The Legendary Mechanic, page 296
…
At the same time, the players in the Sanctuary were excitedly sharing their recorded videos on the forums. The Planet Aquamarine board was refreshed rapidly with Black Star’s name being one of the most popular keywords.
There were many different versions of the recording, and they came from all different angles. When the other players who were not on Planet Aquamarine witnessed the majestic appearance of Han Xiao, they were immediately drawn into the video and experienced the feelings of the players in the Sanctuary.
The benefits that Han Xiao had brought in Version 1.0 were still fresh in their minds. With the new version being launched and Han Xiao returning from the galaxy, he would probably bring resources from the new version. This was something that they needed. What kind of new benefits would Black Star bring them? Just thinking about this made all the players excited.
The players who went online in the other regions immediately threw down the missions on hand and rushed toward the Sanctuary. All those who were already on the way to the Sanctuary sped up even faster.
As Frenzied Sword and the others who were travelling saw all the posts, they hated the fact that they could not return to Han Xiao’s side immediately and were extremely helpless.
We all followed Black Star from Version 1.0. We were supposed to be the first.
Bun-Hit-Dog’s videos were immediately shared rapidly throughout the forums, and the players from other novice planets also came to watch the show.
“His appearance truly makes my blood boil. I feel that there is a chance for this scene to be chosen for the advertisement of the new version.”
“The Galaxy Times report was right. There are more storylines for this character, and he has indeed appeared in Version 2.0.”
“I wonder if others are able to join the Black Star Mercenary Group like the professional players.”
As the players discussed the recent events on the forum, someone then made a guess.
“In Version 2.0, every novice planet will be connected to the galaxy. Could it be that Black Star is the NPC to guide us into the galaxy?”
A couple of people pondered over that possibility and realized that it was extremely likely.
The ten or so spaceships in the air would be the best transport to take plenty of them off the planet.
This guess immediately received great approval from many, many players, who thought that Han Xiao was the key character to take them into the galaxy.
…
In the core region of Sanctuary Three, Han Xiao got the mercenaries who knew magic to aid the growth of the suppressant’s raw materials. With their help, the production of the suppressant was greatly increased.
Currently, the Mutation Source was still young, and the effects of the suppressant were able to last for about three months. When the Mutation Source entered its next phase, a few servings of the suppressant would be required in order to achieve the same resistance. Thus, they greatly lacked resources.
Saving refugees would contribute toward the total mission progress, and Han Xiao’s mission also enjoyed the mission progress that the players accumulated. However, if they allowed too many people to stay in Sanctuary Three, not only would the place become crowded, the place would descend into a large mess the moment the suppressant lost its effect.
Han Xiao did not want to let too many refugees to stay in Sanctuary Three, but Bennett definitely would not be at ease. The way Han Xiao saw it, the Six Nations had a large territory and would definitely be able to take care of many refugees.
The Six Nations is definitely aware of my return. Since the Godorans have not arrived yet, it is very likely that they will contact me to seek my help. They should be contacting me over the next few days, Han Xiao guessed to himself.
Sharing the suppressant with the Six Nations was beneficial to the bigger picture. While he did not like the other five nations apart from Stardragon, there were benefits to him protecting the nations of Planet Aquamarine. In his previous life, there had only been a single Emerald Grass. With many subordinates under his charge being able to grow the raw materials of the suppressant, Han Xiao could allow them to aid the Six Nations in concocting the suppressant. This would prevent Sanctuary Three from standing out too much and ensure its safety.
Of course, he would only offer them aid if the Six Nations sought his help. It was too well beneath his status to approach them to help them, and it would lower the respect that the Six Nations had toward him. This was not in line with his plans, and he was confident that the Six Nations would try to approach him.
However, Emerald Grass’ suppressant was not the only method to resist the Mutation Disaster. Godora was also a magic civilization, and they had their own medicine. However, Godora’s medicine was also in short supply. After all, wasting medicine to protect billions of irrelevant backward planet inhabitants was a waste of their resources. Furthermore, Godora had to take care of more than one planet.
In the storyline of his previous life, Godora only handed out limited quantities of medicine, and the majority of the refugees were not able to enjoy it. Players could also earn money through Godora’s missions and use the money to purchase the medicine. From there, they would be able to fulfil the requests of some refugees and raise the total mission progress.
However, with Han Xiao’s influence, the supply of Emerald Grass’ suppressant was greatly increased, and it was pretty much handed out freely. Thus, Godora’s medicine would not seem so important anymore. While this did not seem too important, it was an integral factor in Han Xiao’s plans.
Because this was related to the exchange of currency.
The players of Planet Aquamarine were currently using the local currency, which was not recognized in the universe, and Han Xiao needed Enas. The players’ money was all earned from NPC missions, and since they were not connected to the galaxy yet, they did not have any Enas at the moment. Thus, Han Xiao’s target was actually Godora.
Godora would issue missions to the players, and the reward would be in Enas. Since the players did not need to spend their money to purchase Godora’s medicine, this money would be saved. When the players saw the many machines and Advanced Knowledge in Han Xiao’s store, together with the fact that spending money would increase their relationship with his faction, it was very clear where these players would spend their money.
Thus, Han Xiao did not plan to sell any machines before Godora arrived, and he would only teach skills and knowledge to earn experience.
Godora still isn’t aware that the Mutation Source is actually part of DarkStar’s schemes. As long as I reveal that fact, Godora will immediately place more importance on this matter and send people over immediately…
He watched the Mages craft the raw materials while pondering over his next step.
DarkStar planted the Mutation Source because of some strategic plan. As long as Godora doesn’t show up, DarkStar will not make an appearance. If I inform Godora now and they rush over, the battle between both their camps will break out, and they will become competitors to snatch the players from me. If I do not inform Godora for now, I will have the initiative and make use of this time to increase the attractiveness of my faction to the players…
The moment that both parties were involved, a battle would definitely break out. The period before this was most beneficial to Han Xiao. He had also witnessed the commotion on the forums. Just as he expected, the influence of his return was slowly brewing among the players, and it was extremely beneficial to him.
Han Xiao thought for a while and decided not to reveal his own information and wait for Godora to make their way over on their own. He had the truth of the Mutation Disaster in his hands as well as a copy of the original Mutation Source. He needed to find the right time to hand it over to Godora so that he received the greatest benefits. This was not the best time, and there was no need for him to be so anxious.
My goal is to let as many players join my mercenary group as possible. However, I cannot let anyone join as they wish. I need to set a barrier to entry. If not, I will look like I am desperate. Things that are too easily obtained won’t be treasured.
However, if I want to have enough players, I need to set a suitable entry requirement. The only thing that I can be sure of is that many players want to join my faction at the moment. It is best if I can create some competition. After all, the victors are usually envied, and I will be able to make joining my faction a privilege that only the victors can enjoy. This is the best way to make the players take this chance seriously.
After thinking for a while, Han Xiao came up with a pretty good plan. With Version 2.0 being launched, he had many more things to do.
However, before implementing all of these measures, there was one more important thing for him to do. He needed to harvest a large amount of experience to rapidly increase his strength.
Han Xiao was currently level 116, and the experience on his interface was less than 100,000,000. It had been a year since he last increased his level, and the number of blueprints on his skills interface had increased by a few hundred. He truly had a great need for experience at the moment.
It had been too long since he last harvested the players, and he was itching with excitement.
Chapter 515. With a Single Slash, Your Wallet Will Be Dried Up |
All of the players were gathered in the plaza with their heads bobbing up and down excitedly. Just an hour ago, the Sanctuary had announced that Black Star was about to give a lecture in the plaza. Because of this, Bennett had set up a temporary stage in the middle of the plaza.
The influence of his return was still blazing, and the response was overwhelming. All the residents in the Sanctuary had arrived, and the surrounding few streets were also completely congested with people. The area surrounding the stage that had the best view was naturally dominated by all the players.
All of them wanted to hear what Black Star had to say after returning from the galaxy.
Ta, ta, ta!
Han Xiao walked out from the core region with the mercenaries following behind him. The eyes of the crowd lit up and burnt with excitement. Wherever the group went, the crowd would open up the path, and it was like the legendary parting of the Red Sea.
Han Xiao walked up to the stage, and the mercenaries waited by the side. Han Xiao looked around him for a while only to see millions of eyes staring back at him. All of his actions were being captured by those many eyes.
Han Xiao’s expression was calm. With his thick skin, he did not know what it meant to be anxious. Raising one of his hands, a compressed orb rolled out from his sleeves and landed in his palm. He then threw it out casually.
Buss!
A blue electric bolt flashed.
Under the gazes of the crowd, the compressed orb transformed rapidly and turned into a mechanical throne. He sat down on the throne slowly, which then floated into the sky, hovering ten meters in the air. Underneath the throne was the blue light being emanated by the anti-gravity stabilizers.
Following which, three identical Void Mirror Images facing different directions appeared behind him.
Up in the sky was the circular formation of the spaceship fleet, and the plaza was right in the center of the circle with Han Xiao in the middle.
His coolness factor was immediately maxed out!
“Holy sh*t! Too handsome!”
“Truly the appearance of a bigshot! I think I have seen the second Dragon Emperor!”
“He is truly too cool!”
With his gaze sweeping past the crowd, Han Xiao cleared his throat, and his voice was spread far and wide with a mini loudspeaker.
“I’ve returned.”
Boom!
Just those simple words of his immediately attracted a large wave of cheers from the residents. As the creator of this Sanctuary, his prestige in this place was extremely high, and he was ridiculously popular. The players were also affected by the atmosphere, and Han Xiao’s image was elevated a few notches.
He raised his hands to signal for the crowd to remain silent. Very quickly, the crowd fell to pin drop silence and waited for him to continue his speech.
“Two years ago, I foresaw this calamity and headed into the galaxy resolutely in search of the solution. I promised that, for my hometown, I will return to face this calamity with all of you. Today, I have fulfilled my promise.
“The galaxy is a very dangerous place, and I have only obtained this strength after going through many tribulations. You do not need to know the dangers behind it as that is a pain that I bore willingly in exchange for the ability to face this crisis with all of you…”
Han Xiao selected his words very carefully, and he very simply summarized his experience in the galaxy, looking as though he did not wish to talk more about his experiences. This immediately drew out the imagination of the residents in the Sanctuary.
However, the players began snickering in their hearts. They had already found out about Black Star’s galactic experience through Bun-Hit-Dog’s videos. Even if he did not want to say it, they were all extremely clear about his experience. Furthermore, they all thought that Black Star was not aware of that.
Many players began looking at each other while raising their eyebrows or winking with a ‘we already know’ look.
Han Xiao glanced at the players, and the corners of his lips curled up slightly.
He purposely chose to say those words to let the players have a sense of superiority because they thought that they understood him well. The moment that they had such a thought, they would have fallen into his trap. The players would not only recall the videos and have an even deeper impression of him, it would be helpful to conceal his future actions as well.
“We are all in the middle of this calamity, and no one will be able to stay out of this calamity. I am willing to share the knowledge that I have gained in the galaxy to aid everyone’s growth so that we can go through this calamity together!”
The eyes of the players began glowing. After waiting for so long, they had finally waited for these words.
We can finally learn some new skills!
After saying a few encouraging words, Han Xiao stowed his throne away as a signal that his speech was over.
The residents of the Sanctuary all dispersed, but the players charged forward to surround Han Xiao.
“It has been a long time, Inhuman warriors. I can feel that all of you are stronger than you were two years ago,” Han Xiao said with a serious look, acting as though he really did not know that they were players.
Many of the players could not help but think to themselves, You are obviously the one who had the greatest change!
After saying a few words to make himself look like an NPC, Han Xiao began selling the skills. After such a long time, he could finally harvest those adorable players again, and the joy in his heart was overflowing.
After Version 1.0, the players had become extremely familiar with the interface in Han Xiao’s skill shop. Now that they could see his interface again, they truly missed it.
Selling his own skills and knowledge was akin to a teacher imparting skills, and he could set his own price to obtain the player’s ‘tuition fees’. The skills that Han Xiao took out for sale were mainly Mechanic skills. Furthermore, they were skills that the players would be able to learn on their own as long as they reached a certain level. Since the players’ levels were still low, it gave Han Xiao the opportunity to teach them those skills earlier than they should have learned them.
However, Han Xiao would not teach the players skills that were too important such as compression technology, mass production, and so on. The majority of the skills that he taught were to increase their Machinery Affinity, foundational skills, and some unimportant low-level blueprints. Blueprint skills had always been extremely popular.
As for Mechanic Knowledge, apart from the entire set of foundational knowledge—after all, the majority of players had not even learned all the foundational skills—Han Xiao also chose a few not-so-important Advanced Knowledges to teach the players. In the past, he did not wish to teach too many Advanced Knowledges, but now that they were in the new version, Han Xiao naturally did not have as many concerns.
Of course, he was not entirely conning the players by allowing them to learn their future skills early. It was a sort of win-win situation for them. After all, the earlier they learned them, the earlier they could use them. It was the same logic as using a skill first so the cooldown would end earlier…
Since the players wanted to learn something and he provided a full package service that was both cheap and convenient, was it not best for him to monopolize the entire market? There were no antitrust laws to restrict him in this world, and it was truly blissful.
“Woah, there are so many Mechanic skills that I have never seen before.”
“Heavy Machine Modification, Advanced Radar technology… There is also more Advanced Knowledge than before!”
The players looked at the interface that was full of skills, and excitement could be seen spewing from their eyes.
It was the new version, and there were so many skills that they had never seen before. After Black Star made a trip to the galaxy, not only did his coolness level increase, the benefits that he provided also increased!
Because the players had reached the max level toward the end of Version 1.0, they could only increase the levels of their skills. Thus, many of them had a large amount of experience in their pockets, and Han Xiao was targeting the large savings in their hands!
With the launch of the new version, the players would not be stingy with their experience for sure, and they were all like wealthy tycoons. The Great Mechanic Han would not rest until he sucked all of their wallets dry!
After setting up shop for just a short while, the experience points on his interface swelled up rapidly with notifications popping up every second. The players began learning the new skills without any hesitation, and they spent their experience generously allowing Han Xiao to earn a hefty sum.
Looking at the experience points being constantly refreshed on his interface, Han Xiao smiled in satisfaction. After working hard for half a year, he was like a farmer who was reaping his harvest.
