“You people of Shattered Star Ring are really greedy and primitive,” the Silver spaceship captain complained. “I dislike this place. No matter what, I just want results—money is not a problem.”
Whoosh!
The wind rolled up the sand, and another spaceship had landed. The Purple Gold Army’s symbol was printed on its body. The crowd split apart, and Purple Gold Army’s team walked down the ship and approached. Beside the leader was a sorcery fortune teller carrying a crystal ball, also a member of the Purple Gold Army, hurrying over from galaxies away for this mission.
Chapter 364 - Floating Dragon Island
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
The fortune teller held onto the magical crystal ball and mumbled, while the Silvers and the mercenaries watched and exchanged looks.
“Will fortune-telling even work?” Herlous asked. A target that all kinds of detection devices could not find, and a fortune teller could just lock onto it like that? Sunil was a technological civilization, so they had very limited knowledge of sorcery. They had only heard about it and never understood how it worked, so it was normal to be doubtful.
Han Xiao touched his chin. “That depends, there are many strange things in the universe. Something that technology devices can’t do, sorcery can, and vice versa. Of course, as they both improve, the different systems will gradually have more similarities, and it all leads to the same place. The fortune telling of the Mage class is quite useful.”
“Can’t you use your foreseeing ability?” Herlous suddenly remembered that there was a foreseer standing right beside him.
“Mine is passive, passive…” Han Xiao dry coughed and gave a logical explanation.
About ten minutes into the mumbling, a blurred image appeared on the magical crystal ball, and the fortune teller stopped chanting. The fortune teller stared at the crystal for a while, then rubbed his eyes and said unsurely, “I saw a Void Dragon race…”
The crowd was stunned.
Void Dragon race?
What are you talking about‽
The clarity of the fortune telling results depended on the number of traces. Most of the time it would be ambiguous, but it would definitely be related to the truth. The fortune teller said, “I can only see this result, do you have any leads?”
The mercenaries surrounded the crystal ball and discussed, while Goa frowned and said suddenly, “Could it be… Floating Dragon Island?”
The crowd stopped their discussion instantly when they heard this. It was like someone pressed the mute button, and the mercenaries quietened down and exchanged looks. A tint of horror even appeared on their faces.
“Very possible… if there’s any organization in the Shattered Star Ring unafraid of revenge, Floating Dragon Island is one of them.”
Maple Moon noticed how stiff the people were. She tugged on Han Xiao’s sleeve and asked curiously, “What kind of place is that?”
Han Xiao squinted his eyes and said, “Wanted criminals can’t get supplies from lawful civilization’s planets, but some neutral territories dare to take in galactic pirates, scavengers, and other criminals. Floating Dragon Island is one such neutral territory.”
“Then isn’t that a gathering ground of criminals? Why don’t these civilizations just get rid of all of them at once?” Bun-Hit-Dog cut in.
“Not to pursue one’s past sins in neutral territories, this is the unspoken rules between the civilizations in Shattered Star Ring because of one and only one reason—these long-lasting neutral territories all have a strong ruler.” Han Xiao seemed to have remembered something interesting. The edges of his lips rose up as he said, “The ruler of Floating Dragon Island… is someone beyond Calamity Grade!”
Beyond Calamity Grade… which means higher than grade A‽
The players’ faces changed. They finally understood why these mercenaries all had such grave expressions.
They knew absolutely nothing of the strong people of this grade, but Han Xiao knew very clearly.
If grade A was a calamity at a planet-scale, above grade A was a whole new level, more than enough to become the king of an area through the galaxy. Not many civilizations wanted to mess with someone of this level. For example, at her peak, Hila could reap the souls of every life on an entire planet in seconds, making an entire planet deadly silent!
When the strength of a single being reached such a level, there were not many rules that could restrict them anymore. Some galactic civilizations could not do anything to them even if they used the power of their entire race. It was horrifying indeed…
Luckily, there were few monsters at this level even throughout the entire universe. In the Shattered Star Ring, there were only four known beings beyond grade A, fearsomely famous and lonely.
The ruler of Floating Dragon Island was one of them, and Han Xiao happened to be very familiar with that guy. In his previous life, the Great Mechanic Han had once come into contact with that guy due to a mission.
Void Dragons were galactic beings, and their bodies were tens of thousands of meters long. They lived in the universe, and the dark energy everywhere to them was like air to humans and water to fish. The bodies of Void Dragons contained special powers, and when they died, their flesh would turn into ice shards and ash, leaving an enormous skeleton floating in the universe, turning into a comet.
When they reached close to the end of their life expectancy, the Void Dragon race would wait for its death beside the corpse of one of its race, hence forming a graveyard in the form of comets. Floating Dragon Island was a large graveyard. It was rumored to have twenty-four sets of Void Dragon skeletons, captured by its current ruler then embedded into the surface of an empty planet, the ruler then used their great strength to tear away a part of the land, equipping it with all kinds of anti-gravitational, ecological maintenance devices, maintaining its galactic voyage, turning into the Floating Dragon Island it was now.
Back then, when Han Xiao knew about this, other than being shocked his biggest conclusion was… that dragon was damn rich!
The people contemplated. According to the fortune telling results, the scavengers were most likely going to fence their goods on Floating Dragon Island, so many mercenaries wanted to back away.
“Sorry, I’m quitting this mission.” The captain of one of the middle size mercenary groups made the decision after long consideration. With him as the first, more mercenaries followed and left. Spaceships took off one after another and disappeared.
Floating Dragon Island was a gathering ground for criminals, an extremely dangerous place that place did not really welcome formal mercenaries. They might just bump into their enemy there. Furthermore, saving someone in that kind of place… if they broke the rules accidentally and enraged the ruler, it would be a problem to even make it out alive. Most of the mercenaries wimped out.
The Silver was angry and shocked. The action of these mercenaries going back on their word made them furious.
Only Sky Ring, Blades, and Purple Gold were left. These three groups had a strong background—at least the criminals in Floating Dragon Island would not dare to touch them. It was certainly different to have the confidence since they had relationship and background.
Here comes the chance! Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled. The Silver would definitely be in shortage of manpower, so he stood out of the crowd and said with a smile, “Do you still need mercenaries?”
The three large mercenary groups looked over. The Silver spaceship captain nodded immediately—it was really a timely offer. These renowned mercenaries were just full of promises to save the captives moments ago, yet they all wimped when they heard the location. What good did their accumulated good name do? They did not even match up to this uninvited mercenary group!
Goa frowned and said, “Floating Dragon Island is filled with brutes, pirates, and scavengers everywhere. It’s very dangerous, and even though you’re our partner, Sky Ring’s name cannot protect you. If you get killed, it will be for nothing. That place
is too dangerous for you guys, so it’s best you reconsider.”
From what they saw, eighty percent of this small mercenary group’s confidence to do this mission was because they were Sky Ring’s partner, but she felt that she had to make things clear.
If a direct member was killed, Sky Ring would take revenge, so the brutes would consider before they did anything. However, although partners could act alongside them, if they were killed, Sky Ring would not stand up for them. That was the difference.
“No worries, my people are not afraid of danger.” Han Xiao smiled, and his impression of this female mage became better. They clearly could just hire them as combat power, yet she actively explained the dangers involved—although she seemed cold, she was actually quite kind.
Chapter 365 - Don’t Wimp, Just Do It
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
This time, Gashley explained softly, “There’s no need to worry, all of Black Star’s people can revive.”
“What‽” Goa was shocked. She did not know about Han Xiao’s team previously. Only after she listened to Gashley’s introduction did she understand the uniqueness of Black Star Mercenary Group. “A group of undying, no wonder they have the right to become Sky Ring’s partner…”
She did not continue her attempt to persuade Han Xiao anymore.
Han Xiao suddenly had an idea, and he said, “We only know that Floating Dragon Island is the location, but we don’t know the scavengers’ identity, nor do we know who they’re dealing with. It would still be finding a needle in a haystack—do you have any other ways?”
The Purple Gold Army fortune teller shook his head, saying that his fortune telling could not divine such details.
Han Xiao was relieved. He coughed and started acting. “I’m a foreseer, too, and I felt something just now and noticed some new clues.”
The people were surprised, and they looked over.
Han Xiao remembered that he still had the Character Summon Card of Destiny’s Child, and there were five more usages, so he could just give it a try. He asked, “If I can provide reliable intel, is there any other reward?”
The Silver spaceship captain nodded and said, “Of course there is.”
“I want to suggest a reward.”
“What do you want?”
“Mechanic class advancement knowledge.” Han Xiao smiled; this was a good opportunity to make a request.
The Silvers discussed for a while and agreed to Han Xiao’s request. Far away in the Sea of Star Spirits, class advancement knowledges were not that precious—they were basically everywhere. He just had to tell a friend back there, and it could be sent over immediately—it would not even cost them anything.
Upon getting the confirmation, Han Xiao used his Destiny’s Child Card. His vision changed, entering a blurry image, and he saw some bits and pieces.
After losing focus for a while, Han Xiao’s vision recovered. Destiny’s Child’s ability was very promising, so Han Xiao already knew the customer’s rough appearance. They just had to ask around, and they should be able to find the target.
He described the intel, and the Silver sent the appointed class advancement knowledge into his communicator.
Han Xiao used his potential points to learn it immediately, and a new knowledge entered his mind.
_____________________
You have learned [Rapid Assembly]!
_____________________
This is the difference… Han Xiao sighed. A knowledge that he could not even learn in the Shattered Star Ring, the Silver could transfer it to him easily. That was the civilization difference, and even he was tempted to kidnap these Silvers.
But it was just a thought. He threw that suicidal idea away very quickly. He now had a faction base, and he did not want to become someone who was chased around everywhere.
After the hiring procedures were completed, Han Xiao requested for the other two class advancement knowledge regarding compression technology as well. Seeing that Han Xiao was the captain, Silver agreed with all of it—Supers looking for new knowledge was very common.
A mission was triggered on his interface, and the basic reward was one of the knowledges required for compression technology. If he successfully saved the hostages, he would then receive the other knowledge. The experience reward was more than 4,000,000, plus some monetary reward.
And the players’ reward was only money.
After settling everything, without further ado, Han Xiao and the others boarded Sky Ring’s spaceship and followed the three large mercenary groups to Floating Dragon Island.
…
In an unknown region of the Shattered Star Ring was a DarkStar base, where the Superiors of the DarkStar organization were having an emergency meeting.
“The carrier this time was kidnapped.”
“Did Godora notice our plan?”
“No, this is just an accident. The people over there chose the carrier to be a Silver, and he was kidnapped by a slave trader.”
“That’s good then. The intel shows that the fence location seems to be Floating Dragon Island. What do we do?”
“Send people over to rob those bought slaves. Find the carrier and retrieve the cargo. If outsiders don’t have the password, they can’t take out the Mutation Source and the Super-Gene Extractor inside. These two things cost the organization a lot, so they cannot be lost.”
“Who do we send to carry out the mission?”
“Since it’s this important, let [Ember] go. He has yet to fail since joining DarkStar.”
Not long after, a stealth spaceship left the DarkStar base and headed toward Floating Dragon Island.
…
“Only paid for fifteen Silvers?”
Peggy was already very close to Floating Dragon Island. He contacted the customer again and came to know of the new request. There were seventeen Silvers in the spaceship, so two of them unsold. He thought about it, then told his subordinate to bring two Silvers to him. One of them was that carrier that called himself the DarkStar emissary.
In front of the hatch at the side of the spaceship, two Silvers were kneeling before Peggy. Scavengers surrounded the two of them, anticipating a good show.
“Open the hatch,” Peggy said.
A subordinate opened the inner hatch, but the outer hatch remained closed. The two Silvers saw this and guessed what the scavengers were about to do. They were terrified and struggled more violently, but they were firmly pressed down.
Peggy signaled for the other Silver to be moved out of the inner hatch. The inner hatch then closed, and the outer hatch opened. The body of this Silver was exposed in vacuum. He slowly floated away as his eyes bulged and his limbs moved everywhere. After struggling for a while, his organs shattered, and he tragically died.
“Hahahaha…” The scavengers laughed out loud as they saw this from the windows. This was the entertainment of scavengers.
The carrier Silver panicked and said, “Aren’t you going to sell me? I’m very valuable! I have a lot of money to pay for myself, why do you want to kill me‽”
Peggy’s eyes were dark and cold, his face twisted. “You’re my property, so I can do anything I want to you. I dislike it when people bargain with me, and I dislike high up races like yours even more. Every time I see people like you, I’m reminded of the pureblood Godora *ssholes. Arrogant people all deserve to die.”
As he said that, he waved again. The subordinates did the same thing—they threw this Silver out as well, and he died rapidly in a vacuum.
The spaceship then sped up and left the area right away, leaving only two Silver corpses floating in the cold universe.
…
At the same time, the spaceships of the mercenary groups were about to land on the other side of Floating Dragon Island.
This was a land that sailed in the universe, like a galactic island. It had many stabilizers and accelerators at its base, and a translucent sphere covered the entire floating island, maintaining the atmosphere and g
ravity.
The construction style of Floating Dragon Island was rough. It had a city that looked like an enormous dragon spreading its wings when looking down from above, and many mechanical digging devices were fixed on the ground. The drills acquired the Void Dragon skeletons underground—it was a very valuable material.
Countless ferocious looking modified spaceships were docked at the pier, painted with different symbols. These all belonged to scavengers and galaxy pirates. There were quite a number of them who were rather notorious, such as these with a wanted reward of more than 100,000 Enas.
The mercenary group spaceships landed successfully, after going through the procedures, the people walked into the city together, criminals with anarchic looks could be seen on the streets everywhere.
The three large mercenary groups all wore uniforms, which attracted a lot of attention. Many criminals were openly sizing them up.
The air was filled with hostility, sending chills down spines. Because they knew that there was danger everywhere, they had all equipped themselves fully back on the ship before they came. The players wore Sunil Enlistee Class armor, and Han Xiao wore Amphiptere.
The three large mercenary groups did a wide range of businesses, so they had made quite a few enemies. Although these people were looking at them with hatred, they did not dare to do anything due to their fear of the name of these three large mercenary group. On the other hand, Han Xiao and the others who clearly did not belong to the three large mercenary groups attracted more attention.
Frowning, Herlous said softly, “Black Star, I’m feeling the stares from at least three Supers of the same grade. They are looking at us like they want to eat us.”
Han Xiao smiled and said, “We’re walking with the people of Sky Ring, Blades, and Purple Gold. Of course, these brutes will transfer their hatred naturally onto us. See, these people are the role models.”
Looking over following Han Xiao’s finger, a group of galactic pirates leaned against the war and pointed at them while they were chatting, their eyes filled with hostility. The leader of the pirates spat out phlegm, which happened to land on Maple Moon’s armor as she was at the edge of the team. Their expression was fearless.
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