The Shattered Star Ring is rife with thugs, and visitors from other star systems are rare, but some people knowingly venture into dangerous territory.
Paiji interrogated eleven people in succession, and the results were largely the same: these Silver Spirit People were travelers traveling together, wanting to see the edge of the visible universe with their own eyes, and the Shattered Star Ring was one of the edges of the visible universe. They were passing by when Paiji robbed them.
He entered the next cell, where the Silver Spirit People was different. While the other prisoners would at least tremble at the sound of the cell door opening, this man remained calm and motionless, as if he were not a prisoner but a distinguished guest of the ship.
"You're the leader?" the Silver Spirit People asked first, his tone calm. "I'm willing to pay for my freedom; name your price."
"I'm not interested." Paiji said expressionlessly. His ship maintained an information barrier to prevent remote location tracking, and to avoid risks, he wouldn't allow prisoners to use communicators until it was safe to do so.
He beckoned, and his men stepped forward to examine the Silver Spirit People's body. The Silver Spirit People struggled violently, shouting, "I have a lot of money! Isn't your slave trading all about money?!"
Suddenly, one of the scavengers' henchmen discovered something, tore open his clothes, and took out a small black bead from the lining. The Silver Spirit People immediately became agitated and tried to pounce on him to snatch back the black bead, but was pinned to the ground and roared angrily.
"What is this?" Paiji took the black bead handed to him by his subordinate, pinched it with his fingers. It was very hard, and the surface of the bead shimmered with a deep light, radiating a trace of magical Glory.
"Give it back to me! I am an emissary of DarkStar, and this belongs to DarkStar. If you dare to take it, you will surely face destruction and death!" the man roared.
"DarkStar?"
Paiji sneered repeatedly, "You've done your homework well. You, an outsider from the Sea of Star Spirits, actually know that we have a DarkStar organization in our Shattered Star Ring. But you're just a Silver Spirit People traveling through the area. Even I, a half- Goddora, haven't joined the DarkStar. You think you can scare me? Do you think I'm easy to fool?"
Paiji regards DarkStar as a great pioneer of liberation and has always wanted to join him, but because DarkStar is too mysterious, he has never had the opportunity to contact him, which he regrets. If DarkStar speaks, he is willing to risk his life.
The Silver Spirit People are far away in the Sea of Star Spirits, how could they possibly have any dealings with the DarkStar? He just grabbed a so-called "messenger" out of nowhere? What a coincidence! It's nothing but a bluff; Paiji has seen far too many like this.
"Seeing how nervous you are, this bead must be a treasure. I'll accept it."
Paiji put away the beads, planning to have them appraised later. He then left the cell with his men and closed the door.
Outside the door, the subordinate licked his lips, a greedy look on his face, and said, "Silver Spirit People have never appeared in the slave market of the Shattered Star Ring before. We're sure to get a good price. This is going to be a huge profit. Boss, who should we sell them to?"
Paiji said, "I've already contacted the client; we're going to Floating Dragon Island."
The subordinate's eyes widened. "That's that lord's territory!"
"This client is one of that guy's subordinates; they're really willing to spend money." A sinister smile played on Paiji's lips as he walked away.
Inside the cell, the Silver Spirit People looked furious, cursing under his breath, "Damn scavengers! Thank goodness the Whispering Bead requires a password to open; they can't take out what's inside..."
Fourth Star Zone, Planet Feiwen-122.
This is an unclaimed planet devoid of civilization. The Silver Spirit People, who issued the mission, are stationed here. Within a few days, this desolate planet has been flooded with mercenary ships. All sorts of ships have formed a defensive position, with the Silver Spirit People ' travel ship at the center.
Gashley's spaceship slowly landed, and Han Xiao and the others filed out, looking around.
The battlefield was bustling with activity, mostly with groups of mercenaries. The Silver Spirit People ' mission had attracted many renowned mercenaries from the Shattered Star Ring.
Gashley led the group to find the main force, arriving at the foot of a larger spaceship where hundreds of Sky Ring mercenaries had gathered. Han Xiao looked up and saw that the spaceship also bore the Sky Ring emblem.
"You've finally arrived." A tall woman wearing a blue hooded robe walked over.
The third-ring level cadre [Frost Mystic], whose real name is Goya, is the leader of Sky Ring's trip. She has long light blue hair, high-profile features, a cold temperament, and an ethereal voice, like a block of ice. She is a magician. Although Han Xiao could not feel the surging magical power fluctuations on her body, he could also sense the coldness emanating from her.
"Looks like a mage specializing in ice magic," Han Xiao thought to himself.
Like the Mechanic Class, the Mage Class is complex and has many different schools of thought. Ice mages are particularly troublesome, with their various slowing, freezing, and stiffening skills being extremely annoying.
Goya's gaze swept over Gashley, and seeing Han Xiao and the others beside him, he frowned and asked, "Who are they?"
"The Black Star Mercenary Group just reached a cooperation agreement and came to help," Gashley.
"Never heard of it." Goya shook his head.
Han Xiao didn't take it to heart. The Black Star Mercenary Group's reputation was limited to the Juberly Hub, and it wasn't famous enough. Compared to the Sky Ring, his mercenary group was indeed inconspicuous.
Goya initially thought they were just a group of followers, but suddenly felt a pang of fear. Her magician's senses alerted her that she had encountered a powerful figure. Slightly startled, she then carefully examined Han Xiao and the others, discovering that the cellular energy within two of them was extremely active.
"Two Grade B superhumans..." Goya's eyes changed slightly. Although Grade B superhumans are relatively common, they are not as common as cabbages. Even in the Sky Ring, Grade B is at least a third-ring level cadre. And this mercenary group of only a few dozen people has two Grade B, which is a very high ratio.
She was the only Grade B member in the team, and the high-level combatants present were actually inferior to this small mercenary group.
Goya withdrew his gaze and said, "The Silver Spirit People have hired many mercenaries, so they're not lacking in combat power, but the situation isn't good right now... Now that everyone's here, let's head over first and talk about it on the way."
The group walked towards the Silver Spirit People ' spaceship, Goya explained the current situation.
The Silver Spirit People spent a fortune hiring mercenaries to rescue their captured companions, which was indeed a generous offer. However, the mercenaries were delayed in setting off, and they were stuck in an awkward situation—no one knew the enemy's location, and the scavengers who attacked the Silver Spirit People were nowhere to be found. Therefore, no matter how many mercenaries they gathered, it would be useless, and they had no way to start.
This kind of mission, lacking intelligence, is extremely troublesome. The mercenaries used various detection methods, but the scavengers had activated an information blackout, making them impossible to locate. They also left few clues when they committed the crime, leaving them at a loss. Even knowing that the scavengers needed to dispose of the stolen goods, they had no idea where they would go.
If this drags on any longer, their people will be sold off. The surviving Silver Spirit People are extremely anxious and have issued a new demand: a generous bonus will be given to anyone who can provide valid location information (https://m. hedu. com. com).
"Besides our Sky Ring, Blades and Purple Gold people have also arrived. Purple Gold went to find the diviner; perhaps they can pinpoint the enemy's location," Goya said.
The Blade Legion and the Purple Gold Legion, two large mercenary legions on par with the Sky Ring, are also active in the Shattered Star Ring. The reward for this mission is a base salary plus a bonus. The basic hiring fee is the base salary, while the Silver Spirit People will give mercenaries several times the base salary as a bonus for rescuing prisoners. Therefore, in this mission, mercenaries are both comrades-in-arms and competitors.
Legitimate mercenaries compete fairly and won't hold each other back, otherwise it would damage their reputation.
When it is generally impossible to locate the enemy, and without more advanced detection equipment, the mystical methods of foresight may be surprisingly effective. Divination, foresight, and other such abilities have strict conditions for use and require very special talents, making them rare.
Players cannot awaken precognitive abilities; even if they can learn divination on the magic side, they will only obtain very little information when using it, which is extremely limiting.
The group encountered Blades's team midway, and the two groups traveled together. Goya chatted casually with Blades's leader and walked ahead.
Both mercenary groups had their own uniforms, and people who knew each other chatted with each other. Han Xiao and his group stood out between the two groups, and people would occasionally look at this little-known mercenary group with curiosity.
"Who are they?"
"They seem to be allies of Sky Ring, called the Black Star Mercenary Group. They're not very big, and they're not well-known."
"Just here to join the fun."
The surrounding mercenaries were whispering amongst themselves, making the player feel awkward, out of place in this group, like an alien being watched.
On the way, Han Xiao was thinking about what to do next. He didn't know if Goya had any plans to hire him, and he didn't want to make a wasted trip. He had come all this way, so how could he leave empty-handed?
"This planet is home to many renowned mercenaries from the Shattered Star Ring. I arrived too late and haven't built up any reputation, so it seems like I'm not really involved."
Han Xiao thought to himself, this is a situation I've never encountered before, I need to act according to the circumstances.
As they were pondering, the group arrived at the center of the position, where the appearance of the Silver Spirit People was revealed. It had snow-white skin, cute, slender antennae on its head, and wore gorgeous clothes made of an unknown material that was smooth and silky. The lower half of its face was covered by an air-filtering mask.
This was the first time the players had ever seen "Cosmic Nobility." They looked at them from all angles but couldn't see what made them "noble." They felt that they were not much different from other strange-looking interstellar races.
"If a civilization is ancient and powerful enough, the ruling group will naturally be the aristocracy. Others will take their interests as the standard of aristocracy. This is a class issue and has little to do with their individual qualities." Han Xiao patted Melos on the shoulder.
"Why are you taking pictures of me?" Melos rolled his eyes. Sunil was clearly not interested in talking to you about this topic.
The Silver Spirit People captain was negotiating with the mercenaries, saying, "I want you to set off quickly to rescue my companions. It's been dragging on for too long. If you continue to slack off, you won't get any payment."
"We don't know the enemy's location, all detection and tracking methods are ineffective, and you can't provide any valuable intelligence. For now, we can only wait. But don't worry, our comrades have already gone to consult a diviner. As long as you keep your promise and give extra rewards to those who provide intelligence, I believe we'll have results soon," a mercenary said.
The Silver Spirit People captain complained, "You people of the Shattered Star Ring are truly greedy and barbaric. I hate this place. Whatever, I just want results; money is no object."
whoosh--
As the sandstorm subsided, another spaceship landed, its hull bearing the insignia of the Purple Gold Legion. The crowd parted, and the Purple Gold Legion's troops disembarked and approached. Beside the leader was a diviner holding a crystal orb, also a member of the Purple Gold Legion, who had traveled from several star systems beyond for this mission.