"Hiss--"
A collective gasp filled the air as the surrounding crowd cast incredulous, envious, and jealous glances. Those who had been crowding around Han Xiao quickly stepped back, isolating him and making him stand out conspicuously.
"Who is this guy? What's his relationship with Morning Star?"
Why was he chosen?
"What a lucky guy, damn it, why wasn't it me..."
Han Xiao remained expressionless and nodded. "Okay."
"Plz follow me."
Morning Star turned around, and Han Xiao followed, trailing behind the group. Morning Star's assistant contacted the organizers, who quickly discovered Han Xiao's identity. It turned out he was a mercenary they had worked with before, and had a background with Dragon Calm, making him trustworthy. Although allowing mercenaries into the venue was inappropriate, they agreed to the request out of consideration for Han Xiao's clean record and Morning Star's reputation.
Walking through the passage and boarding the celebration spaceship, Sylvia looked bewildered the whole way, not understanding what had happened. She had somehow ended up at the celebration she had always dreamed of. Coming to her senses, she hurriedly tugged at Han Xiao's clothes, exclaiming in surprise, "You really did it?!"
"Based on my understanding of you, your memory doesn't seem to have deteriorated to the point of being mentally challenged. Perhaps we should have you memorize a few more books to train it?" Han Xiao stared at Morning Star's back, his gaze unwavering.
"I... I thought you were lying..." Sylvia didn't know what to say. Just as Han Xiao said, the two of them had been invited onto the ship, but she never dreamed that the person who invited them would be Morning Star, and it seemed like it was a spur-of-the-moment decision.
Suppressing her excitement, she couldn't wait to ask, "How did you do that?"
"No matter how large the crowd, it can't hide my charm," Han Xiao said dismissively.
The real reason, of course, was the [Mysterious Statue] that Han Xiao carried with him. Morning Star had a special perception of the Psionic Undercurrent contained in the statue, and as long as it was within a certain range, it would definitely attract his attention. Therefore, Han Xiao knew that Morning Star would invite him to the ship for this reason.
After everyone boarded the ship, a series of fireworks were set off in the major cities of the main planet. Then, the Wine and Celebration took off with a rumble and circled the main planet of Feilan. The ship's hull was radiant with light and color. People on the surface could look up and see the giant spaceship that looked like a celestial body.
Han Xiao was arranged to stay in the VIP room of the Morning Star team. Morning Star did not speak to him immediately, but went to prepare for the program. He instructed his assistant that if Han Xiao asked why he was invited, he should tell him that he would meet with him privately after the celebration.
However, the assistant waited and waited, but Han Xiao did not show any curiosity. After entering the room, he kept his eyes closed and rested, as if he did not care at all why he was invited. After waiting for a long time without any movement, the assistant had to speak first.
"Sir... Morning Star wishes to speak with you after the celebration. Please be patient and enjoy the performance."
"Hmm." Han Xiao spoke sparingly.
In fact, he knew Morning Star inside and out and had no intention of asking any questions.
After a while, the audience took their seats, and the dome suddenly cracked open, revealing a starry universe. A thin energy shield isolated the vacuum, and this was the central location of the spaceship, which turned out to be a giant open-air stage!
The VIP room vibrated, slowly rose, and hovered in mid-air, tilting downwards at a 45-degree angle. One wall was a transparent screen, looking down and taking in the entire stage. The VIP room itself had a gravity stabilizer, so although the room was tilted, the people inside remained seated steadily in their chairs. There were more than two hundred such VIP rooms, like balloons floating above the stage.
The stage lit up with light, shimmering and sparkling in the universe, dazzling and magnificent, as a grand performance began in the cosmos.
At the same time, countless citizens of New Feilan watched this magnificent scene via broadcast, a celebration shared by hundreds of billions of people, the focus of everyone's attention.
Sylvia was awestruck by the magnificent spectacle; this was her first time experiencing a celebration in person.
She had begged her father many times, but he refused each time. However, Han Xiao did what her father couldn't do, fulfilling her wish.
Sylvia turned to look at Han Xiao, her feelings complicated.
This person is both an enemy and a benefactor, both a creditor and a teacher...
Noticing the gaze, Han Xiao said calmly, "What?"
"It's nothing, old..." Sylvia pursed her lips, "Old man."
"What kind of weird address is that? Are you blind?" Han Xiao looked at her suspiciously.
The celebratory performances were underway. Han Xiao wasn't a citizen of New Feilan and wasn't interested in the formalities, but the performances were quite entertaining. The final performance was by Morning Star.
All the light focused on Morning Star. On the huge stage, only the spot where he stood was lit, while the rest of the stage was dark. Yet, just by standing there, he exuded a special aura, as if the entire stage was filled by him alone, and the whole place fell silent.
The first note drifted out from beneath the veil of the Morning Star, ethereal and pure, like heavenly music. The song seemed to become a torrent of time, taking the audience back to the distant past, transforming them into the first ancestors, gazing up at the boundary between darkness and light at dawn. The first Morning Star emitted a faint yet firm light, carrying both light and darkness.
Before the performance, the audience removed their translators, not wanting to interfere with their enjoyment of the pure singing. Even if they couldn't understand the lyrics, the vastness contained in the singing captivated every heart. Countless images seemed to flash before the audience's eyes: the stars shining and the cycle of all things.
As he sang, the stage lights began to spread, and at the highest note, the lights suddenly filled the entire stage, projecting beams of light that shot into the depths of the universe.
A shiver that seemed to originate from the soul rushed down the spine of the audience and into their brains.
"What a beautiful voice..." Sylvia murmured to herself, completely captivated.
Han Xiao's eyes flashed.
The singing, imbued with powerful emotions, is indeed very infectious.
"The money spent on such a grand performance could buy several spaceships, what a waste..."
Han Xiao shook his head; art was indeed not for him.
As the song ended, the audience, both at the venue and watching on screen, remained captivated, reluctant to leave. Morning Star bowed slightly, stepped back, and departed. Only after she left did a thunderous applause erupt like a tidal wave.
Han Xiao stood up, cracked his neck, and looked at his assistant. "Take me to see him."
In a private room, Han Xiao and Sylvia sat in the guest seats waiting.
The door creaked open, and Morning Star had just finished her performance, walked in with an apologetic smile. "Sorry to keep you waiting. I hope you enjoyed the performance."
"You sing a tiny bit better than me." Han Xiao nodded.
Sylvia's eyes widened in shock at his shamelessness.
Morning Star smiled, removed her veil, and revealed a delicate face. By human standards of beauty, it was a very beautiful appearance—incidentally, human aesthetics are the most universal in the universe.
The most beautiful woman Han Xiao had ever seen was Aroshia. In terms of looks alone, Morning Star was second only to Aroshia, but she was a male... which was quite exciting, but he wasn't into that kind of thing.
"I know you're curious why I invited you," Morning Star said.
"Hmm, I'm curious." Han Xiao said expressionlessly.
No, you're not curious at all!
Sylvia, standing to the side, was screaming inwardly.
"Here's the thing, my side job is as a collector; I enjoy collecting unusual items, and you seem to have something I'm looking for."
As she spoke, Morning Star took out a statue that, apart from its different shape, was exactly the same in material and size as the one in Han Xiao's hand.
Upon seeing this, Han Xiao took out the [Mysterious Statue] he always carried with him, his tone full of surprise.
Wow, what a coincidence!
You're so clever!
Sylvia's expression was contorted; she was struggling to hold it in.
"Your friend doesn't seem to be feeling well, does she need to go to the bathroom...?" Morning Star asked with concern, "Or should I call a doctor for her?"
"No need, thank you." Han Xiao turned and glared at her.
Morning Star shrugged and continued, "This is a collection. There were originally four pieces. Two are here, and two are still out there. Once two of them get close, they can sense the location of the other statues within a certain range."
Morning Star chuckled, leaning back lazily in her chair, exuding a gentle grace that belied her masculine demeanor. "I just heard you're an interstellar mercenary, so I'd like to ask you to help me find the last two statues. I'll pay you 100,000 Enas."
"Ten, ten..." Sylvia almost choked.
That's incredibly generous!
Han Xiao wasn't surprised; it's perfectly normal for celebrities to be rich.
Moreover, this mission was famous in the previous life, partly because the reward was completely disproportionate to the difficulty of the mission.
"Sure, are there any requirements?" Han Xiao's lips curled slightly.
"As for the requirements..." Morning Star tapped her lips with her finger, "... the sooner the better, of course."
[You have triggered a Grade C quest [Find the Statues]]
[Mission Brief: A singer named Morning Star is collecting a peculiar type of statue, and he hopes you can find the remaining statues for him.]
[Task requirement: Find the other two [Mysterious Statue]]
[Note: When you own two statues, you will be able to detect other statues within a certain range.]
[Rewards: Base reward 100,000 Enas, 1,100,000 experience]
[After the task is completed, a score will be given based on the completion time. The shorter the time, the higher the score and the extra reward will be given.]
"Mission accomplished."
Han Xiao narrowed his eyes.
This was precisely the task he had deliberately chosen to trigger; it was one of the tasks he had painstakingly compiled from his memories that was most suitable for him to boost his rating.
Searching for items isn't difficult, but it's time-consuming. You have to run around looking for the locations of the other statues and ask many people for information. The process is complicated, and time is the criterion for evaluation.
But for Han Xiao, it was no challenge at all. Thanks to his old friend, a player from his previous life, he already knew the locations of the last two statues, allowing him to skip the entire search process and go straight for the target. Getting a high rating was a sure thing.
Instead of directly confronting Grade A opponents, we should take a roundabout approach, using high-rated tasks to obtain random rewards and draw Mission Settlement Card.
The reward for the task itself is not important; the key is the random reward each time.