Chapter 921: Level 300 and Twenty Consecutive Draws (Revised)

Chapter 921: Level 300 and Twenty Consecutive Draws (Refinement)

Within five minutes of all players logging out, reports from the various bases of the Black Star Legion arrived at Han Xiao’s desk. The legion commanders, having witnessed such occurrences before, were not surprised. Though many still found it peculiar, none reacted with undue alarm.

To outsiders, the players’ disappearance seemed random, but only Han Xiao, who possessed a player panel, knew the precise timing.

Version 3.0 marked the true ascension of the Black Star Legion, elevating its scale, military might, and status to unprecedented heights. Han Xiao recalled that at the end of Version 2.0, the Legion had merely controlled a few dozen space stations, thousands of warships, and nearly two billion Innal deposits, holding some influence within the Jadetown Star System. Now, its growth was magnified by thousands of times!

This proved the immense gains he had achieved in this version—seizing every opportunity, his promotion to S-Class A-level akin to a carp leaping over the dragon gate, a true metamorphosis.

With the Legion’s current scale, the players’ logout would affect mercenary operations but not hinder the Legion’s normal functioning.

“The gap between this version update spans two or three decades; at that time, the Shining World was in its fourth phase of development…”

Leaning back in his chair, Han Xiao absentmindedly tapped the table, musing to himself.

From the perspective of a civilization, decades were a brief span of development, merely a couple of generations. Yet with external interference, such a period could spark revolutionary upheavals. When all knowledge could be deciphered by outsiders, and technology no longer required slow, self-driven exploration, the terrifying learning efficiency of the Black Ling Race could, within mere decades, elevate a primitive civilization to a starfaring one.

Massively interfering in the development of lower-tier civilizations violated the Universal Civilization Contact Treaty. On the surface, it aimed to prevent lower civilizations from taking shortcuts, but fundamentally, it reduced interstellar conflicts. Expansionist desires and inherent strength were proportional, preventing over-saturation among advanced civilizations, thereby reducing friction… and on the other hand, protecting lower civilizations.

Still, as always, regulations needed to be applied flexibly. Given Han Xiao’s current status, as long as he didn’t overstep, no one would interfere with such trivial matters. Moreover, the Black Ling Clan bore his name, so no one would dare attack him over this—having land to stand on made such actions unthinkable.

In thought, Han Xiao took up the communicator and dialed the Imperial liaison’s number.

“Black Star Lord, may I assist you?”

“What do you mean, you ask me that? What do you want me to do?” Han Xiao snapped, then inquired, “How much longer until the first phase of the Shining World’s development concludes? Two years ago, they said it was nearly complete. Now, the star maps of the three domains are mostly finished. When will the Imperial leadership announce the completion of the first phase?”

“I’m not entirely certain of the exact time, but I’d estimate by this year.”

“I’ll wait for your notification.”

“Rest assured, Commander Tarlocov will inform you in advance.”

At that moment, the Imperial liaison paused, his tone shifting to something more somber.

“Actually, there’s something I must tell you. The Blood Gold Syndicate has ignored the Empire’s warnings and has not ceased their seizure of the Evolvers’ Totems. Our allies are quite resentful about this.”

Han Xiao was taken aback, nodding slowly. “So they’ve found a patron?”

“Mmm… more accurately, the patron sought them out. The Radiant Federation offered them sanctuary, allowing them to take refuge in the Stellar Abyss domain, remotely controlling their subordinates to continue accepting the plundering contracts.”

The Radiant Federation? Indeed, they couldn’t help but begin their assault on the Evolvers’ Totems… Han Xiao narrowed his eyes. The intervention of a cosmic-level civilization was no surprise; after observing, the Radiant Federation would not sit idly by while the Empire monopolized such a strategic-level artifact.

At present, the Radiant Federation’s plans remained unclear. Han Xiao believed the Radiant Federation would not limit themselves to such petty plundering. The yield from such operations could not satisfy their vast needs; there must be deeper schemes behind it. Most likely, they sought to pressure the Empire into opening the Evolvers’ Totem for sale.

In this matter, the Radiant Federation and Han Xiao shared no conflicting interests. Han Xiao himself wished to expand his business.

However, the revelation of the Xenonger heritage had spread, with the totem’s manufacturing methods now known to many factions. They might attempt to seize the Evolvers’ Blocks directly, though the likelihood was low.

The Vilight Church sought to exploit the Empire’s ignorance of the totem technology. Having suffered a tragic experience, they were keenly aware of the risks. Now that the totem technology was exposed, the Empire had elevated the Blocks to a strategic priority. Unless necessary, no one would risk open war to seize them—the losses would outweigh the gains. Yet Han Xiao could not afford complacency.

“What’s the Empire’s response?”

“The higher-ups had anticipated this situation and made preparations in secret. While the Empire bore most of the pressure, there are risks on your side as well. The leadership advises you to remain within the Empire’s borders, operating only mechanical forces externally. Even with their fifth-dimensional transcendence technology, the Radiant Federation would not dare to teleport into the Empire’s territory.”

“That does seem safer, but I can’t stay confined to the Central Sea forever. That would be tantamount to house arrest.” Han Xiao sighed, resigned. The Radiant Federation’s teleportation technology reigned supreme across the cosmos; there was no such thing as a thousand-day watch against thieves.

As long as the Evolvers’ Blocks were not returned, he would forever be caught in this dilemma, where profit and risk intertwined. To resolve this completely, he needed the entire universe to recognize his ownership of the Evolvers’ Blocks, leaving no room for others to covet them. Personal strength was one factor, but securing the Empire’s permission to sell was another crucial prerequisite.

So, the Radiant Federation was indirectly pressuring him to make a statement…

“In any case, thank you for the warning. I’ll consider it.” Han Xiao shook his head, ending the call.

After sitting for a while, Han Xiao stood, opened the door, and walked directly to the Combat Refinement Room, closing the door behind him. He opened his attribute panel, his gaze fixed on the experience bar.

The players had logged out, and the stored experience was a vital asset for enhancing his strength during the version update. Over the past two years, from the middle of the version to now, Han Xiao had accumulated vast amounts of experience, easily enough to reach level 300.

The Empire couldn’t control this, so all he could do was improve his own strength.

Han Xiao exhaled, pouring a massive amount of experience into leveling up.

[The Supreme Mechanic ascends to Lv21: Strength +360, Strength +5, Agility +5, Stamina +12, Intelligence +15. You gain 12 free attribute points, 1 potential point!]

…

[The Supreme Mechanic ascends to Lv40 (max): Strength +1200, Strength +5, Agility +5, Stamina +12, Intelligence +15. You gain 12 free attribute points, 1 potential point!]

The vast experience fueled his ascent from level 280 to 300, a surge of energy coursing through his body, energy light emanating from his eyes, lasting several minutes before fading.

At this level, the cost of upgrading snowballed, rising exponentially. Without a quick way to replenish experience, further upgrades were inefficient.

He allocated all free attribute points into Intelligence to boost his output, then turned his attention to the panel’s prompt.

[You have reached the maximum level of your primary profession. You trigger a re-specialization quest—[Well-Rounded]!

[Well-Rounded]: At least 30 professions must reach Lv5, including three ultimate skills—The Mechanic’s strength lies in knowledge; only with a solid foundation can one ascend to new heights.]

[You have reached level 300. You trigger an advancement quest—[Energy Overflow]!

[Energy Overflow]: Your Strength realm must reach Lv19—The stronger the ability, the more energy required to support it.]

“These two quests… seem quite promising.”

Han Xiao raised an eyebrow.

Preferring advancement or re-specialization quests with strict attribute requirements, he found [Well-Rounded] perfectly suited his plans, as he intended to upgrade his profession knowledge. [Energy Overflow], though demanding, only required some effort to complete.

He had time to spare; the two task settlement cards in his hand were worth holding onto for emergencies. Using them here would be wasteful.

“This kind of thing is too hard to draw. I’ve already encountered two quests that aren’t too difficult. I’ll save the task settlement cards for future advancements and re-specializations.” Han Xiao thought.

[Well-Rounded] posed no challenge; he planned to upgrade his knowledge anyway. [Energy Overflow], though strict, was achievable with dedication. He had time to wait. Holding onto the two task settlement cards, he could use them when needed, rather than wasting them here.

He flipped through his attribute panel, noting only minor increases in attributes and potential points, no advancements or re-specializations.

Han Xiao flipped through his random reward page. Over recent times, he’d sent his mechanical forces on external missions, accumulating over twenty chances at random rewards.

“Hope I draw a task settlement card. It’d be strange if I didn’t get one after twenty tries…” Han Xiao prayed silently.

Drawing such items was harder than using the Fortune Wheel. High luck increased the drop rate for high-value items, but task settlement cards were cheap for players. High luck actually made them harder to draw. Relying on his own connections, the drop rate might be slightly better.

Without hesitation, Han Xiao began drawing all at once, taking a break to wash his hands midway, then resumed.

All twenty-plus random rewards were drawn, mostly common drops like experience crystals, along with three potential points, two low-level skills, one basic specialization, one blank character card, one skill enhancement card, one double experience card, and two task settlement cards.

After twenty-plus draws, he’d only gotten two. Was his luck good or bad? Han Xiao grimaced at his lips.

The two task settlement cards could directly fulfill two requirements, but Han Xiao hesitated. He decided against using them here, feeling it wasn’t worth it.

“This kind of thing is too hard to draw. I’ve already encountered two quests that aren’t too difficult. I’ll save the task settlement cards for future advancements and re-specializations.” Han Xiao thought.

[Well-Rounded] required no difficulty; he planned to upgrade his knowledge anyway. [Energy Overflow], though strict, was achievable with dedication. He had time to wait. Holding onto the two task settlement cards, he could use them when needed, rather than wasting them here.

He flipped through his attribute panel, noting only minor increases in attributes and potential points, no advancements or re-specializations.