Han Xiao glanced at the surprised expressions on everyone’s faces and nodded secretly, believing that these people had understood part of his hint.

From beginning to end, what he wanted wasn’t to prevent such incidents from happening altogether, but to allow players to continue doing so, albeit with some guidance to ensure they did it more cleanly. But such words were better left unsaid.

In his view, the matter had already occurred. No matter what explanation he gave to the outside world, it would be a losing proposition. It was better to turn the situation to his advantage, ignore the public outcry incited by the three major civilizations, and let the army continue to do as it pleased, while both deepening the threat of the Universal Cancer and reversing the army’s ‘positive image’ in the eyes of the public.

Before the association clashed with the three major civilizations, the three major civilizations had been promoting him, enhancing his reputation, and adorning him with various halos in the eyes of the interstellar population. It was both praise and restraint, a double-edged sword.

Burdened by his reputation, the army’s actions were restricted. If they did something that violated the rules, they would suffer repercussions. This was the leash that the three major civilizations were trying to put on the army.

But Han Xiao knew that the current struggle was becoming increasingly complex. Continuing to abide by the rules set by the other side would only make him more and more constrained. So, while the players had caused a mess, it might not be a bad opportunity to adjust his strategy.

The likes of Inhumans had committed countless acts that were even more heinous and infuriating, yet most civilians only felt fear and dared not speak out, because they knew these people were villains and couldn’t be trifled with. But now, the outside world was filled with indignation and condemnation against the Black Star Army. One important reason for this was that in their hearts, the Black Star Army had once been a ‘good guy,’ and ‘good guys’ could be pointed at with guns.

Being a ‘good guy’ for too long only made outsiders less and less fearful… Many of the civilizations in the universe that were responding to the call of the three major civilizations and strongly preventing the association from integrating the black market held a similar mentality, believing that they had the Interstellar Treaty as a ‘talisman,’ so the Black Star Army wouldn’t dare break the rules and do anything to them.

The Feynir civilization’s protection of Darfees on the colony planet clearly stemmed from this mentality. If they truly cared about the casualties of their own people, they wouldn’t have dared to do so.

If other civilizations followed suit and escalated the situation, the association’s work would only become more and more constrained. How could they even talk about integrating the black market?

If he could use the Beerus incident to enhance the threat of the Universal Cancer and make the outside world realize that there was a group of armed and violent individuals in the army who were not afraid of breaking the rules, then some civilizations and Beyond Grade A forces would have to reconsider the consequences before working against the association again…

Playing is playing, joking is joking, but don’t joke about the Universal Cancer!

As long as similar incidents occurred a few more times, making them afraid and wary, it would avoid a lot of trouble and help speed up the black market integration.

However, these things could only be understood implicitly and not expressed in words. Therefore, the army wouldn’t admit to any of the outside world’s accusations, but would only insist that these were slanders. As for the truth, let outsiders figure it out for themselves.

As for the impact on public opinion… The three major civilizations controlled the most powerful propaganda tools, and his reputation would be tarnished sooner or later. Han Xiao had long been prepared for this. Going against them wouldn’t come without a price. Besides, this reputation was just something superficial.

After all, armed organizations were not the same as civilized regimes. They had different concerns. In the current environment, public opinion was just a minor annoyance. No matter how loud the noise, when it came down to it, the three major civilizations still wouldn’t dare to make a move.

During their previous cooperation, a positive reputation helped the army seek more partners and build a network of interests. Now that the three major civilizations had issued a ban, prohibiting any civilization or consortium from cooperating with the association, there was a different path for each stage. The ‘good guy’ facade was basically useless now, while the ‘villain’ mask was more effective.

That’s why Han Xiao didn’t mind switching the army’s reputation mode. To him, it was just a different means. As long as it helped achieve his goal, he would use whichever was more effective.

When the World Tree War broke out, all these negative effects would no longer be a problem. No one would care about such trivial matters anymore.

Of course, even if he temporarily switched to the ‘villain’ route, there would still be limits to what he could do. So, he still needed to impose certain restrictions on the players’ behavior. Thus, he personally stepped forward and, by criticizing Jupiter and others, conveyed a subtle attitude to all the players – small-scale collateral damage during boss fights was acceptable, but deliberate actions were not.

And the power of discretion was in his own hands. With today’s heads-up, if a player ever went too far, most players would consider it normal when he ‘acted according to the rules.’

Since he had to insist to the outside world that the army was unaware of the situation and didn’t prevent other players from emulating them, and the God's Domain Guild was a representative first kill, amplifying the impact in the eyes of the players, and their actions were still within the boundaries, there was no need for any form of punishment today. First, to avoid giving the enemy any ammunition, and second, to express his attitude. By the same token, there would naturally be no rewards, and the cost of the boss fight would be borne by the guild itself.

This went against the simple intuition that ‘mistakes should be punished,’ but in the complex environment, most decisions were not about right or wrong, but about appropriateness. Many times, it was counterintuitive.

Another reason for this was that Han Xiao knew very well who the teammates worth fighting for were at the moment – players were his basic foundation for rapid advancement, and the 360 promotion was extremely important, the sooner the better. So, there was no need to hesitate about which was more important.

The enemy provoked them first. Unless the players’ counterattack went too far, Han Xiao wouldn’t stop them or punish them, or else it would convey the idea that they could only be beaten but not fight back. This would be a blow to the faction’s attraction, only making the players feel depressed, and attrition would be inevitable…

Back in Version 4.0, the Black Star Army had clashed with several small factions. The small factions chose to restrain and blame the players, while the Black Star Army relied on its protectiveness and poached their players. Han Xiao, who had been harvesting players for many years, would naturally not make such a mistake.

After all, players couldn’t be simply constrained by management methods. The trend of challenging Beyond Grade A couldn’t be stopped. Han Xiao understood the players’ mentality very well – if fighting bosses here was too restrictive, they would just leave this faction. In any case, it was impossible not to fight bosses, and not everyone had a deeply ingrained sense of faction loyalty.

As players continued to grow stronger, their need for factions would gradually decline. Strength was the greatest assurance, and with power came bargaining power. They would be well-treated no matter where they went. Moreover, Han Xiao never doubted the players’ interest in starting their own businesses.

Now, among the factors that attracted players to stay in the army, the proportion of benefits was decreasing, while the proportion of belonging and habit was increasing. The long-term investment had provided more and more returns.

That’s why Han Xiao personally spoke with the God's Domain Guild, playing the emotional card and using them to promote his ‘friendship with his comrades’ on the forums.

He had already controlled the spaceship’s intelligence. Players could only use the panel for recording, so this video would only be circulated on the forums, and groups other than players wouldn’t be able to see it, thus completing the precise delivery of the ‘advertisement.’

“I understand. In the future, we’ll definitely report any similar actions to the army,” Jupiter said, his spirits lifted.

“Yeah, that’s right,” Han Xiao nodded. “Work hard and control the black market in this area as soon as possible.”

After giving a few words of encouragement, Han Xiao ended the communication, and the projection in the cabin disappeared.

The members of the God's Domain Guild looked at each other, all relieved, and smiles of relief appeared on their faces.

The feeling of being protected was just too comfortable!

“Guild Leader, I recorded the conversation just now. Should I post it on the forum?” Poseidon asked.

“Post it!” Jupiter said happily, waving his hand. “This is Black Star’s personal stance. We’ve got first-hand information, which is good for everyone. Post it in the name of the guild.”