The Legendary Mechanic

In the past, in order to create a Super High Risk Esper Ability, he had captured Espers ruthlessly without ever considering the consequences. After fusing countless abilities, he had obtained the genetic chain of [Energy Control]. By then, as his original body's ledger was already filled with blood and his life span was ending, he thought of starting a new life.

Hence, he had hidden this ability all along and never shown it. He had secretly chosen 'Gaud' as the container for rebirth and planted this part of his Esper Ability genetic chain into Gaud, planning to inherit this ability after his rebirth. He then killed all his subordinates who knew about it and made sure that this identity had a clean background.

The core of this plan was [Esper Ability—Rebirth]. This was an ability that could only ever be used once, giving the user a second life. It was not a pure soul-type Esper Ability but was related to the High Dimensional Information Form.

Of course, the effect of it was not as simple as simply splitting up his soul. His consciousness would fuse perfectly with the container, forming a new and whole soul, completely unrelated to his original body. Although he would still have his memories, his thoughts and personality would shift to a certain extent. This meant that Gaud was Gaud and no longer EsGod; he had entirely abandoned his past and was truly reborn.

Back when he was captured by Han Xiao and the others, in that brief moment before the Spacetime Amber completely sealed him up, only [Esper Ability—Rebirth] could save him. Hence, he had unflinchingly torn his soul apart and escaped. Using this ability to turn into High Dimensional Information Form, he had escaped the soul seal from Lotus Swordsman and the others, entering Gaud's body.

Not a single person knew about this. After so many years of nothing happening, Gaud had not been worried since long ago. He felt that no one saw through his plan. However, to his absolute shock, his deepest secret got brought up by Han Xiao this easily.

A tsunami was going on in Gaud's mind. He had utterly no idea at which part of the plan he got discovered.

Due to how unstable his mind was, even his defenses became weaker. He was blown away by the mechanical army, adding a few more wounds to his body.

At this time, Gaud's thoughts spun quickly. He suppressed the shock in his heart and said,

"EsGod? What are you talking about?"

"You still don't want to admit it? Looks like you still have some meaningless hope. Do you think you can possibly escape now that you're in my hands?"

Han Xiao narrowed his eyes and instantly knew what Gaud was thinking.

Even in such a desperate situation, Gaud would never admit he was EsGod. He believed that if he went missing, the dynasty would most certainly search for him intensively and thoroughly, and Black Star might also be investigated. He felt he still had a chance to escape.

However, if he admitted his identity, what Black Star did would be justified. He could wait for the dynasty to rescue him as long as he did not leave any evidence.

Therefore, no matter how absolutely shocked he was inside, no matter how much Black Star tried to make him talk, Gaud was never going to admit it.

"Black Star! This is completely ridiculous! At least find a better excuse if you want to kill me. How am I related to EsGod? You're probably worried that I'll threaten your position when I'm stronger, so you want to get rid of me beforehand. There's no one else here anyway. Why bother making up something nonexistent‽"

Gaud clenched his teeth and spoke with a tone that sounded like he was furious from being accused.

"Why didn't I notice in the past that your acting skills are on par with Kasuyi's?" Han Xiao curled his lips.

Gaud ignored what he said as if he was submerged in rage and yelled, "I got it! You're the one who leaked my ability to the black market! You must have heard it from inside the dynasty and want to muddy the waters, so you can frame it on someone else! Don't think for a second you can deceive everyone; the dynasty won't let you run away with this!"

"Since you don't even dare admit it, there's nothing much more to talk about."

Han Xiao shook his head.

He originally wanted to speak with Gaud heart to heart. After all, they had known each other for decades; he wanted to at least give him the chance to say a few last words. However, Gaud was clearly not going to admit it no matter what, so there was nothing more to talk about.

As soon as he said that, Han Xiao activated his Mechanical Force without hesitation, releasing the troops in his original body. He then fused some of the mechanical soldiers into a Mechanical Deity.

This sealed Deep Layer secondary dimension was undisturbed, so Han Xiao did not have to hold back anymore.

Swoosh!

The Celestial Punishment Edge slashed down, shattering multiple layers of shields and smashed Gaud from the sky down to the ground like slapping a fly. He plummeted like a falling meteor, creating an enormous crater.

A shockwave erupted with Gaud in the center. Cracks opened up on the pale earth that extended all the way to the end of the horizon.

Plop…

Gaud was bleeding from every pore on his skin. His shirt was instantly painted red.

An intense pain flooded all his nerves. Before he could even catch a breath, his sights were filled up by dense black silhouettes. The next moment, the barrels of the machines in the sky all lit up.

Gaud hastily jumped up and backed away. The next second, countless psionic cannon beams fused into a gigantic light beam and penetrated the pale earth.

The ground instantly cracked and bulged like a mountain rising from the ground. It then shattered and exploded!

Boom!

The powerful aftershock spread rapidly. Though Gaud created layers of shields, the shockwave still blew him away.

He was only halfway up the sky when the Mechanical Deity caught up to him and smashed him back to the ground, shattering god knew how many more bones.

Although Gaud's Esper Ability had an extraordinary potential, potential was not the same as actual strength. His current Grade was still too low. Before Han Xiao, who was at his peak performance, he was as weak as a child and completely powerless. The battle was entirely one-sided; Gaud could only barely stay alive while getting thrashed!

While Han Xiao beat up Gaud, he took the time to look at the combat information on the interface.

Since his level was much higher than Gaud, he could see all of Gaud's abilities, so he could confirm that Gaud had no way of escaping this situation.

Although he had seen Gaud's interface the last time, he looked through it again now just in case.

Then Han Xiao discovered that Gaud had acquired a new ability.

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[Energy Control—Evolution Energy (Unactivated)]: You are analyzing the energy structure of the Evolution Energy. You will master this energy when the analysis is complete. Current analysis progress: 50.2%.

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This b*stard is still thinking about the Evolution Cube?

Han Xiao frowned.

This guy is really persistent. It's a shock he still hasn't given up on the Evolution Cube!

Gaud's ability was too stealthy. He only started the analysis after leaving the palace, so Han Xiao did not notice it back then.

Luckily, he indirectly shattered this plan of his because of other reasons, or Gaud would have secretly obtained this technology.

Han Xiao suddenly realized a sensitive problem.

Did Gaud do this only on his own, or did the dynasty ask him to do it?

Han Xiao's eyes gleamed as he thought with a heavy heart.

Although the dynasty had not mentioned the Evolution Cube recently, Han Xiao knew that some people in the dynasty would never give up on obtaining it. Gaud was now a direct member of the dynasty, so the dynasty's upper echelons knew his ability. It was very likely they secretly sent him to crack the Evolution Energy and then claim that their research succeeded so that he would have no reason to be angry.

Han Xiao had nothing to say about the dynasty's doings. They were just trying to acquire what they wanted. There was no right or wrong. What he cared more about was how this piece of intelligence would affect his plan.

If the dynasty asked Gaud to do it, the risk would increase for him. In the dynasty's eyes, he would have a valid motive and not be someone who they had no reason to doubt; he would become a suspect too.

On the other hand, this gave him a new excuse. Since the dynasty played tricks on him first, as long as he did not kill Gaud, even if he got found out and the dynasty held him responsible for it, things would also not end up in the worst scenario.

Looks like it's not all bad… I shall take him down first!

Han Xiao shook his head, suppressed these thoughts, and focused on bullyin… no, fighting Gaud.

As time passed, Gaud's state became worse and worse. Although his Esper Ability gave him an infinite amount of energy, it did not give him the ability to regenerate health quickly. His wounds accumulated, and his regenerative speed could not keep up anymore.

Dragging his exhausted and wounded body, Gaud tried to escape time after time, but he failed each attempt.

The strength difference was too great, and Han Xiao was very well prepared. There was nothing Gaud could do.

As a few more light beams penetrated his body, Gaud could not hold on any longer. Like a bird without wings, he plummeted and landed on the wrecked pale ground. Blood flowed out from all over his body, quickly forming a puddle.

Han Xiao deactivated the Mechanical Deity and slowly landed beside Gaud. Gaud still had yet to give up. He dragged his heavily damaged body and crawled on the ground, leaving a trail of blood behind.

"… Give up."

Han Xiao looked at the interface and confirmed that Gaud was already in the near-death state. He shook his head, sighed, bent down, grabbed Gaud's neck, and lifted his entire body up.

Gaud's feet were hovering above the ground. He had no strength to resist. He stared at Han Xiao; his eyes were filled with hatred.

He had finally returned to the Beyond Grade A realm after so long. He had a hopeful future filled with infinite possibilities, and he was looking forward to it.

However, he had never thought that after keeping a low profile and growing for so long, as soon as he appeared in the world full of hope, he would meet Black Star, who figured out his identity and shattered his plan in the womb.

He could not admit this loss!

He still had a bright future!

He still had a big goal!

All the planning in the past years, his lifelong ambition…

All of that was going to perish…

He could not accept it!

He could not lose!

Han Xiao looked at Gaud's twisted expressions and shook his head.

"Whether you admit that you're EsGod or not, it won't change the facts. I did this to you not because of personal reasons. If that thing did not happen, I couldn't care less about you wiping your history and joining the dynasty. After all, I'm no saint. I'm no one to judge your sins.

"But I know exactly how determined you are about what exists on the other side of that wormhole. I can't let you move freely inside the dynasty. That will not only threaten me but the entire explored universe.

"Although that day will come sooner or later, not only will your existence bring that day forward, it'll even cause unpredictable impacts… because you're too pure. As long as there's the slightest opportunity to become stronger, you won't care who you fight for. As for me… I don't like to act only when the threat has already erupted."

Gaud's pupils constricted.

He subconsciously wanted to ask Han Xiao what he knew and opened his mouth but did not speak in the end. He did not want to leave any evidence that might cause suspicion.

"Black Star… the dynasty won't let you get away with this!"

Gaud repeated this sentence again.

Seeing that Gaud was still not admitting anything, Han Xiao knew it was not going to happen. As he activated his Mechanical Force, nanoparticles extended onto Gaud's body and quickly shrouded his body, turning into a spherical mechanical imprisonment device.

Then, Han Xiao activated the Spacetime Amber and slowly covered this imprisonment device up. He then thought about it and said, "Including this time, this is the third time you've fallen into my hands."

Before Gaud could respond, Han Xiao completed the Spacetime Ember seal.

Buzz!

The next moment, the amber was complete.

The entire device got sealed up. From the outside, only the spherical mechanical prison could be seen in the amber. What was inside it was not visible.

At this moment, Han Xiao finally heaved a sigh of relief and relaxed his taut nerves.

"It's finally done. No accidents happened…"

One reason he did not kill Gaud on the spot was to give himself some room for explanation if he got exposed; another was that he did not want to give Gaud an opportunity to be revived by the Sanctums any time soon; last but not least, he did not want to waste the Super High Risk Esper Ability EsGod spent countless years to create, [Energy Control]!

When the Spacetime Amber wiped out Gaud's soul, he could have Feidin use the Soul Swapper and shift the soul of someone he thrust into Gaud's body. Using these two Universal Treasures in combination had always been something he wanted to test out.

Or he could wait for 'Little EsGod' Evans to grow and suck away Gaud's Esper Ability.

He could even wait till he mastered the Felon technology and secretly make Gaud into a Felon. However, the side effects of that were too huge, so it was not the best choice.

As for whether Gaud could still revive after he did all these, Han Xiao did not know either. He never tried it, so he had no way of knowing.

If Gaud could revive, there would indeed be a chance he could get exposed. In the future, when the dynasty discovers the Sanctums, they would certainly try to revive this 'direct member' of theirs.

However, who knew what things would be like then? Furthermore, he could infinitely delay the arrival of that day, and it was easy. Before he was confident in dealing with the dynasty's accusations, he could simply not kill Gaud and only imprison him, letting him out once in a while to beat him up and make sure his soul was not wiped!

This way, Gaud would not die, and of course, he could never be revived!

Merciless, cruel, ruthless, fearsome. Why is my style becoming more and more like a villain?

Han Xiao rubbed his cheeks.

He silently made a joke about himself in his mind before becoming serious.

Capturing Gaud was only a start. The more important thing to do was to deal with the storm the dynasty's rage would stir up not long after that would sweep across all advanced civilizations!

"I've done what I need to do. Now I'll just have to wait for the storm to start… Sigh, I didn't expect myself to start the fuse this time."

Thinking about the various possibilities he had speculated not long ago, Han Xiao exhaled lightly, turned on the interface, and looked at the mission.

The hidden mission [Gaud's Secret] was surprisingly complete. The mission requirement was to find out Gaud's secret, and Han Xiao did not know what the criteria of that was. He clearly did not find any solid evidence, nor did Gaud admit anything. Did he just have to call out his real identity in front of him? Was it really so easy?

Hmm, the fact that I thrashed him is probably the main reason it's considered completed…

The mission completion criteria of hidden missions was quite confusing. Han Xiao did not think too much about it and went to clean things up.

He controlled the mechanical army and bombarded this secondary dimension till the entire dimension collapsed, eliminating all traces.

After completing that, Han Xiao did not waste any time there. He retrieved his machines, put on the King suit, directly returned to Black Star Palace, and found Feidin in the library right away.

Feidin only looked up and glanced at Han Xiao before putting his focus back on reading the book in his hands, letting Han Xiao touch him all he wanted.

After getting plenty of luck in his hands, Han Xiao returned to his personal training room, rubbed his hands with excitement, and chose to conclude the mission.

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[Gaud's Secret] completed!

You have received [Character Summon Card - Gaud]!

Character Summon Card - Gaud: [Energy Analysis]—You can efficiently analyze the principles and structure of an energy form, gaining control of the energy. Usage: 0/4

You have received: Draw one of Gaud's ability/talent.

Note: Gaud is an Esper. Parts of the possible abilities have been automatically adjusted to your class.

Randomizing… complete!

Please select one from the five options below as the reward:

1. [Plasma Shockwave] - Ability: Release a plasma arc beam and deal damage to the enemy. The power of it relies on your INT, MYS, and energy output efficiency. Minimum cost per second: 5 energy. Cooldown: 4 seconds.

2. [Kinetic Strengthening] - Ability: Using energy, strengthen your cells and continuously enhance your close-range combat capabilities. The effects rely on your STR, DEX, END, MYS, and energy output efficiency. Minimum cost per minute: 10 energy. Cooldown: 12 seconds.

3. [Spiritual Growth] - Talent: +15% MYS, +10% CHA.

4. [Energy Collecting Ring] - Ability: Absorb the energy around you to rapidly recover your energy. Cost: 2 stamina per second. Cooldown: 0. Can be turned on at all times.

5. [Perfect Energy Affinity Physique] - Talent: You have astounding affinity toward all forms of energy. +120% basic energy senses, +90% basic energy resistance, +60% basic energy absorption efficiency, +30% basic energy attack damage, +20% maximum energy.

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