Chapter 1 The Dragon Tane Plan

The Dragon Tane Floating Island floated above a giant gas planet. Small, unmanned collectors shuttled back and forth like a busy swarm of bees, collecting gaseous fuel and transporting it back to Dragon Tane.

At the guard base, Han Xiao met Weishande, who had a medical bandage wrapped around his head, still oozing blood.

As soon as he saw Han Xiao, he excitedly walked up, put his arm around Han Xiao's shoulder, pulled him aside, and asked in a low, excited voice.

"That plan you mentioned, I think it's interesting. I told Jenny, and she agreed. Did you bring the thing?"

Han Xiao took out the secret language bead, stuffed it into Weishande's hand, and said, "Just do as we discussed before. By the way, can you act? If not, I'll teach you."

Weishande looked disgusted, "Do I need you to teach me? How do you think I whitewashed my reputation and joined Dragon Tane? Just wait for my good news!"

With that, he put away the secret language bead, chuckled slyly, and couldn't wait to summon his men to set off. The spaceship took off, drew a curve, flew towards the direction of the Sacred Stone, a flash of light, and disappeared into hyperspace.

"Why is this guy more anxious than me?" Han Xiao was dumbfounded.

What he didn't know was that Weishande spent his days on Dragon Tane catching petty thieves and maintaining law and order. Being able to go out and stir up trouble—no matter who he stirred up—was as happy as a holiday. As a former space pirate with demon blood, he had chaotic genes in his bones. Being able to endure staying on Dragon Tane was… perhaps this was love, yuck.

…

Several garrison space stations were like anchors fixed on the border of the Sacred Stone. A huge metal base floated in the universe. The third squadron was on duty. The Sacred Stone's warships patrolled back and forth. In the command room of the Flowing Light, Xiwadi was half-lying on the commander's chair, his legs resting on the control panel, his hands behind his head, squinting and dozing off, as leisurely as sunbathing.

At this time, a subordinate reported.

"Commander, a spaceship is approaching, and they have sent a contact request…"

Xiwadi didn't even open his eyes and asked lazily, "Who is it?"

"Uh, one of the three departments of Dragon Tane, the guard captain, 'Red Wing' Weishande."

Thump!

All the crew members saw the commander fall directly from his seat.

Xiwadi hurriedly supported the swivel chair to stand up, his expression stiff.

What he feared was coming. As soon as he heard the name Dragon Tane, he had a bad premonition.

The other party was the guard captain of Dragon Tane. Since he saw the Dragon Seat's power a few days ago, Xiwadi naturally didn't dare not give him face and quickly approved the request.

The Flowing Light came to the border line, and a socket was opened on the side of the warship. Active mechanical magnetic tentacles were used to attract the spaceship. Weishande boarded the Flowing Light, and Xiwadi led his men to greet him. The two sides met on the bridge.

"Are you an officer of the Sacred Stone?" Weishande asked expressionlessly.

Xiwadi nodded, "Xiwadi, the commander of the third squadron of the Sacred Stone Border Defense Force. May I ask why you are here."

"Well, it's like this. Some time ago, our members were hunted down by DarkStar. His Excellency Dragon Seat personally took action and defeated DarkStar. The rescued mercenaries revealed that DarkStar's target was a black bead. Black Star reported this to me. I took a precautionary attitude and asked my subordinates to search for it on Dragon Tane. I didn't expect the bead to be on Dragon Tane. It turned out that it was picked up by one of my guards. He handed over the bead, and we were preparing to hand it over to Godora… Since this area is your territory, please hand it over on our behalf. We won't waste time making another trip."

Weishande spoke righteously and seriously, took out the secret language bead, and shoved it into the hands of the stunned Xiwadi.

"This, this… what, I… don't…"

Xiwadi was dumbfounded and incoherent.

"The thing has been delivered, I'm leaving."

Weishande turned around smartly.

He came in a hurry and left in a hurry, leaving behind a hot potato, without taking away a cloud.

For Xiwadi, this was an unexpected disaster, which was a pain in the ass. Moreover, he had no way to refuse. Although this matter was sensitive, it was just a matter of convenience. There was no need not to give Dragon Tane face. When he thought of the scene of Dragon Tane crashing into the DarkStar mothership, his legs went weak. He couldn't afford to offend him.

Xiwadi quickly reported to the higher-ups. After discussion, they had no intention of coveting the secret language bead. Dragon Tane was an insider, and they couldn't hide it. Moreover, keeping the secret language bead would easily be targeted by DarkStar. DarkStar clearly valued this thing very much. They didn't know what was inside.

At this time, a choice was placed in front of the Sacred Stone—should they open the secret language bead and take a look?

The answer was yes!

Even if they didn't covet the things they handled, they should at least take a peek and have a number in their hearts. Anyway, the sealing array could be restored, so they weren't afraid.

The Sacred Stone quickly dispatched appraisal magicians and spent a day opening the secret language bead. However, the result dumbfounded them. It was empty.

How could it be empty?!

What did DarkStar want this thing for? Was there any important information hidden?

This made the Sacred Stone realize the result of handing it over. The secret language bead was empty, which would arouse Godora's suspicion and make them think that they had taken the things inside, and they couldn't clear their name.

The Sacred Stone was even more of a pain in the ass. A natural idea emerged—could it be that Dragon Tane took the things inside? Handing it over to the Sacred Stone might be a way to shift the blame… but was it necessary for Dragon Tane to do this? DarkStar itself wouldn't provoke them!

Originally, the Sacred Stone wanted to hide the fact that they had secretly looked at it, but now they had no choice but to contact Godora and tell the truth… there was nothing inside originally. They didn't take it. It was empty when Dragon Tane gave it to them. It might have been taken away by Dragon Tane long ago.

Godora's reaction was simple—do you think I believe it?

You Sacred Stone, you stole the things inside and wanted us to misunderstand Dragon Tane and burn ourselves. Your heart is punishable!

The Sacred Stone suffered in silence, unable to explain themselves. Anyway, they insisted that they didn't take anything.

The two sides suspected each other, but the things still had to be handed over. After discussion, they decided to hand them over secretly.

…

Dragon Tane Floating Island.

After receiving Weishande's message, Han Xiao breathed a sigh of relief.

"Now the blame has been thrown out."

Although DarkStar had failed once, they wouldn't give up and would still track the secret language bead, and he and the mercenaries were obviously the number one target. This was a hidden danger.

Han Xiao did this to clear his suspicion and divert attention so that he could get away safely, so that other mercenaries would be safe.

Godora and the Sacred Stone would probably keep it secret. However, the next step was to have Weishande pretend to accidentally leak the news and destroy their original intention, and the Sacred Stone would emphasize that the secret language bead had been given to Godora in order not to be targeted by DarkStar. DarkStar didn't need to guess where the secret language bead was anymore. They would go directly to Godora and wouldn't involve others, which was very important in Han Xiao's view.

Godora was already at odds with DarkStar, so they didn't care. The Sacred Stone was the most unlucky, inexplicably dragged into the water, and also attracted Godora's suspicion. They were neither inside nor outside. Han Xiao actually had many targets to choose from. The Sacred Stone had framed him once, so he could frame them back this time.

You don't want to cause trouble? It's okay, I'll help you cause it~

With the secret language bead in Godora's hands, DarkStar basically couldn't get it back. The truth that there was nothing inside was only known by the Sacred Stone and Godora. DarkStar would be kept in the dark. Even if DarkStar learned from other channels, they would think that Godora or the Sacred Stone had taken the things inside… at most, they would suspect the "mysterious force" that had impersonated and pursued the secret language bead.

The first force to discover the secret language bead in name was Dragon Tane, while Han Xiao had been hiding in the dark. Now he was extracted from the storm and kept out of it.

In any case, he and the mercenaries who had been hunted down were safe.

"In this way, the risk should be minimized. Although I now have the background of Dragon Tane, this is someone else's deterrent. My own strength is not enough, so it is not suitable to face DarkStar head-on. It is more important to accumulate and maintain a stable development trend."

The big stone in his heart finally fell to the ground, and Han Xiao felt a lot more relaxed.

His identity in Dragon Tane was a unit that operated outside, and he could act freely. With the goal achieved, he didn't stay long.

A few days later, Han Xiao took a tour group back to the Jubely Hub, which he had been away from for more than a month. Melos had already returned with his men and was resting and waiting for orders in the garrison.

The day before yesterday, the three major legions distributed Godora's reward, which was a lot of money, 30,000 Enas. With this money, the deposit on his account was more than 70,000, which was a new high. These were the direct income from this trip, not counting the players' share.

This trip was not very dangerous for the players. They had too little information and didn't know what happened throughout the whole process. With Han Xiao secretly maneuvering, they made a lot of money. Han Xiao was also very gratified that his hard work was not in vain. This was all purchasing power.

He didn't expect that the originally simple employment mission would become so twisting and turning in the end. Han Xiao took a lot of risks. This trip was originally just for compression technology, but there were a lot of unexpected gains, the value of which was much higher than he expected.

Benefits were accompanied by risks. Fortunately, he had played his subjective initiative and escaped dangerously.

The matter was finally over. After maneuvering for so long, Han Xiao finally had time to digest the harvest properly.

"With the compression technology in hand, the combat mode can be greatly innovated. I finally don't need to roll up my sleeves and do it myself."

In the mechanical modification room, Han Xiao rubbed his hands, his expression expectant.