Chapter 1 Nexus Hall

In the Nexus Hall, Han Xiao was in a shop purchasing supplies. Besides fuel and parts for his spaceship, the Logistics Department on Longtan had also asked him to buy some things for them since they knew he was returning.

While he was shopping, his communicator suddenly rang. Han Xiao glanced at it, clicked his tongue, and shoved the communicator back into his pocket, continuing to browse the shop.

He leisurely finished picking out his items, unhurriedly paid for them, and stood to the side watching the shop assistant load the fuel, parts, and other items onto a hovercraft. At that moment, a Nexus Hall flyer landed at the shop entrance.

A Nexus Hall staff member hurriedly jumped out of the flyer and strode up to Han Xiao.

"B-Black Star, your spaceship…"

Han Xiao waved his hand, interrupting the other party, and smiled slightly. "It's nothing. Just a bunch of small-time thieves trying to steal my spaceship. How many are still breathing?"

The Nexus Hall staff member was stunned for a moment before nodding repeatedly. "When we arrived, there was only one thief left alive, seriously injured. He's been apprehended, and your spaceship is completely undamaged…"

"Let's go take a look."

Han Xiao nodded, got on the cargo-laden hovercraft, and headed to the hangar area. The staff member followed behind him, and they soon arrived at the scene.

The hangar door was shattered, and the outer corridor was covered in scorched marks from explosions. Many Nexus Hall guards were surrounding the area.

Next to the hangar, a burly man was tightly bound by electromagnetic restraints, his combat suit riddled with holes and covered in injuries, barely clinging to life.

Han Xiao peered inside. The hangar interior was a mess, the walls cracked, exposing various circuits, and sparks rained down like a shower, crackling loudly.

The lights flickered erratically, and the ground was stained with blood, covered with more than a dozen bodies under white sheets. Only the BlackLight Stealth was parked obediently on the ground, its hull as smooth as a mirror, without a single scratch.

"This is the guy who tried to steal my spaceship?"

Han Xiao approached the heavily injured Beverly, his eyes filled with sympathy.

BlackLight Stealth was Rista's current body, and he had already received Rista's message, so he wasn't worried at all.

These thieves were courting death by targeting Rista. They were going up against a spaceship with its own consciousness, and one as high-end and fully functional as BlackLight Stealth.

Even if he were to fight BlackLight Stealth himself, it would be more challenging than dealing with several Grade B Supers at the same time. Its combat power was terrifying, and it wasn't like some Calamity Grade powerhouse would be stealing spaceships in their spare time. Even if a Calamity Grade did, BlackLight Stealth could instantly warp away if it couldn't win.

So, Han Xiao wasn't worried about the spaceship's safety at all. Unless pigs could fly, there was no way it would be stolen.

"Lord Black Star, we checked the database. This man is a space pirate from the Faiwen Star Cluster…"

A staff member introduced the situation, holding a palmtop computer with a transparent screen. Han Xiao took the screen before he could finish speaking.

After a glance, Han Xiao's heart stirred.

"Beverly, his ability is shooting fire from his eyes… oh, isn't this Cyclops? He's actually from the Purple Snake Star Pirates… I think I've dealt with these pirates before?"

Han Xiao remembered. The leader of this pirate group seemed to be a relatively weak Calamity Grade…

His eyes rolled, and Han Xiao picked up Beverly. "This guy tried to steal my spaceship. I'll take care of him."

"Of course, it's our dereliction of duty that you encountered this risk." The staff member nodded.

After the staff member and the Nexus Hall guards dispersed, Han Xiao boarded the spaceship, found a room, and threw Beverly heavily onto the ground.

"You dared to act rashly without doing your homework. If it were a normal spaceship, you might have succeeded. You're really unlucky. Any thoughts?" Han Xiao teased.

Beverly's wounds were still throbbing, causing him to grimace in pain. He was still in shock.

Even though he had blocked the spaceship's signals, the spaceship moved as if it had a life of its own. The laser cannons fired a series of shots, quickly piercing his combat suit.

Beverly only specialized in attack. The flames released from his eyes couldn't stop the energy-based laser cannons, and his physical defense wasn't his strong point. He couldn't withstand the continuous barrage of laser cannons. If the Nexus Hall guards hadn't arrived at a critical moment, he would have been shot to death by this strange spaceship.

Now that he was in Black Star's hands, Beverly regretted it immensely, unsure of how the other party would deal with him.

‘Since Black Star didn't kill me, he probably thinks I have some use. That's good news. He probably wants to interrogate me for information. I have to cooperate a bit. I have to stabilize him now and not let him have any murderous thoughts! My ability is very destructive. As long as Black Star is careless, I can escape!’

Beverly's palms were sweating. Various thoughts flashed through his mind. Although he was a burly space pirate, he could think quickly when his life was at stake.

As long as he didn't die, there was still a chance!

Han Xiao patted Beverly on the shoulder. "You're a member of the Purple Snake Star Pirates, so I'll put this debt on the Purple Snake's head for now. I don't have time to deal with them now, but it's perfect. In a while, my mercenary group will need a lot of practice targets. Purple Snake seems like a good choice. When the time comes, I'll personally go and play with your leader."

"As for you…" Han Xiao looked directly into Beverly's eyes, a playful smile on his face. "Since you came to my door yourself, don't blame me."

Beverly felt a chill run down his spine. Before he could think about what Han Xiao meant, he suddenly felt a pain in his arm. He saw Black Star take out a disc-shaped machine and press it against the blood vessels in his arm. There was a slight pain, as if a needle had been inserted.

"This is…"

Before Beverly could wonder, he suddenly felt his strength rapidly draining away. He saw the empty slot in the disc gradually filling with bright red blood, and he couldn't help but widen his eyes. A feeling of weakness washed over him.

His ability had become a part of himself, like an arm or a leg, but at this moment, Beverly's sense of his ability was gradually weakening, as if he was losing it. This way, his last resort was gone.

"What's going on?!" Beverly's expression changed drastically. He was panicked and at a loss. The current situation exceeded all his expectations.

Supergene Extractor!

In the past year, Han Xiao had rarely used this juicer. The main reason was that he hadn't caught any villains. The previous Rezoleth had been drained into a dried corpse, which was too tragic and unsustainable, so Han Xiao had helped Rezoleth find release.

Now, besides occasionally juicing himself to store ability potions, he basically hadn't used it on anyone else.

Since Beverly had taken the initiative to come to his door, Han Xiao didn't feel any guilt. Since he was an enemy, he should be used to his fullest. The ability to shoot fire from his eyes was cool and strong, and he thought it was very nice.

He quickly filled three tubes with bright red ability potion. Han Xiao took out one of them and drank it in one gulp. It was smooth on the entry and went straight down his throat, a warm feeling spreading throughout his body.

[You have obtained [Character Summon Card - Beverly (Temporary)]]

[Character Summon Card - Beverly (Temporary): [Blazing Eyes] - Fires high-heat fire pillars from the eyes, dealing burn damage. Aimed by sight, maximum range of 400 meters, attack range of 510~1360, generates 3 attack judgments per second, continuous spray for 5 seconds, 0/1 uses (This character card exists for 15 days)]

"Whoa, this damage is a bit fierce. As expected of a pure attack ability!"

Han Xiao's eyes lit up.

If it could burn for a full five seconds, the minimum theoretical damage would be more than 7,600, and the maximum would be… a lot, a lot of damage. Moreover, it was an AOE skill.

Even when facing Grade B enemies, subtracting the other party's resistance, it could still deal at least three to four thousand damage, and firing it from the eyes was like free additional damage, without hindering his own actions.

Han Xiao lowered his head and gave Beverly a smile.

"We'll have to get along well in the future."

Beverly collapsed to the ground, trembling like a leaf, his eyes filled with the terror of a lamb waiting to be slaughtered. In his eyes, Black Star was a hundred times more terrifying than he was, a space pirate.

He suddenly had a premonition that his future life… would likely be worse than death!

…

Han Xiao had squeezed out the existence of his accomplices from Beverly's mouth, but when Beverly failed, the other pirates had already fled in their raider ships. Han Xiao didn't want to waste time, so he didn't bother chasing after this group of pirates.

He had already designated the Purple Snake Star Pirates as future nourishment for the players and wasn't in a hurry to deal with this force.

BlackLight Stealth set off again. After this little interlude, there were no more stops along the way, and naturally, no other incidents.

A few days later, the drifting Longtan Floating Island was visible in the distance.

Han Xiao piloted the spaceship to land. Longtan had already learned of the return of this comrade. Wisandre was standing at the dock, ready to welcome Han Xiao with a carefree attitude. Logistics Supervisor Haire was also there. To Han Xiao's surprise, Jenny, who had caused some unpleasantness in the past, was also standing next to him with a sulky face, clearly there to welcome him as well.

"Hahaha, Black Star, you're back again." Wisandre laughed heartily, his tail wagging repeatedly, and came up to give Han Xiao a big hug.

Han Xiao tilted his head, almost getting poked in the eye by Wisandre's demon horns.

"Ji Ji Ji Ji…" Haire said a bunch of Zerg words, then realized he wasn't wearing a translator. After putting on the translator with his limbs, he said, "Black Star, did you bring back the rare materials I wanted?"

"They're all on the ship." Han Xiao nodded and thought for a moment before adding, "Remember to reimburse me. They're very expensive."

Then, Han Xiao turned to look at Jenny and asked in surprise, "Why are you here to pick me up too?"

"You think I wanted to?" Jenny said expressionlessly, reluctantly. "Ames wants to see you."

"Oh, that's rare." Han Xiao was a little surprised. Since he helped Ames find Iso last time, they basically hadn't been in contact. He didn't know what she wanted from him this time.

Just as the few of them were chatting, people from all walks of life in the dock square looked over, whispering to each other, their eyes filled with surprise and curiosity.

"That's Longtan's Four Departments! I didn't expect them to gather together!"

"Is that black-clothed guy Longtan's Foreign Affairs Force's Black Star? I heard that the Dragon Emperor wants to expand her power, and Black Star is expanding her armed forces for her, with great authority."

"I heard that Black Star stepped into the Garton Star System. I wonder if it was authorized by the Dragon Emperor. Could it be that she also wants to get involved?"

Han Xiao's actions of expanding his mercenary group had already attracted some attention in the galaxy. Many people thought that it was Ames's intention behind it and that it was a signal - the Dragon Emperor, who had always been indifferent to the world, finally wanted to gain a power that matched her Super Grade A strength.

And Black Star was the vanguard general carrying out the Dragon Emperor's will!