The Protector led everyone to another city in a flying vehicle. In the center of the city stood a towering skyscraper, which stood out even among the steel metropolis filled with skyscrapers, like a middle finger raised on the ground.
There was a helipad protected by a transparent dome on the top floor. The dome slowly opened, and the aircraft landed there. Many guards stood beside the passage leading from the helipad to the interior of the building. Han Xiao and his group followed the Protector through the passage and entered the top floor. The interior was exquisitely and luxuriously decorated, like a mansion.
A man sat on a sofa, his back to the people who entered, only the back of his head could be seen. On the wall directly in front of him were virtual screens displaying surveillance footage of a battlefield.
"Look what you've done on my planet."
The man pressed some button, and the sofa automatically spun around, turning from facing away to facing everyone. Only then could they see the man's face; he exuded a strong aura. Han Xiao felt the man looked familiar, and then suddenly remembered... he had seen a picture of him before.
Just a few days ago, he was playing a cat-and-mouse game with Iso, Iso had asked him to steal some kind of trinket. Aesop had told Phillip to Google it; the trinket was something the head of the Noriosse Financial Group had bought for his umpteenth wife. And the man in front of him was the head of that consortium, whose name was... what was it again?
"Rockefeller, I am the owner of this planet." The man's tone was calm. "I know who you are: Nagokin of the Goddora War Bureau, Wilsander, the captain of the Dragon Calm Guard, and Black Star, the commander of the Dragon Calm Field Operations Force."
Because they nominally belong to Dragon Calm, the Black Star Mercenary Group is implicitly considered a force under Dragon Calm's command. Han Xiao doesn't care much about this. Since joining Dragon Calm, this identity has been more beneficial than harmful, allowing his mercenary group to be temporarily bound to a transcendent faction, which greatly benefits the growth of the mercenary group's reputation.
"I have a general understanding of what happened. I have no interest in interfering in the conflict Goddora and DarkStar, but your actions have damaged my planet. Goddora has no law enforcement authority in my territory, so I need an explanation from you and demand legal compensation. My people are currently assessing the damages. Once the specific amount is determined, we can discuss it in more detail."
Rockefeller didn't give the two a chance to interrupt, his words decisive and brooking no argument.
"I will report to headquarters. Goddora will compensate you for your losses. Black Star was just a mercenary I hired. Their actions were at my request. His compensation will be borne by Goddora. Goddora never mistreats its friends."
Nagokin said he was quite pleased to have killed Anur, and this victory would also make the War Bureau very happy. Officials of his rank inevitably cause damage when they are on the move, and the War Bureau will clean up their messes. They never intended to evade reparations.
Because Rockefeller had extensive connections and good relationships with political figures in many civilizations of the Shattered Star Ring, Goddora was unwilling to offend such a big capitalist.
"Don't worry, I never intended to ask him for money." Upon hearing this, Rockefeller looked at Han Xiao, smiled, and his tone became much warmer and less aggressive. "Give my regards to Ames."
They don't want us to pay compensation? Han Xiao's impression of them immediately improved. "You know Ames?"
"Hahahaha, who doesn't know Dragon Emperor in the Shattered Star Ring?" Rockefeller laughed. "I have business dealings with Dragon Calm, we're on the same side. I heard Iso sent you to steal my things, but you caught him, haha, well done."
Han Xiao suddenly realized that Iso and Rockefeller knew each other, which explained the prank.
He wasn't surprised at all. Iso had lived for so many years and was a legendary figure himself. He had accumulated an incredibly deep network of connections, with friends all over the world. He could even get toilet paper from anyone he took a dump for.
Moreover, given Iso's abilities, most of the people he associates with are powerful and influential, forming a vast network of connections. Now that Ames has brought Iso back, the Dragon Calm faction will benefit from this, and its influence behind the scenes will likely increase exponentially.
In reality, Rockefeller's enthusiasm wasn't entirely due to Iso. He had consistently provided funding to Dragon Calm with few requests for anything in return, essentially acting as a patron. Rockefeller wasn't the only consortium doing this; at least twenty consortia had funded Ames. When Ames was building Dragon Calm, she issued a public notice asking for funds, and countless consortia rushed to provide them. To this day, many consortia still maintain their patronage relationships; otherwise, given Dragon Calm's appalling financial situation, it wouldn't be able to afford such high repair, fuel, and maintenance costs.
The four Beyond Grade A powerhouses of the Shattered Star Ring are each backed by numerous investment conglomerates. Powerful individuals or forces always attract investment from conglomerates, so many powerful individuals don't have to worry about money even if they don't work. Many interstellar conglomerates have long since moved beyond simply accumulating wealth. Unless money is transformed into influence, relationships, or tangible goods, it's just a string of numbers. Investing in organizations, powerful individuals, and politicians is the way these capitalists operate.
For example, someone like Ames isn't asking for money anymore; instead, people are actively waving banknotes at her, and whether she accepts them depends on her mood.
As long as you become stronger, many problems will be solved, but at the same time, the issues involved in your words and actions will become increasingly complex.
In later versions, some large guilds were qualified to cooperate with conglomerates to obtain funding and loans. Players' influence on Galaxy continued to deepen, the ways of interaction became more and more diverse, and the impact on the regional landscape was dynamic, so the sense of immersion was very strong, keeping players enthusiastic at all times.
"I knew you came to Noriosse the moment you arrived, but I'm only meeting you now. You're even more amazing than the rumors say."
Rockefeller extended his hand, and Han Xiao shook it briefly, smiling without saying a word, but a thought arose in his mind.
The initial preparations for version 2.0 require funding. To accommodate tens of thousands of players, the mercenary group's hardware facilities need to be upgraded on a large scale, and all of this will cost money.
If they could find a wealthy backer like Ames, their finances might become more abundant.
Because Han Xiao was used to working alone in his previous life, he only had a general understanding of how guilds and NPC factions cooperated, but he had never tried it himself. In his plan, he had to earn all the funds himself. But now he had a new idea: the influence of factions might be more important than he thought.
Han Xiao's core business has always been making money from players to support himself and his faction. But could he add a new approach, where he not only profits from players' wallets but also uses them to get NPCs to spend money voluntarily?
A flash of inspiration struck Han Xiao, and a new idea popped into his mind. He became excited. This idea couldn't be implemented now, but it might be able to significantly increase the benefits he would receive from players once version 2.0 was released—provided, of course, that things went according to plan.
"Lord Rockefeller, there's something I'd like to ask you, and I hope we can schedule another time to discuss it in detail," Han Xiao said.
Rockefeller nodded. "Okay, I'll give you the private number. We'll talk more after this is resolved."
A consensus was reached on the aftermath: Goddora would bear all the compensation costs, and Rockefeller arranged for everyone to stay in a completely safe base until Goddora's reinforcements arrived.
Aroshia brought Owenn to join the group. Owenn had escaped death, was very relieved. The teleportation mage left after receiving his payment, not wanting to have anything to do with this group of troublemakers.
In the following days, the impact of this incident began to spread rapidly. Various interstellar news outlets reported on the event, with headlines that were increasingly sensational. Through the dissemination of these media outlets, the story of "Goddora and DarkStar fighting fiercely, with a Calamity Grade powerhouse dying in battle" quickly became a hot topic.
The details of the incident were not revealed; the news reports only covered part of the process and the outcome, yet they still caused a sensation. Among the notorious "evil forces" of the Shattered Star Ring, DarkStar was not the most powerful organization, but it was the most radical. It had destroyed countless civilizations in the Garton Star System and displaced countless citizens, thus dragging down Goddora. However, there were very few news reports of Head-On Conflict; they would sneak into the village and avoid firing shots.
This time, a powerful member of the DarkStar died in battle in full view of everyone, which was a cause for great celebration.
As the news spread, Han Xiao's reputation panel continuously showed an increase in popularity over the past few days. Just like last time, the increase covered different star clusters, with most regions reaching the [Slightly Famous] level of popularity. In the Garton Star System, where he was frequently active, the popularity level had already reached [Well-Known].
In the minds of most interstellar citizens, Ames's power is the only reason for maintaining Dragon Calm, but most of her subordinates are not well-known and rarely participate in external activities. In this respect, she is far inferior to the other three powerful Beyond Grade A bosses who have elite troops and numerous strong subordinates, while Ames is almost a lone commander with only a few subordinates.
Even without their leaders, the forces of the other three Beyond Grade A powerhouses in the Shattered Star Ring remain powerful organizations that dominate their respective regions, far surpassing Dragon Calm's strength.
The last time Ames smashed the DarkStar mothership, the Volkswagen's attention was more focused on Ames's powerful performance and the fact that Black Star was a new member of the Dragon Calm. But this time, the news was caused by Black Star, who showed even greater strength than before. Many interstellar citizens and organizations that were paying attention to this matter had the same idea.
--Ames is starting to have capable leaders who can stand on their own. My goodness, that's not easy!
The Goddora side learned more details, Nagokin reported the specific situation. The Intelligence War Bureau immediately raised the level of attention paid to Han Xiao. Including the previous capture of the DarkStar mothership, this was the second time that Black Star had taken action against DarkStar. It could be understood that they were pro -Goddora, and they had also helped Nagokin kill Anur, which was a great help to them.
After fighting side by side, Nagokin valued Han Xiao highly.
In the past few days, Han Xiao has been working to get closer to Nagokin, which is also the reason he accepted this mission. Getting to know Nagokin is equivalent to gaining a direct channel to contact the upper echelons of Goddora.
After waiting for several days, the Goddora fleet arrived in Noriosse, and the incident finally came to an end. Nagokin brought Owenn to the dock, where Goddora's massive fleet was anchored.
Before leaving, Owenn shook hands firmly with Han Xiao and said, "You saved my life. I owe you a favor. If you ever need my help, I will do everything in my power."
Nagokin nodded to Han Xiao, "It has been a very pleasant experience working with you. The War Bureau will pay for this, and I hope to have the opportunity to cooperate again in the future."
Han Xiao smiled, "Don't worry, we'll see each other again soon."
Nagokin was taken aback, thinking Han Xiao was just being polite, so he didn't say anything, boarded the ship with Owenn, and the fleet set sail with a rumble, quickly turning into streaks of light and disappearing into the universe.
[Nagakin's Request has been fulfilled]
[You gained 5.8 million experience, 24,000 Enas, and +850 to your Goddora faction relationship.]
[Goddora Civilization: Respected (3190/6000)]
[Nagokin's favorability +30]
[Owenn's favorability +30]
"This single action gained nearly two thousand points of faction favor, instantly raising my relationship with Goddora to Respected. That's pretty good."
After closing the panel notification, Han Xiao's smile faded. Originally, Nagokin would have been crippled, Owenn would not have survived either, but he had changed their fates. DarkStar would also pay more attention to him, and he wondered what their reaction would be.
Where do we go now?
Melos spoke, and all the cadres looked at Han Xiao.
Han Xiao stroked his chin. Before the version update, he set two goals. The first was to advance, which he had already accomplished. Now that he finally had some free time, it was time to start working on the second goal: preparing for version 2.0. This was a huge undertaking.
"I'll go see Rockefeller first."