by <unknown>
“What is a Scorpion-level newbie doing here?” The tall guy frowned, and he became impatient. “Go to the left fortress and be the assistant sniper—you will be responsible for taking down all the small fries that escape our shots. Can you handle a simple task like this?”
“Sure.” Han Xiao nodded.
The short guy only gave him a glance before he went back to snooze. It seemed that he was prideful and not interested in talking to him.
It was only a dozen minutes in the manor, and Han Xiao had moved to three different locations. He had no choice but to walk toward the left fortress. This was the area he was in charge of, which meant that his job was to assist the Hornet Brothers.
There was already a person in the left fortress—an assassin with a large beard. He looked Han Xiao up and down, and after Han Xiao introduced himself, he cut to the chase. “Scorpion-level? You will take the left side while I take the right side.”
The left side had the most limited field of vision, and therefore, it was the easiest job. The bearded assassin did not trust his ability, which was normal. Han Xiao did not give it a second thought. He was fine with taking care of his own area.
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You triggered a chain quest, [Call-up (Protection)].
Quest Summary: “First, do not probe for the identity of the protection target; second, do not leave your post; third, do not let enemies infiltrate the manor; forth, try your best to become useful.”
Hint: This is a chain quest—please act according to instructions.
First Round: Beat off the first wave of enemies.
First Round Reward: 20,000 EXP
Other Causes for Quest Failure: 1. Unauthorized entry to the mansion; 2. Leaving the manor for more than two hours.
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Chain quest? Interesting, Han Xiao thought to himself.
A chain quest was the type of quest where the player had to complete the previous quest requirement before they would receive the next requirement. The difficulty and reward would get higher and higher with each round. Upon completing all the rounds in the chain, the player would receive an extra reward. Chain quests were usually a lot more tedious than normal quests.
I will see the reward for the next round of the quest before I decide to continue or not. If it isn’t great, I will just retreat from here, Han Xiao thought. He did not feel that he had to complete the quest no matter what; he would only continue if the rewards were substantially high.
After wandering around the manor for a few hours, he deciphered the manpower allocation in the place. The mercenaries were armed with heavy firearms and vehicles. There were also Superhumans around. Mechanics were in charge of repairing the equipment, providing ammunition, and rectify defense structures; assassins were the more elite force.
By casually chatting with the people there, Han Xiao learned that they had been stationed there for more than ten days. More capable personnel, such as the Hornet Bothers, Chen Li, Volcano, and Moonlight, had already made their reputation known in the place.
…
The sky slowly darkened. Leaves were gently swept by the night wind in the evening forest, making shushing sounds. Perennial water streams flowed in the river. The whole scene was rather peaceful.
An imminently-approaching engine sound broke the serenity in the forest.
Ohmmm!
Stationed at the fortress’s sniper position, Han Xiao looked through his scope. There were many headlights in the distant forest quickly approaching the manor. The mercenaries started to shout, prompting each other to quickly go back to their posts to get ready for the upcoming battle. The concentrated footsteps sounded like peas being fried.
Han Xiao stretched out his arm, and a crisp cocking sound was heard on his rifle. He was preparing himself, too.
“Here comes the first wave.”
Chapter 108. Round Three |
Just by looking at the headlights, Han Xiao figured out the enemies’ military composition—all armored vehicles, and they were fast-approaching. Troops armed with heavy firepower were running close behind.
The next moment, the mercenaries in the manor began firing. Heavy machine guns were blasting and roaring continuously. Flashes of flames on muzzles became an attention-grabbing source of light among the darkness of the night. Han Xiao glanced over for a moment, and soon, his mind was put at ease. The enemy had limited numbers and average firepower, so they would not be able to penetrate the curtain of machine gun rounds made by the mercenaries.
Pong!
Sniper shots were heard from the central fortress; they came from the Hornet Brothers. The two shots were extremely accurate, hitting right on the targets.
Han Xiao looked over at his area and realized that it had a limited range of vision and tough angles. Most likely, only those enemies who slipped through the net would accidentally barge into this area. However, it just so happened that a small team of enemies had infiltrated this place. He raised his Red-Falcon before he aimed through the scope and fired. The shot pierced through multiple enemies’ necks at once, pumping out masses of blood fog.
Big beard guy was initially skeptical of Han Xiao’s ability, but after taking a few looks at him when he was not occupied, he was secretly shocked and knew that he no longer had to worry about this Mr. Black… because Han Xiao had made every single shot. Therefore, he stopped turning around to supervise Han Xiao and left that area entirely to him in comfort.
The battle only lasted for half an hour, and the enemies suffered great losses. They did not even manage to get within two hundred meters of the manor. Han Xiao managed to take down nine enemies in total.
_____________
First round completed. You gained 20,000 EXP.
Change in Quest Requirement
Second Round Requirement: Defend the River Valley Manor.
Duration: 3 Days
Reward: 80,000 EXP
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The first wave was too simple, and the EXP rewarded seems to be very little. But the increase for the second round is not too bad.
Han Xiao rubbed his chin. The first round gives 20,000 EXP; the second round rewards 80,000 EXP. Based on this increment, the third round may yield me 320,000 EXP, and the fourth round would be more than a million EXP. Stop, I am just dreaming here.”
But honestly, the third round would at least reward him more than 150,000 EXP.
Han Xiao felt it was a waste of time to do the second round, which would last for three entire days, but he quickly changed his thought. He could stay there and earn some EXP by borrowing the facilities and workshops from the Mechanics there to repair the mercenaries’ equipment for free.
Han Xiao had always been a doer. Once he made up his mind, he immediately went to the logistics area to find the local mechanics. They were mostly pseudo-mechanics who had learned some repair skills for their secondary job. There were only two proper Superhuman Mechanics there.
“You want to help us repair equipment?” One repairman was startled. “You are a Mechanic?”
Han Xiao began proving himself directly through actions. He took a pistol on the worktable and disassembled in just a few movements before he assembled it rapidly, like he was performing magic. The whole process flowed smoothly, lasting less than two seconds. He was no longer the newbie in the Germinal Organization who took forty seconds to assemble a pistol. With the add-on effect of his various skills, his ability in making and assembling machinery had reached a level beyond that of an ordinary person.
The group of repairmen agreed to Han Xiao’s request without hesitation—they were even slightly eager to welcome him.
The repair jobs were dreary and tiring, and they did not even get extra pay for it. When someone unexpectedly wanted to take on this tough job, they were all too eager to throw all the work to this legitimate Mechanic that appeared out of nowhere.
…
&n
bsp; Before dawn, Chen Li walked into the logistics area while carrying a spoilt machine gun. He was looking for a Mechanic that he was familiar with to repair his gun.
“Wang Xi, help me repair this machine gun.”
Wang Xi was a skinny middle-aged male. He wore a vest and was napping at the side. As he heard the voice, he opened his eyes and gave Chen Li a glance.
“Leave the gun there. I will repair it when I am free,” he said in a rather laid-back manner.
“Would you please hurry up with this? I may need to use it in the day.”
Wang Xi was getting impatient. “Alright. Alright. I will repair it for you later.”
Chen Li had no choice but to leave it to him. Although Wang Xi was ill-tempered, he was a legitimate Mechanic Superhuman with excellent skills. Only he could help him since he did not want the machine gun to malfunction again at a critical moment during the next battle.
After Chen Li left, Wang Xi shut his eyes again and returned to napping.
After five minutes, he heard footsteps approaching once more. He opened his eyes impatiently before he realized it was Chen Li again.
“What are you so anxious for? Once I have time, I will repair it for you, so stop bothering me.” Wang Xi was clearly irritated.
Surprisingly, Chen Li shook his head and said, “Return the machine gun to me. I will get someone else to repair it.”
Wang Xi frowned. Although he was annoyed by Chen Li’s repeated disturbances, he did not wish for the weapon to malfunction again. After all, he was also housed inside the manor.
“Other people’s skills are not good enough. Once the sun rises, I will repair it for you, okay?” he replied.
However, Chen Li was adamant in wanting to have his machine gun back. “It’s fine. The other guy’s skill is better than yours.”
Wang Xi was instantly infuriated by the comment. Everyone knew everyone else in a small logistics area like this. The other legitimate Mechanic was not even as good as him, let alone the bunch of repairmen.
Who are you trying to bluff?
But Chen Li was very insistent. Wang Xi had no choice but to return his gun. When he saw that Chen Li was walking to the other side of the logistics area, he deliberated for a moment before he decided to follow behind. He wanted to see who this Mechanic, who was supposedly better than him, was.
As he arrived at the scene, Wang Xi was shocked by what he saw—the bunch of low-class repairmen were crowding around a man in black, and they stared at him attentively with looks of amazement, jealousy, and curiosity.
Wang Xi was dumbfounded after he took a proper look at the man.
The man in black moved his hands at lightning speed, like a phantom, to operate all sorts of equipment rapidly. By doing so, he was repairing several weapons simultaneously in a natural and flowing style. It was so smooth that he did not even need to pause and think. Wang Xi had never seen any technique like this—he was definitely a higher-class Mechanic!
Originally, the repairmen had only the mindset of pushing their repair jobs to Han Xiao so that they could relax. But when Han Xiao started his repairing process, his technique, which was extremely speedy, quickly grabbed all their attention. They were intoxicated just by looking at it and wanted to note down his every single step. Many details of the technique were massively inspirational for them.
If they possessed an interface, the follow message would have appeared.
_____________
You gained insights from observing Han Xiao (LV 34) repair machinery. Repair skill proficiency increased.
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The other Mechanic, who was of a similar standard as Wang Xi, was also observing Han Xiao with a look of obsession.
To Wang Xi, Han Xiao’s technique was flawless; to be exact, his standard was not high enough to perceive any flaws in Han Xiao’s technique. He felt somewhat dispirited and wanted to walk away, but he could not make himself do it. He could not resist the desire to stay there and continue watch Han Xiao’s repair work. He was deeply conflicted.
Han Xiao was engrossed in his repair work and did not care about what others around him thought. As a result, his EXP increased speedily. The effect of [Meticulous Repairs Lv.1] was considerably better than ordinary repair skills—they were not skills from the same class. The more basic weapons and machinery could be repaired quickly and easily. Han Xiao could even have been more efficient if not for the lack of better equipment.
For the next three days, other than taking some rests in between, Han Xiao was continuously involved in battles and repairs. Four waves of enemies attacked the manor in this period of time through variety of methods, including a speed boat attack, an armored vehicle attack, and a stealth raid. One group of enemies wore frog-suits and attempted to infiltrate the place by diving through the river on the west side. They were spotted and killed by the snipers.
The enemy’s attacks were gradually increasing in intensity. Han Xiao could sense, with his perspicacity, that the guards in the manor seemed to be getting too weak at defending against the enemy’s attacks. Numerous days of continuous high-intensity battle were taking a toll on their psyche, and the effect of their accumulated exhaustion was erupting. As a result, errors and casualties started appearing on the battlefield.
The mercenaries’ struggle did not have much of an impact on Han Xiao. He was feeling at ease with handling his small area by shooting down all the enemies that went into it. At the same time, he realized that there were more and more ‘fishes that escaped the net’ and entered his area. It seemed that the Hornet Brothers were slowly showing their incapability in handling attacks with such intensity.
Three days passed without any problems. When the first light appeared in the sky, a message was sent immediately to the Interface.
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Round 2 Complete. You received 80,000 EXP.
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Not bad, but the third round is probably going to get really tough.
Han Xiao was awakened from his nap.
He had received a grand total of 180,000EXP from completing the quest, working on machinery, and killing enemies. He was rather satisfied with the efficiency.
_____________
Change in Quest Requirement.
Third Round: Defend against the next wave of attack
Reward: 150,000 EXP
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Han Xiao cursed; he had a bad feeling about this round of the quest.
The next wave of enemy was most likely very powerful, and there was a ninety percent chance that the mercenaries would not be able to defend against them.
Chapter 109. Turning the Tide |
Booooom!
It was a thundery shower. The dark sky was repeatedly torn apart by streaks and streaks of glaring lightning. Rain was pouring down in torrents.
The curtain of rain was limiting everyone’s field of vision, which in turn reduced their shooting accuracy. The mercenaries had to cover the weapons and equipment with waterproof covers against the violent storm as they were not waterproof, and they also sent their ammunition reserves to sheltered areas.
Heavy rain flooded the entire world, and its sound filled everyone’s ears. The fortresses were saturated with moisture. Han Xiao placed himself far away from the window to avoid getting soaked. He looked at the weather outside and frowned. Terrible weather like that is clearly generated by the system purposefully. I bet the next wave of heavy attack will come at this time, otherwise…
Han Xiao was only half way through his sentence before stopped that thought. How could he joke around like that and risk jinxing himself?
Ohmm!
A series of engine sounds were heard in the rain. The enemy was coming at them viciously this time. Hordes of armored vehicles were driving toward the manor in the storm. Countless rain droplets smashed onto the ice-cold metal armo
r.
“Fire!” The mercenaries in the manor yelled furiously, and the sounds of machine guns and grenade launchers followed.
The next moment, even greater firepower erupted from the enemy’s motorcade. More than a few small-scale missiles landed on the outer wall of the manor, which blew up the two machine guns and the gunner there.
Whilst Han Xiao was shooting his rifle, he heard Chen Li and the black dude yelling over the walkie-talkie.
“The enemy has rocket launchers; we must evade! Go and hit them hard with our machine guns and grenades!”
“Snipers hurry up and fire. Don’t make me prompt you! Hurry up and do something!”
“More than twenty speedboats just appeared on the river. Those stationed on the west side, quickly go and intercept them. Don’t let them get near the shore!”
“Shit. Helicopters!”
The sound of rotating wings was heard in the sky. Two Y5-Snake helicopter gunships were attacking from above. Flashing lightning in the dark sky highlighted the ferocious features of the helicopters. The gunner, wearing wind-shielding glasses, controlled a large-caliber six-barreled machine canon on the side of the helicopter and unleashed astonishing firepower.
The size of the canon rounds was almost like that of a small-scale missile. Their penetration capability and damage power were unmatched by the rounds of ordinary machine guns. They were even fired at a very high rate.
Da da da da da da.
The continuous canon rounds connected to form an orange line and swept the manor from above. The outer defensive walls of the manor were less than useless against enemies from the sky.
The mercenaries’ casualty number surged!
The sounds of swearing, yelling, crying, raining, guns firing, and engines roaring formed a symphony of battle—as grand as it was horrifying and as messy as it was fevered.
The helicopters were their biggest threat. Some machine gunners quickly aimed their guns at them.
However, by simply flying higher, Y5-Snake helicopters easily got out of the range of the machine guns. Those stray rounds that managed to touch the helicopters could not penetrate their armored exterior.
