Chapter 755 Preparing for a Hot Potato
Meanwhile, Han Xiao took Hila and Feidin to escape from the scene. He clutched the Evolution Cube in his hand, his expression conflicted.
It was an unexpected joy to be able to pick up the Evolution Cube. After this ecstasy, Han Xiao gradually calmed down.
Since the Evolution Cube had already appeared, it should have nothing to do with Feidin. There had to be a deeper reason behind this, likely an event that happened somewhere that he was unaware of.
The emergence of the Evolution Cube had also cleared up any blind spots of information. Han Xiao’s brain moved rapidly, re-examining this series of events and speculating on the causes and consequences.
The appearance of Psyker’s Evolution Cube in the hands of these people means that they stole the Universal Treasure from Psyker in some way and transported it. No wonder they went silent for months after killing Harrofal. Turns out, their plan was not to retaliate but to plot to steal the Evolution Cube…
Han Xiao now understood their plan.
It seems like I was mistaken. These people were not here to deal with me but to steal treasures…
But why did they kill Harrofal? Did he have something to do with the theft of the treasure, or was there another motive behind it?
In his previous life, the Evolution Cube had only been made known to the players when it was in the hands of the Arcane Church. Until Austin revealed the secret, Han Xiao did not know that the Evolution Cube actually belonged to Psyker during this time period. While this might not have been a secret to the higher levels, it was not something that was publicized, and with the current level of the players, it was difficult to obtain this sort of intelligence.
In the later versions, players who joined the Arcane Church faction could pay contribution points and Enas in exchange for the opportunity to use the Evolution Cube.
The effect of the Evolution Cube was mainly for the transcendence of a species, and its specific role varied from each person. If the weaker party became stronger, the stronger would increase even more. However, the first time that it was used would give the greatest effect. Any subsequent attempts would become weaker until there was no longer any effect.
The Evolution Cube went from Psyker to the Arcane Church. I’m not sure what happened halfway. Did EsG.o.d interfere in the transportation?
Han Xiao suddenly paused. He recalled that in his past life, there was intelligence about EsG.o.d creating trouble in the Star Pupil Holy Race. However, it did not occur during this time period but an event in between Versions 3.0 and 4.0.
The players did not experience it in person, only seeing a text record on it, and there was no mention of the Evolution Cube.
“Phillip, do a search on the latest news report of the Star Pupil Holy Race,” Han Xiao ordered.
Planet Avitan’s news was quickly searched through by Phillip, but due to the PR control by its government, the specific process was obscured. There was only mention that Planet Avitan had suffered heavy casualties and did not mention the name of the EsG.o.d.
Because the huge Star Field would generate hundreds if not more of such stories every day, the event on Planet Avitan did not affect the Shattered Star Ring on a large scale. Thus, Han Xiao would not normally have paid attention to such a small story that did not involve him.
Han Xiao thought for a moment. The incident on Planet Avitan should have been committed by EsG.o.d. I am eighty percent certain that they stole the Evolution Cube from Psyker, with the strategy of feigning an attack in the east but hitting the west.
In that case, the attack on the Star Pupil Holy Race by EsG.o.d was carried forward.
In connection with Harrofal’s death, Han Xiao had a feeling of shock.
Could this be related to me? Is this the so-called b.u.t.terfly effect?
A pity, if only there was one person left alive.
Han Xiao was a little troubled. He had planned for everything to be foolproof, going out with full force, but who knew that their opponents would be so weak that they would be wiped immediately? There was no chance left to interrogate any of them.
Wait a minute…
At this point, Han Xiao lurched to a stop. Thinking about the intelligence that he had received, a new doubt surfaced in his mind.
Since EsG.o.d was acting secretly, and there was no sign from the Star Pupil Holy Race that the Evolution Cube had been stolen. Then, the reason Sardeem was monitoring this group would be interesting indeed.
Perhaps Sardeem was not interested in the bounty reward offered by the Tyla Civilization but the Evolution Cube in their hands?
Han Xiao’s brows furrowed. He thought of three possibilities.
The first possibility was that Sardeem had some sort of special intelligence channel and managed to obtain news of the location of the Evolution Cube, thus wanting to take it for himself.
The second was that the Mechanic Empire was aware of this matter and wished to be the fisherman that obtained all the benefits, thus instructing Sardeem, who was situated in the Shattered Star Ring, to obtain the Evolution Cube.
The last possibility was that Sardeem had been asked by Psyker to help the Star Pupil Holy Race regain the Evolution Cube… no, Psyker might not have told the truth, as Sardeem was only told to monitor them, so he might not have known about the existence of the Evolution Cube.
Whichever possibility it was, Sardeem was a compet.i.tor, and in the worst-case scenario, it meant that a Beyond Grade A Super, Psyker, was also on his way there.
Weighing the Evolution Cube in his hand, Han Xiao’s eyes were solemn.
He was no stranger to the Evolution Cube. At least he knew that the original shape of the Evolution Cube was huge, so the cube in his hands should be a portable version of the Evolution Cube.
Austin said that he himself had not seen the appearance of the Evolution Cube before. Psyker has not publicly displayed the Evolution Cube like the Arcane Church, so there should be few people that know of it, and Sardeem himself may not even recognize it…
At this moment, Han Xiao suddenly thought of something, and his face changed as he hurriedly contacted Aurora who was on the s.p.a.ces.h.i.+p.
“How’s the situation on the ground at the port?”
Aurora was mystified. “Uncle, how did you know that there was a situation? We’ve just received a notice from the ground control that someone attacked the city, so the departure pa.s.sage will be temporarily closed and departure restricted. Only when all the perpetrators are caught will they loosen the regulations.”
Indeed!
Han Xiao kneaded his fingers.
The moment he got rid of the subordinates of the EsG.o.d, Sardeem immediately locked down the entire planet, not allowing anyone to leave.
Such a big move was not only just to ‘arrest the perpetrators of the attack on the city’ but also to keep the Evolution Cube on this planet.
However, this would raise a new problem. With him having concealed his tracks, Sardeem had no way to pursue him. Even if they did security checks on Planet Macipher, how long would it take to find the Evolution Cube? With the number of people present, the difficulty was just like finding a needle in a haystack. Without the corresponding detection method, just shutting down the planet was futile.
Thus, Sardeem should have some methods of locating the Evolution Cube. Maybe it’s a detection instrument that can sense the position when it comes within a certain distance. This may also be the detection method of Psyker. The detection should be limited, otherwise I would have long been spotted by Sardeem.
Although he did not experience the whole process himself, based on the clues that the Evolution Cube gave him, Han Xiao could guess the sequence of events. His mind suddenly brightened up.
With this in mind, Han Xiao told the other two to stop.
His original intention was to leave Planet Macipher immediately after killing Orozen, but Sardeem had already stopped the air traffic control before he could even get into his s.p.a.ces.h.i.+p. If he wished to leave, he would have to forcibly break through their defenses, so he was in no hurry. Rather than rus.h.i.+ng back to the port, he might as well think of how to deal with the Evolution Cube that he had now gotten his hands on.
Han Xiao summed up his current situation.
Getting the Evolution Cube meant having to face Sardeem, whose intentions were unknown; Psyker, whose house had been robbed; the scheming EsG.o.d; and the Arcane Church!
At least two Beyond Grade As and a Universal Civilization would be looking for trouble with him!
Han Xiao sucked in a deep breath of air, realizing that this Evolution Cube was a hot potato!
While it was a joyful surprise, it posed a danger!
Therefore, he had to be cautious when dealing with the Evolution Cube.
Han Xiao turned solemn and quickly calculated the pros and cons in his head.
There are only two ways to deal with this. Hide it or give it away.
If I wish to keep the Evolution Cube… Well, I’m not far away from the Beyond Grade A cla.s.s myself, so I have the qualifications to occupy a Universal Treasure. But the consequences will be becoming an enemy of Psyker. EsG.o.d will also target me in order to obtain the Evolution Cube. I already have a relations.h.i.+p akin to fire and water with the Tyrant. If Psyker and the Tyrant join hands… things don’t look too optimistic.
But the benefit of keeping it is that not only can I use it to strengthen those in the Black Star Army, I can also use it to attract more forces. There are few civilizations that can resist the temptation of the Evolution Cube. Psyker did ^ this as he and the Arcane Church monopolized the usage of Evolution Cube. They did not wish to use it to cultivate more compet.i.tors.
Han Xiao secretly nodded to himself. Sardeem might have locked down the planet, but he could not stop him from taking the Evolution Cube. Even without forcibly breaking through, he could still quietly take the cube away from Planet Macipher with a Void Dimension Jump.
So long as Sardeem was unable to find the cube, sooner or later, the lockdown would end, and the trio would then be able to get out through the s.p.a.ces.h.i.+p.
The issue was, if he kept the Evolution Cube, he would not be able to disguise it from the other organizations. The Black Star Army would then become a target of public criticism.
Han Xiao groaned.
Even if I hand it over, choosing the person to hand it to will be a problem—EsG.o.d, the Mechanic Empire, the Universal Civilization, or Psyker.
Pa.s.sing it over to EsG.o.d would turn him from a foe to an ally, but if things were revealed, he risked offending the three Universal Civilizations as well as many other forces. Generally speaking, the risks were too great, and the disadvantages outweighed the advantages.
It would also be strange to hand it over to the Mechanic Empire. It would be in line with Planet Macipher and Sardeem, throwing the Evolution Cube that was the hot potato over to someone else, and using it to exchange for a large amount of resources. At the same time, it would also allow him to get rid of the danger, stay out of the fight, and avoid any struggles.
If given to a Universal Civilization, they would turn into staunch allies. Who it was given to would affect the benefits. The Federation of Light would give a lot of resources in exchange, whereas the Crimson Dynasty would give him a ticket to the Flickering World in addition to the resources.
These two were possible. As for the Arcane Church, it would be detrimental for him to hand over the cube to them.
If he pa.s.sed it to the Arcane Church, things would be more complicated since Psyker was already considered an ally of theirs. The Arcane Church might not forsake Psyker to favor him, and either way, he would lose a Beyond Grade A ally.
However, with him turning into Beyond Grade A, the Arcane Church might not use force to try to s.n.a.t.c.h the Evolution Cube, which meant that the final result would be them returning the Evolution Cube to Psyker to maintain their relations.h.i.+p if he handed it over to them. In that case, not only would they retain Psyker, they would have him as their ally and still be allowed to use the Evolution Cube.
Psyker might appreciate the Arcane Church, but the same could not be said of Han Xiao.
Of course, the Arcane Church was a hegemon and would not be afraid of annoying Psyker. There was also the possibility of them pocketing the Evolution Cube.
The final option would be returning it to the owner and keeping things quiet. This would undoubtedly allow him to gain the friends.h.i.+p of Psyker, and he might even be able to borrow the Evolution Cube from time to time like the Arcane Church.
Just as Han Xiao was weighing the costs and benefits, Feidin asked, “Black Star, where are we going now? Aren’t we going back to the s.p.a.ces.h.i.+p?”
Han Xiao regained his senses, thought about it, and shook his head. “There’s no need. Hila, bring Aurora over.”
They could not go back to the Cornerstone Summit Corporation anymore. Sardeem would definitely suspect himself first of all as an unknown Calamity Grade Mechanic, and he would have reported him. Since he would be suspected whether he returned or disappeared, there was no need to keep up with the pretenses.
Anyway, I was the one who did it, and I, Barne, am righteous and unafraid of trouble!
Han Xiao temporarily let go of his mental struggle.
He was long used to taking a rain check and calculating the best possible outcome, but no matter what, the Evolution Cube belonged to him alone for the moment.
Enjoy it before deciding!
Your Excellency Psyker, I’ve already locked down the planet’s port.”
On the other side, Sardeem was communicating with Psyker.
“Before I arrive, don’t let anyone go,” Psyker blandly replied.
“Alright… but please hurry. I cannot keep the lockdown for an indefinite period of time.”
Sardeem had an expression of helplessness. Luckily, there was an excuse of hunting down the perpetrators to maintain law and order, but locking the port for too long would cause Planet Macipher’s business to suffer, and this was something that he could not accept.
You’ve worked hard. I’m almost here,” Psyker replied.
“Ok, what should I do now?”
“There’s no need for you to do anything else. Just ensure that no one leaves Planet Macipher. If anyone tries to forcibly leave, stop them personally.”
He could tell that the Evolution Cube was still on Planet Macipher, but the distance was too far from it to be accurately predicted. Thus, when Sardeem informed him that EsG.o.d’s subordinates had been killed, Psyker was slightly surprised but regained his calm afterward.
As long as the treasure was still on Planet Macipher, it would all be good. The moment he arrived personally, he would then be able to discover the position of the Evolution Cube.