by <unknown>
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!
Chapter 394. Speed and Motion Sickness |
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.