Chapter 1207 - Finals and Reorganization (1/2)

Chapter 1207 Finals and Reorganization

In his past life, Version 5.0 represented the Calamity of the Supers. The Beyond Grade As of history revealing themselves, conflicts intensifying between the Supers and the ordinary citizens, the emergence of the Grade A players, and the unwillingness of the Super Star Cluster Civilizations in losing the war all combined to throw the universe that had just stabilized back into turmoil.

Under his own influence, there were too many variables, so he could not properly predict what the specific changes in the next version would be. The only thing Han Xiao could determine was that the importance of players would rise once more and become the focus of more factions. No matter how much reservations the factions had, they would introduce welfare measures to recruit more players.

While the army had greatly expanded its scale of players in Version 4.0, this was an opportunity and yet a trouble. Not to mention the potential confusion that the players would bring, the other factions would also attempt to poach the army’s own players. As long as they were willing to fork out a sum of money, it will naturally have an effect. Han Xiao was not so arrogant and self-confident that no player would not succumb to such a measure. Moreover, the idea of being a big fish in a small pond might appeal to some players, rather than staying in the army and being a small fish in a big pond. This was especially so for players who would reach the level of Calamity Grade. They would naturally have a huge impact on the Super employment market in the universe.

A true Calamity Grade would have the qualification to dominate an entire area on their own, so the majority of factions could not afford to employ them. However, even if the regular remuneration was reduced to a fourth or even a fifth of the usual rate, it would be enough to feed the players. While the strength of the players for their Calamity Grades would be at the bottom of the barrel, they were the cheapest Calamity Grades that some small factions would be able to afford.

The only way I can deal with the other factions is by continuing to strengthen the construction of the faction, increasing the status and attractiveness of the army during the Version update. Even with my personal influence, this will be a step-by-step process, but if I can take out some of the valuable civilian black technology, it will greatly speed up the progress. In the eyes of the public, it will seem as though I developed this… The army’s operations in the Flickering World were on the right track and had limited room for further development. To continue expansion, he could only target other Star Fields by developing branches.

The following few decades while the version updated would be a good time for him to lie low and develop. With the aid from the Association, the army did not need to participate in the war between the three Universal Civilizations and the Super Star Cluster Alliance, thus not being dragged down. They could all just sit this one out and reap the spoils later.

On the other hand, this was also conducive to the construction of the Association’s community of interest. The final structure had to exist as a multi-faceted interest network, where the most powerful Beyond Grade As sold various resources and services while the weaker ones obtained support, maintaining a balanced relationship. With the size of the current Black Star Army, it was naturally qualified to become one of the facets.

Each term of office for the President was stated at fifty years. Han Xiao had already thought about it, planning to oust Manison when his term was up and sit in this position. With his current right to speak in the Association, so long as Manison did not make any underhanded moves, he was quite assured.

The moment he sat in the position of President, with his results of exploring the Sanctum, there would be no suspense when it came to future re-elections.

“The specific plan will depend on the actual situation…”

Han Xiao opened his memo, beginning to write out the prototype of the plan.

Because Han Xiao and Kasuyi’s actions were carried out in secret, the time of their disappearance did not cause any alarm. After all, the risk of exploring the secondary dimensions was too great, so it was normal that the major organizations would not pay much attention to the duo’s actions.

The news of Black Star returning quickly spread through the army, and players noticed, but the International League had already reached the quarter finals, and everyone had already run out of blank Character Summon Cards to use. It was with pity in their hearts that they refocused on the event.

Since the start of Version 4.0, China’s major clubs had enjoyed the development benefits the Black Star Army provided them, making a lot of money in the process. The better their official guilds developed, the greater the support for the professional teams. At present, China’s first-tier professional teams basically all belonged to the To and T1 tiers internationally, with outstanding strength. They had performed strongly during the quarter finals. Because they met with such harassment, the Chinese teams were unable to obtain many points this time round. Both Dynasty and Rivervale entered the quarter finals at second and fifth place respectively. After three victories in the best of five, they both reached the semifinals, succeeding in occupying two seats. This meant that they would get at least a third place.

However, after three versions, the Chinese players had grander ambitions. No one was satisfied with just third place. In the eyes of the players, only three consecutive championships was worthy of being their goal.

The semifinals were decided through lot drawing, and this caused the Chinese players on the forum to be divided into two sides. One hoped that both Dynasty and Rivervale would not meet each other in the semifinals, and the other side hoped that they would meet. If both Dynasty and Rivervale could defeat their opponents, that would of course be the most ideal situation. However, if both sides lost, then China would be halted at the semifinals. However, if both faced each other, this would be a sort of insurance to guarantee that one of them would definitely step into the finals.

Under the prayers of the two sides, the semifinals list appeared. The Chinese teams were not facing each other. Dynasty went against Team Thunderbolt Pythons from North America, whereas Rivervale’s opponent was Team Kimchi from South Korea.

The Chinese players who supported having their teams meet in the finals got their wish, but for the players on the other side, they were all depressed, worrying about the possibility that both teams might be defeated. As the saying went, one would only know what they wanted after the matter had taken place. In the end, most players discovered that rather than having two teams meet in the final, they would rather have a shot at winning the championship.

Both teams tried their best, but Dynasty missed out on a round, being defeated two rounds to three. They failed to qualify for the finals, and the hope of replicating the scene of having two teams from the country in the finals was dashed.

Rivervale, on the other hand, performed wonderfully, qualifying with three rounds to one. There was a saying in Galaxy that every version would have a god-like respective class. The Mechanic class gradually began to exert its strength in the middle to late stages, and because of the limitation of level cap in each version, the Mechanic’s feature of burning money to continuously increase strength was favored by professional teams. Rivervale’s team was made up of Mechanics as the core, which explained their strength.

In the previous Pro League, Rivervale barely eked out a victory against Team Key in the semifinals, allowing China to dominate the finals. Though they failed to win the championship, they still received endless praise. This time, they really had a chance to obtain the championship, shouldering all the expectations of the Chinese players.

The date of the finals was set a few days later, and the forums were discussing this matter enthusiastically.

Outside of the players’ field of vision, a new regular meeting of the Beyond Grade A Association was held.

A series of Beyond Grade A remote projections descended on the headquarters of the Beyond Grade A Association, walking into the round-table meeting room and sitting down, whispering to their neighbors.

Sitting in the President’s seat, Manison looked at this harmonious scene, glancing at the empty Vice President’s seat as he felt as though the air was fresh and the atmosphere relaxed.

At this moment, an untimely voice sounded outside the door, breaking his harmony and tranquility.

“Hehe, I’m back! Did everyone miss me?”

Hearing the familiar voice, everyone turned around to see Han Xiao, who had vanished for a few months, walking into the conference room with a smile that asked to be slapped.

“Oh, Black Star’s back!”

“It’s been a few months, but you look pretty good!”

“Where did you go these few months? To not even inform us.”

Upon seeing Han Xiao, many people present smiled, beginning to chat and wave to him. Even the direct subordinates of the three Universal Civilizations also nodded in greeting, and the place became lively