“Yeah.”
“…She should be in the garden, go see her then.” Hila looked down.
Han Xiao was just about to walk into the palace when Hila suddenly stopped him and asked, “How strong have you really become?”
She was not at Han Xiao’s level yet, and the news was mostly exaggerated, so she had been very curious about how strong Han Xiao really was.
“Hmmm, I should be able to beat a hundred thousand of you without using both of my hands.” Han Xiao smiled.
Hila clenched her teeth in her mind.
She had known Han Xiao for the longest, but now she could not even see Han Xiao’s footsteps.
In the garden, Ames was floating in the air, looking up at a dim star at the edge of the sky.
Hearing the footsteps, she glanced down and slowly landed before Han Xiao. Her smooth, silky hair and her thin black dress waved with the wind.
“You’re back, Black Star.” Ames smiled and complimented, “I’ve heard about you funding the second Field Team. You’ve done well.”
“Everything is easy with enough money.” Han Xiao chuckled as he secretly used the Blank Character Summon Card on Ames.
“Why did you come back to see me?” Ames blinked.
“Do I need a reason to come to see you?” Of course, Han Xiao was not going to say that it was because of the Blank Character Summon Card.
“You’ve become less and less cautious in front of me.”
“That’s because we’re very close now, aren’t we?” Han Xiao joked.
“Is that the only reason?” Ames stared at Han Xiao’s eyes with a faint smile.
Black Star had become stronger and stronger, and his position was also growing continuously. The differences between the two of them in every regard were shrinking at a very high speed. Black Star became more casual when facing her, not as a subordinate of her anymore but more like an equal.
Ames suddenly said, “How long has it been since the last time I went to tour your territory?”
Han Xiao thought about it and said, “Quite a few years, why?”
The last time that Ames toured the Black Star Army was when Version 2.0 just started. It was then that she had taken Hila and Aurora as her students.
“It’s only been a few years, and your organization has already grown to what it is today. Black Star, how about you take me to tour your territory once again?” Ames slanted her head and gave Han Xiao a smile that he did not understand.
Han Xiao was a little surprised, but he was used to how random Ames was. He thought about it, and it seemed that there was no reason for him to reject her. He felt that it was most likely because Ames was extremely bored, so he nodded and said, “Sure. Since the boss wants to do a tour, I will accompany you. I’m on holiday anyway. Let’s go to the Black Star Army headquarters, what do you say?”
“Hmm, you decide.” Ames smiled.
The two of them left immediately.
Aesop was still inspecting the troops when he saw with resignation that in the short time Han Xiao left, he had already kidnapped Ames and taken her away.
The Blacklight Stealth returned to the headquarters. The two of them alighted the spaceship, and Han Xiao took Ames to tour the various areas of the headquarters. In the process, the many Black Star Army members that passed by them all gave them strange looks.
The rumors of the two of them going separate ways never stopped. Now that they saw their captain appearing together with Ames, many felt strange. Currently, Ames was still the boss of the Black Star Army, so it looked like she was there to do an inspection.
As the two of them walked, Han Xiao explained and introduced the various areas while Ames kept quiet. Very soon, they finished touring all the areas in the headquarters and arrived at Han Xiao’s office. All the officers in the headquarters had been summoned there by Han Xiao, waiting to meet Ames in the office and be inspected.
As soon as Ames walked in the door, the Black Star Army officers all stood up and nodded, giving the Beyond Grade A their respect.
Ames looked around and saw Herlous and the others. She smiled and said, “I remember some of you. You’ve all been working with Black Star for a very long time.”
“You’re Herlous, right?” Ames came before Herlous, smiled, and nodded. “I can see your potential. You should be able to reach Calamity Grade.”
Herlous’ face became joyous. He had always been troubled by this, and now he felt much more relieved-he trusted the judgment of a Beyond Grade A.
Ames then came before Aroshia. Seeing that she was still cold as always, she smiled and did not say anything. She then walked up to Sylvia and patted Sylvia’s head.
“What a smart kid. I feel you have the potential to become a Calamity Grade too.”
Sylvia’s eyes opened wide, and she felt a little bit weird.
She felt that Ames seemed to like guessing others’ potential, and she wondered if it was Ames’ strange habit.
Ames stopped for a while in front of every officer and spoke a few words. Every officer reacted differently. Feidin smiled gently; Harmon was lost; Reynold was solemn; Rossellin was indifferent; Karmbe, Marian, and Misecech were overjoyed.
Lastly, Ames came to Lagi and gave him a few more glances. “Didn’t expect you to be the former Forbidden Sorcerer Commander under Austin.”
“Sigh, what good does that do? I’m still fired.” Lagi sighed. He was used to seeing Beyond Grade As, so he was the most casual among all the officers.
Ames smiled and walked back to Han Xiao. The officers did not speak, all intimidated by Ames.
“Okay Black Star, I’ll be going back now.”
“So soon?” Han Xiao was stunned. Was she not going to stay and play for a few days after going all the way there?
“I’ve seen what I wanted to see.” Ames shook her head.
The rise of the Black Star Army was too quick, and observing the Black Star Army was equivalent to observing Han Xiao’s ambition. She had found the answer to what she wanted to know.
Maybe… I’m really not suitable to be his leader.
Having understood what Ames meant, Han Xiao sighed in his mind and told the officers to scatter as he took Ames back to the dock. The two of them stayed silent on the way.
“Give me a spaceship, I’ll go back myself. You don’t have to make another trip,” Ames said.
“Okay.” Han Xiao called the person in charge of the dock over and told him to bring a spaceship over.
As the two of them waited for the spaceship on the dock, Ames suddenly spoked without even turning her head.
“A few years ago, you told me you were going to join the secret war, but you did not seek my help-why?”
Han Xiao coughed and said, “Your position is too sensitive to take part in the secret war. I notified you, and you didn’t stop me, so I took it as you allowed it. Back then, you didn’t show any signs of wanting to take part in it, so I didn’t seek help from you.”
“Why didn’t you try?”
What is that supposed to mean? Han Xiao frowned, but he could only see the back of Ames’ head.
He changed the topic and said, “A few years ago when I was ambushed by Thous… ahem, Klent, I asked for your help, but you didn’t agree to help me.”
Han Xiao was talking about when he asked for Ames’ help during the third round of [Prey] and was rejected.
“If you insisted back then, I would’ve still agreed. If you insisted on asking me to join the secret war, I might not have rejected… though I don’t like to be involved in these things,” Ames said with a calm tone.
Han Xiao could not see her face, so he could only speculate what she meant from her tone. “You mean that you want to take part in the secret war?”
“I’m no longer needed.” Ames paused and changed the topic. “Ever since the first day I met you, I’ve never seen you stop your footsteps, why?”
Are we doing quizzes now? When did you start to speak in such a mysterious way? Han Xiao’s lips twitched.
He thought for a moment and said with resignation, “It’s not time to stop. You have the choice to stop, but I don’t.”
“What are you afraid of?”.
Han Xiao’s eyes were slightly moved, and he did not answer.
At this time, a spaceship finally stopped in front of Ames. The hatch opened, and the gangway was lowered.
Ames stretched her body. Her clothes tightened and highlighted her cursive, beautiful waist. She sighed and softly said, “I hope you’re willing to stop one day and look at the scenery along the way. This universe has an end no matter how enormous it is, but ambition has no limits.”
Then, she boarded the ship and closed the hatch, blocking herself from Han Xiao’s view, never letting him see her expression.
Han Xiao watched as the spaceship turned into a stream of light and disappeared. Then he sighed and massaged his temples.
He had a feeling that Ames had changed, and her mood had become more unpredictable.
When did she start to change? Han Xiao pondered.
The conflict between the Crimson Dynasty and the Federation of Light affected the entire Galaxy. All the Star Fields were affected by the Crimson Tide. It was a time of chaos. Big and small wars were also happening in the various Star Clusters in the Shattered Star Ring.
The Crimson Tide swept the entire Galaxy. Comparatively, the chaos in the Shattered Star Ring was just the tip of the iceberg.
The situation of the secret war was many times more complicated compared to his previous life. More people were involved, and more ‘accidents’ happened that had never happened originally. Nonetheless, overall, the situation was still a stalemate between the Bloodshed Land and Section Zero.
War meant opportunities; no one fought wars for the sake of fighting wars. The Black Star Army was slowly expanding and benefiting.
Han Xiao was very active in the secret war and became the brightest star onstage.
Like a violent river that never stopped or flowed backward, the secret war became more and more intense in the midst of this chaos that affected the entire universe.
In the flames of war, seven years passed in this universe.
Chapter 716 - New Version-Crimson Tide!
Galaxy Calendar: Year 704, 17th day of the 7th month.
In the Black Star Army headquarters…
Clank…
On the alloy walkway, a tall, curvaceous figure strode with her alloy boots making a clanking sound when coming into contact with the alloy ground. Her white-gold female armor only covered her important locations, and she wore a black nano form fitting suit on the inside.
A few warriors from the lower rungs of the Black Star Army turned into the walkway and were wearing a similar uniform to that lady. The moment they saw her approaching from afar, their expressions turned solemn, and they stood up straight to give a salute.
“Your Excellency Chief Administrative Official.”
Her footsteps paused for a while, and she revealed a smile in response. Her smile was like the blooming roses and radiant sunlight. The few warriors were stunned into silence and only came back to their senses after she walked far away.
“How beautiful. She is the number one beauty of the Black Star Army indeed…”
“If only I can catch her eye.”
“You must be dreaming. Her Excellency Sylvia is a Calamity Grade Super and the chief disciple of His Excellency Black Star. How could you possibly catch her eye?”
The lady who walked afar revealed a helpless expression as she heard the conversation between the two.
She was Sylvia.
In the past seven years, she had put in all her effort into training herself (struggling for survival). After a series of tempering (suffering), her latent potential was finally realized, and she had stepped into the Calamity Grade before Version 3.0!
With her strength growing, her fame grew as well. She became the Chief Administrative Official of the Black Star Army, and people finally began to acknowledge her title as Black Star’s chief disciple.
A Calamity Grade Super had a long lifespan, and Sylvia had transformed into a beauty over the past seven years. She had a tall, curvaceous figure with her long hair drifting in the wind. She was a beauty who deserved 9.5 points at the very least. Being a beauty who was both powerful and had a high status, Sylvia became the target for many males within the Black Star Army. Among all the officers, her popularity had only lost to Feidin.
Sylvia walked all the way to the rooftop of the base. This was the highest point in the Black Star headquarters, and it was surrounded by bright, twinkling stars all around. Looking up, one could see Planet Golden Gate like it was hanging down from the sky.
At this moment, there were many officers standing on the rooftop, and they all turned around to look at Sylvia. After glancing at those present, Sylvia could tell that pretty much all the important officers in the Black Star Army were present today. Vice Commander Lagi, Logistics Manager Reynold, Fleet Commander Herlous, Culture Instructor Rossellin, and so on. There were more than twenty people present with fifteen Calamity Grade Supers among them!
“Everyone is here. Have you completed what I asked you to do?”
A deep voice sounded, and when Sylvia looked toward the source of this voice, a tall figure was standing at the edge of the rooftop. He was dressed in black with his back facing the crowd. It was Han Xiao.
“Everything has been prepared according to your instructions.” Sylvia nodded.
“Very good.”
Upon hearing that, Han Xiao turned around with a calm expression and a tinge of excitement in his eyes.
Compared to seven years ago, his appearance had not changed much, and he still looked as young as before. However, he had indeed been through plenty in the past seven years, and the wrinkles were not shown on his face but his heart. His aura had become more stable and unfathomable.
All the officers present had personally experienced Han Xiao’s change. If Han Xiao was like a ferocious lion with a tyrannical aura seven years ago, Han Xiao gave them the impression of a majestic lion at the moment. Apart from Lagi, all other officers present would be pressured by just looking him in the eye.
Today was the day for Version 3.0 to be launched. Han Xiao had waited for this day for a very long time.
It has been a full ten years… Han Xiao lamented in his heart. To the players, these ten years were nothing more than background story, but Han Xiao had personally experienced the full ten years. In order to prepare for the launch date of Version 3.0, Han Xiao had made many preparations beforehand. All his officers had arrived personally to report the progress of their preparations to him. They had only done as they were instructed but did not know the reason for it.
Compared to his previous life, Version 3.0 had quite a bit of changes.
In the past seven years, the secret war had become more and more intense. However, due to his interference, Klent was not as powerful as in his previous life, and both Section Zero and Bloodshed Land had some wins and losses. Section Zero was not on the passive side like before, and both parties were locked in an intense battle. The battlefield was no longer limited to Westwind, Kaya, and Chaida; two more Star Systems had been dragged into the war.
The secret war was one of the Main Storyline Missions in Version 3.0 within the Shattered Star Ring. Because of Han Xiao’s presence, the secret war was far more complicated than in his previous life, with many more organizations participating in it in secret. When the players returned, their first Main Storyline Mission would be the secret war that had been modified by Han Xiao!
In the past seven years, the various operations of the Black Star Army had mainly been focused on the war, mining, and employment missions. The Black Star Army had developed steadily and successfully gained firm footing in many different Star Systems. The Black Star Army was spread across the Colton Star Cluster with more than five hundred satellite bases, three hundred thousand battleships, a hundred million members, and a net worth of over a trillion!
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br /> With such a large organization, it would be a piece of cake for them to take care of a million players. Furthermore, Version 3.0 would be the time for new players to enter. With the performance that the Chinese players showed in the second Pro League, there would definitely be many new Chinese players joining the game. The Black Star Army had the capability to groom these new players.
The seven years of war had given Han Xiao a never-ending stream of experience. He was currently at level 211, and it would have been tough for the players to provide for his requirements during Version 2.0.
Thus, Version 3.0 would be a good opportunity for him to increase his strength rapidly again. Han Xiao also took the time to complete more than a hundred employment missions and had a stash of Mission Completion Cards.
Han Xiao’s preparations over the past seven years were akin to sharpening his own blade.
It could be said that he was fully prepared for the upcoming harvest!
Han Xiao took a deep breath and looked up at Planet Golden Gate. Opening the interface, he looked at the counter counting down.
Version 3.0 Activated
Fetching data… Fetching data done!
Player Forum Open.
Welcome to Galaxy Version 3.0—[Crimson Tide)!
It’s finally begun!
The players’ strength would only have a qualitative change in Version 3.0. The difference between a million Grade C Supers and a million Grade B Supers was like the difference between Heaven and Earth!
This version shall be the generation for the Black Star Army to rise!
Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled, and his lips curled up slightly. He then turned around to face the officers and waved his hands.
“Send out all our spaceships.”
At the same time on Planet Golden Gate…
Because the Black Star Army headquarters had been shifted away, Base No.1, which was situated on Planet Golden Gate, had been changed to a local agency for the Black Star Army. There were not many present, and the entire place was extremely silent.
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