The Legendary Mechanic, page 629
“It isn’t much.” Han Xiao then sized this high official up. “This is our first meeting, right?”
“That’s right.” Ludwell nodded. “I have long heard of your great name.”
“You’re too polite. I have also long heard of your name.” Han Xiao smiled calmly.
Seeing Han Xiao’s friendly attitude, Ludwell’s impression of Han Xiao became even better. It was not that he had not talked to any Beyond Grade As before. However, a cold individual like Dark Lord liked to treat the warmness of others with a chilly attitude. Even the old dragon had the arrogance of a Beyond Grade A. It was rare to see such an amiable Beyond Grade A in the universe.
After chatting casually for a while, Ludwell expressed his gratitude. Since the other party had saved his grandson, he had to express some gratitude.
“We are all comrades of the dynasty, and I naturally did what I could. I cannot sit idly by the side when someone else causes chaos in the dynasty,” Han Xiao replied calmly.
A smile appeared briefly on Ludwell’s face, and he asked casually, “I heard that the Limitless Financial Group is expanding into the Shattered Star Ring?”
“That’s right. They are preparing to expand their operations. They are extremely wealthy, and I also suffered slightly. That Tyrant truly knows how to seize an opportunity.” Han Xiao understood the other party’s intentions and was slightly surprised.
“Hmm, I understand.” Ludwell smiled and said, “I will treat you to a meal the next time you come over. I have something else to do and shall hang up now.”
“See you next time.”
Ending the call, Han Xiao played with the communicator in his hands, and a smile could be seen on his face.
The Crimson Dynasty had long known about his competition with Bloodshed Land. However, it was not good for them to help either party, and thus, they had decided to ignore the matter entirely and watch from the side.
However, it seems like Ludwell was planning to aid him somehow.
Ludwell did not speak openly, and Han Xiao did not know how the other party would help him or whether the other party would even help him at all. It was extremely common for officials to speak in such a vague manner and let others guess their intentions.
Perhaps someone else would not have such authority, but Ludwell was the individual in charge of trade and economics in the dynasty! This matter was well within his influence!
If he’s willing to help, the effects will be significant, Han Xiao thought to himself.
Financial support was one thing, but financial cooperation was another. It was similar to the difference between giving a man a fish or teaching him how to fish. After the dynasty split up the pie in the Flickering World, the Crimson Dynasty would not have any new support plans for a long time in order to achieve balance. However, this was no longer so certain.
Feidin has allowed me to build a relationship with this high official, and I can make use of this relationship to deal with the Limitless Financial Group. Is this the legendary ‘following the protagonist for meat to eat’?
Beep beep…
At that moment, his communicator rang again. This time, it was someone he knew. The other party was Jabra’s superior and the Beyond Grade A ally who owned Enya Hub.
They had met a few years ago in the meeting to deal with EsGod, and Han Xiao had recorded the other party’s number. This was the first time that the other party had taken the initiative to call.
The reason for his call was simple. He was calling to thank Han Xiao for helping him maintain the security on his territory and invited Han Xiao over to be his guest. Both parties then exchanged some pleasantries before hanging up.
…
In his office, Ludwell placed his communicator down and thought for a moment before calling the internal channel.
“Contact Bekorodi for me.”
Bekorodi was a high official who also supported the idea of Black Star handing over the Evolution Cube. However, both parties were in different political factions. Ludwell belonged to the neutral faction whereas Bekorodi was an important figure in the hawk faction. Although both parties supported the notion of Black Star handing over the Evolution Cube, their methods were different.
As a member of the neutral faction, Ludwell would only bring up his ideas to Urranrell, but Bekorodi would take physical action.
Ludwell was in charge of the economic arena, and the actions of the Limitless Financial Group were within his observation. His experience told him that there should be a faction of the dynasty supporting the Limitless Financial Group from behind, and Bekorodi was the biggest suspect.
Ludwell did not plan to interfere with this matter in the past as it was in line with his neutral stance. Thus, he was not the mastermind but also pretended to ignore this matter.
However, he owed Black Star a favor now, and Ludwell decided to intervene with this matter. His stance would not change, but he could change his method slightly.
His first step would be to have a talk with Bekorodi and warn the other party a little. He would then be able to influence the deal between the other party and the Limitless Financial Group.
Because of his status, Bekorodi would not be afraid of Black Star. However, he had no choice but to listen to the opinion of another political leader!
…
The storm in Enya Hub came to an end. The number of casualties was large, and the financial losses were also great. Some time would be needed for Enya Hub to recover.
After collecting a large reward, the Punisher Alliance was not willing to stay any longer and also planned to leave.
After the battle, Feidin and Aurora had already blended into the group and left together.
“Where are we going?” Aurora asked curiously.
“Both of you are still newbies, so we will return to headquarters now,” Raymond said with a friendly smile, but Aurora thought that he was making a funny face.
Feidin nodded upon hearing that.
The item that Old Black wants me to find is probably in the headquarters of the Punisher Alliance.
Sigh… I wonder if I will be able to find it…
Chapter 944. Box of Enticemen |
The Punisher Alliance did not have the financial strength to construct a space fortress, so their headquarters was a modified spaceship that was parked in a galactic harbor called Punisher.
After entering the spaceship, the two newbies explored the spaceship under Raymond’s lead. The structure of the spaceship was a circular one with the different regions being connected by an alley. It was shaped almost like a pearl bracelet.
“This is our base. This is our daily activity region, and every member has their own room. I have already made the arrangements for both of you. All your daily necessities are prepared, and you can rest anytime. That is the combat training region, and that is the equipment storage…”
They then came to a region with a door that had ‘Spoils of War Museum’ written on it.
“That is…” Feidin pointed at the door. He felt that there would be clues inside the room.
“Oh! This is the glory of our Punisher Alliance.” Raymond chuckled. “These are all the spoils of war that we have obtained from fighting fugitives. Let’s go. I will regale you with tales of our glorious achievements.”
The room was extremely spacious with a few transparent cabinets being placed within it. A portion of the cabinets were empty, and the others were filled with many different items. There were some broken weapons, half broken masks, a charred electronic eyeball, and many other items.
Raymond led the way and began explaining the origin of the items.
“This is the tomahawk of a fugitive called Ruthless, who had a bounty of 300,000 Enas. We sacrificed a comrade during this battle…”
“Do you see that electronic eyeball? That is the artificial eyeball of Professor Vicious. His corpse was completely destroyed, and this is the only thing that he left behind…”
“That is the war hammer of the head bishop. The others just placed it in…”
Hearing Raymond’s explanation, Feidin looked through the artifacts while comparing them to the picture that Han Xiao had given him.
All of a sudden, Feidin’s footsteps froze in place, and his gaze was locked on a transparent cabinet.
An old fashioned looking white box was placed in the cabinet with a black charred mark on it that seemed extremely ordinary.
“What is this?” A look of joy flashed past Feidin’s eyes as he pointed at the box.
This was the item that Han Xiao had gotten him to find.
What’s this? So, it turns out that it was so easy to find it. I thought that it would be much more difficult to find it.
“Let me think…” Raymond thought for a while before saying, “I remember! This is the loot from one of our operations. There was one fellow who wanted to take over a surface civilization with the weapons that he smuggled. When we heard the news, we set off on an expedition to get rid of him. We found many items in his storeroom, and this is one of them.”
“What’s the use of it?”
Feidin was extremely curious. He was truly curious about an item that Black Star said he wanted.
“We aren’t clear about its origins and only know that carrying it will strengthen one’s Psychic energy and mental defenses. However, the user will hallucinate if the box is used for a long time, and they will hear voices in their ears. Thus, we called it the Box of Enticement. We sealed the box up after one of our comrades went crazy because of it.”
As he said that, Raymond suddenly had a puzzled look on his face. “Didn’t we seal this item up? Who put it back on display?”
Right at this moment, Feidin frowned slightly, his attention still on the box. He could hear a soft voice calling out to him and luring him to touch the box.
Using his Psychic energy to scan the box, he felt as though the box was covered with a mental shield.
Feidin wanted to see what was in the box and transformed his psychic energy into a drill to break through the Psychic Current of the box. However, the moment his psychic energy came into contact with the box, his face changed abruptly, and he cut off his psychic energy that was being sucked into the box.
Upon seeing that, Raymond waved his arms and said with resignation, “Stop trying, it’s useless. Our Psychic tried it once, but psychic energy isn’t able to detect the situation inside the box.”
“Can we open up the box normally?”
“You can, but there is nothing inside.” Raymond opened up the cabinet and opened up the box.
At this moment, Aurora jabbed Feidin’s waist and made a hand sign.
Feidin immediately understood what Aurora meant. There was a life force within the box.
Black Star wouldn’t want this box for nothing. The item that he wants is strange indeed, Feidin thought to himself.
Raymond then placed the box back into the cabinet and continued touring the place with the two.
…
After taking a tour throughout the entire base and meeting some new members of the Punisher Alliance, Feidin and Aurora said goodbye to Raymond and returned to their rooms.
After a few more hours, they left their rooms and walked straight to the museum.
The artifacts in the museum only had commemorative meaning, and the surveillance equipment in that region was of a lower grade. Feidin took out an army-made automatic infiltration device. Just when he was about to plug it into the door, he was stopped by Aurora.
“Are you going to walk in like this?” Aurora asked doubtfully. “The alarm will sound.”
“I know,” Feidin said slowly. “Since Black Star wants the item, it will be impossible for them to fight back. I do not like to bully the weak, and they aren’t a bunch of evil people. Even if I want to take the item, I must let them know the reason. I am not willing to act like a thief.”
“This isn’t good, right? What if Black Star has his own intentions?” Aurora hesitated.
Truthfully, she also felt that it was beneath them to act like thieves.
“He didn’t make any special requests. Even if he does… he will only blame me.”
Feidin smiled, walked into the room openly, and picked up the Box of Enticement.
Di di di…
He ignored the ear-piercing alarm and led Aurora toward the entrance of the spaceship.
He did not face any restrictions along the way and only met Raymond, Slade, and the other members of the Punisher Alliance by the hatch of the spaceship.
“Why do both of you want to steal the Box of Enticement?” Raymond had a bitter look on his face and was not willing to believe what he had seen.
Slade gritted his teeth and said coldly, “I almost believed both of you! Both of you had other intentions indeed!”
“Perhaps they were enticed by the Box of Enticement…” Raymond looked at Feidin with a complicated gaze and a trace of hope in his eyes.
“I’m sorry.” Feidin shook his head and said calmly, “I am here for this item.”
Raymond could not help but ask, “Was it a scheme for you to save me?”
“Would you believe me if I said that it was luck?” Feidin said helplessly.
Slade then walked out from the crowd and pointed his weapon at the two. “I said it before. If I discover that both of you have other intentions, I will not show any mercy. Since you have already admitted to it, place the Box of Enticement down and give up on resisting or face the power of my weapon!”
Feidin looked at the agitated group and said slowly, “Aura and I saved all of you more than once during the battle on Enya Hub. Are all of you really going to fight us?”
Upon hearing that, it was as though they were doused with cold water.
He was right. If not for her healing abilities, they would have suffered heavy losses on Enya Hub. It would not be too much to say that both of them had saved all of their lives. Although they had other intentions, it was not a lie that both of them had saved them all before.
Everyone immediately had a look of difficulty on their face and lost the will to fight.
Slade was the same, but he immediately threw away such emotions and gripped his weapon tightly. “This is an unrelated matter! You will become our enemies if you want to steal the Box of Enticement! We will not let you leave!”
Feidin then glanced at the group and sat on the ground.
“Alright. I won’t be leaving then.”
Everyone was stunned.
“What are you doing?” Raymond asked.
“Waiting for someone to pick me up.” He then closed his eyes and meditated.
“You truly have character.” Aurora, who was by the side, then glanced at the group and said helplessly, “Why are all of you still holding onto your weapons? Do all of you really want to attack me?”
Slade had a look of hesitation on his face. After thinking for a while, he decided to keep his weapon while watching Feidin by the side on high alert.
Just when everyone was on high alert, the hatch opened, and a black figure stood outside the spaceship.
The members of the Punisher Alliance immediately turned around and were astounded.
The one who had arrived was Black Star!
“You you you…” Raymond’s eyes widened to no end; he was dumbfounded.
Han Xiao glanced at him before bringing his Black Star Guards over to Feidin.
The members of the Punisher Alliance immediately opened a path with a look of shock on their faces. Why was Black Star there? Just what was going on‽
He then looked at Feidin and said with resignation, “Why do you have to trouble me to make an appearance for such a small matter? Stop playing already.”
Feidin smiled and stood up. “You know my personality.”
“That’s right. I’ve known your personality ever since we were on Sunil.” Han Xiao rubbed his head helplessly and joked, “If you continue to be so reckless, I won’t dare use you in the future.”
“I know how to differentiate between important and unimportant matters. I do not wish to lower my bottom line for such a small matter. Besides, you shouldn’t have asked me to be a thief.” Feidin blinked.
“Sigh, it is truly so difficult to avoid work.” Han Xiao groaned.
Every protagonist had their own principals, and it was impossible to order them around without restraint. It seemed as though they would not be able to display how extraordinary they were if they did not cause some trouble.
Upon hearing their conversation, everyone was dumbfounded.
Slade was a little anxious and could not help but cry out, “Just who exactly are you‽”
Hadavy looked over and snorted. “He is called Feidin, vice commander of the Black Star Guards.”
Slade’s body froze in place upon hearing that.
He could not believe that he had actually interacted with such a character.
Such a character could kill him like killing an ant. It was a joke that he thought Feidin was afraid of their numbers. It turned out that the other party could not even be bothered with them and probably treated them as kids.
Slade’s face turned pale. Thinking about his forceful tone toward Feidin, he was filled with both shock and fear in his heart.
Han Xiao said at this moment, “Alright, since you want to let them know the reason…”
He then turned around and sucked the Box of Enticement into his palm. Exerting strength on the box, he smashed it into pieces.
“Argh!”
Everyone could then feel a powerful mental energy exploding out from the box.
The faces of the Punisher Alliance superheroes turned pale, and they covered their ears. They could hear an ear-piercing screeching sound in their minds.
The mental sound in their head was filled with excitement as though a man that had been imprisoned for many years had been released!
Chapter 945. Heart Sucking Demon |
Hu!
As though a storm swept through the place, an illusory figure gradually appeared. Its facial features were not distinct; it only looked like a shadow. Its shape was extremely odd as though it was a creature with many arms. Its shape was still transforming, and it was emanating a frightening aura.
