Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!
Melos unleashed a flurry of punches, leaving the group of space pirates bruised and battered. They were tied together, piled into a human mountain, and let out feeble groans.
Melos dealt with this group of weak space pirates effortlessly. The main difficulty in rescuing the hostages was locating the Stealth pirate ship. So Han Xiao had Sylvia pretend to be a hostage and be taken aboard the ship, carrying a locator. This way, they could track the ship's location and launch a landing operation. At this moment, Han Xiao borrowed a combat ship from his employer and was shamefully inserting it into the tail of the pirate ship.
This was also Sylvia's first time participating in an operation, an assessment. Han Xiao gave her a very full schedule every day. After she awakened her Esper Gene, in addition to learning knowledge, she also received training in various combat skills. Although Sylvia had only been training for two months, she had great potential. After getting started, she progressed Godspeed and had great practical talent. In battle, she was not nervous at all, but became more and more calm. This surprised Sylvia, as she never knew she had the ability to remain calm in the face of danger.
Of course, if Sylvia didn't have potential, Han Xiao wouldn't have spent time and effort nurturing her.
"Release the hostages. I'll set up a flight path to make this pirate ship return and hand over the mission," Han Xiao commanded the group.
At this moment, Sylvia trotted up to Han Xiao, her face full of anticipation for praise, and asked, "How did I do?"
Han Xiao stroked his chin. "Acceptable, you pass. What, do you think there's anything praiseworthy about you?"
Sylvia pouted and gave a dejected "Oh."
"Black Star, be a little more lenient with the young people," Melos interjected, smiling at Sylvia. "You did a good job. When I was your age, I wasn't as good as you... oh no, I was much better than you back then."
Sylvia grinned, "... You're really good at comforting people."
Fording smiled gently, "Don't listen to them, you've improved very quickly, we've all seen it."
"Shut up!" Sylvia immediately bristled at Fording's words, glaring at Fording angrily. Every time she saw this guy, she felt resentful. She had awakened earlier than him, but Fording's growth rate was like a rocket, smoothly and effortlessly soaring to Grade C. He sang songs and meditated every day, unlike her, who lived in the purgatory of studying.
Comparisons are odious! Those with squinty eyes are definitely monsters!
Fording wasn't annoyed. He gave a warm smile, his eyes narrowed in amusement, and remained silent.
He followed Han Xiao for two months. During that time, Morning Star repeatedly tried to regain control of her body, but all her attempts were suppressed. As Fording's psychic power grew rapidly, Morning Star's threat gradually diminished. Fording's plan was to use Morning Star's memories to gain enough strength for himself. When he could completely suppress Morning Star, it might be time to leave.
However, Fording was a very mild-mannered person who disliked fighting and rarely got angry. He didn't want to subject Morning Star to the same ordeal he had experienced, because he knew all too well how terrible that feeling was. So Fording communicated with Morning Star in his mind many times, hoping to persuade her to give up her pointless resistance. But Morning Star was adamant and refused to compromise. Nevertheless, Fording persevered and maintained his daily habit of communicating with Morning Star.
The boy from Goddora stared blankly at Han Xiao and the others. Just when he thought he was doomed, the mercenaries descended from the sky and quickly defeated the space pirates. It took him a while to recover. He glanced at Sylvia's the Sight of Father's Back, mustered his courage, and stepped forward, stammering, "I... my name is Nalu. Thank you for saving me. Are you mercenaries hired by my father?"
Everyone stopped chatting and looked at him. Under Sylvia's gaze, Nalu suddenly panicked and didn't know where to put his hands.
"I... I want to know everyone's names..."
Nalu stammered.
Han Xiao ruffled Sylvia's hair and chuckled, "This kid likes you."
"I didn't!" Nalu's secret was exposed, and he was thrown into a panic.
Han Xiao raised an eyebrow. "Oh, it seems he doesn't like you."
"No... no, I don't dislike it..." Nalu panicked, stammering incoherently.
Sylvia rolled her eyes at Han Xiao, then gracefully extended her hand, "My name is Sylvia."
Nalu hesitated for a moment, then carefully grasped Sylvia's fingertips. The instant their fingers touched, Nalu's face turned orange—the color of blush on the faces of golden-skinned Goddora people, perfectly scientific and perfectly reasonable.
Melos remarked, "Youth is truly wonderful."
Han Xiao took a smoky candy from the snack bag in Aroshia's hand, flicked it into his mouth. He was recently trying to quit smoking, so he was eating snacks to pass the time. He smacked his lips thoughtfully, "If I complain to the employer that his son harassed my beloved apprentice, I should be able to extort some money."
"... Next time you think of a plan like this, you don't have to say it out loud." Sylvia turned around angrily.
Having rescued all the hostages, Han Xiao set the course, and soon the group returned to the planet where their employer was located. The guards and the hostages' families were already waiting at the dock, and the hostages quickly disembarked to reunite with their families.
An officer stepped forward to thank Han Xiao and his team for solving the kidnapping case, as most of the people involved were from wealthy corporations, making it a matter of great importance to them.
As per regulations, Han Xiao handed over the captured space pirates and their spaceship to the Police Department to improve the success rate of the mission. After the police officer left, Nalu and a middle-aged man approached Han Xiao. The middle-aged man had the air of a big shot, but he was very enthusiastic when facing Han Xiao, thanking him profusely and then paying the reward.
The middle-aged man was Nalu's father, the head of a certain Goddora conglomerate, and naturally, he wouldn't be stingy with the promised reward. He was also the one who issued the quest. After receiving 85,000 Enas, the panel indicated that the quest was complete.
"Resolve all hostage situations, capture the space pirates alive, hand over the spaceship, 100% completion, and you're guaranteed a random reward."
Han Xiao thought to himself, glancing at the information, which indicated that he had received another chance for a [random reward]. He didn't use it immediately but stored it in his panel. He had already accumulated four chances for random rewards.
Within two months, he completed more than a dozen missions, and in 80% of them, he received random rewards. At first, he would draw them every time he received one, and he got attribute points, experience points, and potential points. Not only did he not get what he wanted, but he also got nothing but junk, which made Han Xiao very angry. So he started saving random rewards.
Single pulls are unreliable; only consecutive pulls can produce miracles.
Having completed the mission, Han Xiao did not linger. He led everyone back to the ship, the thrusters churning with flames, and the spaceship disappeared into the horizon.
Nalu tilted his head back, staring blankly in the direction the spaceship had disappeared, shook his father's arm, and stammered, "Dad, I have something I want to ask you."
"What's up?"
"I... I want to hire this mercenary group as our family's private bodyguards," Nalu said, mustering his courage. He still couldn't forget Sylvia.
"Impossible."
Nalu grew anxious. "Then give them more money. Being our guards is safer than being mercenaries, right? As long as the pay is good enough, they'll definitely agree."
The middle-aged man shook his head with a wry smile. "It's not about money. Although Black Star is a mercenary, compared to his background, our family's business is too insignificant. There's no way we can poach Dragon Emperor Ames's man."