by <unknown>
Han Xiao narrowed his eyes. “You’re quite generous.”
“It’s very tough for someone petty to achieve great things in life. I’ve managed Planet Macipher for close to a hundred and thirty years,” Sardeem said calmly. “What situation have I not seen before? Hmm?”
Han Xiao contemplated for a while and still shook his head.
As an almost Beyond Grade A faction leader, it would be too shameless for him to become a subordinate of a Calamity Grade just because of a blueprint.
Although he did put on a disguise, if he accidentally exposed his true identity one day, it would be a mark on his history he would not be able to wipe off. It would damage his high reputation in the eyes of the players and would not be beneficial for building a sense of belonging for the faction, as well as the cultivation of leeks. In conclusion, the cons outweighed the pros.
The Eternal Light blueprint was indeed a good item, but it was not something that he had to obtain no matter what.
Also, you think that I won’t be able to get the blueprint without joining you?
You’re dreaming!
Seeing that Han Xiao had rejected him, Sardeem narrowed his eyes.
“Hehe, I know you have the pride of a Calamity Grade, but I’m worth following. Do you think that normal people would be able to get the flagship blueprint of the Federation of Light?”
Han Xiao was slightly moved.
Indeed, even he could not buy a blueprint as rare as the Eternal Light blueprint. How did Sardeem get it?
Sardeem put his hands behind his back and looked at Han Xiao. “You might think that as a Calamity Grade, you don’t have to become a subordinate of another Calamity Grade, so you rejected me… But what if I told you that I’m not just representing myself and there’s a Beyond Grade A behind this?”
“Hmm?” Han Xiao noticed something.
Now that he thought about it carefully, there should be some unknown reasons that brought about Planet Macipher’s prosperity other than Sardeem’s personal strength. He might indeed be a secret officer of a certain Beyond Grade A.
However, there were only four Beyond Grade As in the Shattered Star Ring. Who did this guy work for?
Tyrant? Possible, but not likely. After all, Sardeem was not a buffed and muscular dude.
Magus? That did not feel right either. Sardeem was not a mage…
Star Pupil? Not likely given how rarely that guy left his own territory.
Could it be the Dragon Emperor? Laughable.
Seeing that Han Xiao was confused, Sardeem shook his head and smiled.
“You have definitely heard of him before.”
Pride appeared on Sardeem’s face, together with a sense of superiority.
“Do you know about… the Mechanic Empire?”
Han Xiao was completely shocked and almost wanted to leave right away.
Mechanic Empire Manison?
Don’t know, never heard before, bye!
Chapter 751. 751 Arrival |
751 Arrival
Sardeem being Manison’s subordinate was a piece of intelligence that Han Xiao did not expect to obtain. In his previous life, Sardeem had not been considered a known NPC to the players and had no mission to trigger. He did not think that Sardeem was hiding this much.
Manison was an extremely strong guy. As a member of The Ancient Ones, he created his own faction in the Calamity of the Supers version.
Han Xiao was very sensitive to anything related to Manison and did not want to have anything to do with him. This was because of Aroshia.
She was a survivor of an artificial intelligence civilization conquered by Manison, and Risda was still hoping that Han Xiao could avenge them. Han Xiao still had the [Reboot] mission on his interface.
However, he was not willing to mess with this ancient and powerful being. The Mechanic Empire had no conflict of interest with him. It would be too big a loss for Han Xiao to become his enemy for just a normal mission. He actually did not want to do this mission, so he had been delaying it. Risda also knew that this was impossible without the help of a Beyond Grade A Super, so he had waited patiently and did not hurry Han Xiao.
Manison was mainly in the Central Galaxy and the Primeval Star River, but his organization had fangs secretly distributed among many Star Fields. His ‘Mechanic Empire’ was not just a reference to his Mechanical Army but also signified that the number of Mechanics under his command could form an entire empire.
Manison likes to recruit Mechanics. This is probably also the reason his subordinate in the Shattered Star Ring, Sardeem, is suddenly recruiting me. No wonder this guy is so arrogant.
Han Xiao’s eyes gleamed.
However, although he was shocked by Sardeem’s background, he quickly calmed down.
No matter what, Manison did not even know that he existed. They had no conflict with each other, so he did not have to fear him.
Manison not knowing of Han Xiao’s existence was his biggest advantage. Furthermore, he had surprisingly discovered that Sardeem was secretly under the Mechanic Empire, which was a huge gain.
After purposely acting like he was hesitating for a while, Han Xiao shook his head. “Of course, I’ve heard of the Mechanic Empire, but I still don’t want to join you.”
Sardeem’s confidence fixed on his face. This time, he was the one that was shocked instead.
He had thought that as long as he mentioned the Mechanic Empire, recruiting this person would be a piece of cake. He did not expect ‘Barne’ to reject him.
“Don’t you know how many resources the Mechanic Empire has and how valuable they are to a Mechanic?” Sardeem said with an incredulous tone.
Manison had been stockpiling technology and blueprints for countless years. Not even mentioning the Cutting-Edge Knowledges, he most likely even had the Ultimate Knowledges for the Mechanic class, as well as all kinds of secret or lost blueprints. He even had tons of spaceships and weapon blueprints of the three Universal Civilizations. These attracted countless Mechanics to join under his command… of course, those Knowledges all had to be exchanged for contribution.
Han Xiao raised his brows.
“I know what you mean, but not all Mechanics want to be Manison’s subordinates, right?”
He was indeed tempted by the resources of the Mechanic Empire. However, that did not come for free. He had to do things for the Mechanic Empire over the long term. Unlike joining under Sardeem, whom he had confidence that he could completely beat, joining the Mechanic Empire was different as he certainly could not beat him. This meant that once he joined the Mechanic Empire, his true identity would definitely be exposed, and he would really end up working for him.
Therefore, there was no way that he was going to accept the invitation. This was like a Fortune 500 company trying to hire him, but he would rather start his own company. Although my company is not as big as yours now, I’m the one that gets all the profits!
Sardeem narrowed his eyes, turned around, and sat back in the chair. With an expressionless face, he said, “Then you can leave now.”
Seeing that Barne had made up his mind, he did not want to waste any time and energy convincing him.
He was not worried about Han Xiao knowing his identity. After operating Planet Macipher for more than a hundred years, his background was no secret to many people. He dared to tell the truth of his background because he was not afraid of it being exposed. He was legally operating Planet Macipher, so what if people knew that he was part of the Mechanic Empire? His Excellency Manison was not a wanted criminal; having a subordinate in the Shattered Star Ring to build a stronghold did not break any laws.
Han Xiao did not care about Sardeem’s dissatisfaction. He shook his head and left the room with a little resignation.
He was not afraid of offending Sardeem, but this meant that Sardeem would definitely monitor him more closely, which would make stealing the Eternal Light blueprints even more difficult.
Fortunately, Sardeem did not discover my true identity.
His misjudgment of my strength works to my advantage. I should be able to fool him with some tricks, but if I still can’t steal it in the end, I can only use Bame’s identity to rob it… Or should I change to another identity?
While thinking about murdering and robbing, Han Xiao slowly walked away.
After Han Xiao left, Sardeem was the only one left in the office. He shook his head and was rather disappointed.
Initially, he had thought that recruiting Barne would be simple, but he did not expect this guy to be so stubborn.
Di di di…
At this time, Sardeem’s communicator rang.
As he looked at the caller, his expression instantly changed, and he immediately picked up the communicator. “Greetings, Your Excellency Psyker!”
The person that was contacting him was Psyker!
Psyker’s video call appeared on the screen, and he asked, “If I remember correctly, Planet Macipher is your territory, right?”
Yes, what can I do for you?”
Sardeem’s tone was very respectful, completely different from how he talked to Han Xiao.
As the leader of the Star Pupil Holy Race, it was simple for Psyker to contact the owner of a known neutral planet.
Furthermore, he had known Sardeem for a long time. The Arcane Church was behind him, so he had access to a lot of information. Sardeem’s true identity was no secret to him at all.
As he was backed by the Arcane Church, although Psyker was in the remote Shattered Star Ring, he was still quite known in the Central Galaxy’s Beyond Grade A circle. These powerful individuals all knew that he was a semi-ally of the Arcane Church and was a valuable chip for them.
Although Psyker focused on managing his race and did not like to cause trouble like the Tyrant, in terms of influence in high society, Psyker was the one at the top among the four Beyond Grade As in the Shattered Star Ring.
Therefore, Sardeem showed him a lot of respect.
“Hmm, I have something I need you to do,” Psyker said slowly. “I need you to pay attention to a ‘Light Fox’ model spaceship. I will send its appearance to you later. No matter who arrives on your planet in this type of spaceship, pay close attention to them. They’re very likely there to repair their spaceship, so find a way to keep them on Planet Macipher.”
“Okay, I got it.” Without a thought, Sardeem agreed—this was basically a gifted favor.
Although he claimed to be neutral, he knew what kind of people he had to give privileges to.
You must stall them and not let them escape the Shattered Star Ring,” Psyker emphasized.
“Understood.” Sardeem nodded.
Psyker then hung up.
As one of the EsGod doppelgangers had used teleportation to move Colin and the others to steal the Evolution Cube, the Star Pupil Holy Race had no visual records of these people and did not know what they looked like. However, due to the battleship fight outside their mothership, they knew the looks of these ‘Light Fox’ spaceships.
The mark that Psyker had left on the Evolution Cube showed that the Evolution Cube was no longer escaping in hyperdrive and had stopped for the first time. After looking at the star map, Psyker realized that the Evolution Cube had stopped near Planet Macipher.
Since he knew the location of their spaceship, he could guess what those thieves were planning.
Therefore, Psyker came up with a plan and contacted Sardeem to get his help.
While doing so, he had been heading toward Planet Macipher all along. As long as Sardeem could stall them for a few days, he would be able to arrive.
With his power, Colin and the others would not be able to escape.
At the same time in the orbit of Planet Macipher, Colin piloted the heavily damaged ‘Light Fox’ spaceship and slowly approached the port of Planet Macipher.
Due to the superiority of their spaceship’s engine, they had maintained high-speed hyperdrive and crossed a small half of the Star Field in dose to ten days, leaving their pursuers far behind.
They had finally arrived at this famous neutral planet. Planet Macipher was the place that they had chosen to repair their spaceship.
Chapter 752. Emperor Mechanic! |
The Light Fox spaceships flew toward the Planet Macipher port. Inside the cabin, Colin was speaking to his subordinates.
“We will first land in a sub-city. You guys will go and find a local shipyard immediately. Have them transport our spaceships over and repair them as soon as possible. Money isn’t an issue… As for the rest of us, we will be finding a relatively hidden spot in the sub-city to rest.”
The others replied disorderly.
“Don’t worry,” Orozen said lazily, “Planet Macipher is a neutral planet. No one will trouble us. The Star Pupil Holy Race doesn’t even know the direction we escaped in. There’s no one chasing after us, so we’re basically safe. We just have to stay one or two days on Planet Macipher and wait for our spaceships to be repaired. Then, we can take the Evolution Cube back.”
Speaking of the Evolution Cube, desire appeared in Orozen’s eyes as he subconsciously glanced at the tiny black cube hanging on Colin’s neck.
Noticing his glance, Colin said, “We will figure out how to use this thing after we leave the Shattered Star Ring. Don’t even think about it now.”
With such a treasure in hand, everyone was tempted, but no one had any underlying thoughts. They just wanted to experience the Evolution Cube’s effects at most.
Although the Evolution Cube was a Universal Treasure, it was not worth betraying EsGod for.
As EsGod had the data of the Evolutionary Civilization, they knew a thing or two about the Evolution Cube as well, so they did not have any unnecessary expectations for it. After all, even with the Star Pupil Holy Race having so many Calamity Grades, Psyker was still the only Beyond Grade A.
However, the fact that using the Evolution Cube would make them stronger was an indisputable truth.
This time, the spaceships entered the port, completed the simple procedures, and descended toward one of the subcities on Planet Macipher.
As soon as they left their spaceships, Colin and the rest started moving. They found a relatively unknown shipyard and paid them to repair their spaceships.
The Light Fox spaceships were equipped with top-notch hyperdrive engines. It only took them a few days to travel the distance that would take normal spaceship months. Otherwise, they would not have arrived at Planet Macipher, which was at the edge of the Shattered Star Ring, in just ten days from the Star Pupil Holy Race’s territory. They insisted on repairing the spaceships because the speed of the Light Fox spaceships would save them a ton of time while traveling. They definitely would not change their spaceships unless they had absolutely no other choice.
As they had escaped as fast as they could, they did not know for sure if there were any pursuers behind them.
However, to them, the super high-speed hyperdrive of the Light Fox spaceship was more than enough to get rid of any pursuers. The Star Pupil Holy Race might not even know where they had gone. Of course, the connection between Psyker and the Evolution Cube was a secret, so they did not know that their location had already been exposed.
As for their identities, they were not worried at all. They had stolen the Evolution Cube while using the teleportation ability of the EsGod doppelganger, so the Star Pupil Holy Race did not know what they looked like.
The only time they were exposed was back in the Tyla Civilization, which was already many months ago and had nothing to do with them stealing the Evolution Cube. No one would link the two incidents together. After all, the Star Pupil Holy Race did not announce that the Evolution Cube had been stolen, not even in the local news on Planet Avitan. The secret war was still at the top of the news.
Therefore, to Colin and the others, arriving at the Planet Macipher meant that they already had one foot out of the Shattered Star Ring. They thought that they were completely safe.
As their spaceships were sent for repair, Colin and th
e others stayed in a hotel in the sub-city.
What they did not know was, the moment they entered Planet Macipher, they were already noticed.
Only half an hour after Psyker’s call…
“The Light Fox spaceships have already appeared…”
Sardeem received the information immediately.
The port entry information throughout Planet Macipher was monitored by him. As soon as Colin’s spaceships entered, they were discovered. Sardeem monitored Colin and the others closely.
They went to Sub-City No.2, found a shipyard there to repair their spaceship, and went to a hostel located at…”
The entire planet was under his surveillance. After locking onto the Light Fox spaceships, Sardeem then monitored Colin and the rest.
He did not recognize them, but after his assistant artificial intelligence searched for a while, he found Orozen’s bounty from the Tyla Civilization.
“A group of wanted criminals? Why is Psyker after them?” Sardeem could not help but imagine. “Could it be that he wants to use this opportunity to establish a good relationship with the Tyla Civilization? It is indeed possible for Psyker to do something like this, but the fact that he’s doing it personally… maybe it’s because he wants to increase his influence?”
Given how much information he lacked, of course, he had no idea that the Evolution Cube had been stolen.
Also, Sardeem would definitely not link the small black cube on Colin’s neck to the gigantic Evolution Cube.
“Psyker just wants me to stall them. Hmm, if not needed, I don’t have to fight them.”
Sardeem pondered for a while and decided not to alarm them.
Instead, he issued a new order to his mechanical low enforcement troops and secretly increased the patrol density of the area around Colin and the others. This would allow him to monitor them even more closely.
“Right…”
Sardeem thought of something else. He called the shipyard that had taken the job to repair the Light Fox spaceships and ordered them to delay the process.
