Chapter 1 A Beginning

Streaks of faint blue stardust-filled contrails sliced through the inky canvas of space, stretching all the way from the depths of the cosmos to the Longtan Floating Island Port in the outer space of Aquamarine Star, leaving a rainbow across the sky that was visible to the residents of Longtan.

Although they were saddled with a slacker of a leader, Longtan had expanded to five islands, inhabited by hundreds of millions of residents, mostly Aquamarine Star natives who had come up here. Remaining on the surface meant being governed by the Aquamarine Federation, while Longtan, as a non-governmental neutral island, had a more liberal atmosphere and offered a taste of interstellar society not far from home, making it a great vacation destination, indirectly boosting the local tourism industry.

The Black Star Army fleet docked at the main pier, immediately attracting the attention of countless people on the platform. When Han Xiao led a group of subordinates in Black Star Army uniforms out of the ship's cabin, they were immediately surrounded by the excited crowd.

"It's really Black Star!"

"Compatriot, you are our pride!"

"Can I get your autograph! My grandpa loves you the most!"

Han Xiao and the others were swamped, surrounded by the crowd and unable to move an inch.

Listening to the clamorous shouts and feeling the enthusiasm of the crowd, Han Xiao used his skill Cloud Smile, and the effect was extraordinary, further elevating the emotions of the crowd.

Most of the people here were Aquamarine Star natives. Having been influenced since childhood, almost all of them were Black Star worshippers. Recently, due to the propaganda from the three great civilizations, his reputation was extremely high, and he was almost being worshipped by the Aquamarine Star natives as an omnipotent god.

At this moment, the Longtan soldiers who had been waiting for a long time came up and separated the crowd, leaving a passage.

Jenny walked up expressionlessly and said in an insincere tone:

"Welcome to Longtan, Your Excellency Black Star."

"Your tone doesn't sound very welcoming," Han Xiao joked.

"No, I'm very happy." Jenny stared with dead fish eyes, slightly stepping aside and gesturing for him to enter. "Follow me."

The two of them led a group of subordinates away, leaving many people behind at the pier, watching the group's backs disappear from sight. Many people exchanged winks, revealing a "you know" expression.

The scandal between Black Star and Dragon Emperor had been circulating in the Shattered Star Ring for decades, and it was even more well known in the Aquamarine Star region.

Nothing comes from nothing. Black Star frequently visited Longtan, and Dragon Emperor moved her base to Black Star's hometown. If you said there was nothing going on between them, even if you beat Bennett to death, the Aquamarine Star natives wouldn't believe it.

Han Xiao and Jenny walked in the front, leading their men through the streets, attracting countless surprised and excited gazes from passersby, chatting idly.

"You seem to be in a good mood today?" Han Xiao glanced at her.

"Why do you say that?" Jenny asked, puzzled.

"Your attitude towards me isn't as bad as before."

"… Hmph." Jenny snorted through her nose. "If you like, I can go back to how I was."

She had never really liked Black Star, partly because she didn't like this guy who added to her workload, and partly because of Ames. However, after seeing the recent news, Jenny, although she didn't say it, actually admired him a little. If she were to speak ill of Black Star again at this time, she wouldn't be able to get past her own conscience.

"Tsk tsk, that's soulless." Han Xiao shook his head jokingly. "I still prefer your untamed look."

Jenny secretly rolled her eyes and ignored Han Xiao.

Just then, the group reached an intersection and heard a dense patter of footsteps, as well as the crisp sound of metal rubbing.

Everyone looked in the direction of the sound and saw a group of Longtan warriors in dark gold heavy armor pushing a group of different races with black cloths covering their heads, hurrying past from a nearby street.

The surrounding pedestrians quickly dodged and retreated, as if they were afraid of a tiger.

These heavy-armored warriors were completely covered in armor, unable to see their faces, and exuded an inexplicable cold and murderous aura. There were two emblems on the chest of the armor, one was the mark of Longtan, and the other was an unfamiliar emblem that Han Xiao had never seen before, presumably representing the identity of these people.

"What kind of unit is this? I don't think I saw them the last time I came," Han Xiao asked curiously.

"That's the Hunter Squad. They were recently separated from Vishand's security forces and became an independent organization," Jenny said succinctly.

Harrison, who was next to him, couldn't help but ask when he saw the bloodstains on the clothes of the detained creatures, "What are they going to do to those people?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Han Xiao and Jenny both turned to look at him with strange expressions.

"W-what's wrong?" Harrison was a little nervous, feeling uneasy under their gazes.

Jenny ignored him and looked at Han Xiao. "Black Star, where did you dig up this newbie? He doesn't seem to understand when it's his turn to speak."

"Don't say that, Harrison is a great young man, he's been a big help to me." Han Xiao didn't mind and smiled. "I just like your harshness. This is the right flavor."

"Hmph." Jenny turned her head to look at Harrison, waved her hand, and said, "Since you're so curious, let's go take a look, it's not far anyway."

"Uh... is that okay?" Harrison looked at Han Xiao.

"Let's go take a look then."

Han Xiao nodded. Although he was Harrison's domineering CEO now, he still tried to satisfy a small request from this owner of a high-level Luck Halo.

The group followed the Hunter Squad all the way to the edge of the Longtan Floating Island. A translucent light gold barrier separated them from the vacuum, and outside was outer space.

A large group of people were gathered in the distance. The Hunter Squad didn't care and didn't drive away the onlookers, focusing on doing their own thing. They lined up the people with black cloths over their heads in a row, then opened a small piece of the protective shield.

The golden barrier opened a small hole, and the group of people without armor protection were immediately sucked out, exposed to outer space, writhing in pain, like fish flopping on a cutting board.

Soon, the struggling of this group of people rapidly diminished. A layer of white frost appeared on each of them, and their bodily functions were destroyed by the vacuum. Only their heads were hidden under the black hoods, otherwise, you could see their painful and twisted facial expressions.

The next moment, the Hunter Squad raised their guns in unison and fired at the same time.

The energy guns fired emerald green lasers, blasting this group of guys who were about to turn into ice sculptures into pieces, turning them into clusters of light dust, drifting into the depths of space.

"Is this an execution?" Harrison widened his eyes. "What did they do? Isn't this a little too cruel?"

Although he had never been to the Shattered Star Ring, he had done some research on Longtan's general situation after hearing that the itinerary had changed.

Because the Black Star Army's Star Pirate Happy House was too famous, the star pirates of the Shattered Star Ring were carrying out a large-scale industrial transfer and running to other areas, and Longtan no longer accepted star pirate dockings. It had become a free city with good security.

He thought that the atmosphere in Longtan was very good, but he didn't expect that a Longtan unit would carry out a death sentence in front of countless onlookers. This was not a manifestation of good security, and on-the-spot executions were mostly a characteristic of terror rule. It was hard for him to imagine that he would see such barbaric acts here.

Jenny said dissatisfiedly, "Cruel? Look at the people around you, who thinks it's cruel?"

Harrison turned his head and looked around, and was stunned to find that every onlooker had a look of satisfaction on their faces, without the slightest bit of pity, and some people were even applauding.

Jenny looked at Han Xiao and hummed, "The greater the fame, the more enemies. In recent years, many infiltration incidents have occurred on Aquamarine Star. These criminals are spies and rebels from different organizations. They have advanced equipment and aim to infiltrate Aquamarine Star, harming you by subverting your home planet... Some people have set their sights on Longtan, trying to establish secret strongholds here, or use Longtan's geographical location to launch lethal weapons at Aquamarine Star, so we established the Hunter Squad to specifically eliminate these spies... Black Star, we have helped you block a lot of pressure."

Hearing this, Harrison understood. Most of the onlookers were Aquamarine Star natives, so no wonder they looked so gleeful—this group of criminals had no environmental awareness and tried to throw objects from high altitudes to damage their home planet. Executing them on the spot was not only not cruel, but also reassured the public.

"Thanks," Han Xiao smiled. Ames had moved Longtan here in order to block these malicious attacks against his hometown.

"Is that all I get, just a thank you?"

Han Xiao thought for a while, "Then next time I'll bring you some special magic potions for hair growth as a gift."

"… Go find Ames yourself!"

Jenny's face turned green, and she resisted the urge to curse and turned to leave.

Seeing this, Harrison muttered in a low voice beside him, puzzled, "Your Excellency Black Star, you are a top figure in the universe, why does this woman dare to be so disrespectful to you?"

"I've known her for decades, and we've always been like this, arguing and bickering. It's meaningless to talk about status between friends." Han Xiao waved his hand.

"So that's how it is, you are truly magnanimous..." Harrison subtly delivered a rainbow fart, then asked, "What's her name?"

"You don't know? Jenny is the chief steward of Longtan, Dragon Emperor's sister and best friend. It should be easy to find online."

"I didn't check that closely... So her name is Jenny, I think she's quite pretty..."

"... When did you go blind?"

Han Xiao suddenly stopped and looked down at his expression, his tone surprised:

"You don't mean you've fallen for her, have you?"

Harrison's face turned slightly red, and he twisted and turned. "I can't say I've fallen for her, after all, this is the first time I've met her..."

"Oh, I get it, you're just lusting after her body."

Harrison was immediately speechless, unable to respond.

Han Xiao narrowed his eyes. He didn't know about Jenny's love life in his previous life, but Harrison was a bachelor until he sacrificed himself to the World Tree civilization. He had never heard of him having a partner or children.

Although Jenny might be more than a hundred years older than Harrison, she maintained herself well and looked about thirty years old.

Moreover, as the saying goes, a woman three years older brings a golden brick, a woman thirty years older gives away the empire, and a woman three hundred years older gives away immortality pills. Age is not a barrier, true love is invincible, this is a win-win situation.

There's hope!

With this in mind, Han Xiao patted Harrison on the shoulder and smiled.

"If you like her, go for it. I'll be your backing. Quickly take her down and teach her a lesson. It's only because I don't hold it against her. Otherwise, with her personality, she'll definitely get beaten up every three days and poisoned every five days when she goes out."

Harrison's face turned even redder, "What should I do? I have no experience..."

"Huh? You're a second-generation rich kid from a big consortium, and you've never had a girlfriend?"

"I used to prefer reading..."

"What a disgrace!" Han Xiao said with heartache, "What a waste of your family background!"

The two of them chatted as they led their men to the front of Ames's palace. Han Xiao told Harrison and the others to go to the base to wait, and he tidied up his clothes and stepped into Ames's palace.

He walked all the way to the garden full of exotic flowers and rare herbs, and saw Ames lying sideways on a long bed in the middle of the garden, her black dress like a blooming black flower. She was using her Esper Ability to manipulate the revival coin given to her by Hela to shuttle through the flowers, and the table next to her was full of sumptuous wine and food.

Hearing the footsteps, Ames grabbed the coin with her palm and turned to look at Han Xiao, smiling slightly and raising her hand to pat the bed next to her.

"You're here, come sit down, I've been waiting for you for a long time."

Han Xiao stepped forward, picked up a glass full of blue crystal wine from the table, sat on the side of the bed, took a sip of wine, and smacked his lips: "Is this Iso's old man's brew again?"

As soon as he finished speaking, his shoulder sank, and he felt a pair of fair arms wrap around him.

Ames put her chin on his shoulder from behind and asked curiously, "What did you do in the Ancient Star Desert? The news details are too few, I want to hear you tell me."

Han Xiao was not surprised by her intimate behavior. During the sub-dimension trip, the two of them had spent several months together day and night, and their relationship had become closer. Although Ames was a germaphobe and didn't like touching other people's bodies, he was not included in this category.

"Let's not talk about that, I brought you a gift."

Han Xiao snapped his fingers and popped up a virtual screen, which listed the ultimate knowledge of the Esper System.

"The three major civilizations have relaxed the restrictions and allowed me to exchange for ultimate knowledge to impart to others, but the number is limited. You pick one you want and I'll get it for you."

"That's so nice?" Ames blinked. "Let me guess, you're not just giving it to me, you'll also pass this knowledge on to other Espers, like Hela and the others, right?"

"That's right." Han Xiao nodded.

"That's more like you." Ames's lips curled slightly, and she looked at the screen, extending her slender finger to point to one of the items.

Han Xiao took a look. "This doesn't seem to be the most suitable for you."

"Didn't you say that the number of knowledge exchanges is limited? I don't care, as long as it's suitable for Hela and Aurora." Ames smiled lightly.

"You're too considerate of them." Han Xiao said helplessly.

"They are my only students, just like my children, who else would I be considerate of if not them." Ames casually punched Han Xiao's chest, making a thump sound, like drumming. "Quickly tell me a story, I want to hear it."

Han Xiao tilted his head back and drank the wine to moisten his throat, casually picked up a crystal-clear blue fruit from the table and threw it into his mouth, chewing as he told her in detail about his experiences in the Ancient Star Desert.

…

After telling stories for most of the day, Ames finally let Han Xiao go with satisfaction, and made an appointment to continue tomorrow.

Han Xiao left the palace and originally planned to go find Old Man Iso, but he didn't expect Old Man Iso to go to the army's base and take the initiative to come to him.

Back at the base, Han Xiao saw Iso sitting in the hall at a glance, with Harrison and the others accompanying him.

"Old man, I was just thinking of going to find you, did you foresee it again, so you came to find me first?"

Han Xiao sat down opposite Iso and joked.

"Stop fooling around, I'm here to talk to you about serious business today." Iso put down the cup in his hand, his tone somewhat serious.

"That's rare." Han Xiao was a little curious. "What do you want to talk to me about?"

"During this period of time, my passive precognition has been triggered very frequently. I think it's better to inform you about some things."

Iso raised his finger and said in a deep voice:

"First, I saw a special existence has descended on Aquamarine Star, and I have foreseen his clear appearance."

"Since you know his appearance, you can tell Bennett to send someone to compare it with global surveillance and find this person, right?"

"That's the problem..."

Iso frowned.

"I've searched the entire Aquamarine Star, and there are no records of this person in any surveillance footage, and there are no eyewitness reports... It's as if this person doesn't exist at all."

"Is your prophecy wrong?"

"No, this prophecy has never had such a strong sense of precognition. I can't explain why, but I can be sure that this prophecy is reliable."

"Then what else is special about this person you foresaw?"

Hearing this, Iso glanced at Han Xiao.

"In my prophecy... it seems that you have already had an intersection with him."

—

ps: (PY recommends a book, "Titan and Dragon King," by the author Ruixue Fengnian)

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