A brass bullet was casually tossed into the air. At that moment, a dazzling star swept past the floating island, and a ray of light shone through the staggered buildings of the street, illuminating the spinning metal bullet. Like a curved mirror, it reflected Han Xiao's handsome face, which was so close at hand. The bullet spun a few times, reached its highest point, and then wobbled down. Just then, a drop of bright red blood splattered, like a precise Sniping hitting the falling bullet exactly.
Smack
With a snap of his fingers, Han Xiao caught the bullet. He opened his palm, and the bullet lay quietly in the center of his black mecha glove, the cold metal tinged with a warm, bright red.
Not far away, two groups of thugs who appeared to be space pirates, after one of them glanced at the other, ignited a brawl. Roars and laughter mingled with the deafening roars of gunfire. The dead thugs found peace on the ground, their blood splattering across the street like fallen plum blossoms carried by the wind. Beside the street, a group of Dragon Calm residents watched the spectacle from a distance. Han Xiao and several of his player teammates sat on the scaffolding of an excavator, observing the fight from afar, when a splash of blood landed beside them.
"Tsk tsk, another fight. How many times has this happened in the last two days?" Han Xiao shook his head. He was fully armored, with his helmet folded up to reveal his head, while the players around him were completely covered by Sunil soldier armor.
"This is the seventh time already," Meat Bun replied immediately, his reporter's memory was truly impressive.
The Black Star Mercenary Group, lying in wait, had been positioned on this street level for two days, divided into several small teams guarding various intersections. In those two days, the street under Han Xiao's command alone had seen seven gang fights. The tempers of these outside criminals were easily ignited, giving the players a clear understanding of how dangerous this place was. Three of these incidents involved different gangs provoking Han Xiao, and the skilled technician Han, showing great compassion, cremated their bodies for free.
After taking down three groups of thugs and demonstrating their strength, things calmed down considerably.
Just then, the rioters in the midst of the fierce fighting fired a shot that missed its mark, shattering half of the house and creating quite a commotion, killing several onlookers. Suddenly, all the rioters stopped fighting, fear creeping onto their faces. Forget everything else, they scattered and fled.
Not long after, the sound of flying vehicles swept across the sky. Three small, low-flying aircraft, each about seven or eight meters long, appeared. They were dark gold in color and shaped like dragons with outstretched wings. A miniature dragon emblem was engraved on their hulls. These were the vehicles of the Dragon Calm Guard. The three aircraft caught up with the rioters, and parallel cannons extended from their bottoms, firing beams of golden lasers that easily pierced through the rioters' bodies. Pursuit, most of the fleeing rioters were killed, and the Dragon Calm Guard turned and left.
Only the Dragon Calm Guard is allowed to operate combat aircraft on the floating island. If rioters kill civilians, the Guard will immediately be dispatched to enforce the law. Han Xiao has witnessed such scenes several times in the past two days and feels that this halfway rescue plan is really dangerous. If the prisoners cannot be rescued quickly, accurately and ruthlessly, the risk of getting into a protracted fight will increase significantly.
Just then, Goya sent a message, "Blades's men have identified a suspect, move out!"
Han Xiao received the location, and all the mercenaries joined the same channel to share the suspect's location. At this moment, the suspect had just landed at the dock, escorting a group of large iron boxes. It was a group of slave traders. One of the mercenaries from the Blades Team had the ability to transform into a half-wolf, half-dog beast with an extremely keen sense of smell. He smelled the scent of Silver Spirit People on the group of slave traders and thus locked onto the target.
Fasereni of the Purple Gold Legion, the planner, gave the order, "Let's not alert them yet, continue tracking. Porter, Black Star, you two take your men and quietly gather them, ambush them along their route. We have the numbers, so we must strike swiftly and Thunder to crush the enemy. Don't get bogged down in a prolonged battle. Goya, you take the Sky Ring men and guard the outer perimeter. If we fail, you're our safety net."
Now that the target has been identified, there's no need to continue surveillance; the plan sounds quite reliable. With everyone on the same page, Han Xiao naturally had no objections. He gathered all the Black Star members and they split up to head to the ambush location pre-arranged by Fasereni, which was located at the border between the docks and the city, a very chaotic area.
Paiji stepped off the spaceship. All the slaves were in huge, electrified boxes, controlled by shackles and self-destruct collars, waiting to be taken to buyers.
The group of scavengers were excited at the prospect of making a fortune, Paiji wasn't as thrilled. He led the group on their way to the slave market in Horlade and the Book of Books.
Upon entering the dock streets, the slave trader's caravan was conspicuous, attracting the attention of a large mob. Many were restless, while others recognized Paiji and greeted him from afar, but nothing happened. Paiji was a well-known slave trader in the Shattered Star Ring, doing business with many pirates and scavengers, and possessed some prestige, which prevented him from being attacked on Floating Dragon Island.
After walking for a while, Paiji suddenly stopped. His pupils contracted, his vertical pupils almost becoming slits, and his head gradually flattened, as if it were about to transform into a snake's head. The snake scales on his body became clear and tough, and he opened his mouth, flicking his tongue. Paiji was a shapeshifter with a kind of serpentine bloodline within him that had reverted to its ancestral form, giving him extremely keen senses and early warning abilities. He sensed that someone was following him, and that there was a faint killing intent lingering in the air. His strong intuition told him what he would encounter if he went any further.
"Oh~ the smell of an enemy. Is it coming specifically for me? Who could it be?" Paiji's eyes were cold, his tongue flicking out. He stopped in his tracks, raised his hand, and commanded his men, "Return the way you came. Back to the spaceship."
Then he opened the communicator, "My dear Horlade, I've arrived at Floating Dragon Island. This time, come and collect the goods yourself."
Hollaide wondered, "What's wrong with you? You were the one who delivered the goods here before. Why do you want me to go there this time... Also, what are you doing when you transform? You look like a snake. It's so ugly."
Paiji said impatiently, "I sense killing intent. Someone's targeting me. Hmph, it's probably related to the prisoners. I think someone's trying to intercept the goods. I'll wait for you on the spaceship."
Horlade complained, "It's too much trouble for me to pick up the goods. I don't want to go to a dock full of pirates and scavengers."
"Then ask the Dragon Calm Guard to protect you. Anyway, you're the Controller's subordinate, so you definitely have the ability to get the Dragon Calm Guard to come."
"I think you're just trying to make things difficult for me." Horlade's face fell. He didn't have the authority to order around the Dragon Calm Guard. Although they were from the same faction, if he wanted to ask for help, he would definitely have to bribe the guard. He rejected anything that increased costs.
However, Paiji remained steadfast in his convictions, trusting his own instincts and refusing to take any chances. Horlade, frustrated, could only concede, and the two ended the call.
"Why are they heading back?" The Blade Legion's tracker asked in the shadows, a puzzled look on his face, as he relayed the message to Captain Porter.
Moreover, in the distant streets, Han Xiao, Fasereni, and Porter had already laid an ambush with their respective troops. Upon receiving the news, they all frowned.
"Notice, the target isn't moving forward. According to the route, he seems to be heading back to the spaceship. Could it be that the negotiations with the buyer have fallen through?" Porter wondered.
Because Paiji finally showed himself, Fasereni searched the Legion's archives and found Paiji's information. His expression changed drastically. "This is bad! That scavenger is called Paiji, his ability is to transform into a snake, and he possesses extremely strong senses, almost like short-term precognition. He may have sensed danger!"
The group's initial thought was not to alert the snake, but the snake was too perceptive and had already been alerted, causing the other party to become wary.
Just then, Goya, who was guarding the perimeter, brought news in a grave tone. "An unexpected incident has occurred. Horlade has left the slave market and seems to be heading to the docks. It's very likely that the buyer will pick up the goods themselves instead."
Everyone's expression changed. Han Xiao thought for a moment and said, "Then there's no other way. We must charge straight over to rescue them and prevent the two sides from joining forces. We have limited time, so we'd better act immediately."
The original plan was quite good, but the reality is unpredictable. Fasereni felt that Han Xiao was right, and now the only option was a hasty and forceful attack. He ordered everyone to quickly approach the target, and at the same time issued another order, instructing a few people to start the spaceship in advance so that they could grab the hostages and immediately board the ship and leave, to avoid any unforeseen complications.
Paiji returned to the thug-infested dock, and when he was still a few hundred meters from the spaceship, the mercenaries finally approached him.
"Charge!" Without a second thought, Fasereni roared, and more than two hundred mercenaries tore off their disguises, their combat suits deformed, and their various abilities erupted as they charged toward Paiji's group!
Han Xiao's mind raced, and the mech swiftly extended its helmet to protect his head. He turned and said, "Let's go too."
He took out his electromagnetic kinetic energy weapon, opened fire from a distance, and charged forward. Behind him, more than fifty players wearing the same armor and wielding large-caliber machine guns surged out like a steel torrent!
"There really are enemies!" Paiji narrowed his eyes. He had been on guard all along and ordered his men to quickly draw their guns and fire. He was very cunning and secretly shot at the other thugs, dragging other gangs into the mess as well.
The dock was a huge plaza, deserted by residents and filled with outsiders. It was the most dangerous place. Mercenaries and Paiji were exchanging fire, bullets flying everywhere. Many stray bullets hit nearby thugs, and a roar erupted.
"Who hit me?!"
Ouch, my eyes!
"Damn mercenaries, do they want to kill us?!"
The docks were in complete chaos, with groups of rioters also caught in the crossfire and joining the fray.
A chaotic battle suddenly erupted!