The Legendary Mechanic

Following the development of the Star Field, more galactic residents had begun pouring into the Flickering World. The various industries had been rapidly improved, and a large number of planets were transformed into transit stations or tourist destinations.

As the entrance of the territory of the Black Star Army and the gateway toward one of the top ten stargate traffic routes in the Flickering World, Planet Black Gate had an amazing number of daily visitors. Numerous entertainment facilities had been built on the planet's surface, confusing day and night and causing the place to be constantly noisy. Every moment was extraordinary, as one could see visitors from all Star Fields and races present.

Murica Street was a famed entertainment street, with casinos, pubs, shops, and departmental stores present. The area was full of feasting and pleasure seeking, with people constantly coming and going without rest.

"It's been a while since I last came here, and it's getting more and more prosperous."

Maple Moon dragged Frenzied Sword along as they walked through the bustling street, looking curiously around at the strange passersby.

Seeing their emblems, showing them to be high-ranking warriors from the Black Star Army, everyone showed varying degrees of awe in their eyes, giving way to them. On the bustling street, there seemed to be an invisible wall around them.

"Stop browsing. We're here to submit our mission." Frenzied Sword could only speak helplessly.

At this moment, the giant screen on the wall of a building in the distance lit up, showing a news screen.

"Now, we'll broadcast an urgent piece of news. The Federation of Light, the Crimson Dynasty, and the Arcane Church are jointly issuing an announcement to report on the progress of the Intelligent Plague to the entire universe…"

Hearing the first official news about the Ancient Star Desert in days, the pedestrians on the street stopped suddenly, as though someone had pressed a 'freeze' button. They all looked up at the screen and stopped to watch.

Frenzied Sword and Maple Moon both stopped as well, curiously looking at the screen.

They saw the scene of a diplomatic press conference on the giant screen. The spokespersons of the three Universal Civilizations all stood side by side and read out the announcement.

"The Intelligent Plague has troubled us for several months. We contained the disaster within the Ancient Star Desert and carried out a special disaster relief operation. Because this matter concerned the security of the entire universe, it attracted great attention from all walks of life. Thus, we're hereby making a special report today to announce the progress of our tripartite governance of the Intelligent Plague."

"The Virtual Mutiny Virus is a highly dangerous information data virus that can rewrite the underlying logic of any artificial intelligence, turning machinery into an exterminating organism. The virus has an amazing permeability, spread, and threat, and it is an information warfare weapon that has been lost in time. We thought that the threat came from the virus itself, but it was only recently discovered that the virus core was the true threat…"

The representatives described the mechanisms of the virus core, highlighting the danger of its self-evolution adaptability, using exaggerated words to describe the consequences of the disasters.

Hearing this, the people listening on the streets shuddered involuntarily.

Because of the news blockade, the galactic residents had little understanding of the Virtual Mutiny Virus. Now that they understood the real horror behind the virus, they could not help feeling a panic in their hearts, frightened by the lethality of the virus.

At this moment, the spokesperson changed the conversation, saying, "If Black Star had not discovered the threat of the virus core, we would still be in the dark. According to our artificial intelligence's simulation, the anti-virus plan we made without the knowledge of the virus core would have had a success rate of no more than 0.1%. It is very likely that the virus would have leaked out in the end, leading to disasters sweeping across the entire universe. Countless creatures would have died in the disaster, and the interstellar era would have regressed catastrophically.

"This discovery by Black Star allowed us to avoid this result, so his merits are huge, as he has indirectly saved countless people."

Many of them breathed out a sigh of relief, still feeling the jitters at the thought of their escape from disaster, and thanked Black Star for changing their fates.

The representative then continued. "Because of Black Star's intelligence, we planned an operation, and the entire Star Field was disconnected from the network to chase down the core of the virus. Everything was going well. However, when the virus core was captured, some twists and turns occurred…"

"The virus core was captured by the Mechanic Emperor Manison, but he refused to turn it in regardless of the safety of the universe, in an attempt to reverse-engineer the complete technology. In order to maintain the peace of the universe, Black Star seized the virus core, destroying it and completely eliminating this technology. He eliminated the possibility of a re-emergence of this Virtual Mutiny Virus so that the whole universe would always be out of the shadow of this disaster.

"But the Mechanic Emperor was unwilling to fail like this. Thus, he attacked Black Star, and the two of them fought to a tie. He was finally driven back by Black Star."

Frenzied Sword and Maple Moon could hear the commotion of the people around them on the street.

This speech first raised the issue of the operation, triggering the anxiety of the population, then made a comparison between both the Mechanic Emperor and Black Star, distinguishing between them. It deliberately promoted Han Xiao's actions protecting the galactic residents, implanting an image of Black Star with boundless love for the residents, making the galactic residents thank him for his contribution.

In contrast, the Mechanic Emperor was portrayed as a selfish careerist who disregarded the overall situation. Because he ignored the interests of the galactic residents, he was regarded as a villain, and his image discredited.

The representative summarized the entire happenings at the end.

"Today, the management of the Intelligent Plague is now in its final stages. The disaster is under control, and the virus will be completely eliminated in the next few days. The blockade surrounding the Ancient Star Desert will be lifted. In this incident, the merits that Black Star has rendered are irreplaceable, and thus, the three Universal Civilizations have decided to jointly award the title of Special Safety Consultant for the three Universal Civilizations to Black Star as a reward."

Special Security Consultant to the three Universal Civilizations?

Frenzied Sword and Maple Moon looked at each other, surprised.

Didn't the federation and the church have something against our Black Star Army? They've now turned their status as enemies into friends. Were they 'taken down' by the Army Commander?

Then, won't we have two more strong and sturdy thighs to hug?

The news ended, but the enthusiasm of the people had just been aroused. They fervently discussed the topic, creating a buzzing in the streets.

"Thanks God for His Excellency Black Star. He's really a great person."

"Among all of the Beyond Grade As, only Black Star is working for the welfare of our ordinary people. Just like the previous Holy Light Emissary cultivation plan, he's given us ordinary people a chance, an opportunity to turn someone into a Super. Now he is determined to destroy this virus technology because of our safety. For this reason, he even went to war with the Mechanic Emperor. If I were a woman, I'd definitely fall in love with him."

"Sigh, I never expected the Mechanic Emperor Manison to be that sort of person. To think I used to worship him."

"For such a great merit, no wonder the three Universal Civilizations invited Black Star to be a Special Security Consultant. It seems like no one has ever been awarded such an honor, right?"

"Frankly speaking, other than Black Star, I cannot think of anyone who would be more qualified for this position."

At this moment, from the opposite street came out a wave of cheers. Someone ran over and exclaimed, "Hurry, there are a few wealthy merchants who've bought the entire bar's stock. They said that they were thankful for Black Star's accomplishments and are offering free drinks to everyone!"

Hearing this, the people on the street swarmed over, and when they passed Frenzied Sword and Maple Moon, they no longer avoided them. Rather, they enthusiastically greeted them, using all kinds of weird etiquette to show respect to the people of the Black Star Army.

Feeling the warm atmosphere, Frenzied Sword and Maple Moon felt a sense of pride flowing in their hearts. They strongly felt the sense of camp identity.

The two of them hurriedly went to the forums, and the forums had already exploded as the news swept across the board.

Their Army Commander had only disappeared for a few months, but he immediately made such big news as soon as he appeared. The three Universal Civilizations exaggerated the whole thing, making it seem as though Black Star was their savior, leaving the players extremely excited.

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Glorious Tomahawk: Damn, so we were in the frontal camp?

Cloud Dragon Li: Second Battalion Commander, take out my spaghetti to let Black Star try!

Intelligent Cold Monarch: Be reasonable, this time, the Army Commander can be described as… handsome!

Gallery Sister: Black Star is still Black Star. He never lets us down!

Fawkes: Where's 'Galaxy Times'? Come out to get beaten up. You said that it's gonna be a mission, so why did it become a cutscene instead?

Daydreamer: Am I the only one that cares about how the Army Commander and the Mechanic Emperor tied?

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Throughout the posts on the screen, there was basically a wave of praise. Some of the older players gave the newbies a run down on the deeds that Black Star had done, such as solving the Mutation Disaster, destroying the DarkStar organization, and so on.

Even after several versions, Han Xiao's image in the eyes of the players was still magnificent, and this time, his merits once again raised the players' perception of him, giving birth to a consensus.

Black Star is really a noble man!

In addition to faction interests, if the leader of a faction had a charming personality, the players would also have a sense of identity.

…

As soon as the public announcement was released, everyone that was concerned about the progress of the Intelligent Plague was relieved.

This achievement allowed Han Xiao's reputation to rise to the top for a while, whereas Manison's reputation was struck down by the deliberate suppression.

At the same time, Han Xiao's fleet had just passed through the dynasty's military stargate, leaving the Ancient Star Desert. He also saw the official announcement of the three Universal Civilizations.

"Tsk, the three Universal Civilizations' representatives are really skilled in the act of raising one while kicking down another."

Han Xiao read the news happily. He just loved it when people praised him.

At that moment, he suddenly had a thought and opened his interface to take a look.

With the three Universal Civilizations basically completing the elimination of the first-generation Virtual Mutiny Virus, only an unsuspecting ending was left. Thus, when the announcement was made, the Intelligent Plague mission finally changed to 'Completed'.

The mission can finally be turned in.

Han Xiao turned his head to look at Harrison, whom he had brought onto the spaceship, rubbing him before choosing to accept the mission completion reward.

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S-Ranked Mission: Intelligent Plague has been completed!

Mission Rating: S+ (Perfect)

You have obtained 300 billion experience, x8 Random Rewards, +35,000 Crimson Dynasty Contribution Points, +15,000 Federation of Light Contribution Points, and +15,000 Arcane Church Contribution Points.

You have gained x2 Political Assets (The Crimson Dynasty), x1 Political Asset (Federation of Light), and x1 Political Asset (Arcane Church).

You have obtained x4 Legendary Points.

Star Field Legendary Point (Ancient Star Desert): [Black Market's Giant Croc] - Through various means and methods, you temporarily unified the black market organizations of the Ancient Star Desert, leaving behind a frightening legend.

Universe Legendary Point: [Intelligent Plague's Curer] - The Intelligent Plague is a universe level disaster on the level of complete annihilation. You accepted the invites from the three Universal Civilizations to treat the disaster and finally made a unique contribution to successfully solve the disaster. The whole universe will remember your achievements and contributions!

Universe Legendary Point: [Galaxy's Guardian] - You had to choose between selfish desires or righteousness. For choosing the latter, your choice has maintained the peace of the universe and affected the evolution of the entire universe. Perhaps this is a turning point in your destiny. You are always watching and guarding Galaxy, and the people all know it.

Universe Legendary Point: [Special Security Consultant for the Three Universal Civilizations] - You have been invited to become a special consultant for the three Universal Civilizations. This is unprecedented, and no matter how the situation evolves, you will leave behind a rich and colorful stroke in history.

Dungeon Copy Created: Intelligent Plague (Simulated Disaster)

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Han Xiao nodded.

The rewards up to this point were still within his calculations.

After all, this was an S-level mission, and he had even achieved a perfect evaluation. The rewards were bound to be huge.

It was just that Han Xiao got stunned the moment he continued reading.

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Given that your mission rating has achieved S, you have received extra reward

You have received a new skill: Blueprint - Domino Virus (Damaged)!

You have completed the special mission requirement: Personally destroying the virus core

Generating a related specialty… generation complete.

You have received a new talent, [Virtual Purification—Restore]!

_____________________

"What‽"

Han Xiao's eyes widened, staring blankly at the reward of [Blueprint: Domino Virus (Damaged)].

This was not an extra reward for the completion of the special mission requirements but a normal reward obtained when the S ranked mission reached the highest rating. This meant that only those who had made great contributions in disaster relief could obtain this reward.

After toiling so hard to resolve the intelligent plague, the mission actually gave me a damaged blueprint of the virus technology, allowing me to recreate it…

He suddenly felt a great wave of irony.

I didn't expect that, after so many twists and turns, this virus technology was actually not destroyed and has landed in my hands… even though it's a damaged remnant.

Looking at the content of this blueprint, Han Xiao's expression was conflicted. He did not know if he should be happy.