Chapter 155 The Hunter and the Hunted

The situation was clear. Three people were out on a mission, preparing to attack him, while three were holed up in their base camp, guarding the home.

And there was only one Eye. A question was now before Han Xiao. How could he maximize his benefits?

He was thinking about how to wipe out all the enemies in one fell swoop, while completing as many [Prey] missions as possible. This kind of hidden Grade A mission that could extract abilities was rare, and if he was lucky, it could greatly improve his strength.

"There seem to be only six enemies. I need to think of a way to take them all down without alerting them," Han Xiao mused. "The situation has been reversed, and they are in the light while I am in the dark. This is the biggest advantage, and I need to make good use of it."

Should he deal with Shana and her group of three first, or should he attack the enemy's base camp first?

"The trump cards I can use are the Black Star Army, my connections in the mercenary world, Ames's support, and the various forces behind the targets on that list. If the strong individuals the enemy captured are all locked up in the base camp, I can easily persuade those forces to work together against the enemy... The enemies, on the other hand, have strong individual strength, and their advantage is their mobility. It would be a problem if any of them got away."

Han Xiao shook his head, feeling that he couldn't attack the base camp in this situation. No matter what, the three remaining members had a combat power suspected to be A+. Even if he brought out the Dragon Emperor, the enemy would still have time to notify their teammates. Once he alerted them, the three who were out on a mission would know that their base was gone, and they would likely scatter and flee. At that time, he would at most catch Shana and not be able to catch the other two.

He thought about it and also rejected the plan of splitting his forces into two groups. The operation would be more difficult, and there would be more uncertain factors. If he split his forces, how to allocate the combat power on both sides would be a big problem. After all, the enemies were not weaklings to be trifled with, and they might have some strange escape ability.

"How about this..."

Han Xiao's eyes lit up.

To attack the base camp, he had to gather all the enemy's members together, so that he could wipe them out in one fell swoop.

If he took down Shana and her group of three, the Eye would be gone. If he caught anyone, the other party would worry about being exposed and might cautiously transfer their base camp. Once they ran into the depths of the desolate universe belt, it would be difficult to chase them.

Han Xiao thought about it and decided to only repel Shana and her group of three, so that they would fail again. The other party would definitely go home. At that time, all six of them would be together. He would assemble his troops early and push their high ground in one wave. None of them would be able to escape, and he could also rescue the Grade A powerhouses captured by the enemy.

To ensure secrecy, Han Xiao decided to wait for Shana and her group of three to come to him. Taking the initiative would expose the fact that he could lock onto their location.

He felt that the roles of hunter and prey had been reversed. He was like a hunter patiently hunting in the jungle, waiting for his prey to step into his trap.

"However, I need to find some helpers first."

Han Xiao opened his address book, and the names of countless faction leaders were densely packed, with no end in sight.

...

On the mother planet of the Purple Crystal Civilization, the "Crescent Blade" garrison satellite, the official office of the Zero Sanction.

Leif was staring intently at the communicator, his brow furrowed as if he was struggling with a difficult problem. The secretary didn't dare to disturb him.

In fact, the communicator was playing an interstellar entertainment program, and he was slacking off at work.

There was no other way. The task of attracting private forces was the job of the foreign affairs envoy. Even if forming a united force was imminent, he could only wait for the results of the foreign affairs envoy. The war hadn't started yet, so there was no use in being anxious.

At this moment, a communication request suddenly popped up on the communicator, interrupting the program.

Leif's expression didn't change as he answered the call. It was a communication from Han Xiao.

"Black Star, it's rare for you to take the initiative to contact me."

"I've already seen your notice. How many people are there in the Zero Sanction now?"

Not long ago, Purple Crystal announced the name of the joint force to all its partners, collectively called the Zero Sanction. Han Xiao had also received the message.

However, this organization was still in its infancy. The lineup had not been completely established, and they did not know the list of their teammates. The [Zero Sanction] prompt for the new faction had not yet popped up on the interface.

"The members of the Zero Sanction are temporarily confidential. When it's officially established, we'll gather all the partners, and you'll know then."

In his previous life, the united force faction in Version 3.0 that players saw was an organization that was perfected during the version update. This time, he was participating in it from the creation stage.

Han Xiao chuckled. He roughly remembered which forces were in the Zero Sanction in the end, but he felt that he should have the opportunity to change the plot this time.

"I have a way to get the Zero Sanction to recruit more powerhouses."

Leif's eyes lit up, and he was very interested. "Tell me about it..."

...

The Light Emblem Civilization was the ruler of the Thousand Lights Star System. Among the many Star System civilizations in the Colton Star Cluster, the Light Emblem Civilization had always been a staunch supporter of the Purple Crystal Civilization. Its civilization level exceeded that of ordinary Star System civilizations, and it maintained a covenant relationship with Purple Crystal.

Recently, Kumas, the head of the Star System National Defense Department of the Light Emblem Civilization, was very troubled.

All of this was because the strongest official of the Light Emblem Civilization, Kernid, had gone missing during his vacation. The higher-ups were furious and ordered him to find Kernid's whereabouts.

Kumas was under pressure from his superiors, so he naturally wanted to find Kernid. The reason was not only that, but Kernid was also his biological brother from the same womb. If it weren't for Kernid, he wouldn't be able to sit in this position. All sorts of factors made Kumas more anxious and eager than others.

However, he still hadn't found any clues. Kumas had even applied for assistance from the Purple Crystal Civilization, but there was still no harvest. He was so worried that his body hair was about to fall out.

"Beep beep..."

At this moment, the internal communication line in the office lit up, and the secretary sent a call request.

"Your Excellency Kumas, an external line wants to apply to speak to you."

"Who is he?" Kumas suppressed his irritability. The secretary was responsible for filtering call requests. Now that he was requesting him, it meant that the caller was very important, and the secretary didn't dare to make the decision himself.

"He is the leader of the Black Star Army, Black Star of the Garton Star System."

"Oh, so it's him."

Kumas had heard of this person. He seemed to be doing well in Godora. He was a little puzzled as to why Black Star was looking for him, but he couldn't neglect him. He tidied his hair and asked the secretary to switch the communication over.

The virtual screen rose, revealing Han Xiao's face.

"Kumas? I didn't find the wrong person, did I?"

"It's me, Black Star. What's the matter?"

Han Xiao stroked his chin. "Some time ago, I heard from Purple Crystal that you were looking for a guy named Kernid."

"Yes."

Kumas didn't know what Han Xiao was up to and maintained a blank expression, answering concisely.

"If I said that I might know his whereabouts, would you be willing to cooperate with me?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Kumas's expression changed drastically, and his breathing became heavy, as if he was in heat.

...

The Star Beast Organization was a special armed force that occupied another Star Cluster and was one of the allied Star Cluster civilizations of that Star Cluster.

This organization was very famous in the Shattered Star Ring. Its characteristic was that it could control all kinds of dangerous interstellar beasts. They did not like to expand and were mostly neutral and friendly, but they never sold or rented out their beasts, only providing them to allied Star Cluster civilizations.

Everything came from the ability of the leader, Kobe Li. He had a terrifying beast affinity and could enslave all kinds of beasts, and the effect could last for a long time. Being shrouded in the ability aura for a long time would also stimulate the beasts to evolve and mutate.

However, during this period of time, the Star Beast Organization was in a state of gloom. Their leader had gone missing.

The vice leader sent out countless people to search, but the Shattered Star Ring was in chaos, confusing the public. He could not find any clues and was almost worried to death.

If the leader was gone, they would be done for.

The Star Beast Organization was very aggrieved. They just liked to raise pets. They stayed at home and never provoked enemies, but someone actually attacked them. Was this a distortion of human nature or a decline in morality?!

Just as he was at his wit's end, the vice leader received a message from Han Xiao.

"I am Black Star of the Colton Star Cluster. Maybe you've heard of my name, maybe not. It doesn't matter. What matters is that I might know the whereabouts of your leader. Are you interested in cooperating with me?"

...

The same scene was playing out in various places in the Shattered Star Ring. Han Xiao followed the targets on the list and contacted the forces behind those missing powerhouses one by one.

He had a large network of contacts, and it was easy to find the contact information of these forces. His series of phone calls caused many forces to act at the same time.

As for the part of the list that hadn't been captured yet, he could only say that he was sorry for disturbing them.

While he was secretly gathering helpers, Shana and her group of three were also on a stealth ship heading to the Black Star Army's base camp, the Garton Star System.

On the ship, the three were discussing tactics.

"Black Star might be on guard this time. I still don't think we should deal with him immediately." Aireyette shook his head. He originally advocated for cold treatment, but Albert had spoken, so he could only do as he was told.

"That's not necessarily true. I didn't reveal much information. Black Star might think I'm just seeking revenge. It's common for a faction leader of his status to encounter this kind of thing."

Shana shook her head. She didn't think that her failure would have such a big impact. In her opinion, Black Star was definitely clueless about her origins.

"In any case, it's better to be careful." Aireyette thought for a while. "Rumor has it that Black Star has an almost immortal body, and his subordinates are also undying. A war of attrition is his advantage. We need to come up with a tactic to quickly end the battle."

"Are we going to wait for him to be alone before making a move?"

"Maybe not. After being attacked last time, Black Star will definitely be extra careful when he's alone. We should strike unexpectedly."

"How?"

"Hmm... I've got it. He doesn't know me and Adrian. I'll use spells to conceal my aura and disguise my appearance, and mix in with their mercenaries. I'll launch a close-range attack. The two of us will control him, and then Shana, you can make your move and imprison him, and then retreat immediately. With the three of us working together, we should be able to end the battle quickly."

"So, we can make a move in his base?"

"Yes, that way he won't be prepared. The mercenaries in the base can't stop us. He won't have Calamity Grade helpers like last time."

Adrian said in a muffled voice, "Got it. A lightning strike, not giving him time to react."

Aireyette nodded.

Shana thought for a while and felt that it was indeed a good tactic, so she had no objections. She couldn't think of any chance for Black Star to escape their grasp.

On the other side, on the Blacklight Stealth Ship heading to Longtan.

"Oh, so that's how it is."

Han Xiao suddenly understood.