Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled.

Due to the Dragon Emperor’s influence, Black Star’s name was now well-known. Making more connections in the mercenary industry would equate to more hiring opportunities, plus higher rewards. Those that chose to become a mercenary mostly did so for money, and this was very attractive to normal mercenaries.

“If I make an announcement and send out recruitment notices, there will be thousands of bottom level mercenaries who respond. Although expanding is beneficial for me now, there’s no need to hurry it. I have the foundation now—what I need to do is strengthen Black Star’s position. There’s no need to expand quickly; stable growth is more important.”

Outsiders were not dependable, and his name was on the line. Han Xiao’s target was the future players. He was now just waiting for the next version to start, and then, he would be able to recruit thousands of players. His size would then reach the level of the three large armies. He was not short of manpower, so there was no need to expand in a hurry.

Regardless, Sunils are a very high-quality combat power. Ever since their split, their already bad situation became worse, so their desire to earn money is stronger.

“How many want to come?” Han Xiao asked.

“About a hundred or so. They saw the news, so they reached out to me, expressing their desire to join Black Star.”

A hundred was just a small part of all the Sunil warriors. They saw the Shattered Star Ring Express News and recalled that the grade B Super Herlous of their race was in Black Star. So, someone suggested the idea, gathered about a hundred other Sunil mercenaries, and came to join Han Xiao.

“Let me talk to them personally,” Han Xiao said.

Herlous contacted them. A familiar face appeared on the communicator screen; it was Lerden, whom Han Xiao had met before. As he knew Han Xiao personally, he had been chosen as the representative.

“We meet again, Black Star,” Lerden said.

Han Xiao nodded and went straight to the point. “You guys want to join my mercenary group?”

“Yes, what we mean is to carry out Black Star’s missions under your name, and for that, we are willing to turn in fifteen percent of our commission,” Lerden said. Although they had to give a certain amount of their commission, with Black Star’s connections, they would receive better treatment and be safer. They would only end up earning more.

“So, that’s the joining tactic?”

Han Xiao’s eyes spun. He provided resources and the Sunils provided the labor, both taking what they want.

Plus, the more officers in the faction, the better. These were all NPC resources.

Naturally, the Sunils did not know what Han Xiao was thinking. From their perspective, they benefitted more from this deal. Therefore, at this moment, both Herlous and Lerden were looking at Han Xiao nervously.

Han Xiao put on a pondering face, kept silent for a while, glanced at the nervous face of these two, and then pointed two fingers. “I want twenty percent.”

Seeing that Han Xiao had given his terms, Lerden heaved a sigh of relief and agreed. After some discussion, they decided on the cooperation plans. These hundred or so Sunil mercenaries joined Black Star and formed a team on their own.

An application request popped up on the mercenary group panel in the communicator. Soon after, about a hundred more names appeared on the member list. Han Xiao glanced at them one by one. These Sunils were all experienced mercenaries with very long mission resumes.

“These Sunil mercenaries are quite capable. They are quite a force now that they are gathered together.”

He nodded in his mind. This team was Black Star’s first detachment, the Sunil Division. The highly-skilled players and himself were the direct members. The size of the mercenary group multiplied by two to three times instantly.

The Sunil Division was like the employees, and Han Xiao just had to receive the money.

It’s indeed much more comfortable being a boss.

With connections and resources, there will indeed be people who will willingly work for you.

Han Xiao opened up the Black Star Mercenary Group page—its information had already been updated.

_____________

Black Star Mercenary Group

Credibility: 198

Scale: 173 members

Grade D: 41

Grade C: 52

Grade B: 2

Hires Completed: 2

Main Activity Area: Garton Galaxy

Records:

[Sunil Defense Battle (Expand/Collapse)]

[Silver Rescue Operation (Expand/Collapse)]

Creator: Black Star – Han Xiao

Creation date: Galaxy Calendar Year 688, 02 October

Summary: Small-medium size mercenary group, has a good name, has a partnership with Sky Ring, Blades, Purple Gold, and other large mercenary groups. This mercenary group belongs to the Dragon Emperor.

_____________

As expected, the Mercenary Alliance wrote in the information about me being a member of Floating Dragon, Han Xiao thought. This was a label that he would not be able to get rid of in a short period of time.

The news brought him many points of Renown in several areas of Shattered Star Ring. The total Renown of his faction was 67, many times of what he previously had.

Although the total was not little, when counted individually, his Renown in other Star Zones was actually just one to two points. To most people in the galaxy, they had only heard of Black Star. The good thing was, the faction interface only counted the total Renown. If he wanted to get to this number through the normal method, he would have to take at least one to two hires at each of these areas. This had saved him from needing to do twenty to thirty hires.

Han Xiao talked to Lerden for a while and told the Sunil warriors to gather at Juberly Hub.

Herlous was overjoyed. From what he saw, Black Star willingness to accept his people was him giving them a helping hand in their tough times. How righteous!

After getting rid of Herlous, Han Xiao opened the player forums, which he had not visited for a very long time.

Countless posts had appeared. The time between these posts being posted was very short, which meant it was very active.

He glimpsed through. There were all kinds of posts such as showing off equipment, discussing duels, selling things, asking to team up, arguing, telling stories, and many more.

The earliest batches of players were already familiar with the game. They had started to go deeper into the storyline and train their skills. Other than Planet Aquamarine, the main storylines of other novice planets were still going. The other planet did not have someone like him who stirred up everything, so their game experience was very normal.

Also, many new players had joined the game recently, so there were many posts from these new players on the forums asking for help.

“Coordinates Planet Winterfrost Pond Of Bones, need a pro to carry [Frost Baptism] dungeon. Price is to be discussed.” This was from someone who was willing to pay.

“Planet Lasting Song villager here, please help me farm Bandit Canyon. I can last hit and shout ‘well played’!” This was from a noob player.

“Female with a cute voice, soft body, and 8/10 face looking for a male mentor. Need to be thoughtful, handsome, gentle, caring, in possession of a magnetic voice, experienced in providing comfort. No chauvinists or hideous men, thanks.” This was one of a kind. Without context, people would think that this was an online dating personal profile.

It had been almost three months since Han Xiao left Planet Aquamarine. Many new players had joined the game. The situation on Planet Aquamarine did not change much, and Sanctuary Three had become one of the default gathering places of players.

The prefix ‘Black Phantom’ on Sanctuary Three had sparked curiosity in some new players. They had asked around about who Han Xiao was, which gave the old players opportunities to show off their seniority, explaining Han Xiao’s past with a lot of emotion, telling the new players that there was this legendary person. Han Xiao’s name became more well known.

There are more and more players now, but it’s still very far from Galaxy’s peak in my previous life… Anyway, this is only the first version. These players will become the most senior players in a few versions. As the versions are upgraded, the level limit of the players will increase, and the environment will become more dangerous. However, this is a double-edged sword, as long as I always maintain the lead, with the help from the players, I will be able to strengthen my position in the universe… Speaking of which, time will not be synced during version updates, and players will disappear too. In just over a year, the first version update will arrive.

It had been some time since he had last visited the forums. As his current activity area basically had nothing to do with the players, he did not pay much attention to the status of players as a whole.

Conversely, the players paid a lot of attention to his actions. Bun-Hit-Dog’s videos were the only source of information on the galaxy, so every release of an episode was extremely popular.

Bun-Hit-Dog edited his videos to look like a drama show. The first episode was when they came to Juberly Hub and created the mercenary group. The second episode was the Sunil Defense Battle. The latest was the third episode, which was about Black Star joining Floating Dragon. Ember had yet to make an appearance—it was mainly introducing the three large armies and Floating Dragon, as well as the dock scrimmage to rescue the Silver captives, followed by the highly-skilled players catching thieves in the Guards after joining Floating Dragon.

Compared to the two previous episodes, the popularity of this episode created a new high once again. Han Xiao had yet to watch it.

He clicked open the video, and the introduction was covered in countless comments. He gave a closer look and realized that these comments were all very similar.

“47:35, the screen is covered in long legs!”

“Ahhh! Please marry me, Ms. Dragon Emperor!”

“Ames is mine! Draw your sword!”

Han Xiao’s mouth twitched. He finally understood why this episode was so popular—at least half of the audience came to look at Ames.