Chapter 1355: 444. Headquarters Reception
On the outskirts of the Mach’s Trusted Star System, the tranquil starry sky was as profound as ever, as if the eternal river of time embraced all things.
“If it were just the three of us, I definitely wouldn’t have come to this ghost place called Mach’s Trusted,” one of them said.
Inside the Sun Knight Battleship Cruiser, Strawberry Juice sat in the pilot’s seat, lingering on the outskirts of the Mach’s Trusted Star System.
Behind her, her two companions were keenly monitoring the ship’s radar and firing system control interface, always keeping an eye on the display for any anomalies.
Hearing Strawberry Juice’s complaint, the other two players chimed in.
“Strawberry Juice is right. Luckily, other players are involved in this task,” said the female player known as “Cat Litter Flavored Cat Stick.”
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Another player named “Cat Stick Flavored Cat Litter” remarked:
“I just don’t know which guild the players who also accepted this hidden task belong to. It would be much easier for us if they had connections inside the Mach’s Trusted Star System.”
About half an hour ago, Strawberry Juice and the sisters Cat Stick and Cat Litter had received a hidden task from a branch of the Metal Creation Group.
Before they departed, the NPC that issued the task told them that, to ensure the task went smoothly, the branch had invited several other player teams to assist.
The location where Strawberry Juice and her team were now was where the players were to rally.
Once everyone arrived, they would venture deeper into the Mach’s Trusted Star System to search for the whereabouts of the Synthetic Engineer.
Strawberry Juice and her team had set off early and had also arrived the earliest.
They had been waiting in place for about five minutes when three silvery-grey ships arrived via warp travel. noveldrama
The ship piloted by Strawberry Juice, the Sun Knight Battleship Cruiser, had an appearance similar to a boomerang, displaying a silver-white surface.
The three silvery-grey ships resembled iron gears and felt substantially heavy.
These were the rides equipped for Advanced Pilots by the Metal Creation Group, known as the Sliding Gear Battleship Cruisers.
Strawberry Juice recognized the origin of these ships at a glance and whispered to her companion:
“It looks like the NPC helpers are players who specialize in Metal Creation Group faction tasks. Only those specialized in enhancing the prestige of the Metal Creation Group would pilot a Sliding Gear Battleship Cruiser.”
No sooner had Strawberry Juice spoken than one of the Sliding Gear Battleground Cruisers sent a communication signal to her ship.
Strawberry Juice pressed the response button on the screen to open communications.
The communication screen showed the scene aboard the other ship, with the captain, a player dressed in the Metal Creation Group Advanced Pilot Uniform, leading the conversation.
This person glanced at the interior of Strawberry Juice’s ship cabin, saw the three female players participating in the task, and said with a polite smile:
“Hello, we are players who specifically run guild tasks. Our team is called ‘Metallic Practitioners.’ I am the Captain, Great Practitioner. Next to me are the two vice-captains, Second Practitioner and Third Practitioner, and behind me are Fourth Practitioners, Fifth Practitioners…”
The person on the communication screen introduced his team in a roll-call manner.
After he finished speaking, Strawberry Juice took the opportunity to introduce her trio and then added the other team as friends.
Another five minutes passed, and three more player teams arrived.
The spaceships of these player teams varied in appearance and were not the standard configuration for Metal Creation Group Advanced Pilots.
Strawberry Juice and the captains of these teams exchanged friend requests as usual, keeping in touch.
Once everyone had gathered, the task interface refreshed, changing from gathering teams to starting the mission.
Information provided by the Metal Creation Group appeared on the mission interface, emphasizing the dangers of this task to the players.
Reliable sources reported that about six months ago, a Metal Creation Group cruise observation satellite went missing while passing near the Mach’s Trusted Star System.
The Metal Creation Group immediately dispatched a team of Synthetic Engineers for repair.
The repair team also lost contact less than a month after departure.
In the subsequent period, the Group successively sent out three Synthetic Human search teams, all of which vanished without transmitting any messages.
The Group suspected that Star Thieves within the Mach’s Trusted Star System had seized the cruise observation satellite and killed the Synthetic Engineers.
Therefore, the Group specially invited the fearless Undying to delve into the Mach’s Trusted Star System to inquire about the satellite.
As long as information about the whereabouts of the satellite or the Synthetic Engineers was gathered, the players could complete their task.
If they could bring back the satellite or the Synthetic Human’s Master Control Chip, the task reward would increase by at least double.
A month had passed since the last Synthetic Human search team disappeared.
Considering the turnover rate of items within the Mach’s Trusted Star System, high-end goods like the Master Control Chip might already be fitted into some Star Thief Big Shot’s computer.
If that were the case, the players surely couldn’t pry open the Big Shot’s skull and dig out the Master Control Chip…
Faced with the information provided on the task interface, players felt troubled, very troubled.
However, considering the substantial remuneration, the players still decided to give it a try.
“Folks, I have a suggestion.”
Great Practitioner mentioned in everyone’s chat channel:
“If we just barge into the Mach’s Trusted Star System, it would be tough to find the satellite and the Master Control Chip. So, let’s consider a different approach. For instance, we could disguise ourselves as the Group’s Synthetic Human search team to lure the Star Thieves into attacking us, then turn the tables and follow them into their lair.”