by <unknown>
“You named the shelter after yourself.” Han Xiao patted Bennett’s shoulder with a smirk. “I didn’t know you’re this shameless.”
Bennett slapped the palm on his shoulder away and said, “Let’s go. Come to the high ranked officials meeting with me.”
“What has the meeting got to do with me?” Han Xiao asked in surprise.
Bennett shook his head and laughed. “You’re a high ranked official, too.”
Han Xiao blinked.
Bennett cleared his throat and said, “I strongly recommended you to be a director personally. You won’t disappoint me, will you?”
Dark Net had recently reconstructed their high ranked officials, with the highest ranking being the founders such as Bennett and one level lower being the various directors.
“What are you talking about?” Han Xiao asked with a serious face. “When did I disappoint you?”
Bennett did not know whether to laugh or cry. He led the way, and Han Xiao saw the construction of the shelter at a close range.
“Sanctuary One is our test. I’ve put in plenty of resources, and it’s progressing quite well. The basic layout should be completed within a year. The layout of the shelter is divided into a few sections. In order to have enough basic infrastructure to meet the requirements of its residents, the plants and livestock also needs to form a self-sustained ecosystem so that even if war breaks out in the outside world, the shelter can provide for its own, and the defensive measures are, of course, to defend against enemies.”
Boom!
An abandoned building in front was being demolished, and dust filled the area as it fell down.
Han Xiao waved the dust away and said in awe, “Just this shelter would’ve cost you a huge sum.”
“The Six Nations’ resources can only support two to three sanctuaries,” Bennett said with his hands behind his back. “My plan is to build at least three to five sanctuaries across the continents.”
“That will be outrageously expensive.”
“This sum of money is insignificant when it comes to preserving our civilization.”
“Wow, I could almost see the halo above your head,” Han Xiao mocked.
Bennett’s mouth twitched.
After arriving at the new fortress, directors of the Dark Net gathered in the meeting hall. They stood up and bowed slightly to show their respect when Bennett and Han Xiao walked in.
Black Phantom had displayed his strength and was now the top fighting force of Dark Net, and with Bennett’s support, the high ranked officials present all agreed that Han Xiao’s position was at the same level as theirs.
The high ranked officials reported the progress of Sanctuary One in turn, and when Bennett was done settling them, he said, “Sanctuary One has been proven to be practical. The message has been sent out. Many wanderers came to look for protection upon hearing the message. With more residents, the building progress can be sped up.
“At the same time, we can give them job opportunities to take part in the construction process of the shelter, which will aid in strengthening unity. I foresee that in the months to come, as the message of the shelter gets spread out further, more wanderers will come.
“The construction of shelter has to start sooner rather than later; I have decided to commence the construction of Sanctuary Two and Three immediately.”
The high ranked officials exchanged looks, and one of them asked hesitantly, “Mr. Bennett, wouldn’t that be too much of a rush? Why don’t we wait for Sanctuary One to be completed?”
“Because we don’t have much time. We need to speed up the progress.”
“Sanctuary needs someone to be in charge. Who will be in charge of Sanctuary Two?”
“Xena will be in charge of Sanctuary Two,” Bennett said. Xena was currently the highest director of Dark Net and had been recommended by many senior officials. Of course, no one opposed this decision.
“As for Sanctuary Three, Black Phantom will be in charge.”
Han Xiao’s eyebrows shot up. He did not expect Bennett to trust him this much and let him be in charge of an entire shelter. The power of this was very huge.
The directors were shocked as well.
Black Phantom had just become a high ranked official, and now he was in charge of such an important issue. It seemed to many that he was not senior enough to do so. Many directors wanted to object, but Bennett had already seen through their thoughts. One simple sentence made their mouths shut.
“Each shelter needs someone with extraordinary strength to guard. If any of you have the confidence that your subordinate is stronger than Black Phantom, feel free to object.”
Stronger than Black Phantom? The directors laughed bitterly. Across the entire Dark Net, other than Bennett and two others who had already retired, no one could beat Black Phantom.
Bennett ended the meeting since no one opposed the decision and brought Han Xiao to a private meeting room. They chatted for a while before Bennett stopped debating with Han Xiao over if there should be a reward for being the person in charge of Sanctuary Three. He faced Han Xiao’s look of contempt without any shame and showcased the detailed plan of Sanctuary Three.
“Sanctuary Three’s construction is basically completed. Its location will be in Graymetal Ruins.”
Han Xiao thought that place sounded quite familiar, and then he remembered that Graymetal Ruins was where he had set up his secret base. It was quite a coincidence.
Bennett briefly explained the layout and that Han Xiao’s mission was to sit in, monitor the construction team, and when any threat arose nearby, he could settle it entirely by himself. There was only one requirement—complete the construction of the shelter.
Han Xiao almost fell asleep because of how boring and tedious the explanation was, and at this time, a notification popped up in the interface. Han Xiao was immediately awake.
_____________
You have unlocked a new organization, [Dark Net Organization]. Subsidiary [Blood Pact Society] detected. Relationship status: Respect (4450/6000) – [Rank One of Killer Leaderboard]
[Dark Net Organization] initial relationship: Friendly (2225/3000) – [Director]
_____________
Part of the reason Han Xiao was able to become a high ranked official of the Dark Net was because of Bennett. If a player wanted to gain a high position in Dark Net, the relationship had to be at least Respect, and to become a high ranked official, it had to be at least ‘Reverence’. However, the prerequisite for Han Xiao was not that strict, which was a benefit of being an NPC. It was not restricted by the rigid requirements in the interface.
_____________
You have triggered the rank-A mission [Sanctuary Plan — Sanctuary Three]!
_____________
Seeing the mission requirements, Han Xiao smiled. It was as he expected. As the person in charge of Sanctuary Three, his mission was construction, and the mission type was also a series mission that was divided into tens of requirements. Each of them was one part of the construction blueprint. For every part of the construction that was completed, one requirement would be considered met, which included defensive measures, residential areas, bases, buildings, cleaning the ruins, plantations, farms, and many more. It was like modifying a city.
The mission also notified him that if an unexpected situation appeared, he would also be entirely in charge of solving it, and the grading might become lower or higher depending on the situation and results.
The more requirements that were completed, the higher the completion grading would be, and the rewards would be given based on the grading.
For the players, they could take on this main storyline normally, but their situation was completely different from Han Xiao’s. The players had to take on different missions from the lowest ranked or middle ranked personnel and take part in the construction from side missions. On the other hand, Han Xiao received the overall mission, which included all the side missions and main storyline missions. This was a benefit of becom
ing the core member of the plan—he was very clear on what needed to be done.
Also, his reward was far greater than the players’. The fragmented missions that players completed would all be considered as part of the construction in the end, which indirectly met his requirements. As mentioned before, the requirement for the same mission might even differ based on who was doing it, and with the special relationship Han Xiao had with Dark Net, he received this mission that had loads of benefits.
“However, there are some problems.” Bennett cleared his throat and said, “Due to funding constraints, the resources are concentrated in Sanctuary One and Two. Therefore, there might be not as many people who will be working with you to build Sanctuary Three.”
“How many?” Han Xiao suddenly had a bad feeling. Sanctuary One had tens of thousands of workers, so he would require a similar workforce.
“About a thousand…”
Han Xiao squinted with an expression that said, Are you kidding me‽
“It’s mainly because of the flow of the funding not reaching its destination,” Bennett said awkwardly. “This will only be the case for the first month. We will hire more people to help you afterward.”
Han Xiao picked Bear Cub, who was sleeping on his laps, and threw it toward Bennett. Bear Cub fell onto the sofa upside down and finally opened its eyes slowly.
“Hit him.” Han Xiao pointed toward Bennett.
Bear Cub blinked in confusion and only understood after staring at Han Xiao’s finger for a very long time. It then turned over and slapped Bennett’s left cheek.
Bennett laughed bitterly. He rubbed Bear Cub’s furry buttock then pushed it aside and said, “I know it’s difficult, but you’re the only person that can help me. No one else has the ability to.”
Han Xiao pondered for a while before he nodded and said, “No worries, I will be able to build a basic layout within a month.”
Bennett’s requirements for Sanctuary Three were very low. As long as the construction was stable and the ruins were cleaned within a month, it was more than enough. He took Han Xiao’s words as a joke and didn’t take it to heart at all.
“By the way, I have another requirement,” Han Xiao said.
“What is it?” Bennett replied.
Han Xiao laughed and said, “Sanctuary Three has to be named after me.”
Since Bennett had already done that, how could the Great Mechanic Han Xiao not received the same treatment? And by naming the shelter after himself, it would definitely create a strong, long-term impact.
Chapter 217. Class Advancement of the Players |
Many of the directors were not happy with the fact that Black Phantom was in charge of Sanctuary Three, but when they heard that Sanctuary Three was short of labor and that Han Xiao had actually received a very difficult task, they felt much better.
That should be the right way, letting the newcomer do the difficult jobs.
However, Bennett gathered the directors and announced an appointment.
“Black Phantom is my friend, and he doesn’t have much experience. Everyone here was involved in the construction of Sanctuary One, so I will appoint one director to be Black Phantom’s consultant and assistant.”
The directors panicked for a little. They exchanged looks discreetly, all hoping not to be appointed.
Going to Sanctuary Three was like being sent to the borders; there would not be any contribution within a month, and there was really not much benefit in being Black Phantom’s assistant. There also was not much credit to working under someone. All in all, it was a terrible job, and they would much prefer to stay and wait for other opportunities.
Although the motive behind Bennett’s Sanctuary Plan signified greatness and justice, the directors under him did not feel the same. All they saw in the shelter plan were the benefits that they could garner from it. In their eyes, this was a new round of power reshuffle, if they could be in charge of a shelter, the weight of their words would become much heavier in the future.
Bennett knew what these high ranked officials were thinking, but he did not give any explanation because the benefits could motivate the directors to work harder. Bennett did not expect everyone to be so noble; this was all part of his plan.
Not many people could catch Bennett’s eyes, but Han Xiao was one of them. This guy was really a great friend. All he wanted was to help, and even when he mentioned rewards, it was mostly in a joking manner—he never insisted on it
Bennett was someone who took profits very lightly, and he noticed that Han Xiao had a similar quality, which was why he felt a sense of closeness toward Han Xiao.
He decided to appoint someone who was very capable to be Han Xiao’s assistant.
Bennett looked around and said, “Huang Yu, you’ll help Black Phantom.”
The face of the guy called Huang Yu immediately dropped. He answered unwillingly, and when he saw the gloating faces of the other directors, he became even more unhappy.
Among the directors of Dark Net, Huang Yu was someone with very high capabilities. He was often entrusted with important issues as he excelled in taking care of all types of cumbersome issues and had always arranged them very neatly. Yet, this time, he had been appointed by Bennett to be an assistant. He was not happy and was not willing to do it, which would, of course, lead to him not taking things seriously. He had already decided to face Black Phantom lackadaisically and pass the one month without being serious. He took it as giving himself a holiday.
…
The idea of shelters had appeared in the minds of others during the old era war as well. Back then, when the nations were busy with the war, many people had lost their homes and wandered the streets. Therefore, one private group started to build a shelter and helped war refugees at all costs. It succeeded initially and protected tens of thousands of people.
However, because of the shortage of resources, the food distributed to the refugees became limited, which sparked unhappiness among them.
Humans cannot be content, especially during times of war, and even a slight idea of malice will be expanded indefinitely.
Those refugees had forgotten the people who helped them in their time of need and fought back. In the end, they took over the shelter and killed its original owners.
In such a chaotic world, things like that happened very often. It was not the shelter that did not work, but the old era did not allow it. Coincidentally, the person who created the shelter during the old era was Bennett’s friend. Bennett had never given up on the idea, and he felt now was the right time.
Han Xiao was familiar with the storyline. He knew that Bennett’s Sanctuary Plan had succeeded, and it grew like a snowball. Even the people in the cities were willing to move to the shelters; it was so successful that it was almost on a trend to become a nation, which caused an alarm within the Six Nations. If it was not for [Mutation Disaster] during version 2.0, the Six Nations might even have become hostile toward the shelters.
The shelters only fully utilized themselves during version 2.0. By then, they were considered to have lived up to their name.
“I’m now in charge of Sanctuary Three. This time, it’s truly a large part of the main storyline. The manpower assigned to me is not enough, but I still have the players.”
Han Xiao had already thought of how to do the [Sanctuary] mission a long time ago.
A helicopter landed in Sanctuary One. Frenzied Sword and Bun-hit-dog walked out and looked around in curiosity. They trotted toward Han Xiao with smiles on their faces as soon as they say him.
Frenzied Sword had a lot of questions to ask, but it all stuck in his mind when he saw Hao Tian who stood on the side
“God— God Player Hao Tian‽” he exclaimed in surprise.
Hao Tian gave him a faint look and did not say anything—too cool.
“Wow, legend!” Bun-hit-dog widened his eyes and asked, “Did you trigger the hidden storyline as well?”
Hao Tian turned his head and did not reply.
Ho
w cold of the legend. Bun-hit-dog was speechless, and Frenzied Sword was much better after all.
This time, Bear Cub made a sound.
Hao Tian immediately dashed forward and picked Bear Cub up. He took out tissues from his back with seriousness on his face.
The duo suddenly understood why Hao Tian did not want to speak. They discretely took a few steps backward; the smell was really bad.
Seeing Hao Tian’s serious expression and skilled actions, Frenzied Sword felt respect toward him. What a true legend, doesn’t even change his expression.
The first meeting between the players was very peaceful to Han Xiao.
He looked at Bun-hit-dog. This ‘reporter’ would be of use for what he was going to do next.
…
Three days later…
“Congratulations to the player [White Mask] for completing the first class advancement!”
Every player received a notification from their interface. The first player to reach LV 21 in the level leaderboards, White Mask, was a foreign player. He shared the changes after his class advancement on the forums.
The players on Planet Aquamarine suddenly discovered that [Energy Training Technique] would automatically be awakened with the class advancement!
The people had doubts at the start, but as more and more players advanced in their class, it was proven that everyone would awaken this ability after their class advancement.
The players on Planet Aquamarine was stunned. The ability that they had spent experience to learn was actually an ability that would automatically be awakened after class advancement.
Was that bad?
Many players did not think so. To learn a high-level ability in advance did not seem like a bad thing—it was a growth ability after all, and it had a very good effect. It could largely increase one’s strength during low levels, which was very useful for these players who were discovering new locations.
The people who really suffered were the players in the Northern Continent who only learned it at LV 18 or 19. They had wasted their money on an ability that they would very soon awaken upon class advancement. They were filled with grief.
