"You've done a great job, what reward do you want?" Jenny asked.
"I wish to obtain permission to use the Void Dragon's remains," Han Xiao said.
Jenny nodded. "The warehouse is managed by Haier. I'll talk to him and get you a limited supply of Void Dragon materials."
Haier manages logistics, and the use of any rare materials requires his approval. Han Xiao's request is normal, and Haier naturally will not refuse.
Han Xiao. Void Dragon materials were extremely rare and hard to find, practically a faction-exclusive resource. Indeed, proximity to the source was key to success. Whether resold or used to craft machinery, Void Dragon materials would be incredibly useful.
After Han Xiao left, Jenny leaned back in her chair, her eyes flickering behind her glasses, and murmured, "Black Star Han Xiao... he's not the kind of guy who trembles under Ames's tyranny. He carries many secrets, claims to be a precognitive, and all his subordinates are immortal. If there were more of him... sigh, such a person is a powerful assistant, but I wonder if it's a good thing."
Jenny paused, then relaxed her brow. "Never mind, who he is doesn't matter. As long as Ames is still here, she can suppress any unexpected factors."
Stepping out of the building, Han Xiao was in a good mood. He had gained quite a bit this time, and he planned to take a good shower, then go to the warehouse to collect the materials and count the benefits he had received.
But suddenly, a thought flashed through his mind, and a possibility came to mind.
"DarkStar's target is the two dead Silver Spirit People. If I were them, the trail to the Silver Spirit People has gone cold, and the next step would definitely be to find other people involved. Therefore, DarkStar will most likely go after the slave traders who transported the Silver Spirit People."
Han Xiao realized this and stopped in his tracks. He immediately changed direction and headed towards the dock, quickly disguising himself on the way, removing his distinctive mecha and weapons, and putting on Simulation Mask.
He was secretly glad that he realized this in time. Only a little over an hour had passed since the attack, and Ashes and the others would most likely hide for a while to avoid trouble. This was the perfect opportunity for him to seize the initiative and figure out DarkStar's intentions.
"Let me see what DarkStar really wants?" Han Xiao's lips curled into a wicked smile.
Meanwhile, on a street in the outskirts of Dragon Calm, the Ashes Clan hid in the shadows between houses as aircraft flew overhead without seeing them.
Ashes and the others escaped the Reconnaissance range and are basically safe.
The operation had gone wrong, and the task force looked grim. Ashes suppressed his frustration and gave the order in a deep voice.
"We should act without delay. Let's find that slave trader and complete the mission as soon as possible. We shouldn't linger in Dragon Calm."
A mechanic skilled in electronic devices said, "We've found the information. The slave trader's name is Paiji, and he's staying at Dragon Calm Wharf."
"Good, he hasn't left Dragon Calm yet, which is very advantageous for us." Ashes's spirits lifted, and he led the group to the dock.
He had a gut feeling that Paiji must know the whereabouts of the Whispering Bead.
There were far fewer ships docked at the pier than before, and their formation was sparse. There were two reasons for this. First, there had been too much turmoil in recent days. During the last pier brawl, Ames intervened and deterred many rioters, who hurriedly left, not daring to linger for fear of being punished later.
Secondly, the route to the Floating Dragon Island will soon pass through the border between the two civilizations in the Goron Star Cluster. This is a sensitive area where friction often occurs, and it is full of energy detection buoys and patrol fleets, with an extremely high level of vigilance. If you leave Dragon Calm in this area, the danger will increase significantly. The patrol fleets will not hesitate to use their ammunition to deal with a group of wanted criminals, so many people choose to leave before then.
Paiji shared this thought and prepared to leave Dragon Calm.
Although he was cheated out of his money by Horlade, resulting in a significant loss of income, there were other slaves on board. He sold them to other individual clients, which recouped the costs of the trip, though he made no profit. His dissatisfaction is understandable.
So, an hour ago, when Paiji heard that Horlade's slave market had been bombed, he laughed like a 200-pound fat man, making no attempt to hide his schadenfreude.
"That unscrupulous merchant deserved to lose everything." Paiji's mood unusually cheerfulened. He propped his legs up on the control panel in the captain's cabin, his eyes darting around, and muttered, "The Silver Spirit People have been rescued again. Too bad, if only I could have captured them..."
He then shook his head. This possibility only existed in his imagination. He fully realized that the Silver Spirit People were a hot potato right now. Besides being mercenaries, they were also coveted by other unknown forces. This was a deep pool, and he and his group of slave traders had no ability to get involved. He had no suicidal tendencies. Just the last time he encountered Han Xiao, he almost beat him into a pulp. Thinking back, Paiji still felt lingering fear of that black, rough, and hard mecha warrior.
"Start the engine, let's go."
Several pilots manually controlled the spacecraft, which was about to detach from the dock's fixed track by spewing exhaust flames from its bottom. Just then, the spacecraft's system received a notification from the dock.
"Attention, captains! We are about to encounter a large meteor shower. There are three minutes left before the encounter. At that time, the protective shield will be fully deployed, and no spacecraft will be allowed to enter or exit. Please be aware of this."
The radar screen displayed a large, dense mass of colored blocks approaching at high speed—all meteorites. Given the danger of the spaceship operating alone, Paiji quickly ordered the engines shut down and stayed behind, relying on the Dragon Calm's defensive capabilities to weather the meteor shower before making further plans.
Buzz--
The golden shield activated. Originally, the Floating Dragon Island could see the cosmic environment through the artificial atmosphere, but now, the sky was completely covered in gold, and the entire Floating Dragon Island turned into a rugby ball-shaped golden sphere. The plasma energy core operated at its highest power, and high-energy arcs of light shot out from the surface of the golden shield from time to time, like solar flares launched by stars, or like a leaping python.
A swarm of meteorites came crashing down, covering the sky and earth. They varied in size, with the largest being about a third the size of the floating island. As Dragon Calm charged head-on into them, countless meteorites collided with the golden shield, creating ripples of golden light. The energy waves generated by the collisions spread far and wide throughout the universe, leaving their mark.
On the floating island, the ground trembled noticeably. Han Xiao arrived at the dock at that moment, changed his clothes, took off his mecha, and put on a hooded black robe he bought from a street shop. He looked very mysterious, and with Simulation Mask, he had a different face, so no one could recognize him.
Upon arriving at Paiji's spaceship port, Han Xiao turned on his communicator, searched for nearby channels, found Paiji's number, and sent a communication request... To put it more simply, he hadn't Paiji as a friend, so he could only search for people nearby.
A moment later, the communication was granted, and Paiji's face appeared on the screen. The book asked in confusion, "What do you want from me?"
"I have something I'd like to ask you about the Silver Spirit People."
Paiji's heart tightened. He had originally decided to stay out of the Silver Spirit People incident, but he hadn't expected to be Implicated. Composing himself, he asked, "Who are you?"
"DarkStar." Han Xiao lowered his voice, taking on the name DarkStar; he had deeper considerations.
Paiji's expression instantly turned strange. His first reaction was disbelief. This sudden stranger wasn't a half -Goddora, but rather seemed like the Silver Spirit People who had been thrown off the spaceship, just using DarkStar as an excuse. After all, DarkStar was quite famous in the Shattered Star Ring, and many people liked to use it to intimidate others.
"Do you have any evidence?" Paiji, still somewhat skeptical.
Han Xiao feigned toughness and said coldly, "Now I'm asking you. Those two Silver Spirit People you threw out of the spaceship have something we need on them. As for my identity, I don't need to prove it to you. Just try refusing me, and you'll naturally find out whether the person who killed you is DarkStar... Of course, if you cooperate, I can pay some money for this information."
Because of limited intelligence, Han Xiao only said the four points he had previously guessed. But by sheer coincidence, the cargo carrier, in order to survive, revealed that he was an envoy of the DarkStar, a fact known only to a few people, including Paiji.
Paiji initially didn't believe it, but upon hearing Han Xiao's words, he immediately thought of the bead and, considering the correspondence between the two sides, found that most of their statements matched. He was instantly astonished!
--Holy crap, could that Silver Spirit People really be an envoy from DarkStar?! They've actually come knocking on our door?!
Most of his doubts were immediately dispelled, and Paiji was both apprehensive and excited.
DarkStar was the great pioneer he admired for saving Goddora, and he'd hit the jackpot this time! But would it cause problems if he killed DarkStar's messenger?
He suppressed his excitement and hesitated, still unsure whether Han Xiao's identity was genuine. Although he believed most of it, there was still a slight uncertainty.