Sizzle--
Just then, a virtual image appeared in the center of the hall. It was a richly dressed lizard-like creature that glanced around the room, looked at Han Xiao, and asked in a puzzled tone.
"Our group's spaceships have been compromised by a system intrusion, Black Star, was this your doing?"
"Your reaction was too slow. I've been waiting for you." Han Xiao leaned back in his sofa chair, staring at the lizard-like man, temporarily putting aside the matter of Sylvia.
This spaceship belongs to an interstellar travel group, and the lowest level of authority is held by the group. If the spaceship is taken over by an outsider, the group will immediately notice and be able to locate it remotely unless this connection is severed. However, doing so requires not only hacking skills but also various interference and intrusion hardware to block the lowest level of authority. Han Xiao seized the captain's authority and knew that the actual owner of the spaceship would come knocking on his door.
Although the spaceship was under his control, he couldn't shield it from the owner's remote surveillance. With his skills, it would take him several days to half a month to change the spaceship's basic settings and eliminate the operational rights of the lower-level permissions. The protection of the lower-level permissions was much stronger, and the difference in difficulty was like the difference between hacking into a small or medium-sized enterprise and hacking into a government agency.
The lizard-like people initially thought their spaceship had been stolen, but seeing the situation, it seemed there was more to the story. Suppressing their anger, they asked for an explanation.
Han Xiao briefly recounted the events, revealing that the captain had been replaced and someone was plotting to Assassination the passengers during the voyage. The lizard-like man's expression changed drastically... although the humans present couldn't tell.
"I believe your tour group just boarded your flight, yet we encountered such danger. Your reputation is utterly disappointing! If other customers find out, who would want to fly on an unsafe flight?!" Han Xiao clutched his chest, his tone exaggerated, engaging in blatant extortion. "Hiss... I'm still reeling from the shock, I feel so bad. You have to compensate me for twelve items, including emotional distress, lost wages, and post-accident medical examination fees."
The lizard-like man flicked his tail and said helplessly, "I'm sorry, this is our group's negligence. We will handle it properly and provide you with appropriate compensation..." Assassinations are hard to prevent, and his tour group suffered an undeserved disaster, but there was nothing he could do, since it happened on his own spaceship.
There are many interstellar travel groups in the universe, and the industry is very competitive. If the story is exaggerated and spread, its reputation will definitely suffer. Black Star is at least a mercenary group that seeks profit and keeps its word. He is willing to compensate and pay to avoid disaster.
The tour group had dozens of spaceships, earning thousands of Enas every day. Since the wealthy were so greedy, Han Xiao immediately quoted an exorbitant price. After some haggling, they finally settled on 30,000 Enas before the other party reluctantly agreed, swallowing this huge loss.
Having made nearly 30,000 Enas in one go, Han Xiao's savings increased to around 840,000. He secretly sighed, "Extortion is much more lucrative than being a mercenary... but it still can't compare to how I harvest players' wallets."
"I'll borrow this ship for a few days before you recover it. You have remote location tracking, so you know where the ship is," Han Xiao said.
"Well... okay."
After reaching the agreement, the sullen lizard-like man turned off the communication.
Han Xiao had no intention of stealing the spaceship. He wasn't a child who could just snatch candy from anyone. Stealing a legitimate spaceship that already had an owner would land him a wanted criminal (unless there were no witnesses). Compared to the potential gains, it was a losing proposition; extorting money would be much safer. Many players in his previous life had already demonstrated the consequences of stealing spaceships. Whether successful or not, he would be wanted, hunted by mercenaries, bounty hunters, and patrol and law enforcement teams from various civilizations. His initial goodwill towards many orderly civilization factions would plummet. Moreover, if he was discovered in an orderly city or planet, he would be surrounded by guards, imprisoned, and suffer heavy losses, unable to do as he pleased.
Han Xiao had no interest in repeating the same mistake. He didn't urgently need the spaceship and there was no need to cause trouble. Besides, he knew how to get the spaceship for free without any side effects, so he naturally had no interest in robbery.
Having resolved this matter, Han Xiao looked at Sylvia again.
The girl, bound hand and foot in a tortoise-shell style, slumped to one side, her long eyelashes trembling, looking pitiful and heartbroken. But this had no effect on Master Han; a dead enemy is a good enemy, and soft-heartedness is futile...
"Wait... who tied her up like this?!"
It was only then that Han Xiao noticed Sylvia's superb rope skills.
Meat Bun immediately raised her hand, as eagerly as a model student raising their hand to answer a question in class, her face beaming, "I tied it, isn't it pretty?"
"You're really letting yourself go more and more."
Frenzied Saber's lips twitched.
Melos shook his head and asked, "Black Star, what do you plan to do with her?"
Han Xiao toyed with the gun, glanced at him, and said, "Judging from your tone, you seem to have some brilliant idea? If you have any opinions, just say them. I'm not a dictator; you know what democracy is, right?"
Melos paused, carefully choosing his words, and slowly said, "She said, 'You mercenaries are helping tyrannical rulers suppress their suffering people.' I think she must have misunderstood something. We all know what kind of person Langley is, but she doesn't seem to understand. I think... it would be better to ask her first?"
Melos sighed, "After all, I understand the urge for Revenge. Let alone a child like her, if I had the chance to assassinate the leader of DarkStar, I wouldn't hesitate."
"Wow, that's awesome!"
Han Xiao's lips twitched, and he turned to look at the players behind him, asking, "What do you guys think?"
The players were taken aback, seemingly not expecting to be called out.
"Us? It doesn't matter."
"Whatever."
"Either is fine... but which one offers more rewards?"
"This little girl is quite pretty; it would be a shame not to kill her."
Players answered sporadically, mostly males who liked decisive and straightforward approaches, were stubborn and fierce, while female players like Jiang Yuluo and Maple Moon were more gentle and advocated investigating the truth.
Sylvia pursed her lips, trying her best to make her expression fierce, but her delicate body was still trembling. She was powerless to resist and could only wait for others to decide her fate.
Han Xiao squinted at her, his thumb supporting his chin and his index finger Warning his jaw, deep in thought.
He had many ways to handle it, but killing her was the simplest. He could just aim at Sylvia was feigning fearlessness but trembling with fear, and pull the trigger. Future players would lose thousands of game books, ending her character's journey before it even began. He also had reason to do so—killing the enemy was perfectly justified, and no one could find fault with it.
With countless lives on his hands, Han Xiao didn't care about adding another future celebrity to his list.
However, he was not bloodthirsty. As a goal-oriented chaoticist, killing was merely a means to an end, while profit was the goal.
The question he was pondering was whether he could extract more benefits from Sylvia, and whether killing her or keeping her alive would be more advantageous.
Whether Sylvia's future is good or bad is irrelevant. Master Han only needs valuable people, like that crazy woman Hila... No, he saved Aurora, and she's not crazy yet. But in the previous life's storyline, the number of beings who died at Hila's hands was measured in planets; it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say she was extremely wicked. However, what Han Xiao values is her power, not her personality, beauty, or other such nonsense.
Enemies can be divided into several types: irreconcilable mortal enemies—such as Germinal and DarkStar; rivals who are both enemies and friends; enemies created by misunderstandings, and so on. In his view, Sylvia belongs to the category of enemies created by misunderstandings, and Han Xiao knows what kind of misunderstanding it is.
Langley himself was a wicked rebel, but as a father, he must have concealed or even deceived his daughter, and would inevitably find excuses to whitewash his actions. Therefore, Sylvia believed that her father Langley's actions were a fight against the tyrannical ruler, and that he was a pioneer in liberating the people, etc.
Based on her past life experiences, Sylvia was quite upright, but she was blinded by hatred and Lie, which distorted her mind. If she knew what kind of person her father was, she might give up Revenge like she did in her past life. Han Xiao already knew the truth and knew how to quickly overturn Sylvia's perception; it was just a piece of cake for him... But none of that is the key point.
The key question is, what benefits can I gain from this?
'Hmm... This might trigger a related quest with a reward, so she still has some use. Let's leave her alive for now, complete the quest first, and then decide what to do next. If she's still hostile... just bury her on the spot.'
Han Xiao thought to himself.
As for releasing them? That's simply impossible.
From a businessman's perspective, Sylvia is not just a person, but also a resource with potential. His own assets are not so abundant that he can throw money around in the street and waste resources.
With this in mind, Han Xiao stood up and said, "Pack your things, get ready to leave. Knock her unconscious and lock her up."
Sylvia's face was full of astonishment as she looked up at him. "Where are you taking me?"
Han Xiao said calmly:
Go see your father.
Sylvia's eyes widened in disbelief.