Chapter 1 Start

The Terrarium Star Cluster. A spaceship hovered in the outer space of a small asteroid designated "51687," a barren planet marked as a resource world in the database.

"Sparse oxygen concentration in the atmosphere, average temperature of 60 degrees Celsius, unsuitable for human survival. Abundant heat-loving plants, vast vegetation coverage, soil rich in nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium, suitable for plant growth..."

Han Xiao scanned the planet's information, his finger tapping a coordinate on the map. It was a primeval forest. "A small group of scavengers has a secret base in this location. They are our target this time. They possess something I need."

His objective this time was a trigger item for a high-rated quest, in the hands of this scavenger group.

"You've decided to attack directly? What's their strength?" asked Melos.

"Not strong. Only one B-grade. The main thing is that the base's defenses are quite strict, and the enemy has a secret passage that leads to an underground spaceship hangar. The specific location is here." Han Xiao drew a circle on the map.

"How did you even know this information?" Melos asked, surprised.

Han Xiao pointed to his eyes, his meaning self-evident, and continued, "The plan is simple. I'll kick down the door and go on a rampage. You camp in the hangar and don't let anyone escape. The others will wait on the ship."

Quickly finalizing the plan, the spaceship launched two egg-shaped drop pods, breaking through the atmosphere like two fiery meteors falling towards the forest.

...

The landing process was bumpy and turbulent.

*Boom!*

The drop pod smashed through several trees, embedding itself deeply into the ground, sending dirt and wood flying in a chaotic mess.

The hatch opened, and Han Xiao strode out, identifying his location. "The landing point is four hundred meters from the enemy base. There are many automatic machine gun traps ahead. Hmm... not much oxygen. Breathing is a little difficult."

The bone-white Void Dragon Armor attached itself, filtering the air. He took a deep breath of oxygen. With a flash of his mechanical force, several compressed spheres landed on the ground. Mechanical components clicked and whirred, quickly unfolding and transforming into thirty Black Panther mechanical beasts, surrounding him like loyal guard dogs.

"Go."

Han Xiao snapped his fingers. The mechanical beasts charged forward in unison, stepping into the base's alert range. The ground quickly cracked open, revealing more than a dozen automatic machine guns. They fired in a rapid *tat-tat-tat*, scarlet bullets hitting the mechanical beasts' armor, creating a continuous shower of sparks. *Clang, clang, clang*.

This level of damage was insignificant to the strengthened Black Panther mechanical beasts. The thirty mechanical beasts scattered and attacked, their sharp-edged tails quickly severing the gun barrels one by one. The gunfire quickly ceased, and all the automatic machine guns became scrap metal.

Another advantage of the Hounds Style was the ability to use mechanical beasts for reconnaissance.

After Han Xiao learned advanced-level intelligence technology, he replaced the mechanical beasts' smart chips. Originally, only four mechanical beasts could coordinate tactically as a squad, but now that number had increased to sixteen, making their cooperation exponentially more flexible.

Passing through the machine gun positions, Han Xiao activated his helmet's metal detector. The analysis screen outlined the entire underground base. He found the entrance on the ground, yanked it open, and saw a dark passage leading into the interior of the base. A faint "嗡嗡嗡" sound emanated from within – the alarm.

"Looks like the people in the base already know I'm here."

He moved his fingers, and his arm armor popped open. Three micro-mechanical flying insects flew out and entered the passage. These probes were equipped with various spectral detectors to locate traps and for other purposes.

"A laser corridor, automatic machine guns, hmm... and moving crushing walls and vacuum sealing. Quite a few defenses. The door is made of high-strength alloy, a full meter thick, and must be opened electronically."

The analysis screen switched to the probes' perspective. The flying insects were small and equipped with coatings to shield them from detection. They safely navigated the infrared detection in the corridor and arrived at the door. Next to the door was a device for entering a password.

Han Xiao issued new instructions. Two of the flying insects suddenly stuck to the edge of the input device, popping out miniature saw-like mouthparts that pried open the input device's casing along the seams. Another flying insect extended a chip plug from its tail and clicked it into the input device. This set of flying insects was another little darling that he had created using the advanced knowledge [Micro-Mechanical Modification] that he had purchased during the nine-month mission. They were feature-rich, capable of detection, and could remotely hack into systems.

Data streams from the base's system appeared on the analysis screen. Han Xiao began hacking, constantly on guard against a sudden enemy attack. However, until he cracked the door's program, no enemies appeared.

At this moment, Melos contacted him, his tone helpless. "I've reached the hangar. There are no spaceships here. Don't waste your energy. There's no one in the base."

Han Xiao's eyelids twitched. In his previous life, players had to break through this scavenger base to obtain the quest item. And here he was, finding all the enemies away from home.

No wonder. He'd already fought his way to the door, and he hadn't even seen a shadow.

"That's some impressive timing..."

Han Xiao was speechless. He realized that he was fighting against air. He stood up abruptly, strutted confidently down the corridor, and entered the base after deactivating all the defenses. As expected, there was no one there.

Although the base wasn't large, it was fully equipped. Han Xiao spent some time completely breaching the system's firewall, gaining control of the base, and went straight to the warehouse.

The warehouse was filled with the scavengers' collection of items, mostly junk. Han Xiao was mainly looking for the quest trigger item. After searching for a while, he discovered his target without much surprise.

It was a small, exquisite statue, seemingly made of some kind of brown wood, but extremely durable, no less than high-strength alloy. It was carved into a strange-looking creature, somewhat resembling a praying mantis with its body twisted into a rope. Han Xiao picked it up, and a burst of whispers suddenly echoed in his mind, indistinct and unclear.

[You have obtained [Mysterious Statue]]

[Item Description: This is a statue unlike any you have ever seen. You do not know what it contains, but when you touch it, you faintly hear someone whispering in your ear. When you try to listen carefully, the sound disappears again.]

[Note: This item seems to contain some secrets about mysticism. Certain individuals may be interested in this.]

"This is it." Han Xiao's eyes lit up. This item was a quest trigger, and he knew its origin. This statue was one of a set of items from the Void Church, ejected from a distant star system through the Central Star Cluster's wormhole and landed here. Players could obtain the related quest in two ways: first, by obtaining the item and then coincidentally encountering the trigger; second, by first hearing clues from the quest trigger and then finding the item to trigger the quest. Either way required a certain degree of luck. But Han Xiao didn't need to bother with that. He knew the process inside and out and could directly head for the key item.

This feeling of whispered illusions was one of the characteristics of mental residue, a special phenomenon with many causes. For example, the collective thoughts of many creatures focused on a single object over a long period of time. Over time, the object accumulated enough thoughts to generate mental residue, like an aggregate of thoughts. The most famous examples were sacrifices and prayers, and this statue was a sacrificial object.

"Got the item," Han Xiao said.

"So fast. Are we leaving now?" Melos asked.

Han Xiao was about to answer when he suddenly paused, looking around. A bold idea sprouted in his mind, and he curled up his lips. "Don't rush. No one's here. We have plenty of time."

Since he had accidentally raided the base, he should scavenge a bit more...

No, that was too narrow-minded.

He might as well move the entire base!

Without saying a word, Han Xiao called Melos over to help the scavengers "move house."

Base system chip? Good stuff, take it!

Defensive equipment? Can be disassembled for parts, take it!

Alloy walls? Can be made into armor, take it!

After banging away for half a day, everything that could be removed from the entire base was taken down, filling more than a dozen supply crates. Han Xiao's dismantling speed was like lightning.

He roughly estimated that these scraps could be recycled and converted into mechanical parts worth more than two thousand Enas.

Looking back, the scavenger base was now an empty shell, the door wide open... oh wait, the door had been dismantled, the floorboards had been pried up, all the underground wiring was exposed, and the base's mainframe and energy core had been removed. The huge base was reduced to bare load-bearing walls, scraped clean, leaving only a bare frame.

"This is a real home invasion."

Han Xiao smiled with satisfaction, had the spaceship land, and everyone loaded the dozen full supply crates into the ship. Then, they dusted off their clothes and left.

...

A few days later, the scavenger spaceship finally returned to the planet. They had gone to the wormhole cluster to scavenge, and their trip had been fruitful. They returned loaded with goods, and the crew were all smiles.

However, upon returning to the base, the sight of the open door and the desolate scene inside greeted the scavengers, and everyone was dumbfounded.

"What the hell? Where's our base?!"

The scavenger leader rubbed his eyes, confirming that he wasn't hallucinating. His face turned ashen, and he roared, "Who dismantled my base?!"

This planet was desolate and remote, and they had spent a lot of resources to build a secret base here. They had never revealed its location. How could anyone know of its existence!

In the Terrarium Star Cluster, they were just a small scavenger group. Who would go to the trouble of dealing with them? It must be a lucky thief who didn't even spare the base!

"Investigate! Find out which thief dared to steal from me!" the leader roared, regretting that he hadn't been at the base to prevent this from happening.

Contacting an information broker, they barely scraped together the fee to find out that only one spaceship had visited the planet during this time. Upon learning the identities of the passengers, the scavengers' anger instantly dissipated, and they were left speechless.

"Black... Black Star?!" the scavenger leader stammered, his tongue nearly tied. "Why would a galactic mercenary of that level come here?"

Everyone exchanged glances, immediately becoming fearful, like eggplants beaten by frost. They felt a lingering sense of unease, thankful that they weren't at the base at the time.

If they had encountered Black Star head-on, they would already be dead.

For a moment, these scavengers felt that losing a base didn't seem so unacceptable after all.

It was a close call!

...

While the scavengers whose home had been "stolen" were celebrating their survival, Han Xiao and the others were traveling by spaceship through an inter-star cluster transfer gate, heading for the Rhine Star System in the Colton Star Cluster. The quest trigger was located here... or rather, temporarily located here.

The ruling civilization of the Rhine Star System, the New Feran Alliance, had invited a star of the Broken Star Ring who was very popular to perform a series of concerts. The entertainment industry in the galaxy was very developed. People were not lacking material enjoyment, and spiritual needs would naturally follow. Singers, dramas, literature, and other cultural industries made the characteristics of various civilizations more rich and colorful.

Many different entertainment programs could be seen on the paid channels of the galactic communicator. Although Han Xiao didn't watch them much, many galactic citizens spent their daily lives watching television, whiling away the days. After all, with the level of development of some civilizations, most people no longer needed to work, unless they wanted a higher status and a better life.

And the quest trigger this time was quite special, it was the invited galactic star.