Chapter 1021 - The Rise of the Players (1/2)
“This is the armed forces convoy of the New Moon Financial Group. I’m Commander Feldman. Who are you?”
Hearing this, Maple Moon felt her heart leap with joy.
The guilds had investigated the current status of Planet Harker in advance, and seven organizations occupied the planet and were competing with each other, guarding the planet in different directions. They did not want more people to further divide their resources. If one encountered the armed forces or Star System civilizations, then the difficulty of negotiation would increase.
Having met a financial group off the bat, things would become a lot simpler.
Of course, with the current capabilities of the players, it was impossible for them to investigate such situations alone. All their intelligence was derived from the Black Star Army, allowing them to query for real-time intelligence in the Flickering World. This was an excellent resource provided to the players.
Maple Moon calmed herself and said, “This is an armed force consisting of Sky Territory, Thunder Storm, Rivervale…”
Feldman felt confused.
He had never heard of all these organizations before, nor did he recognize the emblems the players used.
He had no idea where this little ragtag group came from…
Feldman shook his head, speaking in a deep tone. “Planet Harker currently does not welcome any external influences. Please leave immediately before we take drastic measures.”
“You’re mistaken. Our objective is not to set up camp on Planet Harker. You can treat us as mercenaries.” Maple Moon took out the prepared speech. “Didn’t you post a recruitment notice on the Flickering World Regional Channel? We plan to work with your financial group as a hired armed force.”
Feldman felt surprised.
Right now, what the Flickering World had in spades was open positions. Practically all the organizations were desperately trying to recruit armed forces, and those high levelled organizations were the most attractive. Small financial groups like them almost had no chance to recruit anyone in the free competition zone, so he did not expect someone to answer their call.
However, why did they not contact the financial group in advance, instead just turning up? They could not be an unsavory group, right?
Feldman thought about it, shaking his head.
He estimated that the combat strength of this group would not be too good as well, so he did not hold much hope. However, every little bit of strength mattered now.
After a pause, he casually said, “Alright, first tell me about your battle situation, then we’ll consider if you’re worth hiring.”
Maple Moon was so excited. She had to clench her fists together. Acting composed, she replied, “Alright, our joint armed forces have a total of 7,000 Supers, of which 5,800 are Grade B…”
“Hold up, what‽”
For a moment, Feldman thought that he had hearing problems.
7,000 Supers was not a lot by any means, but to actually have 5,800 Grade Bs…
Even the whole of Planet Harker did not possess so many Grade Bs!
From the perspective of Han Xiao, Grade B was only good for cannon fodder, but in the eyes of many of the galactic organizations, a Grade B Super was the core force, enough to even serve as the main combat members.
Back when Han Xiao was still roaming as a mercenary, Grade Bs were already considered experts, great figures in the eyes of the masses.
Even the mercenary groups such as the Purple Gold Army and Sky Ring, before being brought under Han Xiao’s wing, never had more than a few hundred Grade Bs. If not for the two Calamity Grades holding the fort, their battle strength was negligible!
Are they trying to lie to me‽ Feldman’s expression was full of disbelief.
Because guilds such as Rivervale and Long Sky had large numbers of peripheral members, gathering thousands of people was an easy task. The majority of players had also advanced to Grade B when Version 4.0 opened, and those who had not yet reached that grade were newcomers or small-time players.
Maple Moon pretended to ignore him, continuing to speak. “At the same time, we’re a subsidiary organization under the Black Star Army. We were once the Immortals troops under Black Star…”
“Hold up some more! You said that you guys are under the Black Star Army, and the Immortal troops at that‽”
Feldman began to tremble, his mouth agape.
Was this not a group of ragtag mercenaries? Why did they have such huge origins, belonging to Black Star‽
His first response was to think that he had been scammed!
In his eyes, Black Star could be considered a galactic giant, unattainable by mortals. The New Moon Financial Group that he worked for could not even be compared to a fart from Black Star himself, but the Immortal troop from the Black Star Army was their famed trump card, so why would they even run over to accept their employment?
Feldman immediately accessed the public channel of the Black Star Army to check on the information of these organizations. What he saw gave him a huge scare!
Sky Territory, Thunder Storm, Rivervale, and the other organizations mentioned were really semi-independent affiliated organizations of the army. Their members were all made up of Immortals, and they had been registered not too long ago!
On Maple Moon’s side, the other professional players such as Frenzied Sword were observing Feldman’s expression of shock as though he was a frog in a well, and they screamed out internally with pride, feeling greatly satisfied innately.
Just mentioning the name of Black Star made the other party fall into a state of shock.
It’s good to have a backer!
Because of the unparalleled realism within the game, the players could deeply immerse and interest themselves. Seeing the reactions of the NPCs often gave them a sense of accomplishment.
Thus, everyone wished to borrow the prestige of the Black Star Army to improve their own influence. In a general employment relationship, the mercenaries would not have the chance to divide the resources within the planet, but with the name of Black Star, the conditions could be re-negotiated.
The choice to not monopolize the planet, instead cooperating with other organizations, was due to their lack of funds. Mining equipment required money and manpower. If one found an NPC organization to cooperate with, such costs could be avoided. While the players had high personal strength, the NPC organizations still had the advantage in numbers. Thus, it brought out the players’ sincerity in wanting to cooperate.
Seeing that the other party was not responding, Maple Moon could not help but cough loudly. She urged, “How is it? Do you think we’re good enough? If you do not require our services, we can leave.”
Feldman snapped out of his daze as though he was woken up from a dream and anxiously shouted, “No, no, to employ you is our honor. Please follow my instructions to descend. I’ll inform my superiors immediately!”
The moment he spoke, notifications appeared on the interfaces of all the players present, and when they glanced over at them, they gave a small cheer.
“It’s here. The mission has activated!”
“Damn, beautiful work!”
“Haha, I just knew it. This is the way to play the game!”
What appeared on their interface was not an employment mission but a faction mission labelled [Seizing Planet Harker]. The notification indicated that they could choose a faction and aid them in obtaining dominance over the planet. This was a sort of triggered storyline mission.
Very quickly, the player’s fleet followed Feldman to land on a certain base on the surface of Planet Harker. When the players disembarked from their spaceships, they saw a group of officers wearing the uniforms of the New Moon Financial Group waiting, looking excited and nervous.
As the players stepped forward, the people from New Moon Financial Group came up to welcome them. The leader walked up to Maple Moon, stretching out his hand, appearing warm and full of enthusiasm.
“Hello, I’m the Head Supervisor responsible for New Moon Financial Group at Planet Harker. My name is Smedix. On behalf of Planet Harker, welcome.”
“Your name… is quite unique.”
Maple Moon’s mouth twitched as she held back her smile, shaking hands with him.
Smedix did not understand what she meant, but he did not take it to heart either, warmly continuing. “You came at a good time. We’re in dire need of mercenaries now, but I have a small question before that… Your application, is it the Black Star Army’s intention, or is it your own?”
“Both.” Maple Moon’s answer was ambiguous. This question was not within what she expected, but it seemed to be more beneficial toward their side.
“Then let’s talk about the employment cooperation. Do you have any conditions?” Smedix asked.
Maple Moon exchanged a glance with the rest, and nodding, she spoke up. “We hope that this will not be a simple employment. In addition to remuneration, we would like to cooperate in the development of Planet Harker.”
“Cooperative development?” Smedix’s heart jumped as he thought of many things.