“Darling!”

Nereja squeezed himself out of the crowd and opened his arms with excitement on his face.

A smile appeared on Lenny’s face as she saw her husband. She dashed into his arms, then kissed his forehead, and they started kissing passionately. She hung on Nereja’s neck like a koala. Their position was so fiery that it looked like they were going to do it on the spot. Han Xiao’s eyes hurt from watching it, and the image of back then when he captured Kerlodd and stripped him naked appeared in his mind. Muscular, wide shoulders, small member. No wonder there were so many hybrids in Godora…

The other surviving Observers jumped down from the spaceship and hugged their friends.

When Han Xiao got off the spaceship, the space station chief approached and said with a surprised tone, “Black Star, this is…”

Obviously, the station chief did not know that Nereja had hired mercenaries privately. Hiring mercenaries for internal matters without permission was against the regulation in Godora, and the punishment would be given depending on how serious the situation was. It would also be added to their permanent record and affect their future and promotions.

When Nereja gave the mission, he had requested Han Xiao not to leak this information. However, keeping it a secret might lead to missed opportunities and lowered rating, so Han Xiao did not listen to him and told Lenny and the other survivors about it. These Godoran Observers, of course, knew about the regulation. After discussing it privately on the spaceship, they decided to keep the identity of the employer a secret. After all, Nereja had taken the risk to hire the mercenaries to save them, so they were willing to cover it up.

The Observers around them heard the station chief’s question and all looked over. The survived Observers looked at Han Xiao worriedly, Nereja swallowed his saliva nervously.

These people were worried that Han Xiao would tell the truth. As Black Star was not an official of Godora, maybe he did not know about their regulations.

Han Xiao smiled and said, “When I was here, I heard about the research ships. I’m a mercenary, so I won’t give up any opportunity to make a fortune. Mr. Station Chief, my services are not free. Maybe you should pay a reasonable price for my labor.”

Nereja heaved a sigh of relief, and the other Observers were thankful, too. They looked at Han Xiao discreetly with appreciation.

In order to protect the employer’s identity, this mercenary is even putting up a show. That is some dedication to his profession.

The station chief was puzzled and a little troubled. “According to our regulations, we can’t pay you any money. This was your own action; we did not hire you.”

Han Xiao raised his eyebrows. “Are you saying that I worked for free? Is this how Godorans treat their friends?”

A shade of joy flashed through the deputy station chief’s eyes. He coughed and said, “Station chief, he rescued the missing people after all. Although it’s against the regulations, I feel that we should return the favor. We should thank him for saving the lives of these Observers. Godorans never treat our friends badly.”

The station chief frowned and firmly shook his head. “Regulations are regulations. I appreciate your actions, but I really cannot pay you. This was your own action. If I paid you a reward, it would become a hire. That would be against the regulations.”

The faces of the crowd around them changed in dissatisfaction, especially the surviving Observers including Lenny. Their eyes turned rather cold.

These mercenaries saved us, yet you don’t even want to give a reward. Are our lives this cheap in your eyes?

Although they were unhappy, they did not say anything. The regulations were not to be disobeyed.

Han Xiao squinted and said in a deliberately indifferent tone, “Okay, I shall just say that I did a good deed. I want to park here for a day, will you maybe allow that?”

Seeing that he did not forcefully ask for a reward, the station chief felt relieved. He nodded and said, “Yes, we always welcome our friends.”

Hearing this, the crowd around them stared at the station chief in discontent before looking at Han Xiao with even more appreciation.

The station chief turned around and left, and the crowd gradually split up as well. When they passed Han Xiao, they greeted him with a solemn gesture, expressing their appreciation.

In a corridor far away with only the deputy station chief and station chief, the deputy station chief took a few steps forward and walked beside the station chief. “You’re too stubborn.”

The space station shook his head and said with a very serious expression, “This is not being stubborn but principles. Since I was assigned to this place by the superiors, my job is to supervise all the work here and make sure that everyone does things following the regulations.”

“Sigh, you’re right.” The deputy station chief purposely acted regretful. “Very few mercenaries would only negotiate a price after doing the job—their actions were not a coincidence. They probably accepted a secret hire from a space station employee long ago…”

The station chief suddenly stopped walking and said, “You’re right… Those mercenaries deliberately lied earlier because they wanted to make more money. Humph, mercenaries indeed are a group of greedy people. Investigate it. I want to know who the one that hired the mercenaries was.”

The deputy station chief hastily discouraged the station chief and said, “For things like this, knowing about it in our hearts is enough. Don’t be so serious about it. No matter what, all the lost Observers returning is a good thing. If you act as if you don’t know about this and don’t look for who’s responsible, the regulation violation will not exist. When you report to the superiors, you can write it into your own merits. This will be very beneficial for your future. They will think that you’re very capable.”

The station chief frowned and said in a righteous tone, “Merits? I won’t hide the truth for something like this! Investigative who hired the Black Star Mercenary Group. A violation is a violation; no leniency is allowed.”

…

Back at the hall, Nereja found Han Xiao. The two of them walked to the side, and he grabbed Han Xiao’s hand with a face filled with gratitude.

“Thank you so much for your help. Lenny and I don’t even know how to repay you.”

Han Xiao pulled his hands back, shrugged, and said, “Of course you know how to repay me. We agreed on the reward.”

“Yes, yes, yes, of course, I’m just too excited.” Nereja took out his communicator and quickly made a transfer.

_____________

[Interstellar Beast] Completed!

Grading mission… grading complete.

Mission Rating: Excellent

You have received [Excellent] grade bonus reward: Bonus 50% experience (425,000), Random Reward x 1

_____________

Only Excellent… Han Xiao thought. The chance of getting a random reward from Excellent grade is only thirty percent. Luckily, I still got it.

_____________

+35 Nereja Favorability

+20 Lenny Favorability

_____________

This Favorability… Han Xiao’s mouth twitched. Why do I feel like there’s a green color to it?

Godorans really could not be messed with. No wonder they had so many hybrids…

Putting those thoughts behind, Han Xiao activated the Random Reward on his interface.

_____________

Randomizing…

Randomizing complete

Your Random Reward Type is: [Attribute Point]

_____________

“How great.”

Han Xiao’s tone was calm, and he was expressionless.

At this point, he was already very calm about it… or at least he seemed very calm.

“I’m not angry, not at all.”

Han Xiao took a deep breath and looked at the three choices.

_____________

Please select one from the three reward below

DEX: 3 – 6

INT: 2 – 6

LUK: 1 – 8

_____________

Han Xiao glanced through and picked Intelligence without hesitation. The numbers behind it were the range of the random attributes given.

_____________

+5 INT

_____________

Not too bad. Although it’s not very good, a permanent attribute point is acceptable. This is the first time I’ve gotten an attribute reward from the Random Reward. It’s worth remembering.

Han Xiao comforted himself more than ten times in his mind and felt like he was feeling much better, although it might have been his imagination.

After Han Xiao got the money in his account, Nereja took out a white diamond ring from his pocket, looked at it for a while with reluctance in his eyes, and then solemnly placed it into Han Xiao’s hand.

“I know I don’t have much money, and these rewards are too little for you, but you still chose to help me. I’m very touched and thankful. This ring is called the Kenorn Diamond Ring. It’s a magic treasure that I collected. I want you to know that not all Godorans are as petty as the station chief. Please accept my gift.”

The inside of the diamond on the ring had a magic glow. Han Xiao held onto the ring and looked at the item description on the interface.

_____________

[Kenorn Diamond Ring]

Grade: Purple

Type: Magic Equipment—Ring

Equipment Effect: +9% Magic Resistance, +7% Magic Affinity, +11 INT, +23 MYS, +5 CHA

Equipment Requirement: Mage, above level 80.

Additional Ability: [Ring of Arcane]

Passive aura: Permanently increases the vitality of magic in a 15 meters diameter, +13% damage of all magic attacks.

Remarks: This ring is engraved with a very strong enchantment, and it has an enormous amount of magic power. The creator of this ring is clearly an arcane master.

_____________

Magic equipment, its attribute boost is not bad. The aura is perfect for dungeons. These guilds will definitely be willing to pay a huge sum for it. Sadly, this thing has limited use to me.

The oldest and second oldest Volga brothers were the only Mages in the mercenary group, and they had a high enough level, so it could only be given to them. Anyway, the players were not there for the time being, so there was no need to sell it.

After bidding Nereja farewell, Han Xiao returned to the hall and casually threw the ring to the Volga brothers. The three of them cheered with joy and went to the side to look at it closely, leaving Herlous there holding onto his cards and staring at the game that he was going to win money from.

“Now that everything’s over, are we not leaving yet?” Feidin asked.

Han Xiao’s eyes flickered. “There are more situations here, but I have already done what I should do. The situation will only become beneficial after a very long time. When that happens, it might be worth it to return here… Alright, pack up then, we will be leaving in a short while. Nothing will be happening here for now, so there is no need to continue staying here.”

The others did not understand what he meant.

“You’re the captain—you know what to do,” Herlous said. “Where are we going next?”

Han Xiao thought of the Interstellar Beast materials in the spaceship and said, “We need to find someone to turn that carcass in the warehouse into potions first.”

Although finding the Mission Completion Card was important, he was not in a hurry. Anyway, being in a hurry would not make him any luckier.

Doing missions could be postponed temporarily. To him, dealing with the Interstellar Beast’s materials was the most important matter.