Chapter 248 Shocking the World 1 (1/2)

The post titled 'Shocking news! The man behind the war was actually…' instantly shot to the top of the Planet Aquamarine forums.

The players on Planet Aquamarine back then had all of their attention on the war between the Six Nations and the Germinal Organization. Being able to participate and contribute in this world-shaking event allowed them to be truly immersed in the game. And this was also when the post revealed that 'Zero' was the person who had manipulated events behind the scenes and single handedly caused this war.

Some players remembered that the Germinal Organization had put out a massive bounty for Zero, and they felt intrigued by this character.

This kind of plot where an organization's traitor was able to turn around and cause massive damage to the organization was very compelling to many people.

He had to be the key character in the main storyline!

The post detailed the things that Zero had done against Germinal up till now, but when the players thought that was the end of the post, they found out that there was even more information at the bottom—information on Black Phantom. The post's author did not give any explanation and simply listed Black Phantom's achievements as well. The players were confused but patiently read through it as there was no harm in understanding more about Black Phantom.

But everyone's face changed when they got to the last line—'Black Phantom and Zero are one and the same!'

”What?”

”They're the same person‽”

Many players doubted the authenticity of this information. However, the post also came with a recording of Han Xiao rampaging through the Germinal headquarters, shocking the players when they watched it.

The players were not too familiar with Zero, but it was a whole other story when it came to Black Phantom. Ever since the start of the open beta, this NPC had provided them with countless benefits and interacted with them countless times. When the players watched the recording of Black Phantom wreaking havoc in the Germinal base, they felt an odd sense of familiarity, and they had the impression that this was something that only Black Phantom would do.

Now, his identity had been exposed.

He was Zero and also Black Phantom.

His name was Han Xiao!

Zero's past and Black Phantom's achievements complemented each other perfectly and created an image of a character who, after losing everything to Germinal, escaped from the organization's evil grasps. He never gave up to his miserable circumstances but only slowly grew stronger and gradually worked toward toppling the gargantuan organization that had wronged him before he finally swept the whole world into war. This story sounded as if it came right out of a Hollywood film.

Hero stories always sold well, and Han Xiao's badassery had already firmly placed him on top of a pedestal in the players' hearts while Germinal was immediately seen as the planet's antagonist. Although there was not any true right or wrong in this world, people had already grown used to taking sides—having two extremes was much easier to understand. Players stopped caring about Germinal's ideology and took Han Xiao's side as they had already thought of this NPC as 'one of their own'.

This post's popularity exploded in a never before seen manner, and it felt like a historical moment for the players on Planet Aquamarine. The upvotes were increasing by tens of thousands every the second, and instantly, it took one of the top ten spots on the Galaxy forum's trending posts ranking.

Just as Han Xiao had thought, the combination of his two identities, when revealed, caused a chemical reaction and pushed his popularity on to a new height, further consolidating his position in the players' hearts.

Interacting with players was something he had focused on doing ever since the open beta, and he was now seeing the fruits of his labor. The tiny spark that he had started several months ago had now turned into a raging fire with the reveal.

The players were the first to know about the news that get posted on the forums, and now, Han Xiao's group had just escaped from the Germinal base.

…

Their vehicle rolled over the rough landscape of Andrea under the darkness of the night, gradually getting further away from the base until it was but a dot on the horizon.