by <unknown>
Ember nodded and left the slave market.
“Leader, how’s the negotiation?” his team member asked.
Ember took off his mask and calmly said, “Change of plans. We will take the hostages by force.”
DarkStar had the money to pay, but it was not worth it. Even if they settled on the price, there was a chance that the manager would increase the price again.
What kind organization was the DarkStar? They were the bad guys! If they obeyed such orders, what would happen to their dignity as villains?
…
On the planet of the Fawn Galaxy, there was conflict among the Silvers.
“They have already named a price. What are we waiting for? Let’s get the money!”
“Wait a second. This whole thing looks sketchy. Did the mercenaries work together with the slave market managers to scam us? Everyone in Shattered Star Ring is a greedy goblin. We need to prepare for this possibility,” someone in the group said.
“In the end, safety comes first. Sky Ring, Blades, and Purple Gold have all fallen, so how can we trust this Black Star Group? If they push over their limit and try to be heroes, they might bring more danger to the hostages. Let’s just give the money.”
“What if they don’t release the hostages after we meet their demands,” one man said in worry.
After some chaotic discussion, in the end, the captain stayed calm and made the decision. “The reason they failed last time was because they were outnumbered. I am going to trust them one last time. We will have the Black Star Mercenary Group try one more time, and if they can’t do it, I believe they will give us an accurate reply. Giving the money is our last option.”
…
A team of players rode an aircraft and scouted around an area.
Li Ge was on the aircraft. He dodged out of everyone’s sight and took out the Secret Message Bead.
“What is this thing?” Li Ge mumbled to himself. “The instructions say that there will be a bonus reward if I give this to a specific person, but there is no hint on who the person may be. I do have to activate it myself…”
Li Ge had a lot of experience in gaming. With items that did not have clear instructions, the player would have to take the initiative and show this item to different NPCs. If an NPC reacted differently compared to the rest, that should be the ‘specific character’.
“Let’s do this.” Li Ge made up his mind.
Chapter 376. Steel Body! |
Goa, Cerleni, and Porter’s teams were all locked inside the Floating Dragon prison. They contacted their respective leaders and paid the bail. They could not leave before the higher officers went to pick them up and apologize.
During the time of imprisonment, everyone was disconnected from the outside world. They were bored to death. The only topic that they could talk about was Han Xiao.
“I wonder if Black Star saved the Silvers,” Porter muttered.
“Even though Black Star is working for Ames, what can he do? There’s no way he’ll be able to save them.” Cerleni was pessimistic about the situation. He shook his hand. “Well, I can’t blame him. If I was in his situation, I wouldn’t be able to do anything either. On top of that, he is with Floating Dragon. We can’t be sure whether he will still be a mercenary or not.”
“We have already asked him for this favor. Let’s just trust him.” Goa frowned.
Cerleni was frustrated. “I want to believe that he can do it since he is our last hope, but is there anything that he can do?”
“… I don’t know.” Goa sighed.
The mercenaries’ morale was low. They tried to trust Han Xiao, but their brains told them that this mission had already failed.
…
“Are you looking for Ames? She’s not here, left a few days ago.” Jenny read the documents without looking up.
“Where is she heading?” Han Xiao was surprised. Ames always stayed on Floating Dragon Island.
“She said she was in a bad mood, so she wanted to fight someone,” Jenny replied with a cold voice like a businessman. She adjusted the Data Storage Glasses and said, “She was unpleased with the message that you brought back.”
Han Xiao’s eyes flicked. The only people that could match Ames were the three Supers of the same grade in the Shattered Star Ring… He hoped that there would not be any crazy news a few days later.
He planned to fudge Ames to release the Silvers, so he had to wait for her return. Han Xiao did not want to revolt when Ames was not home since there was too much risk. There was also no need to do that as the Floating Dragon Faction gave him quiet some benefits. Head Butler Jenny was tough unlike Ames, and Han Xiao barely even considered persuading her.
Since Ames is not present, according to the management rules, I am temporarily the highest officer,” Jenny said. “We strengthened the defense of Wilsander, and Haier is protecting the Gravitational Core. Everything is in order, so don’t you dare make other plans, or else you will regret it.”
Han Xiao understood the hidden message of Jenny. He had only joined the faction for a few days, and although the other members did not reject him, Jenny still kept on eye on people from the Black Star Mercenary Group. It was her responsibility as the Head Butler to clean up Ames’ mess. Jenny wanted to warn Han Xiao to not do something stupid.
Han Xiao smiled and ignored Jenny’s warning. He left the office, went back to the Logistics Office, and got his next job. Haier took half of the workers to camp around the Energy Core of the floating island. The rest of the workers were on standby in the headquarters while dealing with the daily maintenance tasks. Han Xiao was assigned to remain in the headquarters.
After losing half of the workforce, the workload suddenly increased. Everyone was extremely busy, and the Great Mechanic Han had to spend his time fixing aircrafts and equipment without doing anything else.
…
A few days later, in the Slave Market, Horlaide made a call to Han Xiao and asked, “Has your employer decided to pay the price?”
“Not yet,” Han Xiao answered while fixing a burrow collector.
“Hey, don’t waste my time. Tell them that I will only wait three more days, or else I will sell to other buyers.”
Horlaide was pissed and hung up the call right after he finished his sentence. He took a sip from a hallucination drink and got high.
“If the Silver is not playing, then the man in the mask is the next highest bid buyer…”
In his eyes, Ember was his plan B. No matter what happened, he would certainly end up with tons of cash. Thinking about the huge sum of money, Horlaide smiled even wider, thrilled. He chugged the drink and hummed a delightful tune.
At the same time, pairs of eyes were hidden in the shadows, staring at the Slave Market.
That was the day DarkStar would attack. Ember had made an infiltration plan to steal the hostage rather than have a straight on battle. They did not know that Ames had left, so they were being cautious. Ember’s Esper potential was Class A+, but he was still developing, so he was currently in Class B+. Against Ames, who could one shot him, even Ember had to swallow his pride and be meticulous on his operation.
Following the DarkStar Team were the Galactic Pirates. When Ember was undercover, he found a few new teammates. He made an empty promise that he would evenly split the profit while showing part of his plan, and that was enough to bait the pirates. The pirates could help them to cover DarkStar’s real purpose. If they were exposed, the pirates could also draw attacks from them and create chaos.
“Have you cut the power?” Ember asked in the communicator.
“I just infiltrated the Floating Dragon Island’s main system. I’m planting the disruptive device now. I need two more minutes to temporarily cut of the electric supply to the district of the Slave Market. The surveillance system will be down, and the system won’t detect anything. The whole thing will last for seventeen minutes. It should be enough for your operation.”
“Good.” Ember nodded.
For this op
eration, DarkStar was equipped with high-tech equipment. They had slit the team in two, with one going after the electric supply and making it look like a technical problem. Although there would be some movements, it would not trigger the alarm. This created the opportunity for Ember to do his job.
As soon as the two-minute-mark hit, the entire lights in the district shut down, and the place was plunged into darkness. Then the whole street turned noisy, with people wondering what had happened.
Ember close his eyes and used his Esper vision. He felt the carbon particles around him and the objects that he had hidden in the Slave Market. He flicked his fingers and released his Esper power.
Inside the Slave Market, the stones on the corner of the wall cracked, and small metallic balls dropped out of the cracks. The balls then released a strong invisible sleeping gas, which filled the entire building. The gas only affected the nervous system, so it would not do any harm.
Flop, flop…
The workers of the Slave Market fell on the ground one after another. Horlaide was shocked at the sudden power outage. Before he could get up, he had already passed out from inhaling the gas.
Ember’s Esper power could control carbon molecules to a certain degree. He could split and combine molecules to turn carbon into different states, such as from solid to gas. There were a lot of materials containing carbon, and with his current power, controlling a few rocks was a piece of cake.
Under the cover of darkness, the team infiltrated the Slave Market. The room was pitch dark, but the Carbon remains were lying around, which showed the structure of the room. Ember quickly found the underground prison and confirmed that their targets were there.
Because of the power outage, all the locks in the Slave Market had deactivated. Ember and his team walked through the prison with ease as they opened the door. The prisoners all rushed out of the room with tears dripping down, as if they were being saved.
“Are you here to save us all?” the Silver asked with surprise as they walked out, thinking that they were the mercenaries rescuing them.
But they quickly found out that they had jumped out of the pan and into the fire.
The members of DarkStar all wore their masks. Ember said to the other thrilled pirates, “As promised, I only want the Silver. The other slaves are yours.”
This time, a group of brutes walked out of the crowd and said, “It’s not fair. The Silvers are the most valuable. Who do you think you are…”
Ember did not wait for them to finish. The expressions of the brutes turned sour and filled with pain. They opened their mouths, but no screams came out. Starting from the skin to the flesh, everything turned into ash, and their bodies collapsed in an instant.
“Anyone else want to talk?” Ember asked coldly.
Everyone froze. They could not believe their eyes, so they quietly obeyed the order and gave up the thought of getting the Silvers.
“Target acquired. Let’s get out of here and do the interrogation in a safe house.” The members of DarkStar quickly left the scene.
…
A few minutes earlier, when the power was cut, the logistics office received a report. The system gave the task of repairing the problem to Han Xiao.
“Emergency mission?” Han Xiao was repairing a burrow nearby. He dropped everything and headed to the Slave Market district.
Seeing that there were no lights nearby, Han Xiao turned on his detection radar. He suddenly stopped as he could not detect anything in the Slave Market. It was evident that there were disturbance frequencies in the area.
“Something’s fishy.” Han Xiao’s face turned serious as he realized that something bad was happening. He activated his jetpack and rushed toward the Slave Market. As soon as he reached there, he smelled the dense sleeping gas.
_____________
You inhaled strong anesthetic gas. Calculating the effect…
Your END is over 100 points. You are immune to hypnosis.
Your END is over 150. You are immune to drowsiness.
_____________
The place was dead quiet. He activated on his night vision and saw the workers lying around.
What is happening here? Did someone rob this place? Who has the guts to do this?
Han Xiao raised his suspicion.
At this time, sounds of footsteps came from the stars. Ember brought the Silvers up the stairs, and he saw Han Xiao standing at the doorway. “They found us!”
On the other hand, Han Xiao was even more shocked upon seeing someone rescuing the Silvers.
Who the f*ck took over my job‽
Did our employer find another mercenaries? Are we on the same side?
Han Xiao could not determine the identity of the other man. Before he could say anything, Ember tried to control the carbon molecules in Han Xiao’s body and turn him into dust.
Hum!
The Esper power went directly through the armor and acted on Han Xiao’s body.
_____________
You received Ember’s [Carbon Atom Deconstruction] attack.
You received 1146 True Damage.
You received Ember’s [Carbon Atom Deconstruction] attack.
You received 988 True Damage.
Your Ability [Steel Body] activated. All True Damage is nullified!
_____________
Through the interface, Han Xiao saw the ‘-0’ damage that filled his screen.
Nothing happened!
Ember’s expression froze behind the mask. He could feel the carbon molecules in Han Xiao’s body, but he could not move them like those of other people. He suddenly felt the molecules in Han Xiao’s body tighten and become as hard as stone.
Looks like he’s an enemy!
Han Xiao focused, and the armor covered his body. He entered battle mode and used [Wrath of Garrett] without hesitation!
Chapter 377. Seize the Opportunity! |
The burning light beam burst like a golden spear breaking through the darkness, hitting Ember’s face!
Boom!
Flames exploded!
Before the light had vanished, a shadow rushed out at swiftly. Han Xiao’s reaction was exceptionally fast. The handle of the scythe popped out from the arm armor and slipped into his hand, expanding into a large black scythe with one swing.
The scythe and the shadow clashed.
Clank!
The sound of metal colliding!
A crystal-clear hand grabbed the scythe, and the two of them competed in strength.
Han Xiao glanced at the hand. The skin of Ember became like a diamond, and the blade could not slice through.
The ground below him moved, and the carbon element was extracted, turning into dust particles, climbing up his legs and rapidly hardening.
Han Xiao hastily jumped back in shock, dodging before the mud hardened, tearing apart the yet to form diamond.
Carbon elemental control? Troublesome power… The analyzer in the mechanical suit detected the material that was controlled—it was all carbon. Han Xiao was experienced, so he immediately guessed the opponent’s power, and he felt it was quite hard to deal with.
This kind of atom controlling Esper power was very rare, its effects were usually very well-rounded—able to attack, defend, control, and even building materials. Many natural materials contained carbon, and the opponent’s power happened to be the nemesis of carbon-based life.
Han Xiao was discreetly shocked. Luckily, he had the True Damage immunity talent, otherwise he would have died.
[Steel Body] had come from the Germinal Organization leader. Of course, at this stage, the leader’s strength was not a big deal anymore, but that old man was a main character-type figure after all and a BOSS to boot. The effect of this talent was very strong, and it gave complete immunity to True Damages. True Damage ignored all resistance and could be very dangerous. Even the tankiest Pugilist would suffer from True Damage, and with this talent, it was insurance for safety.
Up till now, Han Xiao had gained two molding abilities i
n total, the other one was [Basic Strengthened Life], which gave him a lot of health. His health could even match up to Pugilists of the same level despite being a Mechanic. It was disgustingly tanky… and Ember was suitably disgusted right now.
[Carbon Atom Deconstruction] was a new way to use his Esper power that Ember had only obtained after reaching grade B—it was a lethal skill to low-grade Supers. It worked by directly breaking down the molecular structure of the opponent’s body. The difference between the opponent’s energy and level needed to be determined before taking effect. if the target failed to match up to a certain standard, the target would then take True Damage. Usually, anyone whose grade was lower than Ember’s could not match up to that standard, but Han Xiao was different. Although his level was lower than his, he happened to have True Damage immunity.
“Run!”
Ember suppressed his shock. His trump card did not work, and his other powers were all ordinary combat methods that did not have enough destructive power. It was not the time to fight, and there was no time to think.
Hum!
The power field spread out. The ground and the walls rippled like water, and countless carbon molecules were extracted and reformed. The powder sized molecules surrounded Han Xiao like black silk then quickly hardened into diamonds with various shapes—spikes, barriers, cages, and so on—stalling Han Xiao.
Clank!
Spinning carbon dust was everywhere, moving around like waves, solidifying from time to time. The arbitrary shifts of material form were magnificent!
Han Xiao bared his teeth. The dust ribbon was dense, hard to predict, very swift, and kept attacking, so it really tested his reaction speed.
Amphiptere quickly planned the dodging route, allowing Han Xiao to maneuver around and dodge, barely avoiding the attacks one after another. The movement was very difficult to do—he was like an epileptic patient doing a street dance!
But it was very effective as well. Despite looking like he only barely made every dodge, he was very steady!
As Han Xiao was stalled, Ember took the Silvers and escaped out the doors. Han Xiao, of course, could not let the Silvers be just taken away like this. Just as he was about to give chase, the mechanical suit suddenly activated a warning, notifying that him there was a high energy reaction behind his back!
