“With all the players disappearing, the size of the Black Star Army will be reduced considerably, and there is a need to make new plans.”

Han Xiao began to carefully think about how he should resolve this matter.

He was still less than thirty years old, and when Version 3.0 was released, he would be almost forty.

Han Xiao did not worry about his age. He was a Grade A Super, after all, and had injected himself with longevity medicine before. Living two to three hundred years should not be an issue at all. In ten years, his appearance would still be the same, young and suave.

Han Xiao already had a brief outline for the development of the Black Star Army over the next ten years.

“My main focus should be to accumulate strength. Without the players to bring me a long stream of benefits, the main focus of these ten years should be to convert all the benefits that the player’s brought me in Version 2.0.”

His assets from Version 2.0 included the twenty-three bases in the Garton Star System, almost two thousand battleships and over seventeen million Enas in savings. Furthermore, the numerous employment missions that the players had completed had also greatly increased the fame of the Black Star Army.

NPC mercenaries were different from players. Every death meant that he would have one fewer mercenary. While hiring freelance mercenaries was a solution, grooming fresh blood for his Black Star Army was more important. Han Xiao decided to increase the investment in the training camps so that he could ensure a constant flow of new mercenaries and also reduce his costs.

Apart from the mercenaries at the bottom rung, Han Xiao also needed to groom the officers at the top. With the current level of the Black Star Army, Grade B Supers were no longer rare and could only be considered the middle rung. They truly lacked Grade A Supers at the very top. Currently, the only two Grade A Supers were Han Xiao and Lagi.

“Hmm, I need to try and recruit new Grade A Supers while grooming those with potential such as Herlous, Feidin, and Reynold. I wonder how many Grade A Supers I will be able to groom over the next ten years.”

Han Xiao stroked his chin. In his previous life, Sylvia had already been a Grade A Super in Version 3.0. These ten years should be Sylvia’s growth spurt, and Han Xiao needed to stimulate her growth further so that she could transform from a capable female secretary into a competent helper.

However, accumulating their strength did not mean that they would have to remain low profile. The secret war started by Klent would be the largest conflict on the outside, and there would be opportunities hidden within risks. Han Xiao would naturally participate in the war.

In order to obtain Cutting-Edge Knowledge, Han Xiao had joined Section Zero to farm favorability points with Purple Crystal. This was one of the most secure paths. Cutting-Edge Knowledge was something that he could not lack. Even if it was not a Class Advancement requirement, Han Xiao would still want to obtain it.

At the same time, he was killing two birds with one stone. As long as he could render huge merits in the secret war, he would have the right to become a long-term partner of a Star Cluster civilization like the Bloodshed Land. This would then be the stimulus to restructure the Black Star Army and allow the Black Star Army to take another step forward in the Colton Star Cluster.

With the accumulation of resources from Version 2.0 and the support that Purple Crystal gave to Section Zero, Han Xiao would be able to accumulate his strength. If he wanted to receive more resources from Purple Crystal, he would have to achieve a higher status in Section Zero and render large merits.

All the first-rate organizations such as Arc Light, Hero Group, and New Phylen were both his reliable allies and his competitors. They were extremely large organizations that received greater support and resources. If Han Xiao wanted to receive more resources, he would have to prove his superiority.

“Currently, both parties have not begun to fight, and there is still some time to prepare before the war. Apart from the development of the organization, my own strength will also have to take another step forward. The amount of experience that I have accumulated should be enough to bring me up to level two hundred.”

The strength of his organization was only an external force; his own personal strength was the most important.

Ten years was enough for Han Xiao to convert all of his experience points into combat strength. As for whether or not he would be able to reach beyond Grade A, Han Xiao was not too sure either. He did not know the level requirement for beyond Grade A.

If he used the gap between Grade B and Grade A as a reference as well as the increase in his strength as he leveled up, Han Xiao estimated that he would need to be at least level 240 before reaching beyond Grade A.

The accumulated experience might not be able to take him to beyond Grade A, but Grade A+ was definite.

As long as he could find a few more powerful skills and talent, he should be able to defeat the majority of Grade A Supers.

“I am currently at level 170, and the Class Advancement Mission is delaying me. If I want to obtain Cutting-Edge Knowledge to complete my Class Advancement, I need to farm 6,000 favorability points with Purple Crystal and improve my relationship with Purple Crystal to ‘Reverence’.”

After deciding on the general direction to take, Han Xiao returned to his base and began issuing orders.

First, he shrank back the range of operations. Without the presence of the players, the efficiency of the Black Star Army would be greatly reduced.

At the same time, Han Xiao took out a large amount of funds to purchase raw materials and spare parts. He got the various military factories to construct small sized spaceships. The logistics department under Reynold’s lead was no longer the same as before, and its scale was many times greater. They could already construct their own spaceships. Although they were only capable of building small assault spaceships, the Black Star Army was still able to save a great deal of money. This was one of the preparations before war erupted.

Another sum of money was used to hire even more combatants. Currently, the Black Star Army had more than 100,000 registered mercenaries, and Han Xiao was prepared to increase this number by four to five times. Money was not an issue at all.

The other Black Star mercenaries had also noticed the disappearance of the players and were extremely puzzled by the matter. However, Han Xiao did not bother explaining anything to them. Even if they had a thousand different guesses, it would not be able to change the present situation.

While a portion of the upper echelons who knew about the Inhumans were surprised, they were not too shocked. They were only worried about the Black Star Army after the disappearance of the Inhumans.

For this, Han Xiao had specially summoned all his high ranked officers.

In the room, all the officers of the Black Star Army streamed in.

Han Xiao got straight to the point without beating about the bush. “The Inhumans have disappeared again, and we don’t know when they will appear again. This isn’t the first time that this has happened, and the Klent invasion may happen in the near future. We will be accepting the Purple Crystal’s employment in the future and will participate in the war as a member of Section Zero. We need to make our preparations.”

Everyone nodded with different looks on their faces.

“Lagi, you are the only other Calamity Grade Super apart from me. If the situation on the battlefield gets intense, we may need you to lead a force on your own,” Han Xiao said.

“Sigh, war again. I have a premonition that I will be sacrificed this time,” Lagi said with a bitter expression.

Han Xiao’s mouth contorted slightly.

Right at that moment, Reynold suddenly interrupted.

“Your Excellency Black Star, he isn’t the only Calamity Grade.”

As everyone heard that, they all turned to look at Reynold.

Han Xiao’s eyes lit up and asked, “Could it be that you…”

Reynold nodded, and a rare smile could be seen on his face, “Just a few days ago, I successfully stepped into the Calamity Grade, and I am now a Grade A Super. This is all thanks to your tutelage.”

Han Xiao was overjoyed. With Reynold’s stepping into Grade A, his Black Star Army would have a total of three Grade A Supers. This meant that the Black Star Army exceeded most Section Zero members.

This was truly good news!

Reynold had come under his wing a few years ago, and after learning for such a long time, he had finally advanced into the next grade. While Han Xiao was surprised, he was not too shocked. He had known that with Reynold’s talent, it was only a matter of time before Reynold entered the Calamity Grade.

However, it was truly timely for Reynold to step into the Calamity Grade right before war broke out.

By the side, Herlous could not help but be slightly disappointed.

He was the first to follow Han Xiao, but his status was now being taken over by newcomers. However, it could not be helped since his strength was not sufficient. Becoming a Grade A Super was not something that would happen overnight, and he had not touched the door frame of Grade A yet.

After the Sunil incident, Herlous had sworn to follow Han Xiao for life and was frustrated that he could not provide more help to Han Xiao.

Everyone’s reaction was different. The Volga brothers were as carefree as ever, Feidin smiled without saying a word, Sylvia clenched her fists and swore to work harder, and Aroshia was daydreaming by the side.

Han Xiao’s gaze landed on Aroshia. The (Reboot) mission was currently in the second phase. He had managed to find most of her memory fragments through the players, and only a final location was lacking before the mission could be completed.

It was just that the final location was too deserted, so Han Xiao had not taken her to complete the second phase of the mission. He was not too eager to complete this mission because Risda had already revealed some information, suggesting that the final target of the (Reboot) mission would be to deal with Manison from the Mechanic Empire. Since Han Xiao knew that he would not be able to complete the mission any time soon, he was not in a rush.

He did not want to provoke a beyond Grade A Super for nothing with the other party being a member of the Ancient Ones.

Not just the Black Star Army, all the members of Section Zero were also preparing for war and hiring new members.

Ten days later, a piece of news shook the entire Shattered Star Ring.

Bloodshed Land had invaded the Colton Star Cluster with their army!

This meant that the secret war between Klent and Purple Crystal had finally erupted!

This was like a spark that caused the Crimson Tide to explode!

The conflict between the seen Star Cluster Civilizations escalated to the point they broke out in war. Many large organizations and secret groups within the Star Field also began fighting each other. The Shattered Star Ring was thrown into chaos with many factions being formed.

The most dangerous period had finally arrived!

All members of Section Zero received a notice from Purple Crystal that requested them to arrive at the battlefield.

When Han Xiao received the notice, a notification also popped up on his interface.

You have triggered Grade S faction mission (Secret War: Section Zero]!

Mission Introduction: The Klent Kingdom has invaded the Purple Crystal Civilization, and you have chosen to stand on the side of the Purple Crystal Civilization.

Mission Requirements: As a member of Section Zero, listen to orders and force all invaders out of the Colton Star Cluster.

At the end of the mission, your reward will be based on the rating of the mission.

Note: As a strategic mission, there are three ways to improve your rating.

Complete the strategic objective of the mission.

Kill or capture the troops of the opposing faction.

Complete the mission successfully.

This is one of the Main Storyline missions of Version 3.0. I have triggered this mission during the version upgrade period.

Han Xiao had already predicted that this would happen.

This was a Grade S Main Storyline Mission, and players could choose between Klent and Purple Crystal. He had already joined Section Zero, which was akin to choosing Purple Crystal.

In his previous life, Version 3.0 had been released when the secret war was at its peak. The players had only returned at that moment to choose which faction to join.

This Grade S mission had a pretty simple introduction on both sides. Regardless of the faction that won the war, the players on both sides would still be able to receive rewards from the mission. The only difference would be the rating received for the mission.

After a series of experiments by the players, there were a few ways to cause a fall in mission rating. First, disobey the orders of their faction. Second, betray the faction. Third, lose the war before the Universal Civilization intervened.

I triggered this mission at the start of the war, a full ten years ahead of time… Han Xiao frowned.

This meant that this mission would definitely take a long time to complete, and the secret war would last throughout the ten years of the version upgrading period.

On the other hand, it also meant that he would have more time to farm his mission rating.

I am afraid that the next ten years shall be spent in war. After resting for two to three years, I think that I have rested enough.

This would be completely different from the few short-term employment missions. This was a long-term war.

Han Xiao stood up and walked out of the room.

“Phillip, summon everyone to go with me to war.”