The Legendary Mechanic, page 436
The most special part of this was that there were thick, long roots growing on the surface of this planet that extended all the way to outside the atmosphere and into outer space. The ends of these roots then reached into a stable wormhole.
The EsGod doppelganger focused on it and suddenly realized that he was looking at it upside down.
These enormous roots did not grow out from the planet but extended out from the wormhole and connected to the planet surface This meant that these roots did not grow from the ground but inside the wormhole. The planet was the end of these roots.
Lights of all sorts of colors appeared at the end of these roots and entered the wormhole as if these roots were nutrient pipes sucking the energy of this planet.
Having seen this through the doppelganger, inside the Fallen Ark’s hall, the hooded man on the throne, EsGod, opened his eyes.
“Interesting.”
Chapter 705. Transfer |
In the Seoul Star Cluster was a Klent military fortress planet that supposedly repaired and manufactured battleships, but in reality, this was the headquarters of the Klent Confidential Strategy Department. The Confidential Strategy Department was Klent’s secret department that executed missions that were not exactly suitable to be made known to the public.
Those sensitive operations such as funding DarkStar, contacting the Fallen Ark, and the like were the Confidential Strategy Department’s job.
The authority level of the Confidential Strategy Department was extremely high. Even its internal members were just allowed to access information about their own mission and not the data of the other operations from the database. The garrison on this planet was not just for disguise but also to prevent the Confidential Strategy Department members from betraying and leaking the secrets.
The secret war was run by the Bloodshed Land, which did not take commands from Klent. Although Klent did not interfere with the war on the surface, without the Bloodshed Land knowing, they carried out secret missions to influence the secret war privately.
Sending the DarkStar leader to take the EsGod doppelganger and banish Black Star was their plan. They thought that it would almost definitely be successful, but they received information that they had lost contact with the DarkStar leader and were shocked. Regretful, they quickly hosted a meeting to discuss how to deal with it.
“The banishment mission failed. The worst outcome is that the DarkStar guy fell into Black Star’s hands and exposed his relationship with us. We must immediately erase any traces of us ever having contact with DarkStar.”
“Black Star might not be able to find out the truth. We have already instructed the DarkStar guy that no matter what situation he gets caught in, he has to take full responsibility, saying that everything was his plan, his alone, and that no one was behind him. He won’t rat Klent out; he knows the consequences.”
“We can’t rely on luck. We have to prepare for the worst. Black Star is very alert and skeptical. He will connect the DarkStar guy and the EsGod doppelganger to us. Furthermore, it’s not the first time he’s used us as the scapegoat. Even if the DarkStar guy doesn’t say anything, he can still fabricate a verbal confession to make us take the blame. I know him too well!”
“Yes, there’s a very high chance that Black Star will do this. He doesn’t have any morals and is a dangerous man who will do anything to achieve his goal. We must let the Foreign Affairs Department people insist on this being a slanderous act.”
“One more thing, temporarily stop all assassination attempts on Black Star. The success rate is way too low. Even the EsGod doppelganger wasn’t able to get rid of him. Without a Beyond Grade A, Black Star will probably be impossible to deal with. Also, after this, Black Star will definitely be more careful. It will be very difficult to find a chance like this again.
The people quickly decided on the report and handed it to the superior. This attack failed, but there was no point in them feeling regretful. All they could do was their best at recovering the situation.
Who would have thought that even EsGod could not get rid of Black Star!
On Godora’s mother planet, Serbia the Fifth was finalizing some files. This time, his private communicator received a communication request.
Serbia the Fifth took a look, and his eyes sparkled it was from Black Star.
Only very important people could contact him through his private communicator, and Han Xiao was one of them.
“Your Excellency Black Star, what is it?” Serbia the Fifth cut to the chase. He had to deal with tons of issues every day, so he did not think that Black Star would call him just to chat.
“I caught the DarkStar leader. I plan to hand him over to you guys, but I need to see you personally,” Han Xiao said.
Stunned, Serbia the Fifth suddenly stood up and exclaimed, “You caught him?”
The DarkStar leader, who had escaped, had always been an issue in his mind. Every day, he worried about DarkStar rising again. He did not expect Han Xiao to suddenly bring him such a huge surprise.
About ten days later, Han Xiao returned to the Black Star Army’s headquarters in the Garton Star System. Harrofal left halfway and went back to report what had happened back at the observation station.
At this time, the large dock of the Black Star Army’s headquarters was filled with throngs of people. Serbia the Fifth had been waiting with his guards, and beside him was a Purple Crystal emissary. Countless reporters surrounded them from outside the guards and kept taking photos, and further away were the rubbernecking mercenaries who heard about the news.
The reporters chatted among themselves.
“Purple Crystal and Godora are welcoming Black Star together. What does this mean? Why did the people above tell us to come here? Is there some big news?”
“Who knows? I heard that this is a press conference invitation announced by Purple Crystal. Although they did not state the reason, who’d dare reject it? There is definitely something important to be announced that will make our trip worth it.”
All the reporters there were invited, and they did not know what they had to report, but no one would reject Purple Crystal.
Furthermore, the location was at the Black Star Army’s headquarters. They had a feeling that as long as Black Star was involved, it would definitely be newsworthy. Therefore, although they knew nothing, they were passionate and curious about what was going to happen.
Inviting the reporters was Han Xiao’s request. He planned to make the handover of the DarkStar leader sensational news in order to increase his influence. Also, this would make the scapegoating more effective. After contacting Godora, he had contacted Purple Crystal.
Purple Crystal had been shocked by the information about EsGod doppelganger, only to feel relieved when they saw that Han Xiao was okay.
After hearing Han Xiao’s plan, Purple Crystal had immediately agreed. They fully supported any plan to cause problems for Klent. Hence, they had invited various galactical media outlets to attend the handover ceremony of the DarkStar leader. Only, they wanted to create some suspense, so they did not tell them what was this about.
Han Xiao’s spaceship stopped at the dock, attracting everyone’s attention. They subconsciously held their breath, and the place became silent.
Under the attention of everyone present, the hatch opened, and Han Xiao walked out. Only then did the blaring noise come back.
Serbia the Fifth and the Purple Crystal emissary quickly approached to welcome and talk to Han Xiao. The reporters started to video everything.
Brock was mixed in the crowd. His eyes kept looking over to Serbia the Fifth. As a DarkStar spy, he suppressed his hatred for the current highest leader of Godora so that others would not notice.
Han Xiao and Serbia the Fifth spoke a few words. Then, they looked around at the reporters and smiled.
“Let’s get down to business.”
Han Xiao turned around and looked at the hatch. Two Oathkeepers escorted the unkempt DarkStar leader out.
Everyone looked at the DarkStar leader. Confusion, perplexity, and similar emotions appeared in their eyes—most of them did not recognize the DarkStar leader.
This time, Serbia the Fifth spoke at just the right time and loudly announced, “This man is the DarkStar leader who has been on the run for years. Godora has spent a huge amount of effort but never managed to catch this evil man. This time, thanks to His Excellency Black Star’s help, this criminal has been captured. On behalf of Godora, we sincerely thank you!”
Then, he bowed slightly toward Han Xiao.
As the highest leader of a civilization, he represented the entire civilization in showing gratitude to Han Xiao. This instantly sparked shock among the crowd!
“That’s the DarkStar leader?”
“So, today is about the handover of this fugitive. No wonder we were invited to report it.”
Serbia the Fifth continued. “The DarkStar organization has been a menace to Godora for a very long time, causing the deaths of many civilians. We will have a public trial for this evil monster, giving justice to all the people of Godora. I hereby announce, the DarkStar organization is no more!”
There were some Godorans among the crowd, and they started cheering loudly.
Brock, however, was stunned. He looked at the unkempt DarkStar leader blankly. His legs turned wobbly, and he almost fell. His entire body shivered, unable to believe what was happening right before his eyes.
He had been waiting for the DarkStar leader to contact him, waiting to advise the leader not to mess with Black Star. But never would he have thought, when the leader finally appeared for the first time after so many years, he had already become Black Star’s captive.
Then what was the point of me hiding in the Black Star Army?
Everything is wasted!
As if struck by lightning, Brock was petrified and bewildered.
The galactic reporters were elated. Godora’s highest leader personally announcing the end of the DarkStar meant that Godora had completely eliminated their archenemy. It was indeed big news.
However, they did not know that this was just an appetizer. There was more shocking news afterward.
“Me meeting the DarkStar leader wasn’t an accident. Everyone, please watch,” Han Xiao said as nanoparticles turned into a tiny hovering sphere above his palm and generated a projection in the air.
Everyone looked over. It was the video of the battle between Han Xiao and the DarkStar leader.
The tactical analyzer of the mechanical suit had recorded the entire battle. Han Xiao felt that the video would be more effective than words, so he played it.
Everyone was shocked as they saw the DarkStar leader summon the EsGod doppelganger in the video. This time, Han Xiao spoke. “According to the data, the creature that the DarkStar leader summoned was the Lord of Fallen Ark’s doppelganger.”
Fallen Ark!
Every Star Field knew about this organization. DarkStar was connected to this extremely notorious organization?
Everyone was dumbfounded.
Suddenly, many reporters realized something. Stunned, they looked at Han Xiao.
Black Star was assaulted, yet he was standing right there unharmed. Did that not mean that Black Star had survived the attack of a Beyond Grade A?
Having noticed this, the entire place became silent. Countless eyes filled with shock focused on Han Xiao.
Although Han Xiao being a Beyond Grade A seed had become known by everyone in the Shattered Star Ring over the past few years, everyone knew that he was not really a Beyond Grade A yet. He was still extremely far from Beyond Grade As such as the Tyrant and Dragon Emperor.
Every organization only acknowledged how dominant Black Star was among the Calamity Grades and his future potential, but no one felt that Black Star could be viewed on the same level as those actual Beyond Grade As.
Now, however, Han Xiao had played a video of him fighting with a Beyond Grade A and surviving!
The reporters present were shaking with excitement as they quickly videoed the video that Han Xiao was playing. The Black Star Army members that had gone to rubberneck were also thrilled—the stronger their leader was, the brighter they felt their future would be.
Han Xiao did not play the complete video. He cut out the trip to the wormhole at the end and some parts showing his key abilities, but this was more than enough to boost his reputation.
Seeing the reporters’ faces were filled with excitement, and Han Xiao gave a look to the Purple Crystal emissary.
Understanding what Han Xiao meant, the Purple Crystal emissary took a step forward and said, “According to our investigation, we have discovered that the DarkStar leader was not acting on his own, and there were people behind him. Through our thorough investigation, we have discovered that Klent has been in contact with DarkStar secretly since long ago. We suspect that Klent might have been supporting DarkStar secretly to disrupt the safety of the Colton Star Cluster. Hence, on behalf of Purple Crystal, I announce that Purple Crystal will get involved in this matter. We will be holding the trial on the DarkStar leader together with Godora!”
The entire place was in an uproar!
The galactic reporters were not even excited anymore but completely stunned. This last piece of news was much more sensational than the previous two!
If what Purple Crystal said was true, this meant that Klent had been funding DarkStar to destroy civilizations all along. Furthermore, Klent would also be suspected of having contact with the Fallen Ark!
That was a taboo within the three Universal Civilizations!
Who would have thought that the DarkStar being caught would expose so much information!
At this moment, those reporters knew that this story would definitely cause a sensation in the entire Star Field!
Klent was going to suffer heavily!
Chapter 706. I've Become Black Star's Shape |
The three pieces of news were each more sensational than the last. Many galactic reporters were dizzy. Han Xiao smiled. He had achieved his goal.
He had used the DarkStar leader to gain some Faction Contribution Points, used his new combat record to gain reputation, and then made Klent a scapegoat again… no, this time, they were really responsible for it.
Looking around at the shocked reporters, Han Xiao nodded with approval.
“With these public opinion channels, in less than an hour, the Shock Department should already be coming online.”
Han Xiao, Godora, and Purple Crystal finished announcing the news and proceeded with the handover. Han Xiao officially passed the DarkStar leader to the people that Serbia the Fifth had brought along. A chain of notifications popped up on his interface. His Godora Favorability had already reached its maximum and had no space to even grow any more. His relationship with them had been fixed at [Reverence) since a few years back when he received the Golden Gal Badge.
The Favorability with Serbia the Fifth, however, was very close to the upper limit. Han Xiao felt that Serbia the Fifth looked at him with praise, trust, appreciation, and many other positive emotions.
As Han Xiao expected, he received something in terms of Legendary Points as well; however, it was not a new Legendary Point but the upgrade of an old one. The original Star System level (DarkStar Destroyer) had now become Star Cluster level, giving much higher bonuses to all kinds of Mission Reward Quotas.
Mission Reward Quotas had always been very important. This was a function of the NPC Interface that would not use his own Experience. Han Xiao had always been using the quota to give out rewards to the players and later earning those rewards back through various methods.
In Version 2.0, however, Han Xiao’s Faction Reward Quota had been too low. At that time, the size of the Black Star Army had yet to reach seven digits, and its territory was also limited to Godora’s land.
It was different now. In only three years, the Black Star Army had expanded dozens of times, Han Xiao’s Faction Reward Quota had also increased tremendously. If this growth speed continued to the start of Version 3.0, not to mention one million players, he would even be able to afford three million players.
Version 3.0 also happened to be the exploding stage of player count in his previous life.
Han Xiao had always felt that the Reward Quota was an overall evaluation of himself. The stronger he and his faction were, the higher his Reward Quota. It was somewhat like an evaluation to his overall influence.
The handover ceremony was brief. Han Xiao invited Serbia the Fifth into a private room. The two of them left the dock, and the press conference thus came to an end. The galactic reporters were very satisfied with what they got and felt that this trip was more than worth it. The crowd gradually dissipated.
Spiritless, Brock followed the crowd without a destination like a walking corpse.
The DarkStar leader was the last hope of the organization. Seeing that the leader had been captured, Brock knew that it was the end of the organization. He became lost.
The calling to hide for the sake of DarkStar’s rise was his direction in life, his motivation to work hard. Now, the organization that he had been fighting for had been destroyed, so Brock did not know what he would do in the future. He had lost his purpose.
Maybe the leader’s goal should be inherited by me. The hybrid Godorans’ future… shall be my responsibility!
Brock’s heart suddenly started burning. He felt like he seemed to have found a new purpose in life.
His numb eyes started to become vibrant, and a firm expression appeared on Brock’s face.
That’s right. I’m the last DarkStar member. As long as I’m still alive, it…
Before he fully regained his faith, Herlous happened to be walking toward him and spotted him. He recognized this motivated employee who was praised by the entire army, so he said, “Brock, the army is going to promote a batch of trainees. Quickly set up a large test for the training camp. All those who pass will become official members.”
