Chapter 682: Blood Bags (1)
After the call with the Star Lord, Jacob fell into silence. He was thinking about what the Star Lord had just said, and he couldn't believe this was his plan all along. Nonetheless, he somewhat agreed with the Star Lord's plot and even felt slightly appreciative of the guy for giving him this unexpected opportunity.
Furthermore, he also starts to interrogate Anonymous Star1 to get more information out of him, especially about his relationship with Star-Lord and why he would trust him over the others.
It turned out that Anonymous Star1 couldn't refuse Star Lord's commands or go against him because he was poisoned when he was anointed as Anonymous Star No.1 by Star Lord.
This poison was so deadly that even three steps of legend experts would die if they didn't take antidotes in short intervals. Not only that, but this poison seemed to be incurable, and Anonymous Star1 needed the antidote every three months, or he'd die a gruesome death.
In the end, he had no choice but to listen to Star Lord's every command to prolong his life while he was also secretly looking for a method to get rid of this poison for many years.
But just as Star Lord said, this poison seems to have no cure. No one can even recognize it, so he couldn't just be Star Lord's puppet and do his dirty deeds while taking all the dangers involved with it.
However, Anonymous Star1 is now a true puppet, and despite still fearing the poison, he can't go against Autarch, even if it means sacrificing his life.
Yet Jacob still found it quite strange. Earlier, when he absorbed Anonymous Star1's blood, he didn't feel any poison trace in him, nor did he feel any kind of effect on himself. So, he was also not sure what kind of poison it was, but he was still quite intrigued.
Nonetheless, Jacob didn't have time to investigate poison experiments, so he continued to interrogate Anonymous Star1. Although he received more new information that was far more detailed than Dewey's, he still couldn't find anything essential about Star Lord.
Just like Dewey, Anonymous Star1 didn't have any clue about Star Lord's appearance, gender, or race; that guy was too cautious and discreet.
Nonetheless, Jacob still found something useful. According to Anonymous Star, after years of observation and his own hatred towards the Star Lord, he managed to find something.
Anonymous Star1 revealed that he had received very important mission handouts multiple times on the outskirts of the Riddle Archipelago. He assumed that Star-Lord might have some connection with this dangerous No Return Zone, and this would also explain the strange poison.
However, he had no proof, and the Riddle Archipelago was too dangerous to venture into or investigate, so he could only keep his assumption to himself. He didn't dare let Star Lord know of his intentions since he was afraid of dying.
Still, this made Jacob even more wary of Star Lord, and he decided to be careful of this mysterious guy. The integration lasted for quite a while before Jacob was satisfied and made up his mind.
"We'll go with Star Lord's plan since it's aligned with my own plan. Contact the rest of the Anonymous Stars; we need to collect their heads." Jacob coolly ordered Autarch, who was now in control of Anonymous Star5 and Anonymous Star1.
Autarch didn't tarry and quickly commanded Anonymous Star1 to contact the others and lure them into their traps one by one.
On the other hand, Jacob was musing, 'The Riddle Archipelago is considered even more dangerous than the Vicious Calamity Fog Zone, where I encountered those bugs. If this Star Lord is really hiding there, then it would be nigh impossible to do anything about it.
'I guess I can't annihilate the entire ATLAS in the Unique Plains. Without cutting off the leader's head, it would be only a matter of time before the rest of the body grows back. Nonetheless, this doesn't mean I have to be passive; after all, these guys have some of the most fearsome hidden forces in Unique Plains.
'Given Star Lord's tone and how effortlessly he ordered the Anonymous Stars to be killed, it wouldn't be wrong to presume that even the Three Steps of Legend experts are expandable.
'This could only mean they are hiding more forces that even the Anonymous Stars are unaware of. Then this also means more potent blood for me, and I might get something unexpected from the Star Network by going against them...'
Jacob needed as much blood as he could get, and the Star Hackers just happened to meet the bill. He was also very interested in their black technologies, which could help him further improve his own.
Most importantly, he could evade the Star Network with their black technology any time he wanted, so giving up on the ATLAS was something Jacob didn't even consider, at least not for Star Lord, since his threat was not big enough yet.
After half an hour, Autarch reported, "Sir, we're ready to proceed."
Jacob's lips rose slightly as he nodded, "Then let's get it over with and then head towards the main Siren Hymn Temple. After all, we still have to take care of Ocean Oracle after this!"
Afterward, Jacob again took his position as a sniper far away from the area and waited for the other Anonymous Stars to show up. Their plan was quite simple. Anonymous Star1 had invited them to a very important meeting and even used the Star Lord's name so that they couldn't refuse.
However, he didn't summon them at the same time; instead, he told them to come at different times so there would be no complications when Jacob killed them one by one.
Furthermore, since Star Lord has already ordered their death, he no longer needs to worry about alerting the ATLAS's AI and no longer needs to hold. After all, he got all the information he needed, and those guys now only have value as high-level blood bags!