The Legendary Mechanic

As the closing ceremony ended, spaceships took off one after another, sending the audience away.

Han Xiao told Sylvia to take care of the guests who had come to show their support in his place, while he led the various officers and Black Star Guards to the main ship in orbit. All the players who had caused trouble were temporarily locked up there, waiting to be dealt with.

Swoosh!

The cabin opened. Han Xiao and the officers swarmed in and immediately saw the intense situation inside. The players locked there were separated clearly into two groups—the majority of the players led by Fly Free surrounded the spies led by Winter Wolf.

Herlous stepped forward and demanded, "What's going on?"

The guard quickly approached and replied, "Your Excellency, they have been arguing for a while now. It seems like they're having an internal conflict."

"An internal conflict between a group of rebels?" A Black Star Guards snickered.

Although Fly Free gave a great speech during the ceremony and expressed that they did what they did for the sake of the army, most of the army officers did not buy it at all. They felt that this was just an excuse for their mutiny. Attacking the army commander in public and attempting to disrupt the ceremony did not look like things someone would do for the sake of the army at all. The army officers did not know the details like Han Xiao, so they would not be easily convinced.

Han Xiao knew what was going on, but he did not explain it. He walked to the players, did not speak, and just looked at them with an expressionless face.

Seeing that Han Xiao had arrived, the two groups stopped arguing and looked at him.

After seeing Han Xiao's reaction and listening to the Beyond Grade As' explanation, the 'loyal' players led by Fly Free were starting to feel shaken, doubting their speculation, but they had yet to fully change their minds. They still felt that this might be a show the 'army commander' had put on to prove his fake identity was real.

Therefore, many people quietly started video recording at this moment, capturing his expressions and actions while they were in private. If he acted completely different from before, something was definitely wrong, and they would upload the video to the forums to once again warn the other army players. They had yet to give up exposing the 'Mechanic Emperor'.

Fly Free stepped up and said with a fearless tone, "What do you plan to do with us?"

"No hurry, I want to hear your explanations again," Han Xiao said casually with a normal tone.

"What else is there to say? We've already expressed our intentions very clearly," Fly Free yelled.

Without any changes in his expression, Han Xiao calmly said, "Even if this was a misunderstanding, your actions will still be punished. Have you thought of the consequences of all this?"

"Of course."

"Even so, you still decided to take the risk for me?"

"It's for Black Star. As for whether you're really him, we still don't know yet." Fly Free crossed his arms.

"Then how do you explain attacking the audience? Was that for the army commander too?" Hadavy said coldly.

Fly Free's expression turned stiff and then to rage. He turned and stared at Winter Wolf and the others angrily. "Our plan was only to expose the imposter. We're not the ones who attacked the audience. These people are not with us!"

Winter Wolf looked shocked. "What are you talking about? Isn't this a secret mission you gave us? Now you're trying to deny all of that?"

"Still bullsh*tting!" Fly Free was furious. "I did not plan this at all. Why did you guys do it‽"

"Tsk, you totally asked us to do it, and now you're throwing us away after using us?"

Winter Wolf did this on purpose to make the Black Star Army think they were together. This way, they could transfer the blame for attacking the audience to Fly Free and the others, and the Black Star Army's trust in the Immortals would be reduced.

The two groups of players started arguing again. These guild spies had made agreements before; they all insisted they were on the same side. The 'loyal' players felt that their motive was repugnant and were furious. Elegant and kind greetings of each others' parents and ancestors kept coming out of their months. If not because of the Restrainers, this would have turned into a brawl.

Seeing this, many army officers curled their lips and looked unconcerned. They felt that this was just a show the Immortals had prepared in an attempt to prove they were innocent.

Hila turned to Han Xiao and softly said, "Black Star, more and more Immortals have joined the army. I think it's time to tighten our control over them, to prevent things like this from happening again."

Someone added from the side, "That's right. We've been too lenient with the Immortals.

Hearing the army officers' discussion, the joy of his plan working flashed through Winter Wolf's eyes.

However, at this time, he suddenly saw Han Xiao looking over with a faint smile.

"You're the leader of these people, right?"

"Me?" Winter Wolf was shocked inside but acted confused.

Han Xiao snapped his fingers. The Restrainers surrounded the hundreds of players who attempted to attack the audience, leaving the rest of the players alone.

"I have video recordings of everyone who attempted to attack the guests. I won't accuse anyone unjustly," Han Xiao said slowly. "As punishment, you will be locked inside Spacetime Amber, and you basically shouldn't think about ever coming out again."

"Unfair!" Winter Wolf yelled and looked at the others. "We're with them! Why are you only catching us‽"

"Bullsh*t!" Fly Free and the others were furious.

"Stop arguing, I knew about what was going on long ago." Han Xiao waved. His expression suddenly became serious as he said, "While you guys were plotting, someone told me about it. I could have actually stopped you guys long ago, but I let you act during the closing ceremony. Do you know why?"

"You knew long ago?"

The people's expression changed. They then thought about it for a moment and realized that there was nothing strange about that. Having traitors among them was totally normal.

However, Black Star not stopping them in advance was something they did not understand, so they were curious about it.

"I briefly know your motive, and I don't really believe you guys would start a mutiny." Han Xiao stopped into the crowd. He patted some people on the shoulder and dragged Frenzied Sword and Maple Moon out from the crowd. He smiled and said, "You're all pillars of the army from the earliest days, and I remember all of you, especially you two. We've known each other for decades. Although we haven't interacted much recently, I'd never doubt you guys."

The people were stunned and greatly surprised. They did not expect Black Star to say something like this, not to mention remembering them.

In this instant, many people felt very touched.

Especially Frenzied Sword and Maple Moon, the two of them were stunned for a few seconds and suddenly looked extremely excited. They were so touched that they were almost ready to sacrifice their lives for Han Xiao right in this moment to show their loyalty and appreciation.

Franky, Han Xiao was quite touched to see these two participate in this little incident too. The two of them were professional players now, yet they took such a big risk to take part in this. They must have deep emotions for him…

Looking at everyone's excited expression, Han Xiao smiled. Then, he turned to Winter Wolf and the others, and his expression instantly turned cold and fierce.

"Ever since the army's expansion, I've known of spies of other organizations managing to infiltrate the army. The reason I didn't stop you was that I was hoping to lure out these spies of the army using this opportunity, and it looks like that worked. I can clearly differentiate the army's pillars from the spies, so don't try to fool me."

Hearing this, Winter Wolf opened his mouth wide with disbelief all over his stiffened face.

Oh my god. Even this got seen through? Are NPCs this difficult to fool‽

They were already mentally prepared to have their accounts permanently 'banned' when they acted. Since they were all employees who received salaries from the various professional guilds, they did not care that much about their accounts. However, now that their plan had been seen right through, it would mean that their sacrifice was completely meaningless, and the plan had failed miserably, which would be a huge loss.

Not wanting to listen to any more words from those spies, Han Xiao took out the Spacetime Amber and sealed the hundreds of them one after another, turning them into more samples. Even if they logged off, their bodies would remain inside.

Looking at this, Fly Free and the others were both touched and excited.

Han Xiao did not explain too much, but him taking out the Spacetime Amber and acting in this way immediately changed Fly Free and the others' minds. They were now basically certain he was the real Black Star.

Possessing Han Xiao's Universal Treasure was one reason, but it was more because Han Xiao had washed away the crime they were framed with committing, and he did not blame them for it. They were very appreciative of that and felt a sense of satisfaction.

"As for you people…" Han Xiao turned around and briefly smiled. "Though I do believe you, rules are rules. Your actions have caused trouble, so there must be punishments. The punishment shall be… you guys have to carry out some missions to make up for what you did, and you will not be able to enjoy the army discounts for three months. What do you say?"

"We deserve it. I have no objections." Fly Free waved his hand.

The rest also agreed. Although they were punished, they felt good about it.

Compared to what had happened to Winter Wolf and the others, this punishment was nothing. The contrast was too strong.

Han Xiao waved and ordered the Restrainers to back off, letting the players leave.

After the players left, Herlous said, "Black Star, is that it?"

"Didn't I punish them?" Han Xiao raised his brows.

"What kind of punishment was that? It's basically the same as nothing. When the others see that the punishment is so light, won't they keep attempting to do the same thing?"

"Don't worry, I know what to do."

Han Xiao waved and smiled in his head.

He knew that these players were definitely recording, and they would certainly upload the video to the forums. His actions earlier would not only make the players admire his judgment but also make the faction's sense of recognition go through the roof. It was the exact way of gaining people's hearts.

The method of dealing with Winter Wolf and the other spies was a warning. He was expressing that he could differentiate between friends and foes. With friends, he could be lenient, but if anyone attempted to harm the army, he would be merciless and give them a free lifelong ride inside the Spacetime Amber.

"As long as you have a plan." Hila nodded.

She extremely rarely doubted Han Xiao. Since Han Xiao had made his decision, she did not express any more doubts and deactivated the remote projection after bidding Han Xiao farewell.

Everyone left one after another. Han Xiao looked at the hundreds of amber samples in the place and pondered.

Winter Wolf, I have an impression of this guy. He seems to be a pillar of the Northern Battlefront… Looks like these guild alliances will still appear. The national war is probably about to begin.

In his previous life, a large-scale national war erupted in Version 4.0. It was also called the First World Server War.

It was called the national war, but it was not purely based on nations as factions. As the method of playing Version 4.0 mainly revolved around the players grouping up, as the version developed, the players gathered in bigger and bigger groups. In the end, some professional guilds and non-professional guilds created large guild alliances to form official organizations.

For example, there were ones consisting of mainly Europeans such as Northern Battlefront, Denland, and September Conference; some consisting of mainly North and South Americans such as Galactic Business Alliance, 5C Alliance, and Plateaus Eagle; and the Asian ones such as Southeast Asia War Alliance, Golden Alliance, and Northern Tropic of Cancer Light.

These alliances were not just grouped in nations. The different guilds of one nation might belong to different alliances. Other than the guilds, the casual players would also join different alliances based on their likings.

In Han Xiao's previous life, the army did not exist. The World Server War was not only targeted at one nation but at each other. However, as the Black Star Army was way too strong this time, they became the common target.

Part of what triggered the national war was that the factions were developing. The factions the players of various nations belonged to started to grow into more advanced factions. For example, the conflict between the three Universal Civilizations and the Super Star Cluster Civilizations in the Flickering World became one of the fuses of the national war.

The root of conflict between the three Universal Civilizations and the Super Star Cluster Alliance was territory distribution, and the intensity of the conflict gradually escalated. The conflict did not start with direct confrontation between their direct armies; the agent war was also a very important part of it. The Immortals were one of the agents. They fought nonstop in the free competition zone.

"The national war is a great opportunity to harvest leeks. However, because of the army, it's definitely going to be very different. I wonder what it will be like…" Han Xiao caressed his chin.

At the same time, Fly Free and the others who had left the cabin quickly uploaded the recording to the forums with excitement.