Chapter Twenty-Nine: First Contact

"Halt! Hands up!" a B-1 battle droid commanded.

Immediately, more B-1 battle droids swarmed the area, surrounding their ships so tightly that not even a drop of water could pass through. Hundreds of E-5 blaster rifles were pointed directly at their heads.

Tang Xiao and his companions raised their hands at once, showing no intention of resistance.

But then, several B-1 droids pushed fuel tankers and engineering vehicles forward. They began refueling the two ships and repairing their hulls. They even hauled away the corpses of the mercenaries from the Aurore-class freighter and scrubbed the control console, which had been splattered with brains.

Next, a Muun draped in a black cloak walked over, escorted by two security droids. He wore a mechanical mask over his mouth, with two tubes connected to his respiratory system pulsing rhythmically. He leaned on a cane as he walked.

It had to be said that, in Tang Xiao's estimation, the man looked much like a wizard from Dungeons & Dragons. But at this moment, he had no heart for wisecracks; he simply lowered his head, trying his best to remain unnoticed.

The newcomer was their employer—Hego Damask II.

"Mr. Hego, this is what you requested," Cuntor said, bowing respectfully as he presented the data storage drive.

"Very good. Your performance exceeded my expectations. I had originally assumed the victor would be that Falleen, Rosas Leon." Hego waved a hand lightly. A security droid stepped forward, took the drive, and handed it to him.

Hego did not check the drive immediately; he simply slipped it into his pocket and waved his hand again. Another B-1 droid approached, carrying a money bag.

"This is your payment: 100,000 Republic credits," Hego stated calmly, announcing a staggering sum.

One had to understand that on the black market, the exchange rate between Republic credits and Wupiupi was approximately 1 to 0.6. This 100,000 credits was enough to buy a decent starship outright!

"This... the price we originally discussed was only 20,000 Wupi," Cuntor said, unmoved by the extra windfall. He knew that taking more money meant taking on more burdens; those who take the coin must do the work.

"That was the price you negotiated with Rosas, not the price I offered," Hego replied coolly. "Take it; it is what you deserve. You managed to break through the blockade at Mygeeto, proving you are far superior to Rosas. This is your reward. I only wish to say that I am never stingy with those who work for me."

"So, that Falleen woman named Rosas was just a disposable pawn to you," Cuntor said, gesturing toward the side.

Over there, two B-1 battle droids were hoisting Rosas's corpse, preparing to jettison it into space.

"I like to have a backup plan for everything, and furthermore, I prefer dealing with intelligent people. I hope you are just such an intelligent person, so you had best not refuse," Hego said, his tone carrying an unquestionable authority.

Cuntor had no choice but to nod and accept the heavy bag of money.

"Excellent. Now, we are friends. Take your reward and find somewhere to enjoy yourselves. I will be in touch." With that, Hego turned to leave.

Suddenly, struck by an intuition, he spun around, his gaze locking onto Tang Xiao, who was shrinking into the background!

Tang Xiao felt it too. He looked up, his eyes inadvertently meeting Hego's. In that instant, he felt as if he were being swallowed by an infinite, bottomless black hole!

Nowhere to hide!

Nowhere to run!

But the sensation vanished as quickly as it had appeared, as if nothing had happened at all. Before him, he saw Hego’s look of keen interest.

The Muun looked Tang Xiao up and down, then suddenly burst into a fit of laughter. "Hahahaha!! Interesting. Hahahaha... You are truly very interesting... Hahahaha..."

Still laughing, Hego turned and walked away, leaving his laughter echoing through the hangar.

"You may leave. Or rather, you must leave immediately," a B-1 battle droid said in a stiff, robotic voice.

Cuntor glanced at Tang Xiao, who was covered in cold sweat, and said, "Let's go."

Kunto and Spad headed to the YV-865 Aurore-class freighter, while Cuntor, Tang Xiao, and the others returned to the YT-1000 light freighter.

As they piloted the ship away from the hangar of the Munificent-class frigate, the warship engaged its engines and vanished into hyperspace a moment later. Only then did Tang Xiao, whose nerves had been tightly coiled, exhale a long breath and collapse into his seat.

There was no doubt about it: Hego Damask II, one of the deepest and darkest figures in the galaxy, had set his sights on him.

From any angle, this was not good news.

Cuntor went to the cargo hold and checked, finding Jamid still frozen in carbonite and hidden beneath the freight. The B-1 droids had not discovered him when they swept the ship.

At that moment, Kunto sent a transmission: "Uh, Boss? Where should we go now?"

"You are free," Tang Xiao said suddenly. "Go back to the Endor system, pick up your companions, and then you can go wherever you like."

"Wait, Boss, what do you mean..." Kunto was clearly confused.

"Exactly what I said. You are free," Tang Xiao replied. "You were only held by us because you broke into Dawn Planet. Now, I'm letting you go."

There was silence on Kunto's end. After a long while, he said, "Actually, you were right before. I only dared to take on simple jobs, delivering cargo and the like. I never made much money, just scraping by. This ship wasn't even something I earned; it belonged to my old boss. He was killed by pirates during a smuggling run, and I inherited it..."

He paused for a moment before continuing, "You and Mr. Cuntor are capable people. I've never seen a pilot as skilled as Cuntor, nor have I seen someone with your mysterious power. This 100,000-credit payday is enough to keep me running for three years of hard labor. So... I want to follow you, Boss."

"If you keep running safe smuggling routes, you might live to be sixty," Cuntor interjected from the side. "But if you work with us, you might die tomorrow."

"But I'll also make more money than I could spend in a lifetime, right, Boss?" Kunto asked.

A faint smile touched the corner of Tang Xiao's mouth. "That's right. You will earn more money than you ever dared to imagine."

"That settles it. Tell us our next objective, Boss!"

"Back to Dawn Planet."

"Understood!"