Chapter 942: Run? Can You Escape?! (Revised)

Chapter 942: Run? Think You Can Get Away?! (Revised)

Hathaway gripped the neck of a Calamity-grade thug, crushing it as easily as one might squeeze a chick. The enemy, battered and bruised all over, struggled in vain. In sheer terror, he launched a frantic assault, his blows raining down on Hathaway’s completely unguarded pectorals, shredding his uniform, yet failing to leave a single mark upon his skin.

"Useless, useless, useless—" Beneath the frenzied onslaught, Hathaway stood as immovable as a mountain, his eyes narrowing in sheer comfort.

In the next instant, a fierce glint flashed in his eyes. He abruptly tightened his grip, crushing the enemy's cervical and laryngeal bones to dust.

Crack!

The thug's head instantly slumped, his spine severed and nerves in disarray. For a Calamity-grade, such injuries were not immediately fatal. The thug hastily forced his exhausted cells to squeeze out fresh vigor to mend his neural pathways.

Hathaway, however, would grant him no chance to recover. With a single punch, he battered the man to the ground. His fellow guardsmen swarmed forward, tearing the enemy into a scattered mess of flesh and blood.

Hathaway relished one-on-one duels with formidable foes, seeking the thrill of pressure. But against this lot of ordinary Calamity-grades who relied on underhanded schemes, he had absolutely no interest in bullying children one-on-one. Instead, he opted for a righteous group beatdown to swiftly end the battle.

Black Star's guardsmen were elite Calamity-grades meticulously selected from the legion. As a seed for the Super class, Hathaway held an overwhelming advantage over ordinary Calamity-grades. He had long been renowned for his impenetrable defense in the Broken Star Ring; these juniors couldn't even scratch his epidermis.

The moment the Black Star Legion intervened, the fate of these thugs was sealed. Of the four Calamity-grade enemies, only one survived, deliberately left alive by Hathaway.

Seeing the enemies dispatched, the two guards finally relaxed. Disregarding their own injuries, they hastily deactivated the protective barrier around Ludwell's grandson to check if he was hurt.

Once they confirmed he was safe and sound, the two approached Hathaway to express their gratitude:

"On behalf of His Excellency Ludwell, I thank you all for your assistance. We shall report your contributions to him truthfully."

"Ludwell, who is that?" Hathaway asked in puzzlement.

Unlike Fordin, he was unfamiliar with the structure of the Empire's officials. His mind was solely focused on the pure goal of becoming a Super, holding little interest in anything else.

"A high-ranking financial official of the Crimson Empire..." The guard recited Ludwell's lengthy string of titles, then pointed to the young man nearby and said, "And this young man is the descendant of His Excellency Ludwell. Our duty is to protect him. Had it not been for you, the consequences would have been unthinkable."

"Oh, so we saved the child of an imperial high official?" Hathaway widened his eyes and muttered, "Hey, you guys are really lucky to bump into His Excellency Black Star vacationing here... or rather, it's these enemies who are out of luck. Anyway, it's just a minor matter for us. As allies of the Empire, we can't just stand by and watch others cause trouble within imperial territory."

"That may be so, but we will never forget this debt of gratitude," the guard with the severed arm said. He then turned to the sole survivor and said coldly, "I have one more request. I hope we can conduct the interrogation together later. I need to see exactly who is targeting His Excellency Ludwell."

"We'll talk about it later. My companions are still fighting over there, so I'm heading over to help first."

Though Hathaway was straightforward by nature, he knew better than to easily agree to such demands. Waving his hand, he led his men into the air and sped toward the main battlefield.

Seeing this, the two guards had no choice but to escort Ludwell's grandson and follow closely behind to prevent further ambushes, while also reporting the incident.

...

"The Empire's economic situation this year is less than ideal, and trade has been significantly impacted..."

In a massive conference room, all the high-ranking officials in charge of finance gathered for a regular meeting, Ludwell among them.

Many officials in the financial department held neutral political stances, and Ludwell was one of the leading figures of the neutral faction, wielding considerable power in financial affairs.

Right in the middle of the meeting, Ludwell's communicator buzzed. He glanced at the message, set the device aside, and continued the meeting with an impassive expression.

After diligently concluding the meeting, Ludwell returned to his office.

The moment the door clicked shut, he slammed his palm fiercely onto the desk.

Bang!!

The metal desktop dented inward. Though Ludwell lived in luxury, he was far from powerless; most imperial officials were no delicate scholars.

"Investigate this to the very bottom! Who exactly is targeting my people!"

Ludwell's face was ashen as he opened the internal channel and roared, the anger he had suppressed for half a day surging forth.

Upon seeing the message, he had been utterly shocked, but he had restrained himself during the meeting. Now, he finally unleashed his thunderous wrath, determined to mobilize his authority and uncover the truth completely.

Fortunately, it had been a close call without actual disaster. Amidst his fury, Ludwell also breathed a sigh of relief, though a lingering sense of dread remained.

—Thank goodness they ran into the Black Star Legion, otherwise...

Just thinking about that possibility sent a chill down his spine.

After pacing back and forth in the room for a while, Ludwell gradually calmed down. He sat heavily, leaning against the back of his chair, his fingers tapping the desk as he muttered to himself in a low voice:

"Black Star, I owe you a favor this time..."

He hadn't been particularly fond of Black Star before. After all, as an ally of the Empire, he wasn't exactly hostile, but there were certain conflicts of interest from the Empire's standpoint.

Work was work, but having accepted a favor this time, his personal impression of Black Star had improved considerably, and he felt a sense of gratitude.

Although he wouldn't let personal feelings interfere with his work, he had certainly taken note of this debt.

...

As Hathaway and the others joined the fray, the chaos was swiftly quelled. Those who saw the tide turning and tried to flee found no escape; the dead and the wounded alike were all subdued.

The garrison troops cleared the devastated battlefield, placing restraint devices on everyone still alive.

The criminals lay slumped on the ground, thoroughly dejected, looking like the aftermath of a massive crackdown on organized crime.

"Lock them all up and interrogate them thoroughly." Gabula strode forward with the vigor of a dragon and a tiger, loudly directing his subordinates. He then approached the Punisher Alliance, gave them a sweeping glance, and said indifferently, "You did well. I'll have someone pay you your reward later. Thanks for the help."

Though his words were of thanks, his tone was rather indifferent and slightly perfunctory. Mainly, the Punisher Alliance was too low-tier to be of much help, only managing to deal with what he considered mere lackeys. Still, since they had stepped in to help, he had to acknowledge these so-called superheroes.

Raymond and the others nodded. They didn't expect the subordinates of a Super-class bigshot to be weeping with gratitude. This attitude was good enough, and they were getting paid anyway, which would replenish the guild's funds. A Calamity-grade bigshot guarding this territory certainly wouldn't be stingy.

However, Gabula didn't leave immediately. Instead, he looked at Aurora, a smile touching his lips, and asked, "Are you interested in working under me?"

Raymond frowned, disregarding the other's status as he stepped in front of her, saying in a deep voice, "What do you mean by that?"

"Your healing ability seems quite remarkable. Joining our Super-class faction would give you a much brighter future," Gabula said calmly.

During the battle, Aurora's healing prowess had caught his attention, prompting him to poach her.

Hearing this, the members of the Punisher Alliance all turned to look at Aurora, tension in their eyes. They didn't want such a great partner to be poached, but they couldn't answer on her behalf.

Aurora shook her head. "No thanks. I'm a hero purely out of personal interest."

Gabula frowned, about to try again, when the sound of footsteps came from behind. Hathaway walked over with his squad of guardsmen.

Gabula immediately abandoned the Punisher Alliance, turning to face Hathaway and his men. His face broke into a broad smile, and he laughed heartily:

"Hahaha, brothers of the Black Star Legion, thank you for your support! You've really been a huge help!"

Faced with the guardsmen, Gabula's attitude did a complete one-eighty. He had put on airs in front of the Punisher Alliance, but now he was exceedingly warm and enthusiastic.

Though he was also a subordinate of a Super, Gabula's boss was merely an ordinary Pillar of the Empire. Black Star, with his extraordinary potential, had a high chance of replacing the likes of the Dark Empress in the future to become the Empire's strongest ally. Thus, his tone carried a subtle hint of flattery.

"We are all allies of the Empire; helping each other is only natural," Hathaway said with a polite platitude, before continuing, "His Excellency Black Star has ordered that he will interrogate these prisoners together. Is that convenient for you?"

"Convenient, convenient, of course it's convenient," Gabula laughed.

"Mm." Hathaway nodded, casting a sidelong glance at Aurora. His eyes flashed, and he fixed his gaze on Gabula, saying with interest, "You're quite capable. Any interest in joining the Black Star Legion? A position as a guardsman is guaranteed."

At these words, the expressions of everyone present turned peculiar, especially the members of the Punisher Alliance, who couldn't help but smirk inwardly.

You were just trying to poach our people, and now you're being poached yourself. The big fish eats the small fish, the small fish eats the shrimp; the wheel of fortune truly turns.

Hearing this, Gabula's face stiffened. He cleared his throat to mask his embarrassment.

"Uh... that's not really appropriate. I have no plans to leave my current faction for the time being."

"Alright then. If you change your mind in the future, remember to let us know."

Hathaway gave a faint smile and secretly shot a triumphant glance at Aurora.

The corner of Aurora's mouth twitched.

You really hold a grudge, don't you.

Just then, a mechanized soldier returned with the stolen Evolver Totem. Gabra hurried over to take a look and was overjoyed.

Well, the final problem was solved; he no longer had a headache.

Black Star was truly a good man!

After this little interlude, Gabra lost all interest in poaching talent. He exchanged a few words before turning away to direct his men in cleaning up the battlefield.

Hathaway, meanwhile, cast a glance at the Punisher's group, revealing an enigmatic smile, and led his men away in the opposite direction.

Only then did the members of the Punisher Alliance relax. Having just been surrounded by a massive wave of Calamity-grade beings, they couldn't help but feel a lingering tension.

Having calmed their nerves, the group looked at Fodin and Aurora with even greater warmth.

Their new companion had actually rejected the poaching attempts of a Super-A-level faction to stay right here with them!

Thinking back to how Fodin and the others had fought side by side just moments ago, everyone present in the Punishers, including Celi, silently acknowledged these two new partners in their hearts.

Seeing this, Fodin offered a gentle smile.

...

Meanwhile, in another district untouched by the turmoil, two figures were moving stealthily through a desolate, rarely trodden area—the Shapeshifter and his companion.

The moment they realized the Black Star Army had intervened, the two knew the plan had failed. Having sunk so many resources down the drain, it was impossible not to be furious.

But anger was useless. Were they supposed to go head-to-head with a Super-A? They could only swallow their bitter resentment in silence, quietly slipping away from the observation post to go into hiding.

"Sigh, the plan has failed," one of them sighed, shaking his head helplessly.

"This was an unforeseen factor. Who could have known the Black Star Army was hiding in disguise on this planet? The team leader shouldn't blame us."

"The team leader won't do much, but with so many resources lost, the hidden networks planted on this planet will undoubtedly be thoroughly investigated and purged. According to protocol, we'll face punishment and demotion."

"If we can use this opportunity to leave this operation and transfer to a safer place, it might just be a blessing in disguise. Those factions were all hired through the black market; we didn't intervene directly, so it'll be hard to trace it back to us."

"Is that so?"

"Yes... hmm?"

The two men halted abruptly, their expressions turning horrified—that last sentence hadn't been spoken by either of them.

Snapping their heads up, they saw a ghostly black figure hovering above them, looking down. It had been following them for who knows how long, yet they hadn't sensed a thing.

Seeing this figure, the two were struck with bone-chilling terror. They froze in place, utterly motionless, their minds going blank, with only a single thought echoing in their heads:

How did Black Star find us?

Those people clearly didn't know they were the masterminds. Even when helping those Calamity-grade fugitives tail the target, it was the Shapeshifter who went!

Han Xiao slowly descended. Seeing their ghost-struck expressions, he raised an eyebrow. "Is it really that surprising that I could find you...? You didn't actually think you could escape my grasp, did you?"

During the interrogation of that gang of thieves earlier, he discovered they had also been hired on the black market, with the sole objective of stealing the Evolver Totem. From this, Han Xiao deduced that these thieves and the Blood Hammer Church cultists were most likely being used as pawns.

Coupling this with the information Fodin had reported about the descendants of high-ranking Imperial officials, he was able to piece together the general outline of this conspiracy.

All the factions that had come to stir up chaos were hired through the black market. They were mere pawns, ignorant of the grand scheme, each responsible only for their own slice of the work. The true objective of the force pulling the strings behind these pawns was to eliminate that descendant of the Imperial official.

Although the Aenia Hub was not a direct Imperial planet, its security checks were far from lax. For these people to smuggle in contraband, they must have relied on the power of local syndicates, very likely utilizing the channels of the hidden mastermind.

Very few forces were capable of laying such schemes within Imperial territory. The most suspicious were the Shining Republic and the Virtual Spirit, as they had the strongest motives.

Recently, there had been numerous robbery cases triggered by the Evolver Totem within the Empire, mostly orchestrated through black market hires. If the employers weren't the Shining Republic or the Virtual Spirit, they must have borrowed the shell of other factions. The true goal of this chaos wasn't actually the Evolver Totem; it felt more like a deliberate attempt to provoke security issues within the Empire.

There were likely multiple considerations at play: causing trouble for the Empire, showing them that refusing to open up purchasing rights would lead to such consequences, and perhaps using the opportunity to express the stance of other civilizations. In short, they had ulterior motives, and this was merely the tip of the iceberg of a massive plan.

Since he suspected a hidden mastermind, Han Xiao had no reason to let them go. Not shying away from the trouble, he simply used his precious Philip to hack into the main intelligence of the Aenia Hub, opened a backdoor, and extracted all the data from within.

He searched for all personnel related to this chaos and discovered the Shapeshifter's existence through satellite surveillance. He then cross-referenced hundreds of millions of entry and exit records with facial recognition, identifying faces that shouldn't have been on this planet at any given time. This allowed him to pinpoint every location the Shapeshifter had appeared, linking their trajectory... After tedious data filtering, he finally pinpointed their current location.

If he weren't a Virtual Mechanic, he truly might have let these two suspected masterminds slip away today.

What a pity...

Han Xiao shook his head.

Running into me, you're just out of luck.

---

(Attending Qidian's event abroad, heading to Malaysia and Singapore. I'll be spending a lot of time on planes and won't be home until the 25th. Updates will be somewhat unstable during this period, but I'll try my best not to take a break.)

Ps: Bros, does anyone know what to do when a phone has no signal abroad? I need a verification code to log into the author backend on my computer, but with no signal, I can't receive the text. I can only use the backend on my phone, but I'm worried that one day the phone will also require me to log in again and enter a verification code. If that happens and I can't even publish a single chapter, it'll be a disaster (T_T)