by <unknown>
Duration: 30 minutes
Uses: 0/3
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“Quite a strong effect. It should come in handy during close combat.” Han Xiao nodded and switched off the interface.
After cleaning up the battlefield, Floating Dragon returned to its main base, and Han Xiao followed along.
The battlefield used for the spar was not too far from Planet Aquamarine and did not need much time to journey back. Floating Dragon Island soon reached Planet Aquamarine and stationed itself in outer space.
Spaceships could be seen rising from and descending to the blue planet. Right now, Planet Aquamarine had integrated with the interstellar society, and the development opportunities brought about by the financial groups also helped their civilization progress quickly. Now it also had the appearance of a galactic city.
After returning to his hometown, Han Xiao slowly looked over the changes in Planet Aquamarine, and after thinking about it, he invited Ames along.
Although Ames did not care much for her loss on the surface, Han Xiao needed to remove any negativity and maintain their relationship as allies. He would take this chance to properly interact with her, solidify their relationship, and reduce the friction to the minimum.
Ames looked at Planet Aquamarine every day, but she seldom went down to visit the surface city in person. With his invite, Ames obviously did not reject.
New Western Capital was situated at one of the original Six Nations, Stardragon.
Bennett’s Black Star City was where the Black Star Army’s sub-base was situated and also the political core of the Planet Aquamarine Federation. It continued to expand on the original Karst wilderness, attracted countless people, and had long become saturated. Later on, because the financial groups decided to focus their attention on the other cities that were not controlled so tightly, many other economic and financial cities were created around it, and the New Western Capital developed quickly, coming into the ranks of the first-tier cities of Planet Aquamarine.
It was just past noon, and the bright sunlight injected vitality into the city. The bustling streets were full of people, and voices clamored. There were not only natives but also many galactic citizens. With anti-gravity vehicles, public transportation carried people in an orderly manner across the city’s midair cross-track network. This was a picture of peace.
Han Xiao and Ames hid their presence and aura, not letting anyone discover their presence.
The two of them walked side by side down the streets, observing the situation as they chatted.
Two kids chasing each other ran past Han Xiao, a carefree smile plastered on their faces.
Han Xiao kept his gaze and spoke emotionally.
“With the Mutation Disaster gone for almost a decade, the people in Planet Aquamarine have also walked out of the shadows, embracing their new life and producing a new generation. This kind of feeling is indeed good.”
“This is the result of your effort. Are you feeling a sense of accomplishment?” Ames smiled.
“Just a little.”
Han Xiao was not so humble. In the first place, he saved his mother planet purely out of the benefits of the Planet Aquamarine players. But seeing the results now, he was actually quite satisfied. No one disliked beautiful scenes.
“During the Mutation Disaster, you once invited me to view your mother planet, and at that time, I felt that it was full of despair and hopelessness. The people were confused about the future and did not know if they could survive past tomorrow. However, it’s now another extreme.” Ames shook her head. “It was you who gave the planet a new life.”
“Then it’s estimated that I’m probably the turning point in history, haha.” Han Xiao laughed. When interacting with people he was closer to, he could not be so humble.
As they walked and chatted, they unknowingly arrived at the central area. Towering buildings clustered around the areas like pigeons waiting for food. This place used to be the old site of the Dragonhorn Tower in Stardragon. It had been remodeled into a new one, which was built by a financial group.
Seeing all these buildings, Han Xiao’s footsteps stopped as the memories surged, and he could not help but have a sense of aloofness from this world.
At this moment, Ames seemed to have spotted something and tugged at Han Xiao’s sleeve as she asked, “Hey, what’s that store?”
Turning to where she was looking, he saw a shop across the street with the sign ‘Black Star Heritage Exhibition Hall’ written on the signboard!
“I’ve actually… become a cultural relic. It’s not even been two decades…”
Han Xiao felt like vomiting. However, his curiosity overwhelmed him, and he walked over with Ames.
The automatic glass doors opened as they neared, and they walked into the exhibition hall. They saw that it had various glass showcases with various objects within.
However, the entire hall seemed to be cold and empty, without a single person present. There was a counter at the door, with a sign erected and the price of the ticket written. A woman sitting behind the counter seemed to be a clerk with her upper body lying on the table napping. She did not even hear the two of them enter.
With his Beyond Grade A eyesight, Han Xiao glanced toward the inside of the shop and instantly saw what was within the display cases. His mouth twitched.
“What sort of nonsense is this?”
The exhibition hall was filled with all sorts of messy stuff, such as ‘Chair That Black Star Has Sat On’, ‘Slippers Black Star Has Worn’, and ‘Bread That Black Star Has Bitten’. There was even one that read ‘Toilet Seat Thich Black Star Has Sat on’.
Han Xiao swore that he had never seen the toilet in the display case!
Ames blinked a few times, pointing toward one of the cases, and curiously asked, “Did you really like to wear diapers in the past?”
“You’re the one who likes it!”
“Who didn’t wear them when they were babies?” Ames opened her hands as she retorted.
Their voices woke up the clerk by the counter, and she raised her head, rubbing her eyes sleepily before showing herself in front of them while yawning.
“This is a small establishment, so we don’t accept Enas as currency. One ticket requires 400 Aquamarine Credibility Points. I can explain the history behind each artifact if you’re interested… eh‽”
The woman finally took in their appearances after she yawned, and her mouth, which had not closed, hung open like that as she revealed a shocked expression.
Han Xiao originally wanted to question where these ‘cultural artifacts’ came from, but after looking at her appearance, he suddenly felt that she looked a bit familiar. “Wait a minute…”
Before he finished speaking, the woman suddenly got excited and opened her arms wide, as though she wished to give him a hug.
But just as she got into the pose, her face froze as though she had thought of something, and her entire body paused in mid action.
The next instant, she put down her hands, and her expression became cramped, as though she did not know where to place her hands. She tentatively asked, “Han… no, Your Excellency Black Star, do you still remember me?”
Han Xiao frowned slightly as he closely looked at the woman. There were fine wrinkles around her eyes, and she seemed a little old, but she still had her womanly charms and had probably been extremely beautiful when she was young. She still maintained a good figure… but under the scrutiny of a Beyond Grade A, this sort of beauty did not have any attractive appeal.
With each advancement, it was a sublimation of life level. At the Beyond Grade A level, one could see the minutest of details, and most creatures were covered with dirt in a Beyond Grade A’s eyes. Only others who were at the Beyond Grade A level would appear uncontaminated by dirt and dust.
Han Xiao scanned through the faces in his memory and matched with one of them. He said in a surprised tone, “You’re… Li Yalin?”
The woman in front of him was actually his col
league back when he was working as an agent in Stardragon.
Seeing that Han Xiao recognized her, Li Yalin was overjoyed and nodded like a chicken pecking on millet.
“That’s right, that’s right. You really still remember me!”
“It’s harder for me to forget things than to remember now,” Han Xiao explained. “Turns out, you’re still alive. I thought you died in the Mutation Disaster. Since you were alive, why didn’t you go to the Black Star Army to find me?”
“I only survived out of luck, and later on, when the Six Nations were disbanded by you, I also lost my job and took the severance payment. I didn’t want to fight anymore, so I didn’t go to you. I bought a house here and opened this exhibition hall.”
She suddenly remembered all the nonsense around them and let out an awkward smile. “Oh… that, I got all those things from the flea market and marketed them as things you’ve used before. No choice, life is hard…”
“… Relax, I’m not going to make trouble for you.”
Seeing an old friend, Han Xiao’s mood was very good.
“Old friend?” Ames suddenly spoke out.
“Yeah, an old comrade more than twenty years ago.” Han Xiao nodded.
Because Li Yalin had focused all her attention on Han Xiao, she did not notice Ames. She snapped back and bowed. “To not notice Your Excellency Dragon Emperor, I’m sorry. Please forgive me.”
Ames smiled as she nodded.
“Ai, we’re already old friends. There’s no need to be so polite.” Han Xiao waved his hands.
“How can I?” Li Yalin was a little embarrassed. “You’re such a famous character now.”
With more than twenty years, her friend had now reached a level that she would never obtain and was a great planetary character that appeared on the news. Li Yalin had to withstand the urge to hug him after thinking of the gap between them.
Han Xiao also noticed this point and could not help but sigh that one’s status truly differentiated people. After thinking for a while, he suddenly smiled.
“Now, come to think of it, I seem to owe you money.”
Li Yalin paused before waving her hands. “That was so long ago. You don’t need to be bothered about it…”
“Too late, already transferred.” Han Xiao cut her off.
Ding!
From within the room came the sound of a communicator pinging.
“Hey, I didn’t tell you my account number. How did you know…” Li Yalin was surprised, and she took out her communicator. After glancing, she froze in shock.
“Th—This…”
“One million Enas, enough to compensate for the interest accumulated for more than twenty years.”
Han Xiao smiled and felt that he was radiating the aura of a wealthy wastrel.
“It’s too much!” Li Yalin was helpless.
“This is not even a large sum for me, pocket money at most. You can rest easy and not worry about life in the future…” Han Xiao glanced around and dryly coughed. “So, find a time to close this shop.”
Ames could not help but start laughing.
“You look like those galactic pirates that paid me a protection fee in the past.”
“No one will think you’re mute if you don’t talk.” Han Xiao spat back.
Seeing Li Yalin still standing there with a dumbfounded expression, Han Xiao looked around and fished out a paper and pen from behind the counter, writing down his communicator number and passing it to her.
“Next time if you have problems, call me. You can come find me anytime.”
Li Yalin slowly regained her wits and solemnly folded up the paper before replying in a serious tone, “Thank you.”
“There’s no need. The money is a small matter.”
“It’s not about that.” Li Yalin took a deep breath before bowing. “I’m thanking you for whatever you did for the entire Planet Aquamarine, for all the people you’ve saved, including me. I did not have the chance to tell you that previously… you’ll always be the hero in my heart.”
Ames also smiled at that and joked, “What about me?”
“Ah, you’re also the heroine in my heart.” Li Yalin hurriedly bowed toward her as well.
At this moment, some other guests walked in, and seeing the scene, they felt a little surprised before suddenly exclaiming.
“Your Excellency Black Star‽”
“Goodness, it’s really him!”
Everyone rushed forward with excited expressions.
Among a hundred Aquamarians, probably only one would not know what Han Xiao looked like. A portion of them benefitted from the statue of him situated in Black Star City, while the other benefitted from the textbooks.
“I… Can I take a photo with you‽” One of them excitedly took out his communicator.
“Of course.” Han Xiao smiled. Anyways, he had nothing to do, so taking a bit of time did not matter.
As they took pictures with Han Xiao, their ruckus attracted more people, which started to form a queue in front of the stall. The tiny exhibition hall became crowded, and it was extremely rowdy, as though there was a fan meet within.
Han Xiao did not refuse anyone and took photos with all the happy citizens of Planet Aquamarine. The lights flashed continuously, and group photos were posted on Planet Aquamarine’s social network constantly.
The appearance of their ‘Savior’ spread quickly and attracted countless people to swarm to this location.
By the sides, Ames looked at Han Xiao and how he was welcomed by everyone, and the admiration in her eyes was apparent.
Chapter 909. Half a Year |
As he was leaving the exhibition hall, Han Xiao went back to find Li Yalin to make up for the unfinished hug. In that moment, there was no status difference between them, just a reunion of friendship.
Twenty years had passed just like that, and his first group of friends all had their own personal experiences. Everyone had the freedom to make their own choices, and he would not interfere. Thus, after repaying his ‘debt’, he did not say anything else to Li Yalin.
After bidding goodbye, Han Xiao and Ames spent another ten or so days touring Planet Aquamarine’s major cities. When they were spotted, numerous people would rush up to take pictures with them. This happened all the way until they met up with Bennett.
Since there were a multitude of photos posted on social media, Bennett knew that Han Xiao would definitely go to him and only waited, not disturbing him this time.
Since Han Xiao and Ames had a cooperative relationship with Planet Aquamarine, Bennett also prepared himself to meet the two.
…
After they finished discussing the formal matters, Bennett could not help to ask about Nero. Han Xiao told Bennett about Nero’s heavy study load, but this reassured Bennett that Han Xiao valued Nero a lot and was interested in grooming him.
After finishing the inspection work on Planet Aquamarine, Han Xiao went back to Floating Dragon, with the intention of sneaking into Aesop’s wine cellar to get some Void Dragon Wine to share with Hila, but it was foreseen by Aesop, who had moved his bed and toilet to the wine cellar, guarding it with his life. Thus, he could only return to the headquarters empty handed.
In her palace, Ames watched the spaceship fly toward the horizon and let out a breath, muttering to herself, “I can’t be lazy anymore…”
…
When he returned to the headquarters, the first he did was look for Feidin and Nero, and after molesting them, he went to his room to collect his mission random reward.
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You have received a Random Reward Draw of one of Ames’ skills (Ability/Talent).
Alert: Ames is an Esper, part of the possible abilities have been automatically adjusted to your class.
Randomizing… complete.
Please select one from the five options below as the reward:
1. Pure Bloodline – Talent: Improve one’s Racial Talent to a certain degree (cannot be quantified due to individual’s talen
ts being different)
2. Advanced Charm Aura – Talent: +120% CHA
3. Caretaker of the Stars – Ability: Passive Ability that is randomly triggered. One will be favored by the Stars and obtain a [Strong Luck] status, +90% LUK. Lasts for 15 days.
4. Activate Potential – Ability: Unleash one’s potential, +10 – 15% Attack and +200% Crit Rate. Energy is continuously consumed in this state.
5. Heroic Wrists – Talent: You have frightening wrist strength, a strong body, and vigorous cell activity. As your character’s overall level rises, your STR, END and Attack will increase.
– Lv1 – 100: Every 10 levels will give +30 STR, +15 END, and +0.6% increase in attack.
– Lv101 – 200: Every 10 levels will give +45 STR, +25 END, and +0.9% increase in attack.
– Lv201 and above: Every 10 levels will give +60 STR, +35 END, and +1.2% increase in attack.
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“Whoa, jackpot!” Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled.
Feidin and Nero were really his lucky stars, allowing him to draw all decent rewards.
[Advanced Charm Aura]’s bonus was quite impressive, and any talent with the word ‘Advanced’ would not be bad, but Han Xiao’s demand for Charm was not high.
[Caretaker of the Stars] was a powerful skill, and its Luck bonus was high, but he had no demand for that, and besides… with one point of basic Luck, no matter how great the bonus was, it would still be around the same.
[Activate Potential] was a practical skill that would increase one’s output, but it was lacking compared to the other two.
Han Xiao particularly favored the [Pure Bloodline] since it was a rare racial talent boosting skill as well as [Heroic Wrists] since it was a growth type talent.
However, there was only one reward that could be chosen, so after pondering for a while, Han Xiao made the decision.
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You have been awarded with the talent Heroic Wrists!
Current additional states applied: +1230 STR, +680 END, +24.6 increase in attack.
