Chapter 1 The Atonement

Han Xiao arrived at the Ainiya Hub Prison with a group of crestfallen prisoners, greeted by Gabra, Hardaway, and other guards who had been waiting for some time.

"Your Excellency Black Star!" Gabra stepped forward and bowed respectfully.

Han Xiao was on the same level as his boss, and Gabra, representing his faction, was very careful with his attitude, maintaining a low profile.

"Hello," Han Xiao nodded, gesturing with his finger, and the confinement devices carrying the prisoners flew in front of the jailers, who took them into custody.

Hardaway and the others spontaneously followed Han Xiao, with Gabra leading the way. The group arrived at the interrogation room, where the jailers locked up all the prisoners separately, each in a luxurious single room.

"Do you want to conduct the interrogation?" Gabra turned to ask Han Xiao.

"No, you do it. Let me see your skills," Han Xiao replied, shaking his head.

He had already used Han's Electrotherapy on the two masterminds, obtaining the information he wanted, and this was just a formality.

As expected, the two masterminds were undercover agents of the Guanghui Federation and the Xuling Sect, serving a plan to put pressure on the Crimson Empire. They were members of a team, and from their mouths, Han Xiao saw the tip of the iceberg of this vast plan.

The pressure plan targeted multiple areas of the empire, divided into many teams, each responsible for a different area. The team these two belonged to specialized in stirring up chaotic incidents related to the Evolutionary Totem within the empire. They used shell companies to post bounties on the black market, using pawns to affect the empire's security... and also carried out some special actions.

For example, the assassination of Ludweier's relatives and descendants this time was to fake a chaotic situation caused by the Evolutionary Totem, leading to the accidental death of a high-ranking official's descendant. The goal was to affect internal unity within the empire and increase internal pressure.

It is worth mentioning that the targets were not chosen manually, but through intelligent calculations to determine which targets would have the greatest impact on the empire, and then prioritize those with a high probability.

Ludweier's grandson was selected in this way. The intelligent calculation showed that killing him had a high chance of causing a change in Ludweier's position. Such a vast plan involving dozens of fields required intelligent calculations to select targets far more efficiently than manual thinking.

The Guanghui Federation and the Xuling Sect were targeting the empire everywhere, but as long as the secret conspiracies were not exposed, as long as they didn't appear on the surface, everyone would abide by the unspoken rules and compete only in the dark.

But now that there were witnesses, the situation was different. These two were of little value to Han Xiao, but they were quite useful to the empire. Even if the Guanghui Federation and the Xuling Sect denied that they were their people, the empire could let them play a useful role in some areas, making use of waste.

While watching the prisoners being interrogated, Han Xiao pondered the matter.

He originally thought it was just a bunch of third-rate forces causing trouble, but he didn't expect to be involved in such an event, accidentally saving Ludweier's relatives...

Fu Ding's luck was unmatched. If he hadn't discovered Ludweier's grandson in advance, he might not have made it in time to save him.

"He is truly a lucky general."

Han Xiao shook his head and sighed, stroking his chin, muttering to himself:

"As for Ludweier..."

He was familiar with the name, knowing that he was a high-ranking imperial official with achievements in the economic field... but in his eyes, Ludweier had no connection with him.

Han Xiao only knew that there was a faction within the empire that wanted to hand over the Evolutionary Cube, but he didn't know exactly who was in it.

After all, Ludweier was high-ranking and powerful, and as a neutral party, he didn't have many political enemies. As members of the empire, other imperial officials would not reveal too much to Han Xiao, and Ulanruier and Talrokov would not say anything either. Strictly speaking, allies were still outsiders, while imperial officials were their own people. Everyone mingled in the imperial bureaucracy, seeing each other often, and no one wanted to create enemies out of thin air, it was very pragmatic.

The interrogation was halfway through, and the scene was a little unpleasant, so Han Xiao prepared to leave. Gabra immediately abandoned the interrogation and escorted him to the prison gate.

"Thanks to Your Excellency Black Star for helping, otherwise these two spies would have escaped." Gabra smiled, but his ugly face made it look ferocious.

"It was just a small matter."

"Does Your Excellency Black Star want to stay at the Ainiya Hub? Please give me an opportunity to host you..."

"No need, we're about to leave," Han Xiao waved his hand.

Now that this had happened and his identity was exposed, he would probably be surrounded by onlookers again, so he didn't plan to stay on this planet any longer.

Fortunately, Fu Ding had successfully infiltrated the Punisher Alliance. Han Xiao planned to have the fleet follow quietly behind, while honing his last bit of physical strength and waiting for Fu Ding to find the relic that triggered the hidden boss.

Under the respectful gaze of the Ainiya Hub members, Han Xiao and his guards soared into the sky and returned to the spaceship parked at the spaceport.

As soon as he returned to his room, Han Xiao's communicator beeped. He glanced at it and saw an unfamiliar number.

After connecting, an old face appeared on the virtual screen, calm and composed, his tone revealing a sense of stability:

"I am Ludweier, Black Star, thank you for saving my child."

"It was just a small favor," Han Xiao said politely, sizing up the imperial official. "This is our first time meeting, isn't it?"

"Yes," Ludweier nodded. "I have long admired your name."

"You're too kind, we're both the same," Han Xiao smiled faintly.

Seeing Han Xiao's peaceful attitude, Ludweier's impression of him improved. He had interacted with other Super-A Grades before. Someone like Dark Emperor was aloof, obviously liked using a cold butt to touch other people's hot face, and even the Old Dragon would bring the arrogance of a Super-A Grade, with an indifferent attitude. A Super-A Grade as approachable as Han Xiao was rare in the universe.

After a few pleasantries, Ludweier formally expressed his gratitude. Someone had saved his grandson, and he had to take the initiative to thank him. If he acted like nothing had happened, he would lack emotional intelligence, and he would naturally not make that mistake.

"We are all colleagues of the Empire, I will help if I can, I can't just sit back and watch others make trouble in the Empire." Han Xiao did not take it to heart.

A smile flashed across Ludweier's old face. He pondered for a moment, then narrowed his eyes, asking casually:

"I heard... the Infinite Financial Group is investing heavily in the Shattered Star Ring?"

"Yes, they are preparing to expand their business there. They are financially strong, and I have also been affected. Overlord is quite good at seizing business opportunities," Han Xiao raised an eyebrow, understanding the other party's subtext.

"Hmm, I see," Ludweier smiled faintly. "Next time you come to my place, I will treat you to a meal. I still have some work to do, so I'll hang up first."

"See you next time."

Ending the call, Han Xiao played with the communicator, a playful look on his face.

The Crimson Empire had long known about the Black Star Army's competition with the War Realm. Because it was not good to favor either side in this regard, they could not designate the Black Star Army's leading position and prevent Overlord from seizing the opportunity to develop, so they simply did not help either side, watching their two allies compete in business.

However, listening to Ludweier's subtext, it seemed that he wanted to make some kind of indication in this regard?

Ludweier did not say it clearly, Han Xiao did not know how he would help, nor could he be sure whether the other party really wanted to help. Speaking ambiguously and liking to make others guess was common among this type of official.

Others might not have this energy, but coincidentally... Ludweier was in charge of the empire's economic and trade sector, and this matter was within his authority!

"If he helps, it would be of great help," Han Xiao muttered.

Imperial resource support was one aspect, and economic cooperation was another. The difference between the two was somewhat similar to giving a man a fish versus teaching him how to fish, and there was a lot of room for maneuver. After the distribution of benefits in the Glistening World, in order to maintain balance, the Crimson Empire would not have new support projects for a long time, but now it was uncertain.

Fu Ding's move allowed me to connect with a high-ranking official in this field, which can be used to deal with the Infinite Financial Group. Is this the legendary "follow the protagonist and get meat to eat"... Han Xiao could not help but complain in his heart.

"Beep beep..."

At this moment, the communicator rang again. This time, the caller was someone he knew, Gabra's superior, a Super-A Grade imperial ally who owned the Ainiya Hub.

When the meeting to deal with the Heterogeneous God was held a few years ago, Han Xiao had met this person and exchanged contact information. This was the first time the other person had taken the initiative to contact him.

This Super-A Grade's intention was also very clear, which was to thank Han Xiao for helping to maintain the security of his territory, and to invite Han Xiao to visit him. The two exchanged a few pleasantries before hanging up. As for what use this call had... don't ask, it was just for show.

…

In his office, Ludweier put down the communicator, thought for a while, and opened the internal line.

"Contact Beikeluodi for me."

Beikeluodi was a high-ranking official with real power, and a staunch supporter of the faction that wanted to hand over the Evolutionary Cube, but the two belonged to different political factions. Ludweier was a neutral party, while Beikeluodi was an important figure in the hardline faction. Although both supported the faction that wanted to hand over the Evolutionary Cube on the issue of the Evolutionary Cube, their approaches were different.

As a neutral party, Ludweier would at most offer advice to the chief Ulanruier and express his position, while Beikeluodi tended to take action.

Ludweier was in charge of the economic field, and the movements of the Infinite Financial Group were also within his scope of observation. His experience told him that behind the Infinite Financial Group's plans, there might be the support of certain factions of the empire, and Beikeluodi was highly suspected.

As a half-insider, Ludweier had not intended to interfere in the past, because this move also conformed to his position, so although he was not the leader, he turned a blind eye to it.

But now, since he owed Black Star a favor, Ludweier decided to intervene. His position of supporting the faction that wanted to hand over the Evolutionary Cube would not change, but he could make fine-tuning in his approach. The exercise of power by officials within the system was often reflected in this place, where ingenuity was seen in small spaces.

The first step was to talk to Beikeluodi first, sound a warning, and let the other party restrain himself, thereby affecting the behind-the-scenes transaction between the other party and the Infinite Financial Group.

Due to his identity, Beikeluodi might not be afraid of Black Star, but he had to pay attention to the opinion of another leader of the imperial political faction!

…

The turmoil at the Ainiya Hub came to an end. The number of casualties was not small, and the property losses were also quite serious, which would have a certain impact on the business of the transit station, and it would take some time to restore popularity.

Having received a generous reward, the Punisher Alliance was unwilling to stay for long and also planned to leave.

After this battle, Fu Ding and Ouluoluo completely integrated into the group and boarded the ship together.

"Where are we going now?" Ouluoluo asked curiously.

"You are still rookies, so I'll take you back to headquarters first."

Ruimengde showed what he thought was a friendly smile, but Ouluoluo thought he was making a face.

Hearing this, Fu Ding nodded lightly.

The thing that Old Hei wants me to find is probably at the headquarters of the Punisher Alliance.

Alas, I finally have a chance to help, I wonder if I can find it...