Chapter 1 The Legendary Mechanic

“Hello, players, this is Starlight Times, dedicated to sharing first-hand game information and escorting your gaming career.”

A male and a female host recited the familiar opening remarks. The moment the program was released, tens of thousands of old viewers poured in, and as usual, a wave of urging-for-updates barrages went by first.

“Built up! I'm gonna explode watching this!”

“Sure enough, they're going to talk about version updates. Looking forward to it.”

“Long live our great Times!”

“Spam the barrages, cover up the corny jokes!”

The barrages were a chaotic mess, dense and packed. The program's usual awkward opening jokes quickly passed, and they moved on to the main topic.

Male host: “...In a few days after the game, the 1.0 version update will arrive. Starlight will enter the next version of the plot. To this end, we have obtained first-hand information and some unconfirmed rumors. In this issue, we will screen the information for the majority of players and guess and analyze the next version.”

“So, before we start analyzing, let's first make a comprehensive review of the plots of the various planets in the current version. A large part of our information comes from the Chronicle of Events compiled and organized by players for different planets. Here, we thank all enthusiastic players. This information has provided great convenience for our work.”

The players who were named and praised felt very happy.

Then, the two hosts summarized the plots of the novice planets one by one. At this time, the main plot of each planet had ended, and it could be reviewed from beginning to end. The important characters in those plots were also introduced and evaluated by the Times, and the commentary was naturally not just dryly stated, but was accompanied by screenshots and video materials.

Every time the deeds of a planet were mentioned, the players of that planet were the most active in the barrage. The 1.0 main plots of these planets were also varied: the Singolesas Lord incident on Frost Winter Star, the Arcane Tide of Paleton Star, the Dynasty Split of Changge Star, the Shadow Group incident on Summer Star, Suen's expedition to the Chaotic Outer Territory, and so on. These were the core main lines. In addition to these, there were also secondary main lines, just like the main line of Aquamarine Star was the Six Nations and Germination, and the secondary main line was Bennett's shelter project.

The backgrounds of the planets were different, and the main plots gave people very different feelings: modern style, science fiction style, magical style, mysterious style, and indescribable style. There were all kinds of styles. The positions of these planets were scattered all over the place. Most players had not entered interstellar space and did not know the location of their planets in the universe. Han Xiao, however, knew that the distribution of novice planets in various star fields was fairly even. The Shattered Star Ring only had Aquamarine Star as a novice planet.

Among all the main plots, Aquamarine Star ended the earliest and received the most attention. There must be protagonist-type characters in the plot who are closely related to the events. The two hosts read the manuscript, and it was finally Aquamarine Star's turn.

“Speaking of the main plot of Aquamarine Star, we have to mention an absolutely unavoidable character. After the Aquamarine Star plot ended, he is still active in the public eye, the first person to lead players into interstellar space. I believe the majority of players will not be unfamiliar with his name…”

The barrage instantly went wild. Maybe they didn't know the plots of other planets, but Han Xiao's name was almost universally known. These viewers immediately had a common topic.

“Black Star is out!!”

“Excuse me, is this a video of Han 'Black Phantom' 'Germination Destroyer' 'Shelter Master' 'Interstellar Explorer' 'Prophet' 'Black Star Mercenary Leader' 'Materialist' 'Crate Opening Master' 'Poor Bastard' Xiao?”

“Black Star: You little brats are gossiping about me behind my back again.”

“The Thirty-Second True Man Team applies to fight! Our slogan is—of all the martial arts in the world, only speed prevails!”

“Ahhh, I want the Dragon Throne! I want Aroshia! I want to lick them to death!”

“Get out, you screen-licking monsters!”

Now it was the turn of the Aquamarine Star players to be active. The density of the barrage was completely on another level. The Chinese players have always maxed out the skill of screen spamming, which has a promising future.

The male host read the manuscript, giving players a brief introduction to Han Xiao's life story:

“Han Xiao, originally named Xiao Han, a member of the Overmier family, almost died in an accident, was captured by Germination and made into a test subject. However, brainwashing failed. He pretended for a long time, and finally found a flaw, escaped from the control of Germination, and since then began his journey against Germination. He once took refuge in Star Dragon, and later left, becoming a free killer on the dark web, code-named [Black Phantom]. Germination hunted him for many years, but only saw his shadow. He awakened some kind of predictive ability, able to seek good fortune and avoid disaster, and sense danger in advance. After a period of dormancy, he began a full-scale revenge, single-handedly directing the Six Nations' expedition against Germination, and in this battle, he sneaked into Germination headquarters, stole all the confidential information, laying the foundation for the Six Nations to win, becoming a hero-like figure on Aquamarine Star. However, his journey did not end there. One day, he foresaw that a disaster was about to occur on Aquamarine Star, so he used some means to summon a cosmic warship, leading carefully selected warriors into interstellar space, seeking a solution…

The above information is mostly from the Chronicle of Events, provided by players.”

Players collected a lot of information during the exploration period, and Han Xiao's deeds are already public information. In the history of Aquamarine Star's events, Han Xiao is like the string-puller behind the scenes, and many events have inextricable connections with him. Han Xiao's name is mentioned countless times in the Chronicle of Events, which also allows new players to learn about the historical plot events through the information, constantly increasing Han Xiao's reputation.

The historical literature of Version 1.0 is already as vast as the sea, and Han Xiao is still a shining guiding star, a hero among the 1.0 NPCs.

After talking about the deeds of Aquamarine Star, the summary of the 1.0 version of the plot came to an end. The two hosts entered the next segment, which is also the theme of this program, analyzing the new version.

“Based on the information we have, we have made a few guesses. First, in the new version, players will inevitably connect with interstellar space, leave their original planets, and begin to travel the universe.”

“Second, in addition to the current thirteen novice planets, new birth planets will be added in the new version. Based on the above point, the new birth planets should be planets that can directly enter interstellar space. Here, we boldly guess the differences between the new and old planets. The old planets have to go through new plots to enter interstellar space, while the new planets can directly enter interstellar space. The price is that the new planets must use new accounts and start from scratch, while the players on the old planets inherit the previous high-level accounts. So, whether new or old, each has its own advantages.”

“Third, although the new version plots of different planets are unknown, the plot must be triggered by characters, and there must be clues hidden in the characters. We suggest using characters as the entry point to guess who will be the leader of the next version plot, and what role will the protagonist-type characters of the 1.0 version play in the new version? The clues on most planets are limited, but there is one exception—Aquamarine Star!”

“Before Black Star left, he left a frozen mission—[The Last Stand]! The mission description is as follows: ‘One day in the future, a catastrophe will sweep across Aquamarine Star. The Third Shelter will be the last safe stronghold. Protecting this faint light in the darkness is the only hope to get through the crisis.’ The mission requirement is to protect the Third Shelter, and the damage rate must not exceed 50%. We have reason to believe that this mission foreshadows the events of the Aquamarine Star 2.0 version, an unknown catastrophe that will affect the entire planet, and Black Star will inevitably play a role in the disaster…”

Han Xiao left the frozen mission in order to give players a direction to imagine, so as to enhance his reputation. Whenever the version is about to be updated, a trend of guessing the new version will rise, and the Times' report is within his expectations.

…

Aquamarine Star, Third Shelter.

Towering steel walls, strict turret guards. Today's shelter is fully formed, like a giant fortress in the wilderness. Han Xiao has been gone for more than a year. The current manager of the shelter is Huang Yu, who is building the shelter in an orderly manner according to the established strategy. It has now accommodated more than three million refugees. In addition to these protected people, there are also hundreds of thousands of floating population, which are the Espers.

Countless players regard the Third Shelter as their main city, not only because there are enough daily tasks and rewards here, but also because a series of decisions made by Han Xiao during his tenure cultivated the players' habits. After developing the habits, players like to gather here to set up stalls, trade, form teams, and other interactions.

The residents' feelings towards Espers are contradictory. On the one hand, Espers like to help them with work, but most people are jealous of the existence of Espers, regard them as aliens, and always feel a sense of estrangement. In the eyes of some residents, the square where players gather is as dangerous as a special race settlement, and they don't dare to go there at all.

Espers helped Bennett build many shelters, but after they were built, most Espers would return to the Third Shelter. Huang Yu didn't quite understand the Espers' gathering behavior, and could only attribute the reason to his former superior. He felt that only Black Phantom would know the reason.

However, in the past few days, a large number of Espers have come from all over the world and poured into the shelter without warning. This phenomenon has aroused great attention from Huang Yu.

“Has the reason been found out?”

In the shelter's conference room, Huang Yu asked his subordinates. After he took over the shelter, he formed his own team. The people present were all members of the dark web, directly under Bennett.

“No, according to the summary of intelligence networks in various places, we still haven't found the reason for the large-scale migration of Espers. The number of Espers in the Third Shelter has now exceeded 800,000 and is still growing.”

“This is not a good sign. Although most Espers are law-abiding, there are also some saboteurs. We have encountered several attacks in the past year. Once these Espers have other purposes, the damage that 800,000 superhumans can cause is devastating. If not handled properly, the Third Shelter, which has been established for two years, may be destroyed overnight.”

Huang Yu was worried.

He naturally couldn't know that the large-scale gathering of players in the Third Shelter was because the Times had speculated on the mission left by Han Xiao. The Third Shelter was likely to be the key location of the main plot, and it was very likely to be a safe location.

So before the update, most players decided to come to the shelter. In this way, they could not only cut into the main line at the first time when the new version arrives, but also be safer than other places.

“This kind of hidden danger has to be prevented. We must take measures…” Huang Yu said.

“But… the instructions left by His Excellency Black Phantom are not to take any hostile strategies against the Espers, and not to try to control their freedom—except for those who cause trouble. What we are doing violates his message.”

Huang Yu shook his head, “I know, but we can't not take precautions against the Espers because of this. Black Phantom has been gone for more than a year. If he were here, I wouldn't worry about anything at all. But he's not here, so we need to be flexible.”

“Then what do you decide to do?”

Huang Yu said in a deep voice: “Diversion. Prohibit some Espers from entering the main city of the shelter and drive them to the two nearby satellite cities, Overmier or Black Pine. In this way, even if a riot breaks out, it won't happen in the hinterland.”

Everyone looked at each other.

“Just do it like this. Notify the managers of the two satellite cities, and secretly mobilize the army first to prevent unexpected situations. Three days later, we will officially start the Esper diversion.” Huang Yu's tone was firm and decisive, and he confirmed the decision.

Suddenly, a wave of sleepiness hit him, and he couldn't help but yawn.

…

DarkStar.

A cloaked mothership base.

In the dark conference room, the screen of the video conference was lit with a faint cold light.

These people are the high-level members of DarkStar. Each screen is a blur of human figures, not showing their faces, extremely mysterious. Even Godora, who has been at odds with DarkStar for many years, only knows a very small number of high-level members. DarkStar is like a cloud of mist that cannot be seen clearly, always hidden in the darkness.

The screen in the middle is the leader of DarkStar, a blur, and the voice has also been mechanically synthesized.

“What stage has the Heterogeneous Progenitor we投放投placed reached?”

“According to the timeline, it has passed the larval stage. All Heterogeneous Progenitors will enter the juvenile stage within two months. The influence has already been lurking. It is estimated that in about a year, the Heterogeneous Progenitor will enter the outbreak period, but the time cannot be accurately located. After all, we cannot control the progenitor's thoughts.”

DarkStar leader: “Maintain observation. Godora intercepted a Heterogeneous Progenitor. I don't know how much research they have done. The plan needs to be improved. We can't wait for the Heterogeneous Progenitor to grow naturally. After the symptoms break out, we have to take some action. We'll talk about the specific details later. Anul, how is Ash?” The last sentence was addressed to Anul, one of DarkStar's Grade A superhumans and Ash's teacher.

The screen representing Anul made a sound, “I let him focus on training his abilities. The progress is very good. His power has been significantly enhanced. Give him some time, and the chance to enter the Calamity Grade exceeds 20%.”

“Well, Rogge died in battle, and Vemir is locked in Rainbow Light Prison. We urgently need to replenish high-level combat power. Ash is currently the most promising candidate to reach Grade A. His abilities are very strong. Tell him that I have high hopes for him… Then, let's end the meeting.”

The screens went black one after another, and the dark room returned to silence.