"Honey!"
Nirega squeezed through the crowd, his face filled with excitement, and opened his arms wide.
Seeing her husband, Laini smiled, leaped forward, and threw herself into Nirega's arms, planting a kiss on his forehead before showering him with passionate kisses. She clung to Nirega neck like a koala, her ardent posture suggesting she was about to burst into flames. Han Xiao's eyes ached from watching, and his mind flashed back to the scene when he had captured Kerlodd and stripped him naked—broad-shouldered and burly, yet with such a small frame; no wonder Goddora had so many hybrids...
The other surviving investigators jumped off the spaceship, embracing their friends and chatting and laughing.
Han Xiao stepped off the gangway, and the space station commander greeted him, his voice tinged with surprise, "Black Star, what's going on here...?"
It's clear the stationmaster was unaware that Nirega had privately hired mercenaries. Transferring internal affairs to mercenaries without permission is a violation of Goddora's management regulations, punishable according to the severity of the offense. It will be recorded in his work record, affecting his promotion and future prospects.
When Nirega issued the mission, he instructed Han Xiao not to reveal it. However, concealing it might cause him to miss some events and lower his evaluation. Therefore, Han Xiao did not follow his instructions but instead told Laini and the others. These rescued Goddora investigators naturally understood this rule. After discussing it privately on the ship, they decided to voluntarily conceal their employer's identity. After all, Nirega had risked his life to have them rescued, and as colleagues, they were willing to provide cover.
Hearing the station chief's question, the surrounding investigators all looked over. The surviving investigator hesitated, looking at Han Xiao with concern. Nirega was even more nervous, swallowing hard.
These people were worried that Han Xiao would reveal the truth, because Black Star was not a government employee of Goddora and might not be aware of their regulations.
Han Xiao simply smiled. "While we were anchored, I heard about the research vessel. I'm a mercenary, and I won't let any opportunity to make money slip by. Station Master, my services aren't free; perhaps you should pay a reasonable price for my labor."
Upon hearing this, Nirega immediately breathed a sigh of relief, and the other investigators were also relieved, glancing at Han Xiao with secret gratitude.
To protect his employer's identity, this mercenary even put on an act; how dedicated!
The station manager was taken aback, somewhat embarrassed. "According to regulations, we cannot pay you. This was your own initiative; we did not hire you."
Han Xiao raised an eyebrow. "Are you trying to make me work for free? Is this how Goddora treats its friends?"
The deputy station chief's eyes flashed with a hint of joy. He coughed and said, "Station chief, he did save the missing people after all. Although it doesn't comply with regulations, I believe in repaying kindness. We should thank him for saving these investigators' lives. Goddora never mistreats her friends."
The station manager frowned and firmly shook his head. "Rules are rules. I appreciate your actions, but I really can't pay you. This was your own initiative. If I pay you afterwards, it would be considered an employment arrangement, which violates the rules."
The expressions of the surrounding crowd changed, and some were dissatisfied, especially Laini and the other surviving investigators, whose eyes turned cold.
These mercenaries saved us, but you won't even pay them. Are our lives so cheap in your eyes?
Although they were unhappy, none of them said anything; the rules couldn't be challenged.
Han Xiao narrowed his eyes, deliberately making his tone cold, and said, "Alright, consider it a good deed on my part. I'd like to stay here for a day. Would you allow that?"
The stationmaster breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that the man wasn't insisting on payment, and nodded, saying, "Okay, we welcome you, friend."
Upon hearing this, the surrounding crowd glared at the stationmaster with dissatisfaction, but their gazes toward Han Xiao became even more enthusiastic.
The stationmaster turned and left, and the crowd slowly dispersed. As they passed Han Xiao, they all gave him a solemn bow to express their gratitude.
In the distance, only the deputy stationmaster and the stationmaster were on the path. The deputy stationmaster stepped forward to stand beside the stationmaster and complained, "You're too stubborn."
The station chief shook his head, his face serious. "This isn't stubbornness, it's principle. Since I've been assigned to this space station, my duty is to oversee all work processes here and ensure everyone follows the rules."
"Sigh, you're right." The deputy stationmaster sighed feignedly, "Very few mercenaries would do the job first and then negotiate the price. Their behavior isn't accidental; they must have been secretly hired by the space station staff long ago..."
The stationmaster suddenly stopped, his eyes narrowing. "You're right... those mercenaries deliberately concealed something; they wanted to make more money. Hmph, mercenaries really are a greedy bunch. Investigate! I need to know who hired the mercenaries."
The deputy station chief hurriedly dissuaded him, saying, "We should just keep this to ourselves. Don't take it so seriously. After all, it's a good thing that all the missing investigators have returned. Just pretend you don't know anything about it. As long as you don't pursue it, there's no violation. If you report this to the higher-ups, you can include the investigators' survival in your achievements. This will be very beneficial to your future. They'll think you're very capable."
The stationmaster paused, his brow furrowed, his bearing righteous. "Merit? I won't conceal the truth for something like that! Find out who hired the Black Star Mercenary Group. A violation is a violation, and there will be no leniency."
Back in the hall, Nirega approached Han Xiao. The two walked aside, and he immediately grasped Han Xiao's hand, his face full of gratitude.
"Thank you so much for your help. Laini and I don't know how to repay you."
Looking at Nirega, Han Xiao felt like this guy was surrounded by a green aura. He withdrew his hand, shrugged, and said, "Of course you know how to repay me. We agreed on a reward."
"Yes, yes, I was just too excited." Nirega took out his communicator and quickly transferred the money.
[[Star Roaming Beast] is complete!]
[Task is being settled... Settlement complete]
[Task Evaluation: Excellent]
[You have received the [Excellent] level bonus: 50% extra experience (425,000), and 1 random reward.]
"Just an excellent review..."
Han Xiao's heart skipped a beat. "The chance of getting a random reward for an excellent evaluation is 30%, thankfully I got it."
[Nirega's Favorability +35]
[Laini's favorability +20]
"This level of favorability..." Han Xiao's lips twitched, "It feels like there's a hint of green on my lips, like I'm being kept as a backup option."
The Goddora people are really not to be trifled with; no wonder they can produce so many hybrids, they can shoot, they can shoot...
Suppressing his troubling thoughts, Han Xiao activated the random reward on the panel.
[Randomly selecting...]
[Drawing complete]
[The type of reward you received this time is: [Attribute Points]]
"Great."
Han Xiao remained expressionless, his tone completely flat.
By now, he's quite calm... or at least he appears calm.
"Don't panic, don't panic at all."
Composing himself, Han Xiao took a deep breath and looked at the three options.
Please choose one of the following three rewards.
[Agility: 3~6]
[Intelligence: 2~6]
[Luck: 1~8]
After glancing at it, Han Xiao didn't hesitate and directly selected the option to increase intelligence; the number following it indicated a random range of bonuses.
[Your Intelligence attribute +5]
"It's alright. Although it's not a great item, permanently increasing attribute points isn't a bad deal. This is the first time I've gotten a random attribute reward, so it's worth commemorating..."
Han Xiao comforted himself in this way, repeating it to himself more than ten times, and felt his mood brighten up again, though he didn't know if it was just his imagination.
After the money was received in the account, Nirega took out a white diamond ring from her pocket, played with it for a while reluctantly, and then solemnly handed it to Han Xiao.
"I know I don't have much money, and this reward is too little for you, but you still chose to help me. I'm very touched. This ring is called the Knoen Secret Diamond Ring. It's a magical treasure from my collection. I want you to know that not all Goddora people are as stingy as the stationmaster. Please accept my gift."
The diamond inside the ring shimmered with magical Glory. Han Xiao gripped the ring and looked at the item description that popped up on the panel.
[Knoen Secret Diamond Ring]
[Quality: Purple]
[Type: Magical Equipment, Ring]
[Equipment Bonuses: Magic Resistance +9%, Magic Affinity +7%, Intelligence +11, Arcane Power +23, Charisma +5]
[Equipment Requirements: Mage Class, Total Level 80 or above]
[Additional Ability: [Arcane Energy Ring] - Passive Aura, permanently increases magical activity within a 15-meter diameter radius, and increases the power of all magical attack skills by 13%]
[Note: This ring is engraved with a powerful spell and contains surging magical energy. Its creator was clearly an arcane master.]
"This magical equipment has decent stat bonuses, and the accompanying aura is a godsend for raid leaders and dungeon raiders. Guilds would definitely be willing to pay a high price for it. Unfortunately, it's not very useful to me."
In the mercenary group, only Volga's Eldest and second-in-command, are mages, and their levels are high enough. They can only be of use to them. Anyway, with the current version update, all the players are gone, so there's no need to sell them.
After saying goodbye to Nirega, Han Xiao returned to the hall and casually tossed the ring to the Volga Brothers. The three of them exclaimed in surprise and ran off to examine it, leaving Melos speechless as he held the cards and stared at the game that was about to end in a winning hand.
"The matter is resolved, aren't we leaving now?" Fording asked.
Han Xiao's eyes flickered. "There are still some other issues here, but I've done what I had to do. It will take a long time before things become profitable, and then it will be worth coming back... Everyone, take a rest, we'll leave soon. Nothing else will happen here for the time being, there's no need to stay any longer."
No one understood what he meant.
"Anyway, you're the leader, so you know what's going on." Melos asked, "Where do we go next?"
Thinking of the Star Roaming Beast materials piled up in the spaceship, Han Xiao said, "Let's find someone to turn those corpses in the warehouse into potions first."
Finding the Mission Settlement Card is important, but there's no rush. Luck won't get you there if you try.
The process of completing quests can be put on hold for now; in his view, processing the materials from the Star Roaming Beast is the most urgent matter at present.