The Legendary Mechanic

by S.H.A aifu

What do you do when you wake up and find yourself inside the very game that you love? What do you do when you realize you that you have not only become an NPC – you have even been thrown back in time to before the game even launched! What will happen when our protagonist’s two realities coincide? Han Xiao was a professional power leveler before his transmigration.

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Read The Legendary Mechanic - Chapter 373 - Getting Employed (2) online free - Novel Full

Chapter 373: Getting Employed (2)

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

Ames seemed a bit lost and floated away after signaling for Wilsander to deal with the rest of the matters.

The mercenaries were shocked. Just what was happening? She was just about to kill everyone in the Black Star Mercenary Group a short while ago, yet now they had become her underlings? Were they really people in the same line of work?

"How come I didn't know about anything you said?" Herlous said quietly. "You couldn't have been lying, could you?

"You don't know a lot more things," replied Han Xiao with a calm expression. "She is someone at the top of the food chain. Do you think it would be that easy to trick her?"

"That makes sense." Herlous took what Han Xiao said at face value. If Han Xiao could not even trick him, how could he trick the "Dragon Emperor" of the Shattered Star Ring?

Just as the guards were about to take away the other people from the three big Mercenary Groups, Goa shuffled close to Han Xiao and said, "We're getting locked up, and you're the only one who can move around freely. Now that you've become Ames's underling, see if you can convince those people to let the Silvers go. You're now the only one left who can complete the mission."

Porter, Cerleni, and the others also all threw glances at Han Xiao as they were getting dragged off, telling him to improvise.

Those mercenaries had been rendered completely useless within an instant, and although they did not understand how Han Xiao suddenly became Ames's subordinate, he was now their only hope.

The Silvers rescue's all on you now, buddy!

Wilsander walked over and led the others out of the hall to go to another giant building.

"Don't worry. Since Ames has already recruited you, we're now colleagues. Ames treats all her subordinates decently, so you don't have to worry. I'm now taking you to go see the Head Butler. She will assign you with your duties," explained Wilsander passionately.

Han Xiao nodded. He was obviously familiar with the pros and cons of working under Ames. Most of her underlings were random fodder, and she only had three important subordinates. The first was the Head Butler, who was also her cousin. The second was Floating Dragon Island's logistics manager and a skilled Mechanic. The last was Wilsander. Although he seemed like quite a pushover right now, he had once been a big-name pirate who roamed the stars.

The three each took care of their own jobs and were Ames's trusted people. Some called them the 'Dragon Guard Trio'. Most of the players in the past who came to Floating Dragon Island received missions from these three.

Han Xiao went back and forth with Wilsander for a while to get close to him. He had a certain understanding of Wilsander and was able to quickly get on the latter's good side.

After chatting for a while, Wilsander could not hold back his curiosity any longer and held Han Xiao's shoulder as he asked, "Hey, Black Star. The person you were talking about earlier… What's his relationship with Ames?"

"I've only met each of them once. How would I know?" Han Xiao's eyebrows rose up as if they sensed something. "It seems like you have feelings for Ames…"

Wilsander did not become awkward at all upon hearing the remark and instead laughed aloud. "Haha. Although she has never answered my pursuits, my handsome appearance and bravery will surely be able to win her over sooner or later.

Handsome… Han Xiao carefully scanned the other person. If we go back the Demon Tribe's standards, then maybe your looks would at least be considered to be normal.

In truth, that person was not Ames' lover or anything of the sort. That person was her teacher. In the player's eyes, that person was an extremely mysterious travelling merchant. Chance encounters with him could give them the opportunity to buy unique items off of him, and they might even be able to trigger some legendary questline. That person actually did not want to meet Ames, so Han Xiao was not really lying to her. He even let her know about this news earlier so that she did not have to continue waiting for him all that time.

Ames' past was clouded in mystery, but it was not because she came from some extraordinary background. She had originally been a very normal girl. She had been abandoned by her family at a very young age and taken in by her teacher. She had then awakened her powers and built her foundations as an Esper under her teacher's wing. These two went way back, and the teacher had left her with a promise before leaving for an unknown reason—to find her again once she had made her name known throughout space. However, after she had rose up to her current heights, her teacher was still no way to be seen, giving Han Xiao chance to pull the earlier trick.

They arrived at a tall building. It was the Administrative Center of Floating Dragon Island in name and was there for people to conduct their daily business. When the group arrived at the rooftop, they saw a large office with ten or so assistants working their *sses off inside. The Head Butler was giving out documents behind a table. Ames' cousin had the appearance of an ordinary woman and was Ames close friend.

"Jenny, these are the new recruits. See if you got any jobs for them," said Wilsander the moment that he walked into the room.

Head Butler Jenny did not even look up at and continued to deal with the documents. "Name, power."

Her words came out so fast, as if she did not even have a second to spare.

"Black Star, Mechanic, grade B…" Han Xiao and the players each stated their basic information.

Right after they finished, Jenny said, "Black Star, go report to the Logistics Manager. They're in need of a new skilled mechanic there. The others will all join the guards. Your information has already been registered. Uniforms and badges will be given to you in two days."

The players had become part of the guards, while he became a logistics worker. His mechanic skills just so happened to be good enough for the manager. He did not mind this arrangement, and the officer feature of the faction interface could finally be put to good use now that he was splitting up with the players.

After they left the hall, Han Xiao said in a quiet voice, "Herlous, you will be the temporary leader of the other members. Protect them and make sure that they don't cause any trouble."

"I know." Herlous nodded. "You be careful, too."

Having Herlous as the leader should decrease the chances of the players doing something stupid in his absence… However, aside from the few idiotic players, most of these pro players could handle themselves well enough. Although they were slightly shocked by the sudden turn of events, they trusted Han Xiao and would take things one step at a time.

"Haha. I will take care of your team. They will get to form a squad of their own." Although Wilsander did not look the type, he was actually a very easygoing person. Han Xiao had also been able to get on his good side from their earlier conversation, and so he was willing to lend a hand to help.

Floating Dragon Island's logistics work mainly included the repair and maintenance of the device that kept the floating island afloat. Han Xiao went alone to the logistics department and was met with a massive high-tech garage. This department had the lowest number of people compared to the other two on the island.

As Han Xiao stepped through the door, he saw a six-armed, human-sized, two-legged insect walk up to him. What was interesting was that this creature had a mechanic's uniform on.

"You must be Black Star. Welcome. We're currently very shorthanded right now, and it's nice that we finally got a new mechanic."

This arthropod was the Logistics Manager. Its species could only make clicking noises when they spoke, and the special communicator that he wore turned that voice into that of an old man's. His translated name was Haier.

Haier was a very high-level mechanic who had been working for Ames for a long time.

Han Xiao had already met the three top dogs on the island within the short period of time since arriving on the island, and he could already tell how carefree Ames was with choosing her subordinates. The Head Butler was her cousin, Jenny; the Guard Captain Wilsander was of Demon Tribe and even used to be a pirate; the logistics manager was an arthropod.

"Our work includes maintaining the island's boosters, anti-gravity device, life-sustaining device, and mineral collector. We also sometimes create and repair spaceships…"

Although Haier had a scary appearance, he was actually very kind and took Han Xiao on a short tour around the logistics department after his short explanation.

After learning about his work, Han Xiao was pleasantly surprised. Logistics work could actually be quite beneficial to him, and he did not even have to work that hard. With the interface, he could create a lot more blueprints from doing all the repairing and maintenance!

Moreover, the logistics department did not really set any strict rules or regulations on its employees, so many spent their free time working on their own machines. Although this was never explicitly stated, it seemed like they could also use the rare and unique materials on this island for themselves. Such as the Void Dragon's skeletons…

After the standard introductory procedure, Han Xiao officially became one of them.

For the next few days, he followed Haier to familiarize himself with the work on the island. He was quickly accepted as another member in the department. The players were also faring quite well on their end. Most of the other Dragon Guards were normal people, and they did not dare cause trouble with the team of Supers led by Herlous. After being dispatched on and completing a few missions, they slowly transformed from random outsiders into the enforcers on the island.

In the slave market, Horlaide was very excited when he found that the Silvers had been captured. He had been trying to find a client for these past few days. Many buyers had secretly offered him their prices, but he was not happy with all of them and was still in the middle of the bargaining stage.

That day, Horlaide received a communication request from the base.

"Haha. You're still alive." Horlaide made fun of the caller.

"I almost died." Peggy had a raspy voice. He had nearly kicked the bucket after getting beaten up badly by Han Xiao and barely made it out alive and back onto his ship. He wanted his money. "The Silvers have already been handed to you. Where are you going to hand me my pay?"

"What pay?"

"What do you mean?" Peggy frowned. "Are you not planning on paying me?"

"No, no, no. You need to understand something. Your cargo was taken away by the mercenaries," Horlaide slowly reasoned. "I had to work to get them back. Why would I pay you money?"

Peggy had an ugly face as he switched off the communicator. "Filthy merchant!"

The Silvers were a Super valuable cargo. He knew that he had no way of dealing with Horlaide. He was the one who had gotten beaten up and lost the cargo. Nothing could be done no matter how mad he got. A criminal lived by the code of the survival of the fittest, and even he could not do anything about Horlaide breaking their promise.

"That bunch of stupid mercenaries!" Compared to Horlaide, the mercenaries were the biggest reason that he had failed so badly. He hated them to his bones and gritted his teeth as he smashed apart the communicator with his palm.

Just as Peggy was getting angry all by himself, an ordinary-looking spaceship docked next to him.

"Ember, we're here."

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Chapter 374: Your Friend DarkStar Is Now Online

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

This spaceship had specially been dispatched for a mission by DarkStar, and it had been re-outfitted to look like a normal traveler ship. A group of people walked off the ship and stepped onto the Floating Dragon Island's docks. The savage inhabitants of the island who were at the docks glared at these seemingly unsuspecting common travelers.

The DarkStar people kept their heads low and headed into town. After making several twists and turns in the streets, just as they were about to pass by the alleyway between two houses, a muscle man walked in front of them and blocked their path. A group of brutes also appeared from behind them, pincering them.

"This isn't the kind of place that ordinary people should visit. I suggest you guys pay up for that advice…" The pirate who acted as the leader of the ambushers said this as he calmly pointed his gun at the newcomers' leader.

The other pirates also smiled creepily. However, their leader failed to make any more sounds after that sentence, and they started to feel like it was odd. One of the lackeys lightly shook the leader's shoulder, and suddenly, the leader's head came rolling off and fell onto the ground.

His clothes also fell onto the floor, and black-colored dust wafted off them.

The pirates' hesitation instantly changed into fear, and they turned ran. However, they could not get very far before they all disintegrated into dust particles, leaving piles of clothing on the floor.

The DarkStar's people could not even be bothered to spare another glance before they quickly went on their way as if they had long become used to this scene. This was their captain's ability, Ember. The ability could, to an extent, control carbon molecules, making it a huge control to all carbon-based organisms. As long as his enemies had even a speck of carbon molecules in their bodies, he could deal some devastating true damage to them by a thought of his mind. Even energy-protected Supers would be dealt with heavy damage by this ability. His Esper power's potential rating was an A!

Ember was a member in DarkStar's plan to nurture a new generation of trump cards. The information in the Secret Message Bead had been bought from a research organization in another part of space at a very high price. DarkStar had already been working with the other group for many years, and this time, they each sent disguised parties, the carriers, of mixed species and races that 'coincidentally' came to the Shattered Star Ring to do business.

The Silvers were responsible for transporting the goods this time, but they got into an accident, and both the carrier and the Secret Message Bead were lost. This team was specifically dispatched the lost Secret Message Bead.

Ember brought his group to a hideout to rest. There were anti-detection devices already prepared in the room for them. He then sent out some of his men to search for information. The men returned before long, and the whole group gathered in the room for a meeting.

"We got the info. The Silvers are confined in a local slave market. We have already marked the location on the map. We should now try to get in contact with the carrier.

"So, what's the plan? Do we raid the slave market and rescue the carrier directly?"

"Only saving the Silvers would be too suspicious. If we're going to do it, we should break all the slaves out."

After everyone had finished discussing with each other, Ember slowly opened his mouth and said lightly, "Let's not use to resort to force yet. We are, after all, in the Dragon Emperor's territory. I will go look for the slave market people and try to buy the Silvers back."

Beside a large mineral burrowing device on Floating Dragon Island stood Han Xiao. He was currently carrying out repairs for the device with a group of workers surrounding him as they watched him work.

After screwing in the last nut, the device whirred back to life, and the workers were able to go right back into their work. Han Xiao turned and left while opening up the interface.

The machinery on Floating Dragon Island is all gigantic, and the level of technology used is also much more advanced. Although I still don't have enough knowledge to reverse engineer blueprints for them, I did manage to come up with the blueprint for the Dragon Guards' aircraft.

He had been secretly learning the fighter aircraft's blueprint over the past few days of logistical work. Its name was 'Dragon Butterfly Aircraft'. It was an anti-gravity hovercraft capable of atmospheric flight, and it was extremely fast and agile. Its size was average and allowed it to carry six to ten passengers. This was a blueprint that Haier had developed himself, yet Han Xiao had been able to learn it without anyone knowing.

The Great Mechanic Han had always been thinking about building a multi-passenger transport. With these new blueprints, he could finally overcome the technical difficulties that he had faced in the past, as well as greatly increase the capability of the transport that he had in mind. He constantly utilized the free time given to logistics workers to design the structure for his new transport.

After he returned to his personal garage, Han Xiao was faced with a giant sphere-shaped machine that was hung up in the middle of the room by several chains. His manufacturing speed had increased several folds recently in part due to the [Instant Deconstruction and Assembly] ability that he had obtained from the Silvers. He had already put in ten potential points to max this ability out.

The best part of working for the logistics department was that he had mountains of raw materials that he could use whenever he wanted. He did not even have to care about production costs. However, only Haier was allowed to use the more valuable materials, such as the Void Dragons' bones.

Han Xiao was incredibly envious about this. Void Dragons' bones were unbelievably hard, and even on their own, they were harder than all types alloys that he could currently produce. One of the more advanced blueprints for a higher-level battle suit required Void Dragon bones as the material for its core. That suit was even stronger than Amphiptere without the bones, and being imbued with the Void Dragons' special power made it several times stronger than Amphiptere.

That blueprint was not too hard to learn and could be obtained as long as one had the necessary knowledge. The hard part was gathering the materials required to build it. Floating Dragon Island was one of the only few places in the whole Shattered Star Ring that produced Void Dragon bones. If he could get his hands on enough of those bones, he could build himself new battle armor that would be upgraded from the 'snake' label.

Aside from the bones themselves, the liquid that could be extracted from the Void Dragon marrow was also extremely precious. However, Haier carefully watched over the stock of these materials. This was a clear show of the benefits that the Floating Dragon Island carried with it. Even without Ames managing the island's affairs seriously, it was still able to amass countless goodies.

Now that I have finally blended into the crowd, it's about time that I went to find Horlaide to talk about the Silver issue. I am also in a much better position now to make deals with the island's people.

Han Xiao knew that he could not trust the people from the big three mercenary groups and could only rely on himself for this.

Once again, Han Xiao visited the slave market. However, unlike usual, someone hurriedly called out his name just as he was about to stride in through the main gates.

"Black. Black Star! Please wait!" Theon rushed over while out of breath.

"Oh, it's you." Han Xiao gave him a glance from the side.

Theon's face was currently badly beaten up, with bandages all around it, and he looked like he had gone through a botched surgery. His subordinates who followed behind him did not look any better.

Theon coughed with a horrified look on his face. "Could you please stop your subordinates from bullying us…"

"What are you talking about? We're colleagues, man. To improve the capability of the Dragon Guards, I have tasked my group members with carefully organizing combat practices with you guys. How could you call us bullies?" Han Xiao said with a meaningful tone.

"I did wrong. I really did wrong. I will apologize however you want!" Theon sobbed in the open, and it was unthinkable how this was the same person who had been acting so high and mighty just several days ago.

Theon's pride came from the sole fact that he was part of the guards, and he had thought that he could look down on all the foreign visitors of the island. However, Han Xiao had suddenly become his 'colleague'. He did not even know that misfortune could arrive so fast without notice.

A few days ago, Han Xiao had been too lazy to teach this guy a lesson himself, so he had just thrown a few missions for the players. They were part of the guards anyway, and they were just about getting a kick out of beating him up. Even after Theon went to find the guard captain to complain about this matter, Wilsander simply turned a blind eye to it and could not be bothered to step in.

Theon could not stand being beaten up all the time like this anymore. However, he was not brave enough to just quit his job either. He was like an ant on a flaming-hot pan and had been waiting for technician Han every day over the past few days.

"Haha, why're you apologizing?" Han Xiao said cheerfully. "You were only following orders and didn't do anything wrong."

"How can I get you to forgive me?" said Theon with tears and snot all over his face. If he had known that this would happen, he never would have acted so unreserved like he did before.

"There's a saying that one's well-being is invaluable. How much do you think your wellbeing is worth?" Han Xiao's smile turned to a wicked one all a sudden.

Theon felt his body shudder at that sight, and he said through gritted teeth, "One thousand…."

The Great Mechanic Han was shocked and let out a gasp. "You price yourself that low?"

"Then it's 1,500…"

Han Xiao shook his head and clicked his tongue. "Looks like my friends need to help you establish a sense of self-worth."

"2,000! That's all I have in my account. It's my savings over all the years. I'm begging you, please! I only have this much…"

"Sigh. Let's just consider it as me giving you a discount. Too bad I'm just this kindhearted, right?" Han Xiao then took out his communicator and pulled up the transaction menu before swiping his eyes over Theon's underlings and chuckled. "How about you guys?"

His smile was basically that of the devil's to the group of people. They were all horrified and made the transfers without a second word. After hearing the sound of the successful transaction, Theon felt his soul leave his body. Not only did he lose the portion of the money that Horlaide had secretly paid him earlier to get him to act, he had also lost most of his life savings.

Han Xiao was all smiles and sunshine once more when his purse was filled up with the 34,000 Enas from the guards. He swung his arms around as he turned and entered the slave market.

Theon's team receiving the money in secret was one of the main reasons that the mercenaries' rescue operation had failed right at the end. It was not Han Xiao's style to just get a little revenge when he could. He would take back what he had lost because of Theon with full interest.

After he entered the slave market, he was led to Horlaide's office by the workers.

Horlaide's face scrunched up into a smile as he welcomed Han Xiao passionately. "Take a seat. Would you like anything to drink?"

"Don't bother. I will be going straight to the point here. I'm taking the Silvers away. Name your price." Han Xiao went into topic without any delay. Horlaide knew that he was the mercenary from earlier, and he also knew that he had now become a colleague, hence the passionate tone.

But Horlaide was considered someone who worked under the Head Butler. Since violence would obviously not be a wise choice, he came this time to negotiate.

Horlaide put on a fake smile and said, "What happened earlier was a misunderstanding. I'm sorry for any inconvenience that it may have caused you. However, what's done is done. The Silvers are now on the market. Things are also not easy for me. I hope that you can understand."

Han Xiao raised an eyebrow, as he smelled the smell of someone in the same line of business as himself. "Don't bullsh*t, you already have a plan."

Horlaide chuckled. "I've heard that your client cares a lot about their own. I believe that they will be very generous with opening up their purse. How about this? You help me convince them about the deal, and I will give you ten percent of the transaction fee."

"How much are you planning to ask for?" asked Han Xiao.

"200,000… per person!" Horlaide raised up a single finger while smiling creepily. This price was, without a doubt, ridiculous. It was several times more than the market price. It was obvious then that the Silver client was the prey that Horlaide had laid his eyes on.

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Chapter 375: Customers First

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

Han Xiao squinted and stared at Horlaide without saying anything. After a while, Han Xiao shook his head and said, "I won't help you to persuade them. Keep the money."

Horlaide was surprised. "Why?"

"Everything has rules." Although the reason Han Xiao became a mercenary was to earn cash, since he had already started this job, he would follow the rules in the industry. He had strong morals as betraying the employer was the worst crime that one could commit. Thus, he declined Horlaide's offer to trick his employer.

"Don't you want to earn money? That's the reason you choose to be a mercenary, right? Fifteen people could sell three million Enas. Let's say if you only get ten percent, that's still a lot of money that you can't earn while serving others. Because I'm your colleague, that's why I decided to share some of the benefit to compensate the reward you lost after your mercenary group failed the mission. Do you really want to let go of this opportunity?" Horlaide asked as he shrugged.

"Sorry, my creed is honorable. I don't do shady business." Han Xiao was not lured by the amount of cash. He did not want to follow Horlaide's intent. He wanted to have an image of being trustworthy. Moreover, he had accepted the mission from the Silver; however, it was not for money but to earn knowledge.

On top of that, the mission still had to depend on whether or not the Silver would reach an agreement on the negotiation. If they did, then what was the need for mercenaries? Han Xiao would not get any reward.

Horlaide made a duck face. "All up to you. I will talk with your boss myself."

Han Xiao took out the communicator and called the employer. The face of the Silver showed up on the screen. The Silver was surprised when they saw Han Xiao. After thinking for a while, they finally remembered that Han Xiao was one of their mercenaries. They asked in confusion, "Why did you call us? Where are the guys from Sky Ring? Oh right, where you are now? When are you coming back?"

Han Xiao shook his head. "There have been some accidents. We got attacked, and the hostages were sent to the slave market. The people from Sky Ring, Blades, and Purple Gold have all been captured, so I am in charge of the mission now. I found the manager of this slave market, and he wants to negotiate with you.

"Hehe, your comrades are in my hands…" Horlaide straightened his clothes, and he started to list his demands.

The Silver raged. "That's too expensive! We can't accept that price!"

"Sorry, you are in no position to talk back," Horlaide said back in a deep and firm voice. The hostages were in his hands, and he was confident that the Silver wouldn't abandon their people. Three million Enas was a lot, but the Silver's pockets was deep enough, so they could still squeeze enough money.

"We'll need time to discuss." The Silver ground his teeth, but he could not reject the offer.

"Call me after you reach a conclusion, but there is a time limit. A lot of our dear customers really want to buy your friends, so you are not the only buyer," Horlaide threatened.

Han Xiao turned off his communicator and left without any expression. Horlaide wanted to wave, but he did not move an inch, sitting on his chair.

As Han Xiao stepped outside of the door, a man wearing a mask was trying to get into the room. They brushed past each other's shoulders, and time froze at that moment. Han Xiao's hair all stood up, and he felt something sharp pointing on his forehead.

Both of them looked at each other as if they exchanged punches. The scene froze in place, the environment all lost its color, and only their eyes were visible.

The next second, color and sound broke the ice. They acted like nothing happened and kept on walking.

After several steps, Han Xiao looked back at the man. With greater power, he also had a better sense on the outside world. He felt endangered after getting close to a powerful being, and that was the feeling that the man in the mask gave Han Xiao. It was not only strength, but the aura of the man hinted the smell of blood of the dead. Only people with strong senses could notice this detail.

Han Xiao's instinct told him that the masked man was also here for the Silver.

I wonder where he is from…

Han Xiao shook his hand and contacted the employer.

The Silver was upset. "Why are the ones rescuing captured? Now what? Do we have to pay the money?"

"Don't rush to a decision," Han Xiao replied. "It seems that the hostages are still save. I will think of another way."

"… Okay. Remember, you must prioritize their safety."

After the call ended, Han Xiao grabbed his hair and felt a headache coming on.

"What should I do? The hostages are all with Horlaide. Right now, I am a member of Floating Dragon Island, so I can't draw attention. Um… There's only one way to force Horlaide to give up the hostage. I need to persuade Jenny and Ames…" He suddenly had an idea and hurried to formulate this plan.

At the same time, Ember, the masked man, also went to try and buy the Silver.

"How much are you offering?" Horlaide asked.

"Fifty thousand per person."

Horlaide shook his head and seemed disinterested.

Ember frowned. "This price is already fifty percent more than the original price. Why are you still refusing?"

"There's someone who's paying more," Horlaide replied.

"Seventy thousand," Ember added.

Horlaide still shook his head.

"A hundred thousand. That's my final offer."

"Not enough."

"Then how much do you want?" Ember was patient.

Horlaide laughed. "The generous buyer is offering 210,000 per person. Of course, the deal is not yet settled. But… if you are able to pay more than 200,000, then that fact might change…"

"Okay. I will think about it."

Ember nodded and left the slave market.

"Leader, how's the negotiation?" his team member asked.

Ember took off his mask and calmly said, "Change of plans. We will take the hostages by force."

DarkStar had the money to pay, but it was not worth it. Even if they settled on the price, there was a chance that the manager would increase the price again.

What kind organization was the DarkStar? They were the bad guys! If they obeyed such orders, what would happen to their dignity as villains?

On the planet of the Fawn Galaxy, there was conflict among the Silvers.

"They have already named a price. What are we waiting for? Let's get the money!"

"Wait a second. This whole thing looks sketchy. Did the mercenaries work together with the slave market managers to scam us? Everyone in Shattered Star Ring is a greedy goblin. We need to prepare for this possibility," someone in the group said.

"In the end, safety comes first. Sky Ring, Blades, and Purple Gold have all fallen, so how can we trust this Black Star Group? If they push over their limit and try to be heroes, they might bring more danger to the hostages. Let's just give the money."

"What if they don't release the hostages after we meet their demands," one man said in worry.

After some chaotic discussion, in the end, the captain stayed calm and made the decision. "The reason they failed last time was because they were outnumbered. I am going to trust them one last time. We will have the Black Star Mercenary Group try one more time, and if they can't do it, I believe they will give us an accurate reply. Giving the money is our last option."

A team of players rode an aircraft and scouted around an area.

Li Ge was on the aircraft. He dodged out of everyone's sight and took out the Secret Message Bead.

"What is this thing?" Li Ge mumbled to himself. "The instructions say that there will be a bonus reward if I give this to a specific person, but there is no hint on who the person may be. I do have to activate it myself…"

Li Ge had a lot of experience in gaming. With items that did not have clear instructions, the player would have to take the initiative and show this item to different NPCs. If an NPC reacted differently compared to the rest, that should be the 'specific character'.

"Let's do this." Li Ge made up his mind.

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Chapter 376: Steel Body!

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

Goa, Cerleni, and Porter's teams were all locked inside the Floating Dragon prison. They contacted their respective leaders and paid the bail. They could not leave before the higher officers went to pick them up and apologize.

During the time of imprisonment, everyone was disconnected from the outside world. They were bored to death. The only topic that they could talk about was Han Xiao.

"I wonder if Black Star saved the Silvers," Porter muttered.

"Even though Black Star is working for Ames, what can he do? There's no way he'll be able to save them." Cerleni was pessimistic about the situation. He shook his hand. "Well, I can't blame him. If I was in his situation, I wouldn't be able to do anything either. On top of that, he is with Floating Dragon. We can't be sure whether he will still be a mercenary or not."

"We have already asked him for this favor. Let's just trust him." Goa frowned.

Cerleni was frustrated. "I want to believe that he can do it since he is our last hope, but is there anything that he can do?"

"… I don't know." Goa sighed.

The mercenaries' morale was low. They tried to trust Han Xiao, but their brains told them that this mission had already failed.

"Are you looking for Ames? She's not here, left a few days ago." Jenny read the documents without looking up.

"Where is she heading?" Han Xiao was surprised. Ames always stayed on Floating Dragon Island.

"She said she was in a bad mood, so she wanted to fight someone," Jenny replied with a cold voice like a businessman. She adjusted the Data Storage Glasses and said, "She was unpleased with the message that you brought back."

Han Xiao's eyes flicked. The only people that could match Ames were the three Supers of the same grade in the Shattered Star Ring… He hoped that there would not be any crazy news a few days later.

He planned to fudge Ames to release the Silvers, so he had to wait for her return. Han Xiao did not want to revolt when Ames was not home since there was too much risk. There was also no need to do that as the Floating Dragon Faction gave him quiet some benefits. Head Butler Jenny was tough unlike Ames, and Han Xiao barely even considered persuading her.

Since Ames is not present, according to the management rules, I am temporarily the highest officer," Jenny said. "We strengthened the defense of Wilsander, and Haier is protecting the Gravitational Core. Everything is in order, so don't you dare make other plans, or else you will regret it."

Han Xiao understood the hidden message of Jenny. He had only joined the faction for a few days, and although the other members did not reject him, Jenny still kept on eye on people from the Black Star Mercenary Group. It was her responsibility as the Head Butler to clean up Ames' mess. Jenny wanted to warn Han Xiao to not do something stupid.

Han Xiao smiled and ignored Jenny's warning. He left the office, went back to the Logistics Office, and got his next job. Haier took half of the workers to camp around the Energy Core of the floating island. The rest of the workers were on standby in the headquarters while dealing with the daily maintenance tasks. Han Xiao was assigned to remain in the headquarters.

After losing half of the workforce, the workload suddenly increased. Everyone was extremely busy, and the Great Mechanic Han had to spend his time fixing aircrafts and equipment without doing anything else.

A few days later, in the Slave Market, Horlaide made a call to Han Xiao and asked, "Has your employer decided to pay the price?"

"Not yet," Han Xiao answered while fixing a burrow collector.

"Hey, don't waste my time. Tell them that I will only wait three more days, or else I will sell to other buyers."

Horlaide was pissed and hung up the call right after he finished his sentence. He took a sip from a hallucination drink and got high.

"If the Silver is not playing, then the man in the mask is the next highest bid buyer…"

In his eyes, Ember was his plan B. No matter what happened, he would certainly end up with tons of cash. Thinking about the huge sum of money, Horlaide smiled even wider, thrilled. He chugged the drink and hummed a delightful tune.

At the same time, pairs of eyes were hidden in the shadows, staring at the Slave Market.

That was the day DarkStar would attack. Ember had made an infiltration plan to steal the hostage rather than have a straight on battle. They did not know that Ames had left, so they were being cautious. Ember's Esper potential was Class A, but he was still developing, so he was currently in Class B. Against Ames, who could one shot him, even Ember had to swallow his pride and be meticulous on his operation.

Following the DarkStar Team were the Galactic Pirates. When Ember was undercover, he found a few new teammates. He made an empty promise that he would evenly split the profit while showing part of his plan, and that was enough to bait the pirates. The pirates could help them to cover DarkStar's real purpose. If they were exposed, the pirates could also draw attacks from them and create chaos.

"Have you cut the power?" Ember asked in the communicator.

"I just infiltrated the Floating Dragon Island's main system. I'm planting the disruptive device now. I need two more minutes to temporarily cut of the electric supply to the district of the Slave Market. The surveillance system will be down, and the system won't detect anything. The whole thing will last for seventeen minutes. It should be enough for your operation."

"Good." Ember nodded.

For this operation, DarkStar was equipped with high-tech equipment. They had slit the team in two, with one going after the electric supply and making it look like a technical problem. Although there would be some movements, it would not trigger the alarm. This created the opportunity for Ember to do his job.

As soon as the two-minute-mark hit, the entire lights in the district shut down, and the place was plunged into darkness. Then the whole street turned noisy, with people wondering what had happened.

Ember close his eyes and used his Esper vision. He felt the carbon particles around him and the objects that he had hidden in the Slave Market. He flicked his fingers and released his Esper power.

Inside the Slave Market, the stones on the corner of the wall cracked, and small metallic balls dropped out of the cracks. The balls then released a strong invisible sleeping gas, which filled the entire building. The gas only affected the nervous system, so it would not do any harm.

Flop, flop…

The workers of the Slave Market fell on the ground one after another. Horlaide was shocked at the sudden power outage. Before he could get up, he had already passed out from inhaling the gas.

Ember's Esper power could control carbon molecules to a certain degree. He could split and combine molecules to turn carbon into different states, such as from solid to gas. There were a lot of materials containing carbon, and with his current power, controlling a few rocks was a piece of cake.

Under the cover of darkness, the team infiltrated the Slave Market. The room was pitch dark, but the Carbon remains were lying around, which showed the structure of the room. Ember quickly found the underground prison and confirmed that their targets were there.

Because of the power outage, all the locks in the Slave Market had deactivated. Ember and his team walked through the prison with ease as they opened the door. The prisoners all rushed out of the room with tears dripping down, as if they were being saved.

"Are you here to save us all?" the Silver asked with surprise as they walked out, thinking that they were the mercenaries rescuing them.

But they quickly found out that they had jumped out of the pan and into the fire.

The members of DarkStar all wore their masks. Ember said to the other thrilled pirates, "As promised, I only want the Silver. The other slaves are yours."

This time, a group of brutes walked out of the crowd and said, "It's not fair. The Silvers are the most valuable. Who do you think you are…"

Ember did not wait for them to finish. The expressions of the brutes turned sour and filled with pain. They opened their mouths, but no screams came out. Starting from the skin to the flesh, everything turned into ash, and their bodies collapsed in an instant.

"Anyone else want to talk?" Ember asked coldly.

Everyone froze. They could not believe their eyes, so they quietly obeyed the order and gave up the thought of getting the Silvers.

"Target acquired. Let's get out of here and do the interrogation in a safe house." The members of DarkStar quickly left the scene.

A few minutes earlier, when the power was cut, the logistics office received a report. The system gave the task of repairing the problem to Han Xiao.

"Emergency mission?" Han Xiao was repairing a burrow nearby. He dropped everything and headed to the Slave Market district.

Seeing that there were no lights nearby, Han Xiao turned on his detection radar. He suddenly stopped as he could not detect anything in the Slave Market. It was evident that there were disturbance frequencies in the area.

"Something's fishy." Han Xiao's face turned serious as he realized that something bad was happening. He activated his jetpack and rushed toward the Slave Market. As soon as he reached there, he smelled the dense sleeping gas.

You inhaled strong anesthetic gas. Calculating the effect…

Your END is over 100 points. You are immune to hypnosis.

Your END is over 150. You are immune to drowsiness.

The place was dead quiet. He activated on his night vision and saw the workers lying around.

What is happening here? Did someone rob this place? Who has the guts to do this?

Han Xiao raised his suspicion.

At this time, sounds of footsteps came from the stars. Ember brought the Silvers up the stairs, and he saw Han Xiao standing at the doorway. "They found us!"

On the other hand, Han Xiao was even more shocked upon seeing someone rescuing the Silvers.

Who the f*ck took over my job‽

Did our employer find another mercenaries? Are we on the same side?

Han Xiao could not determine the identity of the other man. Before he could say anything, Ember tried to control the carbon molecules in Han Xiao's body and turn him into dust.

Hum!

The Esper power went directly through the armor and acted on Han Xiao's body.

You received Ember's [Carbon Atom Deconstruction] attack.

You received 1146 True Damage.

You received Ember's [Carbon Atom Deconstruction] attack.

You received 988 True Damage.

Your Ability [Steel Body] activated. All True Damage is nullified!

Through the interface, Han Xiao saw the '-0' damage that filled his screen.

Nothing happened!

Ember's expression froze behind the mask. He could feel the carbon molecules in Han Xiao's body, but he could not move them like those of other people. He suddenly felt the molecules in Han Xiao's body tighten and become as hard as stone.

Looks like he's an enemy!

Han Xiao focused, and the armor covered his body. He entered battle mode and used [Wrath of Garrett] without hesitation!

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Chapter 377: Seize the Opportunity!

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

The burning light beam burst like a golden spear breaking through the darkness, hitting Ember's face!

Boom!

Flames exploded!

Before the light had vanished, a shadow rushed out at swiftly. Han Xiao's reaction was exceptionally fast. The handle of the scythe popped out from the arm armor and slipped into his hand, expanding into a large black scythe with one swing.

The scythe and the shadow clashed.

Clank!

The sound of metal colliding!

A crystal-clear hand grabbed the scythe, and the two of them competed in strength.

Han Xiao glanced at the hand. The skin of Ember became like a diamond, and the blade could not slice through.

The ground below him moved, and the carbon element was extracted, turning into dust particles, climbing up his legs and rapidly hardening.

Han Xiao hastily jumped back in shock, dodging before the mud hardened, tearing apart the yet to form diamond.

Carbon elemental control? Troublesome power… The analyzer in the mechanical suit detected the material that was controlled—it was all carbon. Han Xiao was experienced, so he immediately guessed the opponent's power, and he felt it was quite hard to deal with.

This kind of atom controlling Esper power was very rare, its effects were usually very well-rounded—able to attack, defend, control, and even building materials. Many natural materials contained carbon, and the opponent's power happened to be the nemesis of carbon-based life.

Han Xiao was discreetly shocked. Luckily, he had the True Damage immunity talent, otherwise he would have died.

[Steel Body] had come from the Germinal Organization leader. Of course, at this stage, the leader's strength was not a big deal anymore, but that old man was a main character-type figure after all and a BOSS to boot. The effect of this talent was very strong, and it gave complete immunity to True Damages. True Damage ignored all resistance and could be very dangerous. Even the tankiest Pugilist would suffer from True Damage, and with this talent, it was insurance for safety.

Up till now, Han Xiao had gained two molding abilities in total, the other one was [Basic Strengthened Life, which gave him a lot of health. His health could even match up to Pugilists of the same level despite being a Mechanic. It was disgustingly tanky… and Ember was suitably disgusted right now.

[Carbon Atom Deconstruction] was a new way to use his Esper power that Ember had only obtained after reaching grade B—it was a lethal skill to low-grade Supers. It worked by directly breaking down the molecular structure of the opponent's body. The difference between the opponent's energy and level needed to be determined before taking effect. if the target failed to match up to a certain standard, the target would then take True Damage. Usually, anyone whose grade was lower than Ember's could not match up to that standard, but Han Xiao was different. Although his level was lower than his, he happened to have True Damage immunity.

"Run!"

Ember suppressed his shock. His trump card did not work, and his other powers were all ordinary combat methods that did not have enough destructive power. It was not the time to fight, and there was no time to think.

Hum!

The power field spread out. The ground and the walls rippled like water, and countless carbon molecules were extracted and reformed. The powder sized molecules surrounded Han Xiao like black silk then quickly hardened into diamonds with various shapes—spikes, barriers, cages, and so on—stalling Han Xiao.

Clank!

Spinning carbon dust was everywhere, moving around like waves, solidifying from time to time. The arbitrary shifts of material form were magnificent!

Han Xiao bared his teeth. The dust ribbon was dense, hard to predict, very swift, and kept attacking, so it really tested his reaction speed.

Amphiptere quickly planned the dodging route, allowing Han Xiao to maneuver around and dodge, barely avoiding the attacks one after another. The movement was very difficult to do—he was like an epileptic patient doing a street dance!

But it was very effective as well. Despite looking like he only barely made every dodge, he was very steady!

As Han Xiao was stalled, Ember took the Silvers and escaped out the doors. Han Xiao, of course, could not let the Silvers be just taken away like this. Just as he was about to give chase, the mechanical suit suddenly activated a warning, notifying that him there was a high energy reaction behind his back!

He slid and dodged!

Boom!

All kinds of attacks hit where he originally stood, creating a large crater. Han Xiao looked back to see those pirates that had taken slaves for themselves firing at him. Dozens of Supers surrounded him with murderous intent.

"Quickly, kill the witness!"

"He's alone, let's attack together!"

Han Xiao was surrounded and could not withdraw. Ember and the others vanished from his sight. He frowned and had no choice but to deal with those brutes.

He was alone, so the opponent used their advantage of outnumbering him. He could not defeat them quickly. Han Xiao decided to use the communicator in his mechanical suit to call for help.

After fighting for a while, these galactic pirates realized that they could not defeat Han Xiao at all, and Han Xiao even defeated quite a number of them. Quickly, they started to get anxious.

"This guy is quite strong. Don't waste time anymore, we have to go!"

"No, he saw our identity. If he reports it to the guards, we will be immediately exposed!"

These brutes had disagreements—half of them wanted to retreat, but just as they were about to leave, the roof of the slave market was suddenly blasted away. Everyone was shocked. They looked up in surprise, and a few Dragon Butterfly Aircrafts were circling in the air, shining their searchlight down. There were more aircrafts heading here from afar.

These guards were all players that Han Xiao had called. Taking advantage of their job, they arrived at the scene to back up very quickly. Herlous waved behind the high concentration glass.

All the brutes were startled! It was like a thief getting caught by the police during the act!

Han Xiao withdrew and backed off, leaving the area covered by the attacks as the tip of his mouth raised.

Want to gang bang me? I have backup, too!

All the aircrafts fired lasers at the brutes.

Boom boom boom!

Golden lasers poured down like a thunderstorm, and the pirates fell in swathes. They were terrified!

"It's Dragon Guards! Run!"

"Split up!"

They were panicking and could no longer afford to care about Han Xiao. They scattered and fled, and the aircrafts split up to chase them.

Han Xiao did not chase after them immediately. The Dragon Guards were up in the air and could chase more efficiently. He did not want to act on the ground, so he was waiting for his Bat Wings to arrive. Ember escaped first and was already long out of his sight, but Han Xiao had not only watched him escape—he had secretly left a mark on him.

"Herlous, a group of mysterious people had snatched the Silvers away. I've marked them on the radar, and the intel has been sent to you. Don't let them get away!" Han Xiao drew a glowing route on the map and sent it to Herlous. "They have a Super, grade B as well, who can control carbon molecules. He careful, maintain the shield. Don't get into combat with him before I arrive!"

"Okay, I see them, following now," Herlous replied.

At this time, Wilsander sent a communication and asked in a very low voice, "What happened‽"

Han Xiao described what happened, emphasizing heavily on the fact that the enemy attacked Floating Dragon Island's property with malicious intentions and that he was the star that stopped the enemies.

Look at how arrogant these people are, completely disrespecting you, Guard Captain. If you don't go ahead and thrash them, aren't you ashamed‽

He was worried that Wilsander might not have heard the key point and repeated this part three times.

"Okay, alright, I got it." Wilsander hung up the communication hastily, fearing that Han Xiao might repeat it a fourth time. However, Han Xiao had already achieved his goal. This phrase cycled in Wilsander's head, and he could not forget it even if he wanted to. The more he thought about it, the angrier he got.

Exactly, who doesn't know that us Dragon Guards control the entire city? Yet, these people dared to violate the rules. They're completely disrespecting the guards. Are they challenging me‽ Today, these people dared to rob the slaves. Tomorrow, they will dare to bomb the island. Unacceptable! If I don't thrash you people, what kind of Guard Captain will I be‽

Wilsander thought for a while and turned furious. He ordered the guards directly under him to move out.

Ames happened to be out, so the guards were on standby all the time. They were at the highest alert level and were very efficient. Aircrafts soared through the sky one after another.

The residents and outsiders on the ground all looked up surprised. They had never seen all the guards striking at the same time. What happened‽

Han Xiao looked at the mess around him and saw the unconscious Horlaide. His mood immediately improved. "You deserve it for wanting to trick me of my money."

He wondered, when Horlaide woke up and saw all his slaves gone and his home destroyed, what expression would he have. Thinking of the face that Horlaide had back then when he got the Silvers, Han Xiao felt warm inside.

He looked at the interface; there was a new message. It said that he had caught the criminals in the act, provided the intel, and stopped the enemies. His relationship points with the Floating Dragon Island had increased by 400, rising from Cold to Neutral.

Han Xiao suddenly thought of something. Making use of the time during the wait, he walked down to the underground prison cell, came to the secret door's location, bursting through the wall with violence, exposing Aroshia's cell.

Those brutes had not discovered this secret door, so Aroshia was still locked inside. Ember had actually noticed the secret door, but his target was just the Silvers, so he did not bother to tell the others about it.

Han Xiao tore the cell door open and reached out his hand toward Aroshia.

He still remembered that he had the [Visitor from Afar] mission, which required him to bring Aroshia away for six days. Hack then, he did not buy her because Horlaide asked for money, so now was the chance!

If he did not seize the opportunity like he always did, he would regret it!

He was not going to leave anything for Horlaide!

Aroshia looked up and stared at Han Xiao's hand. Confusion appeared on her face, and she did not move.

"Right, she doesn't have memories and curiosity." Han Xiao thought of Horlaide's introduction. He decided to simply go forward and opened her cuffs and collar. Then, he grabbed Aroshia's hand and walked outside.

As expected, Aroshia did not resist. She let Han Xiao pull her away with a calm face, like a boat floating along with the waves.

She stared at Han Xiao's face the whole time. Although she acted like a puppet, her eyes were very bright at this time like she was in deep thought.

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Chapter 378: Confidentiality Failure, DarkStar Exposed

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

Hu!

The bottom of the equipment box shot out a blue flame and flew over from afar. The parts assembled automatically, and Amphiptere turned into Flight Mode.

"Report position." Han Xiao quickly geared up, grabbed Aroshia, and flew into the sky. He did not worry about Aroshia being hurt during the high-speed flight at all—she had extraordinary power inside her body. Even if she did not know how to use it, the resistance that she had still protected her.

Herlous sent the coordinates, and the Tactical Screen displayed a three-dimensional map, marked with Herlous' aircraft. The spinning speed of the turbos on Han Xiao's wings soared, shooting out a jet plume, turning from stationary to high-speed flight in an instant. No buffering was needed—the mechanical suit could eliminate most of the load, and Han Xiao could endure the rest.

Aroshia was held in front of his chest. Her hair was dancing, and her eyes were closed, but she was not hurt.

After Han Xiao derived the Dragon Butterfly Aircraft, he had made improvements to his Bat Wings, adding anti-gravity thrusting technology, substantially increasing their speed.

During the flight, Han Xiao contemplated the opponent's identity. Ember's carbon element control made him think of a theoretically existing remarkably strong Esper power—Particle Control. It surpassed the limit of a single element control, almost all mighty, able to form and deconstruct any matter. If the energy was strong enough, it could theoretically control the deconstruction and reconstruction of planets, form lives, or even change the particle construction and create antimatter. With preparation, it could complete particle collisions without any machinery, simulate all sorts of phenomena, or even carry out high concentration compression, creating black holes!

This type of Esper power relating to the origin of matter was too horrifying. It was like the Almighty Creator, listed in the 'Extremely Dangerous Esper Power Restriction Treaty' by the three Universal Civilizations. Inside was about a hundred theoretically-possible highly-dangerous Esper powers. For some powers, even existing was a sin!

However, individual pursuit usually conflicted with the masses. The highly dangerous Esper powers inside the treaty were ranked by someone, turning it into the 'Most Desired Esper Power List'. Luckily, most of these Esper powers never appeared.

Particle Control was always in the top five. There were not any witness reports, and it was rumored that it could not be individually awakened, only formed through fusion. Another rumor was that Esper power was a 'live creature' with consciousness, some types of energy field type life, expressed as a large stream of energy, floating across the vast universe. It was said that the host of that power had appeared before, but because that person could not withstand that enormous energy, the host died of gene collapse. However, there were no witness reports, so no one knew if it was true. After all, there were countless rumors in the universe. Some people even spread the rumor that [Dragon Emperor] Ames was actually a man.

Although carbon molecule control was far from particle control, there were similarities. It was very iconic and unique. Furthermore, the name [Ember] in the combat information that he saw felt a little familiar.

Suddenly, Han Xiao had a flash of insight, and a part of memory surfaced in his mind.

"Code name Ember… carbon molecule controlling power… DarkStar's strongest individual‽"

Han Xiao was shocked and surprised.

From the little information that he had exposed from that short contact with, Ember had allowed Han Xiao to guess his identity. Ember wanted to keep it confidential, but he had already failed in front of Han Xiao.

The reason that Han Xiao could confirm the target was that the combination of the code name 'Ember' and that power in one person were too iconic. In his previous life, with the Mutation Disaster as the boundary, the fight between Godora and DarkStar turned direct. Ember made a name for himself then. His power was very hard to deal with, and the war forced out his potential. When he reached grade A, the strength of his Esper power made a huge leap, and he then became the strongest Super in DarkStar.

Millions of Godorans died at his hand. One quote that he was known for was very popular among the players in the DarkStar faction in that version.

"I was fated to become Godora's nightmare, to make them reflect on their backward traditions with slaughter. The bloodline belief that they firmly hold onto goes against the ways of reproduction and nature, and it was this mindset that created us. After their confession, they will then swallow the fruit that they have created through the thousands of years of pure blood belief. On their ruins, DarkStar will rebuild Godora! By then, there will be no pure blood, no one Superior because of their bloodline. Discrimination will no longer exist, and no one will be inferior from the moment they are born! Hybrid is inclusion, progress, and equality; we will eliminate the decay. Let life and hope bless Godora, praise Gal."

Of course, although this sentence sounded very epic, DarkStar marked themselves as revolutionaries. They believed that revolution needed sacrifice and the resolve to reach their goals by any means necessary. Other races like Sunils were heavily damaged because of that. In the eyes of Lawful Factions, no matter how good DarkStar made themselves look, they were still a chaotic and evil terrorist organization.

The ironic thing was, Ember was not a hybrid Godoran. He belonged to another race, but he had been raised by DarkStar from a young age, forming a firm hatred. However, this hatred had absolutely nothing to do with him. As seen from this, the indoctrination of DarkStar was certainly rather good.

Ember was still in the secret cultivation stage, not yet achieving his peak. Han Xiao was the first outsider to know Ember's identity, and he was doubtful about it. DarkStar's actions always had a purpose—everything that they did was to go against Godora—why did they target the Silvers?

Does DarkStar want to use this group of Silvers to threaten the Silver Civilization? Impossible, this is just a group of tourists. They don't have that much power. Even if they caught the entire Silver Parliament, the Silver Civilization won't be threatened, what does DarkStar want?

Han Xiao's eye moved around.

Could it be… these Silvers have other secrets!

The sight of aircraft appeared ahead. The hatch opened, and Han Xiao flew in, Herlous approached. "The target has no intention of fighting back. They don't have a fixed route, and I don't know where their destination is."

"Continue chasing."

Herlous nodded. He saw Aroshia beside and was shocked by her beauty. He said with surprise, "You are?"

"Don't ask, I'll explain next time." Han Xiao temporarily did not have time to deal with Aroshia's problems. He stared at Ember and the others through the window.

"We can't shake off this aircraft. The other guards are coming to help, so we'd better withdraw as soon as possible," a subordinate said hastily.

Ember's expression was very serious. The aircraft following them did not fire, making him feel an imminent pressure.

The plan had been very complete originally, and the root cause of the current situation was the witness that entered the scene amid the chaos. It would all have been fine if he had killed him in an instant, but not only was that witness a grade B Super, he was even immune to his Carbon Atom Deconstruction. Unbelievable! He had never failed when he used this against anyone weaker than him!

It was a known fact that Ames' organization was weak. However, the thinnest camel was bigger than a horse. There were very unique people under the Dragon Emperor.

The survival of the witness had messed up all his plans. That person was definitely one of the Dragon Guards, which was why he was able to call the guards there. Ember was speechless, and he could only feel that luck was not on his side.

Luckily, he found other criminals to act together, with these brutes drawing their attention. Floating Dragon Island would not know their identity of belonging to DarkStar.

They could not wait till it was safe to begin the interrogation of the Silvers. Ember made an eye signal, and the team members exchanged code words in the middle of escaping. It would increase the risk of being exposed, but they could not care so much anymore.

However, an accident occurred.

All the Silver were confused, and no one matched the code word—the carrier was not among these people!

The expression of the DarkStar people changed instantly. They were stunned.

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Chapter 379: Slaves? I Don't See It

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

Ember's expression changed. He glanced at the expressions of all the Silvers, and the horror in their eyes did not look like they were faking it. They really did not know the code word.

His composure almost collapsed. Luckily, he thought of another possibility in time.

"Do you have any other friends?"

The Silvers did not dare to not answer. One of them said while trembling, "The—there were originally seventeen of us, but two people were thrown into the universe during the trip here. They are already dead."

The carrier died and was thrown into the universe?

The DarkStar people were stunned, not knowing what to do. The carrier's dried corpse could have floated anywhere by then. There was no way they could find it.

Ember was stunned as well, but suddenly, he thought of something. The slave traders definitely would have searched through the carrier's clothes. If the carrier did not hide the Secret Message Bead properly, the slave traders might have taken it. There was still a chance!

However, this would mean that they had rescued the Silvers for nothing, and they were targeted by Floating Dragon Island… Ember's face froze. He felt miserable.

If they had known earlier, they would have gone to find the slave trader first, but before this, he did not know what happened to the carrier. Rescuing the Silvers first was a logical assumption for their next act. The carrier belonged to a partner organization, and after they retrieved the Secret Message Bead, they would rescue him if they could. If they could not, they would just kill him, but now this step was skipped. That damn slave trader had completed their job, but the bead was lost. Furthermore, Ember initially only wanted to steal the people secretly. All this commotion was an accident.

In conclusion, he was extremely unlucky!

Truly frustrated, Ember waved his hand, and countless dust shot out from the ground, turning into a silk-like curtain, shrouding the aircraft chasing them, blocking its vision. This layer of dense black dust was made of graphite, so the image from the detection device immediately became twisted and blurry. The aircraft was blinded, and it hurriedly slowed down.

"I'll chase, Herlous, but don't follow me. He can kill you easily." Han Xiao stopped Herlous from jumping out of the ship. He did not want this cadre that he had spent so much effort obtaining to be killed, so he flew out alone.

Breaking through the graphite barrier, Han Xiao focused and looked over. Then suddenly, he was a little stunned.

Ember and his people had fled with their powers and vanished without a trace, only leaving the Silvers behind, who were hugging each other while shivering. They were meaningless to Ember now, so they had been abandoned. Not only did that make it easier for them to escape, it would also calm the Dragon Guards down.

At this time, the graphite barrier was dismissed and fell onto the ground. This meant that Ember was already far away, and the aircraft had left the area of his power.

"He ran so fast." Herlous was surprised. As he was about to make the order of continuing the chase, Han Xiao suddenly raised his hand, stopped him, and said, "Don't chase anymore. No point."

"Why? Is it okay to let them escape?"

"Just say we can't catch them." Han Xiao's eyes sparkled. "Didn't you guys notice? These brutes have really helped us!"

They were stunned before looking over at where Han Xiao was pointing at to see the Silvers on the ground. Then, they realized, and surprise appeared on their faces.

That's right! Our hiring mission is to rescue the Silvers!

After so many things, the Silvers had finally been rescued in a strange way. Furthermore, they were in Han Xiao's hands. Han Xiao was not going to let go of this opportunity. The difficult part of rescuing the Silvers was Horlaide, and this part had been solved just like that. He almost wanted to thank DarkStar.

Han Xiao's words were even more useful than the Guard Captain Wilsander. They all listened to him and stopped the chase. Very soon, the other players came in aircrafts, protecting the Silvers again.

Wilsander requested for communication. "The other brutes are all captured. The people you're chasing are the only ones left. How's it going?"

Han Xiao shook his head. "They escaped. There was a very strong Super."

"Why are you guys the only ones with a problem? If this gets out, these outsiders will doubt the authority of us Dragon Guards. More and more people will challenge us, threatening the security of Floating Dragon Island, destroying the peace of the residents. The long balance will be broken, and the world will turn into chaos. I don't even dare imagine it. When Lord Ames returns, my position in her heart will collapse." Wilsander complained nonstop.

Han Xiao's mouth twitched. Don't you have any idea? Your impression in Ames' heart was collapsed from the start…

He did not have the heart to break Wilsander's fantasy; they would not be playmates if he did. Actually, creatures at their grade were the same as parameciums in Ames' eyes, and her subordinates were just domestic parameciums…

Han Xiao cut off Wilsander's complaints and said, "Don't worry, I know who they are."

At this time, a new idea surfaced in his mind. The reason that Ember did not have fears was because they kept things confidential. However, he did not know that his identity had been revealed by Han Xiao, and when his identity was exposed, he would definitely be very confused. Not knowing where he exposed any information, he would never be able to guess what was unique about Han Xiao.

Since he was the only one that knew about this intel, he could take advantage of it, revealing DarkStar's identity to Floating Dragon Island. Coincidentally, Ames had not been in a good mood recently. If someone beyond grade A targeted DarkStar, even Han Xiao would pity them.

DarkStar doesn't want to cause trouble? No problem, I will help them cause tons of trouble. I'm a man who wore the red scarf before after all. Helping people is something I should do.

Because of Mutation Disaster, DarkStar would definitely be his enemy, so he was very happy about this plan.

Furthermore, Han Xiao made a new discovery. Even Ember was sent out. These Silvers definitely have a big secret, and DarkStar is trying to do something huge!

He asked the still horrified Silvers, and after that, he caught a few key points. Firstly, DarkStar did not want to rescue all the Silvers but a certain one. Secondly, this person had definitely been in contact with DarkStar before, or they would not have exchanged code word. This person was likely a secret employee, and even his friends did not know his identity. Thirdly, one of the two Silver that died was DarkStar's target, so Ember had just retreated temporarily. It definitely did not mean that he had given up. Fourthly, this was probably not the first time that a similar operation had been carried out.

By connecting these points, Han Xiao smelled a conspiracy. It was so confidential and cautious—this thing was definitely very important to DarkStar. He was suddenly very motivated. If he could break DarkStar's plan secretly, not only would he anger them, he might even profit from it.

Furthermore, he was in the shadows, and the enemy was under the light. This was his biggest advantage.

The only problem was… he did not know what DarkStar wanted to do. There was a serious lack of intel.

The guards cleaned up the ruins of the slave market. Unconscious people were carried aside, and Horlaide's eyes opened slowly. He had finally awoken.

Horlaide looked up. He was still lost and confused. Then, he stared directly at the ruins before him, slowly coming to recognize this familiar outline. His mouth gradually opened wide, and his expression turned horrified.

Then, an almost deafening scream soared into the sky!

"Argh!"

The guards beside hastily covered their eyes and felt shocked. "Tsk, this high note is comparable to a Psychic Blast."

After he finished screaming, Horlaide fell flat on the ground. His heart was twitching, and he almost suffocated.

He still remembered the last thing that he had seen before turning unconscious. He had been sitting in his luxurious chair, sipping on a drink, and feeling excited about the huge sum of money that he was going to receive. Alas, now, his home was gone, and he had suddenly become broke. He had fallen from Heaven to Hell in an instant.

His composure collapsed! Horlaide's luxurious shirt was covered in dust. He was in a mess. He hastily grabbed one guards from the side and asked with a trembling voice, "What has happened? Why did my home turn into this!"

The guard described what had happened. Knowing the enemies had been captured, Horlaide's eyes sparkled, and he hastily asked, "Then what about my slaves? Where are they? Give them back to me now!"

At this time, a voice full of justice appeared from the side.

"Horlaide, don't worry. I will definitely catch back all the slaves for you, minimizing your damages!"

Horlaide turned and looked over immediately. He was very surprised.

The owner of the voice was Han Xiao, he walked over with wide strides, and behind them followed all the slaves, including the Silvers.

This group of slaves had all been rescued by the guards. Han Xiao had just discussed with Wilsander and received the authority over the slaves, so he had gathered all of them.

"These are all my slaves." Horlaide was overjoyed.

Han Xiao's face was filled with justice, he patted his own chest and said, "Don't worry, if the slaves are found, I will return them to you immediately. We are colleagues after all."

"Found? You have already brought the slaves, quickly return them to me." Horlaide was confused.

Han Xiao widened his eyes, looked around, and said, "Where are the slaves? Tell me, I will definitely catch them for you."

"Stop playing dumb, right behind you!" Horlaide was agitated.

"Behind me?" Han Xiao looked back with confused, then shook his head, and said, "Only those wearing cuffs and collars are slaves. I only see a group of free people. Where are the slaves you're talking about?"

Now Horlaide understood Han Xiao's intention. His expression changed instantly, and his lungs almost exploded out of rage.

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Chapter 380: Released

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

The brutes had snatched the slaves, so they no longer belonged to Horlaide. Then, the slaves had been rescued by Floating Dragon. Han Xiao had unlocked all of the slaves' shackles, so no one could prove that they had once been slaves, and no one could object if he said that they were free people.

Horlaide could not defend himself. When slaves were lost, they could only be caught back, but he did not have the authority. The only way was to bribe and request the guards to do it. However, Guard Captain Wilsander was standing right by the side at this time, with no intention of intervention, clearly in favor of Han Xiao position. With approval from the Guard Captain, who would dare act?

Horlaide saw Theon among the guards. Theon trembled and hurriedly retreated to the back of the crowd. Seeing this, Horlaide knew that he could not rely on Theon—this guy was completely fearful of Black Star's people.

Looking at Han Xiao's calm expression, Horlaide was furious, but for the slaves, he could only endure that anger. No longer proud, he came to Han Xiao. With a voice that only two of them could hear, he said angrily, "Alright, you win. You only need the Silvers, right? They're yours. The other slaves have nothing to do with you. I can buy them back, give me a price."

Han Xiao had the upper hand, and Horlaide could only endure the pain and give up the Silvers. He was ready to make a huge sacrifice and exchange for other slaves, otherwise his business would be done for.

"I just said, there are only free men here." Han Xiao shrugged.

Horlaide got the wrong idea. His expression turned livid, and he said, "Don't go too far! You want all the slaves, but the Head Butler won't let you get away with it!"

"Take it all? Hehehe, don't you understand? They are not slaves anymore," Han Xiao said coldly.

"Are-are you insane‽" Horlaide said in a shocking tone. He had thought Han Xiao wanted more money, but now he understood. Han Xiao was planning to let all the slaves go, really giving them freedom. It was too wasteful. He found it difficult to understand. What did Han Xiao want to get out of saving those unrelated slaves for free‽

At this time, an aircraft landed. Head Butler Jenny and her people rushed to the scene. Horlaide's eyes lit up, as if he had found someone to rely on. He gave Han Xiao a stare and hastily ran up to Jenny.

"Head Butler, I—I hope to have my slaves back…" Horlaide explained what was going on and complained, "That newly joined Black Star wants to release my slaves, how can he do that? He's disrespecting you."

"I know." Jenny nodded lightly and walked toward Han Xiao.

Horlaide immediately felt confident, he followed behind and kept sneering at Han Xiao.

Jenny came to the front of Han Xiao and said, "Black Star, you did a good job. If you had not disrupted the enemies' actions, they might have succeeded. It would have been a heavy blow for the Dragon Guards' prestige, and it is just when the Dragon Emperor is not at home. You did well. I will add this contribution to your file, increasing your trust authority. People who make contributions will receive physical reward. You can ask for monetary reward or something else…"

She paused and added, "Although it's a little late… Welcome to Floating Dragon."

300 Floating Dragon Reputation.

Current relationship: Neutral (700/1000)

Han Xiao nodded, not surprised by Jenny's attitude at all. When he was chatting with Wilsander earlier, Jenny had joined the communication channel as well. He had contacted Jenny privately long ago and achieved a consensus. Only Horlaide had been in the dark, still thinking that he had found a life-saving straw.

The more Horlaide listened, the more he felt something was wrong. Why did Jenny not sound like she was helping him but was praising Han Xiao? He suddenly could not sit still any longer. So, he carefully cut in and said, "Head Butler, about the slaves…"

Jenny glanced at him and said, " We only buy and sell slaves; we never catch them ourselves. Since they are free, let them go."

As always, Jenny handled official things the official way. Floating Dragon was a neutral organization, and they would at most partake in the slave trade as an intermediary business. They would not catch slaves themselves.

Since Han Xiao was the hero of this case, she would take care of this, giving him a suitable amount of privileges, agreeing to Han Xiao's actions. Moreover, the profit of the slave business was basic, and every year, Horlaide also corrupted part of the sales numbers. She had always known but just did not bother, so that day, she had no reason to speak up for Horlaide. ( NovelFull )

Horlaide was stunned. A sense of indignation echoed in his chest, almost exploding it. Looking at Han Xiao's mocking expression, he said uncontrollably, "I suspect that the attack was led by Black Star in the first place in order to save the Silvers. Yes, it must be so. The brutes were all his hired helpers, and by the way, he also let go of a group of them. That group was certainly his people!"

The more Horlaide spoke, the more agitated he became. Although it was a flash of insight, he felt that it was a very logical guess.

Han Xiao raised his eyebrows and said casually, "We are colleagues, how can you frame me?"

Although Horlaide dumped the pot to him, which was a very malicious act, this guess did not make sense at all because they had an alibi, and it came from Jenny.

Jenny had been unsettled by this new guy, so she had arranged people to monitor them secretly, and this time, that became the most powerful piece of evidence! Therefore, Jenny was completely unaffected. She frowned and said, "That's it, Horlaide. You're attempting to frame your colleague for nothing. You're temporarily suspended, and when you've calmed down, I'll give you a new job."

Horlaide's heart turned cold. Knowing that the situation had not been fixed, he gnashed his teeth in hatred. Suddenly, he remembered that he had dealt with Han Xiao earlier with this method too, and Han Xiao took revenge with the same method. This time, he became the helpless party. A sense of weakness flooded his body. His eyes rolled, and he fell straight down, passing out once again.

Anyway, nothing could be changed, so he might as well sleep for a while longer. That way, he would not die from the anger from being laughed at by those around him.

Not caring about Horlaide, Han Xiao coughed and said, "Jenny, I…"

"You should call me Head… Forget it, call me by my name then." A strange look flashed by Jenny's face. Usually, only boss Ames, Wilsander, and Haier called her by her name because her style made her subordinates fear her. This was the first time that she had heard a subordinate call her by her name, so she felt a little strange.

"I know the identity of the people who fled. They are not ordinary brutes…" Han Xiao kept his voice low and said, "They come from DarkStar."

Jenny's eyes focused, and she said with a low voice, "When you're done with the things here, immediately find me to do a detailed report."

Then, Jennie hurriedly left with her people, leaving only the logistics group there to clean the ruins.

Han Xiao and others came to the side. All rescued slaves were staring at him with different looks on their faces. They finally had their freedom, and they did not want to lose it again. They were not sure how they were going to be arranged next.

Han Xiao stepped out of the crowd, looked around, and said, "My name is Black Star, leader of Black Star Mercenary Group. Remember my name. I gave you freedom, so you owe me. Maybe, if one day we meet again, I might need your help. Now, go."

All the slaves froze. One asked while trembling, "We… Can we really leave?"

Han Xiao waved his hand and signaled that they could go at any time.

A man carefully walked away, looking back every few steps. Eventually, after a few dozen meters, he found that no one had stopped him. He was overjoyed.

"We're really free!" The crowd could not believe that freedom had come so easily.

The slave that walked out first did not run away immediately. Instead, he turned around with a face of gratitude and gave Han Xiao a native sign of appreciation. He shouted, "Black Star, I will remember this name."

One by one, the slaves left with gratitude, showing Han Xiao a variety of etiquettes. Han Xiao did not feel much, but the players behind him felt a sense of accomplishment and comfort. They held their heads high and felt that they had done a good thing.

Herlous was the most empathetic. He patted Han Xiao on the shoulder and praised, "Beautifully done."

All members looked at the figure of Han Xiao with eyes full of goodwill, and at this moment, their approval of Han Xiao increased. To have the players love a character, in addition to strength, there was another condition, charm, and approval. Han Xiao had been creating a very positive image in the eyes of the players, and the act of releasing the slaves made his image increase once again.

Bun-Hit-Dog recorded this scene faithfully.

Han Xiao turned around. Surprisingly, there were several slaves of the same race who remained in place and did not leave.

"Why don't you go?"

These few people obviously knew each other. They looked somewhat similar to one another, They exchanged looks, and one of them said, "Us brothers were once mercenaries, but when we followed a small mercenary group and carried out a mission, we were met with danger. Most of the members died, and only the few of us here were fortunate enough to escape. However, we were then caught by the slaver and imprisoned for more than a year. Our team has long been destroyed, and we have no place to go. We hope that you can take us, give us a job. You are our savior, so we are more than willing to work for you."

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Chapter 381: One Step Ahead (1)

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

Han Xiao was quite surprised. He had initially only wanted to let the slaves go, so he had thought all the slaves would be in a hurry to leave. He honestly did not expect someone to stay voluntarily. He asked in detail and decided to take in those three people.

The three Volga brothers were Tamihalatinians, a small civilization in the Shattered Star Ring. Its advancement was similar to Sunil before the disaster, able to navigate the universe to a certain extent. They belonged to the Magic-type civilization, focused on the spiritual branch. Their race specialty was mind communication, and through one look at each other's eyes, the exchange of information could be completed, omitting speech to a certain extent. This had the strongest effect between close siblings.

The cornerstone of the civilization was the Magic Mines. They used materials containing magic power as energy to power their technology. They had religion, and their fertility rate was very high. They reproduced through mating and were oviparous 1 . Their hatching time was about one year, but while the average human gave birth to one in a year, Tamihalatinians gave birth to many at once. They had always been troubled by the expanding population.

Tamihalatinians looked similar to humans but shorter. Their average height was 1.6 meters, and they had white skin with rune patterns. The more conspicuous characteristic was that they had white pupils, like a whole piece of white crystal. Tamihalatinians had high psychic talent, and if awakened, most would become a Psychic.

The oldest brother and second oldest were both Psychics, and the youngest was a Mage, all grade C Supers at about LV 70 or so. Although their strength was average, they happened to make up for the class vacancy in the mercenary group. With them, the mercenary group finally had the five Super classes, filling up its ability.

Mages can bless and enchant, adding new abilities for machinery, and they are able to indirectly enhance my combat capability.

Han Xiao was contented. The Black Star Mercenary Group had gained three new cadres, increasing nearly 10,000 Faction Reward quota, which had reached 185,000.

The three brothers' faces were filled with admiration. They were very grateful and accepted the Han Xiao's arrangements. Even if they were free, they still had to continue to serve as mercenaries. Rather than acting alone, it was better to join Han Xiao's group. In addition to repaying his kindness, they could also look after each other. ( NovelFull )

After taking in the three brothers, next was to solve Aroshia's problem. Han Xiao thought about it—the mission requirement was to take her around for six days. There had to be a reason, and it would not be completed smoothly. Although he was not clear about the specific reasons, he just had to do as he was required.

What made him troubled was how to deal with Aroshia's identity. Should he make her a mercenary as well? However, although Aroshia had high energy response, she did not seem to know how to use it or battle with it. It was not clear as to whether it was her racial talent or personal strength, and she had completely lost her memories. He was unable to uncover her identity as there was no way to communicate.

Everyone else was waiting for Han Xiao to explain the origin of this beauty.

"Her name is Aroshia, also a rescued slave. Temporarily, she will be following us," Han Xiao said.

Frenzied Sword was puzzled. "Why keep her? Why does she not speak?"

He had wanted to ask this question for quite some time. Since she had appeared with Han Xiao, Aroshia had not once opened her mouth. Although she fitted extremely well with the human aesthetic and stunned the players, they were also puzzled. What in the world is wrong with this beautiful woman?

"Amnesia." Han Xiao pointed at her head and said, "That is why I worry about her running around and simply took her away. Anyway, she has no place to go."

"Such a beautiful girl is sick. How unfortunate…" Second Prince shook his head.

"You don't know sh*t. It's called seizing the opportunity." Bun-Hit-Dog gave Han Xiao a look that felt like he was saying, 'I understand you brother'. Maple Moon and Rainy Kim beside glared at him.

Han Xiao rolled his eyes. These people… why do they have such pure thoughts in their mind?

Frenzied Sword looked at her here and there. He felt Aroshia behaved too calmly to be a person who had amnesia. "I think she is strange. Can she communicate?"

This reminded Han Xiao that Horlaide had said that Aroshia still remembered how to speak. He immediately put a translator on her and asked, "Can you speak?"

Aroshia sniffed. Finally, there was a reaction. "Yes."

The voice sounded like a clear stream, crisp and ethereal. Listening to it made all of their hearts comfortable, as if a pair of soft hands were soothing their ears, which made the players very satisfied since they had enough of Bun-Hit-Dog's noisy voice.

"Do you really not remember anything?" Han Xiao felt energized—being able to communicate was good indeed.

"Yup."

"Then are you willing to follow us temporarily?"

"Sure."

"Er, then do you need anything?"

"Anything."

"You lost your memories. Don't you want to know who you are?"

"It's fine."

Hearing this answer, the people took a breath of cool air and felt like they could see a holy glow.

How can this amnesia patient be so calm? No, this is not just amnesia; it's time to take your medicine, beauty!

Han Xiao was completely out of ideas. He smiled helplessly and said, "Alright then, my team will take care of you. You…"

At this moment, Aroshia suddenly approached Han Xiao, leaning to his face. Her nose sniffed like a puppy then said, "I think I can feel some sort of presence on you…"

Han Xiao froze. He was surprised and asked her about it, but Aroshia shook her head and said, "I don't remember. It just feels familiar."

"Strange…"

Han Xiao could only suppress his doubts. He told his people to settle down. Anyway, Aroshia did not eat, drink, or excrete—she was very easy to raise. This was supposed to be a characteristic of energy life forms, but Aroshia was a normal biological life form. He did not know the reasons, but regardless, the benefit was that he did not have to worry about starving her.

Han Xiao took the aircraft all the way to the office building before going to the top-level office to see Jenny.

Jenny looked serious and asked, "Can you confirm that they were from DarkStar?"

Nodding, Han Xiao described what happened in detail, hiding about the interface and other private secrets and changing it into the fact that he recognized Ember. Then at last he added, "Ember is the next generation ace level combat power cultivated by DarkStar. Their action this time definitely hides a huge secret. Although we are a neutral organization and the conflict between DarkStar and Godora has nothing to do with us, since they dared to cause trouble on Floating Dragon Island, they have to pay the corresponding price."

Jenny nodded and pushed her glasses. Then she frowned and said, "DarkStar has never had any conflict with us. There was definitely a reason for what they did this time, but I have no interest in understanding their intentions. I just want someone to be held responsible. Fortunately, you recognized their origin, otherwise DarkStar would really have done a hit and run. When Ames returns, DarkStar will pay the price for this."

Having successfully caused trouble for DarkStar, Han Xiao nodded secretly. To deal with a large organization, methods like this were the best way. DarkStar was secretive and strong, and unless he waited for the storyline to begin, Han Xiao had no way to deal with them. However, DarkStar had handed him a chance. How could he not seize it?

With Ames' personality, coupled with her recent bad mood, DarkStar really walked into the barrel of the gun. Unfortunately, Ames was not on Floating Dragon Island at this time, or she might just have wiped out the future ace of DarkStar in his growth stage. That would have been a very heavy blow for DarkStar.

Floating Dragon's side would not disclose this information so that DarkStar would think that they were safe. Then, Floating Dragon would deal with it when the time came. Only because Han Xiao had joined Floating Dragon Island could this new plan succeed, and Floating Dragon was one of the biggest organizations in Shattered Star Ring.

All this time, Han Xiao had played his advantages very well, and at this time, he finally flapped his wings in the galaxy. The intricacies of the relationship between various civilizations were hundreds or even thousands of times more complex than on Planet Aquamarine. Even small waves could turn into monstrous tsunamis after going through many catalysts!

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Chapter 382: One Step Ahead (2)

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

"You made a contribution. What reward do you want?" Jenny asked.

"I want to gain access to the Void Dragon bones," Han Xiao said.

Jenny nodded. "Haier is in charge of the warehouse. I'll let him know to give you a limited amount of Void Dragon material."

Haier managed logistics, so the movement of all rare materials required his approval. Han Xiao's request was very normal, and Haier naturally would not refuse.

Han Xiao was content. Void Dragon materials had a price but no supply—it could be regarded as a type of faction specialty. Whether he was going to sell the materials or keep them to build machinery, Void Dragon materials were of great use.

After Han Xiao left, Jenny leaned back in the chair, and her eyes behind the lenses were flashing. "Black Star Han Xiao… Not the kind to succumb and tremble under Ames, has many secrets, claims to be a foreseer, and all of his subordinates are immortal. With such power, if their number was higher… Alas, although such a person of great assistance, I don't know if it's a good thing."

After a pause, Jenny stopped frowning. "Never mind, it doesn't matter who he is, as long as Ames is still here, it's enough to suppress all accidental factors."

Walking out of the building, Han Xiao was content. He had reaped quite a good harvest this time. He intended to take a good bath, go to the warehouse to collect the materials, and then count his profits.

But all of a sudden, he had a flash of insight, and a possibility surfaced in his mind.

( NovelFull ) "DarkStar's goal is the two dead Silvers. If I was them, with the remaining Silvers being a dead end, the next step would be to find other stakeholders. So, there's a great chance DarkStar will find the slaver that escorted the Silvers."

Han Xiao realized this with a shock, and his footsteps paused. He immediately changed direction and rushed to the dock, quickly disguising himself on the way. He took off the recognizable mechanical suit and weapon, and he put on the simulation mask.

He was secretly glad that he had become aware of this in a timely manner. Little more than an hour had passed after the attack, so there was a good chance that Ember and the others would hide for a period of time to avoid the limelight. It was the best time for him to seize the opportunity and understand DarkStar's motive.

Let me see what the DarkStar really wants. Han Xiao grinned, revealing a malicious smile.

At the same time, on some street of the exterior of Floating Dragon Island, Ember was hiding in the shadow between the houses with the others. An aircraft passed by from above and did not see them.

Ember and the rest had escaped from the reconnaissance range, so they were basically safe.

This operation ended up with no result, so no one looked happy. Ember suppressed his annoyance and ordered in a low voice, "It's not good to delay. We need to find that slaver to complete the mission as soon as possible. We can't stay long on Floating Dragon Island."

A Mechanic who was good with electronic equipment said, "Found the information. The slave trader is called Peggy, still in Floating Dragon Island dock."

"Good, he has not left Floating Dragon yet. This is very advantageous for us." Ember's morale increased as he took the others and rushed to the pier.

He had a hunch that Peggy definitely knew the whereabouts of the Secret Message Bead.

The dock had far fewer spaceships than usual. There were two reasons for this—the first was that there had been too much unrest in recent days. During the last scrimmage in the pier, Ames had struck and shocked many brutes. They had hurried away and did not dare to stay, afraid of getting into trouble.

The second was that the route of the Floating Dragon Island was about to pass by the borders of two civilizations in Gelock Star Cluster, which was a sensitive area that often had friction. Energy detection buoys and patrol fleets were everywhere, and the degree of alert was very high. If they left Floating Dragon Island in this area, the risk would largely increase. The patrol fleet would not save their cannons on a group of wanted criminals, so many people chose to leave before this.

Peggy had such thoughts as well, so he was preparing to leave Floating Dragon Island.

Although Horlaide had made him lose a large chunk of income, there were still other slaves on board his spaceship. He sold them to other individual customers, making up for the cost of the trip. However, he still did not make a profit, so his unhappiness was not hard to imagine.

Therefore, an hour ago, when Peggy had heard that Horlaide's slave market had been blown up, he had laughed like a 200-pound fat man, making no attempt to hide his glee.

"That profiteer deserved to go down the drain." Peggy was in a very good mood. His legs were on the control panel in the captain's room, and he murmured, "The Silvers have been rescued again… unfortunate. If I can rob them…"

Then he shook his head. The possibility existed only in his imagination—he fully understood that the Silvers were now a hot potato. In addition to the mercenaries, other unknown forces coveted them. The water was very deep, and his group of slavers had no ability to intervene anymore. He had no desire to die yet. Han Xiao, who he had encountered, had almost beaten him into snake soup. In retrospect, the fear of that mechanical suit warrior still lingered in Peggy's heart.

"Start the engine, let's go."

( NovelFull ) Numerous drivers controlled the spaceship manually. The bottom of the spaceship spewed plumes, and just as it was the fixed rail of the dock, an announcement came to the spaceship's system.

"All captains, please note that we will encounter large meteoroids ahead. Three minutes till contact. By then the shield will be fully activated. No spaceships will be allowed to enter or leave."

The observed image from the radar appeared on the screen. A large, dense patch of white blocks were approaching at high speed, all meteoroids. This situation had made it too dangerous for an aircraft to move alone. Peggy hastily told the people to extinguish the engine and stayed, relying on the protection ability of the Floating Dragon Island and make plans after this wave of meteoroids

Hum!

The people in Floating Dragon Island could originally see the universe through the artificial atmosphere, but once the shield was activated, the sky seemed to be concealed by a golden curtain. The whole of Floating Dragon Island turned into a golden American football. The plasma energy core operated at its highest power output, and the golden shield surface shot out high-energy light arcs from time to time.

Not long after, the overwhelming group of meteoroids arrived. Their size varied, and the largest was equivalent to one-third of the floating island. Yet, Floating Dragon Island simply rushed in head-on. Numerous meteoroids hit its golden shield, bursting circles of golden ripples. The collision energy waves spread far in the universe, leaving traces behind.

On Floating Dragon Island, the ground was obviously vibrating. Han Xiao had just arrived at the pier at that time. He had changed his clothes, taken off the mechanical suit, and put on black hooded robe bought from a shop on the street, making him look very mysterious. His face had changed because of the simulation mask, so no one could recognize him.

Coming to the dock of Peggy's spaceship, Han Xiao turned on the communicator and searched for nearby channels. He found Peggy's and sent a communication request.

Not long after, the communication was accepted. Peggy's face appeared on the screen, and he said, "What do you want?"

"I have something to ask you about the Silvers."

Peggy's heart tightened. He had already decided not to intervene in the event of the Silvers, so he did not expect that he would still be implicated. He calmed down and asked, "Who are you?"

"DarkStar." Han Xiao kept his voice low and used the name of DarkStar.

Peggy's expression suddenly became strange. His first reaction was to not believe him; this sudden stranger was not a hybrid Godoran, and he felt just like the Silver thrown out of the spaceship, just using DarkStar as an excuse. After all, DarkStar was very famous in the Shattered Star Ring—many people liked to use it to intimidate others.

"Do you have proof?" Peggy doubted.

Han Xiao acted tough and said coldly, "I'm the one asking now. The two Silvers that you threw out of the spaceship had something that we want. As for my identity, I do not need to prove to you. As long as you try to refuse me, you will know that the person who killed you is from DarkStar… Of course, if you cooperate, I can pay some money for this information."

Because the intel was limited, there were only the four points that he had speculated earlier, which was why Han Xiao said this. Fortunately, it had hit the right spot. The carrier had exposed the fact that he was a DarkStar's carrier to stay alive, and only a few people knew this, including Peggy.

Peggy did not believe it initially, but when he heard Han Xiao's words, he immediately thought of the bead. Most of it made sense, and he was suddenly stunned!

Sh*t, was that Silver really a DarkStar Emissary! Did they really come to find him‽

Most of his doubts were gone. Now, Peggy was apprehensive and excited.

In his mind, DarkStar was the great pioneer of saving Godora. This time, he had hit the jackpot! However, he killed DarkStar's emissary, so would there be a problem?

He suppressed his excitement and hesitated, still uncertain of the authenticity of Han Xiao identity. Although he mostly believed, there was still a trace of uncertainty.

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Chapter 383: Excellent as Always, But Don't Touch the Trophy

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

After Hesitating for a while, Peggy felt that he would rather believe than not. He explained earnestly, "There was a Silver who claimed to be the emissary of DarkStar. I found a black bead on him. I don't know what it was, but I thought it was valuable, so I kept it with me. But a few days ago during the scrimmage at the dock, the bead was lost. It might have been picked up by someone…"

Since the bead was no longer in his possession, telling the truth would cost him nothing. The other party was likely DarkStar, not to mention his idol—just based on DarkStar's style of doing things, if he refused to disclose information, the end could be imagined. According to the risk estimation, compromising was the safest.

Han Xiao narrowed his eyes.

Bead? What is that? I've never heard of this event before in my previous life.

Could it be a hidden storyline?

Han Xiao thought it was seemingly possible. The fact that DarkStar had sent Ember meant that it was a very important matter. Perhaps it was a large-scale secret mission that no one had triggered in his previous life.

"You are very cooperative; I will pay a reward for the information."

( NovelFull ) "I don't need to be paid." Peggy rubbed his hands and said, "I just want to be able to join the DarkStar."

Then it occurred to Han Xiao suddenly. No wonder Peggy did not bargain before revealing the information—he turned out to be a hidden supporter of the DarkStar. At first, when Han Xiao saw Peggy's information as a hybrid Godoran, he had already guessed as much. The reason that he had chosen to act as DarkStar was not only just to cause trouble—he also wanted to try his luck. As it turned out, he had hit the target.

In fact, the reasoning was not difficult. Peggy was a hybrid Godoran and a wanted criminal, so he was likely to be supporting DarkStar.

Han Xiao had dared to use the name of DarkStar because he considered that Ember would use another identity and keep his identity a secret even if he came to ask about it first. If they used the identity of mercenaries, Peggy would definitely hate them. They might not necessarily get the information, and they also might expose themselves.

With a cough, Han Xiao said seriously, "I've seen your convictions. You're a Godoran with resolve. Our great cause is in need of hot-blooded men like you…"

Before Peggy was happy about it, Han Xiao's words took a turn.

"However, we have strict screening procedures for new people. To prevent spies from getting in, there is one thing that needs your help. There's another force on this floating island. Before me, did anyone ask the same questions?"

"Uh, no."

"Great, we're one step ahead. This is your chance to do something for the organization. Just like me, they might very likely find you in a while, asking the same questions, and you should tell them that the bead has been thrown into space."

Han Xiao held back his laughter and said, "After you complete this, DarkStar will accept you at the right time, taking you to the secret base for formal training."

"Got it." Peggy was convinced, his face solemn.

He did not think that the Silvers would be involved in so much and could not help but be curious about what secret that bead had, attracting these large organizations to secretly compete for it!

At the same time, Peggy was also annoyed. If he had detected how special the bead was back then, he might have benefitted even more from it… However, it was too late to regret.

The communication ended. Han Xiao turned away from the pier and changed to his original clothes when there was no one around.

"So, what DarkStar wants is a black bead, but its whereabouts are unknown."

Although he did get something, the intel was still not enough. If he used normal methods, the trail would end here…

However, Han Xiao did not use normal methods.

Since the goal is known, I can try to use Destiny's Child's card. Hopefully it will give me some valuable information.

Since he at least needed to know what the target was, Han Xiao decided to use the foreseeing card. Although the intel from Peggy was very little, it happened to just meet the requirements.

You used [Character Summon Card—Destiny's Child]

Usages: 3/5

The familiar hazy fog appeared, like a dream scene. Han Xiao's line of sight passed through the fog, and a black bead appeared in front of his eyes, caught by a palm. Looking up along the arm, a handsome face fixed in the eyes of Han Xiao.

After a full two seconds, the image shattered. Han Xiao was back to the original environment, as if he had experienced an illusion.

Li Ge‽ Han Xiao's eyes opened wide.

He really did not think that a bead would have been picked up by the players and picked up by this naughty kid at that. No wonder it had not been given to him.

Just twenty minutes after Han Xiao left, Ember rushed to the pier and looked for Peggy.

Peggy remembered Han Xiao's advice, and his expression slightly changed. These DarkStar competitors did indeed come very quickly.

"Who are you? What do you want?"

"I am a mercenary—my employer is one of the Silvers. The prisoners have been rescued, so you are no longer our enemy. Now I want to ask you something, did you kill two Silvers? We want to know the details; I can pay a certain intel fee for it."

Ember chose to impersonate a mercenary. Only mercenaries knew about the two dead Silvers, so the motive of asking about it was reasonable. Otherwise, it would have caused a lot of suspicion, and they might have gotten reported as the people who attacked the slave market. In his mind, he had not been exposed, so no one would know their DarkStar identity.

But his choices happened cause a coincidental phenomenon; Han Xiao and Ember's identities switched!

Peggy was convinced. He thought that Han Xiao was 'DarkStar', and Ember, who really belonged to DarkStar, became regarded as DarkStar's enemy!

More coincidentally, because everyone only had a part of the intel, both Peggy and Ember were kept in the dark. Only Han Xiao could barely see the truth, and the actions that he took led the two of them to deviate further from the truth!

"Are you a mercenary‽" Hatred appeared in Peggy's eyes. It was the mercenaries who had made him make such a huge loss, yet they wanted intel‽ If not for that DarkStar agent's advice, I wouldn't even talk to you!

"As long as you are willing to answer," Ember said, "I can pay 50,000 to make up for your loss. This is a large sum of money."

DarkStar had deep pockets. Ember directly transferred 10,000 deposit, and he had confidence that he could make Peggy talk.

Even though Peggy was not a money slave, he was also shocked by this generosity—it did not look like mercenaries at all.

His eyes turned around, pretending to be moved by the money, and started talking about the process of capturing the Silvers, only hiding the Secret Message Bead.

As expected, Ember listened to the very end and found the information that they wanted was missing. He had no choice but to make his goal clear. "Did you get a black bead from these two people?"

"What bead? Never seen before, I threw them out of the ship and was too lazy to waste time frisking. The thing you're talking about is probably drifting in the universe.

Peggy sneered in his heart and lied, following Han Xiao's advice.

A flash of disappointment flickered in Ember's eyes.

This was the worst result!

If the carrier's corpse had accidentally been caught by a star's gravity, the Secret Message Bead would have turned to dust as well. If absorbed by a black hole, it would also not ever be found.

"By the way, has anyone ever asked you the same question?" Ember suddenly asked.

"No." Peggy denied it immediately.

Ember frowned and transferred the rest of the reward to Peggy before leaving with a heavy heart.

Now, the trail had been broken. Their task force had no use, so they could only report it to the headquarters.

In the spaceship, Peggy looked at the black communication screen before smiling, full of anticipation.

Joining DarkStar had always been his goal, but because DarkStar was too mysterious, he had not had an opportunity to contact them. That had always been a great regret for him.

And now, the opportunity that he had been dreaming of had fallen from the sky!

I have made a contribution for DarkStar! After waiting for so long, I've finally caught the opportunity. I finally, finally, can join DarkStar…

Near the ruins of the slave market, the players did not have to return to the guards. They were temporarily settling the Volga brothers and Aroshia down.

They surrounded Aroshia like butterflies. Aroshia's beauty was over the top, so it was very pleasant to the eyes. Furthermore, she was a beauty suffering from amnesia. With Bun-Hit-Dog as the representative, the hormones of most of the males were flooding, and they chatted with Aroshia excitedly.

Aroshia was very calm. She did not have any interest in the surroundings, so she was only replying from time to time.

On the side, the god players of the various clubs kept their distance, maintained their reserve, and chatted with each other.

At this moment, all the Black Star Mercenary Group players triggered a new mission simultaneously.

[Find the Bead]

Mission Introduction: Some time ago, Black Star lost a black bead. Anyone who finds it and gives it to him will get his reward.

Mission Requirements: Turn in the black bead. [Attached—appearance]

Reward: 180,000 Experience, 200 Black Star Mercenary Group Favorability, Sunil Officer Class armor x 1

Remarks: This mission is a competitive mission; only one person can receive the reward.

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Chapter 384: DarkStar Mother Ship

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

All the game players were in an uproar, surprised.

"How was the mission triggered?" Bun-Hit-Dog was at a loss.

"Should be a sudden mission, but why did Han Xiao only just realize that he lost something important?" Maple Moon grabbed her chin and murmured with a thoughtful expression. However, the concern of the other players was different from her. They did not ask why; they just cared about the reward.

"Officer Class armor!" Second Prince's eyes were shining.

This was one grade higher than their Enlistee Class armor, so everyone wanted it.

"Competitive mission…"

Hao Tian's face became focused. Suddenly, the ground shook, he turned around and saw the Frenzied Sword charging off, full of anticipation. Even the ground was cracked. Frenzied Sword had immediately dashed off to find clues, without any delay at all.

Only Li Ge's expression was different from everyone else's. His eyes were filled with sparks and explicit surprise.

Black bead… Isn't that the one I have‽

So, Han Xiao is the special character triggered by the bead! That makes sense.

The bead was in his hands, so did that not mean that he had already met the mission requirement‽

No one knew that he was already one step ahead. Every other competitor was fated to work for nothing. What an excellent feeling!

Deep joy filled his heart. Looking around at the players' discussions, Li Ge secretly felt great.

At this time, Han Xiao rushed back. Just as the crowd was about to go up to question him, Li Ge pushed everyone away, took out the bead that he had kept close to him, and passed it to Han Xiao.

"Black Star, this seems to be what you have lost," Li Ge said.

Han Xiao's eyes sparked, he took the beads and said cheerfully, "How did you know this is my precious? I lost it a few days ago, didn't expect you to pick it up. You're really lucky. You've helped me a great deal. Let me think… Well, you armor seems to be damaged, so let me give you a new set of armor as a reward."

A satisfying smile appeared on Li Ge's handsome face, strongly contrasting the other players, whose faces were all stiff.

What the hell? The mission ended at the beginning? It's not a competition; it's a waste of feelings!

Annoyed, uncomfortable, and envious eyes focused on Li Ge, while Li Ge enjoyed the attention and shrugged with pride.

Seeing this, Han Xiao played around with the bead, smiled, and did not speak.

Competitive missions were different to other missions. In addition to the actual reward, as long as Li Ge felt he had an advantage over others, he would give up the bead willingly. This was a characteristic Han Xiao found from Li Ge's past actions, so he had tailored this mission for Li Ge, making him feel advantaged.

Hence, Li Ge obediently handed over the bead. Even his pride was in Han Xiao's calculations—he was still kept in the dark and feeling joyous.

Walking to the side, Han Xiao looked at the notification on the interface.

You have received an unknown item. Giving it to a special character will give you a very high reward, or you can take it to be identified.

The item description of the bead was the same. Han Xiao sized up the bead—it was dark and smooth, giving off magical glow from time to time. He quickly filtered his memories in his mind.

Something from the magic side, some kind of Energy Gem? Enchanting Ball? Hmm… Unlikely, DarkStar took it so seriously. This bead should be more precious, maybe a Secret Message Bead?

A Secret Message Bead was a high-grade magic safe, only unlockable with a special verbal password. Its confidentiality principle was the precise Magic Seal formed by magic patterns similar to a maze—only the password could trigger the 'eye'. It was very complicated.

Of course, since there was a lock, there was a corresponding method of breaking that lock. With the use of large magic deconstruction instrument to analyze the magic lock, or having high-level Mages unlock it artificially, the Secret Message Bead would thus be 'pried open'.

What's important is not the bead, but the things inside.

Originally, he had thought that the bead would trigger a hidden mission, but it seemed like the Secret Message Bead was just a prerequisite. DarkStar's goal could not be guessed with just a bead—the things inside were the key to unlock the next step.

The introduction mentioned two ways to use it—one was to give it to a special character. Li Ge had no idea, but Han Xiao was not the same. DarkStar or Godora were most likely the 'special character'. The bead could be exchanged for a reward and determine which side he was on, and if he went for identification of the bead, it should trigger a hidden mission.

Whichever option, he could choose freely.

Han Xiao smiled slightly and was in a good mood.

Initially, he had only been hired to rescue the Silvers, but after unexpected twists and turns, not only did he join Floating Dragon, he also ruined DarkStar's plan.

Now the Secret Message Bead was in his hands, and DarkStar had been misinformed about the bead's location. A good result.

In the Floating Dragon Island prison, the three large mercenary groups' people were resting in their cells. Over the course of their confinement, they had already finished their conversation topics, and it was meaningless to dispute whether Black Star could complete mission. Anyway, they could only watch and wait. Everything depended on Han Xiao.

Although Goa said to trust him, everyone subconsciously thought that Han Xiao had no chance.

No one spoke, and their faces were all filled with boredom. The room was silent.

Footsteps approached. They thought that it was the patrol guard, but unexpectedly, the person stopped in front of the cell and said, "Everyone, I have completed the mission."

This voice… Black Star‽

Goa, Cerleni, Porter, and the rest suddenly looked up and saw Han Xiao was standing outside the cell prison with a smile.

"You rescued the Silvers‽" Porter jumped up to the railing, staring at Han Xiao in disbelief.

"You're not joking, right?" Cerleni interrupted, with a doubtful tone but also some anticipation.

Han Xiao directly took out the communicator. He had just contacted the employer. The employer had learned that his companions had been rescued again and was very surprised; Han Xiao had saved them a large sum of money, so the employer was not stingy with his praise, almost complimenting him up to the sky.

Han Xiao, of course, did not know that there had also been an argument among the employers. The captain who chose to trust him was the happiest, feeling that Han Hsiao did not disappoint him, and the person who had suspected it had nothing to say, especially the people who suspected that Han Xiao had worked together with Horlaide to scam them. They felt rather ashamed.

The employer personally confirmed that his companions had been rescued by Han Xiao, and the hundreds of mercenaries simple stood up with their mouths wide open.

The vast majority of mercenaries initially had no hope; everything had felt helpless when they got caught, and they had no choice but to give the mission to Han Xiao. Yet, Han Xiao really succeeded!

Goa clenched her fist and said with bright eyes, "You have lived up to our expectations."

Han Xiao raised his brow and complained, "Is that so? The way you guys are acting now looks like you never had any expectations."

The mercenaries scratched their heads, embarrassed. When Sky Ring, Blades, and Purple Gold, the three famous armies joined this mission, although the Black Star was a teammate, they had felt some sense of superiority despite not showing it on their faces.

In the eyes of most of the mercenaries, Han Xiao's team was just an optional add on. However, it was the people that they had underestimated who had completed the missions alone when everyone else was powerless.

All the mercenaries were embarrassed.

After being happy for a while, they controlled their emotions. Cerleni asked about what happened, and Han Xiao described the relevant parts. Of course, he hid the things about DarkStar and such.

After he finished, Cerleni shook his head and said, "Horlaide wanted to use his companion to blackmail the Silvers. The thought was very good, but the result was him losing everything. This is what greed does…"

Han Xiao nodded. Horlaide had been blessed with a lot of choices, but his appetite was too big. If he had sold the Silvers earlier, he would not have been targeted.

The word greed was close to the word poverty 1 .

The mission was completed successfully, relying on Black Star Mercenary Group. Naturally, after this achievement, the mercenaries recognized Black Star's capabilities and admired them.

In addition to informing his comrades, Han Xiao visited also to ask about when they would be released.

"Our superior in the army paid the compensation. They are rushing to Floating Dragon, and when they arrive, we will be free. So it'll probably be just a few more days," Goa said.

"A few days… That's not too bad."

Han Xiao nodded. The good stuff was in his hands, and the mission was completed. He wanted to leave together with the three large mercenary groups, return to get the two class advancement knowledges from the Silvers, and combine them into 'Compression Technology'. Only then could he be considered to have stepped into the new level of a Mechanic. He had been looking forward to this day for a long time.

He did not want to stay in the Floating Dragon—trapped in one place was not conducive to the development of the mercenary group. His faction was the basis of the blueprint, and although there were many benefits in Floating Dragon, the opportunities were limited, far less than the vast universe. However, Han Xiao could not give up the Floating Dragon faction. He hoped to submit an application for field activities so that he could have the best of both worlds.

"There are still a few days left. I hope I can convince Ames…"

After Han Xiao left, the prison was no longer filled with boredom. It was filled with a happy and relaxed atmosphere.

The mercenaries main worry had been resolved, so they were very contented.

In the cell, Cerleni and Porter were thinking of the same thing.

I wonder if Black Star will continue to be a mercenary. His team is very capable, and he has Floating Dragon as a backer now. They're not the small mercenary group without any backing anymore. By the time this thing ends, I will request that the superiors form a partnership with Black Star Mercenary Group. We can't let Sky Ring have them exclusively.

In order to let the floating island travel freely in the universe, Ames had equipped it with top of the line devices. The shield generator was from the Revelation-Grade Main Ship of Federation of Light, and the plasma engine was from the Horn-Grade Assault Ship of the Crimson Empire. Its voyage performance was extremely good, and although Ames had bought all these devices using her own influence, she had still paid an outrageous price for it.

Floating Dragon Island passed through the meteoroid shower safely, and a lot of spaceships took off immediately after the shield was deactivated, leaving the floating island before it entered the boundary of the two civilizations.

A few days later, Peggy's spaceship had long been away from Floating Dragon Island. It was slowly sailing in an unpopulated Star Zone. There were no Fixed Stars there, only dead gray planets filled with dead silence.

Suddenly, folds appeared in the dark space ahead, and a huge object hundreds of times larger than Peggy's spaceship came out of the stealth mode, stopping in front of Peggy's spaceship.

The size comparison was like a bean and a watermelon.

This object was tall and ferocious, completely black apart from some subtle golden patterns. It did not have a streamlined shape but consisted of two isosceles trapezoids fused together from their bases, like a prism. This was not a normal spaceship—it was DarkStar's medium mother ship, similar to a mobile base, containing a large number of combat ships. One mother ship signified a fleet!

DarkStar had no fixed bases; all of their bases were mother shops, perennially in stealth and mobile states, moving everywhere. That was why the organization was mysterious and difficult to contact—no one could grasp DarkStar's position. They hid in the dark and waited for an opportunity to make a move.

The scavengers of the ship were shocked and began speculating.

Peggy was overjoyed when he saw this.

"DarkStar did not break their word. They've come to take me in!"

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Chapter 385: Murder and Turn Point

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

At this moment, Peggy thought that the DarkStar mothership had specifically come just to take him in. For him, the DarkStar had made such a large display. He felt the attention from DarkStar and was moved to tears.

The spaceship approached the connecting channel, and the mother ship captain waited at the channel entrance with other troops. Just as they were about to tear open the door of the spacecraft with their power, Peggy opened the door and walked out. Seeing everyone was a hybrid Godoran, Peggy was filled with excitement.

He had finally found the organization!

With an excited tone, Peggy said, "I've been waiting for you for a very long time."

DarkStar warriors initially had cold expressions, but now, they could not help but looked at each other in bewilderment.

It was the first time that they had seen a target who not only did not resist but also took the initiative to cooperate, looking like he had just returned home. Did this guy not fear death?

"Bold!" The captain nodded in approval before waving. "Seize them!"

DarkStar warriors swarmed in. Peggy was pressed on the ground, all the while thinking that this was DarkStar's welcome ceremony. He confidently shouted, "Rest assured, don't have to doubt my loyalty, I absolutely will not resist!"

"Boss, I think they are for real," one of his men said with a sad face.

Peggy glared and yelled, "Shut up! What do you know? This is a method to test our loyalty!"

The DarkStar warriors cuffing Peggy heard this and sighed. "If everyone could be as cooperative as you, it would save us a lot of trouble."

The scavengers were taken to prison and tied to a black metal execution column. The captain walked up to them and said coldly, "I need you to answer my questions honestly. Among the Silvers you captured, one of them was carrying what we want, a black bead. Where did that bead go?"

Although Ember had already gotten the 'answer', the style of the DarkStar was never to just trust easily. Letting go of the rest easily was not a terrorist organization's code of conduct.

After Ember reported to the headquarters, this DarkStar spaceship had been on standby in the Fawn Galaxy and immediately jumped to intercept Peggy. Their first goal was Peggy's spaceship route recorder so that they could search along the route where the Silvers were thrown out. The second was to interrogate Peggy. DarkStar believed that torture could get more information than normal inquiry—pain could make people honest.

Peggy was stunned.

"Didn't you already ask me?"

"Indeed, I want you to tell us again…" the captain subconsciously replied. Suddenly, he paused, and his expression changed.

Wait a minute!

He thought that Peggy was referring to Ember, but with some thought, it did not make sense. Ember had pretended to be a mercenary, so how did Peggy recognize that Ember was a DarkStar member?

Ember, who was listening from the side, opened his eyes wide in disbelief. "How could I have been exposed? I'm did not reveal any flaws!"

"How did you know the person who asked you belonged to DarkStar!" The captain grabbed Peggy's neck, slowly adding force. Peggy's face turned purple, almost suffocating, and he opened his mouth with difficulty.

"Th—the interrogator… clai—claimed to be a Dark—DarkStar agent, cough cough cough!"

Ember frowned. "Captain Sarota, let go. You're strangling him. Let him finish the whole story."

Captain Sarota backed off, and Peggy coughed loudly, as if he was going to cough out his lungs.

Eventually, Peggy realized that something was wrong, and with a hoarse voice, he said while shivering, "A mysterious hooded man who claimed to be a DarkStar emissary found me. His target was that black bead as well, so I told him of its whereabouts. I have always admired you, so when he promised to let me join DarkStar as long as I lied to the next group of people that came to ask about the bead, I agreed readily. Not long after, a self-proclaimed mercenary came. I followed the orders that the DarkStar emissary gave me and got rid of him…"

Self-proclaimed mercenary? That's me! Ember realized. His face became very unpleasant, and his tone turned cold immediately. "So, you lied to me!"

Peggy's expression changed distinctly. "What? You're the self-proclaimed mercenary? You guys are the real DarkStar, and that DarkStar emissary was a fake‽"

The expressions on Sarota and Ember's faces turned very serious.

The situation suddenly complicated. There seemed to be another mysterious force that had their eyes on the Secret Message Bead, and they had even used DarkStar's name to trick people. They must be tired of living! They were directly provoking DarkStar! Once they found the culprits, they would make them beg for death!

The problem was… what was the mysterious force's identity? Why did they know about the Secret Message Bead? Was their target the products inside the bead or to destroy DarkStar's plan? Were they money driven, or were they DarkStar's enemies?

Ember was confident that he did not expose anything, so he was baffled. Which part went wrong and exposed him?

He had thought of himself as a hunter, but in the shadows, there was a pair of eyes staring at them, hiding deeper than DarkStar, making his hair stand on end.

More mysteries arose, and things were getting tricky and complicated.

The first thought was a traitor in the organization, or how else would they know so much confidential intel?

"What about the real whereabouts of the bead?"

"I—I don't know. I did not throw it into the outer space but took it with me. However, it was lost during the battle on Floating Dragon Island…"

Ember had a freezing cold look. That imposter mysterious force wanted to mislead DarkStar. If they did not want to deliberately kill Peggy, they would have really fallen for it!

Thinking back carefully about that mysterious force's methods, it was secretive yet bold. They knew clearly that they were competing with DarkStar, but still they dared to pose as DarkStar, which meant that they had guessed their thought of keeping things confidential, grasped the psychology of all parties, and finally mislead both Peggy and DarkStar, toying with them between their fingers. And they had almost succeeded. This careful and precise way of thinking made Ember uncontrollably afraid.

They came only a little bit late!

"Since it was not thrown into outer space, it will be a simple matter. Go and thoroughly investigate all the forces involved in the scrimmage," Sarota ordered, "with any means necessary. Pry open their mouths. There is bound to be a party that picked up the Secret Message Bead. It's impossible to not have any witnesses."

"Some Wanted Criminals have left Floating Dragon, and they need to be intercepted by the mother ship." Anger of having been toyed with was stacking up in Ember's mind, and his tone was very cold. "Leave the people still on Floating Dragon to me."

"During the search for the whereabouts of the Secret Message Bead, inquire about intel on that mysterious force at the same time," Sarota added.

"I know." Ember frowned. Although he agreed, he really did not have much clue about the mysterious force.

"Wha—what about me?"

Peggy did not have the same confidence that he had moments ago. He was panicking, but he felt that he had given them the intel and helped DarkStar to find out more about the hidden enemy, which should have been considered a contribution.

Sarota glanced at him then gestured. The surrounding DarkStar warriors all raised their light energy rifles and aiming at the column. All the scavengers were frightened—they struggled and hastily begged for mercy.

"Don't kill me. It's just a misunderstanding, I didn't mean to deceive you! DarkStar is my idol. I have always wanted to fight for the cause of the hybrids. Please let me join you." Peggy was trembling as he exclaimed.

"You really want to dedicate yourself to DarkStar?" Sarota's eyes flashed.

"Yes, DarkStar is my faith! I would do anything for you." Peggy hurriedly revealed his heart and expressed his loyalty.

"Well, for us, you being dead is more useful than being alive. DarkStar appreciates your contribution," Sarota sneered.

The murder was the biggest purpose of the DarkStar for this trip. The fewer outsiders in the world that knew about the whereabouts of the Secret Message Bead, the better.

Hum!

Bright lights burst from the energy rifles, melting wounds in the scavengers one after another. The screams burst from the captives' mouths before quickly weakening as they lost their breath.

The laser expanded in Peggy's eyes, and his line of sight became all white. He opened his eyes wide and roared, "No!"

The dense wounds were all over his body. Peggy's head fell limply to the side with his eyes wide open. He had died with so many regrets.

He had thought that his dreams of joining the DarkStar was going to come true, but never had he expected that he would eventually die at the hands of DarkStar.

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Chapter 386: Talent Upgrade, Raid

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

Two days later…

Whoosh!

The cooling storage case opened, and mist like liquid nitrogen spurted out.

Haier's arachnid legs operated the metal clamp, clipping out ten test tubes filled with silver reagents. This was a gene agent extracted from the Void Dragon's spinal fluid. Void Dragons had very strong vitality, and their carcasses and spinal cords would remain active even after death, only completely vanishing after hundreds of years. By extracting the active factors, it could be made into a strong agent that could enhance physical fitness that most life forms could consume, including humans.

"Ten refined Void Dragon Pith, these cute little things are yours." The sharp teeth in Haier's mouth moved, and the Insect Language was translated.

The substantial reward that Floating Dragon had given to Han Xiao was fifty kilograms of Void Dragon Bones and ten tubes of Dragon Pith. It was originally one hundred kilograms of Void Dragon Bones, but he had asked for half of the bones to be changed to Dragon Pith. The effect of the Void Dragon Pith was a permanent increase in attributes with no side effects—it was extremely precious to the players.

Han Xiao picked up a tube of Dragon Pith and observed it carefully. Its density was not as stagnant and thick as mercury—it was translucent and light silver colored. The agent was very pure and clear, with a faint glow. A notification popped up as soon as he picked it up. After confirmation, Han Xiao directly inserted one tube of Dragon Pith into the injection gun.

A tremor came from the depths of his body like an electric current flowing through his whole body. Han Xiao shivered, and a tint of silver flashed in his eyes.

You used [Refined Void Dragon Pith (High Concentration 42.2%)].

3 STR, 4 END, 1 CHA

Han Xiao's action did not stop. He injected two more tubes, and the random increase in attributes for high concentration agents was in the higher numbers. After three consecutive injections, he received a total increase of eight Strength, eleven Endurance, and two Charisma.

Agents that could permanently increase attributes usually had usage limitations. The Void Dragon Pith could only increase attributes three times, and it would not increase again after that.

However, although attributes would not increase after three times, there was a hidden effect. If the dosage reached a certain level, the quantity accumulation would trigger a quality change, receiving the talent called [Void Genes]. Its effect on the surface included ordinary effects of increased speed and dodge rate, but the real benefit was that it would affect the choices during his race evolution.

In his previous life, he had discovered this coincidentally. Since Void Dragon Pith was very rare and did not have any effect after three uses, the vast majority of people would not waste it. Han Xiao had to thank that willful rich person, or no one would have known about this secret.

According to the cumulative effect, it would need about twenty low concentration tubes. In the case of high concentration ones… ten should be enough.

After some rough calculations, he injected the Dragon Pith into his body one after another. More silver agents mixed into his blood, and he suddenly felt something. Some subtle changes were happening in his body, and the silver in his eyes became darker.

Haier was surprised. "Hiss, hiss, hiss… Oh, I'm sorry, the translator dropped just now. You are injecting too much, are you not afraid of genetic mutation? Enough is enough."

Han Xiao shook his head, indicating that he could do it. It was genetic mutation that he wanted.

At his seventh injection, Han Xiao body turned stiff. A cold and hot mixed feeling exploded in his body, and his legs became unsteady. He staggered, and his back hit the shelf as he wheezed heavily. His frown was so wrinkled that it could almost squeeze a fly.

He clenched his teeth very strongly. All the nerve endings in his body were transmitting a sharp pain to his brain, and every vessel was beating and bulging!

If there was a Super who was good at sensing present, they would discover that Han Xiao's life rhythm was changing. Not only had it started surging and become stronger, there was also a mysterious trace of the void.

You have gained the talent [Void Genes]!

[Void Genes: Your senses can detect the changes in space, giving you a stronger reaction speed and more flexibility.

28% Movement Speed, 15% Dodge Rate.

After what felt like a century to Han Xiao, the pain slightly reduced. He heaved a sigh of relief, wiping the cold sweat on his forehead. Suddenly, he felt a bulge—its texture was a bit hard, like a scale.

When he looked in the mirror, he found that his pupils had become silvery, and his eyebrows did not appear to be abnormal, but he clearly felt a diamond-shaped piece of skin stiffening.

He controlled the energy in his body. When the cells in his body became active, this piece of diamond skin turned from a flesh color to bright silver. It was very obvious.

"Ooh! What's up with you‽"

Han Xiao was surprised that this silver mark not only did not destroy his handsomeness but also increased his fashion.

This was the new organ from the gene mutation, used to increase the perception of space.

He opened the interface and took a look. There was another talent that had also changed. After he saw the notification clearly, Han Xiao opened his eyes wide, overjoyed.

Your talent [Basic Strengthened Life] has upgraded. The original talent has changed into [Intermediate Strengthened Life].

Han Xiao had gotten this Molding Talent long ago. It had accompanied him through many dangers, and the last time was through the injection of another gene agent. This Void Dragon Pith had made this talent evolve again. The conversion ratio of Endurance to HP increased from 1:15 to 1: 30—it doubled—and there was an extra effect of 25% Resistance.

This was a completely unexpected surprise. Players could not possess Molding Talents, so this was the first Han Xiao had heard about Molding Talents being able to be upgraded. His maximum health directly increased by more than 4,000 points, equivalent to one-third of the original amount.

I have walked too far on the path of a tank; I'm past the point of no return now.

Han Xiao's eyes were shining as he secretly speculated. More precious genetic agents can increase the level of Strengthened Life. If I want to upgrade, I need to inject more genetic drugs into my body… However, the genetic agents cannot be used indiscriminately, or it might cause rejection and turn into gene distortion or even gene collapse. That would be a miserable end for me. The best choices have to be agents like this that have no side effects.

This discovery gave Han Xiao a new idea. His need for powerful Molding Talents would continue to become more urgent, but unfortunately, they were not easy to get. He held onto the remaining three tubes of Dragon Pith—this kind of precious item was just right to be used as a 'Favorability bait'. He could set an extremely high price for it and let the players toil willingly from the bottom of their hearts.

After collecting the materials, the communicator rang. Jenny had sent a communication request.

"Black Star, Lord Ames wants to see you."

A new panel of virtual holographic image popped out from the communicator, and Ames' delicate face appeared. She was floating in the vacuum space directly with her body, surrounded by force field protection. Countless rays of light surged behind her, as if every inch of space was filled up. She seemed to be fighting a strong enemy. However, the lights were all deflected by the invisible force field barrier, falling like bombs onto the unpopulated planet under her feet.

Apparently, the battle had lasted quite some time—a tenth of the planet had disintegrated, like an apple that had been bitten once. Shattered meteors and dust rotated around the planet, mixed with the gas and forming a 'cloud ring'. If they fought any longer, this planet might end its life billions of years in advance…

With just a glance Han Xiao was sure that Ames was fighting another beyond A grade Super of the Shattered Star Ring. In less than three days, the Galactic News would definitely broadcast the following content.

Shattered Star Ring News: Two super strong individuals fought willfully, innocent planet turned into tragedy!

Beyond grade A Supers destroyed the environment with evil intentions, Planet Protection Association expressed strong condemnation!

Today's Planet Code Cancellation List.

Speaking of it, it seems like it was because of the news that Ames was not in a good mood and looked for someone to fight. How unfortunate for a young planet…

Han Xiao's eyes twitched. He coughed and asked, "Your Excellency, Dragon Emperor, what mission do you have for me?"

Ames spoke, but no sound was heard. She realized something, then controlled the force field and grabbed a large pile of gas from the planet. Shrouded herself in an artificial atmosphere, and only then was there sound.

"I've listened to Jenny's report. Your team has excellent combat capability, and it's a waste for you to stay on Floating Dragon Island. Anyway, you were mercenaries originally, so I approve of your activities to be outside. Furthermore, I have a suitable mission for you. You've met my teacher, so help me find information on him," Ames said.

He had made a request to Jenny a few days ago, with the excuse that there was enough manpower on Floating Dragon Island, and him staying here was a waste. He thus applied for the field activities. Floating Dragon Island only had the guards, butlers, and logistics, but they lacked field forces, and the immortal Black Star Mercenary Group was the best choice. At least there was no need to worry about loss. Jenny felt that it was justified and reported to Ames, and Ames never doubter her employees. She did not worry about Han Xiao leaving her after leaving Floating Dragon Island.

Han Xiao's eyes sparkled.

He did not have to be trapped on Floating Dragon Island—this was great news. It would not delay the development time for his mercenary group faction. Although Floating Dragon was great, he had only joined because he had no choice. As long as he could move freely, the distress that this problem had caused him would be greatly reduced.

The result was finalized, and Han Xiao hung up the communication, feeling very good. The superiors of the three armies would soon arrive, and then he could follow them back to complete the mission.

"Things are going so well." Han Xiao had a happy face. Was he finally getting lucky after all the unlucky events that he had been through?

Aroshia was waiting at the door until Han Xiao waved his hand and took her away from the warehouse. He was worried about leaving Aroshia to run around alone, so he always brought her along whenever he was free.

He entered a deserted street, and after walking for a while, the relaxed expression on Han Xiao's face suddenly vanished. Han Xiao frowned, feeling that the atmosphere was strange. He took a step and shielded Aroshia behind her back, then looked around vigilantly.

"Good senses."

The voice of a person seemed to come out of nowhere. With a cold tone of judgment, containing the confidence of his own superior strength, Han Xiao felt the voice was familiar.

At the same time, hard walls suddenly extended from the ground around them, covered the sky, and trapped the two of them like a cage.

The soldiers of the DarkStar Task Force appeared and surrounded the two people.

Ember stood at the forefront. He stared at Han Xiao with an expressionless face, as if everything was under his control.

"Black Star Mercenary Group captain, we need your help. Come with us. Not resisting will save you some pain."

Han Xiao's eyes became extremely serious.

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Chapter 387: Familiar, Witness!

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

Two days ago, DarkStar had coincidentally seen through Peggy's lies. Because of that, they had changed the strategy. They did not have to look for a needle in a haystack anymore. Since the Secret Message Bead was on Floating Dragon Island, they only needed to lock onto the organizations involved in the scrimmage at the dock to find out who picked up the bead. The search range became countless times smaller.

The mercenaries had been the main cause of the scrimmage at the dock, so they were the main focus. Sky Ring, Blades, and Purple Gold had all been captured; only Han Xiao's Black Star Mercenary Group was free to move around. Ember was not stupid enough to attack the prison; hence, Han Xiao became the most suitable target.

And so, they laid this ambush.

Seize Black star, take control of the captain of this small mercenary group, make him obey orders obediently, then use his identity to move in and out of prison to asked whether the Secret Message Bead had been picked up by any other mercenary.

After all, the first line of 'DarkStar Task Force Action Manual' was 'In order to reduce the risk of exposure during field missions, avoid using violence as much as possible if the target can be bribed with money—most of the money spent can be snatched back.'

But from what DarkStar knew, the mysterious forces that plotted for the Secret Message Bead were hidden on Floating Dragon Island. That force had come to know the truth before them and was very likely to have contacted the mercenaries before them. After what happened with Peggy, Ember did not want to be toyed once again. So, he decided to do things the simple way, by using force.

As a member of a large, violent terrorist organization, they always felt a sense of superiority when facing mercenaries. They were like a god of death hiding in the dark, cool and stylish. Whereas mercenaries were like labor workers, without belief and would do anything for money, not even matching up to bounty hunters, who were dedicated to catching wanted criminals.

Saying 'I am from DarkStar' and 'I am a mercenary' felt completely different.

The name of DarkStar was feared by countless races. In contrast, although the mercenary industry was extremely large, it was scattered. It was like the difference between a stone and a sand castle. DarkStar would only pay attention if it were large armies like Sky Ring and Blades. In the case of a small mercenary group with around fifty members and their strongest member being only trade B, it was a piece of cake.

"Who are you people?" Han Xiao asked deliberately while narrowing his eyes.

"A word of advice for you, if you want to live a little longer, put away your curiosity and don't ask about our identity. Don't get caught up in trouble," Ember said coldly.

He thought that Han Xiao would definitely be surprised by their identity.

What he did not know was that Han Xiao was the witness the night they took the slaves away. Thinking that this was their first encounter with Black Star, they maintained their mysterious identity to put pressure on Black Star, not knowing that Han Xiao knew exactly who they were.

Han Xiao looked around. The walls Ember built formed a colosseum-like cage. There was a total of eight DarkStar warriors surrounding him in the middle. In addition to Ember, the other seven were not some nobodies—they were all grade B Supers.

Seven opponents with the same grade, plus Ember who was grade B. The increase in difficulty when facing multiple opponents was not as simple as addition. With a variety of abilities working collaboratively, Han Xiao was unsure of how long he could last against them. Furthermore, he had the burden of Aroshia, so it was a tricky situation.

Han Xiao tried to use the communication channel, only to hear the sound of electric currents.

"Don't waste your time. Strong signal disruption devices have been planted nearby, so no messages can be sent out. You can't call for help," Ember said indifferently.

"It seems that you think you've got me in the palm of your hands." Han Xiao kept calm and said, "Since I have no way to escape, tell me what is it that you want me to do, and maybe we can agree to some terms. I don't want to fight a meaningless battle."

"We want you to ask the mercenaries about the whereabouts of a black bead," Ember said.

Hearing this, Han Xiao analyzed quickly in his mind without changing his expression.

It seemed that DarkStar was able to pry out the truth from the mouth of Peggy. They most likely also knew that there is an impostor using their name who is also competing for the Secret Message Bead. But they don't know that the impostor is me. I've been attacked this time not because I'm exposed but because I happen to be one of the targets. This is very crucial. They don't know I have the bead. If I pretend to cooperate, I might be able to get myself out of this.

He was more concerned about how much DarkStar knew. At this point, it seemed that he just happened to be a typical mercenary—him imposing as a DarkStar agent had not been exposed.

Compromising with DarkStar was not out of the question. If giving up the Secret Message Bead could be exchanged for an opportunity of joining DarkStar, thus infiltrating the enemy, it could be considered a chance as well. Yet, the risk of that was unknown and hard to measure.

Han Xiao squinted and behaved like he did not seem to know what the bead was. "This is just a small matter. I can help, so there's no need to use force."

Ember took out a small transparent box containing a large number of nanotechnology insects the size of sand that were used to control the brain and heart. They would be able to take one's life anytime once injected into the body. "After you inject this, then we can talk about our cooperation."

"Looks like I don't have a choice." Han Xiao shook his head. The mechanical suit covered his body in an instant.

Injecting the nanotechnology insects meant that his life would be in someone else's hands, and he would never agree to that. Therefore, there was only one choice.

Fight!

Electromagnetic firearms bounced out of the mechanical suit one after another. Energy flew out like electric currents, covered in lightning in the size of filaments. Han Xiao was not only holding firearms in both his hands, but he also controlled the rest of the firearms with his energy, firing in all directions.

Tu tu tu tu!

In an instant, bullets covered in blue lightning blossomed outward from Han Xiao in the center like a dark blue rose!

A battle suddenly erupted!

[Moving Snipe, [Field Controlling Vision, [Magnetic Vision—Data Flow, [Surging Mechanical Force, and [Overload]—a variety of abilities were activated by Han Xiao instantly. The explosive power of these abilities shocked the DarkStar soldiers as they dodged and blocked the abilities in their own ways.

"A waste of time."

Ember controlled the dust and turned it into a shield, blocking the bullets. His face was calm. To him, no matter what the enemy's fighting method was, as long as their grade was lower than his, it would all be meaningless. He could defeat then in a blink of an eye unless they were immune to his power.

Hum!

Ember activated his power and extended his senses. His vision changed, and Ember could 'see' Han Xiao's body's atomic structure clearly. The carbon element was marked with light, covering his body like a river. Ember controlled these carbon elements with ease—he had done this countless times.

However, it was like Han Xiao's body suddenly became a mountain. The Esper power that had worked countless times did not work this time. Ember could not control any carbon atoms in his body; its structure was unshakeable.

The calmness on the face of the Ember was suddenly broken and replaced by dismay.

"It's you!"

Ember stared suspiciously at Han Xiao.

It turned out that the witness on that night who caused the mission to fail was this mercenary group captain, Black Star!

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"You're the one that attacked the slave market!"

Han Xiao acted shocked as well like he had only just recognized Ember.

According to the intel that DarkStar had, he was just an unimportant passerby. As soon as they got into a battle, the fact that he was the witness who briefly battled Ember would definitely be discovered. From Ember's perspective, they had only met once, when they attacked the slave market. Hence, he acted as if he recognized Ember as the attacker of that night from his Esper power. It was a normal reaction.

There was another reason he faked this—to hide the fact that he knew about the truth of DarkStar.

At the moment of being attacked, these thoughts were already brewing in Han Xiao's head.

And as expected, seeing his surprise, Ember totally did not have any thought of him being the mysterious man who discovered DarkStar's identity.

On the night of the attack, due to the area being in a blackout and them wearing a mask and mechanical suit, they did not know each other's identity. And now, they met coincidentally again.

Han Xiao was the first person that was immune to Ember's [Carbon Atom Deconstruction] despite being one grade lower. Although it was just a short battle, he had left such a strong impression on Ember that he would not be able to forget.

Ember was shocked. He swept away his careless attitude, and his eyes were filled with curiosity and battle desire. "Our last battle was too short to determine a winner. This time, I'm not in a rush."

The witness was the reason that the attack had been exposed, and his real identity was their target this time—Black Star. With both old and new grudges, Ember was full of fighting spirit. He decided to go all out this time.

Ember's hand grabbed the air, and black carbon dust formed a straight double-edged diamond sword, extremely hard yet flexible due to Ember's powers.

Boom!

At the same time, endless black dust shot out from the ground everywhere, trying to aim for the gaps in the mechanical suit.

Han Xiao felt the pressure from the increased fighting spirit of the enemy.

Initially, Ember had thought that dealing with Han Xiao would be a simple mission, but he realized that he was wrong. This was a tough opponent. Thus, he became serious and faced Han Xiao with the attitude of facing a strong enemy.

Hu!

Seven Sonic Spheres flew out and hovered in the air, creating an amplification field. The space inside the cell created by Ember was limited, perfect for sonic attacks.

With the Scythe in his hands, the Hovering Shield Shuttle hovering around his body, and the light shining from the armor pieces on his hand, arms, and legs, Han Xiao was at his peak performance.

Due to the signal interference, Han Xiao could not activate the backup parts that were far away. He could only battle with the mechanical suit's basic mode—there was no backup equipment. It was very disadvantageous for a Mechanic.

"Hide aside," Han Xiao said as he pushed Aroshia away. He swung the scythe and slashed at the wall, but it did not even leave a scratch.

He frowned. The wall was too hard, and there was no way to break through.

The only choice left was to fight.

This time, the seven DarkStar warriors struck. Three Pugilists covered in flames surrounded Han Xiao in a triangle shape.

Bang!

With a swing of the scythe, they clashed!

The aftershock echoed in the prison cell!

Aroshia was forced to the edge and could only watch.

Ember was very curious about Han Xiao's ability to resist his powers. Anyway, the signal disruption device was already set up, and Black Star could not call for backup, so there was plenty of time to find out.

As Han Xiao was attacked and having a tough fight, all the players far away on the other side of the floating island who were doing their duty in aircrafts triggered a new mission.

[Urgent Mission – Backup]

Mission Introduction: Your captain has been ambushed and is engaged in a tough fight. As a member of the mercenary group, you are his backup.

Mission Requirements: Arrive at the scene quickly and provide backup for Black Star. The coordinates are…

Reward: Depends on the speed and number of the backup.

Rejection Consequence: -300 Black Star Mercenary Group Favorability

All the players became spirited.

The Esper's power was very strong. Not only was it strong in close-quarter combat, but it could also control countless dust particles and turn them into spears to strike or tentacles to constrain Han Xiao's mobility. The most dangerous threat of that ability was the dust infiltrating into the gaps of the mechanical suit that changed their form inside the suit to destroy Amphiptere's interior. At least one-third of the damage came from Ember.

The seven DarkStar warriors had very good cooperation—three Pugilist to limit Han Xiao's mobility at close range through exchanging hits, one Esper that could secret acid, and another that could inject energy in the galaxy into specially made metals and turn them into bombs. These two Espers were hiding at the side while throwing acid and metal balls at Han Xiao.

There was one more Mechanic who was good at electromagnetic disruption and smart hacking, connecting to Amphiptere through his own combat suit and disrupting Amphiptere's system through the hacking program that he wrote. He was even trying to take control of Amphiptere. Han Xiao's smart technology was still within the bounds of basic knowledge, so he had no choice but to turn off most auto functions and leave only the nerves connection controls on, to stop detection and analysis as well as to prevent Amphiptere's system from being taken over. This Mechanic was also controlling numerous shield generators to block attacks for his teammates.

The last one was an Electric Mage. His cooperation with Ember was the closest, unleashing his electric sorcery by using the carbon dust as a bridge. Ember turned them into graphene, which was more conductive, to increase the power, attacking Han Xiao from all directions and burning the internals of Amphiptere.

Boom boom boom!

Attacks rained down on Amphiptere, and the number of wounds gradually increased. Facing seven enemies of the same grade and one whose grade was even higher than his own, Han Xiao was like facing a terrifying tsunami—he could hardly fight back.

Even with [Snake—Devil] activated, he could just barely hold on.

The mechanical suit's durability dropped very quickly. After only a few minutes into the fight, it was already at sixteen percent, close to being completely destroyed.

Han Xiao took a deep breath. He poured all the energy into the mobility device, and with a sharp arc, he escaped from the close-range battle and headed straight for the Esper who could secrete acid. He closed in extremely quickly while firing a shot at the Mechanic to make sure he could not control the shield to protect his teammate. Then, with a swing of the scythe, he was about to slash at the Esper.

"Burst!" Ember yelled as he clenched his fist. Before Han Xiao could land the attack, Ember could give the wounded Amphiptere one last attack to destroy it!

Countless spikes formed inside Amphiptere within a second!

The mechanical suit became covered in holes and was on the brink of shattering.

At this moment, a blurry white light bloomed. Amphiptere, which was about to shatter, came back together like a miracle, and its energy level recovered to its prime.

Machinery Continuation!

"What!" Ember was shocked and surprised. The attack that he had been so confident in could not break Han Xiao's suit, and it was now too late to stop him.

The acid Esper initially believed that Ember could stop Han Xiao, but now he was horrified and could only watch the scythe growing in his vision.

Flaming Will!

Swoosh!

With a flash of light, blood spilled all over. A ferocious wound extended from the acid Esper's head to his chin, spitting his face in half.

His health dropped a large chunk in an instant.

"Ahhh!"

The acid Esper fell to the ground and writhed in agony as blood gushed out from his face. Ember hastily moved him away before Han Xiao could land another hit.

The next moment, Amphiptere crumbled into pieces.

Machinery Continuation made Amphiptere last for five seconds longer, and in this time, Han Xiao landed this hit and heavily injured one of the enemies even while he was under siege.

Han Xiao was breathing heavily. He had wanted to get rid of that guy a long time ago—it was so disgusting to have him keep spitting acid at him.

Ember had a very gloomy expression. His subordinate was heavily injured, and his mistake was partly to blame. Anger arose from inside his heart.

This was a pure accident, and it was not going to happen again. Black Star had reached his limit after lasting for so long. From the moment his mechanical suit shattered, he was a sheep waiting to be butchered and would not have any chance to fight back anymore.

A Mechanic that lost his machines was at most half as strong!

"This is it for you. I've said before, you can save yourself a lot of pain if you don't resist, and I am a man of my word…"

Ember then said with freezing cold eyes, "Are you ready to feel pain?"

Amphiptere shattered, and the backup mechanical suit could not be summoned. Han Xiao's body had no more protection. He glanced at the broken parts all over the floor, but his expression did not change at all. He did not seem to be bothered about his current situation. He casually placed the black scythe on his shoulders and said, "Don't celebrate too soon. The fight only ends when I can't fight anymore."

The Great Mechanic Han was never one to back away from a fight.

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Chapter 389: What Monster Are You‽

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

Broken parts were all over the floor, including the Sonic Spheres and the Hovering Shield Shuttle. The scythe was a melee weapon, so it was very hard. Its blade was quite wide and could be used as a shield. This was the only weapon that Han Xiao was left with.

Zoom!

The hovering carbon dust in the cell transformed into sharp cones pointing at the ground, which then fell down like rain. The area covered was very large, so every dodge direction was locked down.

If the target had a mechanical suit, this kind of large area attack would not be so much of a threat. However, Black Star's mechanical suit had already been destroyed by him. A Mechanic without protection was fragile.

Ember did not want to kill Han Xiao—they had to capture him alive after all—but he was very willing to make Han Xiao suffer. He was only aiming at non-lethal spots.

Swoosh!

The scythe deflected the approaching sharp cones, but they were endless with Ember's control. Han Xiao deflected and shielded himself from whatever he could, and he was left with no choice but to let the rest hit him.

Electric shaped energy covered his body and formed a layer of protection. The sharp cones shattered upon hitting his body, only causing scratches.

Ember controlled his power casually and said with a cold voice, "As a Mechanic, you never learned close range tactics. You don't have as much energy as a Pugilist, and your attributes are totally different from a Pugilist's. Yet, you want to fight like a Pugilist. If you were a Mechanical Pugilist maybe you'd stand a chance, but you're just a Mechanic. How long do you think you can last? Your resistance is futile. Are you still not giving up?"

Attacks were coming from every angle in the battlefield. The other DarkStar warriors left the area and stopped fighting. They stood aside and waited for their captain to defeat Black Star. After all, Ember could easily defeat an enemy without his fangs, so there was no need to help.

The result was certain.

Boom!

Suddenly, with a stomp that cracked the ground, Han Xiao dashed toward the DarkStar Mechanic like a flash of lightning. He was not deflecting the attacks anymore, and he let the countless sharp cones hit his body. With a flick of the wrist, the blade of the scythe split open and turned into around eight pieces of electromagnetic blades covered in electrical sparks, spinning and forming a drill shape!

"Take my Electric Dragon Drill!" Han Xiao yelled. The drill penetrated the shield that the DarkStar Mechanic urgently generated and sent him flying. The DarkStar Mechanic's combat suit turned burnt black from the electric, and the broken parts were flashing with electrical sparks. His suit was malfunctioning due to the damages.

"You maniac, you're looking for death!" The face of the other DarkStar warriors changed in an instant. They were shocked that despite facing such concentrated attacks from Ember, Han Xiao still dared to give up on his defenses and chose to attack instead. Although Han Xiao was able to succeed due to them having their guard down, this attack did not cause much of a problem. They were all Supers of the same grade, so they would not be killed this easily. On the other hand, this act caused Han Xiao to get hit by a lot more attacks.

"Looks like you're not going to compromise, quite the spirit you have," Ember complimented sincerely, then shook his head expressionlessly. "But resistance is futile, and it shows you have nothing up your sleeves anymore. Yet, you're dreaming of fighting a way out… My patience is limited. Since you can't comprehend your situation, we'll have to beat you to near death for you to figure it out."

This time, Ember decided to not use his large area attacks anymore. The DarkStar warriors received Ember's order and joined the fight, surrounding Han Xiao.

Without the aid of his suit, Han Xiao was instantly placed in a precarious position. Facing the storm like attacks, he could only passively defend himself. Any movement or dodge was stopped by the enemies' tacit cooperation. He was forced to remain in one place and unable to fight back.

Boom!

Attacks blasted onto Han Xiao like a tsunami, the continuous explosions stirred up the dust and blocked their vision.

Aroshia, who was standing at the side, could only see the lightning, bombs, spears, and energy enter the thick dust countless times, but she could not see Han Xiao. Endless explosions and clanking sounds filled her ears, but there was no growl or scream of agony. Other than the sound of the battle, she could not hear Han Xiao making any sound at all.

Seeing this, Aroshia suddenly had the urge to stop everything. An unknown impulse drove her to take action. However, at this time, Ember suddenly raised his hand, and they stopped attacking.

"That's enough, he should be heavily injured by now. Cuff him and let's get out of here immediately…"

Bang!

Before Ember finished his sentence, the sound of the ground cracking came out of the dust!

Han Xiao shot out like a cannon, covered in wounds and dragging a tail of dust behind him. Even after taking so many attacks, his wounds were all light wounds, and none of them penetrated deeply.

With energy flickering around his body, his scythe slashed down in a flash!

Clank!

Ember's diamond arm and Han Xiao's scythe clashed, and the sparks lit up Ember's stunned expression.

"How can you be okay‽"

They were shocked.

After receiving so much damage, even if he was a Pugilist of the same level instead of a Mechanic, he would have been heavily injured. Yet, Han Xiao was still so alive!

How are you more tanky than a Pugilist‽

"Hehe…" Han Xiao looked up. Half of his face was covered with blood, but his face was full of mockery. He laughed with a husky voice and said, "Is this all you have? Are you scratching an itch for me?"

Ember's face was filled with rage. He activated his power, and carbon atoms turned into a snake, hitting Han Xiao's chest heavily, pushing him back in the midst of dust, and pressing him on the floor.

"Continue!" Ember yelled furiously.

So what if you're tanky? You're nothing but a living target. We're the ones that have the upper hand!

The DarkStar warriors took a deep breath and raised their focus level once again. Attacks submerged Han Xiao for the second time.

This time, the attacks were more violent. Dangerous attacks came from Ember continuously, and his eyes were vicious. He had no intention of holding back.

Seeing this, ripples formed in Aroshia's eyes. She took a few steps forward, picked up an electromagnetic handgun that Han Xiao had dropped earlier, raised her hands, and fired at Ember.

Ding ding ding!

The needle bullets were deflected by Ember's diamond skin.

Ember turned around and snorted. With a casual swing of his hand, he controlled the carbon element in Aroshia 's body and slapped her into the floor, immobilizing her.

When the ambush was launched, Ember had already felt Aroshia 's presence—she was just an ordinary person. So, Ember did not care about her and left her on the side. Now that she had fired at him, Ember was not bothered at all. He kept her under control casually and continued to focus on dealing with Han Xiao.

After a rather long period of continuous attacks, even the terrain had changed. The ground where Han Xiao was standing became a near-one-meter-deep hole, covered in a thick dust that blocked the vision.

"Stop."

Ember's breath was a little rapid, his power caused him a lot of energy. The DarkStar warriors backed off with a few beads of sweat rolling down their forehead, tired as well. It became quiet as they stopped.

"Is he still alive?" The DarkStar warriors looked at the hole.

"Not dead yet. I can feel his presence. It's very weak—he's really almost dead this time," Ember said with confidence.

However, the next moment, Ember's face suddenly changed dramatically. The weak presence that he felt became stronger in a very strange way and was recovering at an unbelievable speed.

In the midst of the dust, the outline of a person slowly stood up. Like there was an unknown magical force, everyone's eyes were staring at that outline.

Ta, ta, ta!

Every sound of footsteps felt like they were stepping right on Ember's heart.

A black scythe extended out of the mist first, filled with cracks. Just as it appeared in everyone's sight, it shattered into pieces and turned into a pile of waste.

Right after, Han Xiao walked out, everyone's eyes turned to look at him. The next moment, disbelief filled their eyes.

Han Xiao was covered in dust, but all his wounds were nowhere to be found. He cracked his neck, looking livelier than ever.

"Are you done?" His tone was laid back, sounding like he had just woken up.

Ember was dumbfounded.

How could Han Xiao's wounds heal themselves? Did he have a regeneration power?

Even the alloy scythe shattered, yet the person was unharmed. Han Xiao was very much alive—he was harder than the alloy scythe!

The people doing the beating were tired, whereas the one taking the beating was still very alive. How the hell were they going to continue‽

Han Xiao stared at the people of DarkStar and stretched his body.

"If you're not done, I will continue playing with you."

He had given out the mission to the players long ago, so he was not panicking at all. Furthermore, he had Aurora's Character Summon Card, with only one effect—Full recovery, simple and powerful, six usages. Just now, when his health was lower than fifteen percent, he used it.

Han Xiao was very tanky to start with, and with this ability, these DarkStar warriors would not be able to kill him even by exhausting themselves.

Ember's expression changed from surprised to shocked, horrified, then stopped at fear!

His posture became lower and not casual anymore. It became very serious.

This was the sign of him facing a dangerous enemy!

When facing Han Xiao, Ember had taken it very lightly and casually in the beginning. Only when he realized that Han Xiao was immune to his power did he take him more seriously. He had thought that he was serious enough, but he realized that he had still underestimated Han Xiao.

In the short time since the start of the battle, Han Xiao had surprised him continuously. His impression of Han Xiao was completely overthrown!

Ember stared at Han Xiao and said word by word, "What monster are you‽"

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Chapter 390: Aroshia, Grade A Chain Mission (1)

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

The DarkStar warriors looked at Ember with the questioning gazes.

Ember stared at Han Xiao. He was in a dilemma. The time that they had spent there was beyond their expectations. They had thought that they could capture Han Xiao in no time, but they had never expected him to have such tough abilities to deal with. Furthermore, they were not sure how strong Han Xiao's regeneration ability was and how many more times he could recover.

Ember was confident that Han Xiao definitely had a limit. The problem was, how long would it take for him to reach that limit? Han Xiao's toughness drastically exceeded the average of a Mechanic. They had heavily wounded him once, but their energy and endurance were limited. Their breathing was faster than usual, and their hearts were pumping fast. The nonstop attacks made the DarkStar warriors tired and unable to reach their maximum performance.

Retreat or continue? Ember hesitated. This time, he suddenly saw Han Xiao look up at the sky that was blocked by the cell he had created, with mockery on his face.

Before they could react, violent explosions blasted outside the cell. The walls trembled, and cracks appeared.

Boom!

( NovelFull ) The wall above their head suddenly burst into pieces as a searchlight pierced in. Numerous aircrafts hovered above in the sky, aiming their laser cannons at DarkStar's people.

"Drop your weapons and surrender immediately!" Herlous yelled through the speaker.

The faces of the DarkStar warriors changed.

"Sh*t, the guards are here. The ambush only lasted a few minutes, and we just checked there were no patrols nearby. Did a team of guards just happen to pass by? Lucky him!"

Less than ten minutes had passed since the start of the ambush to the end of the battle. As the speed and reaction of Supers grew stronger, the number of actions that they could complete in a second became higher as well. During the battle, time would feel much slower in their senses, and every second would feel ten or even a hundred times slower. Opponents of the same level could make use of every small detail during the battle and exchange hits at a very high speed. However, in the eyes of ordinary people, they could only see shadows and phantoms.

"It isn't luck. The people on the aircraft are all Black Star's subordinates. He must've called for backup!"

"How did he get through the signal disruption‽" someone exclaimed with disbelief.

Ember stared at Han Xiao and said in a deep voice, "I admit I underestimated you this time. Black Star, I'll remember your name. Retreat!"

Just as he finished his sentence, the cell collapsed in an instant and turned into black dust all over the place, obstructing signal detectors and vision.

This moment, Ember took out a metal rod. He held onto both ends and twisted, activating the device. A blue dot of light appeared in the middle, its light covering three meters. The DarkStar warriors quickly walked into the area covered in blue light. Then, Ember twisted the metal rod once again right after. The blue dot contracted and turned into a string of flashes. The people and the dust inside the area disappeared without a trace.

When the dust dispersed, Han Xiao wiped off the dust on his face and walked over to the place where Ember and the others disappeared from. He squatted down and swept away the dust on the floor, uncovering a circle mark on the ground.

"Directional Short Distance Teleporter, leaves almost no trace behind… We can't chase them." Han Xiao shook his head, a little helpless. Compared to the others, DarkStar's technology was rather ahead of its time, at least very ahead of him at this moment.

( NovelFull ) The aircrafts circled around and did not find anything. They landed, and Han Xiao gave them the mission completion reward.

The backup forced Ember to retreat and made DarkStar's plan to kidnap him fail. However, Han Xiao could not be glad about it. Ember's failure would definitely make DarkStar pay more attention to him. He had showcased quite a number of his abilities, so he could not keep a low profile anymore.

With the first attack, there was most likely going to be a second one. Han Xiao did not have enough power currently to face such a large organization, and his career as a mercenary group would be affected as well.

Looking back, it was all because the job that they had been hired to do that caused them to coincidentally meet with DarkStar's conspiracy. As long as they were going to save the Silvers, whether he had the Secret Message Bead or not, he would definitely attract DarkStar's attention in the end. He had no idea DarkStar was involved in this in the start. Anyway, there was no way to make time go backward. At least he now knew DarkStar's target and had the key item—the Secret Message Bead—in his hands. Not only did he successfully make Ember retreat, he also successfully hid the truth of him knowing about the Secret Message Bead. He was still not exposed.

It's better not to give the Secret Message Bead to DarkStar; it's too risky. DarkStar's way of doing things is very merciless, so exposing too much would put me in danger,Han Xiao thought.

Herlous walked behind him and asked with concern, "Are you okay?"

"Not hurt much, you guys arrived right on time." Han Xiao waved his hand.

It was the players who had taken the initiative to request reinforcements this time. Herlous had been doubtful at first, and now he had confirmed that Han Xiao and these subordinates of his had some sort of telepathy.

"Who were these enemies? Why did they ambush you?"

"They're the brutes that attacked the slave market. I recognized the power of one of them, they probably want revenge," Han Xiao said casually. He turned and walked to Aroshia, then helped her up.

Aroshia shook her head, signally that she was not hurt.

Han Xiao contemplated and said, "There's a very high energy reaction inside your body, but you don't know how to use it."

He had seen Aroshia firing earlier and saw that Ember kept her under control in an instant—she was of no help at all. If Aroshia could fight when they were ambushed, he would not have ended up fighting alone.

Han Xiao was not an irresponsible person; it was impossible for him to abandon her once the mission was complete. Since he had taken Aroshia away, she had to join the mercenary group. He did not need someone who was a burden, and Aroshia had a lot of potential—she was worth cultivating. If she became a Super, at least she would not be a burden, and she might even be helpful.

"There's energy in my body?" Aroshia looked down and pressed on her heart. "Really?"

"You definitely have the talent to become a Super. I can teach you to realize your potential and become a Super so that your talent will not be wasted," Han Xiao said.

( NovelFull ) "You want me to learn the Super knowledges?"

Han Xiao shrugged his shoulders and said, "I don't know who you were before, but since you lost your memories, you need to learn again. Maybe you were a very strong Super before—you might improve at an unbelievable speed."

"There's one thing I never said," Aroshia said slowly, "I apparently am some sort of Space Wonder. You can't bring me away."

Han Xiao was stunned in place.

"They said that I won't really die. I will revive after I die and go back to the initial amnesia state, losing the memory of everything before I died. I remember I have been 'alive' for three years this time, and I was sold five times. Each time, after six days, I returned to that cell. No matter how far I am, it will only be an instant. No one can bring me away."

Aroshia's earliest memory was the moment she opened her eyes in the cell. Her origin and her existence were both a mystery. Everything before that moment was blank. However, this time, her 'life' had lasted three years, and she had the short memory of these three years. She had realized how special she was long ago, but her life form was very unique—she did not have any physical desire or spiritual need. She did not need to consume food and hardly had any curiosity; it was like nothing mattered to her.

Although her knowledge of the world was a piece of blank paper, she was unlike an innocent child. On the contrary, she had very strong thinking capabilities.

Horlaide had not been completely honest back then—Han Xiao did not know about Aroshia's secret. Now he realized that Horlaide had been promoting her because he knew that she would be back in the end, and he was using that as a scam. Han Xiao was speechless.

"You can't control this power?" Han Xiao said with surprise.

Aroshia shook her head. "No."

Hearing this, Han Xiao was more interested. Aroshia had self-awareness but was trapped in the cell by a mysterious power, and this was not her choice. If this was a Space Wonder, then there was one question. Was Aroshia the Space Wonder?

Could it be possible that she was originally an independent life form and not part of the wonder, and it was a coincidence that she became the wonder? Which would mean that Aroshia's amnesia, her unique life form, her mind of close to completely no desire… all of this could be given by the wonder. Then what was this wonder? Was it something without a physical form, some sort of formless energy?

Sadly, even if there was an answer to this, Aroshia did not know it. The truth might be in the memories that she had lost. What Han Xiao cared most about at this moment was that Aroshia could not be taken away.

"Is there no way to solve it?"

"I don't know." Aroshia shook her head and said, "Only three more hours to the sixth day."

The mission requirement was to save her from the slave market and stay with her for six days. Only now did Han Xiao know the difficulty of it. However, since it was a mission, there must be a way to complete it.

There should be clues in that cell.

Han Xiao ordered the rest of the people to patrol around and look for the enemy. Although he did not have any hope of actually finding anything. He summoned the backup Amphiptere and wore it, then accompanied Aroshia to the slave market… ruins.

At the same time, the DarkStar people appeared on the other side of Floating Dragon, with frustration on their faces.

The ambush had been too rushed. They had engaged without knowing much about Black Star at all. They had thought that their power and technology would give them an unshakable advantage, which caused them to underestimate the opponent.

Their arrogance was the reason for their failure.

Ember was furious. This was the first time that he had failed when facing a target weaker than him. He was very concerned about this failure; it left a mark in his heart that he was very unhappy about it.

Ember opened the communicator to report the result. He held back his unhappiness and repeated the process of their failure. The Superiors of DarkStar were very surprised. Their surprise and disappointment stung Ember's pride once again.

His record had always been perfect, and this had left a stain on it.

"Sarota has already intercepted all the criminals, and there were no clue of it at all. The mercenaries are the only ones left. There's an eighty percent chance that the Secret Message Bead is in the hands of the mercenaries."

"Shall I continue to find a chance to deal with Black Star?"

"You failed once, don't take the risk, retreat." The Superiors sighed.

Veins popped up on the back of Ember's hands.

"Yes, Sir…"

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Chapter 391: Aroshia, Grade A Chain Mission (2)

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

The slave market was being rebuilt. Han Xiao showed his identity to the construction team and entered the underground corridor successfully. He came to the cell that Aroshia had once been in, looked around, knocked here and there, and did not find anything unusual.

Floating Dragon had searched the cell long before him, and they did not find anything either.

Aroshia stood outside the door and watched. She suddenly asked, "Why do you want to bring me away?"

Han Xiao paused for a moment. He definitely could not say that it was a mission requirement, so he said, "I'm very curious about you."

"Curious…" Aroshia mumbled. "What is that?"

"Curiosity is the desire for knowledge. For example, when a normal person loses their memory, they want to know who they were before. This is a type of desire."

"Desire… I don't seem to have this sort of thing. Is that special?"

"Er, usually, those without desires are artificial intelligence, and not needing to consume or excrete is a characteristic of energy life forms." Han Xiao sized Aroshia up and said, "But you're neither of them. You just don't have the basic physical needs, you might not have no desire at all. Don't you have anything you want?"

Aroshia thought carefully and said, "I don't think so."

"Are you sure? Since you asked me a question, that's the curiosity of wanting to know what 'desire' is," Han Xiao said. "Desire is the sign of life, a feeling that makes people realize their existence. It can also be said that it's the motive for every action a life form takes. Therefore, a life form like you seems very unique."

Aroshia tilted her head, pondered, and said, "Is the reason for you teaching me how to use the energy inside my body also your own desire?"

"I want you to be stronger and become a help to me," Han Xiao said honestly. He had figured out a few ways to communicate with Aroshia. There was no need to pretend—he just had to be straightforward and express his motive.

As always, Aroshia still had a carefree attitude. "I won't die, so what's the point of becoming stronger. Strong or weak, it's all meaningless. Or I should say, existence itself is meaningless."

Han Xiao thought about it and said, "But if you die, your memory will be reset. You'll forget about this short-term memory. The 'you' after reviving might not be who 'you' are now. Once you revive, you'll start from the beginning again, thinking the same things you have been thinking, wasting the same time you have already wasted, only to end up in the same place you are now. Becoming stronger will help you to avoid reviving, preventing yourself to be killed by others or disasters."

Han Xiao paused and said, "And about meaning… You don't need food and excretion to maintain your life, so you can't feel existence. If your mind is blank, a day or even a year will feel like an instant. Hence, why not find something to do and give meaning to your life?"

"I see…" Aroshia mumbled a while, nodded, and said, "Thank you, talking with you is very pleasant. No one had ever said this much to me."

In the past three years, the others only had two impression of her—A Space Wonder or a slave that did not run away. Never was there someone that communicated with her like she was a normal individual.

"Don't mention it, it's just chitchat."

There was no clue in the prison cell. Han Xiao could only stop and casually chat with Aroshia, waiting for the time limit to arrive and see what would actually happen.

Seconds and minutes passed. As the last minute ended, the change happened.

Aroshia was still standing outside the door—she did not return to the cell. She took a few steps backward, then looked down on her body. Nothing unusual happened. Then she backed off further and further.

[Visitor From Afar] Completed

You have received 1,800,000 Experience.

Han Xiao was so surprised her eyebrows almost raised uncontrollably.

He hardly did anything at all, yet a Space Wonder that even the Floating Dragon could not resolve was gone just like that. There was definitely more to it! Han Xiao recalled that this mission had an unknown reward. He looked at the interface and realized that this reward turned out to be a new mission.

You Have Triggered Grade A Hidden Chain Mission, [Reboot]

Mission Introduction: Aroshia is a unique life form. An enormous secret lies within her. Bring her alongside you, and one day, this secret will find you.

Reminder: This is a Chain Mission. The next mission will only be unlocked once the previous one is completed.

First Round: Teach Aroshia. Help her to awaken her power, control the energy inside her body, and reach Grade B

Reward: 5,200,000 Experience, 1 x Random Reward, 5 Risda Favorability

Failure Condition: Aroshia dead

Chain Mission type grade A hidden mission! Han Xiao was shocked. This was usually something that only happened in large Main Storyline events.

He had no information about this storyline in his previous life, which meant that no one had triggered it. This was an unknown event. He was more assured that Aroshia was not ordinary. The mission name was [Reboot]—what did that mean? Also, who was this person called Risda?

"Apparently, I'm able to leave." Aroshia was confused. "What did you do to me?"

"I have no idea…" Han Xiao said. "Anyways, this is a good thing."

Two days later, the superiors of the three large mercenary group arrived late at Floating Dragon. Jenny had a meeting with them. After she accepted their apologies, she finally released Goa, Porter, and Cerleni's teams who had been locked up for many days.

Right after these people got out, they surrounded Han Xiao and expressed their gratitude and praise.

The superiors of the three armies came to contact Han Xiao with very friendly attitudes. Every mercenary could feel how their superiors took Han Xiao seriously. Han Xiao had showcased his abilities in this mission, and now that he had the backing of Floating Dragon, even the three large armies could not take him lightly.

After they were free, they immediately prepared to leave Floating Dragon and go back to complete the mission, returning the Silvers to the long-awaited employer. The reason Han Xiao had waited till now was to travel together with them.

On the day of their departure, Jenny, Wilsander, and Haier all came to send him off.

The entire dock was stunned. People from everywhere sized Han Xiao up with shock as he chatted with the three of them. Black Star Mercenary Group's position there was definitely high, given the fact that three of them were sending him off.

The people who knew what had happened were even more surprised. It had only been a short half a month since Han Xiao joined Floating Dragon, and he had been able to work his way up so high in such a short period. The three of them had come to send him off, which meant that they gave him a lot of face. Even the superiors of the three armies were only able to see Jenny.

"Her Excellency Dragon Emperor has allowed you to be a Field Team. You're now a field commander. Your power is Floating Dragon's external military power, so we hope you can grow stronger quickly," Jenny said in a very formal tone. She took out a specially made communicator and passed to Han Xiao. "This communicator can be used to contact Ames directly. However, as a reminder, if there's no absolute need, it's best not to disturb her."

Able to contact Ames directly? This small thing is equal to a nuclear launcher! Han Xiao stowed it carefully.

Haier crawled over and said regretfully, "You're quite a good Mechanic. After you're gone, my workload will go up again. This gift is for you."

Looking down, Haier's pedipalp passed an alloy box over. Han Xiao's eyes sparkled as he opened to look at it.

Inside was a mini portable nuclear reactor. Stable nuclear reactors were something that could only be built with advanced energy knowledge. Energy knowledge was more difficult to obtain than compression technology, so he could not build it currently. Now that he had the reactor, he could add materials and use it to generate power, then use it at the power core of a mechanical suit. The output of the mechanical suit would reach new heights.

"Thank you." Han Xiao nodded with joy on his face.

After Haier walked away, Wilsander came closer and said, "Haier is a little ugly. I felt he was hard to look at initially but got used to it after some time. His personality is quite good."

Han Xiao glanced at him and said, "Ames probably feel this way about you."

Wilsander's expression collapsed immediately.

"Don't change the topic, did you bring a gift?"

"No."

"Bye." Han Xiao turned around and entered the ship.

"Come on, why is the treatment difference this huge!" Wilsander said resentfully on the dock.

Hu!

The ship took off.

Floating Dragon Island gradually became smaller in his eyes. He left with four more people than he entered with—three Volga brothers sleeping on the side and Aroshia, who was gazing out of the porthole.

There were both pros and cons to joining the Dragon Emperor's faction. At the moment, the pros largely outweighed the cons. Not only did he receive new blueprints and materials, his talent evolved as well. The most priceless thing that he got during this mission should be the Secret Message Bead. The higher the risk it brought, the higher the value it would bring.

As Floating Dragon Island had already drifted to the Fawn Galaxy, less than one day after they left, they had already returned to the desolate planet that the employer was waiting for them on.

As soon as they landed, the Silvers could not wait to return, filled with the joy of escaping death.

After the employer calmed down, he paid the reward as promised.

Finally, I have the last two knowledges of Compression Technology. Han Xiao breathed a sigh of relief. For these two knowledges, he had taken on an unfamiliar mission, and it had been exhausting. But at long last, it was time to reap the rewards.

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Chapter 392: The Sudden Arrival of a Fleet

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

What Sky Ring, Blades, and Purple Gold wanted was money, whereas the reward that Han Xiao requested was the two advanced knowledges of the compression technology. After the employer wired the money to the three armies, he personally approached Han Xiao and thanked him sincerely.

The employer had initially paid more attention to the more renowned three large armies. The biggest reason that he hired Black Star was because the other mercenary groups changed their mind and none of them dared go to Floating Dragon Island. He did not expect this small mercenary group to be the key to the success of the mission.

"My friends wouldn't have returned safely if it wasn't for you."

As he was speaking, he and all the rescued Silvers put down their sense of superiority as royalties and greeted Han Xiao with the sincerest way to express gratitude in the Silver culture.

Goa and the others received the same treatment as well. They were a little ashamed, knowing that they had been imprisoned the entire time and it was Han Xiao who had turned the tables and completed the mission.

"Sadly, two of your friends died," Han Xiao said.

"Sigh, they're unlucky, but you're not to blame. The Shattered Star Ring is too dangerous, so we'll be leaving in just a while. I hope to hire you guys as guards and protect us on our way home."

The three armies kindly rejected the offer—they were not willing to travel that far. The Sea of Star Spirits and Shattered Star Ring were two Star Fields away, so it would take too long to travel there and return even with the star gate that could transport them across Star Fields.

"What about you?" The employer looked at Han Xiao.

Han Xiao shook his head and said, "Sorry, it's too far, not inside my business scope."

Although the Sea of Star Spirits' resources was richer than Shattered Star Ring, it would waste a lot of time if they traveled there. It was all doing missions and earning money anyway, so he preferred not to travel for it. The Shattered Star Ring was rural and dangerous, but it had a lot of opportunities.

"That's a pity. If there is a chance in the future, I hope to invite you to travel to our home for a trip…"

The employer shook his head and gave him the reward.

The mission complete notification appeared on the interface. He received more than 4,000,000 experience at once plus the 5,000 Enas. Including the amount that he had obtained through blackmailing, he had obtained more than 40,000 Enas.

The other players' rewards were not as rich as their captain's, but it was quite good nonetheless, so they were all smiling with satisfaction.

The communicator vibrated as it received the two knowledges. This was a special reward that only Han Xiao received. He checked and made sure that they were correct, then immediately chose to learn them.

Learning… Successfully Learned! You have learned [High Density Material Compression Technology]!

Learning… Successfully Learned! You have learned [Basic Spatial Technology]!

You have acquired ability [Super Compression Technology]!

You have acquired ability [Basic Machinery Construction]!

You have acquired ability [Weight Reduction Structure]!

As always, he felt the familiar headache, which only went away after quite some time. Without hesitation, he spent twenty Potential Points and leveled up these two knowledges to the max level.

Mechanics used different knowledge combinations depending on what style they were using, but these knowledges were a must-learn for all Mechanics, and their level had to be maxed.

The knowledges of the compression technology had a hidden connection. Only by possessing all of them would one learn the ability of Compression Technology, and this was the sign of the rise of Mechanics in Version 3.0.

[Super Compression Technology] folded the machineries. As the ability became stronger, it could fold larger machineries into the size of a finger, and its effect was enhanced by Machinery Affinity, level, and Intelligence. Currently, Han Xiao's limit was folding medium-sized machines, which was most of the machines that he could build at the moment, such as firearms, Rangers, Amphiptere, and others.

As the size of his machines decreases after compression, their density increased. The mass of an object never changed, so its weight remained the same. However, [Weight Reduction Structure] would solve this problem. It used many technologies to achieve an internal repulsive force, creating an independent hovering field, maintaining a very low weight in various gravitational environments. It was suitable for many materials. This was a basic technology to achieve large scale compressions.

To achieve compression, folding structures needed to be added into the machines, increasing its complexity by multiple times. For convenience, many machines would be split up during compression, then reconnected back to their original form when they were expanded, using [Basic Machinery Construction]. This was an active ability that required energy to use, enabling extremely high-speed weapon assembly during combat. As long as there were parts, Mechanics would never run out of ammo.

When killing other players in his previous life, the usable parts of weapons and robots of Mechanics that were shattered seconds ago would be immediately reconstructed into other weapons, largely increasing the continuous combat capability and annoyance of the Mechanic Class.

If not for this ability that acted as a 'recycle' mechanism, the cost of using the Mechanical Army Style would have been many times higher.

From Han Xiao's perspective, his Mechanic class could only be counted as shaped now that he had gotten these three abilities.

With Super Compression Technology and Basic Machinery Construction, my combat style will receive revolutionary upgrades. All my equipment needs to be modified into a compressed form. The number of weapons that I can equip will increase dozens of times. I won't need to fight head-on wearing my mechanical suit anymore. Finally, I can bully others with my 'Machinery Sea' tactic.

Finally, the bitter days came to an end!

This time, the superiors of Blades and Purple Gold approached.

"Black Star, we want to sign a partnership with you, inviting you to be our ally."

These two superiors were the ones in charge of this area; them sending an invitation personally showed their sincerity.

The structure of large armies was similar. With Sky Ring Army as an example, the Army Commander was the leader and the only one that had the five rings level. Followed by two grade A Deputy Army Commanders. There were two types of four rings members—one was grade B High-Class Combat Personnel, and another was High-Class Managers, in charge of one business area. The superior from Sky Ring was one of them, someone in charge of numerous galaxies.

Going further down the corporate table, one would find three rings officers like Goa, who usually brought a large team along but also could choose to work alone. They also had the authority to assemble a team temporarily.

Han Xiao had become an ally of Sky Ring earliest, and now, Blades and Purple Gold also saw Black Star's potential, so they took the initiative to invite him. Large armies like these would only be the one initiating a partnership when they valued someone heavily.

One more large army partner meant more opportunities for missions. Han Xiao agreed and signed the contract.

The Blades and Purple Gold mercenaries immediately looked at him in a friendlier way—a partner was half as good as one of their own.

Sky Ring, Blades, and Purple Gold were the most renowned armies in their Star Cluster. Becoming their partner was a very rare opportunity. Many normal mercenary groups would not even have the chance to request a partnership with just one of them, yet Han Xiao was a partner to all three of them.

After the rewards were given out, the Silvers boarded the spaceship and slowly took off.

The mercenaries were getting ready to leave as well. Goa found Han Xiao and asked, "Where are you planning to go?"

Han Xiao pondered and said, "Colton Star Cluster Star Zone One, Godora Colonized Planet. 'Golden Palace'."

The players were surprised when they heard.

"Black Phantom, are we not going back to Juberly Hub?" a player asked.

"Not yet, we have other things to do… Also, call me Black Star." Many players were used to calling him by his previous moniker and found it hard to adjust. Han Xiao made an effort to make sure they called him by the correct name. Since they were already in space, his nickname would, of course, have to keep up with the times.

"What are you going to Golden Palace for?" Herlous asked curiously.

"To find someone." Han Xiao did not explain it clearly. The others did not ask too much—they just had to follow their captain.

He was not planning to return to Juberly Hub for the time being. The Secret Message Bead was a hot potato, and he wanted to identify it first. Fortunately, it just so happened that he knew that a top-notch Godoran Mage was secluded in Golden Palace, who was good at analyzing magic patterns and charged a fee to identify unknown magic items for customers. That person was like a functional item identifying NPC in the eyes of the players.

"Let us send you there then," Goa said.

If it was someone else, Sky Ring would have sent them to a public planet at most and not sent them straight to the destination like Han Xiao.

Han Xiao boarded Sky Ring's spaceship. He felt the spaceship vibrate and slowly take off. The ground shrunk in his eyes.

He moved to the bow of the spaceship and looked out the window. The two spaceships of Blades and Purple Gold were taking off at the same time beside them.

Very soon, they rose thousands of meters above and were about to leave the atmosphere of this planet, entering the dark space.

The Silvers had taken off earlier than them, so they were already in space and were very far away. They could barely be seen.

At this moment, an enormous and thick laser beam suddenly penetrated the Silver spaceship. The next moment, the Silver spaceship turned into a firework in space.

Everyone saw the explosion, but no sound reached them through the vacuum. The Silvers who were just inviting them to their home not long ago were now all turned into ash, dying silently.

There was no sound in outer space—death seemed like a small matter.

It was deadly silent outside, but it was loud inside the spaceship.

"What's going on? Who attacked the Silvers?"

The Sky Ring mercenaries were stunned.

This time, space ripples appeared. A large and black DarkStar mothership deactivated its stealth mode, many small battleships detached from the mothership and approached quickly like black locusts. Their targets were the three mercenary spaceships.

All the people who might have seen the Secret Message Bead were captured, and DarkStar had yet to find the bead. The mercenaries were the last target—the possibility of it being with them was the highest. However, DarkStar did not know whose hands it was in, so they decided to target all the mercenaries.

After Ember's failure, DarkStar ordered Sarota's fleet to come to the planet where the Silver employer was and capture all the mercenaries ruthlessly.

Inside the Secret Message Bead was something that DarkStar had spent a hundred million Enas to buy, a key item for them to deal with Godora's plans. There was no way they were going to give it up.

"DarkStar‽"

Everyone was shocked when they recognized the renowned DarkStar Mothership.

We were never involved with DarkStar, why are they attacking us? Furthermore, they are sending an entire fleet for just three spaceships, what sort of vendetta is this‽

"Stop dazing about, turn back!" Han Xiao yelled, reminding the dumbfounded pilot. The spaceship made a sharp turn and dived toward the ground, and the other two spaceships followed.

Ohmm!

The sharp turn made the spaceship tremble, and many people could not maintain balance and almost fell.

An entire DarkStar fleet surrounded this planet. The difference in the number of spaceships and combat power was too huge, so the mercenaries had no chance to break through the siege. Once they entered space, without any obstructions, they would be destroyed by focus fire in no time. They could not escape the siege, as they would be stopped before they could enter the jumping state, which meant they had nowhere to run.

The only way out was to call for backup and stall for time inside the atmosphere. The chance of survival was low, but it was better than certain death.

Han Xiao was frowning. DarkStar's persistence and decisiveness were beyond his expectations—they were not going to give up on even the slightest possibility, which proved what he thought earlier. The more value the Secret Message Bead had, the higher the risk was.

What a coincidence, the Secret Message Bead is really in my hands. They don't even know it.

This was not even a battle; it was like a hunter chasing after prey. The small spaceships of the mercenaries were absolutely no match for the DarkStar fleet. The only good news was that DarkStar did not fire immediately—it seemed like they wanted to capture them alive. This made the mercenaries feel a little more at ease, with there at least being a chance to negotiate.

"This is the most dangerous situation I have ever met!" Han Xiao felt his heart was beating very fast. Not only was he not panicking, but he was excited.

"Chance of getting out unharmed is less than ten percent. Now, this is interesting…"

He licked his lips, and excitement flashed in his eyes.

Those that were faced with imminent death either became terrified of death or fearless. He happened to be the latter. After experiencing countless dangers and even dying once, he had surpassed fear long ago.

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Chapter 393: Power of the Experienced

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

During the process of the spaceship diving down, the pilot sent out a distress signal to the area channel, and invisible waves spread out in space. The area channel was like the public channel for players—all the spaceships passing by the area were able to receive it.

"This is Fawn Galaxy, the territory of Holy Stone Civilization and Black Raven Civilization. Friction occurs very often due to territory boundaries. These two large civilizations always have people stationed nearby, and they have set up very strong signal receivers that are sensitive to all sorts of waves. The Fawn Galaxy radiation is always operating at high output, which means that this area is like a bright spot in both of their detectors. If DarkStar activated a signal disruptor, there would be an obvious area with shade out of nowhere. Holy Stone Civilization and Black Raven Civilization would think its each other's forces, they would definitely send people over," Goa explained. "Therefore, I'm fifty percent sure that DarkStar is not disrupting the signal."

Buzz!

Communication requests from Porter and Cerleni appeared on the screen, discussing their strategies anxiously. They had sent out a distress signal as well, but Cerleni was very pessimistic. "Even if someone receives our signal, the problem is, who dares to come? DarkStar is the one attacking us after all. Holy Stone and Black Raven might come to just watch and guard against DarkStar in case they have other motives, or they might not be willing to waste their military power to help us, a group of irrelevant mercenaries. Unlike Godora, who have so much hatred toward DarkStar, Holy Stone and Black Raven might not want to mess with DarkStar.

The three of them looked at their superiors, and the superiors nodded firmly.

"We have already contacted the commander; he will come to save us. He's sending emergency dispatch orders to the nearby teams. We fear DarkStar, but we definitely will not let them do whatever they want, and we will certainly not give up on our own people. The commander is currently assembling a fleet and sending out messages to all partners. We have to protect ourselves. Stall for time—there will definitely be someone here to save us."

All the mercenaries were instantly motivated, and a sense of honor rose in their hearts as firmness and hope appeared on their faces.

"Large armies really are different—they're very united." Han Xiao was envious. There were definitely some things that large armies did right after being created for so many years. Although they were all mercenaries that valued rewards, given that they could unite strong forces from everywhere showed that they knew how to build a sense of belonging. Although many members knew about this, they could not deny that they enjoyed it. After all, being in an organization that did not give up on its members was one thing that bonded them together in this cold universe.

DarkStar was known to be fearsome, but Sky Ring, Blades, and Purple Gold were not some organizations that they could easily mess with. Other than their own forces, they also had a very complicated network in the mercenary industry. They had many partners, and they were all very strong individuals or organizations. It was not simply three large armies that DarkStar messed with—it was half of the entire mercenary industry throughout the three nearest Star Clusters!

In other words, DarkStar was used to being unbridled, but this time, they stabbed the hornet's nest.

However, a distant water source could not put out a nearby fire immediately.

Han Xiao took out the unidirectional communicator that Jenny had given him. He calmed his mind and sent the request.

The mercenaries called for backup, and he also requested help from his cheap boss. He was not putting all his hope on the three armies.

"Didn't expect to use it this soon…"

Ding.

Ames appeared on the screen. Han Xiao saw the environment Ames was in—a palace filled with a sense of magic, built with obsidian, white crystal, Mithril, fine gold, jade, and precious stones, like a piece of jewelry enlarged thousands of times. Mysterious magic patterns hovered in the air, colorful and bright. Many translucent magic dragons swam happily in the air. Ames was sitting in front of a small hovering table, and on it were all sorts of unique and rare foods. Sitting opposite her was… a kid in a red and white magic cape. He looked about six to seven years old, with sharp ears, white and tender skin, and a cute round face. The cape on him was like a blanket—it did not fit at all. The cape was long, but the kid was short, so it was almost burying him.

Han Xiao's mouth twitched. This little kid was another beyond grade A being of the Shattered Star Ring, a Mage whose race was a long-lived species that looked like humans on the outside, but his real age was hundreds or maybe even a thousand years old. Also, he was a fighting opponent of Ames'. More accurately, Ames was there as a guest. The four beyond grade A beings in the Shattered Star Ring knew each other. Fighting was just to kill time, and once they were tired from fighting, they would sit down to rest and have a meal together in a very peaceful manner… Han Xiao just pitied that small planet.

Ames' eyebrow raised a little. "It's you, my new subordinate."

"… Did you forget my name?"

Ames swiped the communicator like she was looking for something. One second later, she said with a very natural tone, "Black Star, what is the reason for you contacting me? Have you found the whereabouts of my teacher?"

She emphasized Han Xiao's name like she was trying to say that she did not forget.

Han Xiao shook his head and said, "The aircraft I'm currently in is attacked by DarkStar. The situation is dire, so I'm here to ask you for help."

"Why did DarkStar attack you?" Ames asked curiously.

Han Xiao coughed.

"A few days ago, DarkStar caused trouble on Floating Dragon while you were not there. It seems like they were up to something. Coincidentally, I happened to disrupt their plan. This attack should be an act of revenge."

Ames tilted her head. She recalled Jenny's report. Now that DarkStar was mentioned, she seemed to have some kind of beef with DarkStar, and she had even been planning to find trouble with them earlier.

"Alright, wait there, I'll go when I'm free," Ames said with a casual tone, then hung up the communication.

Han Xiao was speechless. Ames' attitude was carefree, so he had no way to force her to come immediately. He was not strong enough, so he could only seek help from someone stronger.

You have triggered an urgent mission [Escape]!

Mission Introduction: Start running.

Mission requirement: Escape DarkStar's pursuit and stall till backup arrives.

Reward: Basic reward 800,000 experience. The final reward depends on mission rating. The basic reward is given when achieving the lowest rating, D. After lasting for 2 days, the mission rating will reach D. The rating will increase by one level every 12 hours thereafter.

Failure Condition: Captured by DarkStar.

Han Xiao looked around at the players and realized that their faces changed a little—they had probably triggered the mission as well.

This time, the reward for the players was exactly the same as Han Xiao, so all the players were shocked!

800,000 experience!

Han Xiao was long used to it; it was not much for him. However, to the players, this was the highest reward that they had ever seen in a mission!

Shock, joy, surprise—various expressions appeared on the players' faces.

Han Xiao analyzed the information that he read between the lines of the mission. The lowest rating requires me to last for two days. This should mean the earliest backup will only arrive after two days. Which means that we need to fight alone for two days…

He was instantly troubled. They might not even last two hours, let alone two days.

This time, the aircraft finally returned to the ground and flew at a low altitude. This desolated planet was almost completely empty. It had no forests and no signs of life, and it was filled with stones and mountains. The only good thing about it was that its terrain was vicious enough. The three aircrafts took the same approach—stall for as much time as possible by using the obstacles in the terrain.

Boom boom boom!

Hundreds of mini DarkStar hovering ships were in pursuit, firing green colored low-energy laser cannons from above, chasing after three spaceships, and creating clusters of dust on the ground. The sound of explosions was nonstop, and the spaceships' shields were flashing from the impact.

DarkStar wanted to capture them alive. They did not want to destroy the spaceships as it would destroy the Secret Message Bead that might be in the hands of one of them. So, they sent out mini hovering ships that were less than ten meters long. The mini laser cannons had very low power too, good for damaging yet not destroying. Using speed and mobility, they would force the mercenaries to give up their spaceships.

"Split up!"

The three spaceships dashed past a black and gray colored menacing mountain, then suddenly split up and escaped in three different directions. Green lasers hit the mountain. With a loud bang, its peak broke and rolled down its hill, stirring up a cloud of thick dust. The hovering ships split into three groups as well, chasing after the spaceships.

The Sky Ring spaceship that Han Xiao was on was being chased by about a hundred hovering ships. However, unluckily, the direction that they turned toward was a plain land without any obstacles.

"This is bad!" Their faces changed.

The pilot was covered in sweat, trying his best to control the spaceship and dodge the attacks. The dust created by the green lights was like a fountain. The spaceship was able to dodge some lasers, but it was getting hit more often than when the three spaceships were together. The shield was flashing rapidly.

"Warning! Warning! Sixty-seven percent energy left in shield! Energy level entered the yellow warning zone! Please refill in time!"

"Energy core close to overload! Please cool down in time!"

A string of warnings was announced, like a hammer hitting their hearts.

The pilot's face was pale.

Suddenly, they saw Han Xiao walk out of the crowd. He walked to the pilot's side, pressed on his shoulder, and said in a confident tone, "Stand up, give me the seat."

The face of all the mercenaries in the spaceship changed. Changing pilot during the fight, are you sure‽

Goa stared at Han Xiao and said, "This concerns the life or death of everyone here, do you know what you're doing‽"

Han Xiao nodded and said, "If he continues piloting, the chance of crashing is ninety-nine percent. If I do, it's only thirty-percent."

"You!" The pilot was outraged.

Goa stared at Han Xiao for a full two seconds, then nodded and said, "Okay, you do it."

The Sky Ring mercenaries were shocked. Even though they knew Han Xiao's capabilities, piloting a spaceship was completely different from fighting. In such urgent situations, no one would be willing to entrust their fate to someone whose pilot skill was unknown.

"If we carry on this way, in less than an hour, our ship would crash. Let him try," Goa explained.

Although the pilot knew that this was a fact, he was unwilling to let someone else control his fate. After the expression on his face changed several times, he finally gave the position to Han Xiao.

Han Xiao took over the pilot position immediately. This time, Goa walked to him and said in a very serious tone, "Black Star, our lives are in your hands… You must—must—be careful about this."

At this moment, the mercenaries could only place their hopes on Han Xiao. Quite a number of mercenaries actually knew how to pilot a spaceship, but no one was confident that they could do it better than the previous pilot, nor did they have the guts to take on this responsibility, worrying that their mistake might kill everyone. This was a very large amount of pressure, and no one dared do it. Now that Han Xiao had stepped forward at this crucial moment, they could only hope that he was dependable.

"Black Star, you know how to pilot spaceships‽" Herlous said with surprise.

"I know many things. Do you know me very well?"

Han Xiao adjusted the control panels casually and easily.

Piloting a spaceship is nothing; I used to pilot mechanical suits!

Like the difference between a passenger aircraft pilot and a fighter plane pilot, one requires safety and stability, and the other requires complexity. The difficulty of piloting a mechanical suit was much higher than a fighter plane.

Han Xiao was someone who had horned his pilot skills killing other players in the galactic battlefields! Even in the entire universe, he was a top-notch ace pilot!

They suddenly heard an announcement from the system.

"Adjustment complete. Shield output decreased to 20%…"

"Have you lost your mind‽" the pilot yelled uncontrollably.

Everyone was shocked. Han Xiao weakened the shield as soon as he took over. The spaceship's defensive capability was largely decreased. If they got hit by attacks like earlier, the body of the spaceship would be damaged.

Was that reminder all for nothing‽

Goa was filled with regret. Just as he was about to yell, another announcement sounded from the system.

"All energy is being directed into the engine… complete."

Han Xiao turned his head back a little and gave the people behind him a reminder.

"Hold tight."

The next moment, the sudden explosive recoil tore straight through the internal gravitational stabilization of the spaceship—everyone staggered and fell down in unison.

The yelling that was just about to come out of Goa's mouth fell right back down his throat!

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Chapter 394: Speed and Motion Sickness

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

On a desolate, unpopulated planet, a chase was underway on its gray plains.

Almost a hundred hovering ships were chasing after the Sky Ring spaceship. The Sky Ring spaceship's exhaust flames expanded violently in an instant. The sudden increase of speed was like a tornado that stirred up countless dust from the floor.

Hum!

Dashing at a low altitude, the head of the boat was covered in dust, like a high-speed triangular speedboat dashing across the ocean.

Boom!

The hovering ships hastily increased their speed as well, but they could barely keep up with the Sky Ring spaceship. Many hovering ships' accuracy decreased noticeably because of the angles, and their attacks missed much more often.

The spaceship was trembling like it would crash at any moment, but everyone felt the visible change. Although it felt more dangerous, the number of times that the spaceship got hit decreased drastically. The high mobility largely enhanced the ship's ability to dodge. The weakened shield was just strong enough to endure these attacks. Han Xiao's piloting skills were horrifying.

By increasing the power of the engine, the difficulty in piloting would increase as well. Yet, As compared to the previous pilot, everyone could directly feel the difference when Han Xiao took over. It was like the spaceship became 'alive'! It felt like the spaceship became an extension of Han Xiao's body.

The gravity in the spaceship was finally calibrated. The people stood up one after another, and their doubts all disappeared.

They were overjoyed by Black Star, who took on such crucial responsibility in the current dire situation. Anything that could better the situation was a pleasant surprise. They never expected Black Star to have this up his sleeves.

"Fantastic!" Goa's tone changed instantly. A glimpse of a smile appeared on her expressionless face. "At this pace, the damage dealt by the hovering ships will be minimal. You did very well!"

"What?" Han Xiao was confused. "This is just basic controlling. I have not done anything yet."

The higher the speed, the better his controls. He was far from his limit at the current speed.

Sadly, if he increases the speed further, the shield would be too thin. He was worried that he might be rusty after not piloting a battleship for so long. Maintaining the current shield thickness was a safer choice for him.

However, in the mercenaries' eyes, the shield's thickness was already horrifyingly thin, yet Black Star said that this was just his basic controls?

What was he going to do then‽

A bad feeling arose in everyone's heart.

Han Xiao stretched his wrist and said, "Hold on tight."

With the lesson of falling right on the floor earlier, no one ignored his reminder this time. They held onto anything that they could as soon as possible. Their faces were filled with nervousness.

Hum!

In an instant, the Sky Ring spaceship started to drift, like a raging horse trying to get rid of the rider on its back!

All kinds of tricks were interjoined smoothly—lateral rollover, roller coaster, Z-maneuver, and so on. The spaceship had still been flying in a straight line just one second ago, and now it was completely random!

The hovering ship fleet was already having a hard time following, and now that Han Xiao was moving this way, their formation became broken immediately. Many hovering ships blocked the shooting range of the fleet behind them. Their laser fire became sparser, and the threat level of the attack decreased largely again.

Everyone felt like they were in a can that was being shaken violently. For the first time, they felt inertia that pulled them in all directions. Their stomach acid was rushing up, their brain juice was vibrating, and their faces were pale white. Their vision started to blur, and the surrounding environment and people started to have mirror images.

After piloting spaceships for so many years, the pilot felt like he was back to when he first started learning. The dizziness was like an old friend that he had not met for a long time. He could almost see his pilot teacher waving at him with a smile on his face.

Han Xiao could still divert his attention and said, "That pilot, come and control the weapon. If we keep running and don't fire back at all, it will be the end of us sooner or later. Fire when you see a chance."

The pilot hastily followed the order and sat in the weapon operating seat. Compared to Black Star, his piloting skills became completely ordinary. The resentfulness before completely disappeared—he was now only scared that he might burden Han Xiao.

"On my count—five, four, three…"

Han Xiao stared at the screen, then did one more drift that messed up the formation of the hovering ships, creating a split-second opportunity to fly straight up.

Hu!

The trembling came once again!

Even if the people expected it, their legs still softened, and they almost fell.

The spaceship flew in a 'U' shape, flying from close to the ground right to above the hovering ship fleet, dashing back in the opposite direction.

"Fire!"

The pilot fired immediately. The cannon shot out from the Sky Ring spaceship. There was no need to aim—it was an attack fired at the dense part of the formation.

Boom boom boom!

Shield lit up on a few leading hovering ships as they were forced to stop for a moment. The fleet behind bumped into them straight away, causing chain reactions like dominos. The entire fleet in front became a mess, rolling across the sky.

The hovering ships were not that fragile, so they did not crash.

Han Xiao only stayed in this position for less than three seconds. Before the fleet could adjust, he made a sharp turn and escaped to the side. Its movement was as smooth as silk.

On the other hand, the chasing fleet took a few seconds to adjust before catching up. Although no battleship crashed, Han Xiao largely increased the distance between them.

"Not bad." Han Xiao smiled and gave the pilot a thumbs up.

The pilot smiled brightly back at him, as vomit flew down right between his teeth.

The difficulty of these few movements was very high. Yet, no one in the ship showed any sign of being shocked. They did not even have the strength to be surprised—their legs were shaking, and their heads were spinning.

These movements had successfully given all of his teammates a debuff.

Goa opened her mouth, forcing herself to try to give a few words of compliment, but instead covered her mouth in an instant. The muscles in her neck could be seen clearly to have moved up and down, only then did she dare put her hand down.

Aroshia shook left and right, then sat down on the floor, unable to stand up. She said with confusion, "What's happening to me?"

Herlous was breathing heavily, and he almost suffocated like a fish out of water. The mercenaries around were all trembling. Luckily, Herlous' body was strong enough, so he could still hang on. He turned around and was shocked to see that the players were very calm. "Are you people feeling fine‽"

The players smiled cheekily. As short as three seconds after Han Xiao took over the spaceship, they realized the danger and immediately decreased their physical senses to five percent. Therefore, although they had the [Heavily Dizzy] status on their character, so they were still feeling very refreshed!

"I thought we just entered a time and space tunnel."

"This piloting skill is absolutely horrifying!"

"I have seen Fast and Furious; this is fast and dizzy."

The players still had the strength to discuss what was happening.

With no time to be bothered about everyone's reactions, Han Xiao started to think of the plan.

"Just piloting the spaceship will not last us two days. The DarkStar fleet will not make no changes. When they realize that the hovering ship fleet cannot deal with us, they will definitely use more aggressive methods. I can only play with the hovering ship fleet for two hours at most. After that, the danger level is going to rise step by step."

He planned ahead. After all, stalling for two days was not an easy task at all.

The others did not know DarkStar's motive, only Han Xiao did. DarkStar had come for the Secret Message Bead. Therefore, DarkStar would not be willing to miss out on even one person.

A few plans flashed in his head before Han Xiao said, "It's not going to work out like this. We can't stay on the surface. I have a plan…"

As soon as he said this, the expression on everyone's face became as tragic as a prisoner on their way to the execution ground.

"Anyt… Anything you say. We trust you," Goa said.

Despite it clearly being an encouragement, there was no sound of joy in it at all. Instead, her voice was trembling a little.

In the command hall of the DarkStar mothership, the image feedback from the hovering ships was shown on the screen. The captain, Sarota, was watching it with hands behind his back.

Ten minutes passed after the battle started. The spaceships of Blades and Purple Gold were clearly struggling—only Han Xiao was doing slightly better. This attracted Sarota's attention right away. He pointed at the screen and asked, "Which mercenary group does this spaceship belong to?"

"The Sky Ring Army."

Sarota nodded and said, "They have quite a good pilot. Looks like we need to spend more time. By the way, that Black Star is apparently on the Sky Ring ship as well, isn't he?"

The last question was directed toward the corner of the hall.

In the corner, Ember was standing against the wall with a cold and indifferent face. When he heard Han Xiao's name, his eyes swayed slightly. He had a very strong impression of Han Xiao since his last defeat.

Oom!

At this time, the alarm suddenly sounded.

"Captain, space ripple detected. There are fleets jumping toward this direction."

Sarota was not surprised at all. He brought up the detection image, showing that a large battleship fleet was jumping toward this direction from far away at both sides of the mothership. Both of them were in a guard formation. DarkStar was in the middle.

The two fleets were the Border Guards Army of Holy Stone Civilization and Black Raven Civilization. Their style of the battleships was very different—one side was semi-circle shaped and thick, and the other was streamlined and thin. The metal fortresses were very intimidating.

As soon as the DarkStar mothership showed up, it was noticed by the Border Guards Army. Holy Stone and Black Star immediately sent out a fleet to make a field investigation. They did not act immediately once they saw DarkStar. Instead, they stayed still and watched from afar.

"Is there a need to do anything?" an assistant asked.

"Send out a message. Tell them we are just passing by to settle our business, and we will be leaving very soon. They will not attack us," Sarota said calmly. He was not concerned at all like everything was under his control.

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Chapter 395: The Battle of Pursuit (1)

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

The ownership of this area has always been blurry. If DarkStar showed up in the official territory of these two civilizations, they would definitely be warned and evicted. However, due to the sensitivity of this area, the two fleets did not make a move.

In the Holy Stone Border Guards Army, command ship of the third formation, Stream Light.

The atmosphere was filled with nervousness. DarkStar's fearsome name was well known, and they had quite the tension with Black Raven. The captain of the Third Formation, Shivate, said with a very serious face, "All units on level one alert, hold the position."

At this time, Stream Light received a message from the DarkStar mothership. Sarota expressed their motive, emphasizing the fact that they meant no offense to Holy Stone and Black Raven. They were just carrying out a pursuit, of which the targets were some mercenaries. Once the mission was completed, they would leave immediately.

Shivate's tightened face relaxed a little, and without thinking, he said, "Tell them that it's possible for Holy Stone to not interfere with DarkStar's operation, but during this period, no suspicious action will be allowed. We will be monitoring from here, and we hope they leave as soon as possible."

Shivate did not want a war to break out. There were many reasons. The first would of course be, they did not want to mess with DarkStar. The entire Shattered Star Ring knew the ugly history between DarkStar and Godora, no one wanted to be part of it. The most horrifying characteristic of DarkStar was that they were very stealthy. If they lost the battle, they would still be able to run away, and the revenge afterward would make you suffer a large loss. Secondly, if they fire, it might very likely cause Black Raven to misunderstand, which would then turn into a scrimmage, leading to a territory conflict. If he was determined guilty of deliberately starting a war in the court martial, the punishment for that was very heavy.

Due to the territorial conflicts, there had always been some tension between these two civilizations. The Holy Stone Civilization was an aristocracy civilization, ruled by a royal family. Its political construction was very complicated, and its efficiency in making decisions was mediocre. They did not like wars, and they were good at using diplomatic measures. Be it resources, connections, or power, Holy Stone Civilization was a little higher than Black Raven Civilization. However, as Black Raven Civilization had limited resources in their early days, their developing process was very tough, which made them have very strong minds and become collectivists. Their efficiency in executing matters was very high. Even though their nation was not as strong as Holy Stone, Holy Stone could not find a way to get rid of them. If they started a large-scale war, both sides would definitely suffer a huge loss. Therefore, both sides controlled the scale of their conflicts.

Hence, DarkStar was not the only thing Shivate feared—he was more afraid to cause a misunderstanding.

The most important reason that made Shivate decide to sit on the sidelines was that DarkStar's target was just a bunch of mercenaries; they were just passersby that did not matter at all. Unless it was the people from their own civilization, these two armies would not make a huge move for it. Seeing that Black Raven's army also held their position, Shivate knew that the captain of Black Raven had made the same decision—sit on the sidelines and monitor.

After all, to two civilizations, the life and death of these mercenaries were not their concern. Like a droplet of water in the sea, it did not matter.

Therefore, the fleets that rushed there were watching silently. Shivate waved his hands and told his subordinate to check the escaping target on the planet.

"I see, they're members of the three large mercenary armies. Their background is rather impressive. Sadly, they met DarkStar."

After reading the report, Shivate was a little bit surprised. He then shook his head and said, "The sooner they're caught, the better. Then DarkStar can leave earlier…"

From the perspective of his own benefits, he would prefer the mercenaries stop resisting.

The same scene also played out in Black Raven Civilization's command ship.

On the other side, the DarkStar mothership received the replies. Sarota's face remained the same as if it was exactly as he expected. He knew both sides would not attack.

On another area of the planet, the Blades spaceship was being chased by many hovering ships. They were struggling—its shield already had countless holes, and its recovery speed could not match up to the speed of it being destroyed. The rapid system alarms had the Blades mercenaries on edge.

"Faster, even faster," Porter mumbled with sweat all over his face. When the situation was not looking good, he pushed away the original pilot to control the spaceship himself. Yet, the situation did not become better.

Suddenly, a laser exploded on the shield.

Bang!

The shield blinked twice and disappeared. It had reached its limit.

Everyone in the ship was stunned. Porter's face changed drastically.

Without a shield, the spaceship itself would not have any protection anymore. If they were fired on once again, the spaceship would definitely crash.

Boom!

Just as the hovering ship fleet was going to fire the next downpour of 'laser rain', a chain of cannons hit the formation and caused a series of explosions.

This hovering ship did not have the time to react to it fully, and they hastily dodged. The accuracy of the attacks all missed the Blades spaceship by centimeters.

Faraway, the Sky Ring spaceship drove there at a high speed. Behind him was the pursuing fleet. It was Han Xiao, who had returned after a detour and saved his teammates hastily. The pursuing fleet did not give him any pressure at all, and they were going around and around chasing after him. Therefore, Han Xiao tried to help his teammates as much as he could.

The existence of teammates could divert the enemy's firepower. The longer the teammates lasted, the less pressure he would face.

Han Xiao stopped the enemy for one moment before turning around and escaping immediately. The shield of the Blades spaceship took the opportunity to recover. Porter almost collapsed, and his face was filled with happiness. "That was close."

This time, Han Xiao sent a message to the other two ships. "Don't run around randomly; you guys can't deal with them yourselves. I've sent you the route. Even if you split up, don't stay too far from me. I'll provide support from time to time."

"Why did you become the pilot?" Porter asked with surprise.

"We all feel safer with him being the pilot." Goa's voice came from the side. Porter looked over, only to see all the mercenaries in the Sky Ring spaceship were encased in hard ice from the waist down and firmly fixed onto the ground like ice sculptures. It was Goa that used her spell to help everyone to balance. Porter was shocked.

You don't look like you feel safe at all!

Porter's eyelids twitched.

Anyway, Han Xiao's suggestion was approved. Blades and Purple Gold's teams agreed to follow Han Xiao's plan. They quickly changed their route and maintained communication between them. As soon as they got into a dire situation, Han Xiao would provide backup.

After helping them out in dire situations time after time, the members of the other ships also realized how good Han Xiao's piloting skills were. They were immediately convinced.

Han Xiao stabilized the situation temporarily. Three ships brought hundreds of hovering ships and ran around the planets. Half an hour passed, and the hovering ship fleet had yet to capture them. They were in a stalemate.

On the DarkStar mothership, Sarota was getting impatient.

"More than three hundred hovering ships against just three ships. Why have we yet to capture them?"

The initial plan was to be done with the battle within ten minutes then retreat quickly after. Sarota was very unsatisfied with the current situation. He stared at the Sky Ring spaceship on his screen with unhappiness in his eyes.

"It's all because the pilot of this ship is too good, that's why they're able to stall this much time… Send out medium fighter ships. Surround this area and cut off their escape route."

As he gave the order, more fighter ships launched from the DarkStar mothership and flew toward the planet.

Inside the far away Stream Light, Shivate saw this and was a little surprised.

"Facing DarkStar's pursuit and being trapped on the planet, not only were these three small spaceships stall for half an hour, they even forced DarkStar to send in more support…

"But if this continues, it will drag on even longer…"

Through the porthole, the people in the Sky Ring spaceship saw more fighter ships coming toward the surface from the DarkStar mothership.

"Sh*t, DarkStar sent reinforcements!" the ex-pilot shouted.

"We knew they would sooner or later; don't sound so surprised."

Han Xiao glanced outside. He had expected this since long ago.

It's only half an hour, and they have already sent reinforcements. DarkStar changed their tactic quicker than I expected. In gaming terms, this means that the pace of this mission's difficulty change is very fast. How am I going to stall for two days like this?Han Xiao thought.

Although it looked like they were safe at the moment, they were still dancing on blades. When DarkStar lost their patience completely, they would not care about the resource expenses. They might surround them, and by then, there would be nowhere to escape. After all, piloting skills had a limit. He was only flying a small spaceship, not a galactic level mechanical suit.

After some contemplation, Han Xiao decided to carry out the next part of the plan. At this time, all three ships received the same message.

"This is Holy Stone Border Guards Army Third Formation. We have received your rescue signal and have arrived near the planet. Please gather at the coordinates we gave you; we will be there to receive you and provide protection."

Together with this message were the coordinates, which were not far from where they were. This message was like cardiotonic, instantly giving everyone energy.

"Holy Stone is willing to help. We're saved."

All the mercenaries in the three ships were overjoyed.

Han Xiao frowned and pondered, then said something that immediately cooled everyone down, "I think this is quite strange…"

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Chapter 396: The Battle of Pursuit (2)

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

"If the Holy Stone Border Guards Army wants to receive us, they would definitely be in conflict with DarkStar, but take a look up there. The DarkStar mothership is still floating there and not sending out any other ships. Furthermore, this is a very sensitive border area, so it's impossible for Holy Stone and Black Raven to take very long to come. This means that they've made a certain deal with DarkStar. This is the edge of their border, so the official authority here is blurry to begin with. They did not provide any help even when the Silvers were kidnapped. Now they suddenly want to help us? It doesn't feel trustworthy."

Han Xiao paused and said, "But of course, there's a chance that Holy Stone did not compromise with DarkStar and really wants to protect us. However… this is very unlikely."

He did not mention the most important reason—the mission requirement stated that they had to last two days for just the lowest rating, but only half an hour had passed. The reinforcements could not have arrived so soon. His intuition told him that there was a problem with Holy Stone's message.

Many people started to rethink, but they still hoped that they had gotten lucky.

This time, there was a disagreement. Cerleni said in a low voice, "I choose to believe this message. Holy Stone has no need to lie to us, and this might be our only chance. I've decided to go to the pickup location. What about you?"

"I'm not going." Han Xiao shook his head without hesitation and then looked over to Goa. Goa hesitated for a while, then nodded and agreed with Han Xiao's decision. Although there were some mercenaries in the ship that had other thoughts, seeing that Goa and Han Xiao had both decided, they could only hold their thoughts in.

Porter hesitated for a moment, then rejected it as well, choosing to listen to Han Xiao's advice.

Cerleni frowned and said, "Best of luck to you guys then."

The Purple Gold spaceship deviated from the route and headed toward the pickup location, disappearing from sight shortly.

Han Xiao exhaled and said with a deep voice, "DarkStar's reinforcements will arrive very soon, and our activity area will become smaller and smaller. If we continue to stay on the surface, the situation will only become worse. We have to go underground. The scanner has already recorded all the terrain we have passed by, and there's quite a number of canyons and gaps in the terrain. The space below the ground on this planet is very huge. Plus, it has a complicated environment and many obstacles. Limited moving space will give us some trouble, but it will give those chasing us trouble too. Furthermore, the ground and block the direct detection from their mothership, providing us another layer of protection…"

He had a rough plan of what to do next. The situation was not pleasant. The reinforcement was just DarkStar's first step, they would soon be limiting their movement areas, surrounding them, bombarding the area, and so on, forcing them to change the route. Han Xiao pondered and pondered, and eventually, he realized that in order for them to last two days, there was only one workable way—spread out.

DarkStar's target was all the mercenaries, and two spaceships were only two targets. However, if they spread out in an undetectable environment, every mercenary would be a target. Although there would definitely be unlucky ones that might be sacrificed, it would also make DarkStar spend more time searching. After all, wishing to save everyone was not realistic.

"Let's do as you say." Goa trusted Han Xiao a lot.

Han Xiao changed the direction of the spaceship and looked forward. Very soon, a very long gap in earth appeared on the horizon, like the gray colored earth opening its mouth, black as an abyss. From far away, it looked like just a small gap, and only when they got closer did they realize that it was tens of meters wide.

Hu!

The Sky Ring spaceship dived straight into the gap, and darkness filled their vision.

The detector sketched out the terrain in the darkness. About two to three hundred meters down, numerous caves appeared on both sides. Han Xiao chose a cave and flew in. Inside was an underground space, leading to somewhere far away.

There was a very large space under the ground of this planet. It had complex tunnels and was filled with storage stones. It had been undisturbed for countless years, and now, its first guest had arrived.

The Blades spaceship did the same, and the hovering ship fleet followed behind. Unavoidably, their speed decreased. Flying in this kind of environment required a very high reaction speed, plus space was limited, so the formation of the hovering ships had to turn into a long snake shape. Due to space restraints, ninety percent of the fighter ships were blocked by their teammates in front and unable to fire. The attack faced by the Blades and Sky Ring spaceships significantly lessened.

The two ships flew underground just in time, escaping from DarkStar's plan to surround them on the surface.

The Purple Gold spaceship was still on the surface, and it arrived at the pickup location.

Cerleni sent a communication request to the channel that they had received the message from.

"Holy Stone Third Formation please come in. I have arrived at the pickup location. Where are the receiving units?"

He repeated that again and again, but Holy Stone did not reply and kept silent. His expression gradually changed, and he started to sweat all over.

The Purple Gold spaceship did not dare stop. It circled around the pickup location like a headless fly. When the DarkStar reinforcements came from all directions, Cerleni 's face turned pale. Only then did he realize that there was no one there to pick them up. Black Star was right. He had lost the gamble.

Boom boom boom!

Bullets rained down!

Not long after, the Purple Gold spaceship crashed onto the ground covered in smoke. The gate opened, and the mercenaries inside sprinted out in all directions. However, the DarkStar warriors landed from the fighter ships hovering in the sky and surrounded them. There was nowhere to run.

The struggle of Cerleni and the others did not make any impact, so they were captured easily and escorted onto the spaceship to be sent to the mothership.

Everyone in the two ships that were descending underground saw what happened to Purple Gold. Seeing that their friends that had once fought alongside them were in such a dire situation, everyone was grieving.

If not for Han Xiao standing his ground, they would have ended up the same way.

The mercenaries looked at Han Xiao with even more trust in their eyes.

"I did tell them…" Han Xiao sighed.

Cerleni had been willing to take the gamble, and there was nothing Han Xiao could do about it; he could not have taken over the control of Purple Gold spaceship.

However, from a purely pros and cons perspective, this would give them more time. With at least some result, DarkStar would be a little less in a hurry.

Inside Stream Light, the scene of Purple Gold's spaceship crashing was being played on the screen. Shivate shook his head and said, "Too bad only one ship was captured."

He was indeed the one that gave the order to send that message. It was to mislead the mercenaries and make it easier for DarkStar to capture them, but it was not because he wanted to help DarkStar. In his eyes, these mercenaries would definitely not be able to escape, and them getting captured was just a matter of time. He only sped up this process. The earlier the mercenaries got captured, the sooner DarkStar would leave.

The armies of Holy Stone and Black Raven were holding their position, and these mercenaries' meaningless struggle was wasting their time, leaving these two civilizations with no choice but to stay there and monitor the situation. This increased their workload and brought along risks. Shivate just wanted DarkStar to go away as soon as possible. Giving out that order was purely for his own benefit.

Furthermore, this could not be considered as interfering, so it was not really counted as helping DarkStar. He had just sent a message—it was not a big deal.

Regarding what plan DarkStar had, he simply did not care. DarkStar had no business with them. No matter what they were up to, Godora would be the only one suffering from it. Holy Stone had no obligation to help Godora get rid of their enemies, and Shivate did not want to stir up a mess.

Sadly, not all the mercenaries were tricked.

"Commander, the target has gone underground. We're unable to see a direct image."

"Continue to hold your position." Shivate shook his head.

They would not be able to see what was going on once these mercenaries enter underground. All they could do was wait.

Inside the dark underground, beams of light flashed past. These were all spaceships flying at a high speed.

Boom!

Lasers hit the stone walls and caused a partial rockfall. Quite a number of stones landed on Sky Ring spaceship's shield before being shattered by the spaceships dashing through.

The pursuit underground lasted for a few hours. As space was limited, larger sized fighter ships could not enter. DarkStar could only use the hovering ships to hunt.

The underground space was filled with twists and turns, and it was pitch black. The blurry images from the detector were the only thing that they could depend on to dodge the obstacles. Han Xiao was highly focused and did not bump into anything, but the hovering ships behind him were gradually making more and more mistakes. From time to time, fighter ships crashed into the wall, the pillars, and other things. The contrast was very obvious. The pursuing spaceships gradually lost sight of Han Xiao's backlight.

The Blades spaceship, on the other hand, was not as lucky. They were still being chased tightly. Porter's skill was hard to look at, and the Blades mercenaries almost wished to change ship.

Coincidentally, the Sky Ring people had the same thought.

"Can't see the hovering ships, there are only sounds. They're still chasing." Han Xiao looked behind and said, "After chasing for a few hours, DarkStar's patience should be reaching its limit."

"We're… reaching… our… limits too…"

Herlous was almost prostrated, unable to finish a full sentence without pauses.

He could be considered as being in a good state since at least he could talk. Beside him, the Sky Ring mercenaries lay flat down on the ground like dead pigs. Their eyes were out of focus, streams of white bubbles flew out of their mouths, and their hands and legs were shaking. The ice used to fix their legs had already shattered.

Just as Han Xiao was about to say something, the underground space started to tremble violently!

Boom!

Sounds of explosions came from all directions!

"This is… a bombardment?" Goa said.

"Most likely, DarkStar has started to bombard the surface, hoping to trigger a chain reaction and cause the underground space to collapse, forcing us back to the surface. Like chasing mice out of their cave. Then, they'll surround us on the surface, and we'll have nowhere to run," Han Xiao said calmly. He had expected this to happen, so he could stay calm when it happened.

"Is there nothing we can do‽" Goa did not want to give up.

"We've stalled for many hours with the spaceship. It's already the limit."

Han Xiao inhaled deeply and said slowly, "We have to abandon ship."

The people were shocked. The spaceship was the only thing that they could depend on. If they abandoned the spaceship, it would mean they have lost the mobility, and they would really become fish in a barrel.

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Chapter 397: Arrival of the Fleet

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

The people immediately disagreed. How were they going to escape without a spaceship?

"It was never possible to break through DarkStar's army in a spaceship," Han Xiao explained. "The chance to escape has always been close to zero. We only had one choice from the start—stall for time and wait for backup. Abandoning ship and losing ability is obviously disadvantageous, but it will also decrease DarkStar's efficiency.

"Without spaceships, we will be fish in a barrel to DarkStar, and their alertness will further be decreased. Once we spread out underground, DarkStar will stop bombarding the surface. Because without protection from the spaceship, we will be buried alive if the underground space collapses. What they want is the… ahem, what they want is to capture us alive. Therefore, they'll most probably use the hovering ships and send out troops to search slowly."

This was a risky plan, and the mercenaries exchanged nervous looks.

Although the plan did make sense, the risk of abandoning the spaceship made them hesitant.

"Are you absolutely confident about this?" Goa could not help but voice her doubt.

"What do you think?" Han Xiao shook his head. How could he be one hundred percent confident in this kind of situation? If he was, it would not be called a risky plan.

Staying in the spaceships looked safe, but their chances would be almost negligible. Abandoning the spaceships looked desperate, but it could squeeze out more time and stall them longer.

The bombardment continued, and time waited for no man. Goa and Porter discussed a little, then finally clenched their teeth and agreed with carrying out the plan to abandon the spaceships.

"So," Goa asked, "what is the plan?"

"The plan is…" Han Xiao explained in detail.

Boom!

In the sky, dozens of DarkStar bombardment fleets were in a neat formation, dropping bombs down on the surface. Mushroom clouds rose up one after another. Heated wind from the explosions stirred up dust and sand all over the sky, creating countless craters filled with cracks like spider nets.

In the command room of the DarkStar mothership, Sarota was staring at the image of the surface, and his fingers were tapping the table continuously. His impatience was clearly expressed through these small movements.

Since the spaceships escaped underground, a few hours had passed, and they still had yet to make any progress. His patience had run out, so he decided to send out bombardment ships to destroy the planet surface, causing the underground space to collapse and forcing the targets to get out of the twisted narrow underground and come back to the open surface.

He also sent out many medium intercepting ships to form encirclements. As soon as the mercenaries' spaceships appeared on the surface, there would be no more chasing and running—they would be able to capture the spaceships immediately.

"Commander, the interrogation is completed. These captured mercenaries have never seen the Secret Message Bead before. We searched their clothes and inside their bodies as well, and they don't have it," an officer said. These captives were Cerleni and the others.

"At least the range is smaller." Sarota nodded.

Therefore, the last two ships were the most suspicious.

At this time, the Sky Ring spaceship appeared on the image from the hovering ship fleet. The hovering ships had almost lost them, but now, they were catching up. The Sky Ring spaceship's speed had become much slower, and it even bumped into walls from time to time.

Bang!

Lasers hit the spaceship's shield. It was as if the Sky Ring spaceship had changed its pilot. There were no more dazzling dodges, and it looked very clumsy.

Almost all attacks landed on the target.

The shield shattered in no time.

Boom!

Lasers fired at the tail of the spaceship, unleashing a trail of flames and smoke!

Sky Ring spaceship's accelerator broke and lost its power. It glided forward and shattered about a dozen stone pillars before crashing into the stone wall, stirring up thick smoke.

The hovering ships surrounded the spaceship, but the Sky Ring spaceship was silent. A few units of DarkStar warriors jumped out of the hovering ships and blasted the gate open with their guns, only to see that there was only darkness inside the spaceship. The DarkStar warriors rushed in, but there was no one inside. A warrior headed to the pilot seat and checked system, then quickly reported the situation to their superior.

"Report. There's no one in the spaceship. It was the spaceship system's autopilot."

Sarota slammed his hands heavily on the table, and with rage in his eyes, he said, "They've abandoned ship!"

On the other side, the Blades spaceship did the same and jumped out of the spaceship in different batches. As they did not get out of sight of the enemies like Han Xiao, the image of them jumping out was directly seen by the chasing ships. However, the mercenaries did not care about that. They landed and spread out on their own.

"Abandon ship… Seems like it's to stall for more time. Tsk, they still have hope for reinforcements." Sarota sneered. "They have some guts to gamble like this…"

Then, he loudly ordered, "Stop the bombardment. Hovering ships, split up and search for vital signs. Send out ground troops to continue to pursue."

Sarota looked to the side and said, "Ember, you'll lead the ground troops."

Ember nodded and left the command room.

Hundreds of egg-shaped airdrop cabins were ejected from the mothership, falling toward the ground. Inside were all DarkStar Supers, including Ember.

Sarota could see through Han Xiao's plan, but he still did as Han Xiao expected because DarkStar's target was indeed to capture everyone alive. From how he saw it, this was what the mercenaries were gambling on—there was nothing that he could do about it.

The target did not have a spaceship anymore, so Sarota was not worried. If they were hunters chasing after prey earlier, now they were just catching them in a ring—there was no need to worry about anyone escaping.

This time, in a hard-to-find corner underground, a silver-white metal sphere was parked quietly. Inside the metal sphere was a sophisticated cockpit, where Han Xiao and a few others were.

This was a transporting tool that Han Xiao had been building—[Portable Sphere Fortress].

On the outside, it was just a metal sphere, but its structure inside was complicated. It could travel in both sea and land as well as air. The sphere was made up of many layers. The most outside silver layer were both the armor and the mobility device to move on land, as the sphere was suitable for rolling movements and was able to change direction and speed easily. When it rolled, only the outside layer would move. The inside pilot cabin had an individual structure and was separated from the outside layer, so it would not spin as well. The real-time image of the outside was played on the large curve inside the pilot cabin.

When traveling through complex terrain, four mechanical pedipalps could be extended out of its body for crawling purposes. Furthermore, the sphere was also equipped with thrusters, balance wings, and turbines. It could fly at relatively low heights and move in the oceans. It was a multifunctional transport tool.

In his previous life, the players had called this the 'Car Ball'. Han Xiao had built it while he was on Floating Dragon Island. He had placed it in the spaceship, and now that they abandoned the spaceship, it was time to use it.

The plan was to spread out, so the ones in the Car Ball at this time was only Herlous, Aroshia, the three brothers of Volga, Frenzied Sword, and Maple Moon.

"The bombardment has stopped." Han Xiao was sitting at the controlling seat, his eyes sparkled.

The underground terrain did not tremble anymore, which meant that DarkStar had stopped the bombardment as expected, which made him feel relieved. From now on, DarkStar will send out ground troops to carry out the search and start a game of cat and mouse. The mercenaries have all spread out, so there'll definitely be some people that'll get caught. Hope we can stall for longer…

The Car Ball rolled backward and disappeared in the dark and twisted underground tunnel.

Darkness was mercenaries' cover, which made the search more difficult.

There were two to three hundred people in the two spaceships. Now that they had all spread out, the number of targets that DarkStar had to capture changed from two to hundreds. The hovering ships split up as well, slowly searching every corner with their cone-shaped blue searchlights.

Not long after, the ground troops led by Ember arrived underground and started their thorough search. The sound of footsteps echoed in the underground space.

The situation went from spaceship pursuit to time-consuming search. It seemed to be less heated, but the nervousness in the hearts of mercenaries kept growing as they were in the constant alert of not knowing when they would meet enemies in the endless darkness.

In the beginning, DarkStar captured some mercenaries very quickly. However, as time went on, the mercenaries became more spread out, and their capture efficiency rapidly decreased.

Often, DarkStar had to take a very long time only to find one or two mercenaries. The mercenaries had all sorts of abilities, and some were very good at hiding.

Time trickled by.

In Stream Light, Shivate was rather annoyed. DarkStar had stayed for one day now, and they had yet to leave. He had sent several warnings, but DarkStar had told him that because the mercenaries had abandoned their spaceships, it would not take too long to capture everyone. Shivate had no choice but to continue waiting despite his impatience.

Oom!

The alarm suddenly rang. The radar showed that, not far away, a new fleet was jumping toward this direction, and its numbers were growing rapidly.

"Whose forces are these?" Shivate's face changed.

Through the porthole, he saw that in the space behind the DarkStar mothership, streams of light dashed across and stopped, showing their true identity.

It was an enormous fleet with mixed styles like it was made up of battleships from many different races. It looked like a motley army, but when they saw the symbols on these battleships, the faces of the Holy Stone and Black Raven commanders immediately turned grave.

This was a fleet temporarily gathered by Sky Ring, Blades, and Purple Gold. Other than the three large mercenary groups, there were also dozens of mercenary group partners. Hundreds of all kinds of battleships faced the DarkStar mothership.

"Do these large armies really have to make such a huge scene?" Shivate was surprised.

If these mercenaries and DarkStar could not come to an agreement, they would definitely start fighting. By then, it would be very difficult for Holy Stone and Black Raven to not be affected.

Shivate's expression became terrible. If these mercenaries had been captured earlier, such a troublesome situation would never have happened.

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Chapter 398: Conflict and Attention

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

The DarkStar mothership turned around slowly. Hundreds of frigates flew out and formed a combat formation around the mothership, confronting the mercenary alliance fleet.

The alliance fleet sent out a message, demanding DarkStar to stop capturing the mercenaries immediately, or they would use force to settle the problem. The three large armies were very tough in their stance. As they did not have any territory to protect like civilizations, they were not afraid of revenge.

If you mess with our people, we will mess you up, no matter who.

Sarota was a little moved. He had thought that mercenaries were extremely divided, and he had never thought that capturing a small group of mercenaries would attract an entire mercenary fleet.

Sarota has to admit he had underestimated the mercenary industry.

The alliance fleet gave them only ten minutes, demanding DarkStar withdraw all their forces immediately, or they would start attacking.

Sarota's relaxed mindset was nowhere to be found, and his face was grave. Of course, he was not afraid of the alliance fleet since the DarkStar mothership was a moving space station base and was very well equipped. However, if a direct conflict broke out, the damage would exceed the forecast of this operation.

DarkStar was not dragged down by honor or name, so even if they retreated and were deemed as being afraid of the mercenaries, it would not affect them at all. What Sarota was considering at this time was another question—was it worth fighting a fleet head-on for the Secret Message Bead? Or could they give up this opportunity and strike again in the future? Would there ever be an opportunity as good as this?

After some contemplation, Sarota's came to the conclusion that there would never be such a good opportunity again.

Letting these mercenaries return to their organizations would mean that their search range will expand. If these mercenaries split up, it would be very troublesome to find them again.

And these were just the smaller problems.

Letting these people back to their organizations might very well lead to accidents like the bead being given to someone else without DarkStar's knowledge or the bead being lost on some godforsaken rock due to the person dying during a mission. There were too many possibilities. But now, all the mercenaries that might have come into contact with the bead were right there.

Certainly, there would never be a better opportunity than this.

This time, Shivate gave a serious announcement to the alliance fleet and the DarkStar mothership.

"On behalf of the Holy Stone Border Guards Army, I warn you, if you start a battle here, we will see it as a provocation. We will very likely see you as enemies and interfere with the conflict."

The announcement was clearly very effective as soon as it was sent out. The alliance fleet opened fire at the DarkStar mothership straight away without saying anything.

Colorful lights exploded in the dark space. The battleship formations carried out all kinds of tactics, and lasers were fired at each other nonstop. The mercenary fleet and the DarkStar fleet started to battle.

Shivate's face turned black, and he was furious. They had completely ignored what he said!

"Commander, what do we do now? Which side do we help?"

"Help your ass, we watch!" Shivate clenched his teeth.

One side was a chaotic, evil, and very vengeful terrorist organization—another was a chaotic, neutral, and lawless mercenaries. Helping either side was a waste of military power. Furthermore, he did not dare move his fleet. If they moved, who knew how Black Raven would react?

They might as well watch the mercenaries and DarkStar bite each other. And about the warning earlier… just let it be ignored.

Outside the chaotic battlefield, Holy Stone and Black Raven did not interfere. However, they did not do nothing at all. Their fleet spread out sideways and formed a line to surround the battlefield, preventing it from expanding further.

Allowing them to fight outside their border was already their bottom line. If DarkStar or the mercenaries went over it, the fleets of the two large civilizations would fire without hesitation.

The battle started in an instant!

In terms of raw power, the DarkStar mothership was stronger than this temporarily gathered fleet. The alliance fleet was not planning to fight head-on either, so they sent out small spaceships wanting to go around the battlefield and fly to the planet to pick up Han Xiao and the other mercenaries. However, Sarota noticed this and ordered a fleet to intercept them. Thus, they were in a stalemate.

The mercenaries on the planet were the key to determining the result of the battle. Whether they were saved or captured, as soon as either happened, the battle would end immediately.

In Sarota's eyes, Han Xiao's plan to abandon ship was initially digging their own graves and a meaningless struggle. However, the situation had changed, and the meaningless stalling had become the key. Abandoning ship had given them more time, and every second that they earned with that, DarkStar was suffering from more damage.

Battle damage reports came one after another, and the coldness in Sarota's eyes became ever deeper.

Initially, it had been a simple mission that could be completed easily, but now, it had become so troublesome and tough. The performance of that Sky Ring spaceship was the start of all the changes. If not for that pilot who could stall for so long, he would have captured them and left long ago. They would never have met the mercenary alliance fleet. Sarota was deeply regretful for missing that opportunity.

The fleets fired at each other, and the energy reaction from the attacks was as conspicuous as a Fixed Star as seen from the detectors. From afar, the light of the explosions was as bright as the stars.

The spaceships passing by noticed the abnormality there even from afar. The battle attracted many spaceships as spectators, and the scene was quickly recorded.

In the galactical generation, the increase in communication level also made the news more real-time. The distance was not a problem. Not long after, the battle between DarkStar and the mercenaries spread out across numerous Star Clusters.

After watching for more than half a day, Shivate received an unexpected communication request.

Buzz!

A pureblood Godoran's face appeared on the screen and said with a serious face, "I'm the Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs of Godoran Civilization, Plenipotentiary Representative of Godoran Civilization. I hope the Holy Stone Civilization can interfere with the battle immediately and attack DarkStar."

Shivate's face turned formal and said, 'This is our local affair. You have no right to interfere."

"DarkStar is an evil force that has spilled innocent blood in many places. They're the common enemy of civilizations. Watching them carry out their crimes is a very irresponsible act!" The Godoran sounded very justified.

"Sorry, I only listen to the marshal's orders." Shivate held his ground firmly. "I'll only interfere with the battle if the marshal gives me a direct order. If you have questions, you can send a request to the Foreign Affairs Department."

Actually, as the commander of Formation Three, Shivate could take care of matters of this scale himself, but he still chose to use the marshal's name. It was obviously an excuse.

He knew very well what Godora was thinking—DarkStar was Godora's mortal enemy, and they had made a rare appearance, so Godora wanted Holy Stone to help them to fight DarkStar. However, Holy Stone and Godora were not strategic allies, so they had no obligation to help. Furthermore, it was a sensitive political issue. As one of the commanders of the Border Guards Army, Shivate was definitely not going to follow the requests of another civilization.

The Godorans had no choice but to contact the higher-ups of the Holy Stone Civilization. However, royalty ruled civilizations such as Holy Stone were best at pushing around responsibilities. They were firm on the grounds of not giving out any orders. Even when the Godorans expressed that if they let DarkStar get away, they would publicly condemn Holy Stone during the Shattered Star Ring Diplomatic Council, Holy Stone was still beating about the bush. Their position was very clear—they did not want to mess with DarkStar.

The Godoran Civilization was just one of the forces that had their attention on this matter. As DarkStar rarely appeared, more and more forces and organizations had their eyes on it, watching the center of the storm from far away.

Whoosh!

In the dark underground, Thermo-Electrical Incisor Gloves sliced through a DarkStar warrior's chest like slicing through a piece of tofu, easily taking that person's life.

Han Xiao pulled his hand away, and the DarkStar warrior fell down. On the ground were the corpses of a DarkStar search team.

"Let's go quickly. Their reinforcements will arrive very soon." Herlous kept his voice down.

The Car Ball was parked at the side. Han Xiao jumped back in, controlled the Car Ball, and rolled away. He opened the interface, and the mission information had already changed.

– [Escape] Mission Rating: C

Lasting two days would grant a rating of D. Every twelve hours onward, the rating would go up by one grade. They had already lasted two and a half days. The mission was already completed. At this time, more than half of the mercenaries had already been captured, and very few were still running. This meant that the mercenary alliance fleet and DarkStar had been firing at each other for more than one day.

If either Holy Stone or Black Raven interfered, DarkStar would have retreated, and the mercenaries would have been saved. However, the two civilizations were only watching, not helping either side, which led to the stalemate. The alliance fleet could not pick up the mercenaries.

"Putting our hopes on these mercenaries was not a good idea indeed…" Han Xiao shook his head. Luckily, he had already contacted Ames and requested help as another layer of insurance. The thing was, she was not very dependable either, so he did not know when she would be free to come.

If the players were caught, their mission would fail. Some of them were very cheeky and wanted to go offline to avoid being caught, but when they came online again, they realized that the mission had failed straight away.

However, if the players were captured by DarkStar, it would add on quite an amount of trouble. Han Xiao gave out a new mission through the faction interface. As long as they were not captured, they would receive a bonus reward. This way, even if they went offline and failed [Escape, they could still go offline if they are almost caught, and at least they would still have some reward.

Luckily, no players had been caught yet. This had made the DarkStar search team very frustrated, as the prey disappeared without a trace just as they were almost captured. The DarkStar search teams were at a loss and very confused.

Boom!

At this time, the tunnel ahead suddenly collapsed. The Car Ball made a sudden stop. A new group of pursuers walked out of the hole from the wall, and the leader was Ember.

"Found you. I won't be as careless as the last time."

Ember was expressionless. He raised his Esper power to the maximum, and his battle intent soared. His eyes had been fixed on Han Xiao for a very long time, and now, he had finally caught up.

Han Xiao faced changed a little.

"Him again, this is not good…"

The Great Mechanic Han himself was not afraid of Ember—they would not be able to kill each other if they started a fight. However, Ember's power was too destructive to his friends around him. Herlous was already considered to be quite strong, but if he faced Ember, he would be turned into dust in an instant.

That Esper power was too powerful, and it could even be called a 'Walking Human Dust Maker'.

"That guy is very dangerous, retreat!"

Han Xiao did not have any desire to stay. He pulled the joystick, and the Car Ball crashed through the wall on the side as they retreated.

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Chapter 399: Broken Arm and Awakening

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

The last time that they met, Ember got a taste of defeat from Han Xiao. He had met quite a number of Mechanics, but Black Star was the first Mechanic that could use his own body to drag the battle without using machinery. Plus, Han Xiao was like a fated enemy of his power. Ember had thought about how to deal with Han Xiao, and he had come up with some plans. Thus, he had been waiting to meet Han Xiao again.

Now they had finally intercepted Han Xiao. Seeing the Car Ball turn to run away, Ember immediately activated his power.

Hum!

The walls in all directions started to move as if they were alive. A large amount of black and gray particles gushed out like a black cloud, winding around the Car Ball, turning into all sorts of shapes such as spears and blades, creating sparkles on the moving armor of the Car Ball.

The underground space was narrow and twisted. The Car Ball crashed through the walls like a mole digging a tunnel. Ember and the others chased behind. The Car Ball was very fast, so even though grade B Supers were not slow, the distance between them was still getting longer.

"Call the search team and follow my position. There's an important target here driving some kind of sphere-shaped transport tool. It's very fast, but I will slow it down as much as I can."

Although Ember really wanted to fight with Han Xiao, the training that he had gone through made him always put the mission first. The hovering ship fleet nearby received the message and came from all directions.

The range of Ember's power was limited. The Car Ball was going to leave his sights. Ember's energy turned into fuel for his power—the ground in front of the Car Ball bulged and turned into rocks, forming obstacles.

Bang bang bang!

The Car Ball crushed everything in its way, breaking through fang-shaped pillars one after another. Its thick, heavy armor was not damaged, but its speed unavoidably decreased. The curved surface inside the sphere was all made of screens, displaying the image outside. Han Xiao could see in all directions from sitting in the driver's seat, so he quickly pressed on the control panel and activated the Car Ball's other functions.

With the sound of mechanical parts moving, the front, back, left, and right side of the armor suddenly opened. A mechanic pedipalp slid out from each of the openings and pressed onto the ground, the Car Ball jumped up like a flea and skipped over the dangerous obstacles. Then, four anti-gravitational thrusters appeared at the bottom of the Car Ball, pushing the Car Ball forward almost a hundred meters before it landed on the ground. This process was repeated again and again—the Car Ball was not affected by the terrain at all. Ember was getting further and further away.

"Tsk. The search team will definitely surround us. We have to think of a way to get rid of the enemies. Luckily, there's a gap between earth near here. We can…"

As he was saying, Han Xiao suddenly realized that something was wrong. He turned around and looked at everyone else. All of their faces were filled with veins like they were struggling with all their lives, and they were unable to move.

"Stop, or they die."

In the distance, Ember was reaching out his hand with a cold face. Han Xiao was the only one who he could not do anything about, but in the case of the other people inside the Car Ball, he could use his power on them through the armor.

Han Xiao frowned a little. This was what he was most worried about. The two players were not a concern. Even if they died one hundred times, he would not even blink. But Herlous, Aroshia, and the others were different; they were his weakness when facing Ember. Han Xiao was definitely not going to stop, and he would not hesitate on this matter. He was just worried about these two characters that he had spent so much effort to recruit.

"Don't… Don't care about us, he won't kill anyone. We can't… can't be the reason to cause our entire team's… destruction!"

The energy on Herlous' body was flickering. He was resisting the Esper power from Ember, and even with all his might, he could only speak while stuttering. His face was ferocious, and every word sounded like he was spending all his energy on it. Through the time that they spent together, Herlous had gained some knowledge of Han Xiao. He knew very clearly that Han Xiao would not hesitate on something like this and would be able to make choices despite the enemy's threatening, so he did not have to worry. He only spoke so that Han Xiao would not have any psychological burden.

"Hold on, there's a gap in front. We can get rid of the enemies once we fly down." Han Xiao nodded and increased the Car Ball's speed. He did not waste any words.

Seeing that the Car Ball was about to leave his power range, Ember's eyes turned colder, and he clenched his fists.

The higher ups did not allow killing, but as long as the target was alive, it would not matter how badly hurt they were.

"Argh!"

Herlous inhaled deeply with the scream stuck in his throat. His left hand changed shape noticeably, then slowly turned into dust and splashed on the floor. There was no blood and no metallic smell. The decomposition was spreading from his hand toward his shoulder!

"Ember…" A flash of rage appeared in Han Xiao's eyes, but he had no time to look at Herlous' injury. The most important thing at the time was to get out of Ember's power range, and only then would the damage not continue to grow.

Sand fog flew out of Aroshia's body, and she was being decomposed as well. She looked down at her body as confusion flashed through her eyes.

Most normal life forms would be curious about what came after death, but they would only have one life, and when they discovered the answer to that question, it would also mean that they had left the world of the living. Aroshia, on the other hand, had countless opportunities to try it, so death was not unknown or mysterious to her. She could see her own 'ending'—a new life. She had been through it countless times, and she knew that she would not die. However, a new life meant that her memories would be reset again. She did not have any memory of what happened after death, and she could not remember anything about what happened before she died. She could not help but think of Han Xiao's words.

If she did not have the memories of her past life, even if she received a new life, would she still be who she was now? Would that be just another form of death?

"So, I can die after all…" Aroshia mumbled. Suddenly, a sense of trepidation was born in her heart.

When this thought appeared, a change happened within her body.

Hum!

The feeling of her body being controlled suddenly disappeared. Aroshia realized that she could move now. The world in her eyes was different—it seemed brighter, and many small dots of light were swimming in the air like fish. Her senses became completely different from just a moment earlier. Then, she realized that she was floating, and she saw the shocked expression on the people beside her.

"What happened to me…"

Aroshia looked down at her body. It was not a physical body anymore but a half transparent luminous body with a dim glow of bluish gold. Light particles floated around her. Her senses were not her body and head anymore—it was like she was no longer limited by a physical form. With a thought, she suddenly turned into a sphere-shaped ball of light.

"This… This is…" Maple Moon was shocked.

"Energy life." Han Xiao glanced over. He was shocked as well. The characteristics that Aroshia was showing now were the characteristics of energy lifeforms. Her physical structure changed, so of course, she was not controlled by Ember anymore. He did not have the time to think of the reason for this to happen, but a thought appeared in his mind.

"Try to touch the energy core."

Aroshia did as Han Xiao said. A thin tentacle extended out of the ball of light, passed through the cockpit wall, and came into contact with the energy core. The light particles in her body flew into the core through the tentacle.

Buzz!

With the sound of electric currents, sparks appeared on the engine, and the output of the Car Ball increased tremendously and went into overload mode immediately!

The Car Ball's speed increased instantly, it jumped right into the gap in front and finally got out of Ember's power range. Herlous' decomposition progress stopped at his left shoulder. He was covered in sweat, holding on to his hollow left shoulder, and his face was filled with agony. Other than him, the Volga brothers suffered some damage too. However, Ember's main target was Herlous, who had the strongest resistance, so they were still in a relatively good state—none of them were maimed.

Ember and the others stopped at the edge of the gap and watched as the Car Ball extended its balance wings and flew away at a high speed.

Ember failed twice on the same target. He yelled at the communicator, "Is the search team here yet? Target has disappeared, track it immediately."

However, the reply was very unexpected.

"One minute ago, the mothership sent out a new order. Give up this mission. Everyone, return to the mothership and retreat immediately!" The other side of the communicator sounded very anxious.

Ember's pupils constricted in disbelief.

How could it be an order to retreat‽

The Secret Message Bead was very important to DarkStar. Now that they were not far from succeeding, unless there was an accident, it was impossible for them to give up halfway. And this accident was definitely something that the mothership could not deal with!

The order was not to be disobeyed. Even though Ember was very unhappy, he could only watch Han Xiao and the others get away while he turned around and retreated.

What had happened above‽

Fifteen minutes earlier…

"This is Shattered Star Ring Express News. I'm the frontline reporter, Brimner, reporting live on the battle near Planet 122 of Star Zone 4, Fawn Galaxy."

A news spaceship stopped not far from the battlefield, reporting the situation live at the scene after hearing about it.

Brimner was the reporter hosting this live news. The news was playing on the Shattered Star Ring Current Affairs Channel, reporting live on things happening around the area to all the audiences in the Star Field. People and organizations of countless Galaxies and Star Zones were paying attention to this news broadcast.

"It is known that Fawn-122 planet is located at the border crossing of Holy Stone Civilization and Black Raven Civilization. A special battle has happened in this sensitive area. As everyone can see, the battle is between DarkStar and mercenaries. As reflected by witnesses, the battle has lasted for almost two days now. The cause of this is that DarkStar wanted to capture some mercenaries, and these mercenaries happened to belong to Sky Ring, Blades, and Purple Gold, the three very well-known mercenary armies. Hence, a conflict broke out. The situation now is, Holy Stone and Black Raven's armies are monitoring on the sidelines, while DarkStar and the mercenaries are in a stalemate. On the planet, the mercenaries who are being chased are unbelievably still running.

"According to our knowledge, the Godoran Civilization far away in the Garton Galaxy is already forming an army. DarkStar is a violence group acting against Godora, so they are naturally enemies. As DarkStar rarely appears and is very stealthy, it is very hard for Godora to trace them. Now that DarkStar has appeared publicly, Godora wants to hold onto this opportunity…"

As Brimner was reporting, a large object appeared on the edge of the image, flying toward the battlefield.

"Wait, there seems to be a change to the situation. A new force has appeared. That's… Er, Floating Dragon Island?"

Her eyes widened in shock.

The interest of countless spectators in Shattered Star Ring who were watching the news rose immediately. Floating Dragon was 'Dragon Emperor' Ames' territory—almost everyone in Shattered Star Ring knew that.

They were very curious. Why was Floating Dragon there?

Brimner paused and thought of a logical explanation.

"Our crew has just checked Floating Dragon's route—it just so happens that it came to Fawn Galaxy Star Zone 4. Apparently, it's just passing by out of coincidence. Holy Stone and Black Raven's fleets are surrounding the battlefield. I believe after some communication, Floating Dragon will take a detour. This should not have any impact on the situation…"

Before she finished her sentence, Floating Dragon bumped straight into the Holy Stone fleet at the edge of the battlefield, without any intention to change course at all.

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Chapter 400: The Arrival of Dragon Emperor!

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

Holy Stone and Black Raven's fleets surrounded half of the battlefield each. They were on level one alert. Countless cannons were aimed at both sides of the battle. Shivate stared at the battle and was on high alert all along.

A third-party conflict happening at the border had always been difficult to deal with, as guarding the border was the responsibility of the Guard Army. Firstly, interfering blindly would not grant any merit. As it would not be defending against an enemy, there would be no reward for winning, no compensation for damages, and very severe consequences if they lost. Hence, taking part in the battle was the worst choice. Shivate believed that, if his fleet suffered damage due to his decision, the royalties of his political opposition would definitely use him as an example to attack the political faction that he was in. As the Holy Stone was aristocratic with many factions, most of the army were royalties as well. Of course, there would be political opposition paying attention to what he was doing.

Luckily, the attacks from the DarkStar mothership and the alliance fleet were controlled within the area. As long as the situation did not escalate further, Shivate would be thankful.

At this time, a subordinate said in a hurry, "Commander, a large object is approaching the battlefield. Stream Light is on its route, please give the order!"

Shivate was shocked. He looked at the screen. A large object was approaching at a very high speed, and its energy reaction was through the roof. He adjusted the angle of the porthole and looked over, then he saw an ellipse-shaped golden object was shining in space, gradually approaching. Its size was dozens of times larger than a fleet. It was indeed Floating Dragon Island with its shield activated.

"That's Floating Dragon Island. Is it passing by?" Shivate was surprised.

Seeing the Floating Dragon Island was still approaching and would crash onto his fleet soon, Shivate immediately sent out a message to Floating Dragon Island. "Attention Floating Dragon, attention Floating Dragon. I am Holy Stone Border Guards Army Third Formation Commander Shivate. A battle is underway ahead, and we have locked down this area, please go around."

Just one second later, Stream Light received a reply. Jenny's cold voice sounded, and she only said two words. "Give way."

A tint of rage appeared on Shivate's face. This was his first time meeting such an outrageous passerby. Not only did they not want to go around, they even wanted the entire fleet to move away. Regardless, Floating Dragon had the right to be this way, and Shivate did not dare mess with them.

Floating Dragon did not seem like it would stop at all. It approached in a straight line and would soon bump into the Holy Stone fleet formation. Shivate's face was terrible as he clenched his teeth and gave the order. "All units spread out. Terminate the lockdown and give way to them!"

The Holy Stone spread out hastily and created a path. Floating Dragon passed through the formation and casually entered the battlefield. This was included in the news image, and Brimner's always smooth tone was stuck. She was stunned for a while before saying slowly, "Err… As everyone can see, Hol— Holy Stone fleet gave way. It seems like the negotiation failed. Apparently, Floating Dragon does not care about the battle in front of them. We don't know what will happen next…"

The viewers were awed by how dominant Floating Dragon was, but no one felt that Floating Dragon came just to interfere.

At this time, the alliance fleet still could not break through DarkStar's defenses. They contacted the mercenaries who were being chased, but they could not pick them up. They could only watch as the communication channels became silent one after another. Their organization members were being caught right in front of them, and the rage from that was expressed directly in the strength of the alliance fleet's attacks. From just wanting to go around DarkStar at the start to now being on a killing spree, it was getting bloodier over time.

Boom!

A part of the planet surface suddenly bulged. The ground cracked open, and a large ice pillar burrowed out and rose from the ground. Goa and her teammates came back to the surface on the ice pillar. Her white blue mage robe was covered in dust and holes, and her face looked exhausted. She had been chased by the troops till she had nowhere to run, so she channeled her power and released it on this one hit to finally return to the surface. Looking up, the astonishing scenery reflected in her clear, blue eyes.

In the dark blue, almost black outer space, countless fleets were fighting. Countless lasers and cannons were as bright as stars. On the lower heights, it was the DarkStar fleet that was going in circles and surrounding the area. They were rushing toward her, stirring up dust on their way and twisting the atmosphere with the heat from their thrusters.

"There's… still no one to pick us up?"

It was like all the energy was being pulled out of Goa's body. She slowly kneeled down, and her magic staff fell from her white hands onto the ground. She looked up at, watching the powerless alliance fleet who were supposed to be their saviors.

The color of desperation painted her pupils.

The three large armies were what made them struggle and resist because they knew that there would be fleets coming to the rescue. Everyone had gotten their hopes up. However, the reinforcements they had waited so long for could not save them. Their friends were captured one after another. Their last bit of toughness was gone. Who could save them in this situation?

Hovering ships surrounded them. Goa and her teammates beside her gave up resisting and let go of their weapons.

At this time, the Floating Dragon Island entered the battlefield. The fleets of both sides hastily moved aside. It was like the pause button had been pressed for the heated battle.

Sarota was shocked. "Why is there still interference? Didn't Holy Stone and Black Raven lock the battlefield down? This is… Floating Dragon‽"

Both sides stopped. Floating Dragon became the focus of everyone. Everyone—including DarkStar, the mercenary alliance fleet, Holy Stone, and Black Raven—waited for it to leave as soon as possible. They were fighting properly, and suddenly, a passerby appeared. Plus, it was someone that they could not mess with. How were they going to continue fighting?

However, Floating Dragon Island stopped in the middle of the battlefield.

"What's going on?"

"Why did it stop?"

The captains of all the parties were shocked. Was Floating Dragon not just passing by? They already moved away and cleared its path, so why was it not leaving?

This time, an extremely piercing alarm triggered on the detector of every battleship.

"Attention! Space ripple appeared nearby! High energy reaction! Calculating energy rank… The accurate calculation failed. Area of effect is fluctuating, cannot be displayed!"

A blue dot appeared above Floating Dragon and expanded quickly, turning into a spinning ring of light. Inside was a white fog that was only two to three meters large. It was nothing that people would pay attention to in the wide universe, but now, it attracted everyone's attention.

High Grade Secret Spell: Physical Entity Teleportation Door!

Then, a snow-white long leg stepped out of the ring of light. Ames, who was in a black dress, 'walked' out. Her black hair extended from behind her back right to her ankles. On her beautiful face was her careless expression as always, like those countless battleships could not even make her eyebrow move even the slightest bit.

The commanders' faces all changed.

"Dragon Emperor‽"

"Why is she here!"

Just as everyone was stunned and guessing what Ames' motive was, it suddenly happened!

Ames saw DarkStar, and without saying a word, a violent force field gushed out. The armor of the dozen or so DarkStar battleships nearby bent inward and exploded like fireworks!

The entire process looked extremely easy. The battleships made from DarkStar technology were as weak as pieces of paper in her hands—she could turn them into paper balls in an instant!

Sarota's face changed instantly, having not expected this at all. Why did the Dragon Emperor attack them‽

Everyone was shocked. Shivate suddenly realized and yelled, "She's not passing by. She wants to help the mercenaries!"

The alliance fleet was stunned, then became overjoyed. Their morale grew tremendously.

"Dragon Emperor is reinforcing us! Everyone, attack!"

Panic finally appeared on Sarota's face. The subordinates around all looked at him and anxiously waited for him to give an order.

"Info— Inform everyone to retreat immediately. No wait, inform the fleets to protect the mothership, form a defense formation, cover the mothership to escape!"

Dragon Emperor's name was as impactful as thunder. When they met Ames, everything about the mission was thrown out of his head. Sarota only had one thought now—minimize the damage and run for their life! As soon as he gave out the order, he left the commander room and ran to an escape pod.

The DarkStar fleet contracted their formation, forming a shield formation and protecting the mothership like a wall, blocking the focus fire from the alliance fleet. Behind layers and layers of protection, the exterior of the mothership started to fade away. It started to go into stealth and back away.

Seeing this, Ames' force field held onto the entire Floating Dragon Island, then slammed it down!

The Floating Dragon Island covered in the golden shield was like a high energy meteor. The DarkStar battleships were like tiny beans in front of it. The defense formation shattered straight away. Floating Dragon Island slammed into the mothership, unleashing burning sparks on the shield, and a small half of the entire mothership was shattered!

The Floating Dragon Island was Ames' territory, palace, and… weapon.

Everyone at the scene was dazed.

Brimner opened her mouth wide and was speechless. She was supposed to report the situation, but no one blamed her for it. Everyone who was watching this had the same expression as her.

Ames' name was known across the entire Shattered Star Ring, but the times that she had shown her destructive power were very few. The impact of seeing such unbelievably great power with one's own eyes was like a hammer knocking heavily on their heart.

The Dragon Emperor had arrived!

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Boom!

The broken pieces of the spaceships fell into the atmosphere of the planet, lit up from the air friction, like flaming meteors descending from the sky.

Even without Sarota's retreat order, Ames' godly blow had already shattered DarkStar's mindset. With destructive power like this, destroying a mothership fleet would be a piece of cake. The other spaceships gave up the mothership and spread out to escape.

All kinds of spaceships escaped from the planet and the mothership one after another, hovering ships, guarding ships, escape pods, and etc. The smaller spaceships were mostly in front, and behind were the larger battleships. The thick armor was initially the source of security for the people in the ship, but now it was a disadvantage they hated the most.

The alliance fleet did not stop their attacks. The battleships that lagged behind were being destroyed one after another, ending with short explosions. The air inside the cabins was burnt out very quickly, and the shattered parts became space trash.

Ames only actually attacked two times, and it completely defeated DarkStar's mothership formation. Her target was only the most conspicuous mothership. After she broke the mothership, she was too lazy to attack again.

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The mothership fell toward the ground like an enormous metal meteor. As the gravitational force was turned into speed, the impact it caused became more terrifying, and the sound of it penetrating the air became sharper. Looking up to the sky from the ground, it was like the sky was falling.

Hong!

Like a meteor landing on a star, the mothership created a large crater. The cracks spread out in all directions for tens of kilometers. The shockwave that it created stirred up dust that covered the sky. The world trembled like an earthquake. Even Goa and the others who were thousands of kilometers away felt the impact, and the world in their eyes was trembling!

The entire mothership was injected into the planet surface, and the surface and the underground space collapsed. The people hastily rushed out.

Dong! Dong!

The Car Ball flew out of the earth gap against the rain of rocks, then stopped at the planet surface. The hatch opened, and Han Xiao jumped out, wiped off the dust on his face, and looked up. "Magnificent. Luckily, Floating Dragon is hard enough and did not drop down together, or this planet would definitely have exploded."

The pursing DarkStar troops had retreated long ago. The tide had turned, and DarkStar had become the ones running away with the alliance fleet chasing close behind. Many DarkStar spaceships were going closer to Holy Stone and Black Raven's fleets.

If they wanted to escape, they had to go through the formation of these two civilizations' border armies. Shivate was in a dilemma. At this time, the Black Raven army on the other side fired at the escaping DarkStar spaceships without hesitation.

Shivate saw this and did not want to lag behind, so he gave the order right away. "Aim at DarkStar, fire!"

The Dragon Emperor's arrival had changed his attitude. He initially wanted to control the situation and not mess with either side, but that was not impossible anymore. If they give up the encirclement and purposely let DarkStar get away, what would the Dragon Emperor think? DarkStar was an enemy that she would personally attack. If they let DarkStar get away, would that not mean that they were going against the Dragon Emperor?

DarkStar was troublesome to deal with indeed, but Ames was someone who should not be messed with even more. This DarkStar fleet was already fleeing and could not form any organized counter-attack. Holy Stone and Black Raven at least had the guts to attack someone who could not fight back.

With attacks coming from both front and back, it was like capturing escaping fish. DarkStar spaceships exploded one after another.

Hu!

A dozen or so mercenary spaceships landed, and mercenary teams walked out, entered what was left of the mothership, and rescued their comrades.

As the mothership had crashed instead of exploded, there was still a chance that Cerleni and the other captured mercenaries were still alive.

The threat was resolved. Those mercenaries who were not captured gathered and rescued the captives. Luckily, the mothership was quite tough, and it even had interior shockproof construction. Although they crashed quite roughly, most of them were alive.

DarkStar's warriors were no exception, and some of them were alive as well. Their resistance came to no result, and all of them were captured. Sarota did not make it to the escape pod and was among them as well. He was tied up with his subordinates, his face filled with hopelessness.

The situation was decided. The alliance fleet landed one after another, and thousands of mercenaries from various races walked out of the spaceships. They were all from well-known mercenary groups from the Shattered Star Ring.

If the mercenary industry was to be split into three levels—low, medium, and high—the strength and size of Han Xiao's Black Star would only belong to the medium-low level, the three large armies would belong to the high level, and the other partners were at least around medium-high level.

One Deputy Army Commander arrived from each army, all grade A Supers. At this time, the battle above finally ended, and Holy Stone and Black Raven's command ships stopped above the planet. Countless pairs of eyes were looking at the Dragon Emperor, who controlled her force field and slowly landed at the edge of the crowd.

The noise suddenly stopped. Tens of thousands of people turned to look at Ames simultaneously. These well-known mercenaries lowered their heads a little, expressing their respect toward the Dragon Emperor.

As the representatives, the three Deputy Army Commander walked up quickly and welcomed Ames together in a very respectful way.

Back when Ames needed mercenaries, they always helped for free, so they had some sort of connection. They thought that their actions had moved the Dragon Emperor and that Ames had come to help because of them.

The mercenary groups at the side thought this way too and were all very jealous. Even Ames had to give face to the three large armies—their influence was really growing stronger.

"Thank you very much for your help. Without you, our members would never be able to escape…"

The three of them were expressing their thanks with a solemn face, but Ames did not even look at them. She passed by the three of them without even pausing.

Everyone was stunned for a moment, and their eyes followed Ames. Ames stopped in front of Han Xiao and the others and said, "You're all fine. Seems like I arrived just in time."

"Only free after three days, you really are busy…"

Han Xiao narrowed his eyes. It had not been long since he joined the Floating Dragon faction, so Ames' impression of him was not strong, and now was a good opportunity to have more communication with Ames. It was very beneficial to have a good relationship with one of the strongest people in the Shattered Star Ring.

Ames did not know Han Xiao very well, but the Great Mechanic Han knew her very well. Her personality was casual and easy going, so he did not have to be too formal when speaking with her. Although he was temporarily her subordinate, he did not have to act to lowly in front of her. Furthermore, he was rather clear on what Ames liked and disliked—it was very easy to make conversation. They chatted back and forth very quickly.

The others were ignored. The atmosphere was weirdly silent, and countless pairs of eyes filled with shock were staring at these two people having a casual chat.

The three Deputy Army Commander turned around stiffly with awkwardness on their faces. They had misunderstood. From Ames' actions, she obviously did not come for them but was called here by this stranger mercenary.

"Was he also one of the mercenaries being chased? Why is he so close to the Dragon Emperor?"

"What's his name… Black Star? Never heard of this name before…"

"What's his relationship with the Dragon Emperor?"

The members of all the mercenary groups were appalled, and they asked around about Han Xiao's history. The name of Black Star was very soon heard by everyone at the scene. After hearing that Han Xiao was a member of Floating Dragon, the way that everyone looked at him changed.

The organization under the Dragon Emperor was superior to most, and Dragon Emperor was willing to go to such great lengths to save her subordinate. Black Star's size was not large on its own, but its background was too strong. It was as good as a representative of Dragon Emperor outside Floating Dragon, so no one dared to underestimate them. Black Star was immediately added to their list of people not to mess with.

The news recorded this and played it live. Brimner did not speak anymore—she knew that the viewers preferred her to stay quiet at times like that. She held her breath and watched as things unfolded.

Before this, be it Holy Stone, Black Raven, DarkStar, the mercenaries, or the viewers watching the news, no one thought that it would end this way. This conflict had lasted for three days, and in the end, the Dragon Emperor suddenly arrived. She defeated DarkStar in no time, and the one who called the Dragon Emperor there was one of the mercenaries.

They had originally thought that in these mercenaries, the members of the three large armies were the important ones. They had subconsciously ignored the Black Star Mercenary Group, which was not as well known. They had thought that the alliance fleet was the biggest reinforcement, but they had never expected this small mercenary group to call for help that was even stronger than the three large armies.

Inside Stream Light, Shivate's eyes were opened so wide that they almost dropped out.

"If there's nothing else, I will be leaving. Don't forget, help me to ask around about my teacher."

After beating up DarkStar and saving them, Ames flew up the sky, went back to Floating Dragon Island, and left.

Once Ames left, the tense atmosphere finally became more relaxed. Many people finally exhaled. The Dragon Emperor's existence was too terrifying, and they did not dare to act casually.

At this time, the three Deputy Army Commanders approached Han Xiao together, representing their armies and showing their friendliness. They were not the only ones—the other large mercenary groups that had initially ignored Han Xiao also sent representatives to express their will to work together.

In a short time, about a hundred people gathered around Han Xiao, all commanders or deputy commanders.

This is because of Ames; I'm benefiting from her influences. These mercenaries want to work with me, not because of my strength, but because I'm a member of Floating Dragon.

This was the benefit of being in Ames' faction. He revealed his background and made a name for himself. Furthermore, with protection from the Dragon Emperor, even DarkStar would not dare to mess with him easily.

The Great Mechanic Han had never minded benefitting from the influence of others, he only cared about what effect it would have. The benefits were very clear, but there were disadvantages as well. Firstly, his name had grown too quickly, no longer matching his strength. Secondly, the Dragon Emperor's name would cover up Black Star's name, which would affect his growth in the future. It was not beneficial to make a name for himself if he kept using the Floating Dragon's name, and this effect would last quite a long time.

Having a background was definitely good, but for Han Xiao, who wanted to have his own faction, too famous a background was an indirect chain. However, since Black Star had not been created for long, the pros definitely outweighed the cons. Furthermore, the Dragon Emperor had helped him once, and in return, Han Xiao did not mind helping her do some stuff.

Not long after, dozens of communication numbers were added to Han Xiao's communicator, all parts of the industry. Only large mercenary groups on the three large armies' level had this level of connection.

At this time, a notification appeared on the interface. The mission was completed.

[Escape] Completed!

Mission Rating: B

– You have received 1,200,000 Experience!

– You have received 3 Renown!

He had lasted for three days, so the rating was two grades higher than the lowest grade, and the reward had increased significantly. Han Xiao thought that it was quite okay, not too much but not too little either. In the case of the players, the few of them who lasted till the mission completed were all overjoyed.

Following Black Phantom is always beneficial! This had become almost a rule in their minds. They received 1,200,000 Experience from just one mission, and they almost did not know what to do with this 'outrageous amount' of experience.

The successful ones were few, as most players had failed the mission, now green with envy.

Han Xiao's browsed through the interface. He opened the NPC interface and noticed something new. His eyes sparkled.

This is… a new dungeon?

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Chapter 402: Question

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

As Han Xiao entered the Dungeon Creating interface, there was a new option under [Six Nations and Germinal Organization].

[Warfare: Power of the Dragon Emperor]

Han Xiao tried it out of curiosity. He realized that this was a different type of dungeon, not created by a main storyline. [Six Nations and Germinal Organization] was a series, and parts of it could be intercepted to create multiple Dungeon Crystals. In the case of the new dungeon, it was fixed. It could only create the scene during the three days from DarkStar's pursuit to Ames's arrival. It was a fixed dungeon.

Only large events create series dungeons. The requirement for warfare dungeons should be quite versatile. Since the name is related to Ames, maybe it's because she has legendary characteristics, and that increased the influence of the event, Han Xiao guessed.

The Germinal Organization event happened back in Version 1.0 and could create a LVL 60 dungeon at most. Power of the Dragon Emperor would definitely at least match with Version 2.0. Han Xiao did not enter dungeons, so he could not check the details of the dungeon. However, from his experience, he knew that this new dungeon would be a painful journey for these LVL 60 players.

Simply put, the players did not reach the lowest requirement for challenging new dungeons. The difference was at least one version.

You're reading on NovelFull Thanks!

Although there aren't any physical benefits at the moment, it will make the players feel a sense of freshness. This is the first dungeon that exceeds the version limit. After letting ace reporter Bun-Hit-Dog add some materials to it, it should gather some popularity. Also, as an NPC who's able to give out dungeons of higher levels, my standing will become higher too. Han Xiao blinked. Standing was like money—no one would say it was too much.

After informing Han Xiao of their intention to work together, the dozens of commanders walked to the side and ordered their comrades to clean up the battlefield.

The planet's surface was devastated. The mercenaries were recycling the parts and pieces of the mothership. Han Xiao had some free time, so he took the members of Black Star to the side.

He did not have to worry about the players. The wounds of the Volga brothers were bandaged. Maple Moon had the Pharmacist sub-class, so she was counted as half a doctor. She was holding her tools and helping Herlous treat his wound.

Herlous was sitting on a rock, and his left shoulder was empty. The broken part felt like burnt wood when touched. He clenched his teeth and endured the pain as large beads of sweat rolled down his forehead.

Han Xiao looked at the wound, frowned, and said, "The bones and the flesh are no good. It was bad luck to meet Ember."

"I knew this day would come, but I never thought it would come so soon…"

Herlous forced a bitter smile. Many of the Sunil warriors were disabled. He had hardened his resolve long ago, just that when it actually happened, he still could not control the sadness and pain in his heart.

Han Xiao comforted and said, "Old Herlous, you don't have to be too pessimistic about it. Many advanced civilizations have the technology to cure broken limbs, such as an incubation pod, nanotechnology repairs, or Supers with healing powers. Right, about that, I know a pair of sisters that can even save someone after death, not to mention losing a limb."

"Really‽" Herlous was shocked. He had thought that he was going to lose his left arm forever. Now that he had heard there was a chance to recover, his morale immediately increased.

"They're people of my home planet. As you know, I left my mother planet to save a disaster of the future. Before I find the solution, I can't go back. Furthermore, the power of these sisters is not yet strong enough. You'll have to endure it for some time. I will build a mechanical prosthetic arm for you for now."

After comforting Herlous, he turned to look at Aroshia. Aroshia still looked like a human made of light.

"How are you feeling now?" Han Xiao asked curiously.

"My vision changed, my senses changed, and the control of my body changed. Apparently, I can extend them infinitely, without the limitations of physical forms."

As she was saying, Aroshia changed her shape many times and got used to the new changes very quickly.

"Usually, changing shape will change one's mind too. Do you have any special thoughts?"

"No."

Han Xiao scratched his head. He suddenly recalled that when Aroshia still had a physical body, she already did not have any desire or curiosity, which was similar to the characteristics of energy lives anyway. He never expected her to really be able to turn into an energy form.

He had quite a number of guesses. "Are you able to change back?"

Aroshia tried slowly. This ball of light kept changing shape for quite some time, then suddenly, she seemed to have found the way. The light particles quickly contracted and condensed, then the light started to disappear, and she turned back to what she looked like before.

The expression on her almost perfect face changed a little. She was a bit curious about her new ability.

The players who were watching this were stunned.

"Ultraman‽" Second Prince was dazed.

"Tiga, is that you?" Bun-Hit-Dog was shocked.

Aroshia tried many abilities. She could turn individual parts of her body into an energy state, and she could also turn her entire body into an energy state. In her energy state, her form was no longer limited, but when she recovered to physical form, she was only able to turn back to what she looked like originally. If she was wounded in her physical form, it would disappear after she turned into her energy form and back to her physical form, but that would cost her some energy. As long as she had enough energy, she could recover no matter how heavily wounded she was.

Han Xiao held onto Aroshia's wrist and said, "The energy particles in your body is very active. Your Super genes are activated. You're an Esper, so turning into your energy form is the ability you have awakened."

In his many guesses, the chance of Aroshia awakening as a Super was the highest, and that was exactly the case. This power was her Esper ability, [Energize].

This type of Esper power was considered as shapeshifting, but it could also be considered as elemental controlling. For example, some flame or thunder Esper powers could turn their user into a flame man or an electric man. However, when these shapeshifters took damage during their elemental state, they would not be able to recover from it. In the case of Aroshia's shapeshifting, it was more like a reconstruction of material structure and life form. When she turned into an energy form, she did not have lethal parts. As long as her energy was not used up, she would not die.

Another difference was that Aroshia's shapeshifting was different from those of a single element. Although it looked like she turned into light energy, when she sent energy into the Car Ball energy core, it automatically changed into the compatible electric energy. This meant her energy form could change. Han Xiao was knowledgeable, so he realized Aroshia's potential very quickly.

This was a walking battery and a universal energy source!

Being able to change energy property meant that there was a chance for her to change into very high-level energy, such as particle energy or psionic energy. As for the strength, range, energy limit, and other matters, these would require her to train her power to increase. As soon as Aroshia awakened, her starting point was close to grade C, and her power potential was very high. Part of the reason for that was because her blood contained energy, and she had activated a small part of it.

"You're a Super now. Although Herlous and I are not Espers, we can still guide you on how to use your energy. With your potential, your strength should increase very quickly," Han Xiao said. He did not guide Aroshia to become stronger just because of the related mission requirement—it was also to have another person with combat power in the mercenary group.

This time, Goa and Porter brought their teams along and walked over. Cerleni was covered in bandages and was holding two crutches under his arms. He was limping toward Han Xiao with his subordinate's support.

"If not for you calling the Dragon Emperor, the pickup teams would have been stalled from the start to the end, and none of us would have been able to escape. You saved us all, please accept our appreciation," Goa said with a solemn tone. The hundreds of mercenaries were very thankful.

When the alliance fleet was being stalled, she had already lost all hope, but the Dragon Emperor had appeared and completely turned the tables. The support that Han Xiao had called for was the key.

"Sorry I did not listen to your suggestions back then. That's why I was captured by DarkStar. They tortured me for a very long time and asked me if I have seen a bead. It was very weird. If we were not saved, we definitely would have been killed," Cerleni said with shame. He wanted to put down the crutches, ignore the dozens of fractures on his body, and hold Han Xiao's hand to express his appreciation but was stopped by Han Xiao.

Han Xiao sized him up and praised him. "DarkStar tortured you so badly, but you hung on, good job."

"You mean these wounds?" Cerleni looked down at the bandages all over his body and said, "You misunderstood, these are from the mothership's crash."

"…" Han Xiao's eyes twitched, speechless.

"By the way, about that…" Goa intercepted and pointed at the sky. "Because Holy Stone's fleet sent a fake message, that's why you were caught. What are you planning to do?"

"You reminded me, they almost got me killed!" Anger appeared on Cerleni's face. He turned to his subordinate and yelled, "Contact them!"

A mercenary took out his communicator and tried to contact Holy Stone's fleet. The other side picked up the request very quickly, and Shivate's face appeared on the screen.

Shivate knew that his decision back then would bring blame, but he did not think that it was a bad decision. All he could say was that he made the wrong bet, so he had no choice but to deal with the consequences.

After receiving the communication request from mercenaries, he told the operator to direct it to him immediately. He was prepared to personally give an explanation and fake some sincerity. He adjusted his shirt and introduced himself. "Hello, I'm Holy Stone Border Guards Army Third Formation Commander Shiva…"

Before he finished introducing, Cerleni yelled at the communicator, using his local language. After being translated through the translator, it was easily understood…

"You moron!"

Han Xiao felt much livelier when he heard that.

NPC cursing isn't muted, nice!

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Chapter 403: Rocketing Renown, Transferring to Godora.

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

Cerleni was cursing like a machine gun. The words that he used were very descriptive and lively, including various positions. The nouns included Shivate's ancestors, parents, wife, descendants, and so on. Han Xiao was enjoying listening to it on the side—he felt a sense of familiarity.

Shivate was stunned by the curses. He could not even interject. His face was as black as the bottom of a pot, and his entire body was trembling furiously.

I am the high-level commander of Holy Stone Civilization. Other than my boss and my wife, who dares to shame me like this? I… will endure it!

Seeing Han Xiao at the side, Shivate pressed his rage down. This time, we have the moral low ground, so I will give you face!

Porter's face was filled with surprise. He had thought that he was rough enough, but he had never expected Cerleni, who was usually very sensible, to be grumpier than him.

After he vented out his anger, Cerleni took a break and asked, "Why did you set us up‽"

Shivate was expressionless. He explained with a very stiff tone, "You misunderstood. We did want to pick you up, but plans can't keep up with changes. DarkStar set up a blockade, and there was no chance to break through. That's why the pickup team did not arrive at the indicated location on time. This was an accident."

"When we wanted to contact you after arriving at the location, but you did not reply at all. How are you going to explain that!"

"DarkStar forced our pickup team back. Seeing that the situation was not good, we did not fight them and retreated first. We initially wanted to contact you to change the pickup location, but DarkStar used the short-range communication signal disrupter on us and blocked the communication. It was to not let us inform you of the changes to the situation. Then, DarkStar used this message to capture you. It's not strange for you to misunderstand us."

Shivate described it without blinking, as if it had really happened, which showed how experienced he was. With his position, he did not have to explain so much to a group of mercenaries, but Black Star was an exception—his background was too strong. Shivate only explained because of Han Xiao. He faked his sincerity and said, "Our mistake has led to a bad result. I am very sorry about that. No matter what, I have explained the truth, and hope you can understand…"

Cerleni was about to say something, but Han Xiao stepped forward and spoke first. He smiled and said, "So, that's what happened. We really misunderstood you. This is a misunderstanding caused by intel difference. Don't have to apologize, this was not your fault."

Shivate's eyes sparkled, and he said with a very pleased tone, "It's really great that you can understand… Since the misunderstanding has been resolved, I shall not stay any longer. Do whatever you want with these DarkStar people.

As Shivate finished his sentence, the Holy Stone fleet retreated, and Black Raven retreated from the other side as well. The fleets that covered the sky had left, and the exterior space of the planet became empty again.

"You didn't actually believe that, did you? That Shiva-something commander is looking for excuses," Cerleni said.

Han Xiao shrugged and said, "A lie that can't be proved, how can I believe it?"

Goa walked forward and sighed. "Don't hold a grudge for it. Even though we know it's clearly an excuse, we can't do anything to him. He's Holy Stone's border commander after all."

Factions were different, and knifing each other back and forth was very normal.

However, mercenaries believed peace was required to make money. The opponent represented a large civilization that was very strong, and he had just been affected by a shady play—it was not enough to make them enemies. At the same time, it was not worth doing. The higher ups of the various armies would definitely not agree on that, and they could not take revenge personally. Everyone knew what the truth was, but they still acted peaceful toward each other and acted as if it did not happen.

They were all quite upset, but they sighed and moved on.

Han Xiao smiled and did not say anything. On the surface, he took a step back, but he secretly wrote Holy Stone Civilization's name on his notebook. He was not going to just forget it—violence was not technical enough and not worth it.Since you did me dirty, it is only fair for me to do the same.

Hmm… When I'm free, I shall find an opportunity to kidnap their main character type of person. No one will know, and I'll get a new officer, two birds with one stone.

Han Xiao rubbed his chin, and an evil smirk appeared on his face.

Far away on Stream Light, Shivate suddenly felt a chill up his spine just as he was being proud of himself.

The cleaning for the battlefield was completed. The parts and broken pieces had been recycled by the mercenaries. Sarota and a few other DarkStar members were tied in one place, and a few deputy army commanders surrounded the captives and discussed quietly.

Han Xiao walked over and asked, "Are these all the captives?"

"Hmm, all the escaping spaceships were destroyed, so these are the only ones alive."

After taking a closer look, Han Xiao realized that Ember was not one of them.Looks like he exploded when in a spaceship—he should be dead.

He felt that it was a pity. It was not easy to meet someone with legendary characteristics. Plus, that person's power was countered by him. If he could kill Ember with his own hands, he would most likely get a Molding Talent. Ember had died in someone else's hands, so Han Xiao did not receive any reward from it.

"What are you planning to do with them?"

"It's best to transfer the DarkStar people to Godora. We have contacted Godora, and they are very happy to take over the captives. They are even willing to pay a reward for it," Sky Ring's Deputy Army Commander said.

It was actually more suitable to let Holy Stone or Black Raven take the captives, but neither of them wanted to be involved. Just now, Shivate acted as if letting them deal with the captives was an act of generosity, but he was actually just not wanting to take this hot potato.

Sarota heard this and started to struggle violently. He growled with rage and said, "Kill me!"

If the people of DarkStar ended up in the hands of Godora, there would only be one place for them to go—to be imprisoned in Rainbow Prison for life.

Rainbow Prison only imprisoned captured DarkStar members. The inside of the prison was very mysterious. All the DarkStar members who were locked in there for some time would lose their faith for DarkStar, turning their loyalty to Godora. DarkStar thought that this prison was brainwashing its prisoners continuously, twisting their minds and turning them into betrayers, making them Godora's dogs and tools.

The organization was rather fearful of the Rainbow Prison. Rumor had it that the reason for Godora not executing DarkStar's war prisoners was that they wanted to make DarkStar's people fight and kill each other through brainwashing. It was an extremely vicious intent!

Sarota was not afraid of spending his life in prison, but he was afraid of having his mind twisted. If he had to betray his belief, he would rather die!

A mercenary kicked Sarota on the back of his head and knocked him out, silencing him.

"I'm going to Godora's colony as well. It's along the way, so how about giving me a ride?" Han Xiao said.

"Haha, no problem."

The mercenaries tidied the place up for a few hours, recycled everything valuable, then the fleet took off. The alliance fleet left and headed toward the neighboring Garton Galaxy.

The incident had ended. Peace was restored on this planet. Only the devastated planet surface reminded people that a tragic battle had once happened there.

The things that had happened there were all detailed in Shattered Star Ring Express News. One day later, the other news stations used Shattered Star Ring Express News' material and did another report. The impact of this event was gradually fermenting.

The most compelling part was, of course, the scene in which the Dragon Emperor showed her power. It was repeated many times on various channels. The one who received the second most attention was Han Xiao; he attracted more attention than the fact that DarkStar had suffered a huge loss in this incident.

Countless viewers came to know of the mercenary called Black Star. He was the only team under the Floating Dragon faction that was acting outside Floating Dragon Island, which meant that he was the executor of the Dragon Emperor's thoughts, which had a much higher influence than himself. The name Black Star and his data was rapidly spread among various large organizations in Shattered Star Ring, becoming one of the targets that they paid attention to.

Everywhere around the Shattered Star Ring, regardless of race, as long as they watched the news, they all remembered Black Star's name. Naturally, all kinds of rumors spread out.

Someone passed out a new message—the three large armies and their partners actively requested to form a partnership with Black Star. Black Star, who was previously unknown, was suddenly famous in the mercenary industry, and the number of connections and the size of the network that he had made a lot of mercenaries envious.

In a few days, Black Star's name became renowned!

In these few days, notifications of Renown increasing kept popping up on Han Xiao's interface. It increased across various areas, covering many Star Clusters in Shattered Star Ring. In terms of raw numbers, it grew by a total of thirty-seven points, and it was still growing.

He was a little surprised by this, till he saw the galactical news.

No wonder his Renown rocketed after that; it turned out that he was on television. This fame was a bonus benefit brought by Ames' influence, and it at least saved him a lot of time that would have been spent grinding his Renown. This was very important for the growth of a faction—because of this, his starting point was higher than others'.

A few days later, in Garton Galaxy. The alliance fleet stopped at Godora's colony planet, Golden Palace.

Godora's structures had beautiful styles. They liked curves and arcs—curved surfaces and fan shapes could be seen everywhere. The color theme was mostly gold and white, beautiful and pure. Godorans did not like the tight feeling of having too many tall buildings, nor did they like the seriousness of symmetry. The city was made up of short, curved, and more "ancient" buildings. The only tall buildings were the Mage Tower, the Tower of Gal, the government building, and the army stations.

There were no metal transport tools on the road. Instead, there were magic tunnels covered in streams of light. The people walking on it would have increased speed, not any slower than cars, and there would be no traffic jams or anything of the sort. Other than that, some people rode on weird looking mounts, which were more expensive and rarer. The flying carriers had something to do with magic as well. There was a facility called 'Flying Emblem Station', where one could spend some money and rent a magic item with several fixed flying magics. There were quite a number of people flying on the sky. With one flap from the translucent wings behind their backs, they would be able to fly a very far distance.

The people on the street wore many kinds of robes. Most of them were Godorans whose skin looked like they were covered in gold powder. A city's pace could be seen from how fast the people on the street were walking. Godorans walked slowly. Their life was relaxing and casual, adhering to the style of ancient Godora. Usually, magic civilizations would not develop as fast as technological civilizations, and that affected the pace of their lives, the shape of their society, their aesthetics, and their culture.

Han Xiao walked on the street alone. He had gone to Golden Palace to find that master of identification to open the Secret Message Bead. He wanted to see what was inside it that was so important to DarkStar.

The spaceship was still waiting at the dock. Han Xiao did not waste any time and headed directly toward the target.

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Chapter 404: Triple Trigger, Origins of Large Events!

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

The identification mage was staying at a small villa far away from the city. Han Xiao found the place easily and pressed on the doorbell.

After a while, the door opened. An old Godoran walked out and looked at Han Xiao puzzled.

"Who're you?"

"Hello, Master Angleton. I have come to you for help after hearing about you. I hope that you can help me open an item with magic security measures." Han Xiao recognized this person as the target, so he went straight to the point.

To his surprise, Angleton was confused. "It has only been three months since I moved here. I did not notify anyone yet, how did you find me?"

Han Xiao was stunned for a second, then he realized. At this period, the players in his previous life were still in their novice planets. He was too ahead of time. Luckily, Angleton had moved here this early, or it would have been awkward if he could not find him.

Angleton could not figure out why but did not dwell on it. He invited Han Xiao into his house and said while he was walking, "You're the first customer after I moved house. It has commemorative significance. I think I should write this day in my diary. Uninvited surprise guest, what do I call you?"

"Call me Han Xiao."

"Today is the official opening. To celebrate my first business, I will help you as much as I can…" Angleton smiled.

The inside of the villa was very luxurious. The two of them came to the basement, and there were many magic tools here. Quite a number of magic arrays were embedded on the wall and the floor. There were also many precise instruments to research and analyze magics.

After Han Xiao paid the fees, Angleton placed the Secret Message Bead inside the analytical magic array, flipped open his thick magic book, and started channeling.

Ding.

The seal of the Secret Message Bead appeared in the air. Angleton wore his reading glasses, narrowed his eyes, and observed it. He drew magic lines on the array from time to time, solving it bit by bit, just like opening a lock.

The Mage class and Mechanic class were known as the vastest and complicated classes. There were many types of machinery, ranging from nanotechnology to battleships, from nuclear weapons to psionic canons, from internet technology to artificial intelligence. It was very versatile and mostly about technology. The branches of the Mage class were very complicated as well. There was elemental, secret sorcery, blessing, spacetime, shape manipulation, summoning, curse, and so on.

Mages could learn spells from multiple branches—it had no limitations. They could use ice and fire at the same time if they wanted to. Like Mechanics spending experience to gamble on blueprints, Mages had to spend experience to learn spells as well. As long as they had enough experience, they could learn as many as they wanted. However, to players, there were differences between these two. For a Mage to learn a spell, the spell was divided into different 'stages'. For example, learning Fire Blast required three stages, and every stage cost experience. The higher the stage, the more it would cost. If a certain stage failed, one had to use experience and try to learn that stage again. When all the stages were completed, the mage would officially be able to use that spell—meaning, the mage would get a new ability.

The success rate of learning spells depended on Intelligence and Mystic. The higher the spell grade, the more stages it has. It was also very experience consuming. It was relatively easier for higher level Mages to learn low-level spells, and it would be very difficult the other way around. Plus, high-level spells usually had prerequisites, such as learning a certain low-level spell or attributes reaching a certain value.

The differences between spell branches were like the differences between machinery types, which was a difference in ability choices. In terms of class focus, the Mechanic class had Cannon Master, Mechanical Pugilist, Mechanic, and so on. The Mage class also had different focuses. The class difference in the Mechanic class was decided afterward, but in the case of the Mage class, it was decided beforehand. The method of awakening decided their path. The first method was awakening Super genes of a Mage normally—those people are born with magic power or those able to activate their magic power through meditation would become official Mages. These were the talented ones.

The second method was for those that could not activate magic power or even had no Mage talent at all. Through planting magic circuitry in their body, there was a chance to generate magic power, granting them the qualifications to be a Mage. This was similar to the Esper class, in which some Espers could self-awaken and some needed Gene Awakening Elixir. The magic circuitry planted into their bodies was the source of magic power; it required continuous enhancement and strengthening. The biggest difference between circuit mages and talented mages was that circuit mages were unable to learn all spells, as circuits usually had certain tendencies. They could only be specialized Mages, as the foundation could not be changed once it was planted, so there was only one chance to choose a circuit.

Of course, as the saying goes, knowing one thing very well is better than knowing many things a little.

Specialized Mages were not weak. Instead, they were the majority. After all, one's energy was limited, so it was better to focus on one instead of not focusing on everything. In fact, there were even some talented Mages who planted circuit in themselves and became specialized Mages afterward. As circuit was equivalent to an enhancement to that certain type of magic, it meant to give up all-round capabilities in exchange for strong spell powers. Goa, for example, was a specialized Mage, a pure Ice Mage.

There was another special type of Mage, called the MagicNet Mage. Their magic power did not belong to themselves; rather, it was 'borrowed' through religion, praying, ceremony, and all kinds of strange methods to come in contact with magic entities of other dimensions—usually of unspeakable appearance. They would then form a contract or deed. They could not learn spells; they could only use spells given by that magic entity. Most of these spells did not cost mana but had a limit to how many times they could be used per day. In other words, they had a cooldown but had no mana cost. The way for them to become stronger was to enhance their connection with the magic entity or to create contracts with more magic entities, granting them more spells and higher usages.

The Great Mechanic Han played a Mage class in his previous life before. It required very high skills, emphasizing on creating combos by using all kinds of spells, and it had countless combinations. It was the complete opposite of the simple and brutal Pugilist class. When battling other players, one had to pay attention to details and make a lot of calculations. It was very suitable for technical players with good brains… Oh, that was except for Fire Blast Style and Summoning Style—these two were more brainless than Pugilist. There was no need for any analysis or whatsoever—they just have to finish their mana bar, and there would barely be anyone standing.

With a cup of magic coconut tea in his hands, Han Xiao sat at the side and waited for many hours. He almost fell asleep.

Clank!

In midair, the magic seal array was finally cracked as it shattered like a mirror.

"It's done." Angleton took off his glasses.

"Let me see what on earth is inside…" Han Xiao took back the Secret Message Bead, took a deep breath, and slowly turned it.

Without the seal, the Secret Message Bead was easily split in half. A mini vacuum glass cabinet was fixed to each side. These two things both had a shrinking spell on them, which was why they could fit in such a small bead.

Unknown item identified. You have received [Secret Message Bead] x 1.

You have opened [Secret Message Bead].

You have received [Seventh Generation Mutation Source] x 1.

You have received [Super-Gene Extractor—Test Version] x 1.

"Holy… It's these two things!" Han Xiao's breathing stopped for a moment. His eyes were fixed on these things. He finally understood why DarkStar had spent so much effort in tracking this down. The significance of these two things was beyond ordinary—he had almost snatched DarkStar's lifeblood away!

These two things were connected to two huge conspiracies of DarkStar—they were the origin of two big events! One of them was Planet Aquamarine's main storyline in Version 2.0—Mutation Disaster!

He had a flash of insight and connected the dots.

DarkStar bought these items from another organization. The seller is outside Shattered Star Ring, so they chose to send one of their subordinates to deliver the goods, who happened to be a Silver. He followed a tourist group here and planned to deliver the goods secretly. However, just as the Silvers were having a tour, they were suddenly robbed by slavers. The carrier was unlucky as hell, and that forced DarkStar to come and find the goods. Then, coincidentally, the other Silvers hired us… They did not know about the deal behind this. Everything that happened was because of the first accident.

Han Xiao was astonished. Through many coincidences, he had ruined DarkStar's secret deal and robbed them of the goods that they had spent an outrageous amount of money to buy!

Secret organizations selling this kind of product were like arms dealers. DarkStar itself did not have the technology to research new 'weapons'—they could only buy them. The Mutation Source was already generation seven, so it had definitely been tested in another place before.

As these thoughts flashed through his mind, more than one notification of triggering a new mission popped up in the interface.

You have triggered A ranked main storyline mission [Mutation Disaster]!

Mission Introduction: You accidentally ruined DarkStar's private deal and discovered the source of the Mutation Disaster. DarkStar has secretly planted Mutation Sources in many mother planets of civilizations. When the virus enters its mature stage, a terrifying disaster will arrive. Defending against the disaster is every life's responsibility.

Mission Requirements: Clean up the Mutation Disaster virus and protect the planets where a disaster is going to happen.

Planet Aquamarine – Progress: 0/30,000,000

Planet Barrifos – Progress: 0/21,000,000

Planet Dawn – Progress: 0/19,000,000

Success Requirements: Successfully protect any planet mentioned above before the mutation virus reach its mature stage.

Failure Condition: All planets are defeated, and all survivors are forced to leave their planet.

Reward: Depends on contribution.

Remarks: Even if the virus spreads and causes the overall progress to decrease, individually earned progress will still be calculated into reward rating.

[Mission Status: Frozen]

The Main Storyline mission of the next version!

Han Xiao's eyes sparkled in surprise. He did not expect to trigger the main storyline of Version 2.0 in advance.

The main storyline mission of the Mutation Disaster was not an individual mission but a mission carried out by all players. Planet Aquamarine needed thirty million progress points, and every player's actions would be added into the progress. There were many stages of the Mutation Disaster, and the virus would grow, causing the progress to drop by large portions. The mission requirement was to complete the requirements before the virus grew into its unstoppable mature stage. It required all players to work together.

This mission is different from the one players would receive. I remember that the players' mission is just to protect Planet Aquamarine, but my target includes other planets as well… Is it because I got the Mutation Source?

Han Xiao was a little surprised. This was a good thing; it gave him more choices. Of course, he was definitely going to protect Planet Aquamarine first. Not only was it his home, but it was also for the players of the next version.

The status of the mission at this moment was frozen. Only when the timeline reached Version 2.0 and the disaster broke out would the mission start. What he was thinking was how to make full use of the Mutation Source in his hands in order to achieve the biggest impact.

The key component of solving the Mutation Disaster is Godora. In my previous life, Godora took a very long time to invent the cure. If I give them the mutation source, they will be able to invent the cure earlier…

Han Xiao contemplated on the issue. This was probably the best way to maximize the use of the mutation source. However, he had to think of when he should give it to Godora. If he gave it to them too early, the contribution points would not be counted into the mission, and he would be suspected too.

He searched through his memories and had a rough plan. The details had to be improved, but he let it aside for the moment. He looked at the other two new missions.

– You have triggered A ranked mission [Godora's Ally]!

– You have triggered S ranked mission [Bloodline]!

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