Thugs snatched the slaves, so they no longer belonged to Hollaid. The slaves were then rescued by Longtan, resulting in two separate accounts. Han Xiao unlocked all the slaves' shackles. No one could prove they had ever been slaves, and no one could refute if they were said to be free people.

Hollaid was rendered speechless. He lost the slaves and could only retrieve them by force, but he didn't have the authority. The only way was to bribe the guards, but the squad leader, Veshander, was right beside him, with no intention of interfering, obviously supporting Han Xiao's position. With the squad leader's tacit approval, who would dare to act without authorization?

Hollaid saw Xi En among the guards. Xi En trembled and hurriedly shrank back, retreating behind the crowd. Seeing this, Hollaid knew he couldn't count on Xi En—this guy had been scared out of his wits by Black Star's people.

Looking at Han Xiao's calm expression, Hollaid was filled with anger, but for the sake of the slaves, he could only suppress his anger. No longer able to be smug, he came to Han Xiao and said in a voice only the two of them could hear, "Okay, you win. You only need the Silver Spirits, right? The Silver Spirits are yours. The other slaves have nothing to do with you. I can pay to buy them back. Name your price."

Han Xiao held the initiative, and Hollaid could only painfully give up the Silver Spirits, preparing to bleed to redeem the other slaves. Otherwise, his business would be ruined.

"I said earlier, there are only free people here," Han Xiao shrugged.

Hollaid misunderstood, his face darkened, and he said angrily, "Don't go too far! The Chief Steward won't let you swallow all the slaves alone!"

"Swallow alone? Heh, don't you understand? They're not slaves anymore," Han Xiao said lightly.

"You… are you sick?!" Hollaid's tone was astonished. He thought Han Xiao wanted more money, but now he realized that Han Xiao intended to let all the slaves go, truly letting them regain their freedom. It was too wasteful, and he couldn't understand it. What was Han Xiao's purpose in rescuing these unrelated slaves for free?!

Just then, a flyer landed, and Chief Steward Jenny arrived on the scene with her people. Hollaid's eyes lit up, as if he had found a backer. He glared at Han Xiao fiercely, then hurriedly ran towards Jenny.

"Chief Steward, I—I hope to get my slaves back…" Hollaid recounted the events, complaining to his superior, "That new recruit, Black Star, wants to release my slaves. How can that be allowed? He doesn't take you seriously at all."

"I understand," Jenny nodded lightly and walked towards Han Xiao.

Hollaid immediately felt confident, following behind, staring at Han Xiao with a sneer.

Jenny came to Han Xiao and said, "Black Star, you've done a great job. If you hadn't exposed the enemy's actions, they might have succeeded. This would have been a huge blow to the credibility of the Longtan Guards, especially when Lord Dragon Seat is away. You did very well. I will record this achievement in your file and increase your trust authority. Those who perform meritorious service will receive substantial material rewards. You can choose monetary rewards or something else…"

She paused, adding, "Although this is a bit late… welcome to Longtan."

[Longtan Favorability +300, Current Relationship: Neutral (700/1000)]

Han Xiao nodded, not at all surprised by Jenny's attitude. Earlier, while chatting with Veshander, Jenny had also joined the communication channel. Han Xiao had recounted the events to her and reached a consensus privately. Only Hollaid was kept in the dark, still thinking he had found a savior.

The more Hollaid listened, the more he felt something was wrong. Why didn't Jenny seem to be standing up for him, but instead came specifically to praise Han Xiao? He couldn't sit still and cautiously interjected, "Chief Steward, about the slaves…"

Jenny glanced at him and said lightly, "We only trade in slaves, we never capture slaves ourselves. Since they are free, let them go."

Jenny was acting officially. Longtan was, after all, a neutral force, at most doing business as a middleman in the slave trade, and wouldn't lower its status to capture slaves itself. Moreover, Han Xiao was a meritorious figure in this incident, and she would take this into account, appropriately granting privileges and tacitly approving Han Xiao's actions. Besides, the slave business had mediocre profits, and Hollaid embezzled a portion of the transaction amount every year, which she had seen but never interfered with. Today, since the opportunity presented itself, she naturally wouldn't speak up for Hollaid.

Hollaid was dumbfounded, frustration echoing in his chest, almost exploding it. Looking at Han Xiao's teasing eyes, his mouth twisted with anger, and he couldn't help but say, "I suspect that this attack was orchestrated by Black Star, just to rescue the Silver Spirits. That's right, that must be it. Those thugs were all hired by him, and he also let a group of people escape. That group must be his accomplices!"

The more Hollaid spoke, the more animated he became, saliva flying everywhere. Although it was a sudden idea, he felt that his guess was reasonable.

Han Xiao raised an eyebrow, not taking it seriously, and said, "We're colleagues, how can you frame me like that?" Although Hollaid was trying to shift the blame onto him, his intentions were sinister, but this guess was completely unfounded because they had a solid alibi, and it came precisely from Jenny.

Jenny didn't trust him, the newcomer, so she arranged for people to secretly monitor them, but this time it became the most powerful evidence! So Jenny was unmoved. She frowned and said, "Alright, this matter ends here. Hollaid, you have unjustly slandered a colleague, you are temporarily suspended. After you calm down, I will assign you a new job."

Hollaid felt a chill in his heart, knowing that the overall situation was set. He hated it so much that his teeth itched. Suddenly, he remembered that he had dealt with Han Xiao this way before, and Han Xiao had retaliated in the same way. This time, he had become the helpless party. A sense of powerlessness swept through his body. He simply didn't care and, rolling his eyes, fell straight down, fainting again.

—Anyway, nothing can be changed, so I might as well sleep for a while, lest I be angered to death by the mocking eyes of the people around me.

Ignoring the Hollaid lying on the ground, Han Xiao coughed and said, "Jenny, I…"

"You should call me Chief… never mind, just call me by my name," Jenny's face flashed with an unusual expression. Usually, only the boss, Ames, and her equals, Veshander and Haire, called her by her name, because her capable and strong style made her subordinates respect and fear her. This was the first time she had been called by her first name by a subordinate, and it felt strange.

Han Xiao continued, "I know the identity of the people who escaped, they are not ordinary thugs…" Saying that, Han Xiao lowered his voice and whispered, "They are from DarkStar."

Jenny's eyes narrowed suddenly, and she said in a deep voice, "After you finish your work here, come to me immediately for a detailed report."

With that, Jenny left in a hurry with her people, leaving only the logistics team to clear the ruins.

Han Xiao and the others came to the side, and all the rescued slaves stared at him, their eyes filled with different emotions, all apprehensive. They had finally gained freedom and didn't want to lose it again, unsure of what would happen next.

Han Xiao stepped forward, looked around, and said lightly, "My name is Black Star, the leader of the Black Star mercenary group. Remember my name. I gave you freedom, you owe me a favor. Maybe someday we'll meet again, and I'll need your help. You can go now."

All the slaves were stunned. One person asked tremblingly, "W-we can really leave?"

Han Xiao waved his hand, indicating that they could leave at any time.

One person cautiously walked out, turning back every few steps, until he had walked dozens of meters and found that no one was stopping him. Joy arose spontaneously.

"Really free!" The crowd couldn't believe it, freedom had come so easily.

But the first slave who walked out did not immediately run away, but turned around, his face full of gratitude, and gave Han Xiao a great salute of his race, shouting, "Black Star, I will remember this name."

One after another, the slaves left with gratitude, showing Han Xiao all kinds of salutes. Han Xiao didn't feel much, but the players behind him suddenly felt a sense of accomplishment and gratification, holding their heads high, feeling like they had done a great deed.

Melos felt the most empathy and patted Han Xiao on the shoulder, praising, "Well done."

The members looked at Han Xiao's figure, their eyes full of kindness. At this moment, a sense of identity with Han Xiao arose. To make players like a character, besides strength, there is another condition, that is, personal charm and a sense of identification. The image that Han Xiao has created for the players has always been relatively positive, and the act of liberating slaves has raised his image again.

Rou Bao faithfully recorded this scene.

Han Xiao turned his head to look and saw that there were still a few slaves of the same race left in place, not leaving.

"Why aren't you leaving?"

These few people were obviously acquainted, looking somewhat similar. They looked at each other, and one of them said, "Our brothers were originally mercenaries, we used to follow a small mercenary group. We encountered danger during a mission, and most of the members were killed, only we managed to escape, but we were captured by slave traders and imprisoned for more than a year. Our team has long been destroyed, and we have nowhere to go. We hope you can take us in and give us a job. You are our benefactor, and we are willing to be at your disposal."