The Legendary Mechanic, page 164
Thirteen novice planets, thirty-seven participating countries. Small countries did not have the ability to choose their bases. There were some foreign club events in Planet Aquamarine, not many of them, but they were strong nonetheless. It was not to be underestimated.
Although the so-called base planet was just self-named, and any country could come to play, this was a naturally formed sense of the territory from the players. Han Xiao remembered some clubs would send strong players to other divisions, creating a team disguised as ordinary players to beat the local clubs, which would make the local players lose face.
Electrolux, whom he had once met, was this kind.
“… Qualifiers will be the most intense stage,” Li Ge said. “The participating players average at LV 40, not max level yet. With the elimination mode, luck will play a certain part, but the longer one stays, the more battles one will face. Even we can’t say that we are confident of every single match. The impact of the luck factor will be minimized. The last top 38 teams will definitely be strong teams with real skills.”
Second Prince sneered. “Hehe, that’s because your Temple of God is too noob. Our Dynasty has absolute confidence. Anyone who meets us just has to wait for their death.”
Li Ge smiled on the outside but cursed on the inside.
He did not bother about the fool and turned to look at Hao Tian. He smiled and said, “Old Hao, can you fulfill your dream and become the international champion this time?”
“Success depends on effort.” Hao Tian’s words were few but had a clear meaning.
Second Prince grunted and said arrogantly, “Save it, you guys. The champion will be Dynasty!”
Sun Eggplant looked at him sideways and said, “Moron.”
Second Prince turned his head and stared at him furiously.
“What you staring at, looking for a beating?” Sun Eggplant rolled his sleeve like he was going to fight him any time.
Second Prince stood back and murmured, “Savage.”
The four of them interacted, and the comment barrage fired. This episode of the show analyzed the competition in detail. In the end, the four of them promoted their preparations of their teams, expressing their fighting spirit and their strong determination for the champion position.
Han Xiao shook his head. Although they all look undisciplined, they were all god players.
Through the show, his old memories of Season One Pro League were refreshed.
…
The Qualifiers registration ended very quickly. The official start was three days later, so all the contestants prepared themselves as much as they could.
This time, hundreds of thousands of players gathered in the sanctuary, crowded around the arena, and filled the square completely.
Han Xiao looked down at the square.
Three more days to the start…
Han Xiao turned and walked downstairs.
It’s time!
Chapter 296. Sensation! |
The sanctuary was overcrowded with people. Not only were there contestants, but there were also spectators. It was more than ten times more boisterous than usual. The players’ line of shops extended from the square to almost the gate of the city.
The Divisions were big events for all players. The players not at the venue could watch the live stream on the forums.
Three days to the opening, there was one day that coincidentally was the fixed Black Phantom loot box sales day. Part of the reason a large number of players came to the sanctuary was also because of Han Xiao.
The location that he usually appeared at was already surrounded. A male player stood outside the crowd and looked around on his tiptoes.
“He should be here anytime soon,” the player mumbled softly.
His ID was ‘Jing Zhe’, an LV 20 Mechanic, one of the unnoticeable spectators, as good as transparent in the crowded sanctuary. He knew about Han Xiao’s functionalities from the forums, so he wanted to buy some low-level equipment.
This kind of new players appeared every once in a while, bringing Han Xiao long-term profits.
After waiting for a while, Han Xiao drove the truck and arrived at the scene with a 270 degrees tail drift. He jumped down from the car, and the waiting players swarmed over instantly to grab the boxes.
The number of boxes was limited. It was almost impossible to purchase them without putting up a fight to buy them as soon as possible. Jing Zhe was pushed around by the crowd.
After the boxes were sold out, only then did the crowd leave. Jing Zhe heaved a sigh of relief. Seeing that Han Xiao was still there, he quickly trotted over and conveyed his intention of wanting to learn abilities. And as he wished, he saw the shop list.
So much machinery, and it seems like I can learn abilities here as well. The functions of this NPC are so rich. I heard he was the main storyline main character before…Jing Zhe was a new player that only started after the end of the Germinal Organization main storyline. He barely knew about Han Xiao’s past at all.
The items made his heart beat a lot quicker. And after he scrolled down to the bottom, his eyes opened wide in surprise.
This is… the class advancement knowledge for Pugilist and Esper, [Energy Burst] and [Tier 2 Gene Chain—Endurance Enhancement]. Both selling for 30,000 EXP. Jing Zhe’s mouth was wide open with surprise.
Was Black Phantom not the Mechanic mentor? Why was he selling the class advancement knowledge for the other two classes?
Anyway, he could not use them.
Jing Zhe took a screenshot, posted it on the forums causally, and continued to look at the other items in the shop. What he did not expect was… this post created a storm on the forums!
Every player who knew what this meant was shocked!
Jing Zhe did not know how rare class advancement knowledge was yet, but the older players knew it very well—Class advancement knowledge could only be exchanged after they farmed their relationship points with the Six Nations to ‘Reverence’, which almost no one could at the moment. Yet, Han Xiao had just started selling them out of nowhere!
Only one word could describe how to old players felt about Han Xiao.
Horrifying!
After being silent for a few months, Han Xiao’s name dominated the forums once again!
Jing Zhe was stunned. He had never thought that his casual post would trigger such a reaction.
However, what was more shocking only came afterward. Countless players came from everywhere upon hearing the news and swarmed toward Han Xiao. After they confirmed the news to be true, the entire square’s players became frenzied!
Black Phantom is the players’ blessing as always!
Suddenly, there was a commotion at the exteriors of the crowd, and they split open a path automatically. Renowned pro players walked in one after another—Li Ge, Hao Tian, Sun Eggplant, and so on. They gathered in one place and snatched the spotlight!
With the Pro League just around the corner, the appearance of class advancement knowledge was certainly a very timely help. No one wanted to be behind the others, so they all rushed here. Dozens of famous pro players surrounded Han Xiao!
Some of the surrounding players had not had the chance to meet their idols before, so they could not hide their excitement and screams.
Jing Zhe was completely stunned. A post that he had casually published turned out to attract a group of god level pro players. He was used to being a nobody and had never had such an experience. He was shivering in excitement.
These pro players led the way to buy class advancement knowledge. The EXP on Han Xiao’s interface rocketed by millions every minute! Han Xiao was overjoyed.
It was worth hoarding the class advancement knowledge till now. It’s profiteering!Han Xiao was delighted. He had long expected the class advancement knowledge to be a hit. In Version 1.0, the prerequisites for acquiring class advancement knowledges were very difficult. The players went through a lot of hardship to get them, yet he sold them without any prior requirements. It would definitely shock all the players.
The class advancement knowledge for these two classes came from the Germinal Organization central computer. Now that the Germinal Organization had been eradicated, the class advancement knowledge in his hands became the only source of it throughout Planet Aquamarine.
Tens of thousands of players gathered in the sanctuary—excluding Mechanics, players with insufficient purchasing power, and players with insufficient potential points. Even if there were only a tenth of the players that bought it, he would still make a crazy profit!
30,000 was not high for the players at this time. Han Xiao sold it at this price because he wanted to sell more quantity and also because the contestants would spend most of their EXP before the competition to strengthen themselves as much as they could. If he set the price too high, he would miss the opportunity on those who did not have any EXP left.
He sold it for a few hours straight and only stopped as the sun started to set.
He looked at the interface. The EXP that he had received was an outrageous amount of 300,000,000.
Han Xiao had more than 500,000,000 EXP in his pocket through all sorts of events during the four months, and it had grown by more than half in just a day!
The players’ demand for class advancement knowledge is ridiculous. It will be high in the first few days and will start to gradually decrease as time passes, but even then, it will still earn a healthy profit just like the other abilities.
Han Xiao opened the forums. The Planet Aquamarine panel was filled with posts about class advancement knowledge. Many analyzed why he would suddenly sell the class advancement for the other two classes despite being a Mechanic.
This even affected the panels of other planets. The other division players were shocked and felt pressured. It was competitive between the divisions, and Planet Aquamarine players getting class advancement knowledge so easily was bad news for other planets. Players from all the planets were discussing it.
Han Xiao was very famous in Planet Aquamarine, and he also sometimes appeared in Galaxy Times. However, most of his popularity was limited to Planet Aquamarine. This was the first time that his name had spread to the other players. The players from the other players started to know his name—Planet Aquamarine Legendary NPC, Black Phantom, Han Xiao, Loot Box!
Actually, every planet had their own storyline main characters that appeared actively as they took part in the main storyline missions. Despite also being the main storyline main character, Han Xiao was very different. He did not provide main storyline missions one round after another, yet the functions that he offered were horrifyingly rich. The Planet Aquamarine players received countless benefits from him.
He was the storyline main character, the mechanic mentor, the salesman for rare items, the distributor for regular prize-pool missions, the loot box seller… His identity was so complex that the players had never seen any NPC that even came close. His position in the hearts of Planet Aquamarine’s players was unique and irreplaceable. It was like they had gone through the change of times side by side. When the players thought of him, they felt a sense of familiarity and trust!
Chapter 297. Hao Tian's First Battle! |
At the edge of players, Li Ge was frowning.
Most of the players were surprised about Han Xiao selling class advancement knowledge, but not Li Ge, who was not happy at all. He already had another type of class advancement knowledge, which the Guild of Gods had poured their resources to help him get. It was Li Ge’s trump card; he was going to use it to shine in the competition.
However, Han Xiao’s actions largely decreased the effectiveness of this trump card of his, indirectly reducing the difference between him and the other players. Something that everyone owned would not be considered rare anymore.
Li Ge stared at Han Xiao with unknown meanings.
A few god-level players at the sides chatted in a group, and as usual, Second Prince was bragging. “With the god player, me, bringing Dynasty into the finals will be a piece of cake. An old man like Old Wang would beg me to carry him.”
“If it wasn’t for King Admiral 1 , you Dynasty would not be one of the biggest clubs,” Sun Eggplant said with contempt.
Second Prince was furious. They argued for some time, and Li Ge walked over with a smile and said, “It’s good to be confident. I hope everyone will be honing their skills. I need some help in the international competition to earn honor for China.”
They raised the corner of their lips. They disliked the attitude of Li Ge always considering himself as the leader. Hao Tian said directly, “I don’t like you to always representing others, speak for yourself.”
Li Ge’s smile vanished. He looked at Hao Tian and said coldly, “Then I will see you in the competition. Don’t let me win too easily.”
They stared at each other with sparks flying.
Suddenly, a laid-back voice appeared from the side. “Found you, moron, follow me back to the team for practice.”
The others turned around to look. A player with an unshaven beard walked over. He looked scruffy and slovenly, but the ID above his head was ‘King Admiral’. This was indeed the low-key, mysterious pro player at the top of the leaderboard in China, Dynasty’s core. He had an eminent nickname—Emperor!
“Don’t call me moron!” Second Prince was not happy.
“Okay, moron.” King Admiral nodded.
“Ah, *sshole!” Second Prince lost his cool easily when he saw the god player in his own team. He said furiously, “Don’t be so arrogant! One day, I will ride on your back and show you who’s better!”
Eww!
The others were loathing.
As if he had yet to wake up, King Admiral dragged Second Prince away by his collar without greeting the others. He did things his own way and did not get along with the others, but in Li Ge’s eyes, this was arrogance.
Looking at King Admiral’s back, Li Ge’s eyes sparkled, and he grunted in his mind. He yearned for King Admiral’s top seat; his career could only advance further if he became the top player.
“There’s no room for error in this Pro League.”
They exchanged looks and saw the resolve in each other’s eyes.
…
After three continuous days of sales, the EXP that Han Xiao received had reached an outrageous 1,000,000,000! Including the previous 500,000,000, he had a total of 1,500,000,000 EXP!
The amount of EXP storage determines how long I don’t have to worry for EXP in space. The next stage of my growth will be between the stars. The opportunities for growth can only be caught with enough EXP. After LV 70, the expenditure for EXP will be higher and higher. Plus, I’m a very experience-consuming Mechanic. After entering space, there will not be many chances to meet a large number of players, and there’s still the blank period between the version updates.
Han Xiao was thinking about future directions. Although the EXP that he had looked like a large amount, it would be finished one day after he entered the galaxy. Since that was definite, he had to hoard as much EXP as he could.
Bang!
A firework rose into the sky from the square outside the window.
This signified the official start of the Pro League!
The sound of cheers soared through the skies and created a sound wave, spreading out like a tsunami.
Looking down at the arena, the arena had now been reconstructed into the structure of a stadium. In the heart of it was a large ring surrounded by nine smaller rings. At the edge of the center was a large screen, and under the screen were the seats for the announcers and judges. At the exteriors were the audience seats, which were completely filled at this time without any vacancies, with yelling and cheering lighting up the atmosphere of the festival.
“So it begins.” Han Xiao lay on the sofa, changed into a comfortable position, and opened the forums to watch the live stream.
There were tens of millions of others who were watching the stream like him!
The beautiful female host, Red Phoenix, wore a professional smile on her face and gave the opening speech standing in the highest ring. Her pleasing to the ear voice echoed in the arena from the speakers. “Galaxy Pro League Season One, Planet Aquamarine Division’s Qualifiers officially commence!
“We have 2,759 teams and 104,652 players registered. The teams will compete in the wild areas. The arena is the venue for Singles; these rings will be where the contestants compete! One round elimination, the pairs will be chosen at random. The loser will be eliminated, and the winner will enter the next round till the best 38 teams and 64 players are selected.
“The Qualifiers will last for one month of in-game time. Yes, this will be a long season, but the entire process will be streamed. The audiences watching the stream can choose the player they want to watch freely, and our official stream will randomly choose the battles that are highlight-worthy.”
Red Phoenix finished talking about the competition rules and the speech to light up the atmosphere, then pointed toward the entrance to the arena.
“Next, let’s start the opening battle for Singles. Let’s give a warm welcome to the two contestants!”
From the dark tunnel, Hao Tian and the contestant with the ID ‘Star Chess’ walked out. The moment the two of them appeared, the atmosphere of the arena reached its climax!
To guarantee the atmosphere of the opening battle, the players had been chosen between the registered pro players. Hao Tian and Star Chess had thus been selected.
The two walked up to the main ring. Red Phoenix stood between them and introduced them. “I believe everyone is familiar with the contestant on my right. An old warrior battling in the Esports ring for nine years, earning top-five multiple times in the China pro player leaderboard, possessing an honorable and amazing battle history, with a steady and firm battle style yet not lacking aggressiveness. He is the core player of Long Sky Club, Hao Tian!
“On my left is a player you might not be so familiar with. He’s a senior in the Esports industry, once belonging to the Temple of God. His position was the core of his club, just like Li Ge now, but he retired five years ago. Now, he returns with his past honor and winning resolve. He re-contracted with the Temple of God Club, Star Chess!”
