by <unknown>
Han Xiao nodded. Horlaide had been blessed with a lot of choices, but his appetite was too big. If he had sold the Silvers earlier, he would not have been targeted.
The word greed was close to the word poverty 1 .
The mission was completed successfully, relying on Black Star Mercenary Group. Naturally, after this achievement, the mercenaries recognized Black Star’s capabilities and admired them.
In addition to informing his comrades, Han Xiao visited also to ask about when they would be released.
“Our superior in the army paid the compensation. They are rushing to Floating Dragon, and when they arrive, we will be free. So it’ll probably be just a few more days,” Goa said.
“A few days… That’s not too bad.”
Han Xiao nodded. The good stuff was in his hands, and the mission was completed. He wanted to leave together with the three large mercenary groups, return to get the two class advancement knowledges from the Silvers, and combine them into ‘Compression Technology’. Only then could he be considered to have stepped into the new level of a Mechanic. He had been looking forward to this day for a long time.
He did not want to stay in the Floating Dragon—trapped in one place was not conducive to the development of the mercenary group. His faction was the basis of the blueprint, and although there were many benefits in Floating Dragon, the opportunities were limited, far less than the vast universe. However, Han Xiao could not give up the Floating Dragon faction. He hoped to submit an application for field activities so that he could have the best of both worlds.
“There are still a few days left. I hope I can convince Ames…”
After Han Xiao left, the prison was no longer filled with boredom. It was filled with a happy and relaxed atmosphere.
The mercenaries main worry had been resolved, so they were very contented.
In the cell, Cerleni and Porter were thinking of the same thing.
I wonder if Black Star will continue to be a mercenary. His team is very capable, and he has Floating Dragon as a backer now. They’re not the small mercenary group without any backing anymore. By the time this thing ends, I will request that the superiors form a partnership with Black Star Mercenary Group. We can’t let Sky Ring have them exclusively.
…
In order to let the floating island travel freely in the universe, Ames had equipped it with top of the line devices. The shield generator was from the Revelation-Grade Main Ship of Federation of Light, and the plasma engine was from the Horn-Grade Assault Ship of the Crimson Empire. Its voyage performance was extremely good, and although Ames had bought all these devices using her own influence, she had still paid an outrageous price for it.
Floating Dragon Island passed through the meteoroid shower safely, and a lot of spaceships took off immediately after the shield was deactivated, leaving the floating island before it entered the boundary of the two civilizations.
A few days later, Peggy’s spaceship had long been away from Floating Dragon Island. It was slowly sailing in an unpopulated Star Zone. There were no Fixed Stars there, only dead gray planets filled with dead silence.
Suddenly, folds appeared in the dark space ahead, and a huge object hundreds of times larger than Peggy’s spaceship came out of the stealth mode, stopping in front of Peggy’s spaceship.
The size comparison was like a bean and a watermelon.
This object was tall and ferocious, completely black apart from some subtle golden patterns. It did not have a streamlined shape but consisted of two isosceles trapezoids fused together from their bases, like a prism. This was not a normal spaceship—it was DarkStar’s medium mother ship, similar to a mobile base, containing a large number of combat ships. One mother ship signified a fleet!
DarkStar had no fixed bases; all of their bases were mother shops, perennially in stealth and mobile states, moving everywhere. That was why the organization was mysterious and difficult to contact—no one could grasp DarkStar’s position. They hid in the dark and waited for an opportunity to make a move.
The scavengers of the ship were shocked and began speculating.
Peggy was overjoyed when he saw this.
“DarkStar did not break their word. They’ve come to take me in!”
Chapter 385. Murder and Turn Point |
At this moment, Peggy thought that the DarkStar mothership had specifically come just to take him in. For him, the DarkStar had made such a large display. He felt the attention from DarkStar and was moved to tears.
The spaceship approached the connecting channel, and the mother ship captain waited at the channel entrance with other troops. Just as they were about to tear open the door of the spacecraft with their power, Peggy opened the door and walked out. Seeing everyone was a hybrid Godoran, Peggy was filled with excitement.
He had finally found the organization!
With an excited tone, Peggy said, “I’ve been waiting for you for a very long time.”
DarkStar warriors initially had cold expressions, but now, they could not help but looked at each other in bewilderment.
It was the first time that they had seen a target who not only did not resist but also took the initiative to cooperate, looking like he had just returned home. Did this guy not fear death?
“Bold!” The captain nodded in approval before waving. “Seize them!”
DarkStar warriors swarmed in. Peggy was pressed on the ground, all the while thinking that this was DarkStar’s welcome ceremony. He confidently shouted, “Rest assured, don’t have to doubt my loyalty, I absolutely will not resist!”
“Boss, I think they are for real,” one of his men said with a sad face.
Peggy glared and yelled, “Shut up! What do you know? This is a method to test our loyalty!”
The DarkStar warriors cuffing Peggy heard this and sighed. “If everyone could be as cooperative as you, it would save us a lot of trouble.”
The scavengers were taken to prison and tied to a black metal execution column. The captain walked up to them and said coldly, “I need you to answer my questions honestly. Among the Silvers you captured, one of them was carrying what we want, a black bead. Where did that bead go?”
Although Ember had already gotten the ‘answer’, the style of the DarkStar was never to just trust easily. Letting go of the rest easily was not a terrorist organization’s code of conduct.
After Ember reported to the headquarters, this DarkStar spaceship had been on standby in the Fawn Galaxy and immediately jumped to intercept Peggy. Their first goal was Peggy’s spaceship route recorder so that they could search along the route where the Silvers were thrown out. The second was to interrogate Peggy. DarkStar believed that torture could get more information than normal inquiry—pain could make people honest.
Peggy was stunned.
“Didn’t you already ask me?”
“Indeed, I want you to tell us again…” the captain subconsciously replied. Suddenly, he paused, and his expression changed.
Wait a minute!
He thought that Peggy was referring to Ember, but with some thought, it did not make sense. Ember had pretended to be a mercenary, so how did Peggy recognize that Ember was a DarkStar member?
Ember, who was listening from the side, opened his eyes wide in disbelief. “How could I have been exposed? I’m did not reveal any flaws!”
“How did you know the person who asked you belonged to DarkStar!” The captain grabbed Peggy’s neck, slowly adding force. Peggy’s face turned purple, almost suffocating, and he opened his mouth with difficulty.
“Th—the interrogator… clai—claimed to be a Dark—DarkStar agent, cough cough cough!”
Ember frowned. “Captain Sarota, let go. You’re strangling him. Let him finish the whole story.”
Captain Sarota backed off, and Peggy coughed loudly, as if he was going to cough out his lungs.
Eventually, Peggy realized that something was wrong, and with a hoarse voice, he said while shivering, “A mysterious hooded man who claime
d to be a DarkStar emissary found me. His target was that black bead as well, so I told him of its whereabouts. I have always admired you, so when he promised to let me join DarkStar as long as I lied to the next group of people that came to ask about the bead, I agreed readily. Not long after, a self-proclaimed mercenary came. I followed the orders that the DarkStar emissary gave me and got rid of him…”
Self-proclaimed mercenary? That’s me! Ember realized. His face became very unpleasant, and his tone turned cold immediately. “So, you lied to me!”
Peggy’s expression changed distinctly. “What? You’re the self-proclaimed mercenary? You guys are the real DarkStar, and that DarkStar emissary was a fake‽”
The expressions on Sarota and Ember’s faces turned very serious.
The situation suddenly complicated. There seemed to be another mysterious force that had their eyes on the Secret Message Bead, and they had even used DarkStar’s name to trick people. They must be tired of living! They were directly provoking DarkStar! Once they found the culprits, they would make them beg for death!
The problem was… what was the mysterious force’s identity? Why did they know about the Secret Message Bead? Was their target the products inside the bead or to destroy DarkStar’s plan? Were they money driven, or were they DarkStar’s enemies?
Ember was confident that he did not expose anything, so he was baffled. Which part went wrong and exposed him?
He had thought of himself as a hunter, but in the shadows, there was a pair of eyes staring at them, hiding deeper than DarkStar, making his hair stand on end.
More mysteries arose, and things were getting tricky and complicated.
The first thought was a traitor in the organization, or how else would they know so much confidential intel?
“What about the real whereabouts of the bead?”
“I—I don’t know. I did not throw it into the outer space but took it with me. However, it was lost during the battle on Floating Dragon Island…”
Ember had a freezing cold look. That imposter mysterious force wanted to mislead DarkStar. If they did not want to deliberately kill Peggy, they would have really fallen for it!
Thinking back carefully about that mysterious force’s methods, it was secretive yet bold. They knew clearly that they were competing with DarkStar, but still they dared to pose as DarkStar, which meant that they had guessed their thought of keeping things confidential, grasped the psychology of all parties, and finally mislead both Peggy and DarkStar, toying with them between their fingers. And they had almost succeeded. This careful and precise way of thinking made Ember uncontrollably afraid.
They came only a little bit late!
“Since it was not thrown into outer space, it will be a simple matter. Go and thoroughly investigate all the forces involved in the scrimmage,” Sarota ordered, “with any means necessary. Pry open their mouths. There is bound to be a party that picked up the Secret Message Bead. It’s impossible to not have any witnesses.”
“Some Wanted Criminals have left Floating Dragon, and they need to be intercepted by the mother ship.” Anger of having been toyed with was stacking up in Ember’s mind, and his tone was very cold. “Leave the people still on Floating Dragon to me.”
“During the search for the whereabouts of the Secret Message Bead, inquire about intel on that mysterious force at the same time,” Sarota added.
“I know.” Ember frowned. Although he agreed, he really did not have much clue about the mysterious force.
“Wha—what about me?”
Peggy did not have the same confidence that he had moments ago. He was panicking, but he felt that he had given them the intel and helped DarkStar to find out more about the hidden enemy, which should have been considered a contribution.
Sarota glanced at him then gestured. The surrounding DarkStar warriors all raised their light energy rifles and aiming at the column. All the scavengers were frightened—they struggled and hastily begged for mercy.
“Don’t kill me. It’s just a misunderstanding, I didn’t mean to deceive you! DarkStar is my idol. I have always wanted to fight for the cause of the hybrids. Please let me join you.” Peggy was trembling as he exclaimed.
“You really want to dedicate yourself to DarkStar?” Sarota’s eyes flashed.
“Yes, DarkStar is my faith! I would do anything for you.” Peggy hurriedly revealed his heart and expressed his loyalty.
“Well, for us, you being dead is more useful than being alive. DarkStar appreciates your contribution,” Sarota sneered.
The murder was the biggest purpose of the DarkStar for this trip. The fewer outsiders in the world that knew about the whereabouts of the Secret Message Bead, the better.
Hum!
Bright lights burst from the energy rifles, melting wounds in the scavengers one after another. The screams burst from the captives’ mouths before quickly weakening as they lost their breath.
The laser expanded in Peggy’s eyes, and his line of sight became all white. He opened his eyes wide and roared, “No!”
The dense wounds were all over his body. Peggy’s head fell limply to the side with his eyes wide open. He had died with so many regrets.
He had thought that his dreams of joining the DarkStar was going to come true, but never had he expected that he would eventually die at the hands of DarkStar.
Chapter 386. Talent Upgrade, Raid |
Two days later…
Whoosh!
The cooling storage case opened, and mist like liquid nitrogen spurted out.
Haier’s arachnid legs operated the metal clamp, clipping out ten test tubes filled with silver reagents. This was a gene agent extracted from the Void Dragon’s spinal fluid. Void Dragons had very strong vitality, and their carcasses and spinal cords would remain active even after death, only completely vanishing after hundreds of years. By extracting the active factors, it could be made into a strong agent that could enhance physical fitness that most life forms could consume, including humans.
“Ten refined Void Dragon Pith, these cute little things are yours.” The sharp teeth in Haier’s mouth moved, and the Insect Language was translated.
The substantial reward that Floating Dragon had given to Han Xiao was fifty kilograms of Void Dragon Bones and ten tubes of Dragon Pith. It was originally one hundred kilograms of Void Dragon Bones, but he had asked for half of the bones to be changed to Dragon Pith. The effect of the Void Dragon Pith was a permanent increase in attributes with no side effects—it was extremely precious to the players.
Han Xiao picked up a tube of Dragon Pith and observed it carefully. Its density was not as stagnant and thick as mercury—it was translucent and light silver colored. The agent was very pure and clear, with a faint glow. A notification popped up as soon as he picked it up. After confirmation, Han Xiao directly inserted one tube of Dragon Pith into the injection gun.
A tremor came from the depths of his body like an electric current flowing through his whole body. Han Xiao shivered, and a tint of silver flashed in his eyes.
_____________
You used [Refined Void Dragon Pith (High Concentration 42.2%)].
+3 STR, +4 END, +1 CHA
_____________
Han Xiao’s action did not stop. He injected two more tubes, and the random increase in attributes for high concentration agents was in the higher numbers. After three consecutive injections, he received a total increase of eight Strength, eleven Endurance, and two Charisma.
Agents that could permanently increase attributes usually had usage limitations. The Void Dragon Pith could only increase attributes three times, and it would not increase again after that.
However, although attributes would not increase after three times, there was a hidden effect. If the dosage reached a certain level, the quantity accumulation would trigger a quality change, receiving the talent called [Void Genes]. Its effect on the surface included ordinary effects of increased speed and dodge rate, but the real benefit was that it would affect the ch
oices during his race evolution.
In his previous life, he had discovered this coincidentally. Since Void Dragon Pith was very rare and did not have any effect after three uses, the vast majority of people would not waste it. Han Xiao had to thank that willful rich person, or no one would have known about this secret.
According to the cumulative effect, it would need about twenty low concentration tubes. In the case of high concentration ones… ten should be enough.
After some rough calculations, he injected the Dragon Pith into his body one after another. More silver agents mixed into his blood, and he suddenly felt something. Some subtle changes were happening in his body, and the silver in his eyes became darker.
Haier was surprised. “Hiss, hiss, hiss… Oh, I’m sorry, the translator dropped just now. You are injecting too much, are you not afraid of genetic mutation? Enough is enough.”
Han Xiao shook his head, indicating that he could do it. It was genetic mutation that he wanted.
At his seventh injection, Han Xiao body turned stiff. A cold and hot mixed feeling exploded in his body, and his legs became unsteady. He staggered, and his back hit the shelf as he wheezed heavily. His frown was so wrinkled that it could almost squeeze a fly.
He clenched his teeth very strongly. All the nerve endings in his body were transmitting a sharp pain to his brain, and every vessel was beating and bulging!
If there was a Super who was good at sensing present, they would discover that Han Xiao’s life rhythm was changing. Not only had it started surging and become stronger, there was also a mysterious trace of the void.
_____________
You have gained the talent [Void Genes]!
[Void Genes]: Your senses can detect the changes in space, giving you a stronger reaction speed and more flexibility.
+28% Movement Speed, +15% Dodge Rate.
_____________
After what felt like a century to Han Xiao, the pain slightly reduced. He heaved a sigh of relief, wiping the cold sweat on his forehead. Suddenly, he felt a bulge—its texture was a bit hard, like a scale.
