Why bring up Sorokin all of a sudden?
Han Xiao frowned. When he was attacked by the Sorokin's avatar, it was Harofal fought alongside him. Seven years later, Harofal brought up the matter again, which meant something must have happened.
Without hesitation, Han Xiao immediately messaged Harofal to ask for his opinion.
However, after waiting for a long time, Harofal still did not reply.
Han Xiao suddenly had a bad feeling. He summoned Phillip and said in a deep voice, "Search for the keyword ' Harofal ' and filter for abnormal entries."
Phillip gave a buzz, diligently searched online, and quickly completed the task.
"Master, a few days ago, multiple news channels in Terra Civilization reported the death of Harofal."
He died a few days ago?!
Han Xiao's heart skipped a beat.
"Pull it up and show it to me."
Upon hearing this, Phillip played the relevant news report. After watching it once, Han Xiao finally understood what had happened.
Just a few days ago, Harofal was attacked at the official mechanical academy of the Terra Civilization and kidnapped in full view of everyone. Three Calamity Grade superhumans working at the academy were unable to stop the kidnappers, who then fled.
Harofal's body was discovered a day later, and the message Harofal left behind was the one he had sent before his death.
The news report stated that the Terra Civilization, through subtle clues, identified one of the kidnappers and announced a bounty.
Han Xiao opened the bounty information; the portrait depicted a pale-faced man.
"Orosen, a vampire... a wanted criminal from sixty years ago..." Han Xiao murmured.
He didn't know this guy.
But after connecting the information with Harofal, the answer is clear: this guy Orosen Orson is most likely a subordinate sent by the Sorokin.
"Why did they attack Harofal?" Han Xiao frowned.
In his view, the only interaction between the Sorokin and them was the battle seven years ago. Could it be that the Sorokin were so petty that they sent their minions to retaliate because their own clone had been outmaneuvered?
He felt that this was the only plausible reason.
But the Sorokin is a madman, and madmen cannot be judged by common sense.
Han Xiao didn't know if the Sorokin was aware of his current strength. If he only sent his Calamity Grade subordinates, they would basically be handing him their lives. Since even his clone had been defeated by him, the Sorokin couldn't expect to get revenge by sending Calamity Grade subordinates.
With a sudden thought, Han Xiao's eyes narrowed slightly.
"So, this group might possess a trump card similar to the DarkStar Leader's, capable of summoning an avatar of Sorokin?!"
If that's the case, then things are getting a bit tricky...
The Sorokin were banished back then due to the terrain advantage and Harofal's help, but those conditions are no longer available.
"My strength is vastly different now. I've broken through level 220 and advanced, my health is almost double what it was seven years ago, and I also have the Void Star Chaser's talent [Cosmic Environment Adaptation Physique], which greatly enhances my defense. Even if I face the Sorokin's avatar head-on, I won't be as passive as I was seven years ago... Well, if it's just an avatar, the Sorokin might not be able to threaten my life. With Aurora's potion, it's like I have several extra lives..."
Han Xiao quickly analyzed the situation and found that it wasn't as bad as he thought, so he breathed a slight sigh of relief.
Fortunately, version 3.0 has already begun. He has gained enough experience from being exploited and has undergone a transformation in strength, greatly enhancing his ability to protect himself. If he were still at the level he was seven years ago, the revenge of the Sorokin would indeed be a great threat to him.
After carefully reading through the news of Harofal's death once more, Han Xiao sighed and could only mourn for this old acquaintance with whom he had once fought side by side.
Just then, a new task popped up on the panel.
[You have triggered Grade A bounty quest [Harofal's Revenge]]
[Mission Introduction: Harofal was an important member of the Terra Civilization. He was accidentally murdered, and the murderer caused extremely serious consequences. The Terra Civilization has issued a bounty: whoever Revenge Harofal will receive a huge reward.]
[Mission Requirement: Capture or kill the bounty target - Orosen]
[Rewards: 236 million experience points, 8 million Enas bounty, +1800 favorability with Terra Civilization]
Wow, for a 3.0 player, this task is way beyond their capabilities. No wonder the rewards are so generous... Han Xiao clicked his tongue in amazement.
Players in version 3.0 are basically unable to complete this task; it's at least two or three versions later.
However, bounty missions are not limited by version. Many powerful players have bounties from civilizations or the black market. Even current players can accept bounty missions of the Calamity Grade or even Beyond Grade A, but they are impossible to complete.
For example, Han Xiao himself had many forces from the Shattered Star Ring secretly offering him a bounty on the black market, with a total reward of around 92 million Enas. This was an astronomical bounty that even super space pirates couldn't dream of. However, most bounty hunters knew their place and no one would accept such a suicide mission.
"Is the request to Revenge Harofal...?"
Han Xiao pondered, "There's no need to waste energy tracking down wanted criminals. That's the job of the Terra Civilization. A star cluster-level civilization has far more resources to track down murderers. Asking me to go myself would be like looking for a needle in a haystack. If the Sorokin's subordinates want revenge, they'll probably come looking for me. I can just wait and see."
After thinking for a while, Han Xiao made up his mind. He didn't intend to let this task disrupt his rhythm of leveling up his specialization.
If the Sorokin's subordinates don't come, fine. But if they really come looking for him, he wouldn't mind taking care of the mission target while he's at it—he's quite confident about this, since the outside world doesn't know that his strength has once again broken through, so it's like the enemy is in the open while he is in the dark.
Based on my experience from our encounter seven years ago, I now have enough fighting power to barely withstand the pressure from the Sorokin's avatar.
Of course, despite his confidence, Master Han's vigilance did not diminish.
"We still need to be careful, lest we capsize unexpectedly..."
Meanwhile, somewhere in the Shattered Star Ring.
Three Arc Spaceships, in stealth mode, slowly traversed a meteorite belt. Their hulls showed signs of battle, and nanobots were repairing their external armor.
Inside the main ship, Eklin, Orosen, and others were reviewing data records from a wormhole detector. This instrument, which they had obtained from Harofal, contained data from years of research on wormholes, including data from the time the Sorokin fell into a wormhole seven years ago.
"Hmm... the dates match up. This is exactly the data Your Majesty the Sorokin wanted." Orosen grinned, revealing a few fangs. "The memories I read were indeed correct."
Orosen's special ability is a rare "Species Enhancement," which amplifies his racial talents as a vampire. He has the ability to read the memories of his targets by drinking their blood. The group kidnapped Harofal not to torture him, but to allow Orosen to Life Drain and obtain the information he wanted. Harofal died because he was drained of his life force.
Eklin said coldly, "But because of your stupidity, the Terra Civilization discovered your identity, and now an entire star cluster-level civilization is Pursuit us down. In a while, they might even find out we're members of the Fallen Ark. If it weren't for the fact that you're still somewhat useful, I'd really like to kill you, you piece of trash."
Orosen, unfazed, leaned back on the sofa, crossed his legs, and said lazily, "So what? The Terra Civilization can't catch our ship. Besides, this is the Shattered Star Ring, not the Central Galaxy ruled by the three major cosmic civilizations. Is such caution necessary? Let's have some fun. Even if a force in this remote star system knows our identities, what can they do? Do they have the capability to go to the Central Galaxy and deal with the Fallen Ark?"
Besides, even if they dared to go, they would still be crushed to death by the Sorokin.
Eklin scoffed, "If anything goes wrong with the operation, I'll make you pay."
"Instead of worrying about such trivial matters, let's send the data back first." Orosen shrugged and chuckled.
Upon hearing this, Eklin stopped worrying about his whereabouts being exposed and used a cross-stellar ultra-long-range directional quantum communication device to transmit the wormhole data back to the Fallen Ark.
In this way, the first task assigned by His Excellency the Sorokin was completed.
Eklin was quite satisfied with his efficiency. They had planned for more than half a month, successfully kidnapped Harofal, and obtained the data in no time. The operation went very smoothly.
Now that we have the data, there's no need to cause any more trouble for Black Star.
This team has three Sorokin clones, each endowed with different abilities. Eklin doesn't want to waste any of them on Black Star, as these are important trump cards given to them by the Sorokin to steal the Evolution Cube.
Stealing the Evolution Cube from Sisko is the most important task of this trip; by comparison, kidnapping Harofal is nothing and is almost effortless.
"The data has been sent back. Time to get down to business. Sisko is at least a Beyond Grade A. We need a detailed plan and to wait for the right moment to act," Eklin clapped his hands and said in a deep voice.
The three spaceships turned and headed towards the star system where Sisko was located.
In the Desolate Universe Belt Central Galaxy, the main force of the Fallen Ark is resting at a secret base.
On the main ship, an officer awakened the slumbering Sorokin.
"Your Sorokin, the team we sent to the Shattered Star Ring has returned with news; they have obtained the data you requested."
Upon hearing this, the Sorokin awoke, the black vortex beneath his hood transforming into a face, revealing a strange smile, and spoke in a hoarse voice:
"Very good... very good. Have the research team analyze this wormhole data and find the location where the other end of the wormhole connected back then. I need to know the coordinates of that region in the universe."
"Clear."
"Hmm... let me think... oh right, I told them to bring the Evolution Cube back. Did they succeed?"
"They haven't sent back any news on this; they're probably still in the works."
The Sorokin nodded slowly, muttering to himself, "Finally, I've discovered the whereabouts of the Evolution Cube. The Arcane Church has been searching for so long; they'd never know that the remnants of the Evolutionary Civilization's records have always been in my hands. I am the true inheritor of the Evolution Cube; it can help me complete a higher level of transformation. Sisko is not worthy of such a treasure..."