The Legendary Mechanic, page 733
The [Celebrity Effect]’s effects were not quantified. Feidin had it too, and it was related to the Charisma attribute. Not only would it make gaining Favorability easier, it would also make losing Favorability more difficult even if he offended someone. The name suited the effects it gave quite well.
The effects of the talent looked ambiguous on the surface, but Han Xiao knew that this was actually quite useful. It would help in many situations. Be it business negotiations or daily socializing, it was an excellent ability for networking.
Even if the mission rewards were not considered, this proposal itself was beneficial for Han Xiao. Currently, his reputation was at its peak, but the heat of the news would reduce with time. Furthermore, having such an astonishing achievement as a comparison, the more ordinary deeds would hardly increase his influence and fame.
Therefore, using the entertainment industry to continue to increase his Renown was a great path to take. After all, the entertainment industry had a unique advantage in terms of the attention it received. This would also not damage his reputation while helping the outside world understand him more.
Furthermore, this seemed very suitable for increasing the number of believers.
Hehe, that old man Manison definitely wouldn’t be willing to do the same.
Under the nervous stare of Beny Travol and his assistants, Han Xiao purposely acted like he was pondering for a while. He then nodded and said, “Sure.”
“That’s great!”
Beny Travol was overjoyed. He initially thought he would most likely be rejected, but Han Xiao turned out to be surprisingly friendly.
The nervous atmosphere disappeared instantly. Everyone felt relief followed by excitement—being able to have someone like Black Star cameo in their film was like a dream.
“When do you guys plan to start the project?” Han Xiao asked.
“We’ll have to finalize the script first. Since this will be adapted from your real experience, if possible, we hope you can provide some details. We might even have to organize a few interviews,” Beny Travol said softly.
“That’s easy, as long as I’m free.” Han Xiao smiled.
“Okay okay. When we’ve done the script, we’ll show it to you for you to audit. We’ll only start the shooting after you agree with the script.”
“Hmm.” Han Xiao nodded. He suddenly thought of something and asked, “Do you have any funding issues?”
“Don’t worry, the entertainment industry is quite influential. Plus, this will be your story. There will definitely be a lot of people fighting to fund it. Even the Crimson Dynasty’s ministry of culture might.” Beny Travol was quite confident.
“Alright, come to me if you have any funding issues. I’ll sponsor you.”
Beny Travol was very touched.
Whoa, what a generous man.
He decided that he had to make sure this film turned out amazing. It not only had to be filled with artistic factors but also had to make a great sale.
Having been a director for many years, Beny Travol had both excellent productions and failed ones. While using the noble reason of ‘pursuing art’ to get funding, some projects had not even been able to break even.
It would not be a problem if those films sponsored by ordinary people did not turn out great. He would lose his brand image and money at most. However, if the film sponsored by the Black Star Army turned out not good enough… he might even lose his life. He did not dare slack.
Given the population of this era, the profit in the entertainment industry was beyond imaginable. Occasionally, there were even some films that the entire universe liked and loved, and the profit gained from just one of those would surpass the total value of many small financial groups. It was absolutely bonkers. Han Xiao had no reason not to gain profit from it.
Han Xiao suddenly thought of something and said, “By the way, I want to put someone in the cast.”
“Please do tell.”
Han Xiao brought up Feidin’s image, smiled, and said, “This person. He’s one of my guards, a Calamity Grade Super. He was once a local celebrity. Just give him a character to play.”
“This person…” Beny Travol’s eyes widened.
He did not mind Black Star putting someone in the cast. He had seen this kind of thing happen way too many times. What surprised him was that Black Star was sending him a treasure.
This body! This appearance! This vibe! He’s a born superstar!
Scanning the stunned expression on everyone’s face, Han Xiao chuckled in his mind.
He knew very well how powerful Feidin’s charming aura was. Having Feidin star in the movie would be more than enough to attract a ton of attention and make the promotion multiple times smoother.
Furthermore, Han Xiao did not forget about what Feidin had achieved in his previous life, [The Legend of a Singer], where he used his psychic singing to stop an entire war.
Therefore, to maintain the love and peace of the universe, he decided to make Feidin an idol again!
This was not a sudden thought. He had wanted to use this opportunity to make Feidin the image ambassador of the Black Star Army to gain more popularity, which might even attract more talents. At the same time, he hoped to increase the stock price of the Germinal Financial Group.
After so many years, the Germinal Financial Group was already listed thanks to the help of the army. Its funds at this point were huge.
Many thoughts flashed through Han Xiao’s mind, but he did not reveal them. Maintaining a smile, he chatted with the others in an uplifting atmosphere. In the end, Beny Travol and the others decided to stay awhile in Black Star Palace to gain some insight and material before leaving with joy all over their faces.
After sending them away, Han Xiao told Sylvia to follow up with the matter and then went to chat for some time with Ames to make sure his old friend was receiving enough attention.
Ames, however, was very understanding. She knew that he had many things to deal with, so she did not hurry him. Both Han Xiao and Hila had returned, so she had company there and lived so comfortably she almost did not want to go back.
I don’t have anything to do on Floating Dragon Island. What should I go back for?
What? Jenny?
Who’s that? Never heard of her.
…
Han Xiao returned to his room and bathed out of habit. He came out surrounded by hot water vapor. Without drying himself, he wrapped himself in a bathing robe and lay on his bed while humming. Water droplets slid down his hair and wet his pillow.
Of course, Beyond Grade As’ bodies were pure and free from dirt, so they did not have to bathe. However, Han Xiao enjoyed this feeling of adjusting his senses to have the temperature sense of a normal person. Only then would he be able to have a hot water bath. Otherwise, even lava would feel cold to him.
A few mechanical pets climbed up and circled around Han Xiao. They kept rubbing their bodies on him in an adorable way. There were both cats and dogs, even snakes. They were all mechanical lives with their own independent minds. Their metal bodies had no edges; they were smooth and round. They did not have to eat or excrete and were very easy to take care of.
Ever since Hila gave him a birthday present, Hila had suddenly thought of getting some pets to give his usually cold and quiet bedroom some life.
Han Xiao casually petted his pets for a while. He then leaned back on the bed and opened up the player forums.
The ‘Black Star’s Godlike Battle’ topic had yet to cool down. It even became hotter instead. The Flickering World panel was still filled with it.
There were not only discussions. Many players also took action and left their original faction to join the Black Star Army, giving the player count of the army a boost.
The one-sided faction war had lasted a while. Due to the factions that were named admitting their inferiority, the army’s opponents were powerless. Not only did the shady plan of those foreign clubs not work, they even shot themselves in the foot. The factions they were in had lost a huge number of normal players. This indirectly increased the unity of the army players and shortened the distance between the new and old army players from different countries.
The atmosphere in the Black Star Army had become much better. Although the players from different countries could not be considered friendly toward each other, they had grown to accept others.
On the forums, there was another thing that sparked discussion. After Han Xiao created the [Rescue Hila] Dungeon Crystals, he had placed them in the faction store.
In the following few days, a ton of players had bought the Dungeon Crystal to watch their Army Commander with their lives.
After nonstop effort and hard work, there were already famous dungeon raiders who increased the survival time record to a whopping twenty-nine seconds, earning the respect of countless players.
[Rescue Hila] and [Planet Lighthouse] were now known as the two film-type dungeons, which meant… there was nothing they could do, only watch.
Han Xiao was still browsing the forums with joy when Phillip sent him a message.
“Master, hum… A fleet that has defected from the Beast Ancestor’s organization has arrived at our frontline stronghold in the free competition zone. Onboard are seven Calamity Grade officers previously under the Beast Ancestor’s command, led by one of Gorutan’s Four Admirals, ‘Claw Empress’ Jotina. She has mentioned that she wants to see you by name.”
“See me?”
Han Xiao raised his brows and closed the player forums. He then quickly brought up Jotina’s data and browsed through it. He then started pondering.
He did not know much about Gorutan’s subordinates. Most of them were Gorutan’s tools. Only a few had left an impression on him in his previous life, including Jotina, but not because of the achievements she made.
In his previous life, Jotina secretly worked with other organizations and gave out missions to players that involved destroying all the offspring production warehouses of the Beast Ancestor’s headquarters when Gorutan was not home, releasing all the females that were imprisoned as reproduction machines. Although the plan did not end up succeeding, it still brought the Beast Ancestor a humongous loss. She initially wanted to die together with Gorutan using a psionic energy bomb but failed. In the end, she was torn apart alive by Gorutan.
Knowing that, Han Xiao had a rough guess as to why she was there.
“Okay, I’ll meet her.”
…
In the Emerald Star Cluster, the Black Star frontlines stronghold had already repaired the damage suffered from the Hila Rescue Warfare. The fleet was now patrolling as usual.
At this time, Jotina and the gang were welcomed into the dock. Due to the Beast Ancestor symbol on their spaceships, they attracted the attention of all the army members they passed.
The spaceships parked steadily, and the hatches opened with a swoosh. Jotina led her friends out of the spaceship, ignoring the strange looks on the army members around, and headed toward the guest room following the mechanical receptionist.
“We’re finally here. I wonder if Black Star will keep us. After all, we were his enemies not long ago.”
“Black Star isn’t petty.”
“I’m just not sure if we’re strong enough for him to be interested…”
Jotina did not join the discussion. With a tense expression, she followed the receptionist into the guest room. It was empty.
Hum!
This time, Han Xiao’s remote projection appeared in the room with his hands behind his back. He looked at everyone with coldness as he slowly spoke.
“You wanted to see me?”
“That’s right. We were all under Beast Ancestor’s command. We have been unhappy with him for a very long time but never had the strength to resist. Now you’ve defeated him, so we came to join you, hoping to work for the Black Star Army.
Jotina cut right to the chase while staring at Han Xiao. Clearly, she was very direct.
Although Han Xiao had already guessed, a saying still appeared in his mind…
This is them abandoning evil to take the righteous path, isn’t it?
Han Xiao did not plan to reject them. After all, there were seven Calamity Grades, which was quite an amount of power. Furthermore, Jotina was a rare Beyond Grade A seed with extraordinary potential. She could be of company to Hadavy and Lothaire.
High-quality leeks uprooting themselves up and entering his vegetation field was always something Han Xiao loved to see. However, he could not agree with it too easily. The routine questioning was still needed.
“Why were you unhappy with Gorutan?”
Jotina took a deep breath. Sorrow and anger appeared on her face as she said, “In order to produce high-quality offspring, Gorutan bought countless females of different races from the black market. These females weren’t even granted the freedom to die. The only thing they could do was become a tool of reproduction.
“My mother was one of them. With my very own eyes, I watched her give birth to one offspring after another for years. She died of exhaustion in the end. The high-quality offspring were given a lot of resources and trained well, while the low-quality ones became slaves. Although we’re all related by blood, most people have no emotional connection to others. That place was like a cold and freezing graveyard. Everyone had no choice but to fawn over Gorutan. Not a single day spent there was not filled with hatred and disgust.”
Jotina closed her eyes as she was flooded by the sorrowful memories, only reopening them after a while. Then, she said with a deep voice, “My friends have had the same experience as me. We hate everything Gorutan has created, but we had no choice but to be manipulated by him and assist in his evil deeds. We lived every day in agony and frustration. We’re not afraid of dying. Only through enduring this pain and keeping ourselves alive can we find the chance to change everything. And when you defeated him, we were finally liberated.”
Then, Jotina kneeled onto the ground. The people behind her followed. The entire group kneeled as a gesture of respect.
“We hope you can take us in!”
Jotina pressed her forehead onto the ground and growled emotionally.
“Please take us in!” Everyone else shouted simultaneously as well. The shouting echoed in the room.
Seeing this, Han Xiao pondered a while and nodded. “Since that’s the case, I shall accept you to become members of the Black Star Army.”
The group exhaled with relief and finally stood up.
A smile appeared on Jotina’s face again. Her expression relaxed. It was beautiful. Like her wild personality, her emotions were also directly displayed.
Han Xiao nodded. His tone became friendly as he smiled and said, “Then, we’re all family now. Come to Black Star Palace. I want to see you guys with my own eyes and arrange roles for you. Also, if you want to visit Gorutan’s specimen…”
This time, Jotina interrupted Han Xiao. She wiped the smile off her face and said with a serious tone, “Black Star, I also have a gift as well as a request.”
“Do tell.” Han Xiao raised his brows.
Jotina nodded. “The Beast Ancestor’s organization is in shambles now. It’s a great opportunity to split it up. I’m willing to help you obtain the Beast Ancestor’s inheritance. This is my gift to you.”
“And your request?”
“I hope you can destroy the Beast Ancestor’s headquarters and all of the offspring production facilities, releasing all the females and taking in all the young offspring of Beast Ancestor. This is both my request and my gift. Although I hate Gorutan to the core, these young offspring are innocent. Their worldviews have yet to take shape and can still be adjusted. If raised properly, they can become new blood for the army.”
Jotina then looked up and stared at Han Xiao, as if she wanted to see the answer she had been hoping to see for a very long time in Han Xiao’s eyes.
Han Xiao opened the interface, and as he expected, this triggered a mission. However, it was not one mission but two.
The first mission was [Liberate Beast Ancestor’s Organization]. Just like Jotina said, it required him to destroy the Beast Ancestor’s headquarters and free those within. The rewards were Jotina’s Favorability and her Character Summon Card.
The second mission, however, shocked him.
_____________
Ending the Darkness
Mission Introduction: Life form trafficking is the source of countless tragedies. Jotina hates it with everything she has. Destroying the practice has always been her dream her entire life.
Mission Requirement: End the life form trading industry in Galaxy.
Reward: 1 Trillion EXP, 15 Random Rewards, 3 Universe Legendary Points, 5 Blank Character Summon Cards.
Bonus Reward: [Slave Liberator] Milestone.
[Slave Liberator]: Your relationship with all Lawful Factions will forever be fixed at [Reverence].
_____________
One trillion experience… Han Xiao was stunned.
This was the craziest mission he had ever seen, as were its rewards, and of course its difficulty.
Eliminate the life form trading industry of the entire universe?
Looking at the population of the entire Galaxy, this was a mission that was impossible to complete. If there was no demand for it, it would never have started in the first place. Even the three Universal Civilizations could not do this, so who else could?
No wonder Jotina only requested that he liberate Beast Ancestor’s organization. She most likely knew that this wish of hers would never be achieved.
Of course, Han Xiao would not expose her. He shook his head, put this matter at the back of his mind, and did not mention it.
“About liberating Beast Ancestor’s organization, you have my word.”
“Then, I’ll be willing to serve you till the end of time.”
Jotina lowered her head, and admiration appeared in her eyes.
