Chapter 183 New System

"Di di…"

Han Xiao was thinking about some witty remarks when the communicator suddenly beeped twice. It was Tarrokov calling.

He pressed the accept button, and Tarrokov's wrinkled old face appeared on the screen, beaming with a smile. Without any formalities, he launched straight into praise.

"Black Star, well done! I like your decisive attitude."

The outside forces couldn't be sure who had attacked the Modo Civilization, but the Empire knew it was the Black Star Army.

"So you don't like my other attitudes?" Han Xiao asked casually, feigning nonchalance while secretly chuckling to himself. "Don't forget to fulfill the deal and give me the promised resource compensation."

Punishing the Modo Civilization was also in the Empire's interest, as they planned to make an example of them.

Since it wasn't appropriate for them to act directly, the Empire used Han Xiao's forces. Of course, they wouldn't let the Black Star Army work for free; they had already signed a private agreement: Black Star would use force to educate the Modo Civilization, and the Red Empire would pay with resources as compensation.

From the Empire's perspective, this was hiring an ally to strike at an opponent. From Han Xiao's perspective, he was using the Empire's money to do his own quest and earn extra benefits at the same time, making it a very profitable venture.

"Don't worry, we've never failed to honor our debts to you," Tarrokov said with a smile, then asked, "What do you plan to do with the Modo Civilization prisoners?"

"Some will stay in the army as secret laborers, and the rest will be dumped in the Kunde Race's territory to fend for themselves."

Old Tar nodded and instructed, "In any case, cut off all their channels of communication with the outside world and make them disappear from the face of the earth forever. Don't let any news leak out."

"The success rate of breaking my information blockade approaches zero. You don't have to worry about that."

"True, you are a Virtual Mechanic after all. I was overthinking it." Old Tar chuckled. "Actually, I'm just calling to remind you… in short, please intensify your efforts against the Modo Civilization. I'm logging off now."

As the call ended, Han Xiao grimaced inwardly.

To disturb him for such a trivial matter… it was likely also an implicit message, indicating that the Empire was aware of the Black Star Army's movements. It was to tell him not to act recklessly against others outside of attacking the Modo Civilization… perhaps also influenced by the Super Cluster Civilization Conference.

"Tsk, still playing games."

Han Xiao put away the communicator and dismissed the matter from his mind.

He walked over to the refrigerator in the room, opened it, and took out a sweet concentrated nutrient bar. He nibbled on it as a snack while considering another matter.

All the players were now heading to the Shattered Star Ring. Being the closest, the army's players would be the first to arrive there.

Now that the new version had just been released, the players would need some time to adapt before gradually getting on track and competing with each other.

In his previous life, the players fought for their respective camps. Apart from some famous national war events, the reasons for fighting were usually conflicts between camp missions or competition for other guilds' resources. In this environment, it became increasingly difficult for solo players to survive, so grouping together became a major trend, leading to more and more players forming guilds.

According to statistics, the number of player guilds in Version 4.0 followed an upward curve, with more guilds appearing as time went on. The turning point for the explosive growth in the number of guilds was a famous event: several prominent guilds led by the American Magic Club jointly formed a recognized formal organization, and through bidding, they obtained a super opportunity that other players were fighting over, receiving official authorization.

After that, players began to pay more attention to the role of guilds and started forming groups on a large scale. The guilds also united with each other to form recognized formal organizations, and then, in the capacity of factions, they cooperated with forces in the universe using commercial, diplomatic, and other means.

As such, the role of guilds was significant, and they could obtain resources on a scale that was many orders of magnitude higher than ordinary players.

This gameplay existed in previous versions, but it was not fully developed until Version 4.0, marking a turning point in the players' careers. The reason for this was the improvement in the players' strength in Version 4.0, which qualitatively changed their impact on the cosmic environment, giving them the capital to establish their own organizations and be taken seriously.

"Now, because I've given the army players such a huge camp advantage, players from other star systems are likely to join forces to target them and curb their advantage. Once everyone has adapted to the new version, the army will definitely suffer some losses, since the number of opponents is too large."

Han Xiao pondered.

Since the army players had the advantage now, he didn't mind giving them another boost to keep them ahead.

Originally, all the players would need some time to adapt before gradually entering the stage of forming guilds and organizations on a large scale. Han Xiao planned to bring the army players into the era of full-scale guilds ahead of time.

This required some incentive-based system adjustments.

Han Xiao thought for a while, then summoned Philip and proposed a new system, specifically targeting the player group, which would be called the Undying Legion:

By earning merit (grinding contribution points) and being promoted to a high-level position, and meeting the requirement of being at least a Grade B Esper, one would be qualified to form a new type of combat team. The team must have at least two members, but there was no upper limit on the number. The team's designation could be self-named. After formation, the team could register in the army, and each month, based on the team's mission completion and the total contribution of the members, they would receive special team merit points.

Team merit points could be exchanged for large-scale resource supplies, or for other items, including equipment, knowledge, and skills. There was also an important use, which was to use merit points to exchange for various levels of agency qualifications for the army's various businesses. They could also be used to bid on certain special projects, or to exchange for the mining rights of some resource planets, with many uses leaning toward these aspects.

Not only that, but as long as they accumulated enough merit points, they could choose to become an affiliated organization under the Black Star Army, with a certain degree of independence. After that, the merit points could be used to request support from the army, or to exchange for the army's authorization to borrow the army's name to carry out certain non-illegal strategic actions, or to provide a strategic plan application for joint operations between the two sides, which was equivalent to having a portion of the right to speak and cooperate with the Black Star Army as a semi-independent force.

"This should be about right…"

Han Xiao read the outline of the new system several times, nodding inwardly.

The purpose of this system was to "legalize" player guilds.

Originally, guilds only existed within the player community and were not recognized by interstellar society. For example, the Temple Guild; the NPCs did not know of the existence of the Temple Guild, let alone who the members were. This system would allow player guilds to be directly recognized in the army system, becoming a formal organization with a record.

In this way, player guilds would go from being virtual to real, becoming real forces existing in the universe.

The purpose of the team merit points was to arouse the army players' interest in establishing guilds. Without needing to adapt to the version, many people would try this gameplay, especially the official guilds of those wealthy clubs, which would definitely submit applications.

In his previous life, in Version 4.0, players would always leave the NPC camp and establish their own organizations. With this new system, it could at least greatly reduce the tendency of the army players to do so.

The cost was giving player guilds a certain degree of independence, which would cause some instability in the army… but at this point, giving players greater freedom was inevitable.

As their strength increased, their treatment naturally had to increase as well. Han Xiao didn't consider himself a black-hearted boss, and even if he exploited them, he would pay them enough.

4. 0 was a turning point in the players' careers. From here on, the players would become unruly and spread the flames of chaos everywhere. He couldn't control the players as much as he had in the previous versions.

He had long planned to change this, giving player guilds the opportunity to develop, and taking out more resources to support them… only in this way could he continue to have the players, who were becoming increasingly unwilling to be bound due to their increased strength, work for him.

At the same time, this system could also attract foreign players, digging up the leeks from Lao Wang next door.

Killing two birds with one stone.

"Master, buzz, are you sure you want to release this new system?"

Like a little elf, Philip sat on Han Xiao's collarbone, his big eyes fluttering as he looked up at Han Xiao's profile, his little legs dangling in the air.

"Release a preview first." Han Xiao planned to formally announce the system after all the army players had arrived in the Shattered Star Ring.

Before that, he would let the players prepare in advance and call their friends.

"Okay, buzz."

Han Xiao paused, suddenly remembering something, and said, "I studied Resda's logic structure some time ago and have some new ideas. I'll update you in a few days to improve your computing power."

Hearing this, Philip's eyes lit up. He flew into the air and onto Han Xiao's face, hugging Han Xiao's nose and resting his chin on the bridge of his nose, his eyes blinking as he looked at Han Xiao face to face.

"Philip likes Master the most, buzz!"

"Stop being affectionate with me." Han Xiao raised an eyebrow and flicked his finger, sending Philip flying off his nose.

…

The news that the Modo Civilization had suffered a bloody loss from the attack also spread like wildfire in the Shattered Star Ring. Many forces were privately discussing the matter, and the news also reached the ears of other Super Cluster Civilization troops.

Many Super Cluster Civilizations immediately held meetings.

"The attack on Modo was probably done by the Empire. They're starting to fight so quickly."

"Could this be the first step the Empire is taking against our Super Cluster Civilizations?"

"Doesn't seem like it. It seems to be just a personal feud between the Empire and Modo."

"Well, when we get past the first and second phase regions, we'll help Modo if we get the chance. We can't let the Empire beat them too badly."

Because they knew that the three great civilizations would not let them develop properly in the Shattered Star Ring, most of the Super Cluster Civilizations had secretly formed an alliance, forming a secret Super Cluster Alliance to jointly resist the malice of the three great civilizations.

In accordance with the alliance agreement, the other Super Cluster Civilizations decided to lend a hand when appropriate.

Although this matter seemed to have nothing to do with them, the Super Cluster Alliance did not want to give the Empire the opportunity to defeat them one by one. The Modo Civilization was a competitor, but resisting the pressure from the three great civilizations was the primary task in the eyes of the Super Cluster Alliance. Everyone understood that they could not be internally divided, so they did not mind helping their competitors, sacrificing small gains for larger ones, and advancing and retreating together on the same front. Only in this way would they have the opportunity to break the blockade of the three great civilizations on the new star field.

…

With the army and the Empire covering for them, no witnesses discovered the traces of the attacking troops. After a while, the Black Star Fleet that had attacked the Modo Civilization finally gathered and returned to the Goul Star Cluster through secret passages, sending the selected prisoners to the Kunde Race's planet in the Odolan Star System.

With the help of the Black Star Army, a large number of cities had been built on each colony planet, and there was no shortage of living resources.

The Kunde people had been resting and recuperating peacefully for more than ten years. Although they had not yet recovered from the trauma of the war, many people had chosen to enjoy the peace and strive to live a new life.

Over the years, all communication from the colonies to the outside world had been blocked, and the residents of each planet could only log in to the network on their own planet's server, so they were unaware of what was happening outside, like isolated islands in the universe.

The army and the Empire controlled all media channels and did not allow the existence of civilian media. The Kunde people could only accept the Empire's comprehensive cultural transformation in literature, music, film, and television, using various entertainment channels to subtly change their thinking.

Living this quiet and numb life, without any opportunity to resist, and with anger being useless, many people had only helplessness and resignation left in their hearts.

But today, the official channel, which broadcast cultural transformation programs every day, suddenly released a piece of news that lifted the spirits of countless Kunde people.

— Lord Black Star has fulfilled his promise to avenge the Kunde Race and has captured a group of the masterminds behind the scenes, who will soon be sent to the Kunde Race colonies.

This news immediately caused a sensation!

Although this generation of Kunde Race members was unable to resist, they had not forgotten their hatred. Compared to the Empire, they hated the masterminds who had used the Kunde Race even more.

On the appointed day, countless Kunde Race members arrived at the designated landing pier early, looking up at the sky, waiting for the arrival of this group of prisoners.

"Whoosh—"

Ships broke through the atmosphere and rapidly descended onto the pier, becoming more and more numerous in their line of sight.

Swish, swish, swish, the hatches opened one after another, and batches of Black Star Army soldiers escorted unarmed prisoners out.

The prisoners who were sent over had all been screened, with the too-strong espers removed, leaving only those with low combat abilities. They were wearing uniform prison uniforms, and all their belongings had been confiscated, posing no threat.

The surrounding Kunde Race members were packed like sardines, an endless expanse. When the many prisoners saw so many hideous-looking creatures surrounding them, they couldn't help but become nervous, their bodies stiff.

"What planet is this? Why are we being sent here?"

"What are these creatures? Beasts?"

"They're wearing clothes; they're intelligent creatures."

"Why are they all staring at us… it's a little creepy."

Using the Kunde Race was a secret among the higher-ups, so these ordinary soldiers naturally didn't know. Many of them didn't even recognize this species, so they couldn't help but feel confused at this time, not understanding why these intelligent creatures were staring at them.

At this moment, a stone suddenly flew out of the crowd, hitting a Modo prisoner on the head.

Smack!

The prisoner groaned and hurriedly covered his head.

Before the other companions could react, countless pieces of junk flew out of the crowd, pelting all the prisoners.

Screams and wails immediately rang out as the prisoners were hit and bloodied. The Black Star Army soldiers on the side watched with cold eyes. After everyone had been hit for a while, they finally intervened, deploying shields to block all the flying objects, and the ground was quickly piled with junk.

Although no one was killed, the prisoners were all shaken.

"Why are they hitting us?!"

"What exactly does the Black Star Army want to do by sending us here?"

The crowd stirred restlessly, looking around in panic. Only then did they understand the gazes of the surrounding Kunde Race members, which were filled with hatred and anger.

At this moment, an army soldier next to them snorted and said coldly, "They are the Kunde Race, the natives of the Shattered Star Ring. During the second phase of exploration, the Modo Civilization secretly used the Kunde Race, provoking a conflict between them and the Empire, which led to the destruction of the Kunde Race civilization. All of you are their enemies. Stay here and atone for your sins."

After hearing these words, all the prisoners quieted down, their eyes widened in shock.

Sending us to the territory of our enemies… are they sending us here to vent their anger!

They promised to leave us a way out, but they want us to live a life worse than death?!

It's over, it's over!

A gloomy mood shrouded the faces of each prisoner, and they didn't dare to raise their heads. They were shoved forward, onto the land vehicles, and sent to the prison.

The land vehicles slowly moved away from the pier, and from beginning to end, the surrounding Kunde Race members stared intently at this group of prisoners.

The crowd did not disperse for a long time. After a while, someone spoke in a low voice:

"Back then, Black Star said he would help us get justice. It's actually true…"

"I didn't expect Black Star to be fulfilling his promise all along."

"I misunderstood him. So he's such a noble person."

Many Kunde Race members were filled with emotion.

For more than ten years, the Black Star Army had been managing the planet, providing countless living resources. Coupled with the promotion of culture and entertainment, the Kunde Race was already very familiar with the army.

Emotionally, the Kunde Race did not have much hatred toward the Black Star Army, but not many people believed Han Xiao's verbal promise, thinking that it was just a perfunctory response to them.

After all, the current Kunde Race was just a group of "prisoners" who could not resist. Why would Black Star waste his energy to get justice for them? After more than ten years, he had probably forgotten about it.

But just when everyone had long given up hope for him, Han Xiao proved with his actions that he was not joking.

In the eyes of the Kunde Race, Black Star had immediately become their only hope for getting justice for their race.

In addition to their surprise, the Kunde Race members were filled with gratitude toward Han Xiao, which was mixed with even more anticipation.

The impression Han Xiao left on them gradually shifted from an irrelevant big shot to a benefactor.

Black Star, what a good person (*≧▽≦)!