The Legendary Mechanic

Initially, Han Xiao turned to Stardragon to seek temporary asylum from the Germinal Organization and had the motive of advancing skills. He had long planned to use his Facial Simulator as a way to escape.

Once he had the Facial Simulator, it was almost impossible for the Germinal Organization to locate him. He no longer had to worry about being discovered and captured, which meant that he could go anywhere he wanted. He did not want to be restricted to an area where there was always a risk of angering the head of state. Furthermore, he could mislead the Germinal Organization with regards to his whereabouts. For them to focus all their attention on Stardragon… that was definitely not fun for Han Xiao! Definitely not!

Even if he wanted to borrow Stardragon's strength and resources to crush the Germinal Organization, he no longer needed to put himself under the government's control. Naturally, Stardragon did not fully trust him despite its amicable treatment of him. They had planted an extremely discrete GPS locator in his encrypted phone, which he had discovered long ago. It was finally the time for him to disarm it.

It was last three months before the open beta. He needed to level up quickly and accumulate more resources. There were countless missions on the planet, and he treasured every one of them greatly.

He had accumulated sufficient resources while working with Division 13. It was now time to drop his pretense of sincerity toward Stardragon and go solo.

He could now go anywhere he wanted on the vast planet.

His plans were meticulous and closely-linked.

In Han Xiao's eyes, his pleasant relationship with Stardragon was not enough to convince him to stay in a place that lacked the potential to become more powerful. Furthermore, once they reached Version 2.0, even the Six nations and the Germinal Organization would become feeble.

These entities were now powerful and stable and could fight with one another through both open and secret means. However, the moment a planetary-grade disaster swept the planet, they would realize that their individual interests were hollow and meaningless compared to the survival of the whole civilization. Their statuses now were like colorful bubbles flying under the Sunlight—they could easily burst with a slight poke.

Version 1.0 hasn't started. It will last for seven months in real life, which translates to about three and a half years in game time. Additionally, the time, in game, between the version updates will last for a year. This means that I am still five years away from the Undead Crisis.

The Undead Crisis was a huge disaster. It will be better for me to avoid the beginning of it at the start of Version 2.0, which will be the most dangerous and chaotic period. This means that in these five years, I will have to dig out all the things that are useful for me on this planet and then find a way to leave this planet for a while.

Han Xiao was in deep thought.

Suddenly, a new message was shown on the Interface.

_____________________

[Camp mission: Destroy Dark Crow Valley Base] Completion Rate 100%. Contribution Rate 72%. You gained 36,000 EXP!

Mission Ended.

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It seemed that the Heslean army just finished the battle.

Han Xiao was quite satisfied with the result. He would only have gotten a completion rate of forty to fifty percent if he did not kill Pan Kuang and gang. It had been worth the trouble to infiltrate alone and plant two spies in the base, which allowed him to monitor the enemy's movements the whole time. This was the reason he had received such a high contribution rate and reward.

_____________________

Camp-Destroyer Mission [Dark Crow Valley Base] has been completed. You completed:

- [Reconnaissance I]

- [Reconnaissance II]

- [Dark Crow Forest Assassin]

- [Direct Conflict]

- [Assassination II]

- [Assassination III]

- [Destroy Dark Crow Valley Base]

Calculating Mission Stats… Calculation Completed. Performance Rating: Excellent

Reputation with Stardragon Strategic Defense Department increased by 1,120. Current Relationship: Friendly (1370/3000)

Reputation with the Germinal Organization decreased by 500. Current Relationship: Hatred (-1500/3000)

You received an Excellent performance rating: Additional 50% EXP (18,000), Random Reward x1.

Random Reward type is being decided…

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Can't believe there is a random reward. Seems like I'm quite lucky this time. Han Xiao was delighted. Large-scale missions and serial missions would release performance ratings upon completion. The probability of an excellent rating triggering a random award was only thirty percent, so it was rather uncommon. The system would decide first which type of random reward the player would receive—it could be anything, such as EXP, equipment, skills, Attribute points, or Potential points. Then, the player could select the choices provided under the reward.

_____________________

You received the Random Reward Type: [Innate Ability]

Randomizing… Randomization complete. Please choose one option from the following:

- Strengthened Body: HP+400, Abnormality Resistance+4%

- Quick Pace: Agility+6, Attack Speed+5%

- Strengthened Spirit: Mystery+5, Willpower Resistance+8%

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Han Xiao held onto his chin and started deliberating.

All three abilities had mediocre effects. [Strengthened Body] increased health points, so it was more suited for tank players. Usually, he employed long-range attacks, and he still had a magnetic suit to protect his body, so he did not require the additional HP for now.

[Quick Paced] seemed decent. Agility affected many different aspects of a long-range attacks, including accuracy, critical rate, and movement speed etc. This ability could potentially increase his attack output by eight to ten percent.

[Strengthened Spirit] was only useful for Mages and Psychics.

Han Xiao thus opted for [Quick Paced].

_____________________

You gained an innate ability [Quick Paced].

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Han Xiao looked at his interface. He still had 12 Unassigned Stats that he had gained from levelling-up. He then added them all into Intelligence. His Intelligence was now his highest stat, standing at 88 points.

There was an increase of 1.8% on the A-class Quest [Fall of the Germinal]. Although it did not look like a significant increase for now, Xiao Han knew that the future potential gains would be much greater—at least ten to fifteen percent more. Because Dark Crow Valley Base was the nearest point of contact for future players to join the Germinal Organization. Without it, many 'real' players would join a camp that was nearer and more convenient for them. This would greatly contain the rate of expansion of the Germinal Organization in the near future.

The head of Germinal still did not realize the importance of this base; he was only dismayed by the loss of an ordinary large base.

Intel from Han Xiao allowed other powers an opportunity to attack the Germinal Organization. The mission progress he received from such events was less than a direct assault by himself based on the calculation of contribution rating. But if he were to insist on attacking the organization personally, the individual damage he could deal would not be sufficient to keep up with organization's rate of expansion. Naturally, his best option was to mass distribute intel that could harm the organization.

The minimum progress needed for the Camp Destroyer mission was only twenty percent. It was not required for him to chase after perfection lest he risked losing out on other missions.

It is time to change the method of supplying intel. Han Xiao squinted.

After completing the mission, it was time for him to work on other important things.

Han Xiao went onto the radio and spoke to Lin Yao.

"How is the situation now?"

"Brother Xiao! The Heslean Army has seized all the supplies in Dark Crow Valley Base. They also captured a few hundred of their members, including Dormund. Unfortunately, the two directors, Pan Kuang and Ji Jie, got away."

"Where is the army now?"

"They are still sweeping the battleground. They will probably retreat to the border tomorrow."

"Okay. Message received."

…

After the Heslean army finished sweeping the battleground, they set up camp on site and prepared for a withdrawal the next day.

Lin Yao and Lambert went on to meet up with the rest, and the Division 13 agents gathered to commend them for their excellent intel work.

"The younger generation of agents is very capable," Ma Qing Yang commented.

"Xiao Lin Lin, your teammates have done a great job," said Di Susu.

The rest chimed in. "You guys did an excellent job. Really commendable."

"We acted under the directions given by Brother Xiao." Lin Yao was feeling slightly uneasy with all the praise.

The fellow Division 13 agents realized that it was Han Xiao who deserved all the recognition.

Qi Bai Jia decided to praise Han Xiao's contribution strongly in his report. However, he realized that Han Xiao was still not back.

"Hey, where is he?"

"He is probably delayed by certain things."

As the sky turned dark, Han Xiao was still nowhere to be seen.

"How is he still not back?" Li Yalin was puzzled, so she nudged Lin Yao to prompt him to contact Han Xiao.

"I tried to communicate with him more than forty times, but he still hasn't answered." Lin Yao was out of options.

It was dawn. The Heslean army was ready to move back to the border, but Han Xiao was still missing. Division 13 agents started imagining the possibilities for such an odd happening.

Zhang Wei had a sudden thought. "Is it possible that Han Xiao has already moved back to the border?"

"This is possible. Han Xiao has always moved around on his own. He may think that it is not necessary for him to meet up with them now." Everyone pondered over this possibility.

All the agents followed the army back while this worry lingered in their minds.

…

The Hesla troops looked relaxed and were rather undisciplined on the way back.

In the middle of the troops, Colonel Carl was sitting in the command vehicle. He was deliberating over a very grave problem.

In this mission, he did not have an outstanding performance. Instead, he made a critical error in his decision, which resulted in unnecessary casualties. This would most definitely lead to a poor evaluation of his ability by the higher ups.

He had to artificially raise his significance in this mission to obtain more merits for this attack.

If I could take credit for Division 13's contribution…

Carl had an idea. He could perhaps write on the report that it was him who instructed Han Xiao to take his two teammates to spy in the base that gave them critical intel. In this scenario, his significance as a commanding office would be greatly elevated.

This can work.

Division 13 will leave as soon as the mission is completed. They can't possibly come to Hesla and expose me. Furthermore, my report to the higher-ups will be kept secret from everyone else.

All of a sudden, there was a commotion coming from the outside of the vehicle, and Carl realized that the troops had stopped moving.

"Colonel, there are two corpses in front of us. They seem to be Pan Kuang and Ji Jie."

Carl was in shock. He left the vehicle quickly to check out the bodies. It was really the two directors of the base.

The troops were astonished, and they started chattering. They remembered how strong these two directors had been just few days ago, but they had been killed just like this.

"Who did this! Who left the bodies here?" Carl shouted.

Nobody had an answer as the troops looked at one another. They had just discovered the bodies.

Division 13 soon arrived at the scene upon hearing the commotion. They were too dumbfounded.

"It must be Han Xiao's doing."

"It's unbelievable that he actually succeeded!"

"But why did he place the bodies on the road? This is just giving free credit to the Hesleans."

Carl was beaming joyously; he could claim credit for killing the directors. He waved at his troops to wrap up the bodies and take them back to camp.

Just as the troops moved the bodies, the sound of landmines being activated was heard.

The troops were terrified, and they quickly jumped away in different directions.

Carl was caught off guard. He only had the time to drop on the floor.

However, there was no explosion after seconds had passed. A brave soldier stood up and went to dig out the landmines. He weighed it in his hand and realized that it was very light.

"This is not a real mine. They are all empty."

The troops were infuriated by the prank.

"This is not funny at all."

"What a wretched move!"

"I just peed in my pants!"

Division 13 agents had a weird look their faces—they did not know whether to laugh at what they saw.

"This seems like something Han Xiao would do," Li Yalin mumbled.

Carl stood up with a flustered look on his face. His clean and well-pressed officer uniform was now covered in mud and grass.

He was now livid. He knew it was Xiao Han who did it. He wanted to ruffle him with a prank like this.

"What a childish play!" he said in anger.

Bang!

A faint gunshot was heard faraway.

The bullet pierced through Carl's temple, and it brought a dash of blood out of his head.

Carl's eyes were still wide open. He was unable to comprehend what had just transpired, totally caught unaware. His eyes were filled with the longing for life and a pinch of disbelief. His body wobbled before it landed flat on the floor.

Just a moment ago, he had been dreaming of his military success and his bright future. He could not believe that he had been killed on the way back to claim credit for his success in the mission!

At this moment, everyone, including the Division 13 agents and the troops, was shell-shocked.

They could not believe what had just happened before their eyes!

…..

On a faraway cliff top, Han Xiao raised his head from the scope of a sniper. He was looking relaxed.

What goes around comes around.