Enterprise didn't know the meaning behind the conglomerate's name, but the strange smile on Black Star's face when he mentioned it made him imagine a series of love-hate entanglements, seemingly with a special meaning. He muttered to himself, but didn't show it on his face.
Han Xiao shook his head, dismissing the thought, and tapped the table, saying, "Once we reach the next planet, I'll have someone send you to the Legion headquarters in the Shattered Star Ring. Once there, you'll have time to gradually familiarize yourself with the Legion's operations. That's all I have to say. You can go now and do your homework."
"Alright." Enterprise nodded, bowed, and turned to leave the room.
After he left the room, Sylvia couldn't help but roll her eyes, looking amused.
"You hold a grudge too much, to actually choose such a name."
Although she wasn't from Planet Aquamarine, she had served under Han Xiao for many years and had learned about Han Xiao's early experiences from others.
"That's not holding a grudge," Han Xiao snorted.
Speaking of which, I, Hila, and Aurora are probably the only three former members of Germinal left... Looking at it this way, Germinal really is a place where hidden talents abound.
After a few lighthearted banter, Han Xiao became serious and asked, "Getting back to the main topic, how's the situation with the Shattered Star Ring?"
Upon hearing this, Sylvia's smile vanished, replaced by a serious expression. She then gave a report on the progress of the competition between the Black Star Army, the War Realm, and the Infinite Financial Group. Since the competition began, Han Xiao had instructed Sylvia to report to him regularly.
Currently, the remaining partner companies of the Black Star Army have formed a large-scale alliance, which has to some extent curbed the Infinite Financial Group's malicious acquisitions, turning the situation into a tug-of-war. Meanwhile, the Infinite Financial Group and the War Realm have temporarily shifted their focus from aggressively acquiring business channels to consolidating the business channels they have already acquired, changing from fierce expansion at the beginning to solidifying their foundation.
Therefore, the role of the War Realm has become apparent. As Beyond Grade A force, it has been able to quickly absorb the market seized by the Infinite Financial Group, causing the business scope of the War Realm to break through its limitations and expand rapidly, changing with each passing day.
The two complement each other to a certain extent. The Infinite Financial Group invests money to expand its territory, while the War Realm provides the influence and connections it has cultivated over many years. By integrating these resources, the efficiency of their cooperation has created a chemical reaction, with each supporting the other and developing rapidly, catching up with the Black Star Army's position in the Shattered Star Ring.
The combination of a powerful outsider and a local bully is what makes it so troublesome. Otherwise, even if the Infinite Financial Group has so much money that even the Heavenly Bank wouldn't dare to print it like that, the threat to them would be limited.
"That Tyrant, the Overlord, really knows how to make easy money..." Han Xiao snorted after hearing the report.
Once I've advanced to the next level, I'll beat you to a pulp a hundred times over, or I'll change my surname!
Han Xiao shook his head.
"I understand the situation. Go back to work."
"Hmph, all you do is boss people around. I can't even spend a little more time with you. Ever since I became the chief affairs officer, you've become more and more distant from me!" Sylvia wrinkled her nose in dissatisfaction.
"I didn't." Han Xiao was taken aback.
"I don't care, I haven't had a vacation in ages, I don't want to go bald like Jenny!" Sylvia said angrily, hands on her hips. "Even though I'm willing to serve the Legion, you can't treat me like I'm not human! You don't actually think I like working, do you?! If it weren't for you... Humph!"
Helpless, Han Xiao could only offer some words of comfort before calming Sylvia down.
In the eyes of the legion members, Sylvia never complained and had a capable and composed image. Only in front of him would Sylvia throw a little tantrum.
Upon arriving at the next planet, Han Xiao ordered several warships to pack up the Enterprise and transport it back to the Shattered Star Ring.
He continued to travel throughout the empire, searching for "leeks" (victims) while honing his strength.
Wandering through various star clusters and galaxies in the Constellation Corridor, traveling everywhere, over time, the major powers became accustomed to it.
Through his long journey, Han Xiao gradually accumulated his strength to the critical point of Lv19, getting closer and closer to the requirements of the advanced mission.
"Call--"
In the gravity training room, which was set up with the maximum gravity simulation environment, Han Xiao, shirtless, floated in mid-air, his eyes radiating intense light, his mouth and nose exhaling lightning-like air currents, and his breath forming a thundercloud. The sound of his inhalation was like a rumbling thunder, and the sound of his exhalation was like crackling lightning. His whole body was wrapped in dense Mechanical Force electric light, and all signs indicated that the energy in his body was in a state of maximum activity.
Hiss— Han Xiao took a deep breath, withdrawing all the Mechanical Force back into his body and shutting down gravity mimicry. In his own senses, the cells that had been under the all-around pressure of gravity were freed from their restraints, squeezing out strands of new life force.
"I've mastered another Energy Training Method."
Han Xiao's eyes dimmed, he opened the panel, glanced at it, and nodded in satisfaction.
This is a Vigor Tempering Method through gravity. It uses compression and release to push the limits of cellular strength production. The number of training sessions has reached its maximum, squeezing out all the value.
During this time, Han Xiao has mastered several Energy Training Method, which has cost him a lot of experience and effort. Now his strength limit has reached about 119,000.
"Only 1000 points left, and I'll be close to reaching level 19 in Qi."
Han Xiao rubbed his shoulders, then controlled his body to open the closed sweat glands in his upper body. Sweat immediately gushed out like a fountain, but evaporated the moment it left his body.
At this level of life, we can perfectly control our bodies. Whether we sweat or not is entirely up to us. After intense exercise, we don't have to sweat; we'll just feel a little uncomfortable.
After cleaning himself up, Han Xiao touched his chest muscles, looked down and admired his well-proportioned physique before putting on his clothes.
With a hiss, the alloy door slid open, and Han Xiao stepped out of the gravity training room. He casually nodded to a group of crew members who were passing by, then went to the corridor and stopped to look at the observation window.
The viewing window displays the external environment and can be zoomed in and out. At this moment, the viewing screen overlooks the surface of a planet, where a magnificent interstellar city is located. Spaceships rise and fall, leaving long trails of light in the sky, creating a bustling and prosperous scene.
"Aynia Hub, a famous interstellar city in the Constellation Corridor, a high-level transit hub city." Han Xiao nodded secretly.
This is a bustling interstellar city belonging to an Imperial Beyond Grade A ally. Due to its effective management and advantageous geographical location, the Aynia Hub has become a well-known location within the Empire.
However, Han Xiao did not come to this planet to recruit people. It was just that the fleet needed to replenish supplies, and Aurora and the guards said they had had enough of staying on the ship and wanted to go to a big city for fun. So he brought his people to the Aynia Hub, where they have been docked for several days.
Because the area is a melting pot of all sorts of people, with too many travelers coming and going, Han Xiao had his fleet disguised to avoid causing a stir or attracting attention. At the same time, he had Phillip conceal his arrival and set up a fake identity. The AI of the Aynia Hub was unable to identify him, and for the time being, no one knew that he had visited.
I opened the panel and saw that there was an Evolutionary Totem aura buff on the status bar.
"This is also a planet equipped with Evolutionary Totem." Han Xiao stroked his chin.
The sale of Evolutionary Totem has been ongoing for quite some time. The Empire and its allies have bought as many as they could and they are already in widespread use, generally on colonies. Their appearance at interstellar transit stations is relatively rare.
Han Xiao had browsed through the data of the Aynia Hub over the past two years and found that the Evolutionary Totem had attracted more travelers and nomads. Some weaker groups even took the initiative to send some of their people to live long-term on neutral planets with Evolutionary Totem.
A new migration phenomenon thus emerged, and the influence of the Evolutionary Totem began to subtly expand.
After glancing around, Han Xiao left the corridor and went to the cadre activity room.
Normally, this place is bustling with people playing cards, but it's quiet now, with less than half of the guards playing Veyne Cards.
Upon seeing Han Xiao, everyone turned to greet him, then continued to concentrate on their card game, their brows furrowed, as if they had met a worthy opponent.
Han Xiao walked to the table and glanced at it. Well, www. hetushu. com. com, it was definitely a bunch of noobs fighting each other. It's true that fighting ability and card skills have absolutely no connection.
Looking around and not seeing Fording, Hadavy, or the others, Han Xiao patted one of them on the shoulder:
Where did the others go?
"Oh, they all went to the Aynia Hub. Hadavy took a group of people to... cough, to one of those bars. As for Fording, I think he went shopping with Aurora." The Calamity Grade Royal Guard officer scratched his head. "Should you call them back?"
"Never mind."
Han Xiao shook his head. With nothing else to do, he couldn't be bothered to disturb his men's revelry.
After thinking it over, he decided not to leave. Since he was only 1,000 points short of his strength, he might as well stay here and focus on building up his remaining strength to complete the advancement quest.
Meanwhile, at the Aynia Hub, Entertainment Zone 04.
A grand ceremony was taking place here. The streets were crowded with people of all races. The parade vehicles moved slowly, and the performers on them made all sorts of strange gestures for the audience on the roadside. Street performers also performed from time to time. It was very noisy and lively, and laughter filled the air everywhere.
Fording and Aurora both had their faces disguised as they walked through the crowded, cheering throng. Aurora looked around curiously, while Fording followed behind Aurora, acting as her temporary bodyguard, a smile on his face, occasionally commenting on the surrounding performances with Aurora.
"Ugh, it's so boring staying on the ship for so long. It's much more fun being in a crowded place."
Aurora held a skewer of hot local snacks in her hand, chewing and talking indistinctly, in a pretty good mood.
Hila prefers to be alone, Aurora prefers crowded places. Although the hardships she experienced in her childhood caused her to suffer from social anxiety for a period of time, she no longer has this problem after years of adjustment.
She spends most of her time with Hila, and now that Hila is away on a long trip, Aurora also wants to travel around and broaden her horizons. However, her love of excitement is not entirely due to her personality; there are also physiological factors involved. Her special ability allows her to sense life force, and places with abundant life signals are attractive to her to a certain extent. Being in such an environment can activate her special ability, thereby generating a pleasant mood.
"Well, I prefer places with fewer people." Fording shrugged.
Aurora her eyes at him. "You just prefer yourselves alone, don't you? Is spiritual communication that fun? Are you two addicted?"
Fording didn't seem to mind, smiled faintly, and pointed to his temple, "You embarrassed her."
Aurora a wave of nausea and was about to say something when Fording's expression suddenly changed. He took a step forward, grabbed Aurora's shoulder, and stared in one direction.
"Wait, something seems wrong."
Seeing this, Aurora didn't ask any questions. She immediately dropped her joking expression, threw away the snack in her hand, reached for the folding gun at her waist, and instantly assumed a fighting stance.
At the same time, she activated her life-sensing ability to the fullest extent, following Fording's gaze to detect several life signals that were not originally there. Suddenly, she discovered that several life signals had appeared in the distance, one of which was very weak and seemed to indicate a state of serious injury.
The two exchanged a glance, followed their senses, and quickly walked over, turning into a small alley. After passing several corners, they went deeper and deeper, and gradually there were no more passersby around.
Soon, the two arrived at the location of the unusual life signal, but what they saw was an empty space with nothing unusual on the surface.
Fording frowned and pulled a magic badge from his pocket. It was a gift from Lagi, a device for detecting abnormal magical fluctuations. It was vibrating violently and pointing towards the open space ahead.
"It seems to be a barrier magic. It can even temporarily conceal the city's magic Detection devices. The effect is extraordinary. It has hidden an area in the city. They don't seem like good people. What are they planning?"
Fording hesitated for a moment, wondering whether he should get involved.
But before he could make a decision, the space in front of him suddenly shattered like broken glass!
Kara-la--
The invisible barrier was broken from the inside, and a blood-soaked figure stumbled out, collapsing to the ground with a thud. The pool of blood beneath him gradually expanded, and the open space in front of the two suddenly changed, revealing numerous pitted and battered battle marks.
Besides the wounded soldier, several other people stood in the distance, holding long-handled, metal-inscribed warhammers, wearing black hooded robes with white patterns and symbols, and several uniquely designed necklaces. They were dressed like priests or monks of some sect, with drops of blood dripping from their warhammers.
Clearly, a brawl just took place here.
Perhaps because the barrier had been broken and they didn't want to attract any more attention, these people dressed as priests turned and left without looking back, disappearing from the two people's sight in a flash.
Fording thought for a moment. Since he didn't know anything about this group, he had no intention of giving chase. He stepped forward and helped the critically wounded man who was barely clinging to life.
Before he could even ask a question, the seriously wounded soldier suddenly grabbed his clothes, his fingers clenched tightly, and spoke in a hoarse and urgent voice:
"Stop... stop... them..."
Before he could finish speaking, the wounded soldier collapsed again, falling into a coma, leaving a Blood Hand on Fording's clothes.
The two stared at each other, wide-eyed.
"... What should we do?"
"Sigh, use your abilities to save him. Since you've run into him, you should at least ask what happened. I have a feeling this isn't a small matter."
As he spoke, Fording shook his head helplessly and couldn't help but mutter to himself:
Why do I always seem to encounter these kinds of unexpected situations?