At that time, a large number of players accepted missions and took part in the siege.
Countless battleships were destroyed in the battle, as was Floating Dragon Island. Although Ames did not die in the battle, she disappeared.
The renowned Beyond Grade A from the Shattered Star Ring was never seen again.
Of course, that all happened in a very late version.
Since Han Xiao had captured Aesop, if he let Ames meet Aesop, it would be something that had not happened in his previous life, so he did not know how it would turn out.
Nonetheless, the tragedies of two civilizations with trillions of civilians being slaughtered, Floating Dragon Island destroyed, and Ames being heavily injured should not happen again.
Never mind, I owe her a favor. I shall give him to Ames. Killing him will only cause unnecessary risks.
Shaking his head, Han Xiao kept his thoughts about killing Aesop to himself.
Aesop could only see into a small part of the future, but what he knew about was the overall trend!
There was no reason for him to be afraid!
Han Xiao placed his arms around Aesop’s shoulder and whispered to Aesop’s ear, “I refuse.”
Aesop’s expression stiffened. Why did he whisper then? It gave him false hope…
Han Xiao contacted Ames on his communicator. As soon as the image showed up, Ames saw Aesop, who was standing beside Han Xiao. Her beautiful eyes brightened as a tint of a smile appeared on her face.
“Aesop, my teacher, I’ve really missed you.”
Aesop smiled bitterly. From Ames’ tone, he could hear a strong sense of dissatisfaction. Even without using his foresight ability, he could tell that he was in a bad situation.
After hiding for so many years, who knew how much unhappiness Ames had suppressed; falling into her hands would be truly horrible.
Then, Ames turned to look at Han Xiao and said, “Wait for me, I’m almost there!”
The image turned black right after; she was very quick to act.
Aesop was frustrated. He turned to look at Han Xiao. “Won’t you reconsider?”
“She has already seen you. Do you think I can possibly let you go?” Han Xiao smiled.
Not much later, Ames’ spaceship arrived at the port. Han Xiao took Aesop to the pier, and Ames saw him as soon as she got off her spaceship. She walked over with a fearsome aura!
Han Xiao’s hand that grabbed Aesop’s shoulder clearly felt the old man’s body shiver.
“Dragon Emperor‽”
At this moment, the pedestrians near the pier were in an uproar. With faces of horror, they hurried back far away. They had not expected one of the strongest people in the Shattered Star Ring to suddenly appear.
“Don’t you have something to say to me?” Ames was expressionless.
Aesop sighed as if he accepted his fate. “Alright, I should have come back to see you long ago and shouldn’t have hidden from you. Let’s not stand here and let others watch, let’s go.”
As he was speaking, he walked up the gangway. Before entering the spacecraft, he looked back at Han Xiao, and a smile suddenly appeared on his face.
Ames was about to return to the ship, but she suddenly thought of something and turned around to look at Han Xiao.
She paused. With a serious and solemn tone, she said, “Thank you.”
Han Xiao waved his hand. “It’s a small matter. I’m just repaying my favor.”
“No, I owe you.”
Ames’ tone was unquestionable. She suddenly hesitated before slowly reaching out. The soft black sleeves slid down her smooth arm, revealing her slender white palm, and she patted Han Xiao on his shoulder.
She was a neat freak and would never willingly touch others, but this time, she made an exception.
Although she looked calm on the surface, she was actually very happy, so she was very grateful to Han Xiao, who had captured Aesop. She knew how cunning Aesop was. She had caught wind of his whereabouts before, but she had ended up disappointed every time. This success surprised her.
After a short pat, Ames quickly pulled back her hand and turned around to go up the ship. Han Xiao, however, did not think it was unusual. At that moment, he thought of something and hastily used the blank Character Summon Card in his interface before Ames closed the door, generating her Character Summon Card.
Boom!
The ship unleashed a deep rumbling sound and left the dock along the track, soon disappearing.
Han Xiao stayed on the dock. He had just informed the others, so they heard the news and quickly gathered, watching the spaceship fly away.
“Black star, since we’re done here, where are we going now?” Herlous asked.
“Let’s take a break at Noriosse and leave tomorrow.” Han Xiao turned to Wilsander and asked, “Do you want to stick around with us?”
“I’m not in a hurry to go back. Plus, it’s too boring to stay on Floating Dragon Island. Hehe, it seems like I’ll have to disturb you for some time.” Wilsander gave his standard cheeky smile.
“As long as you don’t spend my money, you can disturb us for as long as you want.” Han Xiao shrugged.
This time, they heard a commotion from the direction of the hall. A group of superiors from Noriosse financial group had heard the news of Ames’ arrival and hurried here. They did not dare neglect such an important person, but after picking up Aesop, Ames had left immediately. The whole process had only taken a few minutes, so these financial group superiors were too late.
Thus, the executives of the financial group approached Han Xiao and chatted with him enthusiastically with warm smiles on their faces.
The Dragon Emperor had left, but they would never go away with nothing, so they decided to form a relationship with Black Star and see if they could provide any help, showing the attitude of Noriosse.
Originally, when Han Xiao first arrived on Noriosse, those financial group executives had only told their employees to send a greeting. However, now that the Dragon Emperor had appeared, things were different. They felt that they had to personally come to say hello to show their sincerity. The attention that the financial group superiors paid Han Xiao rose many levels.
As they were talking, the sound of several footsteps came from not far away. The people subconsciously looked in that direction.
A group of Godorans in combat suits hurried through the hall, looking to have just arrived. The leader looked brave and extraordinary.
“Godorans? What are they doing here?” Han Xiao’s eyes were also attracted. He curiously looked at the leader of the Godoran, and his expression suddenly changed.
He knew that person.
This was a Grade A Super!
…
On Ames’ ship, Aesop stood before a porthole, silently looking at the distant Noriosse.
“What are you looking at?” Ames asked from behind.
Aesop stopped looking and smiled with satisfaction.
“You have a good officer. He’s trustworthy.”
“You mean Black Star?” Ames nodded. “He is indeed very capable. Didn’t you meet him long ago? You even told him to send me a message.”
Aesop shook his head and laughed.
“I’m old now. I almost forgot about that.”
As he spoke, Aesop lowered his head, opened the communicator, and deleted a letter that had been set to send at a certain time. The receiver was shockingly Ames, whom he always blocked communication requests from.
Aesop shook his head.
“If it wasn’t for you, I wouldn’t have come to the Shattered Star Ring into this trap…”
Aesop knew Ames too well—capricious, arbitrary, not good at plotting. Just as Black Star had asked, if he did not want to be found by Ames, he could have hidden far away, so why did he have to return to Shattered Star Ring?
As for his motivation, of course, it was not to tease Ames. Although he was indeed tired of living, his taste was not that boring. His goal was surprisingly Han Xiao!
&n
bsp; Someone had used his name to deceive Ames. What if this person had found Ames’ weakness and deliberately used it to get close to her while harboring ulterior motives?
Aesop had been very worried about that.
No matter what kind of power Ames had, in his eyes, she would always be the little girl who needed someone to take care of.
Hence, he had returned to Shattered Star Ring, exposing his whereabouts and leading Ames’ officers to track him down. If Han Xiao did not catch him, then this man was only so capable. If Han Xiao did catch him, Aesop would start the second round of his test. He had made the follow-up preparation long ago; he deliberately showed his prophecy ability while at the same time angering Han Xiao. If Black Star was really the Dragon Emperor’s enemy, he would not allow such a dangerous enemy to live.
If Aesop died, that timed messages that he had set long ago would have reminded Ames of his death, and the culprit would have been the one who lied to her.
Aesop placed his own life, that of an old man, on the line and made a bet. If he died, Ames would not easily believe in others again, which he felt would be very worthwhile. After living for so long, the habit of looking for death had integrated into his blood—it would only make him feel thrilled and excited.
Although he looked like he did not care on the surface, he actually cared a lot about Ames. Aesop had no children, so Ames was like an adopted daughter to him.
Of course, Han Xiao did not know that his casual words to convince Ames back then on Floating Dragon Island would cause such a butterfly effect, leading the two of them who had never met each other in his previous life to meet for the first time, indirectly changing the fate of hundreds of trillions of people.
Black Star… Aesop thought, Very promising guy. If he lives for a thousand years like me, he will be a hundred times more horrifying than I am.
With his help, Ames will at least have an easier time…
Chapter 482 - Trap
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
After helping Ames catch Aesop and completing the mission, Han Xiao had been in a good mood. However, when Han Xiao saw a bunch of Godora warriors rushing over, his mood plummeted.
He recognized the Godoran’s battlesuits, and these warriors were not low-grade Observers. Instead, they were special forces that specialized in battle, and their leader was a Super who had been extremely famous in his previous life. In Version 2.0, this person had been the key figure in dealing with the mutation disaster on Planet Aquamarine. The majority of the battle quests that the players accepted from the Godoran camp had also been issued by him. He was like a commander level character and an important NPC to the players. Thus, Han Xiao was extremely familiar with him.
Nagakin, an officer of the War Bureau, Grade A Pugilist. He would only take action during important missions, and for him to appear on Noriosse, it meant that something important was about to unfold on Noriosse. A thought suddenly popped into his head, and Han Xiao immediately thought about the mixed blood Godoran that he had met a few days ago, Alvin.
The two should probably be related… Han Xiao thought to himself.
There was another strange sight that puzzled him. The Nagakin in front of him was majestic and full of valor. His strides were wide, and every step of his was taken with stability. In Han Xiao’s memories, when the players of Planet Aquamarine first met Nagakin, he had been half crippled. Half of his face had been reduced to a skeleton, and not only was he disfigured, his left arm and both legs had turned into prosthetics. He had also needed numerous life support systems to be injected into his body in order for him to be alive.
It was less than a year away from Version 2.0.
As such, Nagakin must have been crippled during this period, but the exact time was not certain.
Han Xiao’s eyes flashed, and he immediately sprang into action. He broke away from the upper echelons of Noriosse and stood in front of Nagakin.
“Who are you? Don’t block the way.” The Godoran warriors stopped, and Nagakin looked at Han Xiao with a frown.
Han Xiao introduced himself simply.
“Black Star? Oh, I’ve heard your name. You and some other mercenaries successfully destroyed a DarkStar mothership. Good job.”
Nagakin nodded and did not take it to heart. A figure of his caliber would only be concerned about more important matters. He only knew about Han Xiao’s name because his subordinate had mentioned it in passing. At that very moment, he was pushed for time, so he asked impatiently, “Why are you stopping us?”
“I only wanted to say hi. At the same time, I wanted to ask if you guys needed help.” This was a common phrase that players used to start a conversation with NPCs. Han Xiao was also trying to see if he was able to receive a mission and understand the Godorans’ reason for appearing there. He was lacking intel and did not know that DarkStar and Godora were having a confrontation on Noriosse. He only felt that something was strange.
Those warriors were the reinforcements sent by Godora, and their mission was to rescue Alvin. Over the past few days, two of Alvin’s doppelgangers had been captured, and the situation did not allow a single second’s delay. From Alvin’s doppelganger, they had found out that the strongest individual in the squad chasing after Alvin was a grade B Super called Forsyth. As such, Godora had sent out Nagakin, who was the nearest to the location, and felt that it was sufficient to take care of the enemy.
Nagakin felt that he did not need any help and that he was sufficient to take care of the enemy. As such, he casually replied, “We do not need your help. I’m pushed for time and will take my leave now.”
After finishing his sentence, Nagakin moved past Han Xiao and led his men away.
Studying the backs of those Godorans, Han Xiao stroked his chin and muttered to himself, “Tsk, I wasn’t able to activate a mission. For a Calamity Grade Super to take action personally, it’s probably a risky mission.”
Since Nagakin did not welcome outsiders, Han Xiao would forget about the matter. He would not lower himself and continue sticking to them uninvited.
He then opened the interface. After obtaining the Ames Character Summon Card, he had not checked its effects yet.
_____________________
[Character Summon Card—Ames]
Force Field—Gaze of the Dragon: Compress the medium within a certain area (effective for all states of matter) and target a single character. The targeted character will fall into a [Trapped] status. For every 100 points of STR the target has, 1s of control time will be reduced.
Basic control time: 18s
Usages: 0/1
_____________________
Han Xiao felt that the strong control effect was still acceptable. Ames had many different skills, and at her level, almost seventy percent of her skills were useful. While he did not obtain an attack skill, a control skill was more flexible and had its own advantages.
He then left the port and returned to land. After renting a temporary stronghold, he was prepared to spend rest a few days there. At the same time, he would purchase some resources. Noriosse was home to many shops, and he intended to strengthen his war machinery. Two High-End Knowledges and his many Advanced Knowledges gave him the option to obtain better blueprints, and it was sufficient for him to have an all-round upgrade. He still had more than twenty million experience points, and as long as he spent it sparingly, it would be sufficient for him to obtain enough blueprints.
Just when everyone was resting, a storm exploded.
…
Nagakin took dozens of Godoran warriors in aircrafts and arrived at a skyscraper at the periphery of Noriosse’s City 4. Tall buildings filled the district, and the magnetic floating bus station that connected the cities was not too far away.
According to Alvin’s reports, the temporary base of DarkStar’s forces was on the eightieth story of the skyscraper, and it was located right at the center of the building.
Alvin’s main body had always been in contact with the reinforcements fr
om Godora, and he used his doppelganger to observe the members of DarkStar to provide Nagakin with information. His request was for Nagakin to get rid of all the DarkStar forces chasing him before his main body would appear. He was extremely cautious.
“The enemy’s forces are inside. We will first destroy their base before dealing with those DarkStar members operating on the outside to prevent us from alerting the enemy. Currently, the enemy’s base is unaware of our arrival, and we have an advantage in terms of intel. Attack with me!”
The aircrafts ascended slowly and approached their target building. Nagakin’s gaze was solemn as he clenched his fists. A golden flame began to flow down his arm as though it was liquid.
His fist smashed onto the outer wall of the building.
Boom!
The next instant, a white shockwave was sent out in all directions!
All the glass in this building was shattered!
The might of his fist shot through the entire eightieth floor, and a large hole could be seen on both sides of the building. The entire building began to let out unsteady creaks, and the middle of the building bent slightly like a wooden pole that was almost smashed in half!
Not to mention a building, it was a piece of cake for a Calamity Grade Pugilist to destroy even a battleship. As long as he had enough time, he could even turn into an excavator and change the landscape of the entire planet.
After destroying the building with a single punch, Nagakin charged in with his subordinates and attacked the enemy base. Upon entry, he immediately spotted Forsyth and the others, who were in a daze.
Nagakin made a few hand signals and the Godoran warriors surrounded Forsyth’s troops. He then said in a deep voice, “I am Nagakin from Godora’s War Bureau. All of you are surrounded. Drop you weapons and surrender now. I will send all of you to Rainbow Prison.”
The building was shaking unsteadily, and Forsyth finally managed to steady himself. Revealing a malevolent smile, he chuckled as though his prey had fallen into his trap. “It seems like we’ve caught a big fish. Nagakin, look around you. Who do you think is surrounded?”
The Legendary Mechanic c1-1385 Page 282