825 Unexpected Hidden Mission
In front of absolute power, regardless of what the Pangurus Giant Elf race felt or wanted to do, they would not be able to stop the fleet from mining resources.
The efficiency of the galactic mining equipment was extremely high, and resources were rapidly unearthed from all around the planet, filling up the warehouses with batches of raw materials.
During the mining process, some of the exploratory troops discovered even more resources hidden underground, raising the value of the planet even further.
Han Xiao was extremely satisfied as he looked at the report in his hands.
Although the benefits of mining the various resource rich planets in the Shattered Star Ring were not small, he was still in the territory of others, and there was not enough freedom. However, he could do whatever he liked on a resource rich planet that he discovered in the Flickering World. As long as he did not engage in unsustainable mining practices, the dynasty would not interfere.
These materials could be sold back to the dynasty or brought back to the Shattered Star Ring to sell. Han Xiao temporarily stored all of them and got an experienced individual to oversee sales.
After the construction of the stargate, a small troop from the dynasty appeared. After greeting Han Xiao, they also joined in the mining operation and took over the job of educating the natives.
After a simple handing over, Han Xiao called back a portion of his forces.
They had completed the elementary phase of exploring Planet Pangurus, and the only thing left for him to do would be to begin mining. He decided to remain on the planet for another two days and allow the players to enjoy themselves for a bit before setting off to discover another planet.
All the players from the army had discovered their first planet and had a certain understanding of the Flickering World mission. Furthermore, all the players who discovered a resource rich planet could choose to stay behind and mine for resources.
The ordinary players would naturally reject such a proposal. Why would they give up the entire forest for a single tree? However, many of the first-rate guilds actually did the opposite. Because the majority of their core members followed Han Xiao’s main fleet, they could not bear to give up the precious resources on Planet Pangurus.
To the guilds, ten birds in the forest could not beat one in their hands. They needed a long-term supply of resources to provide benefits for the guild. As such, many of the guilds left behind a portion of their manpower to mine for resources.
Because the large mining equipment all belonged to the army, these guilds could only purchase a batch of Worker Bee Armor to issue to their members and allow them to mine freely. The resources that they obtained would be the long-term harvest of the guild.
The players had their own methods to harvest rewards, and Han Xiao would not stop them. After all, it was peanuts to him, and it would not be efficient for him to stop the players from freely doing as they wished. As long as he could satisfy the hunger of these guilds, their sense of belonging to the army would only be strengthened.
The various guilds that came from the Constellation Corridor had also managed to groom a batch of players and left some players behind to mine for resources. As the four large guilds saw that, they decided to work together with the other first-rate guilds and make trouble for these outsiders after the main fleet left. As long as the main fleet left, the outsiders would definitely be at their mercy.
In Version 4.0 of Han Xiao’s previous life, the various guilds were busy destroying each other’s mining locations when they were in the Flickering World. Now that players from the other countries were in the territory of the Chinese guilds, the Chinese guilds definitely would not let them develop in peace.
Because Han Xiao had allowed the players to cross Star Fields ahead of time, the compet.i.tion between guilds appeared earlier.
…
A large storm was raging over some ocean on Planet Pangurus, and the waves were turbulent.
One of the mining bases was located on the ocean, and it remained steady despite the raging waves. A spherical s.h.i.+eld covered the base from the waves, and droplets could be seen on the s.h.i.+eld as the waves crashed into it.
At the edge of the base, many warriors could be seen diving down into the ocean with exploratory equipment on their backs. Underneath the base was a Fusion Crystal Vein, and these individuals were diving underwater to investigate the situation of the ocean.
Maple Moon had also accepted this mission. She put on her armor and very quickly dove down a few thousand meters.
Her field of vision was a deep dark blue, and the waters became black as she looked far ahead. The sense of the unknown filled her with fear, and she could only hear her radar beeping, her own breathing, and her heart beating.
This silent frightening atmosphere made Maple Moon shudder, and she wanted to curl up in a ball.
“I should probably return… I won’t do this mission at the very most.” Maple Moon was terrified in her heart. Although she had already reached Grade B, the attributes of her character would not help prevent her from feeling fear. She had a feeling that she had a slight phobia toward the deep ocean.
Just when she was prepared to swim upward, an alarm rang on her radar.
“Detecting a large living being! The target is currently approaching!”
The waters around her began to surge, and Maple Moon felt as though she could not control her body. She hurriedly activated her stabilizing device, and white light could be seen shooting out from her armor before her body was stabilized.
Before she could even observe her surroundings, her radar displayed a dot of light shooting toward her like a missile.
Maple Moon turned around in a fl.u.s.ter, and a gigantic beast suddenly appeared in her sights. It had countless claws, and its head seemed like a combination of a snake and a dragon. The mouth of the beast was wide open and approaching her rapidly.
Her sights then blacked out, and she was swallowed by the beast.
The beast slowed down after completing its hunt and was about to enjoy its meal. However, its body suddenly began contorting as though it was in immense pain.
The next moment, a brilliant blue light exploded forth from the body of the beast, and the beast exploded into pieces.
Boom!
Fresh, purple blood and meat fragments exploded in the ocean, and Maple Moon’s armor was covered in a sticky liquid. It was the mixture of the beast’s blood and digestive juices.
Upon witnessing this b.l.o.o.d.y scene, Maple Moon hurriedly turned off the mature content, and the scene became less gory.
She had previously been shocked by the sudden appearance of the beast and forgotten to fight back. She only managed to snap back to her senses after being swallowed by the beast and used her Grade B strength to easily eliminate it.
Maple Moon put her weapon away and was prepared to swim upward. All of a sudden, her radar detected an abnormal metal object that was inside the body of the beast.
“What did I discover?” Maple Moon’s eyes shone. As a player who enjoyed storylines, she was an extremely curious individual, and her instinct told her that she had found something important.
After hesitating for half a second, she stopped swimming upward and flipped through the corpse of the beast while bearing with her disgust.
Dang!
A one-meter metal object was sucked into her palms by the magnetic force given out by her palms.
It looked like some form of a detection device and was extremely tattered. It had signs of being corroded all around it, with many craters on the surface of the device as though it was bitten by living beings.
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You have discovered an unknown detection device
Unknown Detection Device: This seems to be the wreckage of some galactic detection device. It is badly damaged, but the technology of the device has far exceeded the range of the planet’s natives. It seems to be from another civilization and may have some hidden message within it. You can attempt to appraise it or give it to a special NPC in exchange for a reward. Or, you can attempt to repair it and activate the device. This will result in a special outcome. Please consider your choice carefully (Requires the ability of a Mechanic).
You have received 6 Exploration Points.
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“It really is a hidden mission!”
Maple Moon’s eyes lit up, and the fear that she had felt was thrown to the back of her mind. She then toyed around with the unknown detection device with curiosity. She loved digging up such unknown storylines the most.
Without any hesitation, she immediately took the item back to the base. Without removing her armor, she hurriedly appraised the detection device. Her Mechanic ability had reached the prerequisite requirements, and the outcome of her appraisal popped up on the interface.
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Appraisal complete!
You have obtained [Broken Coordinate Marker]. This item is used to mark a coordinate in s.p.a.ce.
Current status: Severe damage, system malfunction and all functions disabled.
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“This is some high-level tech.” Maple Moon was surprised. This item had already reached the level of a Star System. Could this mean that Planet Pangurus had been discovered by some civilization before?
There was also the possibility that this marker had been destroyed in the universe and eventually drawn Planet Pangurus because of gravity. It then landed in the ocean and was swallowed by the oceanic beasts. If not, Planet Pangurus would have been visited by guests a long time ago.
Maple Moon fell into a dilemma. This marker was indeed valuable intelligence, and she would receive a reward if she handed it over to the army.
However, she could not reign in her curiosity, and she wanted to fix this marker to see what the ‘special effect’ was and what kind of people she would attract.
After hesitating for a moment, Maple Moon gritted her teeth, and her curiosity emerged victorious.
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You have used [Intermediate Repair] on the [Broken Coordinate Marker]!
Judging… Judgement success.
Your level, INT, Cla.s.s knowledge, and skills have reached the prerequisite requirements
Repair progress 2%… 14%… 35%…
Repair complete. You have obtained [Barely Fixed Coordinate Marker]!
_____________________
Maple Moon was overjoyed and immediately activated the marker without any hesitation.
Di di…
The marker lit up and began sending out coordinates toward an unknown organization.
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You have triggered [Coordinate Marker of Unknown Origin]!
Mission Introduction: You have discovered a pretty high-tech coordinate marker on a native planet. You do not know who sent out this marker but chose to activate it. After the coordinates are sent out, it may attract an unknown organization.
Mission Requirements: Come into contact with the unknown organization.
Reward: 3,000,000 Experience, 70 Exploration Point, x1 [Bold Explorer] skill fragment (Requires 2 fragments to be combined)
[Bold Explorer]: Special skill. When exploring an unknown location and appraising an unknown object, you can use this skill to obtain some information. It can be used repeatedly on the same target. Cooldown: 7 days. Every time the skill is used, you will fall into a [Rash] state. -60% LUK, lasts for 14 days.
Remark: As long as you are bold, the universe is your home.
This mission is connected to the Flickering World Main Storyline Mission. You can report the situation to your faction and obtain the aid of an NPC faction (Strongly Recommended).
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“The reward is a skill fragment? Such a reward is pretty rare. I can seek help from the faction as well. Does this mean that the outcome of activating the marker is extremely severe?” Maple Moon was shocked.
Upon thinking about handing the marker over, the figure of her Army Commander floated up in her head.
…
“You discovered a coordinate marker of an advanced civilization on this planet?”
Looking at the coordinate marker in Maple Moon’s hands, Han Xiao could not help but be surprised.
He had thought that Maple Moon was there to learn skills from him, not expecting her to bring him a hidden tool.
Only the dynasty was exploring this region, and this marker could only belong to one of the unknown native civilizations in the Flickering World. According to the technological skills within the marker, the origin of the marker should be a Star System level civilization.
Furthermore, this marker made use of an ordinary thruster technology to travel. Even if it traveled for a few hundred years, its speed would still be limited. This meant that the civilization that sent out this marker should be within the Star System.
However, Han Xiao could not remember any Star System civilizations around the southern region of the Garu Star Cl.u.s.ter in his previous life. The exploratory data of the Crimson Dynasty did not indicate any Star System civilization in the region. He also had not heard of such an incident from the NPCs in his previous life.
Could it be that the civilization that sent out this marker had already been destroyed and only their remains were left? That was a possibility as well.
However, the hidden mission also popped up on Han Xiao’s interface when he received the marker, and the mission requirement suggests that the unknown civilization was still around.
In his previous life, the initial exploratory phase of the Flickering World was during the version update period, and the players only managed to piece together information of the initial exploratory phase by finding various records and stories. Could it be that this hidden storyline had not been found by the dynasty in his previous life?
Maple Moon did not know that Han Xiao could also accept the mission and was thinking about how she should explain to Han Xiao that this marker was still useful.
“Let me study this thing for a while,” Han Xiao said at this moment. “I may be able to find something.”
Upon hearing that, Maple Moon thought that she was handing over the mission object and did not object.
Upon witnessing Maple Moon leave, Han Xiao began to study the marker in his hands with his eyes glowing.
“I never expected to make such a discovery on Planet Pangurus. The ability of the players to find hidden missions is truly reliable.” Han Xiao chuckled to himself.
The reward of the hidden mission had truly tempted him. [Bold Explorer] was an appraisal skill and reached the level of appraising the unknown. There were very few players who had such a skill in his previous life. Although it was not useful to combat, it was very useful to dig out hidden storylines.
However, he did not know how to obtain any additional skill fragments.
Although the skill was extremely limited, it was still useful to him. Not to mention anything else, he still did not have any progress on the strange data that EsG.o.d had left behind. Aesop was not able to predict anything either. If he could obtain this skill, he may be able to find some clues.
“It is a pity that it isn’t a complete skill but only a skill fragment,” Han Xiao said with pity.
Shaking his head, Han Xiao entered the quantum network and began studying the marker. Since the marker also made use of quantum network technology, Han Xiao could use his Virtual Mechanic skill to trace the origin of the item.
The mission required him to come into contact with the unknown organization, and it seemed as though he had to wait for their appearance. However, there was a hidden trick within it.
The Flickering World was not like the explored universe, and there were no laws in place. The native civilizations were still in an era of darkness and did not know of each other’s existence. Thus, the moment they discovered that the marker was activated, this would mean war for the civilization who sent it out.
Coming into contact with the marker was akin to being attacked by the other party.
As such, rather than waiting for the other party to find him, Han Xiao would prefer to take the initiative by sending his forces over. Since the mission only required him to come into contact with the other party, it would not matter who took the initiative.
After backtracking the roots of the marker through the quantum network for a while, Han Xiao opened his eyes abruptly. He then opened a star map and pointed at a location a couple of Star Zones away from Planet Pangurus.
“I found you.”
Han Xiao’s eyes narrowed. He remembered that there was no native civilization at this location in his previous life.
After thinking for a moment, Han Xiao snapped his fingers and Psionic Prime appeared before him.
“Master.”
“I have a mission for you.” Han Xiao said slowly, “Bring a few Mechanical lives and a mechanical army to find the fellows who sent out this coordinate marker. Subdue them if they attack you.”
“Yes master.”
Psionic Prime nodded and immediately left the room to organize his troops.
Because it was a few Star Zones away and would be a waste of time for him to go, Han Xiao did not plan to make a personal trip.
His Mechanical lives could now hold their own, and he could transmit his Mechanical Force to the mechanical soldiers not beside him through the [Quantum Infinite Distance Transmission Channel]. Thus, his mechanical army had the ability to set off on a long-distance expedition, and he would still have the combat strength of a Beyond Grade A Super even if it was a few light years away.
This was one of the reasons Beyond Grade A Mechanics were feared in the galaxy! The range of their ability was the most frightening among all the Cla.s.ses!