Yang Ying turned his head back slightly. He addressed the steward, "Since the bodyguard has merely seen the matter through, it should be about time for Xiaogang to leave."

The steward ascended to the balcony and replied, "Yes, Master Yang Ying. Thank you for your hospitality. We have already packed our belongings and plan to depart now, heading straight for the landing pad to rendezvous with the head maid and the bodyguard."

Yang Ying nodded faintly. "That is for the best." He turned and returned to the interior, finding Princess Haffan already enveloped in a dark robe. A dark-robed handmaiden approached, holding out another robe to the steward, who accepted it and donned it. The steward then picked up a travel trunk made of some indeterminate animal hide and followed closely behind Princess Haffan.

Princess Haffan executed another grand, formal bow toward Yang Ying. "Master Yang Ying, I shall certainly repay this life-saving kindness in the future. However, after this farewell, Haffan must attend to the state of the nation. I do not know when the rebellion can be quelled, nor when we might meet again." The steward translated these words.

Yang Ying waved a hand dismissively. "Nonsense, nonsense. Do not dwell on such trivialities. As I said, I had my own reasons for dealing with that assassin."

Princess Haffan responded, "Master Yang Ying is broad-minded and disregards such minor courtesies, but to us, the Muxu people, this is an immense favor. When the Flynn Kingdom finally repels the rebels in the future, you are welcome to visit our nation at any time. Haffan, as your host, will surely treat you with the highest honors."

To be thanked so profusely by a beautiful young woman brought a genuine sense of satisfaction to Yang Ying. He said, "Since it has come to this, we have an old saying in my homeland: save a person completely, send the Buddha all the way to the West. I will escort you all to the landing pad."

"Thank you."

Princess Haffan and her entourage offered their deep gratitude three times over, then descended the stairs, checked out of their rooms, and boarded a waiting aircraft. Yang Ying and Worengas accompanied them. The journey was entirely uneventful, with no surprises along the way.

Upon reaching the landing pad, they met up with the head maid and the bodyguards. After the final farewells, Princess Haffan’s party boarded their vessel and sealed the hatch. Yang Ying stepped back a few paces and watched as the ship slowly ascended, gaining speed in the air until it shot out of the atmosphere and vanished in a sudden flash, plunging into hyperspace.

After the ship departed, Yang Ying and Worengas returned to the Jushou. His purpose for this visit had been to register a mercenary group and see if there were any worthwhile missions available. The mercenary group was registered, even achieving rank three instantly. He had already reviewed the current missions while they were in the hotel suite and found nothing particularly engaging.

With nothing left to do in Vida City, Yang Ying felt it was time to head back.

As for checking missions later, with the rank-three mercenary card, he could receive network broadcasts from the Mercenary Guild across nearly any corner of the Orion Arm. Although there would be a slight delay compared to Vida City due to network latency, it was sufficient for the current stage. Yang Ying decided to consider establishing a permanent base in Vida City once the Telen Mercenary Group grew to a much larger scale.

Back on the bridge of the Jushou, Yang Ying ordered Howard to set the course for home. He settled into the VIP seat, mentally reviewing everything he had seen and experienced on this trip. Suddenly, he slapped his forehead. "Ah, I refused too quickly! I forgot to ask her what price the Flynn royalty was willing to pay for that mission. Assassinating a nation's leader—the reward must have been considerable."

Not long after lifting off, the Jushou also initiated a spatial jump, plunging into hyperspace, though in a direction entirely different from the Flynn party's trajectory.

The planet Vida is three thousand light-years from Earth, requiring about ten days of travel, and that is only the time spent navigating hyperspace. To Yang Ying, spending the entire journey across such a vast distance exclusively in hyperspace—nothing but travel, travel, travel—was exceedingly tedious. Therefore, he made some minor alterations to the route, setting up three relay points to tour stars and seas, or rather, sightsee across planets and oceans, enjoying the bizarre and wonderful scenery of the cosmos on his way back to Earth.

In fact, on the initial journey from Earth to Vida, the Jushou had also made stops at three relay stations to reach its destination. However, on the return trip, Yang Ying chose a different route, selecting three other planets as his relay points, partly to make better use of the extended outing.

Three days later, the Jushou reached the first relay station and burst out of hyperspace, revealing a planet that was almost pure white to their eyes.

Yang Ying recalled some data regarding this world: it was a Class II supply planet. The surface was nothing but ice, and the planet's name was far too long and difficult to pronounce, so Yang Ying simply referred to it as Ice Star. Although its surface was an icy shell, giving it an appearance of extreme cold, beneath the ice layer flowed ceaseless underground water.

Guidance vessels orbited the planet. Yang Ying followed one of them down to the surface. When he opened the hatch, he felt a blast of arctic wind sweep over him. He inwardly mused, "No wonder the data said very few people visit this planet. Who among advanced civilizations would come here to suffer such bitter cold?"

Several Ice Star inhabitants waited beneath the ship. They stood well over two meters tall, broad-shouldered, agile in their movements, and possessed excellent physical conditioning. They were covered in thick, white fur, sufficient to ward off the biting cold. The fur was so dense that it obscured nearly their entire faces, leaving only a pair of glittering, ice-blue eyes visible, which appeared strikingly alert.

These individuals waiting below were clearly guides. Yang Ying sent 4D0 forward to inquire, selected one who spoke the Gexing language, and dismissed the others.

After all, 4D0 had cost Yang Ying three hundred thousand Gexing coins; letting it gather dust in a corner would be a terrible waste. It had since been modified by the engineers, resulting in superior performance. Furthermore, it was gradually becoming accustomed to its role as Yang Ying’s attendant, slowly uncovering its own latent abilities.

After a brief exchange with the Ice Star guide, Yang Ying decided to take Worengas and 4D0 along to explore the Great Market of Ice Star. The guide summoned a unique form of local transport—a Snow Sled, a vehicle designed for high-speed travel across smooth ice surfaces, its swiftness comparable to Earth's hovercars.

Within half an hour, the Snow Sled carried them to the market. The place resembled an Inuit settlement on Earth, with all structures built from ice. According to the Ice Star guide, the inhabitants had developed specific formulas mixed with water. When the water froze, the resulting ice was harder than concrete, allowing them to construct buildings over a hundred stories high with ice bricks!

The market of Ice Star was situated within this ice city. As Yang Ying walked the streets, looking at buildings resembling crystal palaces and crystalline skyscrapers on either side, all made of seamless material, it seemed as if they had been carved from a single, massive block of ice.

The guide pointed out the surrounding structures with an air of buoyant pride, explaining, "It’s incredibly simple to construct buildings with these ice bricks. You stack them one by one, then melt the seams between two bricks. When the water refreezes, the seam vanishes, integrating the entire structure. The resulting sturdiness is immense. Some city ruins on this planet date back thousands of years, and their structures still stand and are habitable."

"Impressive. They are beautiful, functional, and resistant to fire and earthquakes. The only drawback is the strict temperature requirement, preventing widespread adoption. If the temperature here were slightly warmer—while still preserving the city's aesthetic—we’d likely have endless visitors. But that's impossible; higher temperatures would destroy this magnificent crystal city. It truly is a case where one cannot have both fish and bear's paw."

After circling the market, Yang Ying purchased a considerable amount of Ice Star specialties to take back. The Ice Star people originally did not live on the surface but underground, sustaining their race through geothermal heat and subterranean water, developing uniquely over time, distinct from the trajectory of most races in the Milky Way. They possessed many highly distinctive items.

The most famous local specialty was an ice wine, extremely potent, which would not freeze even at minus one hundred degrees Celsius. The guide explained that it was best consumed chilled below minus sixty degrees. The moment it touched the tongue, one would feel an intense cold, immediately followed by the fiery warmth of the alcohol, creating a sensation of experiencing both ice and fire simultaneously.

This wine was famed for its life-saving properties: travelers facing death by freezing in icy conditions, as long as they had a breath left, could drink a sip to instantly stimulate blood circulation, generate internal heat, dispel the cold, and pull them back from the brink of death.

Yang Ying bought a substantial quantity of this ice wine—about five hundred tons' worth, enough to last him quite some time.

By noon on the second day on Ice Star, Yang Ying had finished his shopping. He arranged for the vendors to pack all the items and deliver them to the Jushou. Although Ice Star products were distinctive, they were not abundant, so Yang Ying concluded his market tour in just over a day. The specialties he purchased were not so voluminous as to require a dedicated transport ship.

After Yang Ying returned to the Jushou, the vessel set a course for the second relay station.

Meanwhile, inside an utterly ordinary small building on Ice Star, two Ice Star figures, heavily bundled up, entered a basement and opened an ice wall. A blurry figure materialized within the wall.

"What is the matter requiring report?" the blurry figure inquired coldly.

"The matter is this, subordinate, we have discovered the Earthling who injured Lord Tarlin a while ago," the two Ice Star individuals replied respectfully, daring not hide anything.

"That Yang Ying is on Ice Star!" The blurry figure's voice immediately showed fluctuation.

"No, he is no longer here. According to intelligence, his ship departed Ice Star half a standard hour ago, initiating a spatial jump. He is untraceable," one Ice Star person responded.

"Gone again? I understand. He intends to stop at several relay stations before returning to Earth. Ha, that is excellent! By triangulating Vida Star, Ice Star, and Earth, we can roughly calculate his return trajectory and make preparations in advance. You two have performed a great service; I will put in a good word for you above," the blurry figure stated.

"Thank you, My Lord," the two Ice Star individuals exclaimed with immense relief.