Chapter 156 Hunting

"Oh? You mean someone is specifically hunting down Super-A seedlings?"

Inside the Black Star Palace's exclusive mechanical factory, Han Xiao turned his head to look at the virtual communication screen, surprised as he looked at Fording in the screen.

He had been busy digesting technology lately. Just now, Fording suddenly called, claiming to have caught a hunting squad specializing in attacking Super-A seedlings.

"Tell me the details. I need to know everything." Han Xiao put down the parts in his hand, his expression becoming serious.

"It's like this..." Fording nodded and explained the process in detail.

After he caught these attackers, he extracted shocking information through interrogation and memory reading. These Calamity Grades who attacked Gavin were all acting on orders. They had secretly controlled this group of Star Pirates, wandering around the area specifically waiting to intercept Gavin.

"Do you know which faction they belong to?" Han Xiao asked curiously.

Fording shook his head. "I investigated, and these Calamity Grades didn't leave any identity information in the universe. At the same time, they have no relevant memories and don't know which faction they work for. They only unilaterally accept direct orders from an account, and the accounts used to issue tasks to each person are also different. I carefully reviewed their memories and found that they had been receiving some kind of ideological training since childhood. They seemed to be specially cultivated death warriors with extremely weak self-awareness."

"Secret death warriors without a history? An organization that can cultivate eight Calamity Grades as death warriors from a young age is not a small force, and this so-called ideological training should be a kind of brainwashing method that can have a lasting effect on Calamity Grades. It's at least a Star Cluster level technology."

Han Xiao raised an eyebrow, pondered for a while, and then said:

"Are there any other clues?"

"I found some safe houses and cipher keys, the past actions of these people, etc. I will compile a report for you later. I will send you the top-secret accounts these people used to receive tasks. Maybe they will be useful to you."

Han Xiao raised an eyebrow. "You value this matter so much. It seems you also realize the problem here?"

Fording sighed. "If I didn't realize the seriousness of the matter, I wouldn't have notified you immediately... There aren't many forces capable of cultivating multiple Calamity Grade death warriors, and this squad may not be the only group of hunters. Combined with the recent Sanctuary Revival turmoil, the situation is obviously not simple."

"That's right. There are very few forces with the motivation and ability to do this. The three Universal Civilizations and the Star Cluster Alliance are all suspects."

Han Xiao nodded.

Although he didn't find out the origins of these people, through analysis of various factors, Han Xiao first thought of the three Universal Civilizations and the Star Cluster Alliance, both of whom had motives.

The former might want to reduce the future sources of new Super-As and cut off the chives at the root. The latter had more motives, such as stirring up trouble and framing others, creating opposition, and forcing the three Universal Civilizations and the Association to tear their faces.

Of course, it was also possible that others were fishing in troubled waters, so Han Xiao didn't immediately jump to a conclusion, but he still leaned toward this being a secret operation by the three Universal Civilizations or the Star Cluster Alliance.

From this, he deduced that there were probably more than one hunter squad. Currently, many Super-A seedlings from various star fields were rushing to the Flickering World, and the mastermind behind the scenes had likely deployed interception forces. These Super-A seedlings were all at risk, and not everyone was lucky enough to meet the number one milkmaid in the universe.

Fording frowned, puzzled. "The Star Cluster Alliance is one thing, but the three Universal Civilizations... would they really do this? I find it incredible. Executing such a crazy plan, aren't they afraid of pushing all the neutral advanced Beyond Grade As to the opposite side? It's too radical. It doesn't seem like the methods they would use."

Han Xiao shook his head, not surprised.

"This kind of behavior is crazy but effective. There are only so many Super-A seedlings in the entire universe. The cost of taking action isn't high, and even if all these people disappear, the impact can be easily suppressed.

Besides, the three Universal Civilizations should be very clear that they have lost their monopoly on Ultimate Knowledge. What they can give, we can also give, but we have the added attraction of the Sanctuary Revival, which makes it difficult for them to attract new talents. So, there's no need for them to push. Many Super-A seedlings were already going to join the Association anyway. Doing nothing will only make the situation worse. Rather than watching the Association's talent pool continue to grow, it's better to secretly send death warriors to capture and kill people. What they can't get, they destroy. That's probably what they're thinking.

As for being radical... the End of the Supreme was equally radical. The three Universal Civilizations have never been good people. Don't have any misunderstandings about them. Which of the winners in the Exploration Era isn't ruthless? Once they're provoked, they're capable of anything."

Fording pursed his lips. "Aren't they afraid of being exposed?"

Han Xiao stroked his chin. "I think they should be afraid, but it depends on the specific methods of the three Universal Civilizations. It's hard to say now."

In his previous life, there was no Association, no Sanctuary Revival, and the conflicts were different, so the Super-A seedlings weren't intercepted. This was the first time Han Xiao had encountered today's situation. The actions of the three Universal Civilizations were also unknown to him.

Han Xiao was helpless that the Super-A seedlings were unlucky and could only treat it as collateral damage.

"The scope of this turmoil is getting bigger and bigger." Fording looked worried. "What are you planning to do?"

"Well, the Association's purpose is to mediate the conflicts of Super-As. Calamity Grades are not within our purview, so nominally, the Association can't overstep its bounds. It's not appropriate to provide public assistance, unless we really want to go head-to-head..."

Han Xiao rubbed his chin and pondered:

"But if we don't stop it, the Super-A seedlings will suffer heavy casualties, which is indeed not conducive to the birth of new people. How about this? They want to join different Super-A forces, so let the corresponding forces secretly send people to meet them and provide escort. Nominally, it's justifiable."

"That's good too." Fording paused and asked, "However, this way, the escort forces will have encounters with the hunting squads. Should we spread the word to alert the Super-A seedlings and give the mastermind behind the scenes a warning?"

Han Xiao thought for a moment and shook his head.

"Privately hint to the Super-A seedlings, that's enough. Don't spread this news on a large scale... Right now, the Star Cluster Alliance would be the happiest. I don't want to tear my face with the three Universal Civilizations, nor do I want to be used as a pawn by the Star Cluster Alliance. Let's focus on protection first. Let's avoid conflict as much as possible for now."

Although he nominally controlled the Sanctuary Revival, the Holy Accord Organization had not yet collected the second key, so Han Xiao's confidence was still a bit weak for the time being. Causing trouble was not within his consideration. He had to be steady.

"Understood. What else do I need to do?" Fording asked.

"You guys... look for the Super-A seedlings nearby. They're safer by Aurora's side. Then, just bring them back in one go."

As he said this, Han Xiao smiled gratifiedly:

"You've done a great job this time. If it weren't for your news, we might not have noticed something was wrong until Super-A seedlings started disappearing on a large scale. It was definitely the right decision to lend you to Aurora in the first place!"

He felt that Fording was simply the perfect intelligence agent. Ordinary people looked for trouble, but Fording had trouble finding him. He could encounter key information while lying down. It was fully automated and didn't require any worry.

Fording, so useful!

Fording looked helpless. He had already accepted his role as a tool.

"By the way, what should we do with these prisoners after I finish interrogating them? Keeping them might be personal evidence."

"What else can we do? Netherworld is waiting."

Han Xiao waved his hand dismissively.

The two discussed some details and then hung up the communication. At this moment, Han Xiao suddenly noticed some activity on his interface.

[You have triggered the mission \[Stop the Hunt]!]

[Mission Description: For some reason, some unknown forces are trying to hunt down those who want to join your command. As an organization with a good reputation, protecting the personal safety of applicants is a basic requirement.]

[Mission Objective: Try to stop the hunting of Super-A seedlings as much as possible.]

[Note: The reward depends on the mission evaluation, and the mission evaluation depends on the number of people you successfully rescue.]

[Base Reward: 8 billion experience, +20 favorability from the rescued target, Random Reward x2, Designated Blank Character Summon Card x1]

"The experience is a bit low, but the Blank Character Summon Card is not bad."

Han Xiao glanced at it and put away the interface. This level of mission couldn't cause any fluctuations in his mood. He was more concerned with the matter itself.

"The three Universal Civilizations are reacting a lot. Wanting to coexist peacefully is a damn luxury. They can always come up with some tricks... The version update is almost fifty years old, and the players should be coming back soon. At that time, it will probably be another wave of big moves."

Han Xiao rubbed his temples, his thoughts racing, and suddenly remembered something.

"That's right, someone is hunting down Super-A seedlings, which is also an opportunity for me to poach people. I wonder how Garrot is doing now. At most, he's just an ordinary Calamity Grade, right? He shouldn't have been valued yet. I might as well just knock him unconscious and poach him."

Han Xiao's heart stirred.

In the past, he didn't want to interfere with the other party's growth trajectory, so he didn't poach Garrot. Now that someone was attacking neutral Super-A seedlings, he couldn't be blamed for following suit.

Originally, Garrot would become the empire's pillar of state as a direct descendant, but now that you've made the first move, I'll make the second. I'm going to have this muscle man!

Unlike the mastermind behind the scenes' broad net, Han Xiao accurately knew who some of the direct descendant Super-As who had not yet risen to prominence in advanced civilizations were. In the past, he didn't want to poach people for various reasons, but now there was no need to be polite.

Besides, Han Xiao was also worried that the huge changes in the plot would lead to the premature death of powerhouses like Garrot, who would shine in the future. It would be a loss, so he might as well end the free-range approach and concentrate them all to ensure that they wouldn't die prematurely.

"If they knew the truth, they would all have to thank me. For the sake of the universe's peace, I've really put my heart and soul into it. Maybe this is boundless love. I admire myself so much. How could there be such a great man in the world..."

Han Xiao was about to move himself to tears and felt that his skin had thickened a bit.