The strategy team's speculation came to an end, and the comment section immediately ignited with discussion. Naturally, the main topic was Tomorrow's Development. Many players who had joined simply because it was "the popular choice" were only now realizing that, without noticing it, they had fully aligned themselves with the main storyline.
After all, MMORPGs often featured that kind of NPC — the one who appears from the very start, stays by the player's side, grows together with them, and eventually becomes a comrade-in-arms whose fate is intertwined with theirs. Players had seen countless stories like this.
Looking back now, Felix, who had walked with the players from Version 1.0 all the way to this point, was clearly the most prominent example. The "Main Story NPC" label had been glued to him since long ago, and the release of the 3.0 PV only cemented that fact.
Walking alongside the players weren't just Felix — there were also Degenbrecher, Carnelian, Loughshinny, and many other NPCs belonging to Tomorrow's Development. The players affectionately referred to them as the "main cast."
As 2.0 progressed, the main cast expanded further with the additions of Ines, Hoederer, Anthony, Luna, and other powerful figures. By the end of 2.0, even the unique Sarkaz groups had been brought into the Tomorrow's Development family.
Players felt proud to call themselves members of Tomorrow's Development. Their actions and ideals were righteous, and being part of that righteousness made players feel respected.
A perfect positive cycle.
Of course, there were also chaos-lovers and morally gray players who preferred to join other factions — or even went straight to destructive groups like the Reunion Movement mentioned in Yang Yan XF's video, where they could plunder and burn to their heart's content. But Tomorrow's Development had already become the mainstream home of players, the faction they relied on and were proud of.
This was thanks to Felix's early groundwork, and equally thanks to the players' own growth. From the beginning, it had been a win–win partnership.
Felix lowered his gaze. Rhodes Island had once again sent him a meeting request. This time, the topic was openly placed on the table — the plan to rescue the Doctor. Amiya and Kal'tsit needed his assistance.
This was a good opportunity. He decided to finalize the team for the operation. Considering the heavy casualties Rhodes Island had suffered in the previous timeline, Felix's expression tightened. That tragedy would not happen again. Not this time.
ACE, my man. I am ordering you to live this time!
In the previous timeline, Reunion had been made up mostly of violent radicals, so Felix hadn't taken them too seriously. But he had no intention of going easy. Many more had joined Reunion back then, including top players. The battlefield had fractured into countless small skirmishes where players fought to buy time for NPCs. Then Talulah appeared and bathed Rhodes Island's operatives in flames. Several important operators had died.
This time, Felix planned to deploy the Lightbearers and, once they returned online, the Emperor's Children. Saviadel was to rest for now — they still had tougher battles ahead.
A two-thousand-strong legion could hold the lines, maybe even spare some forces. But Talulah also commanded Patriot's shield guards and FrostNova's Yeti Squadron. Holding back would be suicidal.
Aside from the military units, Felix intended to bring elite combatants. He thought it over.
Jesselton had been diligently avoiding Saria's supervision while training alone. His loyalty and patience spoke for themselves. This was a chance to promote him from simple muscle to actual leadership. Whether he could handle it depended on his performance.
Then there was Mountain, who had long wanted to fight at his side. In the previous timeline, Anthony had excelled not only at administrative work but also on the battlefield. Mountain might follow a similar path with the right opportunities.
With these two pillars at the front, Felix added Nearl and Shining. The two had always worked well together — Shining could handle medical support, while Nearl was simply, undeniably strong.
Talulah had recruited remnants of the former Military Commission's Sarkaz mercenaries. W and Ines could deal with them. In addition, he included Mudrock and Qalaiša. Despite being captains of the Saviadel Gargoyle and the Nachzehrer, both possessed formidable individual combat ability. They had more than enough strength for the battlefield.
After sending out these orders via the comms network, Felix began preparing himself. As the new King of Kazdel, he had experimented with his power and trained in secret with Degenbrecher, but he had never used these abilities in real combat. For this mission to Chernobog, he was eager to see what he could truly do.
Five hours later, in the lounge—
Operators of all kinds had gathered. Standing off to the side, arms crossed, looking aloof in his mech suit, was Jesselton. His expression was blank, but his loyalty was unmistakable. Mountain, Nearl, and Shining discussed cooperation between departments — Mountain managed the coordination project, and Shining hoped Nightingale could heal quietly without stress.
W, Ines, Mudrock, and Qalaiša sat together. Though all Sarkaz, each held very different roles. Ines was constantly traveling for work. W, former leader of Babel, was still learning the ropes. Mudrock and Qalaiša chatted more frequently; as members of Saviadel, they trained and relaxed together often.
Everyone knew that if Felix had called them here, something significant was coming. W was reluctant at first, but Ines dragged her along anyway. All of them were fully geared and dressed in their most comfortable clothes — each outfit carrying the unmistakable mark of Tomorrow's Development.
Felix was the last to arrive, as expected. The moment he stepped into the lounge, everyone instinctively rose to their feet, offering the young king their respect and admiration.
"The mission details are already attached in the email."
His voice was calm as he swept his gaze across the room. "We will be assisting Rhodes Island Pharmaceuticals in this operation. In terms of field execution, we hold far more experience. As seniors, and also as collaborators, our words and actions must reflect the standards of Tomorrow's Development."
Everyone straightened their backs. Even W kept silent. Ines realized that W had been cursing far less in front of Felix lately, though she remained the same menace toward everyone else. Was this simply the logic of one force suppressing another?
Felix gave a small nod and led the way out of the lounge toward the helipad. They would be taking a special transport craft directly to the Rhodes Island vessel.
This time, he had brought a number of high-level combatants for the meeting. They would also be the ones executing the mission. To Rhodes Island, they were like rain falling from the heavens in drought.
Rhodes Island's elite combat power was simply too limited.
After several hours of flight, the plane finally touched down on Rhodes Island's deck. The welcoming party was already there: Amiya's bright smile, Kal'tsit, Scout, ACE, and others.
Some of them couldn't help sighing inwardly when they saw the formidable operators standing proudly behind Felix. Ines, W, Qalaiša—these people they recognized well, all having had various levels of involvement with Babel. W had once been utterly devoted to Her Highness. Yet now they were treading a different path.
Scout quietly swallowed his sigh. Beyond acknowledging the twists of fate, he also regretted that Logos wasn't here to witness this sight. Logos had returned to Kazdel to visit family, and afterward had said he intended to go to Victoria to gather intelligence on General Theresis.
Kal'tsit pressed her lips together. Something about Felix had changed, and her green eyes lingered on him—for a long moment—on his face, his presence, the crown above his head. Only after a while did she slowly avert her gaze.
Amiya, still as attached to Felix as ever, managed to restrain herself from throwing her arms around him. Acting like a little adult, she guided both groups toward the conference room.
Felix noticed ACE standing with a squad behind him, and among them was a very familiar face from his previous life—Blaze. The big feline's blue eyes were wide open, curiously examining the Pioneer entourage.
"Thank you… Brother Felix."
Before the meeting began, Amiya whispered to him. She wanted to thank him for bringing so many people. She had thought he would at most ask his adventurers to lend a hand, which would already have been more than enough. She never expected high-level combatants to show up. Wasn't this… overkill?
From her understanding, this was just a standard rescue mission. Did Chernobog's guards really require a lineup like this?
Felix patted her head gently and waited for the meeting to begin.
The agenda was simple. First, they repeated the vote and discussion regarding the decision to rescue the Doctor. W nearly exploded on the spot, but seeing Felix's calm, unshaken expression, she barely managed to hold back the urge to lob a grenade at the "old woman." Her scowl, however, made her feelings unmistakably clear.
Next came the planning and personnel assignments, with Rhodes Island's members handling most of that segment. For them, this mission was also a drill—rescuing a Doctor was, after all, good training.
From his seat, Felix spotted many familiar faces from his previous life: Frostleaf, Dobermann, Jessica… Seeing Jessica reminded him that he had never properly reached out to Blacksteel International. He had meant to establish business relations, but in those early years, Columbia's capital-driven environment wouldn't have taken notice of him. Moreover, their paths diverged—Cliff was creating a global security company to end war through strength, while Felix intended to unify Terra outright with his own power.
Cliff sought order. Felix sought an order shaped by himself.
It was finalized that Scout would lead his reconnaissance team to Chernobog first for surveillance and scouting—he had mostly new recruits with him, so the mission was essentially practice. After that came Amiya and Felix's main forces.
When Amiya heard that Felix would personally be on-site, her eyes reddened slightly from emotion. She wanted nothing more than to leap into her big brother's arms. Kal'tsit, meanwhile, showed a conflicted expression, worried that if Felix got carried away, he might just stab the Doctor on a whim.
W let out a satisfied snort at seeing the "old woman" behave so uncharacteristically meek.
After the meeting ended, Amiya and Kal'tsit left the room. The remaining operators immediately relaxed, chatting freely. Felix stretched lazily in his chair and prepared to stand.
Someone suddenly stepped in front of him. He glanced up and saw the operator tag on her chest.
"Is there something you need, miss Dobermann?"
"I want to express my gratitude to Tomorrow's Development. That is all."
Dobermann, ever the rigid and disciplined soldier, bowed deeply. "I was once a soldier of Bolívar. In clashing with Tomorrow's Development, I finally realized what it is I truly seek… and what my people have long been lacking."
"So you came to Rhodes Island Pharmaceuticals."
"Yes. I want to help more people here."
Dobermann's smile was faint and soft. "Tomorrow's Development has grown powerful. It's full of elites, and my strength doesn't make much of a difference there. But here, I can guide more newcomers as they grow."
Felix nodded with a small smile. He wasn't particularly regretful about losing someone like Dobermann. With how far Tomorrow's Development had developed, they really didn't lack a trainer for new recruits. What he did find a bit unfortunate was his earlier ambition… that idea of recruiting every member of Rhodes Island Pharmaceuticals to his side.
Thinking about it that way, Amiya was rather pitiful.
Felix walked over to ACE's desk. The latter was carefully organizing the meeting notes. ACE pushed up his sunglasses, only to be met with a dazzling flash of gold.
"Fel… Your Highness."
"Calling me that feels a bit distant, doesn't it?"
ACE chuckled. "Rhodes Island and Tomorrow's Development are partners now. And Your Highness is half a benefactor to Rhodes Island. How could I neglect basic courtesy?"
Felix glanced behind him at his bodyguard, Jesselton, who followed like a silent shadow. Then he looked at the senior members of Tomorrow's Development gradually mingling with the Rhodes Island operators. He nodded slowly. "Let's get a drink."
"Drinking in the middle of the day?"
"What? You can't even join your partner in having a drink now?"
ACE couldn't decide whether to laugh or sigh, so he stood up. Beside him, Blaze flicked her tail and hopped to her feet. "I've completed my training goal for today. I want a drink too."
ACE covered his face with his hand.