Chapter 104 Last Resort

The bear cub, lazily sprawled next to Aurora, stood up and let out a low growl toward Kerrlode, full of warning. Han Xiao had Aurora raise the bear cub for a long time. By now, the bear had grown to half a person's height and was approaching adolescence. Moreover, a strange change had occurred. Its fur seemed to reveal tiny flecks of light, and its attributes were gradually shifting toward the elite template. It seemed to have mutated, exhibiting biological characteristics it shouldn't possess.

Aurora's ability seemed to have the effect of catalyzing the sublimation of life. Young individuals who stayed by her side could experience special growth. Not long ago, Han Xiao learned that Aurora's ability was called [Dawn of Life], and its potential rating was the same as Hela's, both being S-grade. This discovery greatly excited him.

The source of the information was naturally the battle information panel. Of course, it wasn't from him attacking Aurora. He realized he'd fallen into a mental blind spot. He could have Aurora attack him! However, no matter how much he pleaded, Aurora shook her head like a rattle-drum, unwilling to attack Han Xiao. She even thought Han Xiao was dissatisfied with her in some way, and her eyes welled up with tears of grievance.

In Aurora's heart, there were only two people she was close to in the world. One was her sister, Hela, and the other was Han Xiao, who tore through the darkness and brought light when she was in her deepest despair. Aside from her sister, only Han Xiao was good to her, and these were the only two people she could rely on. Therefore, she cared very much about Han Xiao, like her own brother.

It was only with great difficulty that he used the excuse of testing the armor's performance to get Aurora to fire a shot at him, and Han Xiao finally obtained the information. His initial target had only been Hela, but Aurora also had the same level of potential, equivalent to buy one get one free, which greatly surprised him.

In the original storyline, Aurora-chan had been turned into fertilizer, nipped in the bud, and her future achievements were unknown. This time, however, she had the opportunity to grow, and this little girl was more reliable in her dependence on him than her older sister. She was another promising stock.

Han Xiao gave Hela a look and stood up to walk to the side. The following words needed to be discussed privately.

A moment later, Hela walked over and stood next to him, frowning. "What's the matter?"

"Do you want to leave this planet with me?"

"Why are you inviting me?" Hela's eyes flickered slightly as she turned to look at Han Xiao's profile.

"It's not just you, but your sister as well. I know you won't separate."

Hela lowered her head and thought in silence for a long while before slowly saying, "I'm not going."

Han Xiao raised an eyebrow. "I asked Bennett the same question, and it's understandable that he didn't come. Why are you refusing?"

"Danger," Hela said. "I need to take care of my sister."

"Staying here is just as dangerous."

Hela's expression darkened. "What have you foreseen again?"

Han Xiao roughly described the Heteromorphy Disaster, saying, "Even if you stay on this planet, the disaster will eventually find you. You and Aurora have high potential, and your future is destined for the stars. Are you still not coming with me?"

Hela lowered her eyes, hesitating.

A silent atmosphere filled the air, like the solitary bright moon hanging in the night sky.

After a long time, Hela turned to the side and said softly, "I'm not coming."

Han Xiao took a deep look at her, lit a cigarette, and exhaled a cloud of smoke. "Alright, I understand."

His tone was casual, without any intention of delving further, which instead aroused Hela's suspicion. She frowned and said, "Don't you want to know the reason?"

Han Xiao laughed. "Don't think too highly of yourself. I'm just asking casually. Whether you come or not doesn't have much impact on me. Your current strength can't help me much."

Hela's eyes turned cold. Although she had rejected Han Xiao, she felt a sense of frustration at being unimportant when she sensed the Black Star's indifferent attitude, and she couldn't maintain her composure.

At this time, Han Xiao added, "This is your own choice. I won't force you to do anything under the guise of doing what's best for you."

As he said this, Han Xiao took out a set of keys and tossed them to Hela, saying lightly, "If one day the darkness engulfs the shelter, this set of keys leads to my secret base. It can allow you to hide. I've put the address in the secret compartment of my office, the reverse layer of the third drawer on the left. It's left for you."

Hela played with the keys, her expression dark and unclear. Suddenly, she said, "Are you not coming back?"

Han Xiao smiled noncommittally. "Are you concerned?"

Hela snorted coldly, raised the keys to indicate that she remembered, and turned to leave.

As she took a few steps, she heard Han Xiao's smiling voice from behind.

"Don't die."

Hela paused.

"You too."

After Hela left, Han Xiao's smile faded slightly. He threw the cigarette butt on the ground and stamped it out.

In his estimation, the probability of Hela going with him was greater than 50%. He didn't expect Hela to make another choice. He had already analyzed the pros and cons, but Hela still chose to stay. Apart from her sister, there might be other considerations. Hela's personality before her corruption was actually more difficult to fathom.

However, Han Xiao's need for Hela at this stage was indeed not urgent. A promising stock that hadn't grown was useless. Hela's help at this time was indeed not great. Her role was not even as good as those high-level players who could be used as cannon fodder, with no pollution or additives.

Moreover, if he brought Hela, he would inevitably have to bring Aurora as well. The current Aurora was even weaker. Even a small storm could harm her, and the interstellar space was full of various known and unknown dangers. Even though Han Xiao was familiar with the road, he was very cautious in his heart.

Players were excellent assistants, unable to die and able to go wild. At the same time, Han Xiao could enjoy the freedom of acting alone, without being restricted. There were also benefits to not bringing others.

In that case, letting Hela and Aurora stay on Aquamarine Star might be a good choice. There was a buffer period of about two or three years before the Heteromorphy Disaster. These two had a safe environment to grow up in. If they followed him, they would immediately experience danger.

Letting two promising stocks grow vigorously and then returning to receive them after the Heteromorphy Disaster broke out was, in Han Xiao's view, a good method.

Although he said that, being rejected twice in a row still hurt Han Xiao's heart. He muttered to himself, "Is my charm really that bad? That's not possible."

A sound came from the side. Yi Ye Qing walked out of the shadows in the corner. Han Xiao had already discovered that she was hiding nearby. He glanced at her and asked, "How much did you hear?"

"Everything," Yi Ye Qing said with a surprised expression. "Was everything you just said true? You're leaving, and you're not afraid that I'll leave too? You exchanged me over, and now you don't need me anymore?"

"You're free, but you'd better stay in the shelter. I wasn't joking about the disaster."

Yi Ye Qing's expression was complicated. She nodded, turned, and walked away. Han Xiao narrowed his eyes as he watched her back, secretly shaking his head.

The prisoners of Death Knell Island were new characters that came out in Version 2.0. Yi Ye Qing was one of them, and he had brought her out ahead of time. Moreover, Yi Ye Qing would develop a potion to curb the Heteromorphy Disaster in the future, which was quite valuable.

The human heart was difficult to control, but he felt that the probability of Yi Ye Qing staying was not small. She was a person who cherished her life quite a bit and was fanatical about potion research. The shelter had so many players, which was the best experimental field and was very attractive to Yi Ye Qing.

...

Bringing fifty high-level players was an important part of the plan. When the professional league was over and the players were still feeling unfulfilled, he could begin to implement it.

It had already reached the finals, and it would be over in a few days. Han Xiao was also supplementing the plan on how to take the players away.

On this day, Ruilan bypassed Bennett and directly contacted Han Xiao, issuing a final ultimatum, which was very severe and forceful in its wording.

"Black Ghost, we know that you have captured the Godora envoy. You have made a big mistake. We respect your contributions in the Germination Campaign, but we will not allow you to act recklessly based on your merits. Hand over the Godoran. This will be the last warning, otherwise we will take mandatory measures. You will become our enemy. You don't want to see this scene. Although you are very strong, you are no match for the state apparatus."

"Hello, goodbye."

*Click.*

Han Xiao hung up the communication, rubbed his nose, and looked helpless.

Ruilan was still unwilling to give up and wanted to put pressure on him, but Han Xiao didn't want to waste words with them now.

At this time, Han Xiao was sitting in his office, and Kerrlode was next to him. Han Xiao took him wherever he went. The Godoran was currently sticking to the window, carefully observing the players on the square, and suddenly opened his mouth.

"Is this the special phenomenon of your planet?"

Kerrlode still remembered the investigation mission. During this time, he had also discovered the so-called 'Esper phenomenon' and seen many characteristics of the players.

Han Xiao's heart moved, and he asked, "This is your investigation mission, right? Do you have any conclusions?"