Chapter 190: Hidden Main Storyline (1)
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
“Fighting him was an accident. You know me—I won’t take revenge.” Hannes shook his head.
Garian cut in and said, “Let me guess, he is the recently active Black Phantom. He’s the only newbie worth mentioning in your organization.”
Hannes froze in place. He started thinking and said, “Turns out it’s Black Phantom. I’ve heard of him although I retired and don’t pay attention to freshmen. He’s quite tough. Seems like you’ve got yourself a great warrior Bennett.”
Bennett kept silent. Just as Hannes said, he also felt that he had found a treasure.
Back when he first met Black Phantom, his code name was still Mr. Black, and he was only a scorpion. He had been quite strong but still very far from top tier. He had also seemed like Bennett’s fan and gave Bennett some presents that suited his taste. Thus, Bennett had given him some guidance, but it was only a random act, and he did not take Han Xiao very seriously.
However, within a short few months, Han Xiao had shaken the underworld with his battle record and become one of the top ten killers and an undoubted ace of the Blood Pact Society. The speed that he grew at surprised Bennett.
Although they had not battled with each other, Bennett could feel the strength difference between him and Han Xiao decreasing at a very fast rate.
With Black Phantom’s potential, sooner or later, he would become someone that could share the responsibilities with him so that he did not have to do everything alone. Black Phantom’s partnership with the Dark Net was at the honeymoon stage, so Bennett paid a lot of attention to it.
“Since he’s one of your people, I want him to help us do something,” Hannes said.
Bennett rejected and said, “Black Phantom is not my subordinate, and I cannot command him. The most I can do is help you ask, but it still depends on his response.”
Hannes pondered and said, “Alright, I would like to talk to him myself.”
“That can be done.”
The call ended.
“You want to let a stranger join us?” Vernina said with surprise. “Although he’s strong, we know nothing about him.”
“He’s very strong. What’s bad about having another person assist us? We don’t need to keep what we’re doing a secret anyway.”
Garian was the initiator of the mission, and he completely agreed with what Hannes wanted to do. “We’re digging for a big secret, and three of us is not enough. I have been collecting intelligence for many years and have finally found some leads—I need to know no matter what.”
“One day, you’ll die of your curiosity,” Hannes said with a heavy heart.
...
As the sun began to rise, Han Xiao returned to the Dark Net’s safehouse. Golden Fox and Ghost Blade had been awake for the whole night. Seeing him return, Golden Fox breathed a sigh of relief.
“Is the mission completed?” Ghost Blade questioned. “Did you follow my plan?”
“Your plan wouldn’t work.” Han Xiao shook his head and briefly described the challenges he faced during the infiltration. Ghost Blade’s intelligence had missed out some details, and these were very important details.
After what Han Xiao said, Ghost Blade noticed there were errors and flaws to the intelligence that he had collected, despite him thinking it was as detailed as it could be. He felt shamed as Han Xiao pointed out the details that he had missed.
Ghost Blade had originally been very confident of his precise plan, but he realized that following the plan would not have been enough to deal with the sudden changes of situation. Yet Han Xiao improvised on the spot and completed the mission seemingly with ease like it was nothing.
The difference made Ghost Blade feel defeated and embarrassed.
But he realized that Han Xiao had no intention of blaming or insulting him; rather, he did not seem to care about what he was thinking at all. Ghost Blade was completely ignored; plus, having been slapped in the face by reality, he felt even more embarrassed.
Whether it’s taunting or respecting, he doesn’t care about what I think, Ghost Blade thought with discontent. It felt like he was provoking someone, but that someone treated him like air and completely ignored him. It was like punching a cotton ball. Furthermore, with their difference in position and strength, he felt his actions were even more laughable.
Being ignored felt horrible for Ghost Blade—it was like he was just an extra, and he felt like something was clogging his heart.
Although Han Xiao did not know about the change of attitude from Ghost Blade, he was able to guess it. It was probably nothing more than arrogance and doubts, then getting slapped by reality and feeling embarrassed. Han Xiao’s heart was completely unaffected.
Everyone’s mind was different. Whether it was childish or crazy, everyone would have thoughts that were way out of line. But as long as they did not act on it, it would forever be a secret. Therefore, the great Han Xiao did not care about the thoughts and emotions of others—that would be more meaningless than a pair of spectacles without lenses.
Whether Ghost Blade doubted or respected him, it would not affect his emotions even for a little bit. There was nothing that described this characteristic of his better than the phrase ‘doing things his own way’.
This was the legendary calming aura.
Golden Fox licked her bright, tender lips, and her emotions were complicated.
The first time she saw Black Phantom was in the manor defending mission a few months ago. Black Phantom had just been a scorpion back then—his rank had been even lower than hers. But in a few months, she was still in the same place, while Black Phantom had climbed up in a short time to be an ace of the Blood Pact Society as well as made a connection with the superiors of Dark Net.
Golden Fox envied Black Phantom’s position, but she knew she did not have what it took.
If she could sacrifice her body to have Black Phantom back her up, she would definitely do it, but it was too bad that Han Xiao had no interest in her.
She could understand it—what was wrong with men being weird?
Not bothering with the puzzled Golden Fox, Han Xiao opened the safe and took out the equipment that he had previously placed inside. There was no need to stay in Maple now that the mission was done. As he was getting ready to leave, his phone rang. It was Bennett.
Han Xiao picked up the phone.
“I have completed your request. There were some small accidents along the way, but I was overall stable.”
“I knew you wouldn’t fail. I have something else for you,” Bennett said. “The enemy you met in the middle of the mission was actually my friend. You might have heard of them before, Hannes and Vernina. They are from my era, ”
Han Xiao acted surprised. “Oh, what a coincidence.”
“It’s surprising that you didn’t lose. You were much weaker when I first met you,” Bennett said in awe. “The speed you’re improving at has surpassed my knowledge.”
“Are you calling just to compliment me?” Han Xiao said. “Go on, don’t stop. I can still endure it.”
With twitching lips, Bennett took a deep breath and calmed his emotions. “Hannes has asked me to tell you that he wants your help. Regarding the conflict earlier, it was just a misunderstanding.”
“Wants my help?” Han Xiao’s eyes twinkled. He realized that this was a mission that came to him without him looking for it!
Or to put in in a more direct way, he had met the requirements of triggering this storyline—he had legendary points and sufficient relationship with the Dark Net, and he was friends with Bennett while his level was high enough. Therefore, the hidden storyline had come to him.
Legendary points and relationships with organizations had their benefits. Sometimes, NPCs would come looking for the player and task them with a mission. These missions were usually more difficult than usual, but they also rewarded generously.
Missions coming to the players and players looking to trigger missions everywhere were treated very differently, just like the difference between seeking help from others and others seeking help from you.
Therefore, players favored attributes like legendary points that could give them a very good gaming experience.
“I could help them, but I need to know the details.” Han Xiao thought for a second and added, “Since they are your friends, they are my friends too. Don’t worry about that small conflict.”
This sentence made Bennett feel very good. He laughed in a very ‘reserved’ way, but he could not hide the fact that he was feeling comfortable all over. Since Han Xiao had given him so much respect, he would return the favor. “Count it as me owing you a favor. Hehe. Seems like I owe you quite a few favors already.”