A couple of days later…

“Ahhh…” The older Volga brother yawned and casually played a card. He then looked at Herlous and asked, “Oi, how much longer are we going to stay on this backward planet?”

At this moment, the mercenary group was playing cards and having a chat in the main hall. Upon hearing that question, they all turned around to look at Herlous.

“We can only leave this place after dealing with the problem on this planet. This isn’t something that I can control.” Herlous shook his head helplessly.

Everyone then looked toward a military factory outside the window. That was Han Xiao’s machinery modification room. At this moment, Han Xiao was repairing the assault ships that they had just obtained.

The mercenaries had already stayed on Planet Aquamarine for more than a month. Apart from choosing new players, they did not have anything else to do, and all of them were extremely bored.

With the sights of these galactic mercenaries, they naturally found the entertainment located on Planet Aquamarine extremely boring. Apart from playing cards, a few of them felt as though their bodies were rusting. If their current mission had a reward, perhaps most of them would still be able to bear with this boredom. However, this was Black Star’s command, and they had no choice but to obey his orders while looking forward to the matter being resolved.

After the failure of the previous ambush, DarkStar did not send anyone else to Planet Aquamarine again as though they were wary of the combined strength of Black Star and the Godoran fleet. But from time to time, news of the other calamity planets being ambushed could be heard.

As Godora sent more reinforcements to the other calamity planets, the ambushes of DarkStar were usually ineffective. Just like Planet Aquamarine, there were almost three hundred spaceships awaiting their orders outside Planet Aquamarine’s atmosphere, and this was the same even around the other calamity planets. However, as the size of the DarkStar fleet grew larger, they also applied pressure to the Godoran forces.

Godora had to split up their forces to protect more than ten calamity planets. Their fleet was spread thinly, and their soldiers were insufficient. However, DarkStar did not have such a restriction, so they held the initiative.

The entire Garton Star System was like an abyss of suffering. On the other hand, Planet Aquamarine managed to defeat the enemies after suffering an ambush. Thus, their ability to cope with the calamity was pretty good, and the Six Nations were prospering.

In the military factory…

Clank!

A couple of mini assistive robots climbed up and down the body of the spaceship while attempting to repair the outer armor of the spaceship. Sparks could be seen flying all around, and the sound of hammering reverberated without end.

Han Xiao controlled a large mechanical arm, and it transformed into various different kinds of tools to repair the spaceships’ damage. Apart from helping him in battle, this large mechanical arm could also be used to repair large spaceships. It was as though he had a huge hand that could be controlled like his own limbs.

The spaceship wreckages that the mercenaries had collected brought him sufficient materials. As such, he began to repair the spaceships that he had captured, and he was about eighty percent done. While repairing those spaceships only gave him a little bit of experience, it was better than nothing at all.

Han Xiao stopped his actions and said, “Damage check.”

“Initiating a system check… Damage levels of the spaceship are at 0%…” The AI system of the ship had already been changed to Phillip.

Apart from repairing the assault ships, Han Xiao had also created a couple of delicate machines that could improve his hacking skills. It strengthened Phillip’s calculation speed, and Risda had also restructured Phillip’s calculation structure, allowing Phillip to be three times more efficient than before.

The machines under Phillip’s control became much more efficient, and it also allowed his hacking skills to go up another level. Phillip was still a distance away from Risda, but strengthening and grooming one’s own AI was a long-term job of a Mechanic Hacker. At the same time, he would be able to receive a great deal of benefits from doing so.

“The final spaceship has been repaired, and it can be used normally.” Han Xiao nodded with satisfaction. Giving out a command, all the repair bots began to pack themselves up.

At this moment, the Black Star Mercenary Group was mainly using spaceships that were rented. These nine assault spaceships would be able to supplement their firepower and belonged completely to him.

After drinking a mouthful of water, Han Xiao took out his communicator and began browsing the mercenary group portal out of habit.

The size of the mercenary group was already a few hundred times larger than before they returned to Planet Aquamarine. After this operation period, there were over a hundred thousand players whom he had hired, and this number was increasing by the day. They were undeniably a super large mercenary group!

While the players were not sufficiently powerful at the moment, the speed at which the players could grow meant that they were all full of potential.

“After entering the universe, I will be able to give them an endless number of missions and resources. At the same time, they will also give me an endless amount of wealth. The sheer number of players will allow my Black Star Mercenary Group to take another step forward, and the name of Floating Dragon’s Field Team will be truly respected!”

Thinking about the strength of a few hundred thousand mercenaries, Han Xiao could not help but look forward toward it.

Because of the Mutation Disaster, his mercenary group needed to remain in Planet Aquamarine temporarily. They were currently accumulating their strength, and their true might would show when they re-entered the universe once the Mutation Disaster was taken care of.

Han Xiao had always paid attention to the actions of DarkStar. He was waiting for DarkStar to carry out the next stage of their plans as that would be the best time for him to hand over the mutation source in his hands.

…

After leaving the military factory, Han Xiao walked toward the conference room. According to the schedule, today was the day for Godora to have a conference with all the upper echelons of the Sanctuary to discuss their disaster relief efforts. Such a meeting would be held once every few days, and he was already used to it.

Coming to the conference room, Bennett, Nagakin, and the others had already arrived long ago. After Han Xiao sat down, a couple of leaders then began the discussion of their disaster relief efforts. Since Han Xiao was not concerned about the topic, he did not interrupt their conversation.

After half an hour, they finally changed the topic, and Nagakin said, “Godora is in a stalemate with DarkStar. The enemy has continued to ambush the calamity planets, and the War Bureau has been sending out reinforcements endlessly. Both the forces are closely matched.”

Upon hearing that, Han Xiao said, “It doesn’t sound good.”

“We do not know how many fleets are under DarkStar’s command, but we have to spread our forces to protect the calamity planets,” Nagakin replied helplessly. “Our forces are truly lacking. This is DarkStar’s scheme to force us to split our forces. While the battle is currently a stalemate, as long as DarkStar is willing to send out the majority of their forces to attack a calamity planet, it will be impossible for us to block them. Thus, the situation isn’t good.”

“Do you guys have a way to deal with that?”

“We do.” Nagakin nodded. “With regards to our forces being spread thinly and the distance being far, the War Bureau decided to set up a Military Orbit Quantum Leap Station. It will be set up in a few days’ time.”

“What is that?” Bennett asked with doubt.

Han Xiao thought for a moment before saying, “You can treat it like a transportation portal for military use.”

The Military Orbit Quantum Leap Station was a strategic weapon during intergalactic battles. Within a certain range, it was able to lock onto the coordinates of two different regions and create a transportation channel between the two locations. It would allow fleets that were far away from each other to quickly reinforce their allies.

This station was like a large space fortress, and the technical requirements of constructing it were extremely high. Only advanced civilizations that knew how to construct a stable stargate would be able to construct it. The Military Orbit Quantum Leap Station of Godora had been purchased from an advanced civilization within the Shattered Star Ring and was extremely precious.

In order to construct a Military Orbit Quantum Leap Station, the transportation coordinates of the various locations had to be anchored down properly, and the Military Orbit Quantum Leap Station needed to be situated in the middle of these coordinates. It was like the middle of a spider web with the web spreading far and wide.

With this facility, Godora would be able to cover up its weakness of having its fleet being scattered across the various calamity planets. These fleets would be able to aid each other, and if any of the planets were attacked, reinforcements would be able to arrive within two to three minutes. As such, the ambushes of DarkStar would no longer be a threat to them.

Since the War Bureau was willing to make use of this strategic weapon, it meant that they did not wish to be on the passive side.

Han Xiao frowned and said, “This is an expensive strategic weapon, and DarkStar will definitely attack the station.”

“The enemy will definitely do so.” Nagakin was not worried.

Since the War Bureau dared use the station, it naturally meant that they would arrange sufficient protection for the station. It could be said that they had even grasped the initiative. Even if the whereabouts of DarkStar could not be traced, they would definitely attack the station. As such, they would be able to grasp the enemy’s actions and make preparations.

A flash could be seen in Han Xiao’s eyes, and he shook his head.

In truth, Godora was not truly anxious yet. While the DarkStar ambushes had resulted in some loss for Godora, the ones who had suffered the most were the calamity planets. Godora’s foundations were not shaken, and the Godorans thought that they were still able to control the situation.

However, he knew that DarkStar would not be so easily dealt with.

With the appearance of the station, DarkStar should be moving on to the next step of their plan.

Just when Nagakin wanted to say something else, a commotion sounded from the outside from afar.

The next moment, the commotion grew larger and larger as it approached them. Like a tsunami, the commotion covered the entire Sanctuary!

Boom!

The ground began to shake, and the windows could be seen trembling slightly from the commotion. Bennett stood up with a face full of doubt.

“What’s happening‽”

Bennett hurriedly turned on the screen in the conference room, and the images of the various locations in the Sanctuary were shown. The Sanctuary that had been in an orderly state was in complete chaos, and the Mutation Disaster had exploded once again. Even those refugees who had been injected with the suppressants began to act up.

The situation on the outside of the Sanctuary was even worse, and even the guards of the Sanctuary began to fall ill.

Without anyone to maintain security, the calm that had been formed through great difficulty collapsed.

Millions of people turned violent, and their voices flooded the Sanctuary like a tsunami!

Squeezing, roaring, fighting…

Apart from a messy battle, the majority of them were running around crazily, and they tried to escape from the Sanctuary. It was as though the Sanctuary was a frightening location, and they wanted to escape to the outside. Those escaping formed a long trail, and they charged out of the Sanctuary in all directions. There were some who tumbled onto the ground and were instantly swallowed by the endless crowd.

The players were completely dumbfounded. Very quickly, some of them realized that the mission progress of their [Mutation Disaster] mission had fallen rapidly!

“Th—This…”

This sudden chaos stunned even Bennett and Nagakin.

Han Xiao’s gaze turned cold, and he stood up with a solemn expression.

“This is… the second phase!”