Han Xiao had arrived at Juberly Hub, and just as he remembered, the place was still as lively as ever.
The first thing he did was secure a base, the players had already witnessed their first mission even before becoming mercenaries. Han Xiao's ship had been hijacked by Space Pirates, and in the end, he managed to get a mission from the ship's captain to deal with the pirates. So, whether it was him or the players, everyone had some money.
Of course, Han Xiao was already planning how to get that money from them.
However, first he secured the base and left the players waiting while he went to register with the Mercenary Association, as well as create his own Mercenary Group.
Han Xiao changed his nickname directly when he was registering, Black Phantom was enough for Aquamarine, but here he wanted more, so Black Star and his mercenary group Black Star were born.
The story continued to unfold, Han Xiao had entered the galactic scene, and his rise had begun.
What he didn't realize was that a clone of Ringo was witnessing the entire development, he didn't approach or say anything, only observed with a smile.
The gears began to turn.
On the other side, in the Floating Dragon, Ringo was meditating, training his Haki.
In his mental landscape, he was floating amidst the infinite galaxy, he could even feel the radiation warming his skin, though this was merely his mind playing tricks on him.
He smiled slightly as the information about Han Xiao passed through him. In the middle of the imaginary space, Ringo opened his eyes, in front of him, a figure quickly formed, it was Han Xiao.
Not the current Han Xiao, but the Han Xiao as he remembered him from the end of the novel, he was taller, with paler skin and a stronger physique, hidden beneath a black overcoat that billowed without a wind, his black clothes clearly representing his standard color.
Behind him, a huge army gradually formed, endless machines, up, down, sideways, machines like a tide of gleaming metal.
His hands were in the pockets of his overcoat, exuding an aura of indifference and power.
Han Xiao's future was probably not accurate, but nonetheless, it was Ringo's mental image of what Han Xiao would become.
However, at that moment, something confused him. His precognition seemed to sense something, for a moment, the figure of Han Xiao in front of him seemed genuinely conscious, causing Ringo's eyes to widen slightly.
Han Xiao in front of him gave a slight smile before returning to normal.
Ringo didn't do it, he's sure of that.
This could only mean one thing.
Grade X.
Han Xiao managed to reach that point in this world as well, he tracked that exact moment through the information about him. Ringo sensed that there was something different about him.
It wasn't a physical sensation, it was his precognition, something had changed, but he couldn't quite put his finger on what. He frowned slightly, thoughtful. He didn't think Han Xiao had done anything to him, after all, if Han Xiao had reached Grade X, Ringo was sure he had too. His future self wouldn't have let Han Xiao hurt him in the past.
In fact, he wasn't even sure if Han Xiao could influence the past, instead, it was just as if a vision of the future had connected with him.
So there was only one explanation, Connection.
To return to the main universe, Han Xiao needed to use connections as anchors, he confronted his own history, his past, his friends...
Ringo felt that was the reason, Ringo was one of the connections he used.
Ringo took a deep breath, he didn't feel this was a bad thing. On the contrary, he hoped Han Xiao would succeed, because if not, they would be restarted in a few hundred years.
Both he and Han Xiao would cease to exist forever.
So, although Ringo felt he could sever that connection, he didn't, instead, he strengthened it. He remembered the moment he met him, their escape together, and even the times he had pranked him. He opened his eyes, feeling the connection deepen.
Looking at Han Xiao's figure in his mental landscape, he spoke. -Don't fail, you idiot, or I'll make Jack piss on your spaceship.
Ringo seemed to see a mocking look on Han Xiao's face before he disappeared, not only him, but the entire mechanical army behind him, it wasn't Ringo's doing, they simply vanished.
Ringo stared thoughtfully into the empty space.
Was his act of recreating Han Xiao's future in his mind something he wanted to do, or was there more to it? Did his precognition react on its own and do it to help Han Xiao?
Why didn't he just go to future Ringo directly for this?
Ringo couldn't say for sure, but at that point, it wasn't worth thinking about, the future was still uncertain, but he wouldn't stop because of that.
Ringo closed his eyes again, this time he began to try to create a second layer, a dream within a dream.
As for why he didn't create a projection of himself? He had no idea what he would look like, and besides, he didn't want to, it wasn't enough to imagine himself all-powerful, he would reach the top step by step.