Many ridiculous events that would never happen under ordinary circumstances had begun to take place all over the world. It would not have been scary if a single person went crazy. However, if the entire world went crazy, it was akin to a bunch of devils dancing.
No one knew when the person beside them would break out with the virus, and they could not even be sure that they themselves were normal. This fear was extremely frightening, and it was as though the entire world had become their enemy, and they would not dare to believe anyone else in the world.
A month after the Mutation Disaster broke out, the order of society had broken down, and many prosperous cities had become ghost towns. For their own safety, many city dwellers had no choice but to find some place to hide themselves. Depression had become an ordinary emotion, and the view that radiation caused this strange virus had become popular.
As such, countless of citizens began to curse the Germinal Organization war, which had brought them peace. They felt that this was their retribution, and the end of the world had arrived!
After listening to the introduction, many players felt their hearts turn cold. Putting themselves in the shoes of the NPCs, this virus was truly too terrifying. The players had plenty of guesses with regards to the so-called ‘calamity’ of Version 2.0, but never had they expected that it would be so strange.
Just what was the mutation virus?
All of a sudden, the players fell into a daze. The time in the outside world and game flowed at different rates. In the eyes of the players, only a few short days had passed, but the entire world that they were familiar with was completely different.
Is there a need for the plot to be so exciting‽
“Is this virus incurable?” a player asked.
Bennett shook his head. “Presently, we have found two ways to fight this virus. First, it isn’t easy for Supers to be infected, and this is a verified fact. Second, our Sanctuary Three has developed a type of suppressant, and it can prevent the virus from breaking out. However, production is limited. We are trying to grow all the required materials, but the quantity is still far from being sufficient.”
As those words were completed, a mission appeared on the interfaces of the players.
_____________________
Mutation Disaster
Mission Introduction: Planet Aquamarine is suffering from an unprecedented calamity, and it is the responsibility of every being living on this planet to fight the Mutation Disaster!
Mission Requirements: Contribute to the fight against the Mutation Disaster.
Progress: 0/30,000,000
Success Requirements: Complete the mission before the mutation virus becomes complete.
Failure Condition: Collapse of Planet Aquamarine’s civilization. All of the survivors being forced to retreat.
Reward: Depends on contribution. (Even if the growth of the virus results in total progress being lowered, the individual accumulated contribution will be counted toward the reward rating.)
_____________________
The mission requirements for the players were extremely similar to Han Xiao’s mission requirements. It was just that Han Xiao’s mission included all the planets suffering from the Mutation Disaster. It was obvious that the Great Mechanic Han’s mission was more complete.
This was a large Main Storyline that involved all the players. The contribution of every player would be counted toward the mission progress, and the players needed to work together toward this goal.
“We accepted a Main Storyline mission right after coming online? The plot of this version is truly fast!”
“Without any build up and going straight to the point, I like how direct they are!”
“That’s not right. The reason that we were able to obtain the Main Storyline mission immediately is probably because we came online in Sanctuary Three. It seems like Galaxy Times’ analysis isn’t wrong. We were indeed able to come into contact with the Main Storyline more easily through Sanctuary Three.”
As everyone thought about this, they were immediately enlightened.
If they were in other locations, there would not have been anyone present to explain the entire disaster to them in detail. Furthermore, Bennett had previously mentioned that Sanctuary Three was the only place that had the suppressant. This meant that Sanctuary Three was the place where the Main Storyline would unfold. It was the mission that Black Phantom had left behind that had guided them there.
He was truly their lighthouse!
With this Main Storyline mission, the players were immediately energized, and they all went forward to ask if they could be of any help. The entire plaza descended into chaos, and Bennett only managed to restore order after a great deal of effort. He then got his subordinates to issue various missions. While the missions were all different, these missions would contribute toward the Main Storyline.
Every type of mission only needed a limited number of players, and a frenzied mess of snatching for mission began.
The large guilds snatched the most missions, and there were some solo players who were not able to snatch a single mission issued by the Sanctuary.
A player could not help but ask, “Can we leave the Sanctuary now? I want to go somewhere else.”
“You’d better take a look on the city walls yourself,” Bennett said with a helpless look.
The tall iron walls of the Sanctuary blocked the view of the outside. Hearing those words, many players became curious and climbed up the city walls to take a look.
With just a single glance, the players were dumbfounded.
In the surrounding ten kilometers, countless tents had been set up, and the tents were like a gray cloud covering the red earth. It was like a gigantic refugee camp, and all of them stayed outside the Sanctuary, refusing to leave. From time to time, the sound of fighting would be heard. Who knew if the fighting was because of the virus or for the scarce food and water?
“The news of us developing a suppressant has been spread, and countless people come here every day, requesting the suppressant and our protection.”
Bennett also climbed up the city walls. Upon looking at the endless sea of refugee tents, he let out a sorrowful sigh.
“However, our suppressant is limited in quantity, and we can only give a small number of refugees the suppressant. As for the others, we can only let them wait outside. With more and more people coming, the number of virus outbreak incidents is also on the rise, and plenty of people die on the outside every day. However, to prevent the Sanctuary descending into chaos, I cannot allow all of them to come in. I can only watch as they die…”
The entire world was helpless against the Mutation Disaster, and only Sanctuary Three had a suppressant. The result was extremely clear. This place had become the holy land for the refugees and their final hope.
In Han Xiao’s previous life, everyone had been like headless flies when the calamity broke out. They had all been lost in shock and did not have a target of hope. The situation had been completely chaotic. Now, because of Han Xiao’s influence, the refugees of the entire planet had a target. It was Black Phantom’s Sanctuary Three, and it was treated as their only hope.
However, the suppressant that Emerald Grass and Aurora had created would only be effective in the short term, and it was not able to purge the virus. Bennett did not know what he should do to solve this calamity. In fact, there was not a single person on Planet Aquamarine who knew what to do. He could not help but think about the reason that Han Xiao had given him before leaving for the universe. Black Phantom had said that he wanted to find a way to solve the calamity. Did this mean that the solution to the calamity could not be found on Planet Aquamarine?
Bennett could only place his hope on Han Xiao.
If he can really come back…
“There isn’t another Sanctuary on the entire planet,” Bennett said with a heavy tone. “This place is the only Sanctuary.”
Chapter 510 - Black Star’s Return!
Translator: Atlas
Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
At the same time, in the Black Star Mercenary Group’s previous temporary base in Juberly Hub, dozens of white lights flashed. The professional players who followed Han Xiao had also appeared. They were Frenzied Sword, Hao Tian, Bun-Hit-Dog, and the others. During the update to the new version, they had all gone offline there.
The habit of any professional player was to open up the interface at the very first chance to see any changes to the interface. As professional players, they were most concerned about their stats and equipment.
After confirming the increase in the level limit, all of them looked around and were immediately stunned.
However, the entire base was empty and only a lonely light was lit. The metal walls glowed with a dim white color, reflecting the light. While the entire base was spotless because of the cleaning facilities, the door that was opened and the silent atmosphere made the players feel as though there had not been anyone staying there for a long time.
The items in the room had disappeared, including Black Star’s personal warehouse and his machinery modification room. If not for the fact that even the furniture was gone, they would have thought that a thief had broken into the house.
“Why isn’t there a single person here? Where is my Black Star?” Frenzied Sword asked.
“Who knows how long has passed? It seems like they are no longer here,” Hao Tian said in a solemn tone.
“It is also possible that they are all dead,” Li Ge said and immediately drew the angry glares of those around him. His consideration had historical reasons behind it. He still remembered that a subordinate guild of their Temple of God had once met the tragedy of their mission issuing location being destroyed.
“Idiots, can’t you guys just check on the Faction details?” Maple Moon rolled her eyes at the rest of them. As part of the mercenary group, they were able to check the basic information of the faction and find out the situation of the Black Star Mercenary Group. There was no need for them to guess blindly at all.
However, what the players did not know was that they were only able to see the Faction information because Han Xiao had intentionally added that information into the faction interface. It was so that these players would be able to witness the growth of the mercenary group and build their sense of belonging. From beginning to end, the Great Mechanic Han had only given benefits to the players so that he would be able to snatch more money.
After opening up the faction interface, the players were immediately shocked by the information displayed before them.
“The number of people in the faction had increased, and there are actually over four hundred people. The number of missions completed has also increased. Quickly, take a look at the summary. It is written that the location of the Black Star Mercenary Group’s base is on Planet Golden Gate. So, it turns out that the mercenary group has shifted house… but where is Planet Golden Gate?” Frenzied Sword asked.
“That’s not all! Look at this! Black Star actually killed a Calamity Grade Super on Noriosse! My goodness, he’s too powerful…” Bun-Hit-Dog gasped. He then asked, “Wait… what grade is a Calamity Grade Super?”
At that moment, the players still did not know that Grade A Supers were also called Calamity Grade. They only felt that the name was extremely cool.
In any case, anything above Grade C was something that the players could only look up to.
All of the professional players then fell into a daze. Just what had the Black Star Mercenary Group gone through when they were not around?
Right at that moment, the doorbell to the stronghold suddenly rang and the players jumped up in shock. They then opened up the door, and a three horned snakeman was standing outside the door.
“Are you guys members of the Black Star Mercenary Group?” the snakeman asked.
The professional players looked at each other before nodding.
“I am a captain of the Royal Crown Travel Agency. His Excellency Black Star asked me to send all of you to Planet Aquamarine. Please follow me.”
Hearing that, a look of disbelief could be seen on their faces. They could never have imagined that Black Star would send a spaceship to pick them up.
…
The Mutation Disaster had changed the structure of the entire planet. The rule of the Six Nations was almost collapsing, and the territories of the Six Nations had fallen into chaos with the government losing control.
Because everyone had a chance of contracting the virus, even the government officials were not spared. Officials of all levels contracted the virus, and if the government lost its competent staff, it was as good as losing its strength. Thus, the Six Nations were gradually sliding toward destruction.
The various sectors and layers of society were created by men, and the order of society was what made people submit to it. The justice department, army, economic body, cultural tradition, morals, mainstream ideas, and so on were all there to let people understand the price of going against the rules and thus restricting their own actions. However, the mutation virus destroyed a person’s ordinary sense of logic and fear. They would not consider any consequences when the virus broke out, and all of those social structures completely lost their purpose. The social system that seemed to be unbreakable had turned into a fragile vase in a single night.
Primal chaos.
This was the most accurate description of the current state of society.
No living being could be trusted, and only the cold machine was reliable.
After the outbreak of the calamity, the Six Nations had abandoned all of their former enmity. In the face of such a calamity, their individual benefits were no longer important. They had no choice but to join hands, and the upper echelons of the Six Nations were having a video conference at that moment.
“Twenty days ago, we issued a request for help to the Godoran Civilization. Godora said that they would rush here as soon as they can, but they have not appeared after such a long time.”
The Mutation Disaster was like a virgin who was wearing a chastity belt. Regardless of how they tried, they just could not get her to open up her doors. The Six Nations knew that it would be impossible for them to deal with the Mutation Disaster with their present technology, and all of their means were ineffective. Thus, they had sent a report of the calamity to Godora and hoped for a higher-class civilization to save them.
However, not a single spaceship had landed thus far, and the upper echelons of the Six Nations were growing anxious. They tried to pester Godora time and time again but would only receive a response from an Artificial Intelligence answering machine.
In truth, the Six Nations did not know that the Mutation Disaster had not only broken out on Planet Aquamarine but all over the Garton Star System. Godora was currently extremely busy as well. Han Xiao had not revealed that this was DarkStar’s plot, and thus, Godora was still in the dark and did not treat the Mutation Disaster with great importance.
“Godora’s arrival isn’t something that we can control. Currently, we have a new situation. The Inhumans who disappeared over a year ago have appeared again.”
“This is truly too coincidental. Perhaps they are the ones who brought the mutation virus!” someone said angrily.
The Six Nations had always been suspicious of the Inhumans. Since they were not of the same species, the prejudice and discrimination toward the Inhumans had never disappeared.
“No matter what, the Inhumans are mostly Supers, and they may be able to provide us with some aid. Regardless of who comes to our aid, I only wish to wake up from this nightmare soon. In this situation, I don’t even dare meet my wife, afraid that I may lose control and end up harming her,” one of the officials said in a depressed tone.
“While Bennett has shared with the world the recipe of the suppressant, only Sanctuary Three is able to produce it stably. He said that he isn’t able to give us any extra suppressants, but I do not believe him. They are definitely hiding more suppressants in their warehouses.”
As those words were said, all the leaders of the Six Nations fell silent. All of them knew that everyone present had their eyes on the suppressant.
When a calamity occurred and there was only one item capable of fighting the calamity, the meaning of that item far exceeded its own use. In order to obtain the suppressant, everyone had no choice but to be obedient. Even if Bennett did not have other plans, Sanctuary Three had already become the center of the entire world with an endless stream of people rushing toward it.
The Six Nations wanted to control the suppressant and use it to stabilize their citizens and restore order to their regime. However, if they chose to snatch it, the situation that the people of the world had finally adapted to would be broken yet again, and they would face a huge risk. If they were not careful, they might end up causing an outcome that could not be reversed. Was stabilizing their regime more important than the life and death of the entire civilization?
Some of them were not able to persuade themselves while others could. Regardless of which faction they belonged to, they were still in a dilemma.
“If we really want to do it, we have to be fast,” Raylen’s leader said. “Time waits for no one.”
…
Two days passed by quickly.
The players stayed behind in Sanctuary Three to get used to the new version and participate in the Main Storyline mission.
While the players were many, there was an almost endless supply of missions in the Sanctuary. The missions with the highest reward were naturally the official missions issued by Bennett. There was a limited number of such missions every day, and the other missions could be activated by talking to different NPCs. The endless refugees outside of the Sanctuary had plenty of requests, and they would never be able to finish all the tasks. These tasks that normal people would find extremely troublesome were extremely enjoyable to the players. They performed the tasks with a serious attitude and were extremely passionate about their jobs. Every single player was like a model citizen, and the guards of the Sanctuary seemed to be lacking in contrast.
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