[A/N: Since Ringo is still traveling, the next chapters will focus more on old Han. Some readers have been asking me for more content about him for a while now, so I'll use this time to do so.]
Han Xiao was in a good mood, not only had he managed to obtain the refined Void Dragon marrow and inject it into himself, gaining the Void genes and transforming his [Basic Strengthened Life] talent into [Intermediate Strengthened Life], taking another step on his path to becoming the first Tank Mechanic in history.(Not that he had already accepted this at that point.)
Not only that, he had also managed to free the Silvers, completing his original mission and gaining access to the mechanical knowledge he wanted. Han Xiao, who had been somewhat annoyed at being forced to join this faction, found himself thinking that it had actually been a good deal.
Even more so when Ames finally approved his departure, since there was already a mercenary group affiliated with the Dragon Emperor, Jenny initially tried to get the two to merge, but seeing Han Xiao's resistance, she passed the matter on to Ames, who simply let Han Xiao do as he pleased.
Although Ringo didn't say much, it was the first time Ames had seen Ringo speak for a friend, so she felt that their relationship was still good, if Black Star wanted to leave, let him leave.
Since Ames didn't care about things like recruiting troops and increasing her 'army', letting Black Star roam around instead of causing Jenny internal headaches was better than leaving that restless fellow on the Floating Dragon.
Jenny thought the same, although Black Spider, or rather Ringo, had greatly increased her workload, Black Spider was just a standard mercenary, going around and completing missions. Bradd was the one who caused the most problems, but in most cases the Mage just attracted people from outside and that was it.
Unfortunately, Jenny didn't know what kind of careerist Han Xiao was.
Her workload was about to multiply several times over, if she had known, she would never have allowed Black Star to leave!
It was during this period, while Han Xiao was returning from his warehouse, with Aroshia whom he took with him everywhere due to the 'woman's' personality, that he encountered an ambush.
On a deserted street, a large amount of black dust rose, creating a cage around their figures. In front of Han Xiao, Ember reappeared along with several Dark Star supers, who quickly surrounded Han Xiao and Aroshia.
They had met before a few days earlier during the Silvers rescue mission, although Ember had no idea that the man in front of him was the masked figure who had stormed the slave market and fought with him.
-Captain of the Black Star Mercenary Group, we need your help. Come with us. Not resisting will save you some pain.- Still unaware of this, Ember acted harshly, thinking Black Star was just another common mob, Han Xiao was just one of their targets, but since the others were imprisoned, Han Xiao was the only mercenary they could ambush for now.
Two days ago, Dark Star had coincidentally captured Peggy, the 'man' who had first kidnapped the Silvers. With him, they discovered that someone had impersonated Dark Star to extract information from him about the cargo carried by the Silver. That person was none other than old Han, who had used Dark Star's name to deceive Peggy. Unfortunately, whether it was Peggy or the current Dark Star, no one knew they had been tricked by Han Xiao.
Because of this, they changed their strategy. They no longer needed to look for a needle in a haystack. Since the cargo was on Floating Dragon, they only needed to focus on the organizations involved in the fight at the docks to find out who took the bill. The scope of the search became immeasurably smaller.
Who were the people involved? Clearly the pirates, the mercenaries, and the Dragon Emperor's guard team.
The last one couldn't be touched easily, the pirates had already been killed during interrogation, including Peggy. Only the mercenaries remained. Han Xiao, now free, was the easiest target, so this ambush happened.
The goal wasn't just to ask Han Xiao about the bead, instead, they also wanted to control Black Star and use it to communicate with the other mercenaries. After all, Han Xiao had already joined the Floating Dragon and could contact them, and this would also avoid a direct confrontation with a BGA, Ames.
Dark Star would go to great lengths for the Secret Message Bead, but it would be better if the bead could be retrieved through the mercenaries.
Ember was very strong, in terms of Grade B, even Ringo at that level, if he didn't have immunity to true damage, he could only transform into Nightmare to dodge Ember's power.
Carbon Control. Given that most living beings in the galaxy were made of carbon, this ability was practically a cheat.
Even more so because, until now, Ember hadn't encountered another being immune to true damage. This was normal, this ability is the kind that only appears in 'protagonists', the kind that decides the fate of a planet or even more. How much bad luck would a person need to encounter one of these guys?
Besides, it was only a possibility, although the leader of Germinal taught Han Xiao that skill, perhaps not even Bennet, the planet's hero, possessed it.
Han Xiao had already let go of the resentment he felt for the suffering he endured to learn this skill when he first faced Ember. Therefore, although Ember could still control the carbon around them to attack, the more powerful ability to directly decompose a person through the carbon in their body could not be used.
Without that, Han Xiao, the protagonist of this world, had nothing to fear from Ember.
So, when Ember told him to surrender, Han Xiao wasn't afraid at all. Instead, he looked around, seeing that all the other 7 ambushers were all Grade B. He had already guessed who these guys were, but still pretended to ask. -Who are you?