From the missions Han Xiao released, Feng Yue guessed that Han Xiao and Germination were enemies. If it were an average player, they wouldn't even look at the mission background, just complete the task and be done with it. However, she enjoyed the game's storyline and was curious about the story behind it. Black Phantom—this name made her imagine all sorts of assassin and revenge stories. Feng Yue keenly felt that there was something to dig into here.

"This is the first player to interact with me outside of missions and transactions," Han Xiao's eyes lit up.

Grand Technician Han had considered the relationship between the players and himself. He ultimately concluded that they weren't enemies (except for players who accepted missions to deal with him). He could extract benefits from the players and cultivate promising players, turning them into his assistants. Through mutually beneficial arrangements and binding interests, he could make them willingly fight for him.

Players could revive, which seemed disadvantageous to Han Xiao. However, from another perspective, it also meant that players were the best cannon fodder. Although many players were shameless and a symbol of chaos, Han Xiao clearly understood their psychology and motives. As long as he grasped this thread, he could control their actions to a certain extent. If he made good use of it, he could gain a huge advantage when facing NPC forces, just like the advantage he had when facing players!

It seemed there was a name for this—straddling two boats?

Oh, no, it should be called grasping with both hands, and making both hands strong!

A thought flashed through Han Xiao's mind. He glanced at her and suddenly turned and walked into the carriage. Feng Yue was stunned for a moment, then followed.

The carriage was full of lathes and parts. Han Xiao pointed casually, signaling Feng Yue to sit wherever she wanted. He lit a cigarette, slowly inhaling, the smoke creating an air of mystery. Feng Yue knew there was something going on when she saw this, and her heart pounded nervously. She looked expectant.

Han Xiao flicked the ash and said, "Germination is an evil organization that takes advantage of the sorrow of fallen nations, manipulating the survivors to fight for their ambitions, attempting to ignite the flames of war and add another scar to this wounded world..."

Han Xiao embellished many evil and bloody deeds of Germination. He wasn't fabricating them out of thin air; Germination had indeed done many bloody things. He could access the Dark Web archives and his memories from his previous life, recounting these events in detail.

As Han Xiao spoke, Feng Yue's mood fluctuated constantly, and her goodwill toward the Germination organization plummeted. She felt genuine anger. Feng Yue was a sentimental player who valued the game's story. She made decisions according to her heart and wasn't entirely driven by profit.

There were actually many sentimental players like Feng Yue, as most players came to enjoy the game. Games were also stories that could immerse people, but most of these players played single-player games. It was rare to find someone who played online games so emotionally.

Han Xiao actually admired players like Feng Yue. He coughed and deliberately asked a triggering question: "Are you willing to be an enemy of Germination?"

This was the equivalent of a yes/no question.

Feng Yue nodded solemnly.

"Black Phantom's favorability toward you has increased by 5 points."

After adjusting the favorability, Han Xiao took out a phone and handed it to Feng Yue, saying, "Very good, I see your courage. Wait until you grow up, then contact me with this phone."

"You have received the mission [Black Phantom's Invitation]: Reach level twenty and contact Black Phantom."

Feng Yue was pleasantly surprised and secretly thrilled by her correct choice. As she thought, there was a hidden plot that could be triggered!

Han Xiao smiled secretly, seeing Feng Yue's excited expression. He was prepared to cast a wide net and catch big fish. Due to the quota restrictions, he could only cultivate a limited number of players, so the selection was important. Feng Yue would be a famous Mechanic player in the future, complementing him. She was undoubtedly a good backup... uh, candidate.

As for the specific candidates, he needed to consider it carefully. Han Xiao planned to select players with integrity and strength. As long as he showed that there was a hidden plot that could be triggered, other professional players would automatically come to him, giving him more room to choose.

A vague plan took shape. Han Xiao felt it was promising, but he still needed to wait for the players to grow for a while before continuing the next step of the plan.

…

After seeing off the excited Feng Yue, Han Xiao waited until noon. He checked the time and set up a new mission, waiting for players to trigger it.

"[Hunting Germination]: Follow Black Phantom to intercept a Germination troop. This mission is a jackpot mission with a base reward of 35,000 experience points. Accepting the mission requires spending 500 experience points. The rewards will be distributed proportionally to the top five players (or teams) based on contribution."

Han Xiao could issue all types of missions, including jackpot missions, but unfortunately, the reward depended on the maximum limit of a single mission. However, for players who were currently around level four or five on average, 35,000 experience points was an astronomical figure.

Players had to pay an "entry fee" to accept jackpot missions. Han Xiao tried it out and found that he couldn't mobilize the players' experience to invest in the jackpot, feeling somewhat helpless, as if he had lost a way to make (scam) money.

The first to discover the jackpot mission was the Shattered Halberd Guild, and they were immediately shocked by the reward.

"This is the first jackpot mission that's appeared, right!"

"Damn, 35,000 experience points! Even the base reward is too much. I only get a few hundred experience points for completing a mission now!"

"If more players accept this mission, the jackpot will accumulate to an astronomical figure!"

The entire Shattered Halberd Guild was in an uproar.

However, Zhan Cheng Shiba Lu's eyes flashed. "No, we can't let other players accept this mission!"

The guild members were surprised and looked at the guild leader in confusion. "Why?"

Zhan Cheng Shiba Lu argued plausibly, "Only five players or teams can get the reward for this mission. There are tens of thousands of players on Great Horn Mountain, including some professional players. Instead of taking a chance and competing with them, it's better to get the 35,000 experience points ourselves! If only our own people accept the mission, then we can manipulate the rankings as we please. Since a team is also counted as a whole, the experience will definitely be split equally among the members, so the experience won't be much. Only if a single person gets the ranking can they get a huge boost!"

His idea was to have a few core members, including himself, complete the mission and obtain a huge amount of experience, treating it as an elite training. This would be equivalent to transferring the experience of other members to the elites. Five hundred experience points per person wasn't much, but gathering it on one person could greatly accelerate that person's growth speed.

The guild members looked at each other. Although they were a little unwilling, compared to work, a little experience was nothing. They would just lose it. They all agreed.

"The mission will start in the afternoon. Black Phantom will definitely set off in advance, so we just have to prevent any players from contacting Black Phantom within two hours, and we'll be successful!"

Zhan Cheng Shiba Lu had his members pick up their guns and guard Han Xiao, instructing, "Warn anyone who approaches first. If they don't listen to the warning, then shoot directly."

The Shattered Halberd Guild had more than twenty core members and more than a hundred peripheral members on Great Horn Mountain, and was temporarily the largest force.

These studio-type guilds were different from casual players. They had businesses in many games. Only after confirming that a game was worth a large-scale investment would they mobilize members from other games to join. The Shattered Halberd Guild had thousands of members, but only a little more than a hundred players were temporarily in Galaxy. They were waiting for more game pods to be sold before they would continuously enter.

Players could kill each other. Killing too many people would accumulate sin value. Once killed by others, they would drop more experience and equipment.

…

Han Xiao discovered that a circle of guild players was vaguely surrounding him, intimidating and driving away other players who approached, preventing anyone from contacting him. They were numerous and powerful, acting very aggressively. The players who were driven away were angry but dared not speak.

After thinking about it, he understood the Shattered Halberd Guild's plan, and his expression suddenly darkened. "They really have the guts to monopolize my jackpot mission?!"

His original intention for issuing the jackpot mission was to mobilize more players to be cannon fodder. The Shattered Halberd Guild's actions interfered with his plan.

A large group of players surrounded him, filled with righteous indignation.

"Too domineering! I just wanted to replenish some ammunition!"

"Why are you monopolizing Black Phantom?!"

At this time, the people from Sky Territory pushed through the crowd and confronted the Shattered Halberd Guild.

Bi Kong You You shouted, "What do you Shattered Halberd want to do?!"

Zhan Cheng Shiba Lu was expressionless and didn't explain at all. With a wave of his hand, the guild members next to him immediately raised their guns and aimed, immediately causing a chain reaction. Sky Territory also raised their guns.

The players were in an uproar and quickly retreated, avoiding getting splattered with blood.

Bi Kong You You hesitated. His side had fewer people than Shattered Halberd, and they would definitely suffer if they fought. He didn't understand why the Shattered Halberd Guild had suddenly become so domineering. There must be something fishy, but under the public gaze, Sky Territory couldn't back down.

Bi Kong You You and the guild members looked at each other, confirming each other's thoughts.

Fight!

The situation between the two sides was tense.

The players craned their necks to watch the show. It wasn't every day that there was a guild brawl, and it was even two famous guilds.

A battle was about to break out.

Just then, everyone in the Shattered Halberd Guild received a panel notification.

"Black Phantom's favorability toward you has decreased by ten points, currently at negative five points. Current relationship: Indifferent!"

Zhan Cheng Shiba Lu's expression changed drastically!