"So many casualties?!"

After retreating according to the remote command's instructions, away from the fortress planet in the war zone, Han Xiao learned the casualty figures from the main battlefield.

After the war zone defeated the main force of the coalition, they returned to defend the bridgehead, symbolically chasing the defeated main force of Zero Organization for a while. Han Xiao's local battlefield was advantageous, and he led his men to retreat easily, with no enemy pursuit.

Han Xiao achieved a small-scale victory, but unfortunately, this small advantage could not sway the overall situation.

Although the war was lost, Han Xiao's tactical mission was completed, rewarding him with millions of experience points, as well as more than two hundred contribution points from Zero Organization and the Purple Crystal Civilization.

...

The defeated coalition stopped at an uninhabited planet to rest and reorganize. The atmosphere was gloomy, and the various allies wore sullen faces, counting their losses.

The fallen Grade A powerhouses basically exploded along with their battleships. The Arc Light Organization lost Sevett, and the surviving members looked grief-stricken.

Just two days ago, Sevett smiled and asked for his help, and now his bones were gone. Thinking of this, Han Xiao couldn't help but sigh. He didn't disturb them, but summoned his cadres to count the losses of his own fleet, quickly arriving at a result.

"We only lost thirty-four battleships, and there were no casualties among the high-level combatants, so the situation is still good."

Han Xiao breathed a sigh of relief.

The Purple Crystal Civilization would compensate the losses of the various forces and provide resource support, otherwise no one would be willing to cooperate. Han Xiao's lost battleships could also be compensated, and there would also be rewards for local victories.

Melos said with lingering fear, "I just inquired, and we are one of the Zero Organization members with the fewest losses. Other allies actually sacrificed several Beyond Grade A powerhouses... I didn't expect it to be so dangerous."

"It is indeed a bit unexpected." Han Xiao nodded. He experienced the situation that had already formed in Version 3.0, while he only saw the plot background of the secret war during the version update and didn't know the specific details.

Han Xiao was not surprised by the victory in the war zone. If the Purple Crystal could drive the war zone out, it wouldn't have continued until Version 3.0.

During the 3.0 period, the war zone had already established many bases in several star systems and launched a tug-of-war with Zero Organization. Therefore, Han Xiao guessed that Zero Organization must have been at a disadvantage during the version update.

What surprised him was that in the first encounter between the two sides, a total of more than ten Grade A powerhouses were killed in action, making the intensity unbelievably high.

If so many people died in every war, the powerhouses on Zero Organization's side would definitely be wiped out in a few months. The war zone would also suffer heavy casualties, resulting in a lose-lose situation.

Beep, beep...

Han Xiao suddenly received a communication request from Leif.

The voice connection was established, and Leif's voice was hoarse as he said in a deep voice, "Black Star, how bad is the situation?"

After receiving the news of the defeat, Leif sat on pins and needles and couldn't help but contact Han Xiao to inquire about the details of the battle.

"Very bad..."

Han Xiao told the truth, and by the way, he emphasized that his local battlefield had an advantage.

Hearing this, Leif was worried, "This is the only good news I've heard in the past half hour, but you alone cannot determine the entire war situation."

Han Xiao shrugged, not caring. Anyway, the reward for the tactical mission was in hand, so he didn't lose out.

"The goal of the war zone is to kill the Grade A Supers on our side. They are establishing their might," Leif said.

Han Xiao's eyes flashed, and he immediately understood Herber's idea, secretly praising him for being clever.

The war zone had grasped the weakness of Zero Organization—the lack of unity. This was a common problem with joint forces. Every Grade A powerhouse was an important combat force of a different organization. With the eight vanguard officers all attacking, killing these high-level combat forces would make all Zero Organization members afraid to act rashly.

Every partner of Zero Organization didn't actually care whether the Purple Crystal defended its territory. They didn't have the same territorial awareness as the Purple Crystal. They participated in the secret war for profit and were driven by the Purple Crystal Civilization. Losing the war was not important; the only thing they cared about was whether the benefits could make up for the losses.

If battleships were lost, the Purple Crystal Civilization could compensate them, and there were even rewards, allowing them to obtain resource support from a Star Cluster-level civilization. However, if a Beyond Grade A powerhouse died, there was no way to compensate for this. The Purple Crystal Civilization could not compensate for the loss of high-level combat power of Zero Organization members.

This was the difference between the Zero Organization, which was like a plate of loose sand, and the war zone, which was as solid as a rock, and it was also an unchangeable weakness.

"No wonder the war zone is fighting so fiercely."

Han Xiao pondered secretly. He didn't care whether the secret war was won or lost. In his previous life, the Purple Crystal had lost. Only when the Crimson Empire and the Radiant Federation reached a consensus on the issue of the Shattered Star Ring would they stop the turmoil in various places. Before the two Universe-level civilizations completed their exchange of benefits, no one would care about the secret war between the Krent and the Purple Crystal. The Crimson Empire was the backer of the Krent, and as long as the war zone was not driven away, the Crimson Empire would dare to cede some of the Purple Crystal's territory to the Krent. This was the Krent's strategy, and it was also the result of his previous life.

Han Xiao participated in Zero Organization not to help the Purple Crystal win the war, but mainly to earn contribution points in exchange for advanced knowledge.

If his losses were always small, he wouldn't mind continuing to slack off, completing tactical missions step by step and slowly building up to a [Revered] relationship.

Even if the overall market collapsed, his stock would rise against the trend, and he would still receive more attention.

If not many people died, how would there be an opportunity to move up?

Han Xiao's eyes flashed. It was a pity that the players were not still around, then he wouldn't have to care about casualties.

Putting away his thoughts, Han Xiao asked, "The war zone is gaining a foothold in the Western Wind Star System. What do we need to do next?"

"Temporarily rest and wait for reinforcements to arrive, and then attack again," Leif said in a deep voice.

Zero Organization's partners were distributed in various areas of the Colton Star Cluster. The journeys were of varying lengths. The coalition that Han Xiao was in was just the first batch, considered the vanguard of Zero Organization. There was still a large force behind them. The defeat of their vanguard force did not mean that Zero Organization had completely collapsed.

Leif was worried about the tactics used by the war zone. The enemy was targeting high-level combat power, which was an open conspiracy, impossible to defend against. He was worried that Zero Organization would disobey the commander's orders in order to reduce losses, doing the bare minimum, and the worst result would even be the disintegration of the organization.

Han Xiao pondered for a while, then suddenly said, "I have a suggestion. For the next attack, let me participate in the main battlefield."

Leif was stunned. Black Star knew it was dangerous, but he actually asked to join the main battlefield?!

"You mean..."

"Maybe I can withstand the vanguard officers of the war zone..." Han Xiao stroked his chin.

Leif was overjoyed, almost moved to tears. Just now, the Arc Light Organization and other forces participating in the main battlefield had all demanded that they no longer undertake the task of strong attacks. They were all cowardly and dared not face the powerhouses of the war zone. Only Black Star stepped forward and took the initiative to undertake this extremely risky task.

This, this is a reliable partner!

Leif was almost in tears. He suppressed his excitement and asked, "How many vanguard officers can you withstand?"

Han Xiao narrowed his eyes.

"All of them."

Leif's eyes widened suddenly, and a look of shock solidified on his face.

Are you kidding me?!

People will die!

"Don't be so surprised. I didn't say I would win against them. I said I would hold them back."

Han Xiao waved his hand. He had just estimated that the probability of him winning against the eight vanguard officers was lower than the probability of Lagi becoming optimistic, but he still had a chance to hold back eight Grade A musclemen with his tankiness. Aurora's character card could still be used a few times, which was basically enough to maintain a battle.

If he held back the vanguard officers, he could reduce the risk to the high-level combat power of other allies, and showing such strength would boost his reputation and make the Purple Crystal pay more attention to him.

The main reason was that Han Xiao decided to make a deal with this.

"Letting me take such a big risk is not free."

"What do you want?" Leif asked quickly.

Han Xiao raised an eyebrow, "I want advanced mechanical knowledge."

"Okay!" Leif agreed decisively.

At this time, he didn't hesitate. Black Star was willing to take the risk of death. As long as he could survive, the Purple Crystal would never be stingy with resources.

Han Xiao's face remained unchanged, but he was secretly excited. Although he could slowly slack off and earn contribution points, it would take a lot of time. If he could quickly obtain advanced knowledge in one step, he would not let go of this opportunity.

The sooner he completed his class advancement mission, the faster he could break through the level 170 barrier and turn the accumulated experience into actual combat power. Moreover, holding back the eight vanguard officers was itself an event that would drastically boost his reputation, killing two birds with one stone!

Han Xiao couldn't help but have a mischievous idea—he would rather the Purple Crystal Civilization lose more than it won. If the situation was not critical, then he would not have this opportunity to quickly obtain resources.

"As expected, troubled times create opportunities. The ancients did not deceive me," Han Xiao thought to himself with a chuckle.

Lagi, who was on the side, witnessed the conversation between the two and couldn't help but interject, "Do you need me to help you collect your corpse?"

Han Xiao was not angry but happy. This was stable. Lagi's reverse milk had never failed.

"Keep milking, don't stop."

"...No wonder you want to commit suicide. You're really crazy," Lagi sighed. He had to find a new job again.

————

(Organizing the outline of the plot during the update period, the word count is a bit less)

ps: I haven't had a good rest in the past two days, and I get dizzy after looking at the screen for a long time. There may be some typos that I haven't found. If you brothers see them, please tell me, and I'll fix them.