Clang! Clang!
With a swift and fluid "Three Punches of the Farmer" technique, Phillip's Flying Serpent Mecha subdued the group of tough-skinned stone warriors in less than two minutes. The rocks lay scattered on the ground, groaning weakly in pain.
These thugs were only Grade C strong, and the mecha, enhanced by Han Xiao, easily defeated them.
"No—my smooth skin!" The leading rock warrior wailed, staring at his cracked body. In the rock people's aesthetic sense, the texture of the stone on the body's surface was equivalent to appearance. The most beautiful stones were naturally minerals like crystal and diamonds. If it was an ordinary stone, but it was as smooth as a pebble, then it would be a handsome man with a good figure.
The wounds, with cracks all over its body, are roughly equivalent to disfigurement for a stone golem. Even if a stone golem can digest stone to heal its wounds, it will take a very long time to recover.
At this moment, the big guy was sobbing, making people inexplicably want to punch him again.
"You're about as strong as me, yet you dare to teach us a lesson? Who gave you the courage?!" Volga's Eldest looked at him with disdain, his lack of self-awareness was almost pathetic.
Han Xiao was somewhat surprised by the Rock Warriors' weakness. Their employer couldn't possibly be unaware of their strength. What purpose could sending these weaklings serve? Was it merely a warning or a welcoming gift? Or had he guessed wrong, and their employer wasn't their target?
Cases involving prophets are always a headache, but Han Xiao didn't dwell on it. He grabbed the rock warrior and demanded, "Who is your employer?"
Logically, a mercenary wouldn't betray his employer's identity, and he was prepared to interrogate him, but the Rock Warrior's answer surprised him greatly.
"Ugh, the employer told us to come here today to deal with the person who rang the doorbell of that villa. He said we wouldn't be in any danger, and if we lost, he'd tell us a location to find someone there who knows his whereabouts." The Rock Warrior said nervously, "He also said you'd interrogate the employer about his identity, and he told me to relay his exact words—'You guessed it, it's me. Don't think I don't know you've misused my name. If you want to find me, play a game with me.'"
The expressions on everyone's faces changed slightly.
"Damn it, the prophet!" Han Xiao gritted his teeth.
Melos slapped Han Xiao on the back with a thud, then threw his head back and laughed, "Hahaha, you've met your match!"
"Those in the same trade hate each other the most." Han Xiao snorted and pressed for the address. The rock warrior nervously gave the next location, which was in the northern part of City Number Eight, and it would take crossing an entire city to get there.
Standing up, Han Xiao rested his fingers on his chin, deep in thought. The prophet had hired these rock warriors to deliver clues, instructing them to go to the next location.
The target deliberately left traces sixteen days ago, then used his prophetic abilities to glimpse their travel time, thus knowing they would arrive at this place today. He then deployed rock warriors—prophetic abilities are not omniscient and cannot be used at will; they require a trigger. The clues the target deliberately left for the intelligence organization were naturally this trigger.
He could break the prophecy and slaughter these rock warriors right here, but the question is, could this also be part of the prophet's calculations? Could the prophet have deliberately told him there was no danger to provoke his rebellious nature, actually wanting him to kill the rock warriors and attract the attention of the security forces...? Or is it even possible that the prophet had already seen through his reversed thinking? Perhaps the prophet exploited his personality, which is why he said the rock warriors were absolutely safe?!
"That's why I hate prophets." Han Xiao had a headache.
Even though he already knew about Master Dragon Emperor's abilities, the feeling of being restrained and led by the nose still made Han Xiao very frustrated.
Prophets are adept at using their abilities to manipulate and deceive. For a sufficiently powerful prophet, intelligence is meaningless; the wise and the foolish are merely pawns used in different ways. When you think you are very clever, little do you know that the prophet has already taken advantage of your "cleverness," and you have no idea what action the prophet truly wants you to take.
Fortunately, Han Xiao also had his own advantages. He was very clear about his target's abilities and personality, so he could use a prophet's mindset to judge the other party's thoughts. He couldn't guarantee that he could escape the scheme, but at least he wouldn't fall into it unknowingly. Moreover, based on his understanding of the target, although the other party had a bad personality, he didn't have much malice.
This is good news. After all, although the prophet does not possess great power, being his enemy would be an extremely troublesome matter!
"What should we do? Should we go to the place he mentioned?" Melos asked.
"Go see what kind of trouble he's up to."
Han Xiao snapped his fingers, creating a spark of Mechanical Force. The Flying Serpent Mecha instantly transformed into a compressed ball and adhered to the necklace.
At the same time, an electric-like Mechanical Force spread out from beneath his feet, connecting with the damaged robot parts one by one. These parts suddenly floated up, gathered together, and rapidly assembled under the Force Control. Some of the metal that had deformed in the explosion returned to its original shape under the influence of the Mechanical Force's magnetic field. In the blink of an eye, this pile of scrapped parts transformed back into a round robot body.
Basic Mechanical Generation + Scrap Modification!
The round-headed little robot started moving again. Phillip waved his mechanical arm, slid to Han Xiao's feet, and reported, "Automatic maintenance in progress... Performance reduced by 25%... Data backup completed..."
Sylvia's eyes flashed with a bright light, as if a bunch of stars had sprung up from them. "Teacher, I want to learn this!"
"You want to run before you've even learned to walk?"
Han Xiao glanced at her, then recalled the mechanical flying insects he had secretly sent out to probe the villa's interior. Confirming the house was empty, he turned and strode forward. "No more clues here. Let's go."
The group left the secluded street, leaving behind only a group of stone figures lying dead and screaming.
Meanwhile, in Noriosse City Number Four, at a secret location.
Many members of DarkStar gathered in this dimly lit room; secret operations have always preferred to be based in such dark places.
"The intelligence has been compiled. The traitor has appeared simultaneously in the center of City Number Seven, the northwest of City Number Six, and the station of City Number Four. His ability is to create five physical clones. One clone is in our possession, three others have been exposed, and the whereabouts of the last one are unknown. It should be his main body, who is hiding. His clones cannot stray too far from his main body, otherwise they cannot maintain their form. The exact distance is unknown, but it cannot exceed one planet, so he is still in Noriosse," said a DarkStar Warrior.
In the corner of the room, a Goddora was tightly bound to a chair, covered in blood, clearly having suffered countless tortures. His appearance was strikingly similar to Owenn's, and he wore a mocking sneer.
"What are you laughing at?" a DarkStar warrior shouted.
"Hehehe, you'll never catch my true form."
Owenn is the traitor that DarkStar is tracking. His ability is to create clones, and the one DarkStar has captured is one of those clones.
If Han Xiao were here, he would most likely think of Black Spider, who was incarcerated on Death Knell Island Prison on Planet Aquamarine. Both are clone-type superpowers, but their specific effects are different. Black Spider's clones are puppets, which can only be manipulated in a simple way. His consciousness can only exist in one puppet at a time, but it can be transferred. As long as one clone is alive, he will not die; he has a tenacious vitality.
Unlike Owenn, who can have up to five clones simultaneously, each possessing full combat power, his consciousness is divided into five. These clones are all himself and can act simultaneously. One of the clones is the main body. Because their senses are shared, if a clone is injured or dies, the main body's consciousness will also experience some pain and mental damage. Furthermore, if a clone is too far from the main body, it will shatter, which is equivalent to death and will also cause some damage to the main body's consciousness.
Therefore, by controlling one clone, one can determine the approximate location of the main body— Owenn is still hiding in Noriosse.
A soldier suddenly said, "Captain Fossatude, the latest news indicates that the clone located in City Number Four has taken a train to City Number Eight. Vice-Captain Sherman did not act as planned..."
"I understand." Fossatude responded calmly. He was a half- Goddora, Grade B superhuman from DarkStar, and the leader of the Pursuit team.
... At least the publicly acknowledged captain.
After reviewing the intelligence for a while, Fossatude left the room. Outside was a long corridor. After turning two corners, he entered an empty room, touched the wall, and pressed a disguised button. The wall slid open silently, revealing an alloy door that led to a secret room.
He went inside, where there were only two people: Anur and Ashes.
For this pursuit of the traitor, DarkStar not only mobilized a large number of elite warriors, a total of seven Grade B superhumans, but also two Calamity Grade powerhouses, Anur and Ashes, making it a truly massive operation!
DarkStar harbors deep hatred for this traitor. Owenn leaked some information about DarkStar's internal personnel to Goddora, causing one of the organization's Grade A members Vimila, to fall into a trap during a mission. Exhausted from the battle, she was captured by Goddora and imprisoned in Rainbow Light Prison. Moreover, Owenn possesses even more intelligence, and if it is revealed, Goddora will gain a deeper understanding of them, posing a significant threat.
DarkStar will not allow traitors to live. The Pursuit party has Owenn trapped in Noriosse, playing cat and mouse, and will find him sooner or later. Therefore, the intelligence will not be sent out for the time being. Owenn can only rely on reinforcements to survive. If he hands over all the intelligence, he will be of no use to Goddora. When it comes to life, promises are not to be trusted. Therefore, he dares not hand over all the intelligence at once. He must keep it as a bargaining chip and use it to blackmail Goddora into sending people.
DarkStar was well aware of this as well. Due to Noriosse's unique nature, neither DarkStar nor Goddora would send warships to surround the planet. This conglomerate had deep connections and intricate relationships with several star cluster-level civilizations. If either side wanted to plot against Owenn, they could only send their respective superhuman warriors to operate on the planet.
"Your Excellencies," Fossatude stepped forward and bowed respectfully, saying, "We have new intelligence. One of the traitor's clones has traveled by train to City Number Eight, and Sherman has not acted as planned."
Anur demanded in a deep voice, "Why?"
"He unexpectedly encountered the Black Star Mercenary Group on the train!" Fossatude said. "Owenn sat at the same table with them, and Sherman, not confident in his abilities, dared not make a move."
"Black Star?" Anur frowned, glancing at Ashes beside him. He remembered Ashes's deep obsession with Black Star and said in a deep voice, "The mission is important. We're in the shadows, the enemy is in the open. There's no need to provoke him."
Upon hearing the name, Ashes's expression didn't change at all. To him, the name seemed to have become a meaningless passerby; his mood remained undisturbed, and his tone was indifferent.
"Don't worry, I've long since stopped caring about him. Traitors are our targets. As long as Black Star doesn't interfere in our affairs, he can live."
"Not bad." A flicker of satisfaction crossed Anur's eyes, but it vanished in an instant, replaced by a serious expression.
"Sherman's decision was correct. Black Star is backed by Ames of the Dragon Emperor. Don't create unnecessary trouble. Owenn was lucky to have stumbled upon this group of mercenaries, but his luck won't last. Let Sherman continue tracking them..."
Judging by the time, Goddora's reinforcements should be arriving soon. Owenn can share the experiences of his clones; all his clones know you're tracking him. Tell those outside to be careful, lest they fall into his trap.