The Legendary Mechanic, page 770
Putting away the troops ‘sponsored by everyone, Han Xiao was satisfied. While this number was a pittance, he just wanted to see the Beyond Grade As grit their teeth and feel helpless in front of him.
Upon arriving at the dock, Han Xiao boarded a flagship arranged for him by the dynasty and took over the commander’s authority from the captain. Right now, the three dynasty fleets were temporarily under his command.
After waiting for a while, a guard hurriedly escorted Harrison and his party over.
“Your Excellency Black Star, the procedures are complete. I’ll leave them with you.”
“Alright.” Han Xiao nodded at Harrison and team with a smile on his face, saying, “You guys are not free yet. You have to follow me. If you mess around, I’ll just throw you back in prison. Do you understand?”
“Understood!”
Before Harrison could speak, all his teammates yelled out loudly, for fear that they would lose their only bid at freedom.
Han Xiao nodded, and after sending the guard away, he gave the command to depart.
The fleet slowly rose up, leaving the command center of the three Universal Civilizations and soaring into space.
At this moment, the captain spoke.
“Your Excellency Black Star, where are we heading?”
“How do you normally operate?” Han Xiao asked back.
“We usually patrol around the desolate universe belt or go check some planets that are confirmed to have traces of infection…”
As of now, there were checkpoints set at every stargate of any civilization in the Ancient Star Desert, the borders, and the transport hub planets. The spaceships had to be inspected, and for those unknown spaceships that avoided the stargate stations and moved freely within the desolate universe belt, as long as they accessed the public quantum link of the Star Field, the three Universal Civilizations would track down their IP addresses and send people to stop them. Most of the field fleets were tasked with roaming around to perform such inspections.
Thus, the biggest problem would be for those spaceships that had shielded quantum network links and could enter stealth mode. They could only monitor the surveillance buoys located throughout the Star Field and try to find the whereabouts of these people.
“Let me think about it…”
After understanding the situation, Han Xiao pretended to ruminate, but he actually opened the players’ forums to scroll through.
The outbreak of the Intelligent Plague had drawn the attention of the players toward the Ancient Star Desert. The discussion on the Ancient Star Desert was a hot post on every major section of the forum.
Because the majority of players were in the Flickering World, they were unable to join the event since the Ancient Star Desert was immediately cordoned off after the occurrence of the Intelligent Plague. They could only use the discussion boards to vent their strong curiosities.
Han Xiao opened the top post, and the discussion of the players jumped into view.
Fart Pockets in Tights: I told you all. The first few versions all had more than one Main Storyline mission, and Version 4.0 is the same. The Intelligent Plague should be the second Main Storyline. Quadratic Formula: But we are not able to participate in this Main Storyline. We cannot even enter the Ancient Star Desert. Can we only watch from the sidelines? Three Gays Under the Moon: Didn’t you see the new update from ‘Galaxy Times’? They made quite a reasonable guess, saying that it is impossible for this Main Storyline to be only for our viewing. There will definitely be opportunities for us to participate, as the chances of the virus leaking are quite high. Only then will there be a continuation for us to act.
Four-Eyed Speculative Emperor: That’s right. Now there are many missions on the black market, all looking to hire people to sneak into the Ancient Star Desert. We players can do the same. Judging by our influence on the Main Storyline for the first two versions, this Intelligent Plague event could be decided by our actions as well. As long as someone succeeds in smuggling the virus out, this version’s event can sweep across the universe!
Undead Don’t Wear Underwear: Shall we let the disaster spread through the universe? It will indeed be the fourth disaster (:3] 2)
Sun Rider: This is too much. Wouldn’t it be better to prevent the disaster? Do you have to make it such that the world is chaotic? Don’t you have a conscience?
Sh*t Smells Good: That’s right. Did you forget what the Army Commander taught us? To actually stab him in the back like that, killing the citizens of the galaxy…
On the forums, the players were divided into several factions, discussing the topic and cursing each other at the same time. The community was on fire. The players did not know that the Intelligent Plague was actually just a backstory in their previous lives, thinking that it was one of the Main Storylines of Version 4.0. With the majority of people in the Flickering World, unable to enter the Ancient Star Desert, many of them were anxious at not being able to participate.
Some of them believed that the main storyline would not just be a cutscene, so they inferred that the Intelligent Plague did not need to be actively pushed by them and would leak by itself.
Others felt that this main storyline had to be fought for, taking the initiative to release the virus and let the disaster spread in order to obtain the Main Storyline mission.
There were, however, many players in the universe who supported the promotion of the disaster. Some wanted to participate in the Main Storyline, some wanted to earn rewards, and some just wanted to watch the world burn.
‘Indeed, the Cancer of the Universe…’ Han Xiao secretly shook his head.
As the players who were ruled by chaos continued to grow stronger, their negative impact on the universe would become more and more obvious.
However, he was also a little relieved. If the players in his previous life encountered the Intelligent Plague, more than half of them back then would definitely have supported the promotion of the Intelligent Plague. Now, with the Black Star Army as their moral guide, more people were considering the problem from the perspective of the overall situation, opposing the spread of the disaster. There were obviously fewer players within the Chaotic Evil Faction than in his previous life.
My faction guidance plan is still somewhat effective.
Han Xiao felt relief.
As he swept through the other posts, one of them caught his attention. It was titled ‘Ancient Star Desert Player Benefits! Employment task with a reward of five million Enas!
The poster triumphantly shared a screenshot of a mission, which was about smuggling the Virtual Mutiny Virus out of the Ancient Star Desert for five million Enas. For the players, this was a huge sum of money, enough to buy a dozen small and medium battleships.
Seeing that the players who remained within the Ancient Star Desert got such an opportunity to rake in the cash, many of the following replies expressed envy.
The poster was called ‘Depressed Prince’. Han Xiao could not help but narrow his eyes.
Five million in remuneration, along with a deposit, gives this whole thing a fishy air. It seems that the employers are aware of the players’ character and used them to their advantage. Humph, the players within the Ancient Star Desert aren’t able to keep their hands to themselves. I have to strike down like peals of thunder on them and destroy their disaster-supporting tendencies. Han Xiao made the decision in his heart to kill the chicken in order to warn the monkeys. This Depressed Prince who went around publicizing his tasks was undoubtedly an excellent goal.
Only through striking down harshly on him would the other players then see the ending of those who tried to cause trouble and would cause them to fear the repercussions of their actions.
At the same time, he could also trace the source and check up on the mysterious employer of Depressed Prince. After all, there was no harm if there was no demand or supply for it. The mercenaries only acted based on orders, and it was the employers with ulterior motives that Han Xiao was interested in.
While Depressed Prince did not disclose his coordinates, since the other party was a mercenary, he would have recorded his whereabouts in the universe. So long as the record of his most recent time was locked onto, the approximate search area could be derived from there. To a pinnacle Beyond Grade A mechanic, this was as easy as lifting his hands.
The intelligence channel in the Ancient Star Desert might have been blocked, but the player forums were not affected. With this extra information network, Han Xiao would be able to obtain information that others did not know.
That’s right, I also have to search for one of the administrators of the black market in the Ancient Star Desert. These employment tasks for smuggling the virus will be issued through the black market. As long as I can control this channel, I will be able to monitor the movements of those restless organizations and cut off one of the channels for employment.
Han Xiao’s eyes gleamed.
If the administrator of the black market did not wish to cooperate, he still had a trump card up his sleeve. There was no need to be soft-hearted. Even the three Universal Civilizations would be glad to have someone temporarily controlling the black market channels, reducing the likelihood of disaster.
Mindful of this, Han Xiao finally had a clear plan of action and turned to look at the captain. “Let’s split up and act. The main flagship will follow me to capture some b*stards.”
Somewhere in the desolate universe belt, an interstellar fortress was suspended in the orbit of a desolate planet, with a spaceship patrolling nearby. Both of them had the same emblem, which was shaped like a roaring wolf’s head.
This sign represented an interstellar organization named the Kepel Financial group, which was a legitimate financial group on the surface but operated as an arms dealer for the galactic black market in the Ancient Star Desert.
The organization was a family-run business, and the leaders were all members of the Kepel family. The current leader was called Kepel the Fifth, and he had the mutated bloodline of a Beastman, possessing a head that looked like a werewolf.At this moment, in the office of the leader, Kepel the Fifth had just received a capable officer who had rushed back.
“I made you responsible for spreading the anonymous employment task on the black market. Has the mission been completed?” Kepel the Fifth said in a deep baritone.
“It’s completed. Many of the black market mercenaries have accepted the task, willing to smuggle the Virtual Mutiny Virus out.” “Very good. The Virtual Mutiny Virus is a strong weapon and will definitely have a market in the future. We need to control it!”
As an arms dealer in the black market, the Kepel Financial group had no reason to let go of the Virtual Mutiny Virus, which was a powerful weapon of war. This was just purely commercial considerations. “Leader, I’ve also specially employed some of the Immortal troops. I feel that it would be more likely for them to complete the task.”
“Beautiful! The Immortals are money grubbers and born to be mercenaries. So long as we give them enough money, they would rather sacrifice their lives. Moreover, they have unknown information networks within their groups, which cannot be interfered with even with our quantum networks. Their capabilities will increase the success rate of our plan. If one can be shipped out, the virus can be infinitely replicated!”
Kepel the Fifth was very satisfied with how his subordinate carried out the task.
Most of the major organizations had studied the characteristics of players, more or less summing up some rules. The Kepel Financial group was no exception, mastering some simple ways to utilize the players.
At present, since the Ancient Star Desert was sealed, the various gray organizations could be thoroughly investigated by the advanced civilizations at any time. The Kepel Financial group had decided to transfer their assets to the outside world and destroy evidence of their gray business. Thus, it was determined to transport their arms, along with the Virtual Mutiny Virus, out of the Star Field.
Chapter 1105. Conspiracy? |
The Western Sword Guild’s spaceship slowly flew through cosmic space. Inside the cabin, Depressed Prince and the other guild members stood around the 3D star map and analyzed the route.
“We’re now here…”
Depressed Prince pointed on the star map and drew an illuminated path. It extended around a desolate universe belt at the edge of the Star Field in an arc, all the way to outside the Star Field. He then said, “In order to leave the Star Field, the only way is through the desolate universe belt. The encirclement the three Universal Civilizations had set up at the borders will definitely have flaws. Although we have their defense map and patrolling route, we still need some luck…”
Hearing the president explain the plan, the guild members nodded.
After accepting the anonymous hiring with a five million reward, Depressed Prince had thought of some plans in order to successfully transport the virus out. Among which, making use of the flaws in the encirclement of the three Universal Civilizations and smuggling it out was one of those more likely to succeed.
In order to not be located by the three Universal Civilizations, the Western Sword guild had already cut off their network and kept their spaceship in stealth mode.
Technically, they would not be able to receive any information from the outside world this way. However, Depressed Prince used the fact that he was a player, logged into the forums, and secretly hired other players to private message him on the forums to provide intelligence. This was how he obtained the defense map and patrol route of the three Universal Civilizations. Even though they had cut off their quantum network connection, they still had a source of information. This way, not only could they avoid getting located by the three Universal Civilizations through the network, but they would also still be able to receive messages from the outside world. Compared to normal people, the players had a large advantage. No wonder the Kepel Financial Group specifically hired Immortals. “President,” a player said, “the closer we are to the border, the denser the surveillance buoys will be. If we fail and are discovered, our spaceship will definitely be seized. We only have one chance.”
“That’s why we have a plan B.”
With a confident expression, Depressed Prince smiled and said, “Once we’re discovered by the buoys or the patrolling guards, we’ll carry out the infiltration tactic. We’ll leave a few people on the spaceship while the rest of us log out together. When the spaceship is locked up at the warehouse, the people who did not log out can then notify us to come online in the carrier and sneak into the enemy base. This way, we can bring in the virus-infected communicator.”
The others nodded. This also relied completely on the players’ specialty. This tactic was extremely suitable for infiltration, ambush, and smuggling missions.
There was also a plan if they turned out to be exposed after that. They would give up the spaceship, battle to their death, and then revive in their stronghold revival point. They could still think of other ways to complete the mission, and they had a very large margin for error. The reward was a total of five million anyway; as long as they could complete the mission, buying another spaceship was nothing
With so many advantages, the Western Sword guild members present were totally confident about completing the mission. They could almost see the five million Enas waving at them.
As for the possibility that they might become wanted criminals afterward, they did not care about it at all. They had always wandered in the gray area of the law, so they never even planned to become completely legit. In fact, turning into wanted criminals would even trigger a Milestone Mission, which gave them rewards as their bounty increased.
As for the damage that the virus leak would cause to ordinary people, they did not give a damn. Instead, they were even excited about the fact that they were playing a big part in the direction the world was going to take. Most players who currently supported the disaster’s spread had the same thought.
Depressed Prince was confident. He smiled and said, “Alright, since no one has any objections, let’s act according to this plan. As we can’t use the stargates, we’ll spend quite some time on the way there. The estimated time of arrival at the desolate universe belt is in seven days. Now…”
At this time, before he finished speaking, the spaceship alarm suddenly rang.
“Beep! Alert! Alert! The spacetime of this area has been stabilized. Hyperdrive is impossible. Exiting hyperdrive mode!”
The spaceship suddenly shook. The people inside had yet to react to it, so they all fell onto the ground, picking themselves up with shock.
“What’s going on? There are spacetime stabilization anchors here? Whose trap did we fall into?”
Shocked, Depressed Prince hastily looked at the radar.
This time, light dots were appearing around them on the radar and surrounded his spaceship in the middle.
The people quickly came to the porthole and looked outside. Their expression changed drastically.
They were surrounded by dynasty battleships. All the barrels were aimed at their spaceship. “The Crimson Dynasty? Are they here to capture us?” Depressed Prince and the other guild members panicked.
“Did our whereabouts get exposed? But we did not bump into any buoys on the way! And how did they know we were planning to smuggle the virus out?”
After being stunned for a few seconds, Depressed Prince quickly regained focus and yelled hastily, “Stop daydreaming. Everyone, log out now. Don’t get…”
Before he finished, a calm voice appeared behind them.
“Don’t get what?” Everyone’s body became stiff. They turned their heads slowly and looked at the middle of the cabin.
A tall, black silhouette had appeared in the spaceship. His lightning-filled eyes were coldly scanning them.
This face was way too familiar to the players!
“Bl-Black Star!”
Depressed Prince was in despair.
Everyone there was completely horrified. They originally thought that even if someone were to come to capture them, it would just be regular fleets and regular Supers. No one ever expected that someone as powerful and important as Black Star would personally act!
