The Legendary Mechanic

Everyone had their own way of survival, and in the eyes of the top organizations, Sorokin was a miraculous existence.

He was obviously hired by the federation, the church, and the Galactic Black Market, yet he could slowly penetrate and become the middleman of all these influential organizations.

Under his manipulation, Gorutan's testing of Hila quickly spread to the federation and the church, immediately attracting the attention of the upper echelons, who convened their allies for an urgent meeting.

The main base of the Arcane Church was located in another Star Cluster within the free competition zone. At this time, the projections of the majority of Beyond Grade As affiliated with the church were gathered, and there were also several important bishops and officials present.

After circulating the intelligence on Hila, everyone had a noticeable change in their expression as they read it.

Tolaen jumped up, his face pale. "Hila's Esper Ability can reduce the lifespan of Beyond Grade As‽"

He was not a Pugilist, so he did not have the ability to look into the microscopic changes in his cellular activity. Before this meeting, he did not know what had happened to him!

Not only did he lose in a fight with Hila, he even lost God knew how many years from his life. This was such a huge loss for him!

Tolaen felt intense regret. How could he have been so unlucky as to meet such an opponent?

Even fighting would reduce his lifespan, so who would want to do that? Even the craziest person would think twice! If he had known, he would not have agreed to the duel. No, if he had known, he would not even have sought Dragon Emperor Ames out!

I'm going into closed door cultivation…

Everyone shot him a pitiful glance, which lasted for about three seconds, then they no longer bothered with him, instead beginning their discussion.

"I didn't expect this new Beyond Grade A to have such a strange Esper Ability. This resembles the Power of Death on the list of Super High Risk Esper Abilities." Sun Hunter was sat at the table. "I remember this being the ability of one of the Primordial Ones, but now it has resurfaced once more."

"That's right. I also remember the file. What was their name again…"

Kasuyi cut in. "Nerkese, the Controller of Death. She had an elder sister who was dubbed Mother of All Things, and she could spread her life force to any living organism."

"Right, right, it's those two! They were pretty famous among the Primordial Ones, being born from different civilizations. While they had no blood ties with each other, they happened to meet by fate within the vast and endless universe. Their Esper Abilities, which were completely in line with each other, allowed them to become sisters even without a blood tie… Ah! What an artistic legend, totally revealing the atmosphere of the exploration era, perfect," one of the Beyond Grade As exclaimed emotionally.

His name was Lawrence, and he had a subclass of an artist. He was always dressed flamboyantly, full of 'impact' to one's eyes.

"Eh? They weren't blood sisters?" One of them scratched his head.

"That's not true. After so many years, the legends have long been distorted. Those that are kept in our base are the truth," one of the senior officials commented. "Your Excellencies, can we return to the topic of Hila now?"

'Child of Light' Sagman nodded. "The Power of Death is a Super High Risk Esper Ability that can easily reap lives. If we sit and watch Hila mature, once she loses control like Thousand Shadows one day, that will be the disaster for the entire universe."

"This is secondary. The greatest problem is… she's under the Black Star Army, which is our enemy." 'Sea Spirit' Dylan gritted his teeth.

"Such an ability is dangerous. If not handled well, when Hila matures, we'll have to worry about such things when we deal with the Black Star Army," 'World Gate' Taylor added.

They were all participants of the Planet Lighthouse battle and had suffered a loss to Han Xiao. They had the strongest hostility toward the Black Star Army and always wanted to give him a slap back.

Psyker thought for a while before nodding. "That's right. To us Beyond Grade As, a decrease in lifespan is too scary."

Sun Hunter threw him a sideward glance. "I don't think you need to worry about this problem."

"Eh?" Psyker jerked back. "What do you mean?"

"Based on the strength that Hila showed when fighting against Gorutan, if you were pitted against her, you would probably be beaten to death immediately. Thus, a reduction in your lifespan should not matter to you."

"…"

Psyker thoroughly felt the evil of this world in this very moment and turned his head to follow Tolaen, going into closed door cultivation.

"Stop fooling around," Kasuyi blandly said. He turned toward the officials. "How do the upper echelons of the church view this matter?"

The few officials exchanged a glance before one of them solemnly said, "They hope for you to persuade Hila to join us, to become our ally. If it doesn't work, eliminate her."

Everyone's eyes flashed. They thoroughly understood why the Arcane Church would think this way.

In addition to the threat she posed, her very presence in another faction would also affect the recruitment of Beyond Grade As, as newly born Beyond Grade As would choose to join the faction that she was in so as not to face her.

While Hila belonged to the Black Star Army, she had yet to officially join any advanced civilizations, so the Arcane Church naturally hoped to obtain her allegiance and grasp this lethal weapon. This was something Gorutan did not think about. Only when it was impossible for them to obtain her would they choose to destroy her.

The Beyond Grade As even thought another layer deeper.

If Hila's skill only affected Beyond Grade As due to their long lifespans, would that mean that the Arcane Church planned to use her to act as a deterrent for all the Beyond Grade As present?

If this was in ordinary times, no one would have this thought, but everyone present had coincidentally attended Han Xiao's Meeting of the Gods and had been instilled with the same ideology by Manison, the idea that all Beyond Grade As were standing on the same front line. Thus, everyone could not help but think deeper.

The entire place fell silent as many of them struggled with their internal thoughts.

Kasuyi's expression remained unchanged, however. He glanced around before saying, "I feel that we can put the plan of pulling Hila over into action immediately, but as for elimination, we must think twice. While we're all in the Flickering World, and gathering is convenient, our every movement is more likely to be watched. Killing Hila will also provoke Black Star, so it's better to wait and see what the Federation of Light does. After all, they received the same intelligence as us."

"I understand." One of the officials nodded. "We have yet to be repaid for the loss of Ninjia, so we do not wish to work with the Federation for now. It's indeed better to wait and see. However, when we decide to move, I hope everyone will readily participate."

"No problem!" Other than Psyker, the rest of the participants of the Planet Lighthouse battle expressed their fervent attitudes.

Kasuyi did not speak, his eyes flickering with an unknown light.

…

On the other side, the Federation of Light had also convened a meeting, but the topic was vastly different from that of the Arcane Church.

"Hila's ability is indeed dangerous, no doubt, but dealing with her will incite the wrath of the Black Star Army, and that is not worth it," Hades replied.

One of the elders frowned. "But in the long run, Hila is obviously more threatening. Incurring the wrath of the Black Star Army is worth it."

"Are you sure?" Hades shot back. "Have you forgotten about the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter?"

Once these words were spoken, everyone in the Federation of Light jumped before falling into deep thought.

"The Ten Thousand Deity Scepter possesses a similar level of threat. In fact, it even has a higher priority level than Hila. This might be an opportunity for us to reach a deal with Black Star to unlock the Spacetime Amber seal for us. It will be profitable for both parties," Hades said bluntly.

At this moment, Manison dryly added, "That's right. I feel that we need to consider Black Star's attitude. The Ten Thousand Deity Scepter is more important for now."

Everyone turned to look at him, some with surprised expressions, while others seemed to know his underlying meaning.

Many of the Beyond Grade As knew that Manison had expressed his intention based on the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter, but in actual fact, a great part was due to the impact of the Meeting of the Gods.

Manison was the main proposer of all the Beyond Grade As sharing the same battlefront, and he also valued Han Xiao's influence within the Flickering World. He hoped that Han Xiao could build an interaction platform based around this shared battlefront, so he was unwilling to antagonize him.

Speaking of which, if not for Han Xiao organizing the Meeting of the Gods and having spoken about the shared circumstances of the Beyond Grade A, the Beyond Grade As would probably not have had many reservations about dealing with Hila. Could this have been within his plans as well‽

After considering the matter, the Chief Elder replied after a pause, "Indeed, if we're able to undo the seal on the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter, then the problem of Hila can temporarily be placed aside, but our chances of success are close to nil."

He paused and slowly added, "The Arcane Church will definitely take action, trying to poach or eliminate her, and we can warn Black Star of this, but this isn't great leverage. Behind Black Star is the dynasty, and they do not require our help in terms of combat strength. Furthermore, being an ally of the dynasty, he will definitely have his worries that if the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter is unsealed, we can use it against him. Under all these circumstances, there is no way he will agree to deal with us."

Hearing this, everyone nodded. From the perspective of Black Star, he would not possibly agree to this. The main point was that the federation's leverage was not enough to move him.

In fact, the federation had always wanted a good relationship with Han Xiao, so as to be able to unlock the seal on the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter, something they currently could only see but not touch.

However, the Evolutionary Totem was a strategic asset related to the future of their civilization, and it was countless times more important than the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter. Thus, the federation could only temporarily suspend the matter of the scepter at that time, targeting the Crimson Dynasty and the Black Star Army.

However, Hila's problem now allowed the federation to see another chance at obtaining a deal with Black Star.

"We need more leverage." Hades' eyes flashed. "For example… Hila herself."

Everyone felt their hearts stir.

"You mean, we should capture Hila alive and use her to deal with Black Star, exchanging her for undoing the seal of the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter." The Chief Elder sighed before beginning to feel as though this was a headache inducing matter.

This plan would not require any killing, no incurring of Black Star's wrath, and it would even allow them to unseal the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter. The plan also seemed easy enough, a good idea.

If this plan succeeded, the federation would earn the most, being able to utilize the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter, giving the green hat to the Arcane Church.

Though, it was not their problem whether the Arcane Church profited or lost.

It's better to die without friends than to die poor!

To understand this concept, just look at Hades who suggested this idea.

Tsk, what a lowlife.

The Chief Elder coughed. "Since Hila's skills specifically deal with living life forms, the best class to take her down would be a Mechanic. Mechanic Emperor, would you…"

"I have no interest in bullying a new Beyond Grade A," Manison said.

As a Mechanic surrounded by plenty of armor, he was naturally unafraid of Hila's ability to deplete his life span, but he was not willing to bully a newcomer. This old man could not wait for more newcomers to appear, so why would he go and suppress them?

"Alright then, someone else go." The Chief Elder could only shake his head in resignation. They did not have the ability to force Manison.

One of the Beyond Grade As helplessly said, "To have so many people targeting a single person, the last person to have this treatment was probably EsGod."

"She can only blame her life for this."

…

The free competition zone was currently chaotic, and the movement of the local tyrants such as the Black Star Army were all closely monitored. Very quickly, news of the spat between Gorutan and the Black Star Army spread.

Planet Phiri, which was chosen by the Black Star Army, had been destroyed, and they could only choose a new stronghold, but Gorutan did not get off lightly either. He had lost quite a few subordinates, so they counted it as a tie.

Hila and Gorutan's battle was considered a normal result by all means. She would never have been the opponent of a pinnacle Beyond Grade A, but Gorutan suffering an injury was not something any newcomer could cause, so many organizations secretly raised the value of Hila's combat power in their files, thinking that she could very well be the strongest person among the recent newcomers.

As for Hila's ability, the intelligence was only circulated among the three universal civilizations and a few advanced civilizations. The rest of the world remained blissfully ignorant, unaware of the violent undercurrents.

After the fight between the Black Star Army and Gorutan, the rest of the foreign organizations that had conflicts no longer curbed themselves, all beginning to fight over the scarce resources.

This battle resulted in a rapid increase in armed conflicts, and the law and order crumbled like an avalanche. However, there were still many empty areas, and there was much room for exploration in this fourth exploration phase. Thus, the conflict was kept at a manageable state, far from the intensity in Han Xiao's previous life.

As for the guilds that had broken away from the army, they had also begun to exert their independence, joining in the competition as formal organizations!

…

Somewhere within the Emerald Star Cluster, a small fleet was slowly inching forward, its outer armor engraved with various emblems of organizations, with some of them being emblems of the guilds. After completing their registration through the army, they would be able to customize their own organization name and logo, and the guilds would naturally use their own emblems.

This fleet included the guilds from the well-known first tier clubs such as Long Sky, Rivervale and Thunder Storm, acting together.

In the version currently, the efficiency of making money for the players was much higher, and if they gritted their teeth to save money, buying an ordinary spaceship was not a problem. The first-tier guilds had even more funds, so even with the suicidal price of 130% of the market rate that Han Xiao gave, many of the players still managed to purchase small spaceships.

At this moment, the core members of the various guilds were gathered on the battleship of Long Sky for a meeting. Many of the Pro League players were present.

"We're not far from Planet Harker. Our estimated time of arrival is in half an hour. Let's go through our plans," the President of Sky Territory, the official guild of the Long Sky Club, Jade Green Sky said.

Twinkle Fried Rice recalled the memorandum and recited, "Planet Harker should have sufficient resources and is currently occupied by seven small organizations. There are three financial groups, two private armed forces, and two Star System level civilization gathering teams present. They are unable to drive each other out, so they can only try to snatch as much as they can. Our objective is to strike a deal with the financial group and establish a resource base on this planet, laying the foundation for construction."

"The most important thing now is how to negotiate with them," Sleepy Winter said.

"Leave that to me," Maple Moon replied. "I know what to say."

Everyone nodded, giving her a few words of encouragement.

With Han Xiao's secret hints and guidance, the players in the army were the first to understand that the focus of this version was to build up the reputation of their own organizations and interact with the NPC organizations.

After experiencing a few versions, the players were already aware that the actions of the NPCs were no different from real people. Every word and action would trigger a different reaction and response, and the freedom of this open world was off the charts. Thus, they had to use proper words on the negotiation table, and the higher one's charm value, the easier it would be to negotiate.

In the guilds, there would definitely be someone who was good at negotiating. As someone who loved games for the plot, Maple Moon was keen to interact with the NPCs.

The new style of the army had given them the status of a semi-independent unit, and coupled with such freedom, these guilds had begun to exert their initiative, proactively analyzing intelligence and looking for opportunities.

While it was safe to follow a large organization, their movements would be restricted, so players had the mentality that they would rather be leading a small group than be nobodies in a large force.

This was exactly the situation that Han Xiao wanted to see. He had released many incentives in the form of missions to encourage independent movement, trying to spread the army players to penetrate more sites. This would allow for an expansion of advantages and the tapping of new interests in different territories rather than sticking by him.

These guilds acted in concert with each other to increase their strength. Instead of following the majority, they chose to head to Planet Harker to compete against the smaller forces, precisely to maximize their own advantages.

At present, most of the players in the guilds were at Grade B, which could be regarded as the backbone of a fighting force. As a subsidiary organization under the Black Star Army, just their name had plenty of influence on the smaller organizations. Borrowing their backer's prestige, they could increase their leverage during negotiations.

After a while, the fleet began to decelerate, and Planet Harker drew closer. There was a scattered defense fleet suspended in outer space, belonging to various organizations.

Seeing the players' fleet, the defense force of Planet Harker activated a defensive position, initiating a communication application.

Frenzied Sword patted Maple Moon's shoulder and whispered, "They're all yours."

Maple Moon spat out a breath of air, blowing a raspberry as a form of warming up, eager to try it out.

"Relax, watch how I fool with them!"