Chapter 174 Black Star's Request

The communicator received a signal from Resda. It had infiltrated the intelligent system of a DarkStar mothership, obtaining permissions through disguise, and was cracking the DarkStar database. With Resda's capabilities, a successful infiltration guaranteed a successful crack; its calculations were never wrong.

Once it breached the underlying database, Resda could replace the mothership's intelligent system, becoming a cuckoo in the nest, a double agent. When other motherships exchanged data with it, all their locations would be exposed. For now, it could only expose the location of the mothership it was lurking in.

The extremely high stealth and flexibility were DarkStar's most intractable abilities. They hid in the shadows, stirred up trouble, and moved their mothership bases around. Han Xiao was also unsure of their location, and before Resda packed itself up and delivered itself to his doorstep, he didn't have many solutions.

The idea had suddenly popped up during the last cooperation with Resda against the DarkStar assault team. Its feasibility was high. Han Xiao had secretly made calculations, drawing an exciting conclusion. This might be a good opportunity to eradicate DarkStar once and for all, a very tempting prospect.

Because, as he repeatedly opposed DarkStar and constantly showed his sharpness, DarkStar's hostility was bound to deepen, and sooner or later, they would use thunderous means to deal with him.

Han Xiao personally wasn't afraid. After all, when he used to power-level, he would sail without oars, and being hunted down was commonplace. Besides, his surname was Han; his escape skills were at least Grandmaster level. However, while he was safe, his other companions were in danger. His foundation was still fragile and easily destroyed by DarkStar.

If there was an opportunity to eliminate such a dangerous enemy, Han Xiao would definitely not hesitate. Even if the subsequent mission couldn't be triggered, he would seize the opportunity to get rid of DarkStar. Missions were like homework, endless, but eliminating a deadly enemy was more important.

And this required the help of Godora. Godora would definitely not miss such an opportunity. Their hatred for DarkStar was practically permanent.

With this in mind, Han Xiao left his room and went to the Godora camp, seeking out Nagokin.

"Black Star, you've come."

In the Godora camp, Godora soldiers were sorting supplies and loading them onto spaceships, a flurry of activity. Nagokin was overseeing the work, and when he saw Han Xiao arrive, he greeted him with a smile, in a very good mood.

"You're getting ready to leave?" Han Xiao glanced around.

"Yes, the problem of Planet Aquamarine has been resolved. Our mission is complete. The escort fleet and our relief team will leave today."

Nagokin nodded, beaming, and heavily patted Han Xiao's shoulder.

"I must thank you. The higher-ups are very satisfied with my work efficiency, and they've hinted that I'll be awarded a medal and promoted after this incident. I owe it all to you."

His goodwill toward Han Xiao was at least sixty points or more. Han Xiao's contributions had also brought him glory, promotion, and wealth, and his face was full of smiles.

Han Xiao looked around, grabbed Nagokin's arm, and led him to a more secluded spot, whispering, "I have new intelligence, and you'll definitely be interested. Help me contact the higher-ups at the War Affairs Bureau."

More benefits?! Nagokin's eyes lit up.

"Give me a hint first, so I can relay it to the higher-ups." Nagokin also lowered his voice, looking eager. He had figured it out; Black Star was a treasure. As long as he worked with Black Star, he could share the spoils.

Seeing his expression, Han Xiao's mouth twitched. After knowing him for a long time, Nagokin wouldn't put on the dignified demeanor he used with outsiders. With high goodwill, Nagokin increasingly revealed his true nature in private. While steadfastly fulfilling his duties, he also didn't hide his interest in promotion. The aura of a Calamity Grade crumbled.

Grade B was the backbone of interstellar society, while Calamity Grade was high-level combat power. Nagokin was naturally highly valued in the War Affairs Bureau, but Godora had a large population base of tens of billions, and there were still a dozen or so Calamity Grades in service. To put it more colloquially, these people were equivalent to palace guards and members of a royal protection squad, so Nagokin also had competitors.

"This intelligence is about DarkStar," Han Xiao said mysteriously.

"What specifically?"

"Their location." Han Xiao gave a simple introduction.

Nagokin's eyes widened suddenly, and his breathing became heavy. As an insider, he knew what this meant.

"I'm asking you seriously, you're not lying to me, are you?"

"Who would I lie to but you?" Han Xiao rolled his eyes.

"Come with me, I'll notify the higher-ups immediately."

The two entered a secret conference room, locked the door, and Nagokin, without another word, took out his communicator to contact the higher-ups.

Soon, the communication was connected, but it was the secretary of the War Affairs Bureau's higher-ups.

"Nagokin, the director is in a meeting, an important meeting convened by the Supreme Leader. Whatever you have to say, we'll talk about it later."

The Battle of Golden Gate Star had just ended, and the Godora high-level was discussing the aftermath.

"I have an urgent matter!" Nagokin said.

"Then tell me first, and I'll relay it to the director after the meeting."

"Tell him to stop the meeting, this is truly a major intelligence!"

Nagokin's tone was excited, and he was concise:

"Black Star has learned the whereabouts of DarkStar!"

The secretary's face changed drastically. He said, "Don't hang up," without even cutting off the communication screen. The two watched as he jogged into the conference room, where big figures were gathered, some real people, some remote projections. Everyone turned to look at the secretary, looking puzzled.

The secretary hurried to the side of the director of the War Affairs Bureau and whispered the situation. The director's eyes widened, and he stood up abruptly, picked up the communicator, and went directly to the Supreme Leader's projection to explain it to him privately.

The Supreme Leader's expression changed slightly, and without another word, he said in a deep voice, "Meeting adjourned. Those whose names weren't called can go rest for a while."

The pupils of everyone in the room contracted slightly. The officials who could sit at this conference table were all top leaders of Godora's important organs, key departments, and military committees, almost all national-level leaders or deputy leaders, and at the very least, powerful department-level officials of core departments, basically controlling the overall decision-making power of the entire Godora. If Godora was an empire, then this room was the heart of the empire.

What exactly had alarmed the Supreme Leader, that he would even stop the meeting, and even have some high-level officials excuse themselves? What kind of intelligence was it that they couldn't even be allowed to stay and watch?!

The high-level officials filed out one after another, leaving only the most core high-level officials behind. Because the matter was of great importance, the Supreme Leader only left his most trusted confidants.

"Black Star, I am Godora's Supreme Leader, Salor V."

Godora was a magic-leaning civilization, and its political structure had the style of a magical planet. It was not a federal system, and democratic elections were even more out of the question.

The Supreme Leader's naming followed the traditional format of ancient kings. The class superiority of the purebloods also stemmed in part from the royal tradition. However, in the interstellar era, Godora's traditional political structure had made some changes, adding and deleting many departments to prevent the structure from becoming bloated, adapting to its own civilization's productivity and technological level. The Supreme Leader was no longer a lifetime position, and his power was restricted, with many powers distributed elsewhere.

The bloodlines of nobles and royalty were not as honorable and inviolable as in history, and most of their privileges had been stripped away, retaining only their status and family honor—this allowed the Godora people who had seen the colorfulness of the interstellar era to barely accept it. As a galactic civilization, the people's ideological level progressed in lockstep with the state system, and even if they followed tradition, they would make appropriate changes.

Once a system lagged far behind the level of thought, there would likely be a spring breeze of reform sweeping the land, daring to teach the sun and moon to shine on a new world.

On the contrary, there were many advanced civilizations whose systems lagged behind their technological level, such as Harmon's hometown, which was known for its barbarism, valuing individual martial strength, and not using their brains well. Yet these muscleheads could build spaceships! This was because ideological construction was not advanced, and they didn't start from a young age.

After all, in the interstellar era, technology and productivity had many successful examples, and there were various technologies. The influence of the system on productivity had diminished, so the systems of the three major civilizations were different, but they were evenly matched.

Facing Godora's Supreme Leader, Nagokin saluted solemnly, while Han Xiao casually nodded as a courtesy. That was the good thing about being a mercenary; you basically didn't have to salute.

"This is our third negotiation," Han Xiao said with a smile.

The first time was when he provided the Heteromorphy sample, the second time was when he revealed the DarkStar plan and connected the large mercenary groups. Now it was the third time.

The first two times, the people who negotiated with him were high-level officials, but the third time, he was directly communicating with the Supreme Leader, and the level was constantly rising.

Without small talk, they went straight to the point. Han Xiao proved the credibility of the intelligence. Resda's achievements could not be replicated. For Godora, this intelligence was a hundred times more valuable than the Heteromorphy sample. DarkStar was like the cancer of civilization, a bone-deep ailment. Not a day went by that Godora didn't want to eliminate DarkStar.

The struggle between the two sides had lasted for many years. If DarkStar could be completely eradicated, the significance would not only be the elimination of a deadly enemy. There would be great gains in terms of bloodline conflicts, reputation, security, news and public opinion, and so on.

"This is the third time our Godora has made a deal with you. This intelligence is very important. Are you trading privately, or on behalf of Longtan?" Salor V asked.

"On behalf of Longtan, I suppose." Han Xiao nodded, which meant that he was using his identity as collateral, and the transaction was very formal.

"What do you want?"

Godora was determined to get this intelligence. This time, he didn't plan to be polite. Han Xiao narrowed his eyes and said slowly, "Fifty medium-sized warships, one large flagship, not Godora's models. I want a product of pure technology. Second, I need you to open up the Superpower Knowledge Database so I can copy some knowledge. Third, after it's done, reveal my contributions throughout the interstellar society. Fourth, I want twenty million Enas."

These terms were dozens of times more expensive than the Heteromorphy sample. Each department had a limited budget, and this money wasn't a small amount. A war had just been commissioned, and the money was burning a little fast. Salor V frowned and pondered for a while.

"Okay, we'll pay you five million Enas first, and the balance and the warships will be handed over after the matter is over. At that time, you can copy five kinds of Superpower knowledge… As for publicizing your contributions, you want to improve your reputation, right? Okay, as long as the annihilation operation is successful, we will make an official statement."

Wow, he agreed right away. He should have asked for more... Han Xiao coughed and hesitated, "Is it too late to raise the price now?"

"No." Salor V's face darkened.

Han Xiao shook his head. This was the biggest deal he had ever made. This intelligence was worth a lot, but in the end, Godora had to do it themselves. It wouldn't be good to extort them too much. Even if they really wanted the intelligence, Godora would definitely lower the price and would not easily agree to his exorbitant demands.

He was about to lead the players into the interstellar era, and he needed funds in the early stages to get through many connections. This money was more than enough and could support him for a long time. If he bought spaceships with the twenty million Enas at cost price, he could put together a fleet of nearly a hundred warships.

"Happy cooperation," Han Xiao said.

"Well, we're waiting for your good news. Nagokin, you'll stay on Planet Aquamarine for now to be responsible for contacting us."

"Yes." Nagokin nodded.

…

A few days after the attack on Golden Gate Star.

Somewhere in the Garton Star System, a DarkStar fleet was moving at high speed.

This fleet was heading to Planet Aquamarine. Degulish was the commander, and Ash and a senior cadre named Terry were also traveling with him, for a total of three Calamity Grades. In order to kill Black Star, Degulish had mobilized more than half of their high-end combat power.

The previous failed attack on Golden Gate Star had surprised the DarkStar leader, but he didn't react too strongly. He just told Degulish to continue attacking Planet Aquamarine according to plan—now, DarkStar's plan had deviated from its original trajectory and been completely disrupted. They could only seize the time and cause losses to Godora as quickly as possible. At this time, their hatred for Han Xiao was extremely stable.

Considering that Black Star had the Blacklight Stealth, and his escape speed was first-class, if they wanted to kill him, they had to force Black Star to participate in the battle. So, attacking Black Star's hometown, Planet Aquamarine, also had the effect of making Black Star stay and fight.

"...After the Godora escort fleet leaves, we'll raid Planet Aquamarine. We'll cover Planet Aquamarine's outer space with a space disruptor. Although it won't work on the Blacklight Stealth, it can at least delay the speed at which the transition station opens the orbit and prevent fleets from other disaster planets from providing quick support. I've already checked, Ames left the Garton Star System a few days ago, Black Star's backer isn't here."

"Ash will take a batch of troops to be the vanguard. The rest of us will hide. When Ash holds Black Star up, we'll take action. We can't expose all our forces at the beginning, or we'll scare Black Star away."

Degulish said to the two of them with a serious expression.

Terry was noncommittal.

Ash said coldly, "This time, I won't make the same mistake as with Norius. My ability can easily slaughter ordinary people. As long as he cares, he can be forced to fight me. You better show up quickly. I'm afraid I won't be able to resist killing everyone on Planet Aquamarine."