120 points happened to be the first cutoff. This was the minimum to become an ‘official’ mercenary group, one that would actually attract potential clients.
The pro players had great efficiency. Their faction was able to gain 120 credibility points in two short days. Han Xiao then released the faction mission reward, with King Admiral, Hao Tian, and the Berserkers team captain, Yan Ran, being the top three contributors. The players whom Han Xiao had recruited were not just limited to the four big guilds, and he had also made sure to get people from the top-ranking gaming clubs and teams from the tournament, such as Thunder Storm and the Berserkers. Thunder Storm was alright. They even had the beauty, Rainy Kim, and was thus getting a decent amount of attention. The Berserkers, on the other hand, despite being a top-class battle team, did not have much of a presence. To be honest, Han Xiao would have completely forgotten about them had Yan Ran not made it to the top three this time.
Han Xiao gave those three additional rewards and also re-emphasized to the players that contributing to the faction would net them a lot of benefits. The additional reward was his newly produced [SIN – Type-A Carbon Life Form Radar (Helmet)]. It was something that could only be exchanged with 800 faction points and immediately invited the other players’ envy.
Then, Han Xiao announced, “This helmet can greatly enhance your sight and function in many extreme environments…”
He explained the helmet’s functions in a way that implied the necessity of this helmet for the future outbound missions.
The three winners quickly put on the helmet to test its features for themselves. The internal screen displayed all kinds of analyzed information of their surroundings such as energy density. They could even adjust the display themselves. The function of this item was clear to see, and it also gave decent protection for the head. It was an item that suited all player classes.
Frenzied Sword was close to Hao Tian, and he was able to borrow the helmet to test it out himself. After putting it on, he could not help but say, “It really is a good item.”
After the others saw this, they also took turns putting on the helmet to see for themselves. They were then convinced that they had to earn this item in the future.
With the reward given for being the first batch of recruits along with the previous faction mission reward, all… most of the players had already accumulated 600 contributions points and were only 200 short of the helmet.
Han Xiao had set the price of the helmet to 800 points on purpose to bait the players’ frustrated feelings. Being just short of being able to obtain the item would make them want to either do more missions or even give up their own items or even money in exchange for it.
Although it seemed like the players had been able to easily gain 600 contribution points, it was all just a strategy that Han Xiao had long been implementing whenever he dealt with the players. He converted the players’ desire for an item into something of a physical value. The items that were available in his shop were cheap and reliable, and in combination with the allure of faction points, it meant that Han Xiao would be the go-to place whenever players wanted to spend their money.
The exchange rate of Enas to Faction contribution points that he had decided on for now was 50:100 for those with a Neutral status—which was 0 – 1,000 contribution points. So, in the players’ mind, the helmet’s value was 400 Enas. Now that they could buy it at twenty-five percent of the original price after using their contribution points to pay the rest, they felt like they were getting a huge bargain.
Half of the players had earned 1,500 Enas from the Short Horn Star raid and were itching to spend their money on something. The other half did not have a lot as they had only been doing some daily jobs. However, most of them decided to borrow from the other half out of desperation.
“We’re all in the same line of work here. It’s just a hundred. Are you actually not going to lend me that little money?”
“You’re not gonna? Are you looking down on me‽”
“Ayyy c’mon, we’re all buddies here. We will definitely make more money in the future. You don’t have to worry about me not paying you back. Where could I even run off to here? I will owe you a favor if you lend me some money.”
After a chaotic scene, the last group of players was able to obtain their own helmets after getting into debt.
Of course, the Temple of God players were the most in debt, making Li Ge feel very bad.
With fifty or so customers, Han Xiao was able to make over 6,000 Enas in one go for all the helmets that he had made, so he was feeling very pleased with himself.
These helmets had been made with materials from Planet Aquamarine and actually cost next to nothing. The profit margin here was practically insane.
…
After their group of people arrived at the lobby of the Mercenary Alliance, Han Xiao got ready to open the interface to accept the jobs offered by the Sunil tribe. However, he realized that the lobby was a little odd today. A crowd of mercenaries was making a ruckus at one corner of the lobby.
Han Xiao was a curious person, so he walked over, only to see a short blue-skinned person get surrounded by the group of people. The person was wearing a fancy loose-fitting dress and had hard nail like hair, pointy ears, and no nose. The two eyes were shaped into a tight slit while the mouth was curved upside down with a naturally upset expression. This person was a Blue-Ni, and his appearance was akin to an emoji.
The impression that the other species had of the Blue-Nis was that they were very selfish, an opportunistic people. This particular Blue-Ni was some financial group’s materials investigation member. He was there in person to hire mercenaries in order to save on the tiny processing fee that he would have had to pay if he had gone through the proper hiring channels.
This Blue-Ni was called Martin, and he was in the middle of introducing his job offer. “I am from a Materials Investigation team that is on its way to Planet Garton-791 for a three-day on-site investigation. We’re looking to hire bodyguards. Each person will be paid 400 Enas, and you will be responsible of protecting our team members. You will have to clear out the investigation grounds of any beasts as well as perform reconnaissance in any dangerous areas. We’re looking for groups with a credibility rating of at least 120…”
The surrounding mercenaries only showed cold faces at that. 400 Enas was not a very attractive reward. Moreover, this deal would be made in private instead of going through the official Mercenary Alliance channel. This meant that no records would be made in the system, and they would not be able to gain credibility points for completed the job. None of the surrounding mercenaries were bothered enough to take on the job.
Han Xiao’s eyes flashed, and he checked his star map. Garton-791 is close to the Sunil’s home base. We could earn some cash on the way. Although the reward is only 400 Enas, if each of our fifty people can get it, it’s still not too bad.
It was only a lifeless planet, hence the name with the code. It was basically a planet exclusively for resource excavation.
Han Xiao pushed through the crowd, walked up to the Blue-Ni, and said, “Black Star Mercenary Group. Fifty people. Only group assignments for now.”
“Let me check your credibility rating.” Martin gave Han Xiao a quick scan with his eyes and was quite happy. He had finally found someone who would take up his offer after shouting there for half the day.
Han Xiao pulled up his mercenary information page and passed it to Martin.
When Martin saw that this mercenary group had reached the credibility rating requirement, he was overjoyed. However, his expression changed immediately when he scrolled further down the page. “You’ve never accepted any combat assignments?”
Black Star Mercenary Group’s resume was filled with the daily jobs that could be completed in the hub. Many were cleaning missions. Normally, mercenaries would not even bother themselves with such jobs.
This resume gave Martin quite a shock. He had never seen such a noob ‘mercenary group’.
Chapter 336: A Mechanic’s Paradise
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Han Xiao raised an eyebrow. “What’s wrong here? We meet the Credibility Rating requirement, right?”
“I want warrior bodyguards, and all your records were filled with daily routines in Juberly Hub as if you are the janitor here,” Martin said in a condescending tone. “Are you really qualified as a mercenary?”
Han Xiao frowned. “What do you mean?”
“You are not qualified for my job hiring.” Martin waved his hand with annoyance. Even though he was very cheap, he did not lower his standards and wanted the best warrior that he could find with the cheapest price. The Blue-Ni’s personality was always like this, cheap and greedy. Although the average rating of the strength for the Black Star Mercenary Group was class C, he did not trust their ability after reading through the records. If he spent money on useless mercenaries, the research team would be in great danger.
The mercenaries around all mocked Martin.
“You are offering only 400 Enas, such a choosing beggar.”
“Have you never heard that you get what you pay for?”
“Ha, Blue-Ni.”
Han Xiao ground his teeth. Sigh, what are they blabbering about? It feels like they are helping Martin instead of me!
Martin saw the opportunity and quickly pressured the price. “With this record, I can only offer 200 Enas per person.”
“Farewell.”
Han Xiao left without looking back. Martin’s attitude irritated Han Xiao, and the Great Mechanic Han would never let others pressure him. It was fine if they did not take that job since there were so many other opportunities, so there was no need to beg in front of an annoying man.
He opened the Mercenary interface and found a few hiring requests from Sunils, all about the same event.
The homeland of Sunil had been destroyed. With the help of Godora, the civilization had moved to another planet filled with nature and forests. It had been renamed Planet Sunil.
Planet Sunil had a lot of wild beasts roaming around the planet. Most of the time, the beasts were passive. However, there was a stone that contained evil spirit deep below the ground of Planet Sunil, and it would turn the beasts on rampage once in every few years. Sunil’s villages and cities would all be affected. Every time, during this period, the warriors of Sunil working away from the planet would all return and protect their homeland while gathering more helpers.
The Sunils were a sad race. Originally, it had just been a civilization without interaction with other planets. It had been peaceful, and it had tried to develop into a better society. Unfortunately, they had been attacked by DarkStar. The Sunils had no way to fight back as the fleets from DarkStar repeatedly fired missiles and lasers at the land. The land was filled with screams and fire, which even drowned the desperation that people had.
DarkStar was a mortal enemy of Godora, and it was an active civilization in the Garton Galaxy. DarkStar had found a weakness in Godora’s management and attacked the planets under the rule of Godora. Godora had no choice but to exhaust more resources to help the lower civilizations. If Godora ignored the suffering of those civilizations, then they would have lost the public’s trust in their ability to control the Garton Galaxy.
As an evil faction, DarkStar had broken the intergalactic treaty [Space Civilization Constitution] long ago by attacking a less developed civilizations. Moreover, Shattered Star Ring was on the far end compared to other star systems. So, after destroying the worlds, DarkStar would always disappear in their region for a long time and avoid the declarations of war from other civilizations. DarkStar was like a shadow that slowly consumed the Garton Galaxy.
When the Godoran fleet arrived, the original planet of Sunil had already perished. The land was covered in lava, and the ground was cracked and destroyed. The ecosystem was lost, and only ten percent of the population survived. The technology of the Sunils was cut off from the past generations, and it had yet to be restored. The refugees had been moved to Planet Sunil with the help of Godora, and in the beginning, Godora had helped building the cities. It was only after living there for a few years that the people found out about the raging beasts.
Moving to another planet would take too much work. The first time that Godora offered help was because of moral reasons, but if the Sunils asked Godora for help again, they would feel that they were owing too much to Godora, so they could not ask them for help with this matter. Therefore, they decided to stay on the planet and fight off the monsters.
It was the period where the beasts became active again. These missions were requesting help to protect the homeland. The difficulty of the mission increased as the list went on, and there was no one who applied for the most dangerous mission. As for the easiest mission, they needed 120 Credibility Rating.
Han Xiao could only select the easiest mission, so he submitted the application. A short moment later, he got the reply and his application was successfully.
_____________________
Mercenary Mission—[Defend the Forest City]
Mission Introduction: Another wave of the Catastrophe is looming over the Sunils. You have accepted the mission, and your duty is to protect the Forest City.
Mission requirement: Defend the Forest City.
Failing Condition: Fail to protect the Forest City.
Punishment of Failed Mission: -60 Credibility Rating
Reward: 500,000 experience, 1,800 Enas, +34 Credibility Rating, +3 Area Renown
Time Until Activation: 12 days
_____________________
The Sunils called the period of beast attacks the ‘Catastrophe’, and the Forest City was the main city of the Sunils.
This was just a normal mission, but it was not all Han Xiao had in mind. The reason that he had accepted the mission was so that he could approach the Sunils with an appropriate identity. He had to activate the storyline mission by himself.
As one of the members, the players also got the mission in the mercenary group. Han Xiao put out the reward of the mission onto the reward for the faction mission. The players felt like they were getting double reward.
It was the first time that Black Star Mercenary Group had selected a battle-type mission, so the players were excited.
Han Xiao waved his arm.
“Let’s go.”
…
After three days, the group took a spaceship and arrived at Planet Sunil. From the universe, the planet was covered in green with white clouds floating above.
The spaceship shook violently as it descended into the atmosphere, following the directed path and heading toward the forest. Han Xiao then saw an empty plain, and a city was located in the center. That was the new homeland of Sunil—Forest City.
The spaceship threw down the cabin. Han Xiao felt a bit of weightless for a second, and landed safely on the ground.
Whoosh!
The door slid open, and they were in a military base. Han Xiao stepped out of the door, and he quickly noticed teams of Sunil soldiers and armored trucks protecting the base.
[Sunil—Defensive Soldier Armor] was the armor that Sunil soldiers wore. The armor was dark gray, and the armor plate was extremely thick, which could block heavy bullets from machine guns. In matching armor, the soldiers looked like a true unit. The armor suit’s weight was almost a ton, and it had equipment that supported the movement. There were also machine guns with large caliber, small rocket launchers on the shoulder, and other melee weapons.
Sunil was a pure technology civilization, and after a technological civilization reached a certain stage, they would always create armor for individual soldiers. Different civilizations had different styles of armor. For the Sunils, the armor was categorized into Private class and Corporal class. It was also separated into defense style, offense style, scouting style, etc.
In fact, Han Xiao knew that Sunil armor had an even more powerful class called ‘Commander Class Armor’. However, it had
been destroyed back in the attack, and the technology was lost forever.
Other than the armor technology, there were large mechanical weapons, vehicles, and a few light spaceships.
With all the machinery lying around, Han Xiao’s eyes were shining, and he was looking forward to this place. A civilization that leaned toward pure technological progress was the best foundation for mechanic class, and this was one of the reasons that he wanted to come to Planet Sunil. The technological level of Sunil could bring great benefits to Han Xiao.
Han Xiao was attracted to the subclass of Sunil, and it was related to machinery. It was a rare subclass could dramatically improve the progress of Han Xiao’s main class! For Han Xiao, this was the best choice for him to complete his class.
The players also gawked at the scene around them. Han Xiao had described the tragedy of the Sunils to them, so they had thought that it was a civilization on the brink of destruction. They had been expecting nothing but poor conditions and lagging technology, but the scene of this iron forest proved them wrong.
Dong, dong, dong!
The sound of heavy metal got louder as a soldier with heavy armor approach to the group. His armor was certainly better than that of normal troops. It was also covered in red and white, which symbolized that this was Corporal class armor. The approaching Sunil seemed to be an officer as his face was stone cold, sending the aura of a soldier.
“I am B12 Defense Team Captain Neville. I have already read through your information. Black Star, you will be the 1,432th mercenary to join us. I hereby represent the Sunil people in welcoming you to our world. The Catastrophe has not started yet, so please follow me to the mercenary resting area. Then I will assign you a specific mission.”
Chapter 337 - Green Knight, the Warrior who Had Returned Home
The Legendary Mechanic c1-1385 Page 192