Han Xiao closed the control panel, drafted an application, and sent it to the Empire requesting permission to visit the Sorokin.
He received a reply shortly afterward.
"Huh? They actually returned my file?"
Han Xiao stared in surprise at the virtual screen in front of him, which displayed the application documents approved by the Empire.
A red stamp appeared in the lower right corner of the document, bearing the words "Approval Not Approved" written in the Imperial common script, meaning the application was rejected.
"What does it mean that the Empire won't let me visit the Sorokin?"
Han Xiao frowned, took out his communicator, thought for a moment, and instead of dialing Urranrell's private line, he went through the line to the head of state's office.
The communicator rang for a while and was quickly answered. When the liaison officer saw that the caller was Black Star, he transferred the line to the Secretary-General of the Head of State's Office.
"Lord Black Star, may I ask what brings you here?" The secretary-general, who had a decent relationship with Han Xiao, asked.
"Here's the thing, I just submitted an application to visit the Sorokin, but it wasn't approved and was returned. Is this Urranrell's doing?"
"Ah, His Excellency has been in a meeting. It shouldn't be her. I'm not aware of this matter. Your application didn't reach us."
"Could you help me find out which department handled it?"
"Okay, please wait a moment..."
The secretary-general worked on the internal system for a while, accessed the files with his privileges, and his tone immediately turned helpless.
"This is a joint assessment by the Imperial AI ' Heroic Souls ' and the prison department. I've seen their internal notes; Imperial detention locations are top secret, and visits are generally not permitted. However, Lord Black Star, you are even more special, being on their visitation blacklist..."
"Why am I on the blacklist? What did I do?" Han Xiao was completely baffled.
The secretary-general said helplessly, "You didn't do anything, but you are currently the only person in the world capable of releasing the Sorokin, so you are not allowed to visit him until your scheduled five-hundred-year sentence is completed..."
Han Xiao was speechless.
I helped the Empire capture the Sorokin, and now I'm not even allowed to visit him myself?
Well, from the Empire's perspective, this approach is quite reasonable. For the time being, only I can unlock the Space-Time Amber prison. The former captor has become the only potential releaser. In this way, it seems normal for the Empire to refuse my visit, avoiding the greatest risk.
However... while the Empire's actions were not wrong, Han Xiao couldn't help but feel a little disheartened.
He thought his application would be approved smoothly, but he didn't expect it to get stuck at this stage.
"Can't you make an exception?" Han Xiao frowned.
"The management authority of the Sorokin Prison is very high. If you insist on visiting, you can only ask the head of state for help. She has the power to force your application to be approved, but you must have a reasonable reason, otherwise..." the secretary-general said tactfully.
Upon hearing this, Han Xiao nodded.
I have a good personal relationship with Urranrell, but he won't just open a back door for me unless I have a legitimate reason.
After exchanging a few words, Han Xiao hung up the call. Urranrell was in an important meeting, and he would have to wait a while before he could contact him again. He used this time to think of something to say.
'I originally wanted to approach the Sorokin under the pretext of visiting him, but it didn't work out. Without a compelling reason, the Empire forbids me from approaching the Sorokin's prison in any way. Even the prison's coordinates are kept secret, accessible only to those with specific privileges, and I have no right to inquire about them...'
Han Xiao clicked his tongue in dissatisfaction.
The reason for the visit could not convince the Empire, and to check on the condition of the Sorokin, the amber seal had to be broken. The best solution was to devise a special reason so that the Empire would voluntarily allow him to open the amber, which would minimize the risk.
If I can't persuade them, I'm afraid I'll have to follow Old Manison and try to infiltrate the Imperial database to steal relevant intelligence. Although this would offend the Empire, stealing intelligence isn't too egregious and wouldn't warrant a complete falling out... This can only be a backup plan.
After a while, the Secretary-General sent a message saying that the head of state had finished the meeting, so Han Xiao dialed Urranrell's private number and got through quickly.
Urranrell appeared in the scene, his expression calm, and he got straight to the point.
"Black Star, I heard you came to see me earlier, wanting to visit the Sorokin. Why?"
Although she hid it well, Han Xiao's observation skills were astonishing. He noticed that Urranrell seemed somewhat tired, and after thinking for a moment, he said:
"The Sorokin has been imprisoned for decades. I want to open the prison and examine the Sorokin's soul state."
"Is this necessary?" Urranrell frowned. "You were the one who suggested we set a five-hundred-year sentence. Only a few decades have passed. With the rank of Sorokin, the soul wouldn't be obliterated so quickly. Opening it now would only create more trouble."
"Ahem, back then my rank wasn't high enough, and my understanding of the power of beings at the level of Sorokin was limited, which is why I exaggerated the sentence as much as possible; five hundred years was just a safe estimate. But now that I've grown to my current level and have a deeper understanding of the Space-Time Amber, I've discovered that erasing a Beyond Grade A soul might not take that long."
Han Xiao recited his prepared statement. He had no evidence to explain his suspicion of Gaud, and it would only arouse the empire's suspicion, so he simply avoided involving Gaud.
Urranrell didn't suspect anything, but shook his head and still refused, saying, "I don't think it's necessary. The Sorokin is too dangerous. I still think imprisoning him for five hundred years is the safest option. The empire can afford to wait that long."
Han Xiao had anticipated the leader's suggestion and wasn't surprised at all. He explained, "The experiment is only one objective. Actually, I have some lingering concerns. Only now, having grown to this point, do I understand just how powerful this level is. Looking back, I find the capture of the Sorokin far too easy, which is very suspicious. Based on my understanding of the Sorokin, he likely left himself a backup plan, escaping through soul transfer. I'm worried it might be a trap, so I want to open the prison to investigate."
Urranrell's eyes flickered, but he still didn't quite believe it.
Where is the evidence?
Han Xiao feigned seriousness and said, "This is just a guess, which is why it needs to be verified. But if you insist on witness testimony, you can ask Swordswoman Fu. When we were besieging the Sorokin, she sensed the Sorokin's strange mental fluctuations. I suspect there's something wrong with that."
Gaud is a rising star on whom the empire has placed great hopes, and it would be unwise to bring him up in conversation. Therefore, Han Xiao's remarks were mainly aimed at the Sorokin.
Upon hearing this, Urranrell became truly serious and immediately instructed the secretary-general to contact Swordsman Fu.
Swordswoman Fu quickly logged on and gave an affirmative reply. Only about thirty years had passed, so she naturally remembered what she had seen and heard back then.
Seeing this, Han Xiao breathed a sigh of relief. This evidence didn't actually prove anything; everyone considered it a futile struggle by the Sorokin. But now that he had used it, it had increased its persuasiveness... If it weren't for this, it would be harder to persuade the leader now.
Having received a reply, Urranrell fell silent, seemingly analyzing the pros and cons. After a while, she looked directly into Han Xiao's eyes and said in a deep voice:
"Black Star, if the Sorokin regains his freedom, can you guarantee you can capture him?"
"What I could do then, I can do now."
Han Xiao smiled.
Now that the character card with Superpower Silence is gone, he has lost a major trump card, but after decades of growth, he is no longer the same as before. Even if he guesses wrong, it's just a matter of trying again.
Moreover, others don't know that the character card is only a one-time skill; they will only think that he still has this method.
Urranrell pondered for a long time before finally nodding.
"Alright, I approve! Since your suspicions are valid, open the prison and examine the Sorokin to ensure we haven't captured an empty shell!"
More than ten days later.
Constellation Corridor, within the territory of the Crimson Dynasty, a certain secret military restricted area.
A colossal cubic mechanical structure floats in the starry sky, its exterior resembling a massive interstellar fortress, its surface covered with armor and shields strong enough to withstand a fleet's bombardment—this is the space prison where the Sorokin are held.
At this moment, the prison was surrounded by a densely packed Imperial fleet, every warship with its cannons extended and all kinds of weapons ready to be fired.
Not far from the prison, a black figure hovered—it was Han Xiao. He had opened the Secondary Dimension Army Box and was summoning a large-scale legion to form a second encirclement, completely surrounding the prison.
While Gaud was still traveling through the Shattered World, Han Xiao raced against time, directly using the Sovereign to teleport his main body to the branch within the Empire. He then boarded the Imperial fleet that came to pick him up and it took him about ten days to arrive at this military restricted area.
Han Xiao summoned countless mechanical troops, finally closed the gates of the Secondary Dimension Army Box, and spoke into the communication channel:
"I'm ready. Activate all time-space locking devices immediately and open the prison core."
"Received." The fleet commander's serious voice rang out in the channel.
The next moment, invisible waves rippled out from the fleet, and the space instantly tightened. The spacetime coefficient of the area became extremely stable, essentially rendering all space-related abilities ineffective.
Immediately afterwards, the space prison unfolded like a flower bud, its structure layer upon layer revealing the stamen. At its core was an egg-shaped capsule containing the Sorokin's Space-Time Amber, which was firmly locked and fitted by the prison's mechanical structure.
As the prison gates opened, the egg-shaped pod was unlocked, its independent power system activated, and the thrusters emitted plumes of heat, slowly propelling the pod out of the prison.
Han Xiao reached out and used Mechanical Force and electric arcs to pull the ten-meter-long egg-shaped cabin in front of him, then opened the hatch.
A familiar face, unseen for many years, came into view. It was the Sorokin who had been imprisoned in the Space-Time Amber for decades. He still looked as he had when he was frozen, his expression and movements all frozen in the last moment of his freedom.
"All units, take your positions! Ready to fire at any moment!"
The fleet commander's solemn voice came through the communication channel.
Decades have passed, but the shadow cast by the Sorokin has not completely faded from people's hearts.
"Now it's time to verify our hypothesis..."
Han Xiao stared into the eyes of the Sorokin, took a deep breath of dark energy, flipped his hand to take out the Space-Time Amber Core, and poked it in.
Pop—It was as if the crisp sound of Space-Time Amber echoed in my ears.
The cage imprisoning the Sorokin was released, but his body remained still, floating in the weightless vacuum environment right in front of Han Xiao.
"Is it already just an empty shell...?"
Han Xiao took out a suction cup-shaped device and attached it to the Sorokin; this was an instrument used to detect the state of the soul.
Although mechanics are not good at the mental realm, at his level, creating a device simply for detecting whether a target has a soul is not a problem.
The suction cup was about to stick to the Sorokin's body, but in the next moment, Han Xiao felt his wrist tighten, as if someone had suddenly grabbed it, and he stopped in mid-air.
Han Xiao suddenly looked up and met the gaze of the Sorokin, which had regained its liveliness.
At the same instant, a profound spiritual message entered Han Xiao's mind.
"I told you, we'd meet again someday..."