Chapter 434: Father (1)
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Buzz!
At this time, a hologram appeared in the middle of the hall. It was an individual wearing luxurious clothes who looked similar to lizards. He scanned the entire place, looked at Han Xiao, and said in a confused tone, “The system of a spaceship under our organization was hacked. Black Star, did you do this?”
“Your response is too slow; I’ve been waiting for you.” Han Xiao leaned back on the sofa and looked up at this lizardman, temporarily putting Sylvia’s case aside.
This spaceship belonged to a galactic travel agency, so the organization had the highest level of authorization. As soon as the spaceship was taken away by an outsider, the organization would notice it right away and locate the spaceship, unless the connection was cut. However, doing so not only required hacking technology but also all sorts of disrupting and invading hardware, only then would the highest level of authorization be blocked. Han Xiao took the captain’s authorization, so he had known long ago that the actual owner of the spaceship would find him.
Although the spaceship was under his control, there was no way to block the owner’s range surveillance. With his technology level, it would take a few days to half a month to change the basic setting of the spaceship and erase the rights of the highest level of authorization. The deeper the authorization level was, the stronger its defense was; the difference in difficulty was like the difference between hacking into a small enterprise and hacking into the government.
The lizardman had thought that the spaceship had been stolen, but seeing the current situation, there seemed to be something else. He suppressed his rage and asked about what happened.
Han Xiao explained what had happened in a simple way. Knowing that the captain had been replaced and someone had tried to kill the passengers during the trip, the lizardman’s face changed tremendously... but the humans present could not see it.
“I took your spaceship because I trusted your travel agency, but I faced such a huge danger. Your reputation is very disappointing! If potential customers hear about this, who would want to take your spaceship that’s so unsafe?” Han Xiao pressed on his heart and spoke with an exaggerated tone, blackmailing under bright daylight. “Tsk... I have yet to recover from the terror. I am so upset. You have to compensate me for this, including mental damage, lost wages, post-trauma checkup, and others.”
The lizardman swung his tail and said with frustration, “I’m sorry, this is a dereliction of duty from our organization. We will definitely deal with it and give you compensations accordingly...”
Assassinations were hard to guard against. His travel agency had been dragged into that mess as well, but there was nothing he could do. After all, it had happened on his spaceship.
There were many galactic travel agencies in the universe, so the competition was quite intense. If this was spread out in an exaggerated way, their brand image would definitely be affected. At least Black Star was a mercenary group that worked for money and kept their word—he was willing to compensate and avoid the damages.
This travel agency owned dozens of spaceships and made close to a thousand Enas every day, it would be a waste if Han Xiao did not make them pay. Han Xiao directly stated an outrageous amount, and after some negotiation, both of them barely agreed with compensation of 30,000 Enas.
After receiving the 30,000 Enas, Han Xiao now had around 840,000 Enas. He sighed in his heart and felt that blackmailing was a much quicker way to earn money compared to being a mercenary... but not as quick as earning from the players’ wallets.
“Before you recall this spaceship, lend it to me for a few days. Anyways, you guys can track it and will know where the spaceship is,” Han Xiao said.
“This... alright.”
After agreeing, the upset lizardman turned off the communication.
Han Xiao did not intend to take the spaceship away. He was not a kid that could just snatch someone else’s candy. Robbing a spaceship with an official owner will make him wanted, unless there were no witnesses. The cons outweighed the pros, and it was not as safe as blackmailing the owners. In his previous life, many players proved the consequences of robbing spaceships with actions. Regardless of whether they succeeded or failed, they would become wanted and be chased by mercenaries, bounty hunters, and the patrolling law enforcement of all civilizations. Their initial Favorability with the various lawful civilizations would drop by a huge amount as well. Also, if they were discovered in the cities or planets belonging to the lawful factions, they would be surrounded by the guards and imprisoned. It was not worth it at all.
Han Xiao had no interest in walking down the same path. He had no urgent need for spaceships, so he did not want to risk it. Furthermore, he knew how to get spaceships for free without the side effects, so of course, he was not interested in robbing the spaceship.
After this matter was settled, Han Xiao looked at Sylvia again.
This teenage girl was tied up tightly and was slumping at the side. Her low eyelashes trembled continuously, looking extremely pitiful and heartbreaking. However, this had absolutely no effect on the Great Mechanic Han. Only dead enemies were good enemies ...
“Wait a minute... who tied her up like this‽”
Han Xiao had only just realized the superb tying skills used on Sylvia.
Bun-Hit-Dog raised his hand immediately like a good student answering a question. He said with a bright smile on his face, “I did. Doesn’t it look amazing?”
“You’re really letting yourself go.” Frenzied Sword’s mouth twitched.
On the side, Herlous shook his head and asked, “Black Star, what are you planning to do with her?”
Han Xiao played with a firearm, glanced at him, and said, “Judging from your tone, you seem to have some suggestions. You should speak if you have any. I’m not a dictator—I believe in democracy.”
Herlous paused and chose his words carefully. “She said, ‘You dishonorable mercenaries helped those tyrants suppress the people who are suffering.’ I think she has definitely misunderstood some details. We all know full well what kind of person Langley is, but she doesn’t seem to. I think... isn’t it better to ask about it first?”
Then, Herlous sighed and said, “After all, I understand the impulse of revenge. Not mentioning the fact that she’s just a child, if there was a chance for me to assassinate the leader of DarkStar, I would not even hesitate.”
“I see, good for you.” Han Xiao’s mouth twitched. He turned around, looked at the players behind him and asked, “What about you guys? Any suggestions?”
The players froze, not expecting to be asked.
“Us? Anything.”
“Whatever is fine.”
“Anything is fine... but which one gives a better reward?”
“This girl is quite pretty—it’s a shame to kill her.”
The players replied carelessly. Most of them were male—they preferred to be decisive and get it done with. The female players like Rainy Kim and Maple Moon were more gentle and suggested searching for the truth.
Sylvia clenched her teeth tightly and tried her best to show a fierce face, but her body was still shivering. She had no power to resist and could only wait for her fate to be decided by someone else.
Han Xiao narrowed his eyes and stared at her as he contemplated.
He had many ways to deal with this; killing was the simplest one. As long as he pulled the trigger on Sylvia, who was acting tough but shivering in fear, the players in the future would lose thousands of parodies, making her journey end on his hand before it even started. He had a reason to do so. He was just killing an enemy, so no one could say that there was anything wrong with that.
With the blood of countless people on his hands, Han Xiao did not care for one more future known character.
However, he was not a bloodthirsty person. To him, killing was just a method; benefits were his real goal.
The question that was on his mind was if he could get more benefits from Sylvia and whether killing her or not killing her was more beneficial.
It did not matter whether Sylvia would be good or evil in the future; the Great Mechanic Han only needed someone with value, just like that crazy woman Hila. No wait, he saved Aurora, so Hila was not crazy. But in the storyline in his previous life, Hila wiped out entire planets of lives, so it would not be an overstatement to call her extremely wicked. Her power was what Han Xiao paid attention to, not her personality, beauty, or things like that.
There were many types of enemies. Archenemies that could not be negotiated with such as the Germinal Organization and DarkStar, competitors that could be friend or foe, enemies from misunderstandings, and so on. The way he saw it, Sylvia was an enemy born from a misunderstanding, and Han Xiao knew what misunderstanding it was.
Langley was a criminal rebel, but as a father, he had definitely hidden something from his daughter or even lied to her, finding excuses for his actions. Therefore, Sylvia thought that her father’s actions were fighting against a tyrant and that he was saving his people.
According to the experience from his previous life, Sylvia was quite righteous—she was just blinded by hatred and lies. If she knew what kind of person her father was, she might give up on her revenge as she did in Han Xiao’s previous life. Han Xiao had known the truth since long ago, and he knew how to quickly change Sylvia’s perspective. To him, those were just small deeds... but this was not the key.
The key was, what benefit could he get from doing that?
Hmm... maybe a certain mission can be triggered. Since there are some rewards, she still has some value. That shall be it then, keep her alive temporarily and complete the mission first, then deal with it depending on the situation. If she still is hostile... then I shall bury her.
Release her? That was completely impossible.
From the perspective of a businessman, Sylvia was not just a person but a resource that had value. His assets were not so large to the extent that he could throw away money on the streets and waste resources.
Upon having these thoughts, Han Xiao stood up and said, “Pack up and prepare to leave. Knock her out and lock her up.”
Sylvia’s tiny face was filled with shock. She looked up and said, “Where are you taking me?”
“To see your father,” Han Xiao said coldly.
Sylvia’s eyes widened instantly; she could not believe it.