by <unknown>
The grunts behind Raccoon hastily drew their guns.
“What’s the meaning of this?” he asked nervously. The bald thug was one of his most trusted subordinates, and he was strong enough to take on ten people at the same time. Yet, he wasn’t able to react to Han Xiao’s speed! Who the hell is this kid?
Unexpectedly, Han Xiao began to disassemble the gun, but it wasn’t a simple disassembly. The gun unraveled almost instantaneously, as if Han Xiao were performing some kind of magic; the disassembled parts fell and scattered onto the floor.
“Firearms are a sure-profit. I can help you manufacture them in exchange for a little bit of compensation.”
This kid can make guns!
Firearms were hot in demand in the black market. Using a gun and making a gun were two completely separate concepts. Mechanics who knew how to create guns were rare and highly esteemed. Even though Raccoon was the leader of a gang, they were just small-time hoodlums. To be able to find a mechanic willing to make guns for them was inconceivable; yet, here Han Xiao was. ‘This is my chance!’ thought Raccoon.
“What arrangements do you have in mind?”
“I will make a list of materials and parts for you to gather. Manufacturing and assembly will all be done by me. I’ll come here to work for two hours every morning. I want $1500 per gun, and freedom to take anything I want from this junkyard.”
Han Xiao had already thoroughly analyzed the Germinal Organization’s guns. He was now able to easily make simple guns.
“Since I’m providing the materials, $1000,” negotiated Raccoon.
Han Xiao instantly turned around and began to walk away.
This caused Raccoon to become flustered. He had only been trying to test out Han Xiao, and did not expect such a big reaction.
“Wait wait wait—we’ll follow your charges,” he hastily said.
One handgun was worth $3,000 to $4,000 on the black market. Han Xiao’s asking fee was still quite reasonable.
“Get a workbench ready, along with the materials. I will come from tomorrow onwards. I’ll go check the junkyard out now.”
A skilled craftsman always retained the power to dictate his terms. Han Xiao knew full well his own value. Furthermore, his true strength and identity was a mystery to them. This gave him the complete upper hand.
…
Han Xiao salvaged quite a number of parts from the junkyard before leaving. As he left, he noticed that someone was following him. Clearly, Raccoon was trying to find out more information about him. However, for Han Xiao, shaking him off the thug was an easy task.
Division 13 will learn of my mechanic skills… thought Han Xiao to himself. The fact that he was working with Raccoon would definitely be found out by them. In any case, it was a way to demonstrate his abilities to them, plus he also needed the opportunity to craft machinery for experience.
The reason he had chosen Raccoon was due to the junkyard’s proximity.
…
When he returned to the workshop, Lu Qian questioned his whereabouts.
“I went to the junkyard,” said Han Xiao, pointing to the big bag of spare parts in his hand.
“The junkyard? That place is not safe. Don’t go there in the future.”
Lu Qian wasn’t really concerned with what Han Xiao did in his free time as long as his did his job right. In fact, she had a soft spot for people who did not demand high pay.
Han Xiao put the spare parts aside and summoned the interface. He still had a lot of unused talent points, and he decided he would dump all of them into the two unlocked ‘Arms’ talents.
This workshop was a treasure trove of Mechanic knowledge. It was one of the best places to level up as a mechanic. Han Xiao went to look for Old Man Lu to borrow some of his books. He found him cooped up in his room as he expected.
“I wish to borrow some Mechanic knowledge books.”
“Go away, you! There’s not a single book for you here.”
“Don’t be so petty! Think of it as investing into a promising young man and nurturing him.”
“…It seems like you are more thick-skinned than me. However, I simply don’t want to lend you my books. What can you do about it?”
What, indeed, could Han Xiao do about it?
…
The following day, Lu Qian entered Old Man Lu’s room with a spare key and stole some books for Han Xiao. Old Man Lu was infuriated.
“Why do I have such a disloyal granddaughter‽
“Just you wait! I will make you leave this workshop!”
…
In Galaxy, each player’s advancement mission was not always the same. Han Xiao’s Lv. 20 advancement mission could be counted as one of the harder ones as advancement knowledge was extremely rare on beginner planets. In fact, his advancement difficulty was actually comparable to a Lv. 40 one.
Most Lv. 20 characters were usually unable to find basic knowledge for even one talent tree. Some unlucky ones would not even have a main class.
Since there wasn’t any advancement knowledge in the workshop, Han Xiao could only learn more basic knowledge. However, Han Xiao was content with this. Finding knowledge books was a common problem for players. Some players weren’t even able to learn all their class’s basic knowledge by Lv. 40 or even Lv. 50!
Fortunately for Han Xiao, the workshop contained a complete set of basic Mechanic knowledge, which more than gave him a head start—it was an expressway to the finish line!
Inter-galactic Contact Law (7th Edition).
“When coming into contact with new civilizations, these 127 intrusive actions are to be avoided: war, gene manipulation…”
This was why Planet Aquamarine had not been given any cutting-edge technology. Advanced knowledge was the best that the planet had to offer, and even that itself was heavily controlled and treated as a top secret.
_____________
Add 1 talent point into [Basic Weaponry]? Yes/No
Add 1 talent point into [Basic Material Composition]? Yes/No
“Confirm.”
Chapter 26. Blueprint: Robot (Type: Rover) |
[Basic Weaponry] contained knowledge on how to craft simple guns and conventional weaponry. It also increased mastery and crafting speeds.
[Basic Material Composition] was one of the core Weaponry talents. The quality and grade of a product was affected by that of its materials, and many of the key materials for higher level machinery were synthetic compounds that had to be crafted.
_____________
You have learnt five Weaponry talents! You have unlocked [Novice Refining] and [Overload]!
You have unlocked the blueprint [Robot – Rover]!
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[Novice Refining] allowed one to refine materials for higher quality ones. Any skills or abilities with the terms ‘novice’, ‘beginner’, or ‘basic’ were generally the lowest versions of themselves. Most of them would have more advanced versions. For example, [Molecular Refining], that allowed the user to perform instantaneous molecular manipulation simply by expending Energy.
Materials were graded similarly to equipment. Of course, the higher the grade, the higher the value, but the two materials of the same grade could also have differing values. For example, a common iron ore was worth about $13 a pound, while a refined dark iron ore was worth about $45 a pound. Both were Common materials.
[Overload] – Active Skill
Drains Energy to temporarily increase the output of Machinery by 30-50% at the cost of durability. If Han Xiao activated this skill together with his Lightweight Mechanical Arm, its damage and defense would both be significantly boosted. However, with only 120 Energy, he would only be able to maintain the skill for 10 seconds or so.
I’ve finally unlocked an active skill! rejoiced Han Xiao. Mechanics had so few active skills in their early levels that it was quite sad. His escape from the Germinal would have been much, much easier had he possessed this active skill b
ack then.
The [Robot – Rover] blueprint was an easy-to-obtain, early level robot blueprint. It was a low level utility robot that could be equipped with weapons and armor for combat, scouting, and defense purposes, and was also able to self-destruct. It wasn’t created for a specific purpose, but could be modified and improved. They were widely used for prospecting and mining.
Gaining so much from just two talent points, a bargain!
Suddenly, he noticed Old Man Lu creeping up towards him.
“What are you looking so excited all of a sudden?”
Han Xiao rolled his eyes at him, replying, “Aren’t you being a little too nosy?”
“Nosy? Why?” Old Man Lu took a moment to inspect himself.
“It’s working hours. If you’re not helping then go away!” interrupted Lu Qian as she slammed her welding torch down. Her face was flushed and dripping with sweat under the protective goggles she was wearing.
“Little brat,” grumbled Old Man Lu as he carried his bottle of beer outside for a walk.
“Shop owner, is this a repair shop?”
A customer arrived as soon as he left. It was a middle-aged man.
Han Xiao turned to look at the guest, and he noticed the man was looking at him. The man immediately averted his gaze.
Suspicious, thought Han Xiao. When he further noticed his above average sense of balance and solid footing, he realized that the man was most likely an agent from Division 13 who had been sent to test him.
Lu Qian walked forward to receive him with a polite smile.
“Welcome. What is it that you need repaired?”
“My car broke down,” replied the middle-aged man as he watched Han Xiao. “It’s outside.”
“Alright, no problem.”
Just as Lu Qian was about to pick up her toolkit, the middle-aged man suddenly pointed at Han Xiao and said, “I want this little brother to repair my car.”
Lu Qian was stunned. Do I not look capable enough? You’re being sexist!
“I’ll do it,” agreed Han Xiao as he took the toolkit from his dejected boss.
The pair came out of the alley into the main street, where an old sedan car was stopped by the roadside.
“This is the car.”
Han Xiao lifted the bonnet, inspected the interior, and swiftly began to perform repairs.
As Han Xiao worked on the car, the middle-aged man tried to strike a conversation.
“Kid, you’re quite young, aren’t you?”
“I’m 30.”
30? Do you think I’m blind or what‽ The middle-aged man nearly choked.
“How should I address you?” he asked.
“You should show some sincerity when asking for a person’s name,” replied Han Xiao without looking at him.
“I’m Feng Jun,” answered the middle-aged man awkwardly.
“That’s a nice name,” complimented Han Xiao, except that he didn’t sound the least bit sincere, leaving the middle aged speechless.” But you misunderstand; I just want a cigarette,” he added.
Feng Jun uncomfortably took out his cigarette pack and passed one to Han Xiao.
“You can call me Han Xiao,” introduced Han Xiao as he took a puff and returned to the task at hand.
Feng Jun continued to probe. “Han Xiao? You’re not a local, are you? Where are—”
“It’s done,” Han Xiao suddenly interrupted, cutting his words off.
What the hell? I’ve only just started to probe you! Can you not be so quick?
Han Xiao expressionlessly stretched out a hand, saying, “A pipe was broken. I’ll charge you $60. Pay up.”
Of course I know the pipe is broken, damn it! I broke it on purpose!
Feng Jun smiled as he took out his wallet and slowly fiddled around in an attempt to buy more time.
“You have pretty good skills. Where did you acquire them?”
“Natural talent.”
“Oh, that’s amazing. Where are you from?”
“From the countryside.”
“…”
Han Xiao raised an eyebrow.
“Are you trying to get a discount out of me?”
At his wits end, Feng Jun coughed dryly before finally pulling out the money to pay up.
Will the department reimburse me for this? he wondered.
Han Xiao sneered. “I thought it would take you another hour to find your money. How big is your wallet?”
As he whistled whimsically, he proceeded to pack up and headed back to the workshop.
When he left, Feng Jun cheerlessly made a phone call.
“Initial observation concluded. The target is a mechanic and his threat level is still an uncertainty. Duration of contact was 4 minutes and 38 seconds. The target named himself as Han Xiao. I suggest proceeding with more testing, and to avoid direct confrontation.
“My analysis of his character? Hmm… yes… extremely annoying!”
Chapter 27. The Final Test |
The next couple of days went by peacefully. Han Xiao’s daily routine now included going to the junkyard every morning to produce guns. He was paid in cash daily after each session, and was able to salvage a number of spare parts for creating the rover. He had already begun to craft some of its parts, but was holding back on assembling it.
Old Man Lu would occasionally lurk around to spy on Han Xiao as he worked. He was trying to figure out Han Xiao’s background from his craftsmanship. However, because Han Xiao was self-taught, his efforts were in vain.
The tall old man frequently came over to compete with Old Man Lu at 5 in a Row, which Han Xiao found hard to understand. Is 5 in a Row that fun? The tall old man also gradually began to converse with Han Xiao more, and Han Xiao was more than happy to entertain him. Everything was going according to plan.
For Mechanics, crafting rewarded the most experience, followed by enhancement, repairing, and lastly, assembly.
As Han Xiao had no way of acquiring advanced knowledge for now, he decided to use his accumulated experience points to raise the 3 skills of [Beginner Machinery Affinity Lv. 3], [Basic Combat Lv. 8], and [Basic Shooting Lv. 6] to close to max level, and he gained quite a number of talent points from this.
The prerequisite for advancing to a [Trainee Mechanic] happened to be unlocking [Intermediate Machinery Affinity], which required Lv. 5 in [Beginner Machinery Affinity]. Machinery Affinity was one of the common prerequisites for many blueprints and skills.
Although Han Xiao now had a whopping 15 talent points, which seemed a lot, it was always better to save some for rainy days. This was something that he had learned the hard way.
To think I actually had to spend over tens of millions of Enas (universal currency) just to buy Water of Lethe to reset my talent points back then!
At Kero Junkyard, Han Xiao had been busily producing guns all morning.
When he was about to leave, Raccoon passed him a stash of money that he pocketed without counting.
“That should be enough for today. I’ll make a move first,” said Han Xiao.
“Thank you for your contribution. We don’t need any more guns for the time being. However, our deal is still valid. You can continue to salvage any junk parts.”
Now that Han Xiao had served his purpose, Raccoon planned to get rid of him. However, it was not time yet. Raccoon was an extremely cautious person.
“Fine by me,” replied Han Xiao, who saw through his intentions.
He left the junkyard, remembering to make a few extra turns to shake off his tail before coming to a large mechanic market.
This market was popular among students from the Western Capital School and the Mechanic School due to the variety of machine parts and metals it offered.
Han Xiao spent all of the 70,000 Aquamarine Dollars that he had earned to buy the remaining materials that he needed for both the rover, as well as another Lightweight Mechanical Arm.
After obtaining the materials, he returned to his room to continue working on them.
…
&
nbsp; A few days later, Han Xiao had finished crafting all of the rover’s parts, and he was now assembling the robot in his room.
1.2 meters tall and armor-plated to protect its interior. Its top half was the shape of a person, except that it didn’t have a neck. It ran on a basic integrated circuit.
It had two sectioned mechanical arms that could bend and rotate like a person’s, and its fingers were remodeled by Han Xiao into guns. Its torso could also rotate 90 degrees, and was inlaid with magazine compartments.
Instead of legs, it moved on tank tracks.
The system prompted Han Xiao to name his creation. Adopting his past naming style, he named it “Rover 1”.
_____________
Rover 1 (Tank-style)
Type: Robot
Grade: Common
Basic Stats: 800/800 Durability, 18 Defense, 59 Power Output, 23 Max Speed, 120/120 Energy
Height: 1.18m
Weight: 64.8kg
Mode of Control: Remote (Electrical Signal)
Control Radius: 50m
Energy Source: Battery Unit
Energy Usage: 8/min
Power Capacity: 36/80 Ona
Right Arm Module: Small Caliber Machine Gun – 35-40 Dmg, 4 Firing Speed (Max 7 – for 10 seconds), 30 Magazine Capacity (+60 Belt Capacity), 40 Power Output, 18% Accuracy
Left Arm Module: Small Caliber Machine Gun – 35-40 Dmg, 4 Firing Speed (Max 7 – for 10 seconds), 30 Magazine Capacity (+60 Belt Capacity), 40 Power Output, 18% Accuracy
Skills:
– Self-destruct: Self-destruct to inflict 280-430 explosion damage in a 30m radius.
– Metal Armor: Reduces damage taken by 8% (except penetrative attacks).
Note: Don’t underestimate this little fella just because he looks stupid.
The name [Rover] is not exclusive to one type of robot.
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The key materials used to craft Rover 1 were two common materials: steel and plastic resin. If Han Xiao had used a higher quality steel alloy, Rover 1 would have higher durability and defense. Nevertheless, he would be able to update or upgrade the rover with better parts when he got them to keep it relevant. This was a selling point of Mechanics.
