Chapter 1 The Attitude of Entes

The Entes in front of him was respectful, and the female secretary beside him was very nervous.

Han Xiao sized them up, confirming something in his mind. He really didn't have any impression of these two people, which meant they weren't famous NPCs in his previous life, at least not well-known among the player base.

However, being unknown didn't mean they were incapable. The Star Sea was vast, and there were always many characters that players hadn't encountered. Entes might not have achieved much in his previous life, or perhaps he died young, so he remained obscure.

Han Xiao's main idea for finding potential talents was to use the information from his previous life as a reference, but in addition to that, it was also possible to dig up potential talent.

Before coming, Technician Han had checked this person's past—a complete resume, a clean background, and he had started from scratch to create a local civilization consortium. Several strategic decisions had good foresight, and the consortium was doing quite well. If he hadn't attracted his attention, he wouldn't have deliberately checked on such a small character.

In his opinion, although Entes didn't have much combat power, he had good talent in handling affairs and could be brought back to be Sivia's helper.

Thinking about various ideas in his mind, Han Xiao didn't speak for a while. His silence made Entes' psychological pressure rise exponentially.

A bead of sweat reflecting the light slid down his temple. Entes kept his head bowed and dared not raise his hand to wipe the sweat.

Han Xiao collected his thoughts and joked:

"Are you planning to just let me stand here?"

"I'm sorry, it's my negligence. Please come with me, I've already arranged everything." Entes responded quickly, secretly annoyed. Han Xiao's strong life level pressure made him lose his composure, fearing that his negligence would make Han Xiao dissatisfied.

Entes led the way, guiding Han Xiao and Aurora onto the flying vehicle, separating all the bodyguards. Only the four of them were left in the private carriage.

The vehicle started and flew towards the center of the city. In the carriage, Entes and the female secretary sat opposite Han Xiao and Aurora, their attitudes quite reserved.

"You invited me here, why are you so nervous?" Han Xiao said with a smile.

"The number of people who can remain calm in front of you probably doesn't exceed a hundred in the entire universe, and I'm not one of them." Entes calmed himself down and gave a compliment.

Unfortunately, Technician Han didn't buy into flattery, and his mentality didn't change. Suddenly, the corner of his mouth curled up, and he said with a non-smiling expression:

"That's right, you seem to have told me a lie. You're not the leader of this planet yet."

Entes' spirit perked up, and he secretly said 'here it comes'. He stabilized his emotions, calmed himself down, and raised a smile. "It's only temporary. With my current approval rating, it's only a matter of time before I'm elected as the planet leader."

Han Xiao remained noncommittal and chuckled, "So, your so-called help for the Black Star Army to establish a branch here needs to wait until you become the planet leader before it can be兑现兑现?"

This sharp question pointed directly at the core. Although Entes thought so, he didn't dare to admit it verbally, and just used silence to represent tacit consent.

The other party's reaction didn't exceed Han Xiao's expectations. He paused, then smiled with interest, "In that case, why don't I just cooperate with the current planet leader?"

"The election day is coming soon. I will definitely be elected as the planet leader. I will be responsible for cooperating with you in the end, so I took the opportunity to invite you in advance while you were nearby." Entes knew that this reason was untenable, but it was just an excuse on the surface.

Before inviting Han Xiao, he had considered the consequences of angering Black Star, knowing that Black Star might turn around and cooperate with several major families. However, this was originally a gamble. If Black Star didn't come, he wouldn't have a chance to turn the tables. Then, even if Black Star cooperated with his opponents, what difference would it make to his previous situation? After weighing the gains and losses, he decided to use Black Star's influence.

However, the term was "use." In reality, Entes knew very well that this was a help. His little tricks couldn't hide from a big shot like Black Star. Whether Black Star would come was originally an uncertain matter.

Now that he was here, it meant that Black Star understood his subtext and was willing to give him a hand, so as long as he didn't point it out in person, both parties would understand each other.

Hearing what the other party said, Han Xiao didn't continue to make things difficult for him and shook his head with a smile.

He was very familiar with Entes' method, which was exactly the "empty promise" in the "Seventy-Two Stratagems."

He couldn't help but think of a similar story he had read in his previous life—a young man wanted to become the son-in-law of a world-class wealthy man, so he went to a famous bank for a job interview, claiming that he was the wealthy man's son-in-law and wanted to obtain a high-level position. Then, he ran to the wealthy man's side, claiming that he was a high-level executive of a famous bank and wanted to marry the wealthy man's daughter.

Although the story was fake, this trick of getting something for nothing was very similar to what Entes was doing now.

"This wave of operations is still possible, although it's a bit risky and the success rate is not high..."

Han Xiao nodded secretly.

However, in their eyes, this was getting something for nothing, but in his eyes, this was definitely leading a wolf into the house. A wild leek took the initiative to jump into his bowl. He would be sorry for his identity if he didn't harvest it!

Establishing a branch on an ordinary planet was just a small profit. Han Xiao didn't care about it at all. What he wanted was Entes himself.

No matter what era, talent was an important resource.

A mission was triggered on the panel, but it only rewarded a small amount of experience. It was better than nothing, and Han Xiao accepted it smoothly.

They arrived at Entes' villa, and Han Xiao took Aurora to live there. Entes was afraid of offending the big shot, so after arranging everything, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.

The bodyguards returned to their posts. In the corridor, the female secretary saw that there was no one around and couldn't help but wrap her arms around Entes' neck from behind, with an excited look on her face.

"Great, with Black Star's help, we're bound to win!"

Entes squeezed out a smile, then shook his head and said in a deep voice, "It's enough for Black Star to come. I'm only borrowing his deterrence. As long as the major families don't cheat, I can win the election fairly!"

"You don't know, I was almost scared to death when Black Star showed up just now." The female secretary rolled her eyes. "This time was really too risky. Don't do this again in the future."

"If we hadn't boldly used this trick, our ending definitely wouldn't have been good." Entes' eyes were firm. "It's useless to keep guessing what the big shots are thinking. If you don't try, how will you know if they will help? You need to take the initiative to seize opportunities!"

...

On the other side, Han Xiao's arrival shocked the major wealthy families of Radbuudo, and the family heads immediately gathered to discuss what to do after hearing the news.

In the conference room, the family heads and important members of the major families all looked serious, and the atmosphere was extremely solemn.

"Our information doesn't show that Entes has any background. Why did Black Star personally come to see him?" A family head looked puzzled.

"There must be omissions in our intelligence. Go and investigate his relationship with Black Star immediately! Before that, all plans and layouts targeting Entes will be stopped!" another person shouted.

The existence of Black Star disrupted their overall plan and became a huge obstacle in the layout that couldn't be ignored. The consequences of all actions must take into account Black Star's attitude.

Everyone present was surprised and uncertain about the relationship between the two. This was exactly what Entes wanted the major families to misunderstand.

With Black Star around, the assassination plan couldn't be carried out, and the success rate was zero. If Entes was really Black Star's friend, they would be dead if they dared to mess around.

The members of the major families all knew their limits. They could only do whatever they wanted on this planet. Compared with Black Star, they were no different from ants.

Even if Black Star killed them, it wouldn't cause any waves in the universe. As a vassal civilization under the jurisdiction of the empire, the central government couldn't stand up for them.

Death would be in vain!

"Fortunately, we called off the assassination in time, otherwise we would probably be..." A family head had lingering fears.

"The current planet leader is still a member of our family. Let's visit Black Star first. There's nothing wrong with this behavior, and maybe we can find out some information."

...

A few hours later, the current planet leader of Radbuudo brought gifts and a group of people to visit Entes' villa.

Han Xiao was staying in the villa, but he was more like the owner of the villa. Entes didn't dare to overstep his authority and refuse visitors for Han Xiao, and obediently reported it.

The leader of Radbuudo waited outside the door for a while before being allowed to enter. Suppressing the nervousness of meeting a big shot, he came to the reception room.

As soon as he entered the room, he was stunned. There was no sign of Han Xiao in the room, only a petite and cute girl sitting on the sofa in a serious manner.

After recovering, he remembered that this was the subordinate who followed Black Star. He hurriedly put away his surprise and sat opposite her honestly.

"You can tell me what you want." Aurora tried to put on a rigorous expression.

The leader of Radbuudo smiled awkwardly and rubbed his hands. He didn't have the usual majesty at all, and his tone was flattering:

"As the ruler of Radbuudo, I would very much like to visit Your Excellency Black Star and arrange the reception for Your Excellency Black Star..."

"You don't need to worry about it. Your Excellency Black Star is not someone you can see just because you want to." Aurora waved her hand, imitating the tone Han Xiao taught her vividly. "If there's nothing else, please go back."

The leader of Radbuudo was not reconciled and probed a few more times. Seeing Aurora frown, he dared not stay any longer and immediately stood up to say goodbye.

Walking out of the villa, the leader of Radbuudo's face became extremely ugly. He couldn't even see Black Star, but Entes could personally receive Black Star. The meaning of this made his heart sink to the bottom.

...

Han Xiao's current status could make many low-level and complicated things simple. The shadow of a famous tree frightened people. The major families were all deterred. They were afraid of offending Black Star and didn't dare to use excessive means at will. Therefore, they could only watch Entes continue his election campaign, and his approval rating continued to rise, but they had no way to stop it.

While exercising his strength, Han Xiao waited in Radbuudo for a period of time, and the election day soon arrived.

On the day of the election, Entes won the election without any suspense with an overwhelming approval rating.

He delivered an impassioned inaugural speech under global broadcast, went through the ceremony, and most of the day passed.

As dusk fell, the exterior screens of high-rise buildings in the city scrolled through the inaugural speech. From time to time, passers-by stopped and looked up to watch, and ordinary people's cheers and clinking glasses were heard from small bars on the street from time to time.

The flying vehicle moved slowly in the air. Entes, sitting in the carriage, looked out the window in a daze, and the lights of thousands of homes flashed through his eyes.

Under the night, his excitement and joy gradually faded away. Thinking that there was still a great god waiting for him at home, he couldn't be happy.

The vehicle stopped in front of the villa. It was clearly his own home, but at this moment, it made him hesitate, like a lurking monster. Entes took a deep breath, stabilized his emotions, and strode into the villa.

"You're back?"

As soon as he entered the door, he saw Aurora leaning against the wall in the hallway, waiting for him. She pointed upstairs and smiled lightly.

"He's waiting for you in the study."

Entes nervously pinched his fingers and came to the study upstairs.

There was only Han Xiao in the room. He was standing in front of the bookshelf with his back to him, holding a book and reading. Without looking back, he knew that the person had arrived, and said faintly:

"Sit down if you're here."

"Okay, okay."

The atmosphere in the room made Entes swallow involuntarily and sit in the chair in front of the desk.

Han Xiao closed the book and faced Entes with a blank expression.

"Now that you've won the election, it's time to fulfill the conditions."

Entes breathed a sigh of relief and said respectfully, "I understand. I will immediately use the power in my hands to arrange for Radbuudo to fully cooperate with the Black Star Army and support the army in establishing a branch here with the greatest efforts. I..."

However, before he could finish speaking, Han Xiao waved his hand to interrupt him.

"I'm not talking about this little thing with you now."

Entes' heart skipped a beat.

Han Xiao stared at him calmly and said slowly, "Since things have come to this, then I'll say it publicly. You used my deterrence to help you deter the major families. This is only your superficial goal, and your second goal is to obtain the long-term support of the army by establishing a branch here... Only in this way can you guarantee that you can sit firmly in the position of the leader."

Entes was silent when he heard this.

This was indeed his plan.

Winning the election was only the beginning. The major families had been operating in Radbuudo for so many years and had long controlled officials at all levels. Even if he became the leader, he would only be an empty shell puppet with basically no power. When Black Star left and the major families investigated the relationship between the two, his life would still be in danger.

Therefore, for long-term consideration, he had to find a backer, a supporter.

And Black Star, who happened to be nearby, attracted his attention and became his first choice. The other goal of this plan was to transform the Black Star Army into his backer and stabilize his position as the leader by taking advantage of the cooperation.

"What do you want?"

Entes pursed his lips, his expression gloomy.

Han Xiao looked at him and suddenly smiled, and the heavy atmosphere in the room suddenly dissipated.

"Don't be so nervous. Since I chose to help you, I naturally won't harm you."

Entes thought that made sense, and his tense nerves suddenly relaxed.

However, before he could take a breath, Han Xiao's next words made his movements freeze.

"Okay, you've had enough fun. Pack your things and get on the ship with me."

As soon as he finished speaking, Entes' expression froze instantly.