Chapter 187 Kidnapping and Extortion

Clang!

The heavy chains hit the ground. Kerlodd breathed a sigh of relief, stretched his limbs, and looked down at his naked body, feeling embarrassed. "Could I have..."

A set of clothes was thrown over. Kerlodd quickly put them on, feeling ashamed of being exposed.

Han Xiao stared at Kerlodd with a smile the entire time. Kerlodd’s personal account had galactic standard currency, and calling a starfaring tour group cost money. Han Xiao wasn’t sure if he would accept payment in supplies, so getting universal currency was a guarantee.

Besides, he really didn’t want to kill Kerlodd. Although he had the upper hand now, Godora would definitely know that an investigator had come to Aquamarine Star and unexpectedly lost contact. After a while, they would contact the Six Nations to ask about the situation and even send a new investigation team.

You can’t wrap fire in paper. Killing Kerlodd would only escalate the conflict. There was no need to be so extreme. Murdering for money wasn't necessarily a good habit. Keeping Kerlodd would prevent the matter from escalating from a personal problem to something more serious. An investigator encountering a minor danger wouldn't matter to Godora as long as no one died. This little conflict wasn't anything.

Of course, although Kerlodd had made a promise, Han Xiao wasn’t completely unprepared. At least on Aquamarine Star, he wouldn't let Kerlodd out of his sight, nor would he return any of his equipment.

Because he was acting mysterious, Kerlodd thought Han Xiao was also from beyond the stars and couldn't figure out his identity, so he dared not act rashly.

See, Kerlodd asked again, "Who exactly are you?"

"A spacefarer," Han Xiao said perfunctorily.

The human race was a huge group in the galaxy, with countless branches. Kerlodd observed that Han Xiao seemed to be the most common type of spacefaring human and couldn't discern his origins. He scratched his head. "Okay, I won't ask. When are you planning to leave? I want to go home as soon as possible."

"Not too long."

Han Xiao was planning to take the top-ranked professional players from the Aquamarine Star division with him. The regional league would be over soon, and he could wait that long.

Kerlodd suddenly said, "By the way, what about my spaceship?"

"Someone picked it up. I guess they won't be returning it to you," Han Xiao said, fully aware of what had happened later. Just the fact that the Dark Net's intelligence personnel hadn't heard about the spaceship's crash told him that Reylen had blocked the news. Their intentions were obvious.

Kerlodd looked depressed. At this point, he didn't want to contact the Six Nations. The situation was stronger than him. He didn't want to take the risk, and he felt that Han Xiao was a fellow interstellar traveler and would be easier to negotiate with than the natives.

"What was wrong with your spaceship?" Han Xiao asked.

"I don't know. It was flying fine in stealth mode. Just as I was about to reach Aquamarine Star, the engine suddenly failed, and I fell. The Observer-class spaceship isn't big, but its functions are very stable. I don't know why it suddenly malfunctioned."

Han Xiao pondered.

Shaking his head, Han Xiao started to get down to business. He opened the communicator, registered a personal account. The communicator also functioned as a personal terminal, and the account had many features, including bank transfers. This was the most common transaction method in the universe, convenient and fast. All civilizations had their own interstellar banks, and the most authoritative were naturally the banks of the three universal civilizations, with the most users. The banks were interconnected, so they could be used anywhere in the galaxy.

Han Xiao casually chose one and had Kerlodd transfer the money.

Ding!

"878 Enas have been transferred to your account," the terminal announced in a pleasant synthesized female voice.

"Only that much money? You're too poor," Han Xiao couldn't help but complain.

Enas were the universal currency, the most commonly used unit of currency in interstellar space.

Kerlodd's face flushed red. "I don't have the habit of saving money. Being an investigator is a tough job. I need to enjoy myself... Wait, why am I explaining this to you?"

He suddenly realized that he was the one being robbed. Why should he feel embarrassed about having little money? That's messed up!

With the money in hand, his goal was accomplished. Han Xiao felt relieved. He calculated the days and realized that there were still more than ten days until the Aquamarine Star Division Finals. It was the perfect time to contact a starfaring tour group in advance.

The communicator had hundreds and thousands of channels. Han Xiao searched and entered the "Garton Star System Travel Business Channel." The screen displayed a dense list of tour group routes, emitting a cold synthesized electronic voice.

"Do you want to filter?"

"Confirm."

"Your location?"

"Aquamarine Star, Ninth Star Zone."

"Destination?"

Han Xiao paused and said, "Jubilee Hub."

"Please select price range."

"The cheapest," Han Xiao glanced at Kerlodd, that poor wretch.

"Number of people?"

"Dozens."

"Race?"

"Human."

"Have you ever used a starfaring tour group service before?"

"Yes."

After answering more than twenty questions, the results were finally filtered out, leaving only five tour groups. Starfaring tour groups were a widespread business, and many large corporations provided this service. This was one of the cheapest ways to travel through interstellar space, similar to a private car, but more like a "bus spaceship."

Han Xiao chose the "Short Horn Star" tour group, a reputable starfaring tour group. After selecting it, the communicator switched to the Short Horn Star salesperson's line, allowing both parties to discuss the specific details in person.

"Hello, thank you for choosing Short Horn Star. We will provide you with the most cost-effective service..."

The salesperson was a beautiful human woman. Depending on the customer's race, they would be assigned a salesperson who matched their aesthetics. After the female salesperson finished a welcome speech, she said, "We have received your travel requirements. Fortunately, a Whale Elephant-class vessel will pass through the Ninth Star Zone in twenty days. At that time, we will pick you up. What level of seating do you want? We have standard class, upper class, VIP class, super VIP class, and supreme VIP class to choose from."

"What's the price of standard class?"

"3 Enas per person. How many seats would you like to book?"

"Fifty, I guess," Han Xiao calculated. Bringing about fifty of the top-ranked pro players should be enough. Bringing some players was a very important part of his plan.

After paying the deposit and confirming the boarding time, Han Xiao nodded secretly. Preparations for going to interstellar space were complete. His destination was Jubilee Hub, a transit station in the Garton Star System, with convenient transportation. Various races from the Colton Star Cluster gathered there, providing many opportunities. In Han Xiao's plan, Jubilee Hub was the most suitable first stop for entering interstellar space.

"Next, all I have to do is wait for the players to finish the competition, and I can give a rallying cry to form a team. Everything is ready, except for the time," Han Xiao thought to himself.

Moreover, before leaving, there were still some matters on Aquamarine Star that needed to be dealt with.

...

For several days, Han Xiao had been secretly transferring supplies and always kept Kerlodd by his side, making him wear a cloak that covered his skin tone. Occasionally, he would appear in front of the shelter personnel, inevitably arousing curiosity and surprise at the appearance of a mysterious person by Han Xiao's side.

In the individual competition's quarter-finals, Kuang Dao faced Li Ge. Kuang Dao, who had been unanimously condemned before the competition, surprised everyone this time. After five rounds of fierce fighting, he narrowly defeated Li Ge with a score of three to two. This time, Kuang Dao demonstrated the Mech Martial Artist style to the fullest. He had also kept a trump card up his sleeve, secretly practicing with a power hammer, but he hadn't used it until now. This time, he finally took it out, and its instant explosive power was even stronger than the Martial Arts class, breaking through Li Ge's entanglement.

Kuang Dao entered the top four of the individual competition. Those haters immediately disappeared. Victory was the best confidence booster. On the forums, his title of "China's Number One Mech Martial Artist" became increasingly popular, and he was considered the biggest dark horse to emerge from the first league!

Li Ge didn't expect to be defeated by Kuang Dao. To add insult to injury, Temple entered the team competition's top four but ran into Chang Kong. Hao Tian put in his best effort this time, washing away his previous humiliation and defeating Temple to enter the team finals.

The situation was clear. Chang Kong and Dynasty would compete for the regional championship and runner-up. Temple could only compete with another top-four team for third place. As for the individual competition, if nothing unexpected happened, Kuang Dao would likely get a top-three position and had a high chance of getting a qualifying spot for the international finals. As for the champion, it wasn't that Han Xiao looked down on Kuang Dao, but Dynasty's Wang Houjiangxiang was too strong. His technique, operation, and personal attributes were almost impeccable in version 1.0. Dynasty had a strong momentum to win both championships, and the media was very optimistic.

But even so, Kuang Dao's results and fame were much better than in his previous life. It was worth nurturing him.

The regional league had been going on for almost half a year, and the highest-level players had reached the level 60 cap on average.

Just as Han Xiao was quietly making preparations, Bennett suddenly called that day.

"I've arrived at the Third Shelter. Where are you?"

Han Xiao joked, "Why did you suddenly come to my place? Did you miss me?"

"What do you think?" Bennett's tone was solemn. "Where are you hiding that alien? Didn't eat him, did you?"

Han Xiao's smile faded, and he frowned. "Did Huang Jian rat me out?"

"Let's talk when we meet. You've gotten yourself into big trouble again this time!" Bennett said in a deep voice, but there wasn't much blame in his tone... He was already used to sitting at home and having the blame fall on him from the sky.