After some consideration, Han Xiao said, “I’ve thought about it.”
His brows loosened, and he smiled at Malekith.
“I decline.”
Although he had analyzed the pros and cons out of habit, it was nothing more than a habit. Han Xiao had never planned to leave Floating Dragon from the beginning, and he was not someone so easily convinced.
Ames had provided him with so much help, all favors, and their relationship had been slowly but surely building. If it switched to Heber, he would have to build a relationship with his boss once again. Furthermore, the title ‘Tyrant’ did not sound very friendly. Bloodshed Land had way more rules than Floating Dragon, so it was impossible for them to show tolerance as Ames did for him.
Most importantly… I’m the one and only leader of the Floating Dragon Field Team. It’d be crazy for me to go to your place and be your number nine!
Malekith’s smile completely vanished, and he glared at Han Xiao directly with a cold expression.
Han Xiao did not retreat and stared back while secretly prepared for combat.
The atmosphere became stiff.
Just as Han Xiao thought they were going to have a battle, Malekith suddenly snorted heavily and walked away.
Han Xiao loosened up and exhaled through his mouth.
It seemed like there was not going to be a fight. Black Star Army was going through a very important phase of its development, so it was best not to be on bad terms with Bloodshed Land.
This time, a spaceship with the marking of Bloodshed Land flew there from the sky. This was Malekith’s real ship, hidden on the other side of the planet.
Malekith walked up the stairs. Suddenly, he stopped the hatch that was about to close, looked at Han Xiao, and said with a deep voice, “Black Star, we will meet again very soon.”
Then, without concern about Han Xiao’s reaction, he let go of the hatch and let it close. Bloodshed Land’s spaceship quickly rose up and disappeared.
Meet again very soon… What does that mean? They’re going to find a chance to deal with me? Or does it mean something else?
“Never mind, Bloodshed Land’s territory isn’t in Colton Star Cluster anyway, so it’s very unlikely for them to come here for me. Since Floating Dragon and Bloodshed Land are peacefully coexisting, they definitely will not make big moves because of me.”
Han Xiao shook his head. After he thought it through, he was not worried about it anymore.
“Right, I’m here to hand over the hostage.” He suddenly remembered his original reason for being there.
After fighting with Malekith, he had almost forgotten the purpose of this trip.
Han Xiao went back to near the galactic pirate spaceship. Befuli was lying on the ground not moving, surrounded by a few lightly injured galactic pirates. They glanced at the BlackLight Stealth hovering above them. It looked like they were uncertain as to whether they should take Befuli away or not.
Upon hearing the footsteps, these galactic pirates turned around and saw Han Xiao walking toward them. They shivered as fear emerged in their eyes. Their bodies stiffened on the spot, and they did not dare move even an inch.
Initially, they did not have to meet, so their safety was ensured, but now that Han Xiao was right in front of them, they were afraid that would be the end of their lives. Furthermore, Befuli’s skeletal appearance horrified them. They did not know what torture Befuli had gone through for him to end up like that, but they were certain that they did not want to experience the same.
Han Xiao glanced at them and casually grabbed a galactic pirate. They walked up the pillaging ship. The galactic pirate pointed the way, shivering, and they soon arrived at the prison cell.
However, the cell was empty.
“Where are my people‽” demanded Han Xiao with a threatening tone as he pressed onto the galactic pirate’s scalp, tightening his fingers slowly.
“I—I don’t know… they disappeared one and a half days ago!”
Feeling like his head was going to explode, the galactic pirate quickly explained.
Disappeared? Han Xiao raised his eyebrows. Then it occurred to him. Damn it, these kids logged off! He let go of the galactic pirate.
They probably went to sleep.
“One and a half days ago, which means they’ll be coming online pretty soon. I could wait for a while…”
Han Xiao realized a problem, and he grabbed the galactic pirate’s head once again.
“The hostages are gone, but you still want to make the deal. Are you mocking me?”
The galactic pirate was on the verge of crying.
We were all controlled by that demon. How could we tell you?
This time, flashes of white light appeared in the cell. A few Guild of Gods players came online and saw Black Star immediately—they were overjoyed.
“Quick, tell the leader. The Hidden Storyline is finally here!”
Less than twenty seconds later, more white light flashed. Jupiter and the others came online at the same time. They were all thrilled to see Han Xiao.
“What?” The galactic pirate rubbed his eyes to make sure that he was not hallucinating.
Han Xiao opened the cell and took the others out of the spaceship, throwing the galactic pirate in his hands onto the ground.
“Contact Sykes, our deal remains.”
The shock on this galactic pirate’s face turned into surprise.
The hostages had been snatched away, and they were in Black Star’s hands. There was nothing to threaten him. Yet, Black Star still wanted to let them go and give them Befuli?
“Yo—You still want to carry out the deal?” A galactic pirate could not help but ask. It was hard to believe.
“What, do you not want to?” Han Xiao asked back.
“No no no, you misunderstood, let’s go according to the deal.” The galactic pirates hastily denied it. They were filled with the joy of escaping death.
A galactic pirate quickly contacted Sykes and explained the situation.
Sykes was stunned. He had never expected Bloodshed Land’s people to interfere, which completely came out of nowhere.
However, even though the deal was affected, Black Star surprisingly did not change his mind…
Were my threats effective?
Sykes could only think of this as the reason.
He suddenly felt much better about himself. Haha, I managed to threaten someone so renowned.
Without caring about the communication between the galactic pirates, Han Xiao took Jupiter and the others aside, had the BlackLight Stealth land, and opened the hatch.
“You guys go into the ship. Risda will take you to the nearest city planet.”
Jupiter’s eyes gleamed and passionately said, “We want to help you to fight the enemies. Please let us assist you.”
This was such a rare opportunity. He felt that he could definitely trigger the hidden mission.
Han Xiao saw right through Jupiter’s intentions. Speechless, he wrote a mission on the spot and gave it to these players.
_____________________
You have triggered Hidden Mission [Retreat]
Mission Introduction: You’ve been dragged into a storm, but you still can’t interfere with your current strength. What you need to do now is retreat from here as soon as possible.
Mission Requirements: Leave in the BlackLight Stealth
Reward: 350,000 Experience, +200 Black Star Army Favorability
_____________________
“Let’s go!” Jupiter turned around and walked into BlackLight Stealth without hesitation.
The Guild of Gods players followed and all boarded.
Poseidon gave Jupiter a thumbs up. “If we boarded the ship without saying anything, we wouldn’t have triggered this mission. Thank you, leader.”
Jupiter smiled smugly and pointed at his temple. “This is experience. Learn from it.”
Although this mission was quite different from what he had thought it would be, Jupiter felt that it w
as very likely a high level event after he read the mission introduction, but they did not meet the requirements to trigger it. Hence, it had become [Retreat]. Although it was quite a shame that was the case, they could only follow the mission. It was better than nothing, after all.
Han Xiao was still standing outside waiting for the galactic pirate’s reply.
After a while, a galactic pirate trotted over and cautiously said, “Your Excellency Black Star, if there’s nothing else, we will be taking Befuli away.”
“Go, don’t mess with me again. I won’t let you go next time.” Han Xiao waved and boarded his spaceship.
Only then did the galactic pirate breathe a sigh of relief. He quickly went back and notified his friends. They started up the pillage ship, hovering above the surface.
Just as the pillage ship was about to speed up and take off, behind the BlackLight Stealth hatch, gray light appeared in Han Xiao’s eyes. He activated his Racial Talent and turned into Chaos Body. His physical form was gone, and he turned into gray fog.
Advanced Void Travel!
Entering the Void Vision, time seemed to have stopped. Han Xiao controlled his Chaos Body and left the BlackLight Stealth. As the duration of [Advanced Void Travel] was longer, he had more than enough time to cross a large distance and go near the pillaging ship.
Void Travel allowed him to go through walls. His Chaos Body went directly through the pillaging ship hatch, then found a distant cabin to hide. He deactivated Void Travel, without triggering the alarm, without getting noticed by the galactic pirates.
Hu!
The next moment, the pillaging ship quickly rose into the sky and flew away.
Chapter 597 - Behind Enemy Lines Alone
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
The BlackLight Stealth took Jupiter and the others to the nearest planet with a city.
Jupiter and the others walked around the interior of the spaceship curiously. This was Black Star’s personal spaceship, and it was extremely rare for players to board it.
Risda locked up the doors to a large portion of the spaceship, and the players were only able to explore some unimportant public regions.
“This spaceship must be extremely precious, right?” Poseidon muttered.
“I searched it before. This spaceship is the model of an advanced civilization.” Jupiter nodded in agreement.
Now that the players had their own communicators, they could connect to the galactic network, getting rid of their status as a backward aboriginals. All the various channels of information were finally opened to them, and their knowledge increased every day. Together with Phillip’s ability to search the web, they were able to search for any information they wished, and the players gradually grew used to searching for any questions they had.
“A spaceship is far too expensive. Who knows when we will be able to afford one?” Poseidon shook his head.
“Not necessarily. As long as we complete a few missions and raise some funds from the guild, it would be possible for us to buy a basic spaceship.”
Jupiter was the guild leader of a prestigious club and would always have some plans. The resources that he had control over were also something that an ordinary player would not be able to compare to. A spaceship that had a sky-high price in the player’s eyes was just about achievable as long as he gathered funds from the guild. After all, the guild of a club was essentially a company. All the core members of the guild were employees of the guild, and redistributing resources was an extremely simple affair.
He was considering the type of advantage having a spaceship earlier would bring him and whether it was worth the resources.
Right at that moment, a core member with the name of ‘Michael’ said, “Guild Master, we can actually buy a functional model instead. I previously checked the market for materials and fuel. Many large corporations are collecting these resources without any limit. While the prices are low, the profits are stable.”
Jupiter’s eyes lit up, and he said, “You mean we should buy a mining spaceship?”
“Yes, we should organize a mining expedition and mine for resources on an uninhabited planet. We can then sell these resources to earn a steady profit.”
“We wouldn’t be able to recover our costs too quickly at the start,” Michael added. “However, if we complete missions while mining for resources, we would be able to gather enough funds to purchase more mining spaceships. After a period of accumulation, our profits will increase and snowball. If we can form a whole fleet of mining spaceships, our profits will definitely increase exponentially.”
Jupiter was moved by this proposition. “So, the earlier we buy a mining spaceship the greater our profits?”
“That’s right.” Michael nodded. “Presently, everyone is focused on completing employment missions, and the benefits are plentiful. However, unions like Dynasty and King City, which are able to mobilize a large number of players, will be looking for other ways to make money as well. Time waits for no one.”
Apart from making money, their responsibility as the guild of a club was also to provide better logistical support for the professional players. Jupiter could not help but fall into deep thought.
Poseidon then looked at Michael and said, “Are you in cahoots with the members of the other guilds? Quickly exit the group chat to prove your innocence!”
“Scram to the side.” Michael showed his middle finger in response.
Poseidon then looked at the luxurious interior of the spaceship and said, “Wouldn’t we be able to make heaps of profit by snatching this spaceship? We should be able to leave Dynasty far behind in the dust.”
Everyone looked at him speechlessly.
“You are actually the spy, right?” Michael teased back in response.
“Tsk, a casual remark of mine has all of you so anxious.” Poseidon clicked his tongue in response.
…
Going from the pickup point to the Fawn Star System required one to go through a few stargates, and the journey was not a short one.
However, in order to get rid of Sykes, a hidden danger, Han Xiao decided to wait patiently.
The pirates’ spaceship was flying in space, and Han Xiao’s Chaos Body was stuck to the wall of the spaceship in a very concealed spot. This made Han Xiao realize that the talent of the Chaos Observer was extremely suitable for conducting such non-rigorous stealth operations. To him, any operation that did not end up with him silencing all eye witnesses was considered non-rigorous.
Because he was currently in his Chaos Body form, Han Xiao did not have anything to do. As such, he could only scroll through the forums every day and understand how the players were doing in their various missions through the posts. Because they had not entered the galaxy for a long time, the players were pretty obedient, and most of the missions went pretty smoothly. Everything was also going smoothly with the 200,000 mercenaries on Planet Sunil.
The situation made Han Xiao feel at ease.
Apart from looking through the forums, Han Xiao spent his time looking through the [Observer’s Mark]. He spied on Aroshia, Serbia the Fifth, and Herlous to pass the time.
After around ten days, the pirate ship finally left the Garton Star System and entered the Fawn Star System. Soon, they linked up together with the main troops.
The Purple Snake Space Pirates had more than forty battleships with the majority being small to medium sized pillaging ships. The flagship was a modified Crow Grade battleship, which was the main battleship model in the Fawn Star System. A space pirate fleet of such a scale was not one to be underestimated.
The spaceship flew into the fleet and met up with the flagship. A few space pirates supported the feeble Befuli through the walkway to the main hall of the flagship. Sykes was already waiting there with all his subordinates filling up the main hall. The other three Grade B Officers were standing beside him.
The moment Sykes saw the frail Befuli, he stood up abruptly and ran over with a questioning gaze.
&
nbsp; “Befuli, how were you reduced to such a state?”
Befuli looked at Sykes with his lips trembling and tears in his eyes. He said in a choking tone, “Black Star is a demon!”
“What exactly did he do to you?” Sykes sized Befuli up from head to toe. In his memory, Befuli was a burly well-built man, but the Befuli before him looked like a rack of bones that would crumble at any moment.
Not just him, even the other space pirates looked over with disbelief in their eyes. They did not dare believe that this powerful comrade of theirs would be reduced to such a state.
Just what could have happened that would reduce a Grade B Super to such a state‽
The moment Befuli thought about his hell-like days, he could not help but reveal a face full of fear as he trembled.
“He… he locked me up in a dark cabin, and I don’t even know how long had passed since then. He used some equipment to extract my Super-Gene, and my recovery speed became slower and slower. Even now, I have only been able to recover a little bit…”
Those who had strength would fear losing it the most. Every time he recovered a bit of strength, it would be mercilessly taken away from him again. After experiencing this endless loop of hopelessness together with the fact that he was locked up in a dark chamber, he lost all sense of time and suffered a huge psychological blow.
Upon hearing that, Sykes could not help but tremble slightly and regret his decision of provoking Black Star.
He had never imagined that Black Star was not only powerful but a pervert as well!
Sykes had only taken the risk to threaten Black Star because of Befuli’s strength as a Grade B Super. However, Befuli was as good as crippled already and would need a long time to recover. Sykes only needed a useful Officer, not a crippled subordinate.
Even the other Officers who had friction with Befuli could not help but feel a sense of fear in their hearts when seeing Befuli in such a state.
“Black Star probably insisted on doing this exchange by making use of Befuli as an example to threaten us,” another Grade B space pirate said.
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