The Floating Dragon Island rests above a giant gas planet, with small, unmanned data collectors shuttling back and forth like a busy swarm of Bee Swarm, collecting gaseous fuel and transporting it back to Dragon Calm.
At the guard base, Han Xiao met Wilsander, who had a medical bandage on his head that was still bleeding.
As soon as he saw Han Xiao, he walked up to him excitedly, put his arm around Han Xiao's shoulder, pulled Han Xiao aside, and asked in a low voice with a look of excitement.
"I find that plan you mentioned interesting. I've spoken to Jenny about it, and she agreed. Did you bring the things?"
Han Xiao took out the Whispering Bead and put it in Wilsander's hand, saying, "Just do as we discussed before. By the way, you know how to act, right? If not, I'll teach you."
Wilsander looked at him with disdain. "Do I need you to teach me? How do you think I cleared my name and joined Dragon Calm? Just wait for my good news!"
Having said that, he put away the Whispering Bead, chuckled wickedly, and eagerly summoned his subordinates to set off. The spaceship took off, drawing a curve as it flew towards the Holy Stone. With a flash of light, it jumped away and disappeared.
"Why is this guy even more anxious than me?" Han Xiao said, both amused and exasperated.
Little did he know, Wilsander spent his days in Dragon Calm catching petty thieves and maintaining order. Being able to go out and cause trouble—whoever it was—was like a holiday for him. As a former space pirate of demonic half-blood descent, he possessed chaotic genes deep within him, and he could endure the monotony of being in Dragon Calm... Perhaps this was love, ugh.
Several garrisoned space stations are anchored like points on the border of the Holy Stone. The massive metal base floats in space. The Third Squadron is on duty, and the Holy Stone's warships patrol back and forth. In the command room of the Streamer, Sivadi is half-reclined on the commander's chair, with his legs propped up on the control panel, his hands behind his head, and his eyes half-closed as if he were sunbathing.
At this moment, a subordinate reported.
"Commander, a spaceship is approaching; they've sent a contact request..."
Sivadi, without even opening his eyes, lazily asked, "Who is it?"
"Uh, one of the Dragon Calm's Three Divisions, the captain of the guard, ' Crimson Wing ' Wilsander."
Thump!
The crew members watched as their commander fell directly from his seat.
Sivadi hurriedly stood up, his expression stiff, as he helped himself to his swivel chair.
What he feared most came to pass; the moment he heard Dragon Calm's name, he had a bad feeling.
The other party was the captain of Dragon Calm's guard. Since witnessing the Dragon Emperor's display of power a few days ago, Sivadi naturally dared not disrespect him and quickly approved the request.
The Streamer arrived at the border. A slot opened on the side of the warship, and a movable mechanical magnetic tentacle was used to hold the ship in place. Wilsander and Tu Shu boarded the Streamer, where Sivadi and his men greeted them. The two sides met on the bridge.
"Are you an officer of the Holy Stone?" Wilsander asked expressionlessly.
Sivadi nodded. "Commander Sivadi, Third Squadron of the Holy Stone Border Defense Army, may I ask what brings you here?"
"Yes, that's right. Some time ago, our members were being Pursuit by DarkStar. His Excellency Dragon Emperor Throne personally intervened and defeated DarkStar. The rescued mercenary revealed that DarkStar's target was a black bead. Black Star reported this to me, and just in case, I had my men search for it on Dragon Calm Dragon Calm. Unexpectedly, the bead was actually there. It turns out one of my guards found it and handed it over. We were going to give it to Goddora... Since this area is your territory, please pass it on to us. We won't waste our time making another trip."
Wilsander, speaking with righteous indignation and seriousness, took out the Whispering Bead and, without further ado, shoved it into the stunned Sivadi's hand.
"This... this... what, I... please don't..."
Sivadi looked completely bewildered and stammered.
"The item has been delivered, I'm leaving now."
Wilsander turned away gracefully.
He came in a hurry and left in a hurry, leaving behind a hot potato without taking a single cloud with him.
For Sivadi, this was an unexpected disaster, a real pain in the ass, and he couldn't refuse. Although the matter was sensitive, it was just a small favor, and there was no need to disrespect Dragon Calm. Just thinking about the scene of Dragon Calm crashing into the DarkStar mothership made his legs go weak; he couldn't afford to offend him.
Sivadi quickly reported this to the higher-ups. After discussion, the higher-ups had no intention of embezzling the Whispering Bead. Dragon Calm was an insider and could not be kept in the dark. Moreover, keeping the Whispering Bead would make it easy for DarkStar to target them. DarkStar clearly valued this thing very much and did not know what was inside.
At this point, a choice lay before the Holy Stone —should it open the Whispering Bead and take a look?
The answer is yes!
Even if you're not greedy, you should at least sneak a peek at what you handle so you have a general idea of what's going on. Anyway, the sealing array can be restored, so there's no need to be afraid.
The Holy Stone quickly dispatched an appraisal mage who spent a day opening the Whispering Bead, only to be dumbfounded by the result: it was completely empty.
How can it be empty?!
What does DarkStar need this for? Is it hiding some important information?
This made the Holy Stone realize the consequences of handing it over: the Whispering Bead was empty, which would arouse Goddora's suspicion that they had taken what was inside, and there was no way to clear their name.
The situation with the Holy Stone is even more perplexing. A thought naturally arises: could it be that Dragon Calm took what was inside? Perhaps handing it over to the Holy Stone was a setup... But would Dragon Calm really need to do that? DarkStar wouldn't provoke them in the first place!
Originally, the Holy Stone wanted to conceal the fact that they had peeked inside, but now they have no choice but to contact Goddora and tell the truth... There was nothing inside to begin with, we didn't take it, it was empty when Dragon Calm gave it to them, Dragon Calm probably took it long ago.
Goddora's reaction was simple—guess if I believe it?
You wicked Holy Stone! You stole what was inside and now you want us to misunderstand Dragon Calm, trying to get us into trouble. Your intentions are despicable!
Holy Stone was like a mute eating bitter herbs; he couldn't explain himself no matter what he said, and he insisted that he hadn't taken anything.
Both sides were suspicious of each other, but the items still needed to be transferred. After discussion, they decided to conduct the handover secretly.
Floating Dragon Island.
Han Xiao breathed a sigh of relief upon receiving news from Wilsander.
"Now they've shifted the blame."
Although DarkStar failed once, it will not give up and will continue to track the Whispering Bead. It is clear that Dark Star and the mercenaries are the primary targets, which is a hidden danger.
Han Xiao did this to clear his name, divert attention, and ensure his own safety, thus protecting the other mercenaries as well.
Goddora and the Holy Stone will most likely keep it a secret. However, the next step is to have Wilsander pretend to accidentally leak the information, thus ruining their original intention. In order to avoid being targeted by DarkStar, the Holy Stone will also emphasize that he gave the Whispering Bead to Goddora. DarkStar will then no longer need to guess where the Whispering Bead is and can directly target Goddora without involving anyone else, which is equivalent to eliminating the hidden danger. In Han Xiao's view, this is very important.
Goddora was already hostile to DarkStar, so it didn't matter to her. But Holy Stone was the most unlucky, dragged into the mess for no reason, and even aroused Goddora's suspicion. He was caught in the middle. Han Xiao actually had many targets to choose from. Holy Stone tricked him once, so this time he could trick him back.
Don't want trouble? No problem, I'll cause trouble for you!
Now that the Whispering Bead is in Goddora's hands, DarkStar has virtually no chance of getting it back. Only the Holy Stone and Goddora know the truth that it's empty; DarkStar will remain in the dark. Even if DarkStar learns through other channels, he'll assume Goddora or the Holy Stone took it... at most, he might suspect the "mysterious force" that impersonated him and was also searching for the Whispering Bead.
The first faction to discover the Whispering Bead was nominally Dragon Calm, while Han Xiao remained hidden in the shadows, thus extricating himself from the turmoil and remaining uninvolved.
In any case, he and the mercenaries who had been Pursuit were now safe.
"In this way, the risks should be minimized. Although I now have the backing of Dragon Calm, that's the deterrent effect of others. My own strength is not yet sufficient to confront DarkStar head-on. I still need to accumulate experience and maintain a steady momentum of development."
With a huge weight lifted from his heart, Han Xiao Quan much more relaxed.
His status in Dragon Calm was that of a unit operating outside the base, free to move about as he pleased. Once his objective was achieved, he would not linger.
A few days later, Han Xiao returned to the Juberly Hub, which he had been away from for more than a month, on a tour group. Melos had already returned with his men and was resting and waiting for orders at the base.
Two days ago, the three legions divided up the rewards for Goddora. It was a considerable sum, 30,000 Enas. With this money, my savings account now has over 70,000, a new high. This is the amount I directly acquired this time, not even including the players' share.
This trip wasn't particularly dangerous for the players. They had too little information and were completely unaware of what was happening. With Han Xiao secretly handling things, they made a fortune. Han Xiao was also very pleased; his hard work hadn't been in vain, as this was all purchasing power.
What should have been a simple hiring mission turned out to be full of unexpected twists and turns. Han Xiao took on a lot of risks. This trip was originally just for Compression Technology, but it yielded a lot of unexpected gains, which were much more valuable than he had expected.
Benefits come with risks, but fortunately, I took initiative and managed to escape unscathed.
The matter has finally come to an end. After dealing with things for so long, Han Xiao finally has time to properly digest what he has gained.
"With the Compression Technology in hand, the combat mode can be greatly innovated. Finally, I don't need to roll up my sleeves and do everything myself anymore."
Inside the mechanical modification room, Han Xiao rubbed his hands together, his expression expectant.