Someone pulled off the black hood. Han Xiao opened his eyes and squinted against the glaring white light. After a few seconds, his eyes gradually adjusted, and he could see his situation clearly.
He sat in a freezing iron chair with a table in front of him and a one-way mirror on the wall beside him. It was a typical interrogation room.
Two people sat across the table: Li Hui and Feng Jun.
"Let me introduce myself. I'm an intelligence officer with the Stardragon Homeland Strategic Defense Bureau," Feng Jun said gently. "This isn't our first meeting. Do you remember me?"
"I do," Han Xiao said lazily. "The man with the deep wallet."
Feng Jun was speechless. Could they not bring that up?
"Thirteenth Bureau, Li Hui." Li Hui's expression was stiff, and his tone was even stiffer. He gave the impression that even his shit would be rock hard.
The Stardragon Homeland Strategic Defense Bureau had thirteen departments in total and was known for short as the Thirteenth Bureau.
"Should we call you Han Xiao or Zero?" Feng Jun got straight to the point.
"Either."
Li Hui cut in, taking a hard line and going straight to the subject. "Cut the crap and explain that million-dollar bounty on your head. Why is the Germinal Organization after you? Are you in possession of some intelligence? Tell us everything."
Han Xiao said with interest, "Why should I tell you?"
Li Hui sneered. "What do you think this place is? Whatever we want you to say, you'll say it!"
"What if I don't?" Han Xiao asked with a half-smile. "You'll shoot me?"
"You think I wouldn't dare?" Li Hui shouted.
Feng Jun hurried to smooth things over. "All right, all right, calm down. Han Xiao, you know we're a government agency. Cooperate a little, and it'll be good for you."
Han Xiao shifted into a more comfortable position and said with a smile, "One plays bad cop, the other plays good cop. How many years have people been using this routine? Can't you try something else? I'd quite like a honey trap or something. Looking at you two serious grown men, I'm not even in the mood to talk. Ever heard of service with a smile? Don't be so stiff. Come on, give me a smile."
Feng Jun's expression froze. He gave a dry cough and discreetly signaled Li Hui, who got the message. Pretending to be furious, Li Hui sprang to his feet, pointed at Han Xiao, and shouted, "This isn't a place for your wisecracks. I can throw you straight into prison and lock you up indefinitely."
"How very intimidating."
The smile suddenly vanished from Han Xiao's face, and his gaze sharpened. "I came from the Germinal Organization. Threats? Intimidation? Do you think they'll work on me? Don't embarrass yourselves with this childish stuff.
"You want me to cooperate? Fine. Show me some sincerity and get someone important to talk to me.
"You two aren't qualified!"
His voice rose as he spoke. On the last sentence, Han Xiao even tugged at his handcuffs with both hands, lifting the chair an inch off the ground before it fell with a bang. The sound was deafening in the enclosed room and echoed endlessly.
Feng Jun and Li Hui exchanged a glance. Their task was to test Han Xiao's attitude, and Han Xiao knew that perfectly well. He had deliberately acted fearless to tell whoever was watching behind the one-way mirror, "I've got a trump card."
Just then, a deep male voice came from the interrogation room's speaker. "As you wish. I'll talk to you."
"Who are you?" Han Xiao glanced at the one-way mirror, knowing that someone behind it had spoken.
"Head of the Intelligence Department, Thirteenth Bureau. Am I qualified?"
Han Xiao chuckled. "Barely."
Li Hui's and Feng Jun's eyelids twitched. This guy was shameless!
The intelligence chief took no offense. "You just said you were a member of the Germinal Organization..."
Han Xiao interrupted him. "I used to be."
"So you defected?"
"Mm." Han Xiao smiled inwardly.
"What was your position?"
"A logistics researcher."
"What did you research?"
"Mechanical weapons."
"You're lying," the intelligence chief said flatly. "That's not enough to explain the million-dollar bounty on your head."
I've been waiting for you to ask that. Han Xiao's expression remained impassive. "Rather than thinking I'm lying, you're actually hoping I have something worth as much as the bounty-intelligence. That's why you've kept investigating me instead of resorting to force."
"Intelligence is only useful in the hands of a power capable of acting on it. By revealing my whereabouts, I've shown my sincerity in cooperating. I'm Germinal's enemy, not yours."
The intelligence chief said gravely, "Why should we cooperate with you? Look around you. This is our turf, and we have plenty of ways to make you talk!"
Perfectly composed, Han Xiao suddenly said, "Communication record, Galaxy calendar year 687, June 14. Signal origin: Planet Aquamarine. Destination: DarkStar's Eighth Fortress. Contents encrypted at the highest level."
The intelligence chief fell silent for a full ten minutes.
Li Hui and Feng Jun jolted. They realized that this piece of information, which they could not understand, had caught the intelligence chief's serious attention, to the point that he had to consult a higher-ranking superior.
When the intelligence chief spoke again, his tone was exceptionally grave.
"Are you certain?"
"If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, would I know about [DarkStar]?"
Han Xiao smiled. "Now, can we talk about cooperation?"
"...All right."
The intelligence chief's tone was grave. If Han Xiao was telling the truth, this intelligence was extremely important to Stardragon and even the entire planet.
Han Xiao laughed inwardly. He had prepared this story long ago.
It all started with the world's background. Since the Exploration Era, the three universal-level powers had clashed for tens of thousands of years, but none had managed to destroy the others. The dark forest theory described a primitive form of cosmic society. As with every historical development, once chaos and savagery ended, order arose. The three universal-level powers reached a consensus to coexist peacefully, explore the universe together, and establish an orderly system.
The universe was never lonely. Stars shone one after another, and countless races were active in every corner of the cosmos. Interstellar fleets as numerous as the stars traveled through the waterless ocean of space. Countless messages wandered through the universe as electromagnetic waves or optical communications, waiting to be captured. Countless thoughts and ideas intertwined into mental whispers, moving unseen through the void like invisible currents.
Silence was only an illusion. The universe was bustling with activity.
Every civilization went through such a stage: gazing up at the stars, wondering whether life like theirs existed among them, believing themselves to be the only intelligent life in the universe, and venturing into space with the pride of being chosen by destiny and the ambition to conquer the galaxy. Only then did they discover that the galaxy was not theirs to conquer. They were not alone, nor were they special.
The explored visible universe was divided into numerous star fields, such as the Shattered Star Ring, the Ancient Star Desert, the Shining Silver Arm, and the Sea of Star Spirits. Each star field contained dozens of star clusters, which were further divided into star systems, then numbered star zones, and finally innumerable planets. These levels formed the vast, fantastical world of Galaxy.
Planet Aquamarine's general coordinates were: Shattered Star Ring · Colton Star Cluster · Garton Star System · Ninth Star Zone · Planet Aquamarine.
Precise coordinates, meanwhile, used a multidimensional coordinate system with multiple axes and a complex algorithm combining letters and numbers.
The interstellar power that had contacted Planet Aquamarine was Goddora, an advanced civilization in the Garton Star System. DarkStar, which Han Xiao had mentioned, was an ambitious faction that had broken away from Goddora. It was constantly plotting to overthrow Goddora's government and establish a new order. The two were sworn enemies.
Galaxy was vast, and countless powers and civilizations were intricately intertwined. A civilization's level depended largely on its mobility in the universe. Goddora, for example, could travel between star zones without relying on stargates and wormholes built by more advanced civilizations. It was therefore classified as a star-system-level civilization, several levels above Planet Aquamarine. The same was true of DarkStar.
If the Germinal Organization had made contact with DarkStar and obtained its resources or even military support, the Six Nations would be in serious trouble. An evil, ambitious power like DarkStar might not abide by the "Pan-universal Civilization Contact Treaty (Seventh Revision)" established by the three universal-level civilizations during the Exploration Era.
The details of contact with interstellar powers were classified information of the Six Nations. He had no doubt that Han Xiao was telling the truth, so the intelligence chief was nervous.
In fact, the Germinal Organization had never contacted DarkStar at all. In any case, the other party had no way to verify it, so Han Xiao could bluff however he liked.
Dropping a bombshell like that would make the Thirteenth Bureau take him more seriously and make the Germinal Organization seem more threatening to Stardragon. It would be a great help to his main storyline mission, so why not?
Attaching himself to Stardragon was a temporary expedient. Han Xiao would not remain under someone else's roof forever, and the Thirteenth Bureau could not possibly trust him completely. As far as Han Xiao was concerned, their cooperation was merely a pretense, a way to use another's resources for his own gain. There was no question of him working wholeheartedly for someone else. He would use Stardragon's power to deal with Germinal and farm experience. Once his wings were fully grown, Han Xiao would kick Stardragon aside and strike out on his own with the library.
I've written down all the "special treatment" you've given me in my little notebook. We'll settle the score properly someday, Han Xiao thought, rattling his handcuffs.
Every beginner planet was like a separate server, with its own main storyline. Out of interest, Han Xiao had specifically studied the events experienced by Galaxy's various powers at different times. Now, all of it had become valuable intelligence.
Beginner planets were far apart, and specialized interstellar tour groups offered travel services. They could be contacted with an interstellar communicator and would automatically locate the source of the message. Using the teleportation stargates built by universal-level powers throughout the star clusters and star systems, they could make transit jumps. As long as you could afford it, even traveling across the entire visible universe was no problem. After all, the professional league was open to players from every planet. If they could not gather in one place, how could they compete? Large-scale events and tournaments for ordinary players were generally held on neutral or uninhabited planets.
"Give me a map of Stardragon and a pen."
Han Xiao spoke suddenly.
Feng Jun spread a map of Stardragon on the table. Han Xiao picked up the pen, circled three locations, and wrote brief descriptions. "These are three of the Germinal Organization's secret sub-bases in Stardragon. Consider this a show of sincerity in our cooperation."
"You only know three?"
"Of course not. Once you've verified my intelligence, we can talk about the rest."
Telling them everything at once would do him no good. Han Xiao would not reveal all he knew so easily.
"What are your conditions?" the intelligence chief asked, getting to the heart of the matter. Feng Jun and Li Hui both pricked up their ears.
Han Xiao gave an inscrutable smile. "I only want to cooperate against Germinal."
That was all?
"I'll report your situation to my superiors. In the meantime, I'll have to ask you to stay here."
The intelligence chief cut the connection.
Han Xiao raised an eyebrow and rattled his handcuffs. "Don't keep me waiting too long. I only took one day off."