In the headquarters of the Alumera family…

“Green Valley Ville on the South Continent was ambushed. We have lost that territory. The last message from them was an hour ago. Liu Cheng died in the battle, Balsas and Xiao Rui have retreated as well. No news has been heard from them yet. I think they may be in trouble.”

The exquisite crystal wine glass was smashed to the ground, and red wine splattered onto the expensive hand-made Ordina carpet, leaving trails of red roses. Darryl, the leader of the family, was breathing noisily as though he was a bear. His body was bulky like a bear, too, hence his nickname—the Alumera White Bear.

This was Darryl’s study. He was rather violent by nature. His bookshelf was not for books but for displaying all kinds of guns. Firearms, ammunition, daggers, swords—his miniature arsenal collection.

“Who attacked our people‽” Darryl snarled.

In front of the desk was a well-dressed, middle-aged man. He was wearing something similar to a suit, but with minor differences in some places. It was way more refined and exquisite. He was wearing a gold-rimmed glasses, and the gold-plated chains of the glasses hanged on his ear. If one overlooked the muscle under his clothes, this person was an archetypal scholar.

He was Alumera’s second in command, Xiao Jin.

Xiao Jin held the tablet with one hand and said, “There are two of them. One is the big warlord of South Continent, Lu Cheng.”

“I have heard of his name. Gather the armed men in South Continent! An eye for an eye! Alumera will seek this revenge!”

Darryl patted the table and asked, “Who might the other person be?”

“He’s the assassin from the Dark Net, Black Phantom.”

“Bring him to…” As he said these three words, Darryl’s tone changed and came to his senses. “How did we end up provoking him‽”

Darryl was very wary about Black Phantom, a legendary killer. He knew it was best not to provoke lone rangers like him. While the Alumera family was big, they were most fearful of legendary killers like him. If he wanted to start a mad killing spree to assassinate the middle-class of the Alumera family, it would be impossible to stop him.

Although Darryl was impulsive by nature, he knew who not to provoke. Dealing with Lu Cheng was an effortless decision; Lu Cheng’s forces were entangled in South Continent, and he was not going to affect the Alumeras’ influence in the North. Black Phantom, on the other hand, was different. He was a lone ranger who could travel up to the North. He had even slain Liu Cheng. Whether the Alumera family ‘s top forces could even hurt the Black Phantom was still a question in doubt.

Furthermore, Black Phantom’s movements were erratic. There were not many reports on him through the intelligence network, and without an expansive intelligence network, they could not track him down. In addition, the organization he belonged to was in fact the world’s largest intelligence network. If they wanted to target someone from the Dark Net Organization and requested help from the Dark Net itself, it would be ridiculous. Darryl was eighty percent sure he would be called a fool.

Therefore, becoming enemies with the Black Phantom was certainly an unwise decision. Darryl could only suppress his anger and find other excuses. “Investigate the reason the Black Phantom is intervening. Don’t provoke him just yet.”

Xiao Jin agreed with an expressionless face. It was hard to know what he was thinking about.

Darryl had always been an impatient man, and now that he was frustrated. He pointed to Xiao Jin’s face and ordered, “Go deal with your son’s business. The war is coming. I don’t wish to deal with any sort of Germinal’s business at this time.”

Xiao Jin adjusted his glasses and said, “He’s my son. Once I find him, he will come back obediently.”

…

Day was about to break, and the gunfire in Green Valley Ville was finally coming to an end. The remaining enemies had all been killed.

When Lu Cheng had conquered Green Valley Ville, he ordered his troops to clear the battlefield and restrained them from harming any residents.

The worried residents who could not sleep for the entire night rushed to the streets and listened to the new master of the town, Lu Cheng, in the square. He promised to safeguard the residents’ lives and property.

For the [Green Valley Ville Invasion] task, players who had chosen to protect the camp had all failed and were feeling dejected.

The battle last night had been very intense, and many players wished it had been longer.

Han Xiao also gained some experience from the task. He held his arm and leaned against a house to wait for Lu Cheng to complete his speech. He had Frenzied Sword and Bun-hit-dog by his side.

Frenzied Sword was in bad mood as he was not able to keep Han Xiao to himself now. He was upset.

Bun-hit-dog went over to Frenzied Sword and said, “I know you. You were featured on Galaxy Times. You are a professional gamer.”

“Oh.” Frenzied Sword reacted coldly.

“Have you always been following Black Phantom?” Bun-hit-dog was curious.

Frenzied Sword did not want to bother with Bun-hit-dog, but as a professional player, he had to take note of his image, and he should not be too cold. He nodded.

“Do you know his origins?”

“His real name is Han Xiao,” Frenzied Sword replied. He came to realization immediately and turned around to see if Han Xiao had heard him. He relaxed. “He used to serve Star Dragon. I’m not very sure about the exact details, but I do know that he is acquainted with someone in the camp called Stardragon Strategic Defense Department.”

Bun-hit-dog’s eyes lit up. The video he wanted to make would be an investigation about Black Phantom’s origin. Frenzied Sword had been his longest follower. He was likely to know things that others did not. He was impressed. He said in a light-hearted manner, “Let me introduce myself. I am a game video producer…”

Frenzied Sword stared blankly. He only recalled now, that Bun-hit-dog’s ID was rather familiar. He was the producer of the series “XX Adventure Diaries”. When he was playing Knight in the past, he had come across Bun-hit-dog’s Knight Adventure Diaries as well. He was a small yet famous video maker.

“It’s you!” Frenzied Sword collected himself up. When he received Bun-hit-dog’s friend request, he immediately accepted it.

Only status and fame would bring one recognition. If he was a plain and dull player, Frenzied Sword would not even have bothered. Thing were different when one was famous.

“I’m preparing to focus on Galaxy and start a series. I’m intending to place Black Phantom as my focus in my first episode. I would like to know more about this person’s origins. I hope you can provide me with some material. You could appear on screen together with me to do a series as well.”

Han Xiao never talked about his origins, so Bun-hit-dog decided to change his focus onto Frenzied Sword.

“Alright, sure,” Frenzied Sword replied. This was a win-win situation. A professional gamer appearing on the program was bound to rise in reputation. This would be good exposure for him.

Listening to the two discussing behind him, Han Xiao did not stop them. Frenzied Sword had limited knowledge about him. Such information could be disclosed and made known, and this would only make more players curious. He wanted to reveal the information bit by bit. This was precisely his intention in bringing Bun-hit-dog along.

After assuring the residents of Green Valley Ville, Lu Cheng handed over the affairs to the deputy and went to Han Xiao’s side. “Black Phantom, thank you for your aid. If not for you, I would not have conquered Green Valley Ville. If only Balsas didn’t escape…”

“Oh, I killed him.”

Lu Cheng’s face went blank, and he felt a tight squeeze on his heart. “I am very grateful, but do… you really not want anything?”

Han Xiao chuckled a little and changed the topic. “Have you discovered the unique aspects of the refugees?”

Upon mentioning this, Lu Cheng was delighted. “This group of refugees can all die and then resurrect. It’s simply amazing! I thought they were simple ordinary people. This world is so big, and it seems like nothing is impossible!”

Lu Cheng originally did not plan for the refugees to join the battle. But as the players took action, he soon realized that they had the special ability to resurrect. He was shocked, and he figured out what Han Xiao had originally meant. These helpers were just too special. He had looked down on them. Now he knew why they were not afraid to die. That was because they simply just do not die.

Bun-hit-dog, who was by the side, felt that something was strange. Refugees? Are they actual players? Why would the NPC think that the players resurrecting is strange? Won’t an NPC not be bothered with that?

Han Xiao pulled Lu Cheng to the side. He did not want other players to hear what he was going to tell Lu Cheng.

“Black Phantom, do you know the origin of these refugees?” Lu Cheng curiously asked.

“I’m not too sure,” Han Xiao replied, “but I do know that they are very diligent. They are extremely profit-driven. Didn’t you destroy Green Valley Ville? You need these people to rebuild the place. These refugees are the best laborers you can find. You can use them to your liking.”

“But some refugees were against me before. They are my enemies…”

“Their assistance to Balsas was not a loyal and faithful one. You can treat them as mercenaries.”

When he said this, Lu Cheng understood it. “I can try… You really don’t know what happened to them? They can all resurrect, is it just their special ability? We don’t know where Balsas found this group of people.”