The Legendary Mechanic, page 392
Han Xiao could not help but ask, “Do you have any friends or relatives?”
Lagi let out a depressed sigh and slowly said, “Just treat it as I don’t have any.”
Han Xiao rolled his eyes in response.
If he gave Lagi a cigarette and stubble grew all over his chin, the picture would be complete.
To think that such a depressed and lifeless individual was actually able to reach Grade A. Just what kind of tragic event happened in his life to transform him into such a depressed individual, or could it be that he had always been like that since young? If it was the latter, Han Xiao truly could not imagine what kind of a talent Lagi had.
Could it be that I picked up a protagonist level character? Han Xiao was extremely tempted to give Lagi a slap to see his attributes.
Right at this moment, all the organizations that were present had found their returning officers and were prepared to leave. Before they left, they all bade farewell to Han Xiao.
After fighting together this time, Han Xiao had built a good relationship with all these organizations, and his personal influence extended beyond the Colton Star Cluster.
Forming alliances and searching for allies was also an important aspect of developing his organization. Han Xiao’s goal was to have friends all around the Star Field, and he had taken the first step in that direction.
The Star Beast Organization was extremely grateful to Han Xiao saving their leader, Gobili. They had never made any deals with outsiders but had expressed their willingness to enter a business partnership with the Black Star Army.
The Star Beast Organization only started to hire outsiders during Version 3.0, and players could complete faction missions to earn favorability points. Players could purchase rare Genetic Medicine and could even purchase pets and mounts. Since players already had spaceships, the purpose of a mount was only to increase their swag.
Han Xiao wanted to purchase a few rare galactic beast materials to upgrade his (Intermediate Strengthened Life) talent.
The last time, he had consumed the core of the Void Lord and confirmed this idea of his. Han Xiao needed rare materials that could fulfil this condition, and the Star Beast Organization was undoubtedly the experts in this field. They agreed without any hesitation and promised to complete the request.
There were a few lone wolves among those who were saved. Despite rejecting Han Xiao’s recruitment, they left behind their contact numbers and promised to aid Black Star if he needed their help in the future.
Han Xiao treated this as a hidden trump card to be played in the future. The words of a Grade A Super could definitely be trusted.
Albert’s gang of six became Han Xiao’s captives, and after dismantling their headquarters, Han Xiao left together with Ames.
…
A few days later, the huge incident that Han Xiao had directed exploded in the Shattered Star Ring and caused another huge wave!
Including the seven Star Cluster level civilization, countless organizations in the Shattered Star Ring were shocked by the chaos that Han Xiao had created.
Numerous organizations from all directions had responded to Black Star’s summons and formed a force that even Star Cluster level civilizations would not dare to underestimate. Since when did Black Star have such a huge influence?
Ames had also participated in the operation, which allowed many to draw their own conclusions.
All the while, the Dragon Emperor had appeared to be a weak, neutral party. While the appearance of the Black Star Army had gradually increased the prestige of Floating Dragon, it was not enough to change the impression that most people had of Floating Dragon.
But this time, many individuals had misunderstood Han Xiao’s actions to be those of Floating Dragon. They all thought that Floating Dragon was trying to flex their might and could not help but be startled.
Floating Dragon had unknowingly formed such a large alliance, and the seven Star Cluster civilizations could not help but reevaluate Floating Dragon’s position.
As a beyond Grade A Super, Ames had always seemed disinterested in vying for power and influence. However, she seemed to have been getting more and more active since Black Star joined Floating Dragon. Black Star seemed to be the catalyst that allowed Floating Dragon to have a drastic transformation and rise rapidly.
After this incident, the strength that Floating Dragon had displayed planted some ideas in the minds of some private organizations.
With a beyond Grade A Super at the helm, as long as Floating Dragon wished, they would definitely be able to draw many to their side. If Han Xiao could draw more supporters for Floating Dragon, he would also receive benefits from it.
The other outcome of this operation was the ‘truth’ that Albert had revealed. Klent ended up becoming the scapegoat and was criticized by every organization within the Shattered Star Ring.
In truth, many civilizations had performed such an act before and had a tacit understanding with each other. However, the moment such an act was exposed, they would undoubtedly become the target for all criticism.
The Klent Kingdom was truly miserable. They were shot even while lying down, with a calamity falling on their heads even though they did not do anything.
Klent naturally released an official statement to deny their involvement, but it was not of any use.
Many organizations began to become wary of Klent after this incident. While living in turbulent times, every organization had no choice but to be on high alert.
In truth, Albert did indeed work together with Klent. However, Klent did no more than provide them with intelligence. Albert and the others came from another Star Field, and Klent was not their true master. Klent had indeed decided to provide intelligence to this group of six with the intention to kill with a borrowed sword and muddy the waters within the Shattered Star Ring. Thus, Klent truly was not maligned at all.
For such an incident to explode when they were in conflict with Purple Crystal, this was akin to providing Purple Crystal with more allies without doing anything. The Klents truly suffered a loss and were extremely frustrated by the incident.
Black Star’s actions had disrupted Klent’s original plans.
The Bloodshed Land had no choice but to adjust their plan and delay the time for war.
The Blacklight Stealth was currently on its way to the Garton Star System. In the spaceship, Han Xiao was currently extracting the Super-Genes of the six Supers. He had extracted a few dozen tubes of Super-Genes, and the six of them were extremely weak.
The (Prey] mission was not over yet, and the third phase had not been refreshed. The mastermind behind this incident would be his enemy for sure. In order to command six Grade A Supers who were all extremely close to having the strength of A+, the mastermind was definitely no simple character.
“I have said before. Klent is the one giving us orders,” Albert said weakly.
Han Xiao shook his head and replied, “I didn’t stop all of you from framing Klent because this is in line with my objectives. However, this doesn’t mean that I truly believe you. I know that torture may not be useful to all of you. Thankfully, I brought a specialist for this.”
Aesop then walked into the room. Aesop had also joined in the fun together with Ames and had always been on the spaceship. Aesop’s Esper ability was extremely suitable for finding clues, and it would not matter if Albert and the others did not want to speak. Aesop naturally did not mind doing Han Xiao a small favor.
“Old man, I shall hand them over to you.” Han Xiao moved out of the way.
Aesop touched the six of them and shut his eyes to use his Esper ability. After a long while, he opened his eyes with a strange look on his face.
“Old man, any luck?”
“I can’t believe that it’s them,” Aesop muttered to himself with a grave voice. “Black Star, you have truly provoked some extraordinary characters.”
Han Xiao’s eyes narrowed, and he replied, “I didn’t provoke them; they set their eyes on me.”
“You are right. The winds howl around the highest peaks, and you can only blame yourself for being unlucky.” Aesop sighed. “I thought that I would never have any more dealings with this group of individuals. Anything related to them will become extremely troublesome.”
“Stop beating about the bush. Who exactly are they?”
“Have you heard of The Ancient Ones?”
Han Xiao’s expression changed, and a solemn look could be seen on his face.
He naturally knew about this famous organization. Even in his previous life, The Ancient Ones was a famous organization among the players. Furthermore, Risda had also mentioned that Manison from the Mechanic Empire was also a member of The Ancient Ones.
This organization was extremely special. They did not have many members, and their members were in different Star Fields. They were all top figures in the galaxy and had lived for an extremely long time. The organization was one without much restriction, and it could be understood as a top social circle in the galaxy. Even the three great civilizations had to treat them with respect.
In the (Calamity of the Supers) storyline, many of The Ancient Ones beyond Grade A Supers formed their own faction, and Manison was one of them.
Aesop had once been a member but had withdrawn after that.
“You are saying that The Ancient Ones are the mastermind?”
The Ancient Ones was indeed an organization that he could not afford to provoke yet.
“I’m not sure. I did not manage to see any details; I was only able to see that this matter is related to The Ancient Ones,” Aesop explained.
Upon hearing that, Han Xiao looked at Albert. Albert had a tranquil expression on his face and did not show any change in expression as though it had nothing to do with them. Who knew if he was putting on an act?
After thinking for a while, Han Xiao bent down and looked at Albert in the eyes, “Are The Ancient Ones your true master?”
“No.” Albert frowned. “I’ve said more than once that it’s Klent. It is up to you if you want to believe me.”
Han Xiao frowned and raised his brows. “If this matter isn’t related to The Ancient Ones, you would have been extremely glad for me to provoke them.”
Albert fell silent and no longer said a word.
Han Xiao could not be sure that The Ancient Ones were his final enemy. Furthermore, The Ancient Ones were a loose organization, and it could be the plan of just a single member.
What a coincidence. This is the second matter related to The Ancient Ones. First, it was Aroshia, and now them… Han Xiao pondered to himself. It was truly too much of a coincidence.
Regardless of whether the mastermind is The Ancient Ones, I can’t deal with them for now. Before reaching beyond Grade A, it will be difficult for me to even protect myself. Han Xiao’s mood was heavy. The enemy had already set their eyes on him, and with Albert and the others caught, new enemies would definitely appear. However, he did not even know the identity of his enemy.
This threat made him feel an immense sense of pressure.
However, worrying would not be able to change anything. There was currently a problem before him. Just how should he deal with his six captives?
It would not be a good choice for him to lock them up and squeeze them like orange juice. They were not rookie galactic pirates, and if they managed to escape, Han Xiao would not be able to suppress them. Furthermore, Han Xiao probably would not be able to find out anything else from them, so keeping them would only be a risk.
Eliot could feel Han Xiao’s killing intent, and his body shuddered.
[1] Lagi is pronounced the same as trash in Mandarin.
Chapter 645. Galaxy Pro League Season Two |
Han Xiao first returned to Floating Dragon to drop Ames and Aesop back. He then killed Albert and the others without hesitation. On the way to Floating Dragon, he had made a lot of Genetic Medicine from the six of them.
He was not planning to lock the six of them in the Galactic Pirates’ Warm Little House because he did not want to take that risk. He was never soft-hearted toward enemies.
After killing the six of them, Han Xiao received a lot of Experience and a few Character Summon Cards.
Albert and the others were very calm toward death; only Eliot was panicking and furious. Nonetheless, none of them revealed the true identity of the mastermind till the end. This did not affect Han Xiao in his decision to kill them, but he was surprised by their loyalty.
Someone that could make a Grade A+ this sincere was definitely terrifying. That someone being a Beyond Grade A was the only possibility. No matter which member of The Ancient Ones the mastermind was, it was not someone he could deal with.
He would definitely become that person’s enemy now that he had killed that person’s subordinates. Han Xiao had no other choice. The enemy had targeted him, and he could not have not resisted. Thus, it was unavoidable.
The third round of (Prey) had yet to appear. He had no idea how strong the next attack would be. The only good news was that at least Beyond Grade As would not casually go to another Star Field, which meant that he would not have to fight a Beyond Grade A. Nonetheless, he still felt immense pressure.
For that, Aesop personally did a one-time ‘fortune-telling’ on him. He roughly foresaw that this issue regarding the hunters had come to an end for the moment, and that nothing would happen any time soon. This made Han Xiao feel relieved.
Star Fields were separated by very wide desolate regions. Whether it was traveling across Star Fields or getting information across, they were not easy things to do. Now that Albert and the others had died, the enemy would not be able to get to him shortly.
Han Xiao’s position in Floating Dragon had been rising. He was Ames’ best assistant, and Aesop had high hopes for him. On the way to Floating Dragon, he told him quite a lot of secrets about The Ancient Ones and helped Han Xiao guess who the mastermind was.
The Ancient Ones were not united; every member had their ambitions. The reason they had formed an organization was to fuse the members’ influence into one and obtain a superior position in the universe, benefiting all the members. They rarely did anything using The Ancient Ones’ name.
Aesop felt that the master of Albert and the others was just one member of The Ancient Ones. At least that was much better than the entire The Ancient Ones.
After killing Albert and the others, the matter had come to an end. Han Xiao took Lagi back to the Base No.1 in the Garton Star System. Lagi was the only Grade A officer in the Black Star Army. Han Xiao introduced him to the other officers and let everyone know that there was a newcomer. Lagi had just escaped from imprisonment and was still rather isolated. He did not communicate with the others and went to familiarize himself with the environment. Han Xiao did not give Lagi any jobs yet.
With his Grade A strength, he was more than qualified to be the deputy captain. However, Lagi had just joined, and Han Xiao felt that he needed to know more about him more before giving him any important positions.
The secret war between Klent and Purple Crystal would not start any time soon, so Han Xiao could not increase his relationship with Purple Crystal even if he wanted to. There was nothing urgent to do, so he was quite free.
During the time he went out to look for trouble, there happened to be one huge matter that had attracted the attention of the players.
Pro League Season Two was about to start!
Some players uploaded the video of a scrimmage between tens of Calamity Grades, showcasing the Black Star Networking Group’s ability. Bun-Hit-Dog’s new video also mentioned information about the next version, which was related to the Crimson Dynasty as Han Xiao had said. These posts all got Han Xiao some attention. However, compared to the popularity of the Pro League, everything else was pushed side. Even he could not compete with the Pro League for popularity.
It was already the late stage of Version 2.0. Galaxy’s players had been steadily increasing through the version. Although it had not reached the explosive increase stage, there were already many players.
The first season was quite successful. There were now many people paying attention to the second season. Galaxy Times had been talking about the Pro League for a few consecutive episodes, heating things up.
Han Xiao returned to his room, took out a bottle of ‘Handsome and Happy’ water and gulped it down. He then opened the latest Galaxy Times episode. This was the last episode before the start of the Pro League. It was their last effort to add more wood to the flames of this huge event.
The two hosts showed off their ability to make cold jokes before talking about the main focus of the episode, emphasizing on the rules of the second season of the Pro League.
Version 2.0 added a few novice planets. However, most players had already left their novice planets and entered space. Hence, the divisions were adjusted and were no longer based on novice planets. The divisions were now based on Star Fields that had novice planets in them. As some novice planets were in the same Star Field, they were combined into the same division.
There had been thirteen divisions in the previous season, but now there were nine. This meant that the teams of some countries would meet before the main event. Strong teams would face off against each other to qualify for the next stage. Even though more teams were allowed to advance this season, the competition would still be more intense.
The locations for the divisions were no longer on novice planets but a few nearby unpopulated planets in every division. The entire planet would be the venue. As the players had already entered the galaxy, they would definitely be able to come to the venue.
The format did not change much; it was still Singles and Groups.
There had only been three types of battles in the previous season-Duel, Groups, and Singles. One more was added this season-Survival. As the name suggested, it was about surviving. This would appear both in the point-based Division Regulars and the International Regulars. There would also be two types of Survival matches, one for teams and one for single players.
