The Legendary Mechanic

by <unknown>

  Han Xiao held onto the gloves for his own use in the future. Speaking of that, Su Li was his first enemy from the mechanic class. It was also the first time he had revealed his gear to his mechanic counterparts.

  Mechanical Pugilists made use of one type or a few types of close-combat machinery. They were able to add special effects and abilities to their machines. From the fighting style of Su Li, Han Xiao could infer that she was a mechanical pugilist of a lower level that relied solely on the performance of her equipment.

  Some mechanical pugilists also possessed weapons that had special abilities themselves. Once they met the prerequisites, they were able to activate the use of such weapons. Out of the four machine blueprints that Old Man Lu had created, one of the blueprints created a machine that had innate abilities.

  With the mission finally complete, it was time to return and collect his rewards.

  The image of Felonia suddenly flashed in Han Xiao’s mind, and he decided to take a closer look at Felonia before returning. Han Xiao switched off the EMP interference machine. He did a rough check of the broken components of his vehicle and estimated that the repairs would take him fifteen minutes. He started the repair job immediately.

  There was a bunch of wanderers near Felonia just now. I wonder how they’re doing,Han Xiao thought to himself.

  …

  Half an hour ago…

  The entrance to Felonia was a crack in the cliff. The pilgrims scaled the cliff and managed to reach the crack. It was pitch dark in the crack, but it seemed like the crack had a passageway that lead somewhere.

  A young pilgrim switched on his torch and shined the light into the alley. The scene before their eyes shocked all of them. Their mouths collapsed in disbelief, and all of them were dumbfounded.

  “This… this is…”

  Chapter 101. Believe in Science |

  As Han Xiao was repairing his vehicle, he was reflecting on the weaknesses that he had revealed in his previous battle.

  His current fighting style heavily relied on his sniping abilities. The best tactic he employed was to use his shots to lure his opponents in. However, the speed of his movements was not yet up to standard; thus, he wanted to manufacture some small gadgets to increase his speed.

  A mechanical leg seemed like a pretty good idea. However, Han Xiao felt that it was too bulky. Also, Han Xiao had gained new knowledge and experience to create gadgets that were more mobile.

  Han Xiao was still trying to improve his fighting abilities. He wanted to create a robot army to provide him sufficient cover fire so that they could help mitigate his weakness, allowing him to fire at a relatively lower rate.

  Since mechanical parts could be easily obtained by members of the mechanic class, Han Xiao could find the raw material and replace the missing parts easily.

  Upon completing his repairs, Han Xiao drove the vehicle along the path, as directed by the radar coordinates, up to the entrance of Felonia. Instantly, he saw the trail of footsteps that disappeared along the edges of the cave. After a short moment of contemplation, he predicted that a group of wanderers had entered the cave.

  If Han Xiao was an ordinary individual, he probably would have been worried that the valuables housed in the cave had been taken away by others. However, Han Xiao was also unique in his thinking. He felt that having others to explore the unknown territory first was in fact beneficial to him.

  Han Xiao stood at the edge of the cave. He looked down and could see the distinct layers of rocks and cliffs. At the boundary between sunlight and darkness, Han Xiao could see a rusty metallic chain extending downward.

  There are signs of mining on the rocks of the cliffs. There’s a smell in the air… the smell of rust. I haven’t explored this place before, so I should head down now.

  Han Xiao grabbed all his gear, holding his torch in his mouth.

  As he scaled down the rocky cliff, he shone his torch downward.

  Nearer to the bottom, the sunlight gradually disappeared, and he could feel the curved edges of the rocks.

  The sunlight disappeared quickly, and darkness enveloped the surroundings. The only source of light was the torchlight. The eerie atmosphere alarmed Han Xiao. He could feel a chill in his bones that was creeping toward his heart. He wanted to slow down his heart, which was thumping so quickly, so that he could ease the sense of nervousness within him.

  After descending for about three minutes, the light from his torch finally hit the ground. At the bottom of the ravine was a dusty metallic floor. There were thick cobwebs in the tracks, and the place seemed like it had not been explored for a long time.

  Han Xiao landed on the ground with a ‘thud’. The pitch-black environment made the sound especially eerie and creepy.

  The surroundings were specious and empty, and the light from the torch seemed like a lonely island in a sea of darkness. There was a mixture of sounds in the darkness, similar to the sound of his landing. That caught Han Xiao’s attention.

  After sweeping the area with his torchlight, Han Xiao found himself in a metallic corridor that had a design similar to a military base. There were reinforced concrete structures everywhere, and the walls were also caked in rust. There also seemed to be some weird bugs moving about on the walls.

  The metallic flooring on the ground was covered with dust. A trail of fresh footsteps could be seen extending into the darkness. The footsteps probably belonged to the pilgrims who had arrived at the spot shortly before him

  There probably some more compartments and spaces beneath the metallic floor.

  Han Xiao pointed his torchlight in another direction and shone at his foot. He saw what was beneath him.

  Below the hollow metallic flooring, there were countless dense red lights that seemed like they were emitted by the eyes of insects.

  Holy shit!

  Han Xiao could feel the tension in his head. He immediately dimmed the torchlight and marked out the bottom layer as a prohibited sector.

  With that in mind, Han Xiao carefully followed the footsteps of the pilgrims forward. It was dead silent apart from the occasional faint sounds of crawling insects. However, if one tried to pick out these sounds individually, they would just disappear. It was very creepy and made Han Xiao uncontrollably nervous.

  After walking for long while, a junction appeared in front of him. The footprints of the pilgrims led toward the path on the right.

  While Han Xiao was in a dilemma over which path to take, he heard footsteps from the path on the right. He could see many people running toward him hysterically.

  Han Xiao immediately moved to the other side of the junction. He switched off his torch and put on the night vision visor that Fabian Company had provided.

  “Run, quickly run!”

  “A monster!”

  The frantic pilgrims ran out of the junction as if they were escaping from some creature. Their clothing had many blood stains. Also, the size of the group was much smaller.

  What are these guys hiding from? Han Xiao was puzzled.

  Suddenly, from the nearby path, there was a deep growl that originated from a beast. The growl was raspy and deep, like the sigh of a giant. The instant he heard the sound, Han Xiao felt his pulse running wild, and an uncomfortable sensation began to build up in his heart.

  This is a threat from a high-level beast. It is definitely above LV 40!

  The pilgrims looked fearful. It was as if they had seen something unimaginable. Using their hands and leg, they were crawling hysterically backward.

  However, the beast never walked out of the dark. The pilgrims fell to the ground. They were relieved that they had managed to escape from the clutches of the beast.

  There were no sounds of footsteps made by the beast.

  “Joel was eaten by the beast…”

  “This place is too scary.”

  The pilgrims were shivering, and shock was clearly written on their faces. It was as if all their energy was being drained away. They said, “This place is not Felonia. We will no
t find the things we want here. Let’s leave and continue the hunt for the real ruins.”

  According to legend, the magical ruins were supposed to be mysterious and archaic. There were supposed to be countless incomprehensible carving. The ruins were also a city made from rocks and boulders. However, they were in a man-made metallic base. On the walls, there were symbols that looked like the coat of arms of the ancient kingdom. The place was probably the secret military facility of the ancient kingdom.

  The pilgrims calmed down. A young pilgrim said, “Maybe this place is indeed the Felonia we have been searching for. Our former country found the ruins of Felonia and decided to build a facility to study the treasure of the ruins.”

  The treasure of the desert was the treasure mentioned in the legend of Felonia. As long as one possessed the treasure, one would be able to control the Somar desert.

  The old pilgrims shook their heads and said with a bitter laugh, “Impossible. If the ancient kingdom had the treasure, why would the regime be destroyed?”

  “This is not the place we are looking for. The real ruins of Felonia must be hidden in some other corner of the desert!”

  The old pilgrims sounded assertive and firm.

  The pilgrims helped on another up and left the place.

  After Han Xiao heard their conversations, he was also confused. Based on his knowledge, there were no magical elements present on Planet Aquamarine. The so-called treasure of the desert was probably some advanced technological weaponry.

  However, people would often overthink scenarios or incidents they did not understand. They would therefore create unrealistic stories. Furthermore, they would be very firm and confident that their unrealistic imagination was in fact the reality. Han Xiao thought of the story of a man who did not escape when his home was flooded. Instead, he waited atop the roof of his house for God to send him an ark.

  He could not understand why the pilgrims were so adamant about linking Felonia with magic. However, that seemed to be none of his concern… unless it was the hint for another hidden mission?

  Han Xiao regained his senses, and he revealed himself after the pilgrims left. He was also unsure which path to take at the junction.

  The pilgrims said that there was a monster on the route at the right. However, the path on the left was unknown territory, and it could very well be more dangerous. How should he decide?

  Based on my experience, these pilgrims are bait to lure me into the Instance Dungeon. They hinted that there was a monster on the right. There are two interpretations of their words. The first is that they are right. The second is that they are leading me to the path on the left on purpose.

  Han Xiao ground his teeth firmly and chose to walk the path on the right. The unknown was definitely scarier than the monster. He then remembered the bugs he had seen during his descent and their dense red eyes. If he was to run into those creepy crawlies, his skin was bound to shed from all their bites.

  Han Xiao wore the thermo-electrical incisor gloves. He was not using any torchlight; he only had his night-vision visors on. After entering the path on the right, there was dark green filled his vision. He could barely see the road ahead.

  There were abnormally large footprints on the ground. The footprints were the work of the monster. Like humans, the monster had two legs and five toes on each foot. The monster was estimated to be three meters tall.

  Han Xiao walked for a while, and he came across a room its door wide opened. The footprints of the monster stopped there.

  Han Xiao nudged closer to the door, and he could smell a disgusting stench that seemed like rotting meat. There was also a faint odor of blood.

  He raised his head and looked inside of the room.

  A pair of eyes, which were as large as bronze bells, was staring at him. He was only half a meter away from the monster!

  Han Xiao was both shocked and frightened.

  Chapter 102. The Serum |

  The magnetically controlled retractable armor was ready to be activated. Han Xiao was either going to fight or escape.

  However, the monster was merely staring in the direction of the door. It was as if the monster had not noticed the existence of Han Xiao. It was standing there without moving.

  Night-blindness?

  Han Xiao felt a tinge of elation in his heart. Luckily, he did not switch on his torch, else he would have suffered the fate of the pilgrims before him.

  Standing three meters tall, the monster had a human shape, and layers of muscles could be seen on his body. The muscles stacked together like little hills. However, the muscular body did not look aesthetically pleasing. Instead, the elongated muscles turned people off. The muscles were also rotting. There were even holes at certain areas, and plump maggots could be seen crawling around the rotting meat.

  Compared its massive body, the head and neck of the creature were especially small. The skin of the monster was stretched tight by the muscles. The face of the creature also looked disproportionate. Looking at his face, one would automatically think of other abnormal individuals, like the Deformed Devil and the Sun Knight.

  Han Xiao scanned the layout of the room. There was a bunch of medical equipment and four pods that were probably used for experiments. Two of the pods had been crushed. One of them was closed. There was only one free pod available for use.

  There were liquid-delivery tubes on the pods. They were attached to a transparent container that only had stains of the neon-like liquid left.

  Han Xiao moved backwards carefully. When he realized that the monster was still not moving, he heaved a sigh of relief. He walked down the corridor and quickly reached the second and third metal gates. The rusty gates were all locked up tight by another metallic barrier. The card-reader was so rusty that it could no longer be used.

  Han Xiao did not give up because of that. He took the card-reader apart to check out its model.

  Hmmm… I can’t tell.

  That’s not important!

  This place was a secret military facility decades ago. However, the facility was abandoned a couple of years back, and it was probably a site used for biochemical experiments. The experiments probably failed… or could they have succeeded? The muscular creature really doesn’t look like a normal biological organism. Wait, the corridor can’t be so long. How big is this base exactly?

  There was silence throughout the dark corridor. The deeper one ventured into the corridor, the darker it got. Even the night-vision visor only had a visibility radius of five meters. The surrounding environment beyond that was a mystery to Han Xiao. Fortunately, he was lucky to not have claustrophobia or a phobia of darkness.

  Han Xiao felt like he was walking on the edge of a knife; danger seemed imminent. Although Han Xiao was no chicken, he could feel cold sweat breaking out from all areas of his body. That was the innate reaction of any living being that was going to face an upcoming, unknown danger. Han Xiao knew that being too nervous would affect his ability to make good decisions quickly at stressful moments. He started chanting something under his breath to keep his nerves at bay.

  “Stay calm even when the sky collapses. The breeze is so soothing. The waves are not choppy. The height of the mountain does not matter. There will be a fairy. A horse may be old, but it is still ambitious…”

  In actual fact, Han Xiao was also unsure of what he was mumbling. However, after his chants, he no longer felt so nervous.

  Along the way, he saw more than ten gates, but only the one leading to the room housing the beast was opened. The rest of the gates were all shut tightly. Eventually, he reached the end of the corridor, and a larger gate stood before his eyes. That was probably the main room. The metallic barrier was lower by a third of the distance, and he was able to enter the room.

  That was the second room that one could enter. Based on the logic behind the Instance Dungeon, there was probably some useful information there.

  The room seemed to be a gigantic lab. There were rusty machines everywhere, and experiment pods we
re sitting in the center of the room.

  It seems like there is no danger.

  The dust in the room choked him, and the pungent rotting smell filled his nose. There was a corpse on the table, and it was shriveled up. There were torn fragments of fabric on the body, and Han Xiao could faintly tell that the pieces of cloth belonged to a white lab coat.

  Han Xiao found a book at the table near the body. He wiped the dust from the cover of the book in an attempt to find out some useful information. After taking a closer look at it, he realized it was a diary.

  “13 July. The professor modified the Felonia serum for the 67th time and injected it into the lab rat. The effects are amazing and have exceeded our expectations. It there are no negative reactions, we can proceed with human trials.”

  “17 July. The lab rat is dead. It is a failure. The cause of death is organ failure. The professor is disappointed. He locked himself up in his room. I could hear him smashing things in his office. The lab report for the experiment was missing.”

  “20 July. The professor insisted on carrying out human trials. The higher ups approved the professor’s request. This is insane! Have they all forgotten about Experiment 000? The lab report for the experiment was torn and missing.”

  “26 July. The base released a new set of regulations. All researchers are supposed to submit their electronic devices. We are not allowed to connect to any external networks. Are we going to be defeated?”

  “5 August. This is the 7th day of experiment 008. The human subject is in a stable condition. There are no special changes in the subject. The professor is dejected.”

  “11 August. The higher-ups sent out orders for us to retreat. The battle is not going well for our side, and we have to preserve whatever resources are left. Everyone is feeling scared. As usual, the professor is unwilling to face the reality that we have been defeated. I have prepared myself mentally for this outcome. I noticed that the guards protecting the base have become sparser over the past few months. That is probably due to the fact that most of them were being deployed to the frontline as reinforcements. Damn it, if I did not leave my post as a military doctor, I will not be stuck in this depressing facility. Everyone looks so gloomy here. There is no life! I hate his place!”