Chapter 11: The First Legendary Figure

11. The First Legendary Character

"I understand... it was the gravitational fluctuations caused by this starship, combined with their signal interference, that caused our hyperdrive shunt to fail..." Quinto muttered. "I have never seen a ship this big in my entire life... Is this really a ship? Or is it a space station?"

"The problem now is why such a massive warship would appear on the outskirts of Endor," Ferrasi said, sounding a bit frantic. "If that's the case, what about Kenneth and the other two..."

"Communications have been completely cut off," Spard added from behind.

"That’s a given. What kind of energy output are they working with? What about us? Even the simplest electromagnetic interference is enough to make us blind and deaf." Quinto resigned himself to his fate and slumped into his seat.

Just then, the hangar bay doors in the center of the massive ship opened, and over a dozen small starfighters flew out, heading straight toward them.

"They didn't just blow us out of the sky with a single shot, so I guess they still want to talk. Let's just surrender. I imagine a faction capable of owning a ship this large won't bother with small fry like us... Listen, we need to be neither servile nor overbearing later. Don't let them intimidate you, but make sure they know we aren't to be trifled with," Quinto said.

"No problem, leave it to me," Ferrasi replied with a nod.

Guided by the starfighters, he piloted their ship into the hangar entrance; the opening alone was unimaginably vast. Looking at the empty hangar deck, Ferrasi whispered, "This hangar could even dock a cruiser from the Republic Judicial Fleet! What a massive display of wealth!"

Once the ship was secured, they had barely stepped out of the cabin when they saw a squad of fully armed soldiers standing in formation! These soldiers were burly and broad-shouldered with sharp gazes; they were clearly well-trained elites, far more professional than the lax soldiers of the Galactic Republic that Quinto and his crew were used to seeing.

Seeing the three of them descend, the soldiers simultaneously pulled back their bolt handles—*clack!* A naked threat.

Ferrasi shivered in fear, raised her hands, and dropped to her knees with a thud. When she looked back, she saw Quinto and Spard had knelt even faster than her, hands behind their heads, in a very standard posture...

Watching the three of them kneeling in unison on the monitor, Tang Xiao felt a bead of cold sweat roll down his temple. He turned to Qi Jian and said, "I guess... these three are likely in the same group as the three we captured earlier?"

"I think so too," Qi Jian nodded. "Manager, you don't even need to look to know these are the type who run smuggling operations. They’ve likely got plenty of dirty business under their belts; arresting them and executing them on the spot wouldn't be an injustice."

"Bring them in for interrogation. These people who run smuggling routes are very useful," Tang Xiao ordered.

The trio was soon escorted to the bridge by the marines. Tang Xiao chatted with them through a translation droid. The information gained was actually quite limited; these smugglers clearly had no interest in the politics of the galaxy—they only cared about their own wallets.

The middle-aged man named Dubrak Quinto was the leader of their small smuggling ring, and the woman next to him, who was somewhat attractive, was Mars Ferrasi. They primarily worked for the Hutts near Tatooine, frequently traveling to Endor to acquire beast furs and gems to sell back home.

"The Hutts, huh..." Tang Xiao stroked his chin, feeling that this was a bit troublesome.

The Hutts were a very ancient race in the galaxy, looking like oversized slugs. Don't let their disgusting appearance fool you; the Hutt Empire was once prosperous and incredibly powerful. They possessed deep foundations and even maintained a formidable fleet to this day. Even now, despite nominally submitting to the Galactic Republic, they remained autonomous. The Republic couldn't touch them—first, because they were too remote, and second, because biting into them might just break their teeth.

After the ancient Hutt Empire was nominally annexed by the Galactic Republic, the Hutts shifted their resources into underground enterprises.

To put it bluntly, every Hutt was a mob boss, and a filthy rich one at that.

Tang Xiao waved his hand, ordering the soldiers to take Quinto and his crew to the brig. He continued to analyze the language, then wrote the word "Hutt" on his interface where he planned his timeline and sphere of influence.

At that moment, the mainframe suddenly sent a message: [Manager, we have met the awakening conditions for a legendary character. You may awaken him now.]

"A legendary character? The conditions were met that easily?" Tang Xiao was stunned by the news.

He hurriedly pulled up the character page. Sure enough, among the legendary characters, one name was lit up, indicating that he was willing to be awakened and pledge loyalty to Tang Xiao.

"Name: Trent. Explorer. Skilled in interpersonal communication, smuggling, and starship piloting and modification." Tang Xiao read the information aloud. "Awakening condition: A grand stage and an excellent starship."

This condition could be interpreted as either very difficult or very simple; it was highly flexible. It suggested that this person didn't care at all about when he was awakened; all he wanted was adventure.

Although there wasn't a very detailed introduction, Tang Xiao already knew who this was.

Trent! The protagonist of *Freelancer*, a great adventurer.

"Awaken him, and have him come see me immediately," Tang Xiao ordered. He thought for a moment and added, "Never mind, I'll go to the medical bay to see him."

He walked straight to the medical bay and saw a sturdy man in a leather jacket undergoing a physical examination. He had blonde hair, a handsome face, and a bit of stubble—he looked like someone who had seen the world and was full of stories. Judging by the blushing, shy expression of the nurse nearby, she had been heavily flirted with by Trent before he arrived.

Seeing Tang Xiao, Trent waved and greeted him familiarly, "Hi, Manager. You came to see me personally? I'm truly flattered! I'm Trent. It looks like our colony is developing quite smoothly under your leadership."

"You know, we are in a very complex and dangerous universe. There could be thousands of intelligent species here, and the political environment is complicated. Therefore, I cannot afford to slack off for even a moment, and this is exactly when I need you. I just captured a starship, and now it's yours," Tang Xiao said, reaching out to shake Trent's hand.

"Haha, I've already seen the information about that ship on the core computer. It's a good ship; I can't wait to step onto such a stage," Trent laughed heartily.

He seemed to have a natural charisma, making it easy for him to get along with others. After chatting with Tang Xiao for a while, he turned the conversation back to the nurse. He was very eloquent and humorous, and a few jokes had the nurse giggling uncontrollably.

However, Tang Xiao wasn't marveling at Trent's flirting skills; he was feeling a bit excited inside. While Trent might not be famous, his abilities were absolutely formidable. As a citizen of the Bretonia in the game, he had thwarted the Nomad invasion, saving the entire Sirius Sector from the ravages of war.

He had once wandered the universe alone in his ship, starting from scratch, participating in war after war, and thwarting plot after plot. In the end, he even piloted his ship into the dragon's den, fighting his way into the heart of the Nomad home base to obtain their core. That was essentially him taking on an entire interstellar race single-handedly!

The piloting skills, intelligence, courage, and adaptability he displayed during this process, along with his ability to maneuver between various factions, were fully worthy of the title "Legendary"!

His addition now was exactly what was needed to explore this galaxy.

The two chatted in the medical bay for a while. Trent only needed a physical to ensure there were no issues after cryosleep. He finished his checkup quickly, bid Tang Xiao farewell, and went to the hangar to inspect the YT-1000 light freighter.

That's right, ever since that ship entered the mothership, it had changed its surname to Tang, and Tang Xiao had turned around and gifted it to Trent.

[Easter Egg Image 1: *Freelancer* Protagonist, Trent]

Take advantage of the fact that the contract status hasn't changed yet, everyone, hurry up and invest. You'll earn if you invest.

(End of chapter)