Reynold had very low expectations. Apart from learning blueprint knowledge from Han Xiao, he was like a nobody. Since joining the legion, he had always worked in a low-key manner. His professional skills were as rigorous and reliable as his personality. He had never caused any trouble and managed the legion's logistics in an orderly manner. This was the first time he had asked Han Xiao for help.
Seeing Reynold's preoccupied expression, Han Xiao understood. Reynold had only sought his help now because the matter was extremely difficult. Reynold had initially come to learn, not to ask for help, but now that Han Xiao had established a great reputation throughout the entire star system, Reynold saw hope and felt that he could help, thus opening up to him.
Han Xiao felt that he was pretty close to the truth, and secretly perked up.
Let me explain the situation first.
He didn't agree immediately, deciding to listen to the details of the task first.
Reynold paused for a moment before slowly speaking.
"You know I come from the Heidegger Star System, and you must be very familiar with the situation in that system."
Han Xiao nodded.
Heidegger Star System is a rulerless system without a native civilization, bordering six galactic-level civilizations, including Goddora. These civilizations have stationed large forces in Heidegger, dividing up this rulerless system, constantly expanding, and confronting each other for many years, making Heidegger a chaotic and contentious place, a source of diplomatic friction and conflict for these six civilizations.
"I was born on a small planet called Planet Cecil, located in the territory occupied by the Hutt Civilization. Planet Cecil is controlled by a low-level interstellar civilization with six ruling planets. Its civilization level is between a planetary civilization and a galactic civilization. This civilization is divided into several regimes that compete with each other. Because Heidegger is in constant war, the political situation on Planet Cecil has always been very turbulent."
Reynold slowly said, "My parents ran a mechanical research company, but it went bankrupt. When I was six years old, they died in a riot caused by a political demonstration..."
Han Xiao's eyes flickered slightly. This was the first time Reynold had told his story; he never usually mentioned his past.
"I have an older sister who is nine years older than me. Her name is Lothaire. After our parents died, I lived with her for three years. When I was nine years old, she sent me on a long interstellar voyage, leaving Planet Cecil and abandoning me."
"When I left my hometown, I was just a child, knowing nothing and with no one to take care of me. I wandered the stars, enduring the most difficult years of my childhood amidst constant displacement, before gradually gaining the strength to protect myself. Later, I tried to go back to find Lothaire, only to learn what she had done."
Reynold shook his head. "After I left, she displayed awakened supernatural abilities. The official explanation is that she can bewitch people and subtly rewrite their perception of the world, but initially, no one knew about her abilities. With these abilities, she gathered countless followers, established a new religion, and new ideologies and cultures were born in her hands."
"This ability helped her accomplish in just a few years what a normal religion would take decades or even centuries to spread. More and more people became her followers, and she became the Pope of the Protestant Church in the Cecil Civilization, revered and worshipped by countless people. Even high-ranking officials in various regimes had many believers. She practically controlled half of the Cecil Civilization through religion, holding a high position above countless others."
"However, those regimes felt she posed a threat to their rule, so they kept gathering clues. Eventually, her abilities were discovered, and she became the most dangerous ambitious figure in their eyes. She, the pope, was arrested, and the sect she founded was destroyed."
"Although her abilities could rewrite people's subconscious thoughts on a large scale, she couldn't brainwash them, couldn't incite fanaticism, or control their minds. So, while society was shocked, no one stood up for her. Nobody likes their thoughts being distorted, and her reputation plummeted, making her a sinner despised by countless people."
"Those regimes tried Lothaire, labeling her a criminal against civilization and race, and decided to detain her Infinite. However, they soon revealed their true intentions. In their eyes, Lothaire's abilities were excellent tools to aid their rule. The question of who would detain Lothaire became a problem. Every regime wanted to possess her and use her abilities to consolidate its rule and strike at its rivals, unwilling to let anyone else have this tool."
Reynold closed his eyes, pinched the bridge of his nose, and sighed, "Nominally, she was imprisoned, but in reality, after the public trial, she disappeared from public view. She was secretly snatched up by agents and spies sent by these regimes, and even some rebel forces with ulterior motives joined the struggle. She became a tool that was constantly being passed around."
After listening for a while, Han Xiao couldn't help but ask, "So you want me to rescue her from the Cecil Civilization? You're already Calamity Grade being; you can do it yourself, right?"
"No, she's not on Planet Cecil anymore."
Reynold shook his head. "The Hutt Civilization discovered her, took a liking to her abilities, and has already taken her away. She is now a prisoner of a galactic-level civilization."
Han Xiao suddenly realized why Reynold had asked for help; it turned out that Lothaire had become a key prisoner of a galactic civilization, making it difficult to get her released.
For a galactic civilization, while Calamity Grade are rare, they are not figures that one must show respect to. Given the importance of Lothaire, the Hutt Civilization would not easily hand her over. Even if they tried to break her out of prison, Reynold would not be able to withstand the advanced combat reserves of a galactic civilization. He could not save his sister by himself.
So, he's after my current influence, isn't he...? Han Xiao thought to himself.
"I know this is abrupt, but I am powerless to help Lothaire in her situation. I hope you can save her." Reynold bowed deeply.
"Hmm..." Han Xiao stroked his chin, "Your sister seems to be an ambitious person. I think she brought this situation on herself."
While telekinesis can also influence others' thoughts to some extent, its range and efficiency are far inferior to Lothaire's abilities, making it perfect for proselytizing—exactly the kind of power the Arcane Church favors.
"Perhaps she really is an ambitious person. I don't defend her actions. Although she abandoned me back then and our relationship has faded, she is still my family. She has already paid the price, and I don't want to see her suffer any longer."
Han Xiao glanced at him sideways. He had always thought that Reynold's heart was made of machinery, and this was one of the few times Reynold had shown such emotion.
After a moment's hesitation, Han Xiao slowly said, "I can help, but this matter isn't simple. Even I can't necessarily get the Hutt Civilization to hand over the person with just a few words. Lothaire did break the law, and this isn't a reasonable request. They can completely disregard my wishes..."
Reynold nodded and said seriously, "I understand. You don't owe me anything. I will continue to work for you and repay this debt."
"You're on the right track, brother..." Han Xiao's eyes lit up, and he smiled, "In that case, I'll give it my best."
At this point, a prompt appeared on the panel.
[You have triggered the quest [The Reformer]!]
[Mission Brief: You have agreed to Reynold's request and decided to rescue Lothaire from the Hutt Civilization.]
[Mission Requirement: Rescue Lothaire]
[Rewards: 18 million experience points, Reynold's favorability +30, Lothaire's favorability +80, [Blank Character Summon Card - Reynold] x1]
Han Xiao glanced at it, and a look of surprise immediately flashed in his eyes.
The task itself doesn't seem too difficult, but the prerequisites for triggering it are quite demanding. It seems to require a good relationship with Reynold and a high level of influence, so that Reynold would actively seek help.
The experience reward was rather average for this level of mission, and the improvement in the relationship between the two characters was decent, but the reward that surprised him the most was Reynold's character card.
A blank card for a specific character means that you can choose one of Reynold's abilities as the effect. Han Xiao once obtained a blank card for a non-specific character, at which time he randomly acquired one of Ames ' abilities and killed a DarkStar Calamity Grade.
Of all Reynold's abilities, his most valuable is his powerful Mechanic Class template feat, [Perfect Mechanical Sense].
Although character cards have a limited number of uses, they're still better than nothing.
Most of the time, only combat missions that offer rewards have a chance to grant players a template feat from another player. Apart from character cards, players are guaranteed not to receive template feats. Players have NPC templates, which is why their draws include template feats. Players, on the other hand, do not have template feats, so there are no missions that directly reward them.
Han Xiao wasn't disappointed. This was originally a matter of luck. If he wanted to obtain the true [Perfect Mechanical Sense] feat, he would probably have to find another way.
"Character cards it is, I'll take them; I'll need them soon anyway," Han Xiao thought to himself.
Just in time, the job change quest required him to craft a level 180 legendary orange-tier equipment. Given his current Mechanical Affinity, it was probably a bit risky, and he might not be able to create an orange-tier equipment. He would have to search everywhere for ways to improve his crafting ability. However, with the [Perfect Mechanical Sense] effect, he could get it done in one step, saving him a lot of trouble.
Putting his thoughts aside, Han Xiao returned to the main topic.
"I'm leaving in a couple of days to visit the Hutt Civilization. Tell me everything you know. By the way, what does your sister look like?"
"I haven't seen her for many years, but she left behind quite a few photos from when she was still Pope. I've saved them. Take a look." Reynold took out his communicator, pulled up a few pictures, and projected them into the air.
This is a woman wearing a gorgeous red and white religious robe. Her long hair is styled in a noblewoman's updo, adorned with exquisite hair ornaments. She has bright eyes and white teeth, a delicate and beautiful face, and features that vaguely resemble Reynold's. Her skin is snow-white, and she exudes a graceful and noble aura. In the photo, she appears to be giving a religious speech, with devout believers below her listening attentively with their heads bowed.
Han Xiao glanced at it, his brows suddenly furrowing. He glanced at it again, then stared intently at the woman's face in the photo, unable to look away.
Noticing that Han Xiao was staring intently, Reynold asked, puzzled, "What's wrong?"
Han Xiao snapped out of his daze, looked away, covered his mouth with his fist, and coughed twice. "It's nothing, your sister is quite pretty."
Now it was Reynold's turn to look at him strangely.
In fact, when Han Xiao saw Lothaire's appearance, his heart was filled with shock.
He had just met Verna today, an acquaintance from his past life. He never expected to meet a second acquaintance in one day!
Moreover, this guy is way more awesome than Verna!