Chapter 152

Nagokin freed up his hands and quickly dealt with all the remaining DarkStar warriors. The protective shield was a deathmatch arena, with no way to retreat. The surviving mercenaries, dragging their wounded bodies, gathered from all directions to the center of the battlefield.

Han Xiao counted heads. Of the original hundred-plus recruited mercenaries, less than thirty remained. He scanned the faces of Melos, Sylvia, the Volga brothers, and Fording, and breathed a sigh of relief, confirming that his own cadres had survived.

The mechanical legion was scattered in different locations. He ordered the other mercenaries to retrieve the machines scattered across the field, which immediately caused complaints from many of them.

The wind was so fierce just now, who knows where your machines flew? We just finished fighting, don't be such a slave driver!

However, despite their complaints, the mercenaries obediently complied, their mouths saying one thing while their bodies did another.

Although not everyone saw Han Xiao's performance when he used the Ames character card, the mercenaries who did see it had even more reverence in their eyes.

Han Xiao picked at his ear, quite impatiently.

These damn mercenaries, they complain endlessly about picking up a few things. Players are so much more dedicated. As long as there are rewards, no matter how hard or tiring it is, they can enjoy it. They are much better than this group of mercenaries, truly touching the galaxy, I miss them so much.

Melos stepped forward and handed over Xerxes' giant gun. "Spoils of war, for you."

Han Xiao's eyes lit up. He grabbed the gun, glanced at it, and expertly disassembled its outer shell to observe the internal structure. He nodded. "This gun is not bad."

The interface popped up with a description of the item, named [Tri-Core Spinline Gun]. This was a weapon that benefited from the Gunners' specialization, meaning that Gunners could receive additional bonuses when using it. The blueprint was of rare grade. Obtaining it saved the cost of gambling for the blueprint, and it could be reverse-engineered directly. Han Xiao happened to need a non-ordinary model of energy gun. Although he was not a Gunner, the mechanical force bonus was universal, just not as strong as that of a Gunner.

Gunners were ranged damage dealers. Players welcomed Gunners in dungeons, as they were part of the traditional trinity of tank, marksman, and controller.

Han Xiao had also played a Gunner in his previous life. All they did was shoot, shoot, and shoot. The damage output was tons, but it was too monotonous. Shooting was fun, but doing it every day could get boring. Of the three Mechanic classes, he preferred the more tactically flexible Machinist.

Putting away the gun, Han Xiao looked at Sylvia. She didn't have any injuries, but she still seemed shaken. He turned to look at Fording, only to find that Fording was covered in blood, as if he had gone through a fierce battle.

"Are you okay?" Han Xiao asked.

Morning Star suddenly became nervous, recalling Fording's usual demeanor. She hurriedly forced a kind smile and deliberately spoke in a slow, gentle tone, "I... I'm fine. I just encountered an enemy..."

Sylvia interjected, "That's right, I saw you get knocked down. That enemy was much stronger than you. I was worried about you the whole way. I'm glad you're okay. How did you defeat him?"

Morning Star's smile froze a little, and her mentality slightly collapsed. She wished she could sew Sylvia's mouth shut. Why did she have to ask at this critical moment? Was she trying to screw her over?

She quickly came up with an idea and coughed. "Uh, I didn't defeat him. The enemy was a Grade B Super. I was almost killed by him. You know I'm not very good at fighting. Fortunately, a storm suddenly blew over and swept us away, saving my life."

"You're so lucky," Sylvia marveled.

Everyone else believed her. They had always been ashamed of their own luck.

"Yes, you're so lucky to be alive."

Han Xiao sighed and patted her back heavily, causing her to cough violently, a "-1" damage popping up above her head.

Morning Star's back hurt, but she suppressed her anger and forced a smile, laughing dryly twice. Seeing that Han Xiao didn't suspect anything, she finally relaxed and breathed a sigh of relief. She had finally fooled him and tricked Black Star.

Han Xiao snapped his fingers, beckoning Nagokin to come over, while wrapping his arm tightly around Morning Star's shoulder, preventing her from breaking free.

Morning Star twisted uncomfortably and said, "Can you let go of me?"

"Stop pretending," Han Xiao rolled his eyes. "You can't fool me."

Morning Star's cold sweat dripped down. She hurriedly tried to think of what she had missed, but she couldn't figure out where she had gone wrong.

She hadn't revealed any flaws!

"You're mistaken. I'm Fording," she argued with a forced smile.

Han Xiao raised an eyebrow and leaned close to Morning Star's ear. "I said, if you really escaped, you wouldn't want to meet me."

Morning Star's heart skipped a beat.

At this time, Nagokin walked over. Han Xiao patted Morning Star's shoulder and smiled. "Don't struggle. There's a Grade A Super here. You can't escape. You don't want to be beaten up by him."

Morning Star gritted her teeth and gave up on pretending. She snapped, "How did you recognize me?"

Han Xiao also looked helpless. The interface message had already revealed her identity. He couldn't pretend not to know, could he? He was also desperate!

Her situation was dire, and Morning Star was at her wit's end. She couldn't think of any way to escape. She glared at Han Xiao hatefully, already imagining a hundred ways for Han Xiao to die. She wished she could personally whip his corpse a hundred times.

She simply surrendered control of her body—better than being dragged back by someone else.

Fording's consciousness returned, and he stretched his limbs, shook his head, and smiled. "I knew you'd recognize me."

"You're so lucky that even when she regained control of your body, she didn't crush your consciousness." Han Xiao was quite envious. The luck halo was still awesome.

Fording chuckled. "Actually, I have a pretty good time communicating with her. I know her inside and out, and she knows everything about me. We understand each other's thoughts..."

"Congratulations on finding your soulmate. Why don't you just marry her? Then my mission will be complete."

Han Xiao tutted and shook his head, then suddenly froze.

Wait, could he have guessed right? The most perfect completion condition for Fording's mission wouldn't really be for him to become self-loving, would it?

Fording pointed at his head and said helplessly, "I won't repeat what she said about you."

Han Xiao chuckled dryly twice, let go of him, and hurriedly moved away from Fording, grabbing Sylvia's hair to wipe his hands. He suddenly didn't want to get too close to Fording.

After chatting casually for a while and checking the time, he figured Ashes should be back soon. But then Han Xiao realized a serious problem. Although the battle was over, the protective shield was still isolating this area. If they couldn't leave, they couldn't ambush Ashes as planned.

This problem could only be solved by the Norios Financial Group. The Guardian had been watching from not far away, and Han Xiao felt it was necessary to talk to him.

Han Xiao and Nagokin went together to express their intention to open the protective shield to the Guardian. The Guardian refused almost without thinking.

"There is still a DarkStar member alive, and he is on his way back. If you don't open the protective shield, we won't be able to deal with him," Nagokin said.

The Guardian was expressionless. "I know. So I won't open the protective shield until the enemy you mentioned leaves. You will stay here until I confirm that this disturbance is completely over."

"Are you protecting the people of DarkStar?!" Nagokin raged.

"My duty is to protect Norios. Do you want me to open the protective shield and let you continue to destroy the city? I don't want to see anyone causing trouble in Norios again. For the damage you have caused, the financial group will demand compensation from Godora when this is over."

The Guardian narrowed his eyes. Not saving Anur was because he was in a difficult situation and could only give up, but that didn't mean he was on Godora's side. The protective shield could never be opened. This was the bottom line of the financial group's upper echelons, and the financial group didn't want to see any more high-level DarkStar combatants lost here.

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(There is another chapter later)