by <unknown>
The intelligence director’s face had long since darkened.
“Can you crack it or not? Don’t waste my time.”
Luo Xuan suppressed his irritation and, through gritted teeth, replied, “This encryption is too complex. I— I need more time.”
“Enough. I don’t have the time to wait for you. Just tell me your thoughts on the arm.”
Luo Xuan face darkened in displeasure and he replied, frustrated, “The craftsmanship itself is nothing special. Only the encryption was well made. Feels like the creator is some bumpkin who treats garbage like treasure.”
The intelligence director’s eyes twitched, but he left without saying anything else. His men retrieved the Lightweight Mechanical Arm. His next plan was to perform actual combat testing at the Germinal bases that Han Xiao had revealed to them.
He was actually more interested in the rover; it was a shame it was burnt beyond recognition.
Division 13 may have been powerful and mighty, but one could never have enough new weapons.
“The research department is always allocated with the largest cut of the budget, yet those useless fools only know how to create useless crap like double-sided sticky bombs, curved guns that don’t work at all, and fake nipples to hide poison needles! They even have male and female versions!”
The covert ops department had borne a grudge against the research team ever since two of their agents were self-poisoned due to a ‘wardrobe malfunction’.
…
Meanwhile, the director was making a phone call to the tall old man.
“I have ensured that Han Xiao will join the covert ops team.”
“Good work. Thank you.”
“Old man, is he really worth doing all this for?” asked the director curiously.
“Heh heh. Intel is not all he has to offer. I have a feeling that he will play a crucial role in the battle against the Germinal Organization.”
Chapter 34. Covert Operation |
Elsewhere, ruined skyscrapers crawled with vines. Below, the streets were cold and empty, and fragments of broken glass littered the line of stores. The stores were in an utter mess; clearly, they had been plundered.
A piece of yellowed newspaper from who knows what year danced about on the streets, carried by the faint wind.
Moonlight filtered through the thick cloud of dust to lend the city some of its luster—the city’s only source of light.
This was an abandoned city. It had once belonged to a great nation, but even this great nation no longer existed, and its people had moved to other places. The living conditions here were so poor that even wanderers avoided this place.
Countless other cities had been similarly abandoned over the last few decades of change. As soon as the people left though, these forsaken jungles of concrete and steel became flourishing grounds for vegetation.
According to Han Xiao’s intel, the Germinal Organization had three bases within Stardragon territory. One of them was located here. The nation’s top brass had been both shocked and angered to learn of the presence of Germinal bases in the country. Within 24 hours, troops had been dispatched from the nearest military bases to attack.
Currently, the city was being bombarded. Over a dozen armored military vehicles had entered the city, and the sound of gunfire and cannon fire was incessant. Screams filled the night.
However, the surface battle was just a diversion.
3 covert ops agents had been tasked to infiltrate the base. They’d just arrived at a side entrance.
Li Ya Lin was an agent with level 4 clearance. A beautiful, young woman with extremely fair skin, she wore a yellow hoodie on top of black compression tights that accentuated her sexy, nose-bleed-inducing body. She had an athletic build.
Li Ya Lin held her hands up in the air as she stretched her back, demonstrating impressive flexibility in the beautifully arced, well-proportioned body of hers. She was clearly the most carefree and energetic of the trio.
She stopped chewing on her bubblegum to complain, “I was finally able to take a break because of my leader’s injury, but they call me back so suddenly for an emergency mission. Are agents not humans?”
Lambert continued to polish his dagger silently. Lambert was the ‘ace’ of a top-secret, unofficial squad during his time in the military, and he had been secretly transferred to the covert ops department after his ‘discharge’. He wore a military-style uniform, and on top of the dozen or so daggers strapped across his waist, there was a black sniper rifle across his back.
“This… this mission… seems to be very important,” stammered Li Yao, a 1.7 meters tall man who looked extremely young. He was the hacker of this three man cell, and carried a bag filled with the team’s tools. He was in the midst of hacking the door. It didn’t take him too long.
The trio exchanged glances before entering.
Li Ya Lin led the front while Lambert took the rear. They hacked through numerous high tech gates effortlessly as they made their way to the server room.
The Germinal Organization was very careful with its information. Once a base was compromised, they would cut off its access to their network, delete all traces of data, and activate an EMP blast to destroy the hardware. Hence, they had always remained elusive to the Six Nations – until Han Xiao arrived.
The trio swiftly arrived at Basement 2, where the server room was located. Suddenly, Lin Yao, who was monitoring the hacked feed, began to exclaim, “There are guards approaching from behind the…”
Before he could finish his sentence, a team of guards appeared in their sights!
Li Ya Lin was the quickest to react. She burst forward so quickly that the guards weren’t even able to draw their guns in time. Leaping gracefully into the air, Lin Ya Lin performed a mid-air split to kick the front two guards in their heads, snapping their necks instantly.
Her power was just as impressive as her flexibility.
She landed on her hands and used them as a pivot to spin her entire body. Her legs began to glow yellow as she extended them while spinning, easily sweeping through the crowd of guards.
“Pugilist!”
The last remaining guard was about to call for reinforcements when a streak of silver flashed across the corridor. A dagger pierced his throat, ending his life.
Lin Ya Lin and Lambert had effortlessly eliminated the fully-equipped squad of guards.
Suddenly, the lights in the corridor turned red as sirens began to wail.
“We’ve been discovered! There is a large number of guards heading towards us. The base is being locked down!” exclaimed Lin Yao.
“Hurry up and hack the server room’s doors!”
“I’m already on it! I need at least three minutes, but the guards will arrive in less than a minute! I can’t bypass the firewall in such a short time. Sor-sorry…” replied a profusely sweating Lin Yao as he frantically typed away at an unbelievable speed.
Very soon, they could hear the sound of footsteps coming from both ends of the corridor. There was no place to hide in the corridor. Although Li Ya Lin and Lambert were confident of killing their way out, the mission seemed like a lost cause.
“Oh right! Didn’t they give us some new equipment‽” recalled Li Ya Lin suddenly. She hastily retrieved a long black case from Lin Yao’s bag and opened it to reveal a metallic mechanical arm.
The Lightweight Mechanical Arm!
“How is this thing supposed to be used? Did you guys read the manual?”
“Slide your left arm through it and activate it with your thumb!” replied Lin Yao hastily. “I don’t know if it will explode though… I mean, it is the research department…”
It was well known throughout Division 13 that anything the research department produced was risky to use.
“We don’t have a choice!” Li Ya Lin gritted her teeth as she slid her hand into the mechanical arm.
The mechanical arm started to whirl!
“I’m fine!” she rejoiced, a look of amazement on her face.
&
nbsp; She smashed the mechanical arm into the steel door and discovered to her surprise that it had caused a huge dent, so she continued to throw punches at it.
Twenty seconds later, right as the guards arrived, the door was blasted open.
The trio hurriedly entered the room.
“That was close.”
Li Yao immediately got to work. Digital lockdown was 57% complete. If he were fast enough, he would not only be able to make a backup of the base’s data, but also use its access to hack directly into Germinal Organization’s vaults.
With the room acting as a fort, Lin Ya Lin and Lambert were able to put their fearsome combat abilities to full use.
Li Yan Lin glowed with a yellow aura as she swiftly and gracefully dispatched of the invading guards with a metal baton on top of the Lightweight Mechanical Arm. Her blows were so powerful that they shattered the guards’ bones through their bullet-proof armor.
Meanwhile, Lambert was throwing his daggers out from inside the room. They rebounded to find their marks with frightening accuracy.
The pair was causing a massive number of casualties. Although the guards numbered over a hundred, they were unable to do anything.
Suddenly, the network access and power supply were cut off, and the whole place turned dark.
“Charge out!” yelled Li Ya Lin.
Lambert and Lin Yao followed closely as they battled their way out.
Screams filled the base.
When they finally escaped, Lin Yao collapsed feebly to the ground, still shaking in fear. Li Ya Lin and Lambert seemed accustomed to the sight.
Li Ya Lin fiddled around with the Lightweight Mechanic Arm. She had grown fond of it.
“I wonder who invented this mechanical arm. Could it be that Luo Xuan?” she wondered aloud.
“Who knows, but I did hear that he is slated to join covert-ops. It’s possible,” conjectured Lin Yao as Li Yan Lin gazed lovingly upon it.
Chapter 35. Han Xiao |
The battle lasted for two hours, and it was Stardragon’s most successful operation to date; not only did they destroy an entire Germinal base, they also managed to collect large amounts of data. The top brass in Division 13 were pleased, and it wouldn’t have been possible without Han Xiao’s intel.
However, Han Xiao’s past and the Blackstar issue remained a mystery as the information that Lin Yao had collected naturally had no mention of them—the Blackstar message log was fabricated, while the Valkyrie experiments were top secret.
Back at headquarters, Li Ya Lin reluctantly returned the Lightweight Mechanical Arm.
“Was the mechanical arm useful?” her superior asked.
Li Ya Lin nodded.
“It’s all thanks to it that our mission was a success. Who created it?”
“That, I can’t tell you.”
Ya Lin’s eyes sparkled.
“That will depend on the higher-ups.”
Li Ya Lin gave up with harassing her tight-lipped superior and headed to the logistics department to look for Luo Xuan.
The covert-ops insignia on her chest ensured her smooth passage, ignoring the ongoing commotion caused by her very presence.
Although all the departments in Division 13 were equal in status, the covert-ops department was full of beautiful wom—cough—elite agents, so they were looked up to by all the other departments.
Li Ya Lin suddenly turned around to the crowd following her and loudly declared, “I’m looking for Luo Xuan.”
Everyone looked towards Luo Xuan enviously, singling him out.
Is secret-ops here to recruit me? he wondered.
Suppressing his excitement, he answered, “I am Luo Xuan. How should I address you?”
“Li Ya Lin.”
“What can I help you with?” asked Luo Xuan.
“Are you the one who invented that mechanical arm?”
Mechanical arm? Luo Xuan immediately thought of the Lightweight Mechanical Arm that had caused him to lose face.
Could it have malfunctioned? Luo Xuan celebrated inwardly.
“Was there some kind of problem?” he asked with a straight face.
“Nothing like that. I just found it very useful. I want to make a personal order.”
Luo Xuan froze in embarrassment as snickers broke out in the crowd—he had been ranting loudly about how worthless he thought the mechanical arm was to the whole department.
“I didn’t invent it,” he replied with a forced smile.
“Then say so earlier! What a waste of my time.”
Luo Xuan’s face darkened.
Suddenly, Feng Jun, who had been passing by, came over and said, “The inventor’s identity is top secret. Please refrain from guessing or discussing it.”
Li Yan Lin was startled. Top secret?
As the crowd dispersed, all Luo Xuan could think about was the threat that this mysterious mechanic posed to him.
“I will not let him have a good time if he joins the logistics department!”
…
Elsewhere in a secret facility.
“Boss, base 45 has been destroyed.”
“By whom?”
“Stardragon.”
“How did they learn of our base‽”
“Not sure.”
The Germinal Organization’s bases were scattered all across the globe. However, only a few of them were situated within the territory of the six nations, and those key bases virtually hibernated all year round to prevent detection!
“How could they have discovered our base? Is there a spy amongst us?”
Only a handful of higher-ups in the organization knew the locations of their secret bases. It would be devastating if any of them turned traitor.
The boss decided that he would have to conduct a purge.
Of course, Han Xiao did come to his mind. However, he ruled him out as it didn’t seem possible for Han Xiao to have accessed top secret information as a lowly test subject.
Still, the thought of Han Xiao caused his blood to boil. It had been a while since the bounty was issued, yet there was still no news of him.
“You sure can run fast, but I’ll squash you sooner or later. Enjoy your remaining days while you can.”
The boss laughed coldly.
…
“Han Xiao has been missing for three days now. Where did he go?”
Lu Qian was anxiously pacing up and down.
“Did he lose his way? It’s all my fault! I should have gotten him a mobile phone. You said he’s a foreigner, right? He doesn’t even know this place well! What should I do!”
“Be optimistic. Maybe he just died,” consoled Old Man Lu.
“…”
“Grandpa! Why are you so biased against him?”
Old Man Lu continued picking his nose leisurely.
An idea crossed Lu Qian’s mind.
“Grandpa! Help me ask someone to look for him!” she pleaded.
“You wish,” snorted her grandpa. “Ha! When you stole my books, did you remember that I am your grandpa?”
“That’s not important at all! I’m sorry. Forgive me?”
“No way.”
“You really won’t help?”
“I won’t help!”
Suddenly, Lu Qian smiled shrewdly.
“Then I’ll help you sell all the fine wine that you’ve been hiding underneath the floor in your bedroom!”
“What are you talking about? Is your grandpa such a petty person? You just want to find him, right? I’ll do it, I’ll do it.” Old Man Lu instantly changed his tune.
“Thank you, grandpa,” replied Lu Qian with the widest smile.
Old Man Lu sighed. He proceeded to make a phone call to the tall, old man.
“Oi, old man, was Han Xiao taken away by you guys?”
“…You guessed?”
“What did he do?”
“He didn’t do anything; we just want to work with him.”
“If he didn’t do anything, then let him go right now, or else my granddaughter
is going to ruin my wine collection!”
“I can’t. It’s against the rules.”
“Cut the bullshit! You are the one who sets the rules. You still owe me one for the last time, remember? I don’t care! Just release Han Xiao now!”
The tall, old man rolled his eyes in exasperation.
“Alright, alright. I got it.”
Old Man Lu unhappily put the phone down.
“Why do I have to help that bugger?” he sighed, reminded of his own past.
Chapter 36. New Blueprints and New Terms |
Han Xiao had been living in a luxurious one man cell for the past three days. He didn’t seem the least bit worried about his situation; instead, he was more concerned with getting stronger.
He was currently consulting the interface. Having accumulated a total of 90,000 experience recently, he decided to level Basic Combat (Lv. 8) to Lv. 9 before redeeming the Skill Level-up Card.
A glowing bronze card appeared in Han Xiao’s hand. With a thought, it dissipated into countless light particles that entered his forehead.
Han Xiao shuddered as a surge of energy welled up from within. When it stabilized, Han Xiao could feel that he had become stronger.
_____________
[Basic Combat Lv. 10 (max)]: +10% damage (unarmed), +2 STR, +1 END
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Many skills gave stat bonuses at certain levels.
The level cap is just the beginning, eh.
Although Han Xiao’s character level couldn’t be increased any further for now, there were other ways to become stronger.
_____________
[Basic Combat] has been raised to max level! You have gained 1 talent point!
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Alright! I have 16 talent points now!
Han Xiao also used some experience to raise Basic Shooting to Lv. 8, leaving him with 20,000 experience that he intended to gamble on blueprints.
While blueprints could be sold to other players for money and experience back in the game, NPC trading was monopolized by unions and guilds due to quotas.
