Chapter Summaries

Han Xiao and Melos sparred to a standstill, strengthening their trust as the players and Sky Ring mercenaries shared the journey. The chapter ended with scavenger leader Paiji entering the cells holding the captured Silver Spirit People.

• Han Xiao fought Melos in his exoskeleton armor, and their spar ended without a winner after both demonstrated Grade B strength.
• Melos approved of Han Xiao and began to regard him as a reliable partner, while Frenzied Saber and the other players saw their commander’s strength firsthand.
• Han Xiao and Gashley grew familiar during the voyage, and the players rejected Sky Ring mercenaries’ attempts to recruit them with promises of free armor.
• Han Xiao learned about the players’ loyalty and felt encouraged by the growing cohesion of his faction.
• In the Feven Star System, scavenger leader Paiji entered the prison area to inspect the captured Silver Spirit People.

Paiji captured a Silver Spirit envoy and stole his Whispering Bead, then arranged to sell the captives on Floating Dragon Island. Meanwhile, Han Xiao joined the mercenaries gathering on Planet Feiwen-122 to rescue the Silver Spirit People, but their search was stalled until the Purple Gold Legion arrived with a divination mage.

• Paiji discovered a black bead hidden in a Silver Spirit captive’s clothes, ignored the captive’s claim that he was a DarkStar envoy, and kept the bead.
• Paiji told his subordinates he had arranged to sell the Silver Spirit captives to a buyer on Floating Dragon Island.
• Han Xiao and Gashley’s group reached Planet Feiwen-122, where Goya of Sky Ring explained that the mercenaries could not find the scavengers who had taken the captives.
• Goya and Han Xiao’s group met Blade’s team and continued to the Silver Spirit camp, where the captain pressed the mercenaries to rescue his companions quickly.
• The Purple Gold Legion arrived with a divination mage carrying a crystal orb.

After a divination pointed to Floating Dragon Island as the scavengers’ likely destination, most mercenaries withdrew from the rescue mission. Han Xiao offered his group’s services to the Silver Spirit People despite the danger, and they accepted.

• A diviner saw a member of the Void Dragon Race, leading Goya and the others to suspect the scavengers had gone to Floating Dragon Island.
• Han Xiao explained that Floating Dragon Island was a neutral haven for criminals ruled by a Beyond Grade A powerhouse, and described how it had been built from a Void Dragon burial ground.
• Most mercenary groups withdrew after realizing how dangerous the destination was, leaving Sky Ring, Blade, and Purple Gold.
• Han Xiao offered his group’s help to the Silver Spirit People, and their captain accepted.
• Goya warned Han Xiao that Sky Ring would not protect its collaborators if they were killed, but Han Xiao said his people were not afraid of danger.

Han Xiao joined the rescue mission to Floating Dragon Island after using a precognition card to identify the target and securing Advanced Knowledge from the Silver Spirit People. DarkStar dispatched Ashes to recover its hidden cargo, while Han Xiao’s group reached the hostile island and he started a fight with local pirates.

• Han Xiao used the Child of Destiny card to obtain clues about the client, then received Advanced Knowledge and accepted a hostage-rescue mission from the Silver Spirit People.
• DarkStar learned that its captured courier was headed for Floating Dragon Island and sent Ashes to retrieve the courier and the Mutation Source and Super Gene Extractor.
• Paiji learned that the client wanted only fifteen captives and vented the Silver Spirit courier and another Silver Spirit person into space.
• Han Xiao and the mercenary groups landed on Floating Dragon Island, where hostile criminals watched them as they entered the city.
• Han Xiao charged a group of space pirates, killed several, and cut their leader apart with his electrified war scythe.

Han Xiao posed as a buyer to learn whether Horlade had received the Silver Spirit People, while the mercenaries planned to intercept the captives without angering Dragon Calm. At Horlade’s slave market, Han Xiao discovered a mysterious, powerful woman and received a new mission.

• After Han Xiao attacked local thugs, the three great mercenary groups backed him and drove them off without provoking the Dragon Calm Guard.
• Han Xiao and the mercenary leaders identified Horlade as the client and agreed to have Han Xiao pose as a buyer to find out whether the Silver Spirit People had arrived.
• Han Xiao disguised himself and visited Horlade’s slave market, where Horlade led him to a secure underground collection of rare slaves.
• Han Xiao found no Silver Spirit People among the cells and concluded that the captives had not yet reached Floating Dragon Island.
• Horlade showed Han Xiao a striking woman held in a separate cell, and Han Xiao’s interface triggered a new mission after he saw her.

Han Xiao learned that Aroshia was an immortal cosmic wonder who always returned to her cell, then joined the mercenaries’ preparations to intercept the Silver Spirit People before they reached the slave market. The teams took up disguised positions along the routes from the docks to the market and waited for the captors.

• Han Xiao triggered a mission to rescue Aroshia and learned from Horlade that she had unusual powers, amnesia, and no desire to leave the slave market.
• Horlade revealed that Aroshia reappeared in her cell after being killed or taken away, and never stayed elsewhere for more than six days.
• Han Xiao learned that the Silver Spirit People had not yet arrived and told the three team leaders.
• Fasereni proposed ambushes along every major route to the slave market, and the mercenaries divided the streets into four defensive layers.
• The teams disguised themselves and took up their assigned positions, with Han Xiao stationed in the third layer and Goya's team guarding the final approach.

Han Xiao and the mercenary groups ambushed Paiji’s slave traders to rescue the Silver Spirit captives, but Paiji sensed the danger and changed course. The rescue turned into a chaotic dockside battle, with gangs of thugs joining the fight as the chapter ended.

• Han Xiao watched Dragon Calm Guards kill thugs who had accidentally killed residents, then received Goya’s message that Blade’s team had identified the slave traders.
• Fasereni ordered Han Xiao, Porter, and their forces to ambush Paiji’s group while Goya guarded the perimeter.
• Paiji sensed a threat, turned back toward his spaceship, and warned Horlade that someone might be trying to intercept the captives.
• Horlade left the slave market to collect the goods himself, prompting Han Xiao and Fasereni to abandon the ambush plan and launch a direct assault.
• More than two hundred mercenaries attacked Paiji’s group, and stray shots drew nearby thugs into the battle.

Han Xiao’s team rescued the Silver Spirit People from Paiji’s forces, but the Dragon Calm Guard attacked the battlefield as the mercenaries tried to escape. In the confusion, Li Ge found and secretly kept a mysterious black bead.

• Han Xiao’s team broke through Paiji’s defenses while the other mercenaries held back powerful enemies.
• Han Xiao defeated Paiji, who escaped by splitting into thousands of small snakes, and seized the iron box containing the captives.
• Fasereni ordered the mercenaries to protect the captives and retreat toward their spaceship.
• Horlade arrived with Captain Sion and the Dragon Calm Guard, whose ships opened fire on everyone and pursued the mercenaries.
• A laser blast knocked Li Ge down, and he found the black bead Paiji had dropped; he secretly kept it after receiving an item notification.

Han Xiao and the mercenaries rescued fifteen Silver Spirit People from Floating Dragon Island, but their escape was stopped when [Dragon Emperor] Ames intervened. The chapter ended with Ames confronting them at the docks.

• Goya froze five Dragon Calm Guard aircraft without casualties, giving the mercenaries time to board their ships and flee with the Silver Spirit People.
• The rescued Silver Spirit People revealed that two of their companions had been thrown into space, and their employer agreed to pay the mercenaries as promised.
• Floating Dragon Island's fleet pursued the escaping ships after Sion reported that the mercenaries had attacked the guard.
• As the ships prepared to enter warp, [Dragon Emperor] Ames stopped them with her force fields and dragged them back to the docks.
• Han Xiao and the others were forced to disembark before Ames, the master of Floating Dragon Island.

Ames brought the captured mercenaries to her residence and decided to spare the three major groups in exchange for ransom. She treated Han Xiao’s small group differently and prepared to attack them, leaving the others alarmed for their comrades.

• Ames arrived at the docks, recognized the Silver Spirit People, and ordered the mercenaries brought to her while Horlade reclaimed the captives.
• Horlade smugly led the Silver Spirit People toward the slave market as the frustrated mercenaries were escorted to Ames’s residence.
• Sion taunted Han Xiao, but Han Xiao stayed calm and judged that Ames might be willing to negotiate.
• Ames asked Wilsander about the rules, then overruled the execution order and offered to release the three major groups if their commanders paid ransom.
• Ames singled out Han Xiao’s group for punishment, began gathering her force field, and alarmed the other mercenaries.

Han Xiao saved himself and his companions from Ames by claiming that a mysterious precog had sent her a message. Ames spared them and made Han Xiao choose between death and working for her, leaving him bound to Dragon Calm as her subordinate.

• Ames trapped Han Xiao and his companions in a force field, but Han Xiao offered information he said would save their lives.
• Han Xiao claimed a weathered traveler had told him to tell Ames that he still did not want to see her.
• Ames recognized the description of the traveler’s star-like eyes and reacted with shock and anger, revealing her longing for him.
• Ames offered Han Xiao a choice between death and working for her, and Han Xiao agreed to serve her.
• Han Xiao reflected that he had used his knowledge of Ames’s past to deceive her and that escaping her control would be difficult.
• Han Xiao gained an indifferent relationship with Dragon Calm.

Han Xiao joined Ames’ Dragon Calm, where he was assigned to the logistics department while the players became guards. The Silver Spirit People remained captive, Horlade refused to pay Paiji for them, and an unremarkable ship arrived beside Paiji’s.

• Ames accepted Han Xiao as her subordinate, and Goya asked him to help free the Silver Spirit People after the mercenary teams were taken away.
• Wilsander introduced Han Xiao and the players to Jenny, who assigned Han Xiao to logistics and the players to the guard.
• Han Xiao met Haier, learned about Dragon Calm’s machinery and materials, and settled into the logistics team while Melos led the players’ guard squad.
• Horlade told Paiji that he would not pay for the Silver Spirit People because he had reclaimed them from the mercenaries.
• Paiji cursed the mercenaries, and an unremarkable spaceship docked beside his as someone announced they had arrived.

DarkStar sent Ashes and his task force to Dragon Calm to recover the captured Silver Spirit courier and the Whispering Bead, while Han Xiao built a vehicle prototype and pursued the Silver Spirit people through the slave market. The chapter left Han Xiao negotiating with Horlade, who demanded an exorbitant price for each captive.

• Ashes led DarkStar members into Dragon Calm, and they learned that the Silver Spirit courier carrying the Whispering Bead had been captured.
• Ashes chose to negotiate with the slave market rather than use force to rescue the courier.
• Han Xiao repaired machinery on Floating Dragon Island, learned the Dragon Butterfly reconnaissance aircraft blueprint, and worked on a vehicle prototype using warehouse materials.
• Han Xiao extorted 34,000 Enas from Sion and his subordinates in exchange for ending the beatings.
• Han Xiao met Horlade and offered to buy the Silver Spirit people, but Horlade demanded 200,000 Enas per person and offered Han Xiao a commission for persuading their employers to pay.

Han Xiao refused Horlade’s offer to profit from the captured Silver Spirit People and looked for a way to secure their release without paying the ransom. Ashes chose to take the captives by force, while the Silver Spirit leaders gave Han Xiao’s mercenary group one more chance; elsewhere, Li Ge investigated the Whispering Bead.

• Han Xiao rejected Horlade’s offer, reported the failed rescue to the Silver Spirit employer, and considered asking Jenny or Ames to intervene.
• Han Xiao passed a masked Ashes at the slave market and sensed that he was dangerous and interested in the Silver Spirit captives.
• Ashes offered Horlade money for the captives, then decided DarkStar would take them by force after Horlade demanded more.
• The Silver Spirit leaders argued over Horlade’s ransom and decided to let the Black Star Mercenary Group try to rescue the captives before paying.
• Li Ge examined the Whispering Bead during patrol and decided to show it to different NPCs to find its special character.

While Ames was away, Han Xiao waited for a chance to free the Silver Spirit People as DarkStar launched a covert rescue at the slave market. Han Xiao arrived during their escape, and Ashes’s attack failed against his Tough Body, leaving the two sides poised to fight.

• Han Xiao learned that Ames had left Dragon Calm, then received routine logistics work while she was gone.
• Horlade gave the Silver Spirit People three more days to pay, as Ashes prepared DarkStar’s covert rescue with hired pirates.
• DarkStar cut power to the slave-market block, used hypnotic gas to knock out its staff, and freed the prisoners; Ashes claimed the Silver Spirit People and killed thugs who challenged him.
• An automated repair assignment sent Han Xiao to the darkened market, where he found the unconscious staff and encountered Ashes’s group carrying the rescued Silver Spirit People.
• Ashes tried to deconstruct the carbon atoms in Han Xiao’s body, but Tough Body made him immune to the damage, and Han Xiao activated his combat suit and fired at the group.

Han Xiao fought Ashes as the Grade B Super escaped with the Silver Spirit People, then called in Dragon Calm reinforcements to pursue the kidnappers. After discovering Horlade’s hidden prisoner, Han Xiao freed Aroshia and took her with him, fulfilling his chance to claim her without paying.

• Ashes used carbon manipulation against Han Xiao, but Han Xiao resisted his true-damage attack and dodged his assault while Ashes escaped with the Silver Spirit People.
• Pirates surrounded Han Xiao, but Dragon Calm aircraft arrived after his call and scattered them with gunfire.
• Han Xiao marked Ashes’s group and sent Melos after them, while his report prompted Wilsander to mobilize the full guard.
• Han Xiao found the unconscious Horlade and gained 400 Dragon Calm favorability for exposing the crime.
• Han Xiao broke into Aroshia’s hidden cell, removed her restraints, and led her away.

Han Xiao recognized the fleeing DarkStar operative as Ashes and wondered why DarkStar had targeted the Silver Spirit People. Ashes’s team discovered that the courier they sought was missing from the group, leaving their mission in doubt.

• Han Xiao flew to Melos’s aircraft with Aroshia and recognized Ashes from his codename and carbon-manipulation ability.
• Han Xiao recalled Ashes’s future role as DarkStar’s strongest combatant and questioned why DarkStar was pursuing the Silver Spirit People.
• Melos reported that Ashes’s group was not fighting back or following a fixed route, and Han Xiao ordered him to keep following them.
• Ashes realized the pursuing witness had disrupted the plan and directed his team to secretly question the Silver Spirit People as they fled.
• The Silver Spirit People all failed to give the expected response, revealing to Ashes’s team that the courier was not with them.

Han Xiao stopped pursuing Ashes after DarkStar abandoned the Silver Spirit People, then recognized an opportunity to protect them and investigate DarkStar’s plans. He also helped the rescued slaves avoid being returned to Horlade, who woke to find his slave market destroyed.

• Ashes escaped after using graphite dust to blind the pursuing aircraft, leaving the Silver Spirit People behind.
• Han Xiao stopped the pursuit and arranged for the Silver Spirit People to be protected, while telling Wilsander that the attackers had escaped.
• Han Xiao questioned the Silver Spirit People and concluded that DarkStar had targeted one of their members and was pursuing a secret plan.
• Horlade woke amid the ruins of his slave market and demanded his slaves back.
• Han Xiao pretended not to see the shackled people behind him and insisted they were free, leaving Horlade furious.

Han Xiao secured the freedom of Horlade’s slaves with Jenny’s support, then revealed that the escaped attackers belonged to DarkStar. Most of the freed people left, while a group of former mercenaries asked to join him.

• Horlade offered Han Xiao money for the slaves, but Han Xiao insisted they were free people and could not be bought back.
• Jenny praised Han Xiao for stopping the attack, approved the slaves’ release, and suspended Horlade after he accused Han Xiao of staging the incident.
• Han Xiao told Jenny that the escaped attackers were from DarkStar, and she asked him to report the details later.
• Han Xiao announced that the rescued slaves were free and asked them to remember the favor; they left with gratitude.
• Several former mercenaries stayed behind and asked Han Xiao to take them into his group.

Han Xiao recruited the Volga Three Brothers and brought the amnesiac Aroshia along with the mercenary group, where she recognized a familiar aura on him. He then told Jenny that DarkStar had attacked Dragon Calm, setting the stage for Dragon Calm to retaliate when Ames returned.

• Han Xiao accepted the Volga Three Brothers into the Black Star Mercenary Group, adding two Psychics and a Mage to its ranks.
• Han Xiao introduced Aroshia as a rescued slave with amnesia, and she agreed to stay with the group after confirming she could speak.
• Aroshia sniffed Han Xiao and said that he carried an aura that seemed familiar, though she could not explain why.
• Han Xiao met Jenny and reported that DarkStar had sent Ashes and other operatives to cause trouble on Dragon Calm.
• Jenny agreed to hold DarkStar accountable and said Dragon Calm would wait for Ames to return before settling the score.