The Legendary Mechanic, page 793
Judging from Rody’s current state, controlling his whereabouts was a necessity. Han Xiao told Phillip to empty a new private lab on the spaceship and told Harrison to take Rody there, put him into a restoration cabin, and inject hypnosis drugs into him so that studying him would be easier. Rody had no choice but to hold on tight to his only hope and cooperate fully.
After the two of them left, Han Xiao and Aesop were the only ones left in the room. They looked at each other.
“I saw you left for a while earlier. Have you already discovered something?” Aesop asked with curiosity.
“The source of this guy’s mutation might be because he was affected by a certain special Primal Esper Ability…” Han Xiao briefly talked about Destiny’s Child’s information and his experience in the Germinal Organization.
“Destiny’s Child… never heard of it,” Aesop murmured.
“That’s normal. I don’t know much either.”
Aesop coughed and said, “I don’t know much about your past experience, but assuming that the Destiny’s Child you met in the past is also a random product of the Primal Esper Ability Entity like Rody, why would two sub-bodies appear on Planet Aquamarine? If it’s really random over the universe, do you think this is really coincidental?”
That’s nothing. I’ve seen things that are more coincidental…
This thought flashed past Han Xiao’s mind, but he did not show it on his face and agreed. “It is very coincidental indeed.”
“Following this logic, if the mutation occurs on the information level, I think that Planet Aquamarine might be special in some way. Maybe it has a special string of fate or something… I’m not saying this out of the blue. I’ve seen many people who are born with a different string of fate to others…”
Midsentence, Aesop stopped, sized Han Xiao up, and said, “… That’s right, someone like you came out of Planet Aquamarine, as well as Hila, another Beyond Grade A. The rise of the two of you caused your mother planet to be unique. Maybe that’s the reason.”
Han Xiao wanted to say something, but he did not say anything in the end, only patting Aesop’s shoulders.
Smart people are indeed easy to trick. You convinced yourself before I said anything.
“Thanks. Without your prophecy, I would have never noticed this.”
Jokes aside, Han Xiao was quite appreciative of Aesop’s warning.
“You don’t have to thank me. Floating Dragon and Planet Aquamarine are neighbors now. I’m just ensuring the safety of the surrounding residential environment. Plus, among the people I know, my prophecies will have the most impact in your hands. I believe in your abilities and morals.” Aesop waved his hand.
Hearing this, Han Xiao could not help but realize how much things had changed.
In the past, Han Xiao really envied Aesop’s powerful connections. However, as he continued to rise, without him realizing, he already now had the highest position among the people Aesop knew.
Aesop was willing to discuss anything with him. He had become reliable in his eyes.
Aesop sighed and said, “I’ve lived so long, and I consider myself to be knowledgeable. Yet, you’re still the most shocking person I’ve ever met in my long life. I’ve never seen anyone as magical as you. The first time I saw you, although I felt that you had a bright future, I would never have expected you to reach heights countless people are never able to reach in just a few decades. History might forget me, but it’ll never forget you.”
“… Why the sudden compliments? You’re flattering me,” Han Xiao joked but revealed an expression that said, ‘Don’t stop.’
“Maybe it’s because I’m getting older, so I like to say these things more and more.” Aesop sighed and earnestly said, “Thank you for helping Floating Dragon all these years.” Seeing this, Han Xiao wiped off the smile on his face and slowly said, “My achievement cannot be separated from the help I’ve received from Floating Dragon. Without Ames’ protection in the past, things would not have gone so smoothly for me. Therefore, you don’t have to thank me. Anything I’ve done for Floating Dragon is what I should do as repayment.”
Just like creating a business, having sponsors would be much easier than starting with nothing. When he was weak, Floating Dragon had helped him a great lot. Therefore, even though his position in the universe was far superior to Floating Dragon, he still held respect for the people of Floating Dragon and never considered himself superior when speaking with them. Plus, he had never stopped helping them.
“Having the opportunity to help someone like you might just be Floating Dragon’s luck.” Aesop’s expression was complicated. He said with a low tone, “Ames is like my daughter, but as you know, the only thing I can do is foresee. I’m not powerful like you guys; you can protect her better than me now… “I’ve lived for many years, and I’ve never asked for anything from anyone, but I’m asking you today, protect Ames. I’m leaving her to you. I hope that even after hundreds and thousands of years, you’ll still remember what I said today.”
Then, he gave Han Xiao a meaningful look, pushed the door open, and walked out the room. His slightly bent back disappeared at the end of the corridor.
“Old man…”
Han Xiao watched him leave and exhaled slightly. He understood what Aesop meant.
Although Aesop was an Eternal, he was getting old, and he hardly had any combat capability. Even though he could see the future, what he could do was limited. He was far from being almighty.
He foresaw the storms that might occur in the future, and the disaster he saw made him feel worried, something he had not felt in a very long time. He was afraid that he was not capable of protecting Ames, so he planned ahead and was willing to put down his pride to privately ask Black Star to always be the protector of Floating Dragon. This was a form of insurance. In Aesop’s eyes, Black Star was the only one who had both the capability and motive to protect Ames, so he was the best candidate he could find.
Ames would absolutely never say these things, so Ames knew only he could say it, and he had to say it. This was why the old man came to him first unlike before-he got scared by his own prophecy. “The old man suppressed his nature of looking for thrills and stayed for decades in such a boring place, Floating Dragon. Although he’s grounded by Ames on paper, if he wanted to leave, he definitely could. And now, because he’s worried about Ames’ future, he ignored his pride and came to ask me for something…”
Han Xiao smiled.
In his previous life, Ames caused Floating Dragon to be destroyed for the sake of revenge. Looking at it now, Aesop was certainly worth
However, this time, I’m here. I won’t let the same thing happen to Floating Dragon.
Tidying up his emotions, Han Xiao returned to the office and summoned Phillip.
He still remembered about searching for where Soul Flame ended up in. Using his authority, he found the information about the Primordial One ‘Soul Emperor’ and quickly browsed through it.
Soul Emperor’s real name was Rovell Sissock. He also had other nicknames such as the King of Souls and Master of Secrets. He was a Primordial One. Before becoming the master of Soul Flame, he was already a powerful Beyond Grade A spiritual Esper.
This person was born in an advanced civilization that was already a powerful civilization in the exploration era.
Back then, Beyond Grade As had only just appeared. Compared to other abilities, spiritual Esper Abilities were more difficult to deal with. The technology at that time could not give birth to any spiritual barrier devices that could stop Soul Emperor, so he could easily penetrate the shields and armor to kill or control the people in spaceships. He made a name for himself in the exploration era war very quickly. After obtaining Soul Flame, like a tiger growing wings, he won countless battles for his civilization in the war using his individual strength and received countless honors and medals. He was seen as the hero and protector of the entire civilization.
However, as all the advanced civilizations started to study the Beyond Grade As, the era when the Primordial Ones were invincible quickly passed. Battles became tougher, and Beyond Grade A casualties started to appear.
Soul Emperor was no exception. Although he was still powerful even among the Beyond Grade As and he was still one of the strongest forces in galactic battles, since he would be targeted every time he appeared, it became tough for him to contribute as much as he did before. He could no longer decide a battle on his own.
Plus, his civilization suffered multiple losses in other battles. The civilization’s overall strategy was heavily affected, and the situation gradually grew worse. Because of that, Soul Emperor’s fighting style became aggressive. Sometimes, even if it meant he had to suffer heavy injuries, he would still try to turn the battle around. Although it was not enough, this showed how much he wanted to contribute to his civilization and how loyal he was. The Primordial Ones back then were unlike the Beyond Grade As now. Most of them did not have the mindset of putting themselves first. In the exploration era war, the fate of individuals was almost totally tied with the fate of civilizations.
Over the long years of war, the turning point quickly came. The civilization Soul Emperor belonged to faced multiple enemies on the main battlefield, which spanned two Star Systems. The civilization dispatched a large number of military forces, and a decisive battle began.
Countless fleets fought intensely on many battlefronts. The situation changed every second. At the peak of the battle, this civilization was faced with a choice…
Soul Emperor was being targeted and surrounded. He was exhausted and needed reinforcements urgently. Meanwhile, an extremely crucial battlefront also requested immediate backup.
If the fight on this battlefront was lost, it would cause chain reactions and might cause the entire war to slip into the abyss of defeat. However, if they were able to win on this battlefront, they would obtain a huge strategic advantage and have much higher chances of winning. This was also the reason the enemies kept sending troops into this battlefield. At this point of time, this civilization had already dispatched most of its forces into the battlefield and had very few fleets that were available to be deployed. They knew that if they sent reinforcements to both sides, there might be a chance they could save Soul Emperor, but they would definitely not be able to guard the crucial battlefront.
That was where the choice lay… which side they should send their reinforcements to.
To the civilization, this choice did not seem difficult at all.
They abandoned Soul Emperor and decided to put all the reinforcements into that crucial battlefront. The results were just as they expected. They successfully won the fight on that battlefront, obtained a decisive advantage, gradually forced the enemies to retreat, and finally won this war.
Soul Emperor was sacrificed. This civilization said he fought to his last moment and that his death was what led to their victory. The entire civilization mourned for him and paid their respects, hosted his funeral in the highest regards, and gave him the ‘Valverde Golden Tower’ medal, which represented the highest honor of the civilization. The civilization then also built the Soul Emperor’s hero monument on its mother planet to remember him.
However, in the exploration era war, one thing that was never in shortage was enemies. The crucial victory this civilization acquired could not be their amulet forever.
In the end, this civilization never became a winner of the exploration era. It was destroyed by a stronger civilization, its race was almost extinct, and it became a loser that was eliminated. That was the brief life of Soul Emperor. He was marked as ‘Killed In Action’ in the documents.
All this happened too long ago, and the exploration era was a chaotic time, so the three Universal Civilizations’ database only had rough data of Soul Emperor, nothing too detailed. As Soul Emperor’s civilization was eliminated, a lot of information about him was buried by history.
After seeing the documents, Han Xiao started pondering. He was not surprised about how the civilization treated Soul Emperor. He was used to it. He was now only interested in the whereabouts of Soul Flame.
“Soul Emperor is the last Soul Flame master known by the world. Is this guy Oathkeeper? Either Soul Emperor faked his death, or Oathkeeper is someone else who took Soul Flame away from Soul Emperor. If that’s the case, there’s a chance he’s one of the Beyond Grade A enemies of Soul Emperor in that battle, but there’s also a possibility it’s someone else…”
This time, Han Xiao suddenly thought of the Primordial Ones who got revived in his previous life. They did not seem to include Soul Emperor. Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled. “It seems that there’s quite a high chance Soul Emperor faked his death…”
Han Xiao pondered. Quite a number of Primordial Ones were revived in his previous life. If he waited for those people to be revived, he could ask someone who knew about it…
However, at this time, Han Xiao suddenly thought of something and was instantly stunned.
Wait a minute!
People who know about it… are not only those Primordial Ones revived by the Holy Accord! The Underworld dimension Hila inherited is also storing the Hero Spirits of Primordial Ones!
Now this is excellent…
Han Xiao’s eyes widened.
Is this fate?
Or has collecting people who have Luck Glow really changed my luck too?
Chapter 1132. Plenary Meeting and Provocation |
“There are a lot of souls of powerful individuals of the exploration era war stored in the Underworld dimension, not just the Primordial Ones, but also Supers of various races, mostly Calamity Grades. They’re all antiques…”
Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled brightly.
These people were not just combatants. They were also the people who witnessed the various times of the exploration era and reliable sources of first-hand information. They possessed a lot of ancient secrets.
“Aurora can only make bodies for these Hero Spirits and turn them into combatants when she’s Beyond Grade A. Speaking of which, the Underworld dimension is kind of similar to the Indestructible Mechanic Empire… Although the Hero Spirits can’t have bodies now, it shouldn’t be a problem just communicating with them. I wonder how much Hila has repaired the Underworld.”
Han Xiao still remembered that he had an Underworld dimension mission. Once the Underworld was fully recovered, he would receive a (Mark of The Underworld).
“I shall find a moment to ask Hila if what I’m thinking is right…” Hila was now in the secondary dimensions, so it was not easy to contact her. However, she should return in the next Beyond Grade A plenary meeting. Han Xiao planned to ask her then.
It just so happened that the next plenary meeting of the development union was not far away, so he did not have to go to the secondary dimensions to find her.
He suspected that Soul Emperor faked his death and Oathkeeper was Soul Emperor, but he had yet to decide if he was going to test Oathkeeper the next time they met.
Beep beep!
This time, Harrison sent him a message saying Rody had settled in.
“Okay.”
Han Xiao was very content.
My intuition was right. I did indeed get surprised when I returned to Planet Aquamarine this time. I discovered the secret of Destiny’s Child, acquired a semi-transformed sub-body of it, and obtained some key information from Aesop.
However, Aesop’s prophecy made him feel pressure too. Storms were secretly brewing.
The stronger he got, the more secrets he came to know, and the more he could sense the hidden chaos and instability under the peace and prosperity of the explored universe.
Han Xiao pondered.
“I’ve got to think of a way to ask about the Crimson Dynasty’s study of the World Tree Civilization wormhole coordinates…”
After he spent a few days on Floating Dragon as a guest and visited Bennett, Han Xiao and his fleet departed again and headed to the Flickering World.
At the dock, Ames stood. The stream from the thruster of the spaceship made her black dress sway like a cluster of black fog. She had brought along the Floating Dragon officers and watched the Black Star fleet leave, disappearing from sight.
“He left again.”
Ames exhaled slightly and looked down on the data storage device in her hands. This was a gift Han Xiao had given to her before he left. Inside was an Esper Ultimate Knowledge.
She turned around and saw Jenny’s conflicted expression. She was squeezing tightly on a syringe in her hands. That was a gift from Han Xiao too.
“What’s wrong? What did he give you?” Ames was curious.
“…Nothing!”
Jenny forced out a ferocious smile and hid the magical hair growth potion behind her back.
Aesop stroked his beard, smiled, and said, “Black Star gave me a gift too. I’m starting to like him more and more.”
Beside him, eight fist-sized sphere-shaped weapons swiftly flew around.
This was a product personally built by Han Xiao. He named it ‘Explorer-Multifunctional Life Guarding Formation’. It had a full set of functions, including combat, defense, enhancement, life-sustain, stealth, healing, hyperdrive, radiation block, and many more. It was perfect for solo explorers.
With this set of devices, it was equivalent to carrying around a guard team, logistics team, and a galactic carrier. Even an ordinary person would be able to survive for a very long time in Grade B dangerous environments. They would even last quite a while against Calamity Grades with a chance of retreating unharmed. It was expensive to build and very powerful. Just one set was enough to wipe out ordinary surface civilizations, and Han Xiao had given a total of ten sets to Aesop.
Ames blinked and suddenly said, “I heard that you privately asked Black Star to protect me.”
