HAGLTP Chapter 77

Interstellar World.

“Rey, when are we going to make our move?” asked the tall boy with a ponytail to the other boy beside him.

The boy being asked had a heroic face, with a head of brilliant golden hair, looking like a noble from an oil painting. Unfortunately, he was dressed in dirty, ragged clothes, his skin tanned to a bronze color, and his eyes held the fierce look of someone who roamed the streets.

He looked just like a space thug.

“Jason, don’t rush,” Rey said, scanning the bustling crowd at the spaceport, trying to spot a fresh target.

This was a chaotic transit planet. Although it was an important transportation hub, various factions mixed here, leading to frequent conflicts, and the overall security conditions were poor.

He and Jason often engaged in this kind of no-cost business, stealing or robbing first-time travelers, particularly favoring those who were alone or in small groups.

After a successful hit, they would blend into the crowd, and these unfamiliar travelers would have no way to find them. Even if they reported it to the police, the local law enforcement wouldn’t bother with petty thefts of this scale.

Here, robberies that weren’t too exaggerated were classified as petty theft.

Soon, Rey found his target.

A handsome boy dressed in expensive, handmade clothing, accompanied by a young man who looked refined, seemingly a private tutor or attendant.

Both the boy and the young man were tall, their features exuding the calmness typical of the wealthy, and they didn’t seem like fighters at all.

What’s more, they were carrying luggage and discussing where to rest for the night, mentioning hotels and inns favored by tourists.

Rey tilted his chin towards the two, signaling.

A perfect target.

They quietly followed their chosen prey, patiently waiting for the right moment to strike.

The bustling spaceport seemed like a suitable place to fish in troubled waters, but unfortunately, this territory belonged to a local gang, and they couldn’t afford to provoke them.

A secluded alley looked promising too. But this area belonged to a security company that despised anyone causing trouble on their turf.

The target continued moving.

They seemed genuinely interested in the daily life of this planet, wandering aimlessly until they gradually arrived at a chaotic local market.

Rey’s eyes lit up; it was a great opportunity.

The market was a mix of people and didn’t belong to any fixed faction, as long as they didn’t cause trouble at the clearly marked stalls.

The target walked into a remote corner of the market.

Rey and Jason quietly followed, the target still blissfully unaware.

Rey made a gesture, and Jason nodded in understanding. They both simultaneously struck at the back of the boy and the young man’s neck with their hands.

“Uh—”

Rey let out a scream. Before he could comprehend what was happening, the seemingly weak and delicate boy had him pinned to the ground.

God, what did this guy eat to grow up? Is he trying to push me into the ground?!

Another scream almost coincided with his; Rey recognized it as Jason’s voice. The man who looked like a tutor was no simple character!

The boy maintained his hold on Rey, his eyes showing a hint of disdain.

Is this the imperial prince? Reduced to a petty thug, he looks nothing like someone who could bear the weight of an entire interstellar empire.

“F**K!” Rey struggled fiercely, and when he caught a moment to escape, he flipped over and kicked the boy in front of him without hesitation.

“Ah————”

This time, Rey’s scream was even louder.

Before he could land the kick, the boy executed a flying kick, pinning him back to the ground, making him feel like his insides were about to burst out.

The boy casually pressed his shoe against Rey’s neck.

Can this guy really hold his own? Should we restart the game and pick a prince who hasn’t turned into a useless piece of trash yet, like a newborn?

“Please wait!” Jason, pinned to the ground by the boy, suddenly spoke up.

“Sorry to interrupt your travels. We’re willing to hand over all our money and promise not to bother you again. We hope you can let my brother go; he’s still young and doesn’t know better.”

“Jason, you—” Rey tried to protest but was stomped down by the boy, nearly losing his breath.

Jason was sweating profusely: “Sir… please… be gentle, his body isn’t strong.”

Seeing Jason’s performance, the hidden malicious factor within the deity suddenly stirred. He sneered, a hint of bloodthirsty cruelty flashing in his eyes: “What if I say that today, only one of you can leave?”

Jason looked at the boy, whose expression had changed in an instant, sensing the unmasked malice.

I misjudged them.

These two were not the naive lambs they appeared to be; they might be even more ruthless and dangerous than the leaders of the factions that occupied this planet.

Their exquisite and beautiful appearance was merely a deceptive facade.

They were hunters disguised as prey.

“Jay—” Rey, nearly out of breath, tried to speak, but his voice was once again ruthlessly cut off by the boy.

He smiled wickedly: “You have the choice. Your name is Jason, right? You decide who lives and who dies between you two.”

Jason paused for a moment: “Is there no other choice? I’m willing to pay a higher price; my limbs or organs are fine.”

“No.” The boy rejected him, “You only have this one chance to choose.”

In the dirty alley, the silence was palpable, a judgment concerning life and death was taking place here.

Jason sighed: “Let Rey go…”

Rey couldn’t speak, only desperately glared to show his disagreement.

“Can I know the reason?” the boy asked curiously. He wanted to know what made this human willing to give up his life.

He remembered a similar scene in his long experience. It was a pair of lovers; the husband, a war hero, was willing to sacrifice his life for his gravely ill wife, even though she was just an ordinary person with mediocre talent.

Jason simply closed his eyes: “Rey saved my life. If it weren’t for him, I would have died three years ago.”

“Oh, a debt of gratitude?” The deity nodded, finding it a rather mundane answer, a bit boring.

“No…” Jason looked at Rey, struggling to speak, as if he was about to pour out the words he had hidden in his heart.

“On your spaceship, I tampered with things, leading to your stranding on a desolate planet.”

Rey’s eyes widened; he never expected to hear such a confession.

Jason opened his eyes, his blue gaze fixed on him: “I’m sorry, I originally accepted a mission to assassinate you. The ship was successfully sabotaged, and I became a pawn, with no one to back me up, which is why I ended up stranded on that desolate planet with you.”

“Thank you for sharing the little medicine you had left with me and taking care of my serious injuries. After that, you helped me hide and survive on this planet.”

“I’m sorry, but I was very happy during the time we spent together.”

At the end, a faint smile appeared on Jason’s face.

Rey seemed to want to say something; his lips moved, but no sound came out. Even though the boy had quietly relaxed his hold on him, he didn’t notice.

Clap, clap, clap.

The deity applauded: “Wonderful.”

He felt there was no need to restart the game; this was quite good.

The deity pointed his toe at Rey on the ground: “He’s ready to die for you. What about you? Do you plan to say something?”

Rey opened his mouth, seemingly preparing to deliver a refined and easy-going tirade, drawing on the strengths of all the thugs on the planet.

The boy sensed something was off and stomped down: “Think carefully; you only have one chance to say something.”

Rey: “…”

F**K！！！！￥@#￥&*%#￥@#￥@**￥！！！！！

Moments later, Rey finally had the chance to speak again. He took a deep breath: “I am the imperial prince; you can sell me to the queen’s faction. I guarantee, ah, my life is worth more than Jason’s.”

“And then the queen’s people will definitely silence us, which counts as revenge for you.” The boy saw through his little scheme.

Rey: “…”

Damn, I’ve been found out.

“However…” the boy elongated his tone with interest, “Since you say you’re the prince, why not try to reclaim your position? If you succeed, I’ll return his life to you.”

To highlight his purpose and make it seem more credible, he added: “We can provide you with some assistance; in the future, we need the empire to facilitate our business dealings.”

Rey felt he had seen through the other’s intentions: “Hmph, that’s your real goal, isn’t it? Aren’t you afraid I’ll escape or that you’ll be wanted across the galaxy once I become emperor?”

The boy: “Thanks for the reminder; we’ll tear up the ticket right now.”

Saying this, the boy, who had been idle for a while, reached for Jason’s neck. Those hands were long and elegant, like a work of art, but no one would doubt they had enough strength to snap a person’s neck.

“Don’t!” Rey immediately caved.

“I’ll go… I’ll go to hell if I have to; just don’t hurt him.”

“Even if he’s the one who caused you to fall to this point?”

“……I’m happy, what’s it to you?” Rey muttered under his breath.

The deity exchanged a glance with his servant. This kind of prince had almost no chance of successfully toppling the queen’s faction. It seemed they needed to guide him in the shadows, in addition to the surface assistance.

However, having an unexpectedly important hostage in hand increased the likelihood of the useless prince’s success.

They weren’t afraid of retaliation after the prince succeeded; if they could find him, that would be impressive.

·

Changes were quietly happening in every original world, as the protagonists, who were originally on a downward path, encountered turning points.

Sometimes it was unknown help, sometimes it was the repayment of past kindness, and at other times, what seemed like a stroke of bad luck unexpectedly yielded results beyond expectations.

With more changes, it was inevitable that they would be noticed.

Members of the TOP group received a mission dispatched by the main system—to correct the plot bugs.

They needed to enter the designated world, assist the protagonist chosen by the main system to complete the expected plot, and eliminate any unexpected obstacles on their path to success.

“Isn’t this the job of cannon fodder and side characters? Why is it given to the TOP group?”

The newly promoted members were puzzled, while the more seasoned TOP group members pondered, was there a world that wasn’t cooperating?

·

The deity, who had been stirring up trouble in various worlds, returned to Radiant City with his servant and immediately received a message from the assistant, Huang Sansheng.

The deity signaled for his servant to connect the message.

“Brother Rey, Tian Sheng Entertainment is currently heavily promoting a newcomer. They’re throwing resources at him without restraint, even snatching a script that Ye Qi had his eyes on.”

“What’s the newcomer’s name?”

“Xiao Keyang.”

Rey paused in his movement towards the sofa, then directly sprawled out on the couch like a lazy, unkempt cat: “Xiao Keyang, no wonder.”

The deity beckoned his servant to come closer and gently stroked his hair.

This texture felt good, more flexible than a pet, wouldn’t roll around on the ground, and carried the scent he liked.

On the other end of the phone, Huang Sansheng pressed for more: “What kind of person is Xiao Keyang? Is he the boss’s biological son? No, that can’t be right; their boss looks like a pig’s head crossed with a Tibetan mastiff. How could he possibly have such a son? And with this level of support, it’s more like serving his biological father.”

“Maybe he’s just the illegitimate son of his biological father,” the deity replied dismissively.

“……”

Huang Sansheng hung up the phone in confusion, gaining a more chaotic understanding of the ethical relationships between people in the new era.

“The main system has started to act.” The servant allowed the deity to play with his hair, indulging in the moment of their close proximity.

He lowered his gaze, watching the satisfied expression on the deity’s face, which only blossomed in front of him, his exclusive scene.

“Where to move, where to slaughter.” The deity revealed a smile devoid of warmth.