The Legendary Mechanic

Han Xiao first returned to Floating Dragon to drop Ames and Aesop back. He then killed Albert and the others without hesitation. On the way to Floating Dragon, he had made a lot of Genetic Medicine from the six of them.

He was not planning to lock the six of them in the Galactic Pirates' Warm Little House because he did not want to take that risk. He was never soft-hearted toward enemies.

After killing the six of them, Han Xiao received a lot of Experience and a few Character Summon Cards.

Albert and the others were very calm toward death; only Eliot was panicking and furious. Nonetheless, none of them revealed the true identity of the mastermind till the end. This did not affect Han Xiao in his decision to kill them, but he was surprised by their loyalty.

Someone that could make a Grade A+ this sincere was definitely terrifying. That someone being a Beyond Grade A was the only possibility. No matter which member of The Ancient Ones the mastermind was, it was not someone he could deal with.

He would definitely become that person's enemy now that he had killed that person's subordinates. Han Xiao had no other choice. The enemy had targeted him, and he could not have not resisted. Thus, it was unavoidable.

The third round of [Prey] had yet to appear. He had no idea how strong the next attack would be. The only good news was that at least Beyond Grade As would not casually go to another Star Field, which meant that he would not have to fight a Beyond Grade A. Nonetheless, he still felt immense pressure.

For that, Aesop personally did a one-time 'fortune-telling' on him. He roughly foresaw that this issue regarding the hunters had come to an end for the moment, and that nothing would happen any time soon. This made Han Xiao feel relieved.

Star Fields were separated by very wide desolate regions. Whether it was traveling across Star Fields or getting information across, they were not easy things to do. Now that Albert and the others had died, the enemy would not be able to get to him shortly.

Han Xiao's position in Floating Dragon had been rising. He was Ames' best assistant, and Aesop had high hopes for him. On the way to Floating Dragon, he told him quite a lot of secrets about The Ancient Ones and helped Han Xiao guess who the mastermind was.

The Ancient Ones were not united; every member had their ambitions. The reason they had formed an organization was to fuse the members' influence into one and obtain a superior position in the universe, benefiting all the members. They rarely did anything using The Ancient Ones' name.

Aesop felt that the master of Albert and the others was just one member of The Ancient Ones. At least that was much better than the entire The Ancient Ones.

After killing Albert and the others, the matter had come to an end. Han Xiao took Lagi back to the Base No.1 in the Garton Star System.

Lagi was the only Grade A officer in the Black Star Army. Han Xiao introduced him to the other officers and let everyone know that there was a newcomer. Lagi had just escaped from imprisonment and was still rather isolated. He did not communicate with the others and went to familiarize himself with the environment. Han Xiao did not give Lagi any jobs yet.

With his Grade A strength, he was more than qualified to be the deputy captain. However, Lagi had just joined, and Han Xiao felt that he needed to know more about him more before giving him any important positions.

The secret war between Klent and Purple Crystal would not start any time soon, so Han Xiao could not increase his relationship with Purple Crystal even if he wanted to. There was nothing urgent to do, so he was quite free.

During the time he went out to look for trouble, there happened to be one huge matter that had attracted the attention of the players.

Pro League Season Two was about to start!

Some players uploaded the video of a scrimmage between tens of Calamity Grades, showcasing the Black Star Networking Group's ability. Bun-Hit-Dog's new video also mentioned information about the next version, which was related to the Crimson Dynasty as Han Xiao had said. These posts all got Han Xiao some attention. However, compared to the popularity of the Pro League, everything else was pushed side. Even he could not compete with the Pro League for popularity.

It was already the late stage of Version 2.0. Galaxy's players had been steadily increasing through the version. Although it had not reached the explosive increase stage, there were already many players.

The first season was quite successful. There were now many people paying attention to the second season. Galaxy Times had been talking about the Pro League for a few consecutive episodes, heating things up.

Han Xiao returned to his room, took out a bottle of 'Handsome and Happy' water and gulped it down. He then opened the latest Galaxy Times episode. This was the last episode before the start of the Pro League. It was their last effort to add more wood to the flames of this huge event.

The two hosts showed off their ability to make cold jokes before talking about the main focus of the episode, emphasizing on the rules of the second season of the Pro League.

Version 2.0 added a few novice planets. However, most players had already left their novice planets and entered space. Hence, the divisions were adjusted and were no longer based on novice planets. The divisions were now based on Star Fields that had novice planets in them. As some novice planets were in the same Star Field, they were combined into the same division.

There had been thirteen divisions in the previous season, but now there were nine. This meant that the teams of some countries would meet before the main event. Strong teams would face off against each other to qualify for the next stage. Even though more teams were allowed to advance this season, the competition would still be more intense.

The locations for the divisions were no longer on novice planets but a few nearby unpopulated planets in every division. The entire planet would be the venue. As the players had already entered the galaxy, they would definitely be able to come to the venue.

The format did not change much; it was still Singles and Groups.

There had only been three types of battles in the previous season—Duel, Groups, and Singles. One more was added this season—Survival. As the name suggested, it was about surviving. This would appear both in the point-based Division Regulars and the International Regulars. There would also be two types of Survival matches, one for teams and one for single players.

According to the Galaxy Times's introduction, the Team Survival was a battle between four teams. The only winner would be awarded a lot of points, the second and third would be awarded a certain number of points, and the last would not get any points. The Singles Survival would be a brawl between sixteen Singles players.

As for the schedule, the first stage was still the Division Qualifiers and Division Secondary League. All players would be able to register for the Division Qualifiers. The Division Secondary League was a jumping board for the second-tier teams of some clubs. The top forty teams and sixty-four Singles players would enter the Pre Season to warm up, followed by the Divisions Regulars.

The Divisions Regulars was point-based. The top eight teams and sixteen players would enter the Division Finals. After the Divisions Regulars, the ones at the top of the scoreboard would take part in the entertainment-oriented International All-Stars.

The Divisions Finals used the best of five format to determine first place and the runner up. As there were fewer divisions this season, the top four teams and eight Singles players would all be able to enter the International Regulars.

This time, the gap between the Internationals and the Divisions was hugely reduced; the schedule would be much tighter than the previous season.

The Internationals was also point-based. The most elite players from the various divisions would fight to determine the top eight teams and sixteen Singles players who would enter the International Finals, where the world champions would be determined.

Han Xiao looked at the forums' videos and nodded in approval.

The format was the same as in his previous life; the difference was the people taking part in it.

The show then heavily focused on introducing players with potential in China. When the time for the interviews came, the captains of the four biggest clubs in China were invited. Frenzied Sword, who had finished among the top in the International Singles in the previous season, was also invited.

The two hosts asked them a few questions and chatted. The atmosphere was light and relaxed.

For the last question, the two hosts asked every team about their goal this season and what they expected. The answers these people gave made the Chinese viewers feel excited.

Dynasty's King Admiral smiled lazily and said, "Dynasty only has one target this season, to win every single battle. We're going to be the Division champion and the world champion!"

Temple of God's Li Ge sounded very formal. "We will do our best to win every match and make use of all our strength. We hope to achieve enough in the Internationals to not disappoint the supporters of Temple of God."

Fried Eggplants with Fish's Sun Eggplant said with an expressionless face, "In the last season, we regrettably could not qualify for the Internationals. This season, we're going to fight to become the last winner."

Long Sky's Hao Tian sat up straight and said with a very serious tone, "Our only target is the world champion!"

The four biggest clubs all confidently announced that they were going for the championship; this made the Chinese players all very excited.

In the last season, Dynasty had been the first runner up. Although it was not bad, the Chinese players were still quite sad that they did not win.

They were close to the top, so they were more determined to reach it. The words of these four clubs were very morale-boosting.

"Four teams will be able to qualify in the Internationals. If all four of our clubs enter the top four and the Internationals, that would be really fun."

"Hehehe, that might not be certain. Although they are all very strong, the other tier-one teams are not bad either. Rainy Kim's Thunder Storm and Yan Ran's Berserkers are not easy to deal with. Nine Gates, Sky Palace, and Dragons and Tigers are all very competitive, too."

"I have high hopes for Rivervale. Frenzied Sword was top sixteen in the International Singles last season. Rivervale have rebuilt their team with him as the core. They might be a dark horse."

Many viewers discussed their thoughts in the comments.

Frenzied Sword was not as confident as the other captains on the show. He said that this was his first time leading a team and that he would do his best to enter the Internationals. He did not dare announce that they would be champions.

The clubs of other countries were all quite pressured. Planet Aquamarine was the base of the Chinese players, and they had entered space more than a year earlier than the others. This had resulted in the average strength of the Chinese teams being very high. All of them were strong teams that were not easy to deal with. Even the champions of the previous season, the French team, did not underestimate them and said that they would do their best to become back to back champions.

Han Xiao was looking forward to seeing what place China would be able to achieve under his influence.

In the Pro League's second season in his previous life, Dynasty had gotten third place in the Internationals and Temple of God had finished in the top eight. This time, China's overall strength was clearly superior. It was not just their equipment, abilities, and experience, but also the fact that the pro players had taken part in galactic-level battles long ago. Their skills were honed as well.

The second season of the Pro League is an important stage. The first season was just a test. A lot more effort has been put into promoting the second season; it's many times more influential than the first season. It will directly cause a huge number of new players to enter during Version 3.0. The better the results the Chinese teams achieve, the more exposure they will get, which will also be beneficial to my faction.

Currently, the roughly one million players in the Black Star Army had all been players from the earliest releases. There would be more newcomers joining in in the future.

The tons of new players in Version 3.0 were a second opportunity to expand the size of the army. Without the advantage of being the guiding faction, he had to compete with the many factions in Version 3.0. The Pro League would be a way for him to increase his faction's attractiveness.

Other than these long-term benefits, every Pro League was a business opportunity.

The players earned money to turn it into their strength. During the Pro League, the players' demand for equipment would explosively increase. The Genetic Medicines in his warehouse would sell very well. He was only worried about not having enough stock.

Pro League stimulated the players' need to spend. The players were happy to empty their wallets. This was a chance to make a huge fortune.

A few unpopulated planets in the Garton Star System made up the competition venue. Han Xiao planned to gather a fleet to sell equipment at the venue. Whether it was to repair equipment, buy items, or learn abilities, the players would be able to spend on the spot. It would be amazing for them.

Anyway, whether it was amazing for the players or not, it was amazing for Han Xiao.

The Pro League is going to start in ten days. Time to go.

Han Xiao's eyes sparkled.