“Confused?” Han Xiao pulled out a cigarette, bit it, and fumbled in his pocket for a lighter, muttering, “That’s easy to solve. Take your sister back to Germinal, and I guarantee you’ll never have that feeling of boredom again.”

Hela glared at him, then paused and said to herself, “I didn’t take good care of my sister before, and she went through so much suffering. It’s all my fault. To protect her, I kept honing myself. Even now, when I recall the past killings, I never regret it. The more blood I have on my hands, the more at ease I feel. Only in this way can I wash away my guilt towards my sister and prove that I am protecting her…”

“When we were in Germinal, my sister and I could only meet after a long time. I knew she longed for the outside world. Every time we met, I would tell her stories and share my experiences… Now she has a new life, made new friends, and even has a pet. She doesn’t need my stories anymore,” Hela said softly.

Han Xiao couldn’t light the cigarette after a long time, so he had to pull out his gun and fire a shot into the sky, using the hot barrel to light the cigarette. He took a puff and couldn’t help but say, “That bear is supposed to be mine…”

“Saving her has been my wish all along, and now my wish has come true…” Hela ignored him, her tone low. “She doesn’t need my protection anymore.”

Reaching out her palm, dark red energy swirled around her fingers. Hela stared blankly at her palm and said softly, “In the past, I couldn’t wait to use all my time to hone my abilities and make myself stronger. But now that Germinal is about to be destroyed, and my sister and I are safe, power doesn’t seem important to me anymore. So, I use all the time I used to spend training to be with my sister. This has always been my greatest wish…”

Suddenly, she clenched her fist, crushing the stream of light. Hela lowered her eyes and whispered, “But why does this long-awaited life make me feel confused? It’s exactly what I wanted, but it makes me feel so empty. I hate this feeling…”

Han Xiao: “Being in constant danger for years, suddenly relaxing can make you feel uncomfortable. This is a typical war trauma. Of course, I prefer another possibility. Your bones are filled with warmongering blood, your cells crave battle, and bloodlust is your nature. A peaceful life is a chronic poison for you, which will only gradually erode your spirit.”

Hela looked strange. “Your words sound like you’re enticing me to do something bad…”

“Otherwise, what do you want me to say, comforting words?” Han Xiao shook his head. “I can’t say that kind of nonsense, and people like you don’t need comfort. Your sister is your sister, and you are you. You don’t need to suppress your nature for her sake, and she doesn’t want you to become unlike yourself. Don’t make excuses. I can see that what you truly crave is battle and slaughter. Pursuing power is your instinct. This world is bigger than you think. Don’t think I can beat ten of you with one hand. Looking at the entire universe, there are many people more powerful than me.”

“How can you beat ten of me?” Hela protested.

Han Xiao’s expression suddenly turned stern, and his killing intent erupted. The sudden change shocked Hela, and she hurriedly retreated, unconsciously using her ability. Dark red light flickered, and she looked wary.

“Maybe one day, I’ll capture your sister like Germinal did. If you don’t have the power to resist me at that time, heh… so get stronger, or you’ll regret it.”

Han Xiao was expressionless and retracted his aura, but Hela’s heart rate didn’t slow down.

Just now, her intuition told her that Han Xiao wasn’t joking like usual, he was probably serious!

Like fangs revealed beneath a disguise, it was only for a moment, but it sent a chill down Hela’s spine.

“If you need it, I can create some sparring robots, or you can learn from Yi Ye Qing and find some Supers to practice with. I’ll go first if there’s nothing else, I’m sleepy. This cigarette isn’t finished yet, I’ll leave it here.”

Han Xiao jumped off the roof and walked towards his house.

Only after Han Xiao’s back disappeared from sight did Hela look away, let out a long sigh of relief, picked up the slowly burning cigarette on the roof, and took a deep puff.

Slowly closing her eyes, she exhaled the curling smoke, savoring the taste of the cigarette.

After a long while, she opened her eyes, and the hesitation and confusion disappeared, leaving only indifference and detachment.

“He’s really a monster…” Hela muttered to herself, then suddenly shook her head and laughed. “So am I.”

…

Han Xiao built machines every day, trained the Kuang Dao (Mad Blade) four, and reaped player experience. The experience accumulated on the panel steadily increased, and life was rich and fulfilling, and time passed quickly.

On December 7, Star Ocean Calendar 688, the latest changes in the battle situation were finally reported from the front lines.

Germinal only had the territory around its headquarters left, and all other bases had been breached.

Han Xiao received a notification that Bennett had invited him to meet at First Sanctuary.

“The war will end with the destruction of Germinal. The situation will be reshuffled, and we in the Dark Net must rethink our position,” Bennett said on the phone.

After waiting so long, the war had finally come to an end. The Six Nations performed stably and lived up to expectations, successfully forcing Germinal into a desperate situation. Han Xiao arranged the affairs of the Third Sanctuary and set off for the First Sanctuary.

Half a day later, the helicopter landed on the First Sanctuary’s helipad. Bennett had been waiting for a long time and smiled, “You’re the first one here, that’s not like you.”

Han Xiao heard this, turned around and walked back to the plane, saying, “Take off, fly until you run out of fuel and then come back.”

Bennett didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, so he stepped forward and pulled Han Xiao off the plane, saying, “The board meeting will be held after the war officially ends, probably in the next few days.”

“How many days exactly?”

“That’s hard to say, the current situation is a bit complicated.” Bennett lowered his voice. “The situation is a bit of a stalemate.”

Han Xiao’s eyes flashed.

The two came to the meeting room, and after closing the door, Han Xiao said in a deep voice, “Tell me in detail.”

Bennett took out intelligence and explained, “The current situation is like this. Germinal’s wings have been clipped, and all the troops have been shrinking within the headquarters range. The Six Nations’ troops have formed an encirclement, but they are very far away and have no intention of approaching the headquarters to attack.”

Han Xiao pondered, “Since all of Germinal’s bases have been removed, leaving only the headquarters as a target, wouldn’t it be over if the Six Nations directly covered it with bombing, dropping hundreds of missiles?”

“Indeed, it is possible. Having lost all its branch bases, Germinal’s headquarters’ anti-missile capabilities cannot cope with the Six Nations’ continuous bombing. Even if their true headquarters is hidden underground, it will be bombed and collapsed. But the Six Nations did not do this, but instead surrounded it without attacking. The reasons are more complicated.”

Bennett took out another document and said, “Because of your intelligence, a large number of Germinal’s nuclear warheads have been dismantled. The remaining nuclear warheads have now been transported to the headquarters. Because the location is single, it is easy to intercept anti-missiles. Germinal has lost its bargaining chip for mutual destruction, but the number of nuclear warheads is not small. Even if they explode in one place, they will cause a chain reaction. Meteorologists from various countries have stated that if this number of nuclear bombs is detonated at the same time, the radiation dust will make the global climate very bad for the next five to fifteen years. Antiya Continent, as the area with the highest radiation concentration, will become a true no-man’s land. For humanitarian reasons, the Six Nations must relocate the remaining population of Antiya after the war…”

“Secondly, Germinal’s troops captured a large number of wanderers as hostages while withdrawing, seemingly trying to make the Six Nations hesitant. If they were to bomb their headquarters, these innocent wanderers would die with them…” Bennett sighed.

“As a result, the Six Nations have differences. Ruilan and Tireus suggest ignoring the climate disaster and the safety of the hostages, and directly bombing to eliminate Germinal once and for all, to eliminate this confidant’s trouble. Xinglong has not yet expressed its position. Hongfeng suggests persuading them to surrender. Haixia suggests a ground troop assault, trying to rescue the hostages. Odifenna… ahem, they oppose all offensive measures, citing concerns about the climate and the hostages.”

Han Xiao asked in confusion, “I can understand everything else, but what is Odifenna trying to do? Are they still trying to retreat and negotiate after fighting to this point?”

Bennett tapped on the table and said helplessly, “The head of Odifenna is in his last term this year. There are many political parties in their political arena, and many people covet his position. If they can delay the war until next year, they can use wartime policies as a reason to skip the election and directly win the next term.”

Han Xiao was speechless. “That’s really awesome… What measures do the Six Nations currently favor?”

“Surrounding without attacking, trying to persuade them to surrender. The Six Nations’ anti-missile strike is open 24 hours a day. If the headquarters’ nuclear silos launch any nuclear warheads, they will immediately intercept them and directly blow up Germinal’s headquarters—of course, this is the least ideal outcome. So the Six Nations are now issuing a final ultimatum to Germinal, hoping they can give up resistance, hand over the hostages, come out and surrender, move them with emotion and reason, and promise not to kill them if they surrender.”

Bennett shook his head and said, “So far, Germinal has not responded in any way.”