Chapter 143 Departure

Two days later, Han Xiao called a group of executives into his office, stating that he was about to set off on a business trip to the Central Star Sea.

Sylvia, dressed in a neat affairs officer's outfit, nodded in response, her ponytail swaying.

"How long will you be gone this time?"

"It depends on the Empire's arrangements. They need to gather the personnel before they can act."

"Understood. I'll be watching over the affairs of the legion, so you don't need to worry," Sylvia said seriously.

Nearby, Hela raised a hand and brushed back the long, red, curly hair that covered one of her eyes. Her red lips parted slightly. "I have some things to pack. When are we leaving?"

Han Xiao shook his head and waved his hand at her.

"You don't need to go. I'm not taking the Guardian squad this time."

Hela paused. "Why?"

"Because we'll be fighting the Heterogeneous God, and you won't be able to help. Just stay and guard the Shattered Star Ring." Han Xiao smiled at her.

The Guardian squad was the legion's elite Beyond Grade A combat force, responsible for dealing with opponents who weren't worth him personally intervening. Fighting the Heterogeneous God was outside of their scope, and they would only be a burden. Han Xiao decided to go alone this time.

"...Understood." Hela snorted unhappily, turning her head and leaving the room, leaving everyone with a tall figure.

It seemed like he had stimulated her competitive spirit again...

Han Xiao chuckled inwardly. This was a good thing. The current Hela was different from the madwoman of his previous life, and it was good to give her some motivation.

"Sister is going to have another round of hellish training." Aurora retracted her gaze, her big, bright eyes fixed on Han Xiao's sharply defined face, worried. "Will it be dangerous for you to go alone?"

"I just said I wasn't bringing the Guardian squad, not that I was going alone."

As he said that, Han Xiao smiled and looked at Leonard.

"Huh? Me?" Leonard pointed to himself in surprise.

"That's right, you. Don't point."

"But I still have to be responsible for the Logistics Department..." Leonard was puzzled, not understanding why Han Xiao was bringing him along.

"Don't you get bored of being cooped up in the Logistics Department all day? Come out with me for a walk. By the way, who's the vice-minister of the Logistics Department?"

"A Beyond Grade A mechanic who joined a few years ago. This is his resume." Sylvia immediately pulled up the information.

In recent years, the legion had developed by leaps and bounds. Han Xiao already had a cloud of experts and a wealth of talent. More and more newcomers were joining, and the number of Beyond Grade As working for him had long exceeded the normal scale of a Star Cluster civilization. In addition to the Guardian squad, which had risen to prominence in the Shattered Star Ring, other Beyond Grade As were scattered in various departments, held in high esteem, and had their own reputations in the universe. The legion's organizational structure was also constantly refined, with a clear division of labor.

Among them, most of the Beyond Grade As who had joined were outsiders, such as Hadaway and Laqi, while the legion's own homegrown Beyond Grade As were fewer, such as Melos, Sylvia, and Leonard.

Han Xiao casually glanced through it and asked casually, "Does he have any records of cutting corners, taking kickbacks, accepting bribes, or privately selling legion blueprints?"

"No, if there were, I would have reported it to you long ago..." Sylvia was sweating.

*You're a Super A Grade Virtual Mechanic. I'm afraid you even know my underwear size. What can I hide from you at home?*

"Then the miscellaneous affairs of the Logistics Department will be temporarily handed over to him." Han Xiao put away the information and turned to look at Leonard, smiling. "Nello is still a child, and he'll get psychological problems if he's stuck with you all day studying. Take him to Scarlet Ring Star for a trip this time... Of course, it's still important to study while traveling."

Leonard suddenly understood. His Excellency Black Star mainly wanted to take Nello on a trip, but he didn't want his godson to have a complete vacation, so he brought his teacher along as well.

Sylvia instantly felt jealous.

*I'm also His Excellency Black Star's student, and his first disciple. Why is the teacher biased towards Leonard? I can be Nello's teacher too!*

*I want a vacation trip too, you bastard!*

"Don't worry, when I go out to fight the Heterogeneous God, you guys will stay on Scarlet Ring Star. You don't have to act with me. There's no danger." Han Xiao looked at Fording. "You come with me too. It's good to take care of Nello."

"Alright." Fording smiled. "Nello should be very happy."

*I don't know if he's happy, but I'm pretty happy...*

Han Xiao chuckled inwardly.

Bringing Fording and Nello was mainly to believe in a wave of metaphysics. After all, the difficulty of dealing with the Heterogeneous God was very high. Bringing two high-level protagonist-type characters to蹭(ceng - get some, freeload) their aura might increase the chances of success.

Two high-level lucky halos were better than him acting alone, a jinx.

Han Xiao arranged to leave in two hours and then announced the end of the meeting.

The crowd dispersed. Hadaway casually picked up Laqi, who was dozing off, on the way out and dragged him out of the room, like throwing away a bag of garbage.

After the meeting, Leonard returned to the Logistics Department as soon as possible to hand over his work to the vice-minister, and then returned to his office, opening the door to the compartment.

In the compartment, Nello was mechanically doing his homework, his little head bobbing.

He had drunk a dragon blood potion to refresh his mind, so he wasn't sleepy at all. He seemed to be simulating the way he used to doze off in class on Aquamarine, trying to awaken his long-dormant "sleepiness".

After checking Nello's homework, a look of satisfaction could not help but appear on Leonard's meticulous face. Although he had only been teaching Nello according to Han Xiao's orders at first, he had grown to like this student more and more in the process of teaching him, and he saw his own shadow in Nello.

Although Nello didn't like mechanics as fanatically as he did, he was just as hardworking. Nello had one advantage, and that was that he never slacked off. Even if the amount of homework was hopeless, Nello would still do it seriously and never perfunctorily. Leonard liked such students very much.

After all, the Mechanical and Magic Departments were different from other professions. Knowledge was power. The stronger the foundation, the smoother the growth. Leonard was very optimistic about Nello's future.

That's what he thought in his heart, but with Leonard's tsundere personality, he obviously wouldn't say it. He coughed and said, "Stop doing that. Pack your things. The legion commander is going to take you on a trip to the Central Star Sea."

Nello's wooden eyes suddenly came to life, bursting out with excitement and joy.

"Godfather is going to take me out to play! Hahaha... I don't have to do my homework anymore!"

Nello dropped his pen, almost tearing up with excitement.

*Godfather still dotes on me!*

The little bit of resentment in Nello's heart disappeared in an instant, and his heart was cheering and jumping, almost wanting to open his arms and praise Black Star... No, praise Godfather.

"Pack your things quickly. We're leaving in a while. We still have to go to the dock to gather."

Nello's movements stopped, and he mechanically turned his head,咔咔咔 (ka ka ka - onomatopoeia, describing the sound of stiff movements). "Wait, we...?"

"The legion commander asked me to go with you to supervise your studies on the way." Leonard said expressionlessly.

The happy expression on Nello's face froze.

...

Han Xiao waited for a while at the private dock. Fording arrived first. The two chatted for a while before Leonard and Nello arrived late.

Nello was carrying a small schoolbag, listless, with a look of despair.

"Everyone's here, let's go."

Han Xiao led everyone aboard the ship, adjusted it, let Philip take over, and entered autopilot mode.

The spaceship took off along the track, entered space, set its destination as the Crimson Empire's military stargate station in the Shattered Star Ring, and then quickly switched to warp mode and began its journey.

He had been to the Central Star Sea once last year, so he was familiar with the road this time.

After flying for a while, the group successfully arrived at the military stargate station, crossed several star fields through the stargate, teleported to the Scarlet Ring Star System in the Star Cluster Corridor, and arrived at the Empire's mother star, Scarlet Ring Star, under the guidance of the reception troops. The journey was smooth.

"This is the capital of the Crimson Empire..." Leonard looked at the habitable satellites, large space fortresses, and orbital living stations around the Scarlet Ring Star with fascination, admiring the mechanical structures on them.

"How magnificent." Nello stared blankly at the Scarlet Ring Star outside the porthole. It was much more magnificent than his hometown, Aquamarine.

The group landed slowly. Imperial reception envoys had been waiting at the dock, respectfully saluting Han Xiao and leading them into the core political area, the Tyrannhamir Palace, where they settled in an official guest house.

This was the capital of a Universe civilization in the legends, and Nello was curious about everything, opening his eyes. If it weren't for Godfather, he might never have come here in his life.

The receptionist smiled. "Your Excellency Black Star, I'm specially responsible for the living affairs of your group. You can come to me if you need anything."

"Well, then take them around. The Empire's mother star is very big. Take them to all the fun places." Han Xiao said.

"Godfather, aren't you coming with us?"

"I have something to do. I have to meet with the Empire's Ruler."

Han Xiao waved his hand, told the few people not to run around, and went straight to Uranrell's core government building. He had already informed her in advance, and Uranrell was waiting to meet him.

He swiped his face all the way, unimpeded, and soon arrived outside the door of the Ruler's office.

The secretary knocked on the door, and Uranrell's voice came from inside:

"Come in."

The door opened, and Han Xiao stepped in.

This was the second time he had met the Ruler. Like the first time, there were only Uranrell and Clotti in the room.

"Black Star, you're here. Please sit down." Uranrell nodded.

Han Xiao nodded. As soon as he sat down, Uranrell spoke again:

"You made a great contribution to the Beacon Star battle. Well done."

Before, he had only been praised in remote communication. This time, when they met, Uranrell praised him in person.

"I only did a little bit of work." Han Xiao suddenly realized that this sentence was really useful.

"You're too modest. The Empire has always rewarded merit. Perhaps you already know, we will add new resource support and give you preferential treatment in the division of territory in the Flickering World."

Uranrell paused and said slowly, "I can give you a sneak peek. After the first phase of development is completed, we will build various infrastructures in three Star Clusters. At that time, we will first divide some territories among some allied forces, and operate the transfer stations, colony stars, trade stars, and civilian stargates. You can make requests on the issue of territory division, and I will give your opinions priority."

Han Xiao raised his eyebrows. This meant that he was allowed to choose his first territory. This was not only because of his merits, but also an olive branch thrown out by the Ruler's faction.

The new Star Field development was a long-term plan. The Empire was not in a hurry. After the wasteland was reclaimed, roads would be built. First, the explored areas would be operated, and then other Star Clusters would be slowly explored. More Star Clusters would be unlocked in the future, and the territories obtained by the various allied forces would naturally be more than one.

This was a good thing for Han Xiao. He could get territory after the first phase was completed. At that time, he could officially start developing the civilization of mechanical life and migrate the Black Star Race.

It was much freer to be in his own territory than in the Shattered Star Ring. That was truly his own territory, and he didn't need to share the area with other Star Cluster civilizations. He had absolute say.

"I'm looking forward to it." Han Xiao smiled.

"Well, let's get back to business. The Empire is recruiting you this time mainly for two things, which you both know. The first is that the Empire has agreed to some conditions of the Arcane Church to unlock one of the Beyond Grade A Time Amber seals for them, so we need your help."

Han Xiao nodded to show that he understood.

"And the second thing is to encircle and suppress the Heterogeneous God. This is also related to the first thing. Only by lifting a seal will the Arcane Church agree to join this operation."

Han Xiao was slightly surprised when he heard this.

The Arcane Church was also going into the sea... Cough, taking action?

He hadn't received this news before, and he was a little surprised when he heard it for the first time.

"Isn't it only the Radiant Federation? The Arcane Church is..."

"This is what I mean. You brought the Radiant Federation into the water, and I called the Arcane Church along the way. They are willing to join us in encircling and suppressing the Heterogeneous God."

Han Xiao was immediately delighted. This was an unexpected surprise. With the Arcane Church joining in, the chances of killing the Heterogeneous God were even greater!

He pretended to ponder for a while and smiled, "Originally, only we were going to take action. Now that the three major civilizations are working together, it saves us a lot of energy."

"It's not just for this reason, it's also because of you."

"Me?"

"Yes, the Empire has sensed your killing intent toward the Heterogeneous God, and doing so is also to satisfy your wishes."

Han Xiao was a little flattered.

Did this mean... his suggestion really influenced the Crimson Empire's decision?!

"You are an important ally of the Empire, and we certainly value your thoughts." Uranrell paused and continued, "Let's end the conversation here. I still have some affairs to deal with. The Arcane Church's team escorting the sealed Beyond Grade A hasn't arrived yet, and the three parties' encirclement teams haven't assembled yet. You can stay on Scarlet Ring Star for a while. We'll notify you when the specific action takes place."

"Alright."

Han Xiao heard the meaning of seeing him off and secretly curled his lips.

It seemed that the Empire's Ruler was really busy. Li Wanji was going to get screwed again...

He got up to say goodbye and left the Ruler's office.

The door closed behind him, and Han Xiao finally breathed a sigh of relief, feeling excited.

Originally, the Crimson Empire was just going through the motions to deal with the Heterogeneous God, but he had promoted the joint action of the three Universe civilizations!

Under his prodding, the current situation had formed, and the situation was even better than he had expected. The three civilizations were encircling and suppressing together, and the formation was grand!

His determination to eradicate the Heterogeneous God was valued by the Empire, and political capital must have played a role in this, thereby changing the Ruler's decision.

The influence accumulated over the years had played a role!

"It's finally my turn to return the favor, Heterogeneous God." Han Xiao narrowed his eyes, a cold light flashing in his eyes.