The thugs stole the slaves, who no longer belonged to Horlade, and the slaves were then rescued by Dragon Calm. This created two separate issues. Han Xiao removed all the slaves' shackles, and no one could prove that they had ever been slaves. No one could refute that they were free men.
Horlade was speechless. The slaves were lost, and the only recourse was to recapture them, but he lacked the authority to do so. The only solution was to bribe the guards. However, the guard captain Wilsander, was right there, showing no intention of interfering and clearly supporting Han Xiao's position. With the guard captain's tacit approval, who would dare to act without authorization?
Horlade spotted Sion among the guards. Sion flinched and quickly shrank back, retreating to the back of the crowd. Seeing this, Horlade knew he couldn't count on Sion —the guy had been terrified of the Black Star's men.
Seeing Han Xiao's calm expression, Horlade was furious, but for the sake of the slaves, he could only suppress his anger and could no longer be smug. He went up to Han Xiao and said angrily in a voice that only the two of them could hear, "Fine, you win. You only need the Silver Spirit People, right? I've given you the Silver Spirit People. The other slaves are none of your business. I can buy them back. Name your price."
Han Xiao had the upper hand, Horlade had no choice but to reluctantly give up the Silver Spirit People, preparing to bleed money to get other slaves back, otherwise his business would be ruined.
"I already said, only free agents are here." Han Xiao shrugged.
Horlade misunderstood, his face darkening as he angrily retorted, "Don't go too far! You want to take all the slaves for yourself? The head steward won't let you succeed!"
"Take it all for themselves? Heh, don't you understand? They're no longer slaves," Han Xiao said calmly.
"You... are you sick?!" Horlade exclaimed in astonishment. He had thought Han Xiao wanted more money, but now he realized that Han Xiao intended to release all the slaves. To actually grant them their freedom was such a waste; he couldn't understand it. What was Han Xiao after in order to save these unrelated slaves for free?!
Just then, an aircraft landed, and the head housekeeper Jenny arrived with her entourage. Horlade's eyes lit up, as if he had found a powerful backer. He glared at Han Xiao and hurriedly ran towards Jenny.
"Master Steward, I... I want my slave back..." Horlade recounted what had happened and complained to his superior, "That new recruit, Black Star, wants to release my slave. How can that be allowed? He's showing you no respect whatsoever."
"I understand." Jenny nodded lightly and walked towards Han Xiao.
Horlade immediately felt emboldened and followed behind, staring at Han Xiao and sneering.
Jenny approached Han Xiao and said, "Black Star, you did a great job. If you hadn't uncovered the enemy's operation, they might have succeeded. This would have been a huge blow to the prestige of the Dragon Calm Guard, especially since His Majesty the Dragon Emperor Throne wasn't home. You did a fantastic job. I'll record this merit in your file and upgrade your trust level. Those who make contributions receive tangible material rewards. You can ask for a monetary reward, or something else..."
She paused, then added, "Although it's a bit late... welcome to Dragon Calm."
[Dragon Calm's favorability +300, current relationship: neutral (700/1000)]
Han Xiao nodded, not at all surprised by Jenny's attitude. Just now, when he was chatting with Wilsander, Jenny also joined the communication channel. Han Xiao recounted what had happened to her. He had contacted Jenny privately beforehand and reached a consensus. Only Horlade was kept in the dark and thought he had found a lifeline.
Horlade grew increasingly uneasy. It seemed Jenny wasn't there to stand up for him, but rather to praise Han Xiao. He couldn't sit still any longer and cautiously interjected, "Head Steward, about the slaves..."
Jenny glanced at him and said calmly, "We only buy and sell slaves; we never arrest them ourselves. Now that they're free, let them go."
Jenny was sticking to her official duties. After all, Dragon Calm was a neutral force, at most acting as an intermediary in the slave trade. She wouldn't lower herself to capture slaves herself. Moreover, Han Xiao Han Xiao was a hero in this incident, so she would take that into consideration, granting him appropriate privileges and tacitly approving his actions. Besides, the slave trade wasn't very profitable, and Horlade embezzled a portion of the transaction amount every year, which she had all seen but had simply turned a blind eye to. Today, she happened to be there, so naturally, she wouldn't speak up for Horlade.
Horlade stood frozen, his chest heaving with pent-up frustration, feeling as if it would burst. Looking at Han Xiao's mocking gaze, he grimaced and blurted out, "I suspect Black Star orchestrated this attack to rescue the Silver Spirit People. Yes, that must be it! Those thugs were his henchmen. And he let another group escape; those must be his accomplices!"
Horlade got more and more excited as he spoke, spitting as he talked. Although it was a sudden inspiration, he felt that his guess made sense.
Han Xiao raised an eyebrow, unconcerned, and said, "We're colleagues, how could you frame me?" Although Horlade's attempt to shift the blame to him was despicable, this suspicion was completely unfounded, because they had ample alibis, which happened to come from Jenny.
Jenny was wary of the newcomer and had arranged for someone to secretly monitor them, which ironically became the strongest evidence! So Jenny remained unmoved. She frowned and said, "Alright, that's enough. Horlade, you've groundlessly slandered your colleague. You're temporarily suspended. Once you've calmed down, I'll assign you a new job."
Horlade felt a chill in his heart, knowing the situation was already decided. He was seething with hatred, but then he suddenly remembered that he had dealt with Han Xiao in the same way before, and Han Xiao had retaliated in the same way. This time, he was the one who had no way to deal with it. A sense of powerlessness ran through his body, and he simply ignored it, rolled his eyes, and fell straight down, fainting again.
--Since nothing can be changed anyway, I might as well sleep a little longer, lest I be driven mad by the laughing looks from those around me.
Ignoring the lifeless Horlade, Han Xiao coughed and said, "Jenny, I..."
"You should call me Big... never mind, just call me by my name." Jenny's expression flashed strangely. Usually, only the boss, Ames, and her peers Wilsander and Haier, called her by her name because her capable and strong style commanded the respect of her subordinates. This was the first time her subordinates had called her by her name, and it felt odd.
Han Xiao continued, "I know who those people who escaped are; they're not ordinary thugs..." Han Xiao lowered his voice and whispered in her ear, "They're from DarkStar."
Jenny's eyes narrowed sharply, and she said in a deep voice, "Once you've resolved your work here, come to me immediately for a detailed report."
After saying that, Jenny and her team hurriedly left, leaving only the logistics team to clean up the ruins.
Han Xiao and the others came to the side. All the freed slaves stared at him with different expressions, all filled with apprehension. They had finally gained their freedom and did not want to lose it again. They were unsure of what would happen to them next.
Han Xiao stepped forward, glanced around, and said calmly, "My name is Black Star, the leader of the Black Star Mercenary Group. Remember my name. I've given you your freedom; you owe me a favor. Perhaps one day I'll encounter the Tu Shu again, and I'll need your help. Now, you may leave."
All the slaves were stunned. One of them asked tremblingly, "Can... can we really leave?"
Han Xiao waved his hand, indicating that he was ready at any time.
One person cautiously walked out, turning back every few steps, until after walking several dozen meters, he realized that no one was stopping him, and a surge of joy welled up within him.
"We're really free!" The crowd couldn't believe that freedom had come so easily.
But the first slave to step out didn't immediately bolt into a mad dash. Instead, he turned around, his face full of gratitude, and performed a deep salute of his race to Han Xiao, proclaiming loudly, "Black Star, I will remember this name."
One slave after another left with gratitude, displaying all sorts of etiquette to Han Xiao. Han Xiao didn't feel much, but the players following behind him suddenly felt a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction, holding their heads high and feeling that they had done a great thing.
Melos, who felt the most empathy, patted Han Xiao on the shoulder and praised, "Well done!"
The members gazed at Han Xiao's figure, their eyes filled with goodwill. At this moment, a sense of identification with Han Xiao arose spontaneously. For players to like a character, besides strength, there is another condition: personal charisma and a sense of identification. Han Xiao has always presented a relatively positive image to the players, and his act of liberating slaves further elevated his image.
The Meat Bun faithfully recorded this scene.
Han Xiao turned his head and saw that there were still several slaves of the same race Stay Where You Are, not having left.
Why aren't you leaving?
These men clearly knew each other; they looked somewhat alike. They exchanged glances, and one of them said, "We brothers were originally mercenaries. We used to follow a small mercenary group. During a mission, we encountered danger, and most of the members perished. Only we managed to escape, but we were captured by slave traders and imprisoned for over a year. Our group has long since been wiped out, and we have nowhere to go. We hope you can take us in and give us a job. You are our benefactor, and we are willing to serve you."