by <unknown>
The desert far away suddenly turned into waves. A huge number of enormous beetles crawled out of the ground. Each of them over half a meter long, they had brown and shiny shells, six feet, and two claws. They moved toward the Barbera tree like a wave.
“Beast attack!”
The alarm was activated. Three hundred soldiers immediately stood in position holding their guns. When they noticed that the sea of beetles had surrounded them from every direction and there was nowhere to escape, their faces became horrified, and their hands started trembling.
The Desert Blood Shell Crab was a strong predator in the deserts that destroyed every life form wherever they passed by, and there were at least 10,000 of them here.
“Into the cars and drive open a path!” Huang Yu yelled hastily. He then rushed up the helicopter and hurried the pilot to take off immediately.
No one had the thought of fighting when they faced this many bugs. When they heard Huang Yu’s order and were just about to enter the cars to escape, Han Xiao walked out of the car and said, “Don’t panic. Everyone stand in position. Get ready to face the enemy.”
“The number of bugs is too huge,” Captain Liu Zhao said hastily. “Our defense can’t cover all directions. We will most likely suffer a huge loss if we fight.”
“Black Phantom, come to the helicopter quickly,” Huang Yu shouted.
Han Xiao waved his hands.
Huang Yu cursed in his head. Seeing that the sea of bugs was coming even closer, he told the pilot to take off immediately without caring about Han Xiao. The pilot was afraid as well; therefore, he followed the order and piloted the helicopter off the ground.
The troops on the ground did not dare disobey Han Xiao’s order. They stood their ground and watched nervously as the swarm of bugs rapidly approached.
At this moment, Han Xiao took out his laptop and pressed a few buttons.
Hum!
Twelve Combat Rangers drove out of the logistics vehicles as fast as normal cars. Everyone’s face was filled with shock as they looked at these rover robots rapidly spreading out into all directions like guards of iron. The cold metallic color reflected the light shining through the leaves like pieces of golden scales.
These rovers were the newest and improved generation 2.5. Han Xiao had leveled up the blueprint many times. The basic attributes of the machinery that he had built was much higher, and its quality was at blue as well.
The Generation 2.5 Rovers were all equipped with an auto fire control system, which improved its firepower and magazine continuation ability. They were around the same height as humans, and their mobility was much higher because of the triangular caterpillar tracks that they were equipped with, which could traverse much tougher terrain.
Han Xiao knew that it would not be peaceful during the journey when the mission notification showed up, so he had called for airdrop and built a lot of machinery over the past two days.
Han Xiao’s building speed had become much quicker, and the rover robot that would have taken him days to complete at LV 20 could now be completed in just tens of minutes.
When the building speed of a Mechanic exceeded a certain limit, they would be able to build on the spot in the battlefield. With enough materials, weapons could be built non-stop. Only high-level Mechanics could have this ability after learning [Instant Assembly]. This was also a very important factor in the rise of Mechanics in version 3.0.
“Unload all the round metal plates in the car and place them in every direction.”
The Dark Net soldiers completely followed whatever he said. They immediately did as they were told and placed the twenty round metal plates on the ground. Han Xiao activated the program, and the plates started to transform. Their base fixed into the ground, and the stacked modules assembled into gun barrels. The entire process only took four to five seconds.
These were Mini Folding Batteries. Han Xiao had also leveled up the blueprints, and they now had smart firepower control.
Seeing the thick, black, and long gun barrels, the soldiers felt safer.
When the swarm reached within 400 meters, the generation 2.5 Rovers and the mini batteries fired simultaneously. With the camp under the Barbera tree as the center, a storm of bullets bloomed toward every direction.
The sound of fire was in sync, and the rain of bullets spread all over the place!
Ta ta ta ta!
In an instant, green-colored gunk exploded within the swarm as steel and fire penetrated the huge beetles one after another. In the face of the killing machines built by mankind, the shells that the Desert Blood Shell Crabs were so proud of were as fragile as egg shells.
A trench had formed 400 meters away from the camp, filled with corpses of the bugs, stopping the swarm from moving closer. Even the desert was damped by their blood. After a round of fire, the swarm became at least a third smaller.
A few Rangers drove out of the camp. They were equipped with Sunworm flamethrowers. The cone of fire covered the swarm, and the sound of bugs being burnt alive soon reverberated in the convoy’s ears. The claws of the Desert Blood Shell Crab could not harm the platinum alloy armor of the Rangers at all.
With the fearsome firepower, it was a one-sided slaughter.
This was the brutal force of a mechanic!
Group combat was the advantage a Mechanic had. Esper and Pugilist might be very strong fighters, but their physical strength had its limits.
However, money was the limitation for a Mechanic. That machinery had cost millions of dollars, and even a max level player in version 1.0 could barely afford it. The ammunition cost was also extremely expensive as thousands of steel core armor piercing bullets were used every second.
Money had been a problem for Mechanics since the beginning. Building an army of machines was a very strong combat style of the Mechanic class, but it was also the most expensive one.
When the average level of the enemies become higher and they become stronger, the machinery army had to have higher standards and technology in them, which meant that their cost would increase as well.
Normal players could not master the army combat style very well. Even if they used all their money to build an army, they would not be able to withstand the cost of repairing the damage after combat. The army style was usually used as a last resort. However, Han Xiao was not bothered by the money problem since he had his ways of making a lot of money. He still did not want to go for the army combat style—he just wanted to build a simple guarding team that had enough firepower in times of need.
Liu Zhao held his assault rifle all the time and waited to fire when the swarm entered the range of 300 meters, but the swarm was completed stopped at 400 meters away by the rain of iron.
His hands were even tired from holding the rifle, yet he still did not see any need to fire.
This firepower is way too strong.
Liu Zhao looked at the batteries beside him that were firing bullets continuously, their bolts moved front and back automatically, the bullet shells poured onto the ground, some even hit his face.
With surprise, Liu Zhao realized he had nothing to do, Black Phantom’s machinery had dealt with all the enemies; the guards assigned by Dark Net had been of no use at all. There were completely not any need for them.
Chapter 220. Arrival |
The battle only lasted for fifteen minutes. The waves of iron slaughtered the entire swarm, and white slurry covered the ground, giving off an extremely stinky odor as it was vaporized by the high temperature.
The team was completely unharmed. The people looked at Han Xiao, who was calmly smoking a cigarette, and felt very safe. They had been rather afraid when they left the sanctuary, as the wilderness of Planet Aquamarine was filled with danger, but with the way they looked at it now, there would not be any danger as long as Han Xiao was around.
Liu Zhao realized that the team of guards that he led had become the ones being guarded instead, and admiration toward Han Xiao blossomed in his heart. The strong would always be admired.<
br />
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Your machinery killed Desert Blood Shell Crab (LV 15). You Received 10 Experience.
_____________
When one’s level was too much higher than the monster killed, the experience received would be largely reduced. One bug only gave 10 EXP, but there were at least 10,000 of them. Han Xiao looked at the interface—he had received more than 100,000 EXP.
The circling helicopter landed. Huang Yu had been watching from the helicopter earlier on, and he was overwhelmed when he saw the endless swarm falling like patches of wheat being cut down, the endless rain of bullets blooming like flowers, and the camp remaining completely unharmed.
Huang Yu had actually been planning to escape in the helicopter, and he had almost wanted to leave the others behind. Now that danger has been averted, his expression became quite awkward. It felt like the surrounding people all looked at him with disgust and unhappiness in their eyes.
The Mechanic class is actually this strong… Hao Tian contemplated as he held Bear Cub. He was a Pugilist, and now he was unavoidably worried about his future in the pro scene.
On the other hand, Frenzied Sword, who had been a godly Pugilist player in Han Xiao’s previous life, was even gladder that he had chosen the Mechanic class.
More material. Bun-hit-dog’s face was filled with happiness. He did not have to worry about finding contents for his videos as long as he followed behind Black Phantom.
The three players who had triggered the mission to protect the team received a rather good amount of experience without having to do anything. Frenzied Sword and Bun-hit-dog were used to this uncommon occurrence, but it was the first time for Hao Tian.
Seeing the experience bar growing a rather large amount, Hao Tian had mixed feelings. The amount of earning that he had gotten from doing missions tirelessly was not even worth it compared to following Han Xiao and doing nothing.
No wonder so many people wanted to trigger Black Phantom’s hidden storyline—even a godly pro player like him almost wanted to do the same.
The danger of the wilderness came from beasts, robbers, and radiation, but with the iron war machines protecting them, the numerous beast attacks that they met along the way were all easily resolved. It was a scary journey indeed, but there was no real danger.
…
When they were just one day away from arriving in Graymetal Ruins, the convoy set up camp.
It was a night with clear skies, and if one looked up the skies, the entire river of stars would be reflected in one’s eyes. The technological environment of Planet Aquamarine was similar to Earth, but its nature was more beautiful.
In Star Zone 9 of the Garton Galaxy, the civilization density of the star zone was very low, but the planets were very concentrated. Many empty planets were caught by planets with higher density and started to orbit around them. Planet Aquamarine was one of the planets orbiting around a fixed star at a distance just nice to have the temperature suitable for human habitation. There are also a few natural satellites orbiting around Planet Aquamarine, which were ‘moons’ that reflects light from the fixed star to the planets at their dark side of self-rotation.
Before the old era, there were countries that had built a rocket ship to land on the natural satellites, but they were desolated.
The opportunity that made the Godoran Civilization contact Planet Aquamarine happened when one of Godora’s Interstellar Spectrometers captured the waves in space made by Planet Aquamarine’s primitive rocket ship.
Godora was a galactic civilization in the Garton Galaxy. The areas that they explored included many star zones of the Garton Galaxy, but they were more of a law enforcing organization, contacting civilizations with friendly motives.
Recently, Han Xiao had read a bit about the research that the nations in Planet Aquamarine had regarding astrology. The players could access this information through various sources as well, and it was incredibly detailed and real, which made the players feel a very strong sense of reality. With the perspective of an NPC, Han Xiao could see more information.
In the camps, as Han Xiao and Coney Fury were discussing the blueprint, a guard came in to report.
“Your Excellency, we captured a wanderer. He has been lingering near our camps.”
It was a teen wanderer with worn out clothing. He had a double barrel hunting gun, which had been confiscated by the guards. Upon seeing the camp that was filled with armed guards, horror showed on his face, and he started trembling.
Han Xiao had an idea and asked, “Is there a colony nearby?”
Liu Zhao looked at the map and said, “There are a few medium-size colonies.”
Han Xiao nodded and looked at the teenager with a pondering look. The teenager felt that the eyes of this man in black before him were so pressurizing that his legs started to soften. Before Han Xiao questioned, he explained in tremble and said, “I’m a wanderer from a nearby colony. I was out to hunt for food and coincidentally saw you guys passing by, so I wanted to take a closer look.”
Han Xiao touched his chin and contemplated for a while. Seeing this teenager looked undernourished and emaciated, he said, “Liu Zhao, get him some food.”
The teenager was stunned for a moment.
“Return to your colony and tell your people that my team will be building a city in the Graymetal Ruins. We will provide a large number of paid jobs. They’re also welcome to join us. Let your chief know my intentions. We hope they can move in and take residence.”
The heavy bag of food brought the teenager back to his senses. His face was filled with relief and surprise.
He was a hunter of the colony. With very little prey recently, the people in the colony had not eaten much food and had been starving—this food could give them several filling meals.
The teenager had been very scared when he was captured, but now that he had found that these people were not evil, he was much more relieved and started to consider Han Xiao’s suggestion.
Most of the wanderers did not have the luxury to enjoy full stomachs, so the prospect of work in exchange for food was indeed tempting.
After having someone send the teenager away, Han Xiao took out the map and said, “Graymetal Ruins is isolated. There’s no human habitation within thirty miles, but there are about more than a dozen colonies further away, mostly small ones, totaling at about two thousand to three thousand people. Liu Zhao, take some people and food along with you, and spread the news about us building a sanctuary.”
The original intention of a sanctuary was to protect wanderers in the wilderness. Thus, it was normal to attract wanderers to move in. Huang Yu thought that he had seen through Han Xiao’s plan and thought to himself, He actually wants to hire wanderers as workers, but it’s still too few.
Han Xiao wanted to complete the basic layout of the sanctuary blueprint in a month, which needed at least 100,000 people. There were way too few wanderers for that.
Huang Yu shook his head. He felt the one-month plan would very most likely fail. It would not damage the organization, but it definitely would damage Black Phantom’s prestige and face. Being unable to live up to his word, other high ranked officials’ impression of him would definitely worsen.
I will appeal to return to the headquarters after staying for a month anyway, Huang Yu thought. There were no opportunities to contribute or gain benefits, so he did not want to waste his time being an assistant in Sanctuary Three.
Concerned with that arrangement, Liu Zhao said, “But if we spread out the guards, the defensive power of the team won’t be enough.”
Han Xiao pointed toward the Generation 2.5 Rangers that patrolled the camp with their preprogrammed routes and gave a faint laugh.
“I’ll give you another chance to respond.”
“I ensure the completion of the mission.” Liu Zhao changed his words immediately and stood straight.
…
The endless plains of Karst were maroon and looked like coagulated blood. Han Xiao had returned once agai
n; it was a familiar view.
Come to think about it, I haven’t been back to my base for quite a long time, Han Xiao thought. His base had been in standby mode as he did not really use it.
The outline of the Graymetal Ruins appeared in sight.
There had once been a broad road on the plains, but after years of no maintenance, it was now filled with weeds. The concrete had cracked open, and greens grew from within. Old newspapers flew slowly on its roads, and the long extinguished street lights were covered in vines.
It was a view filled with despair.
The entrance of the Graymetal Ruins was a broad abandoned road. The convoy moved forward along the road, and the only sound was the sound of the engine and the wheels pressing on the roads.
The huge amount of work needed to turn this abandoned city into a sanctuary had the people feeling greatly pressured.
_____________
You have arrived at Graymetal Ruins.
Current Population: 1034
Damage: 0%
Target complete.
You have received 250,000 Experience.
Mission Grade has become D-.
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The main storyline mission that Han Xiao had received was [Construct Sanctuary Three]; it was a large mission that oversaw the entire process. Therefore, according to the tens of building types that a sanctuary required, it was divided into tens of construction requirements.
The current mission target changed.
_____________
Current Target: Complete blueprint construction in three months
Current Time: Day 1
In three months, complete all the 13 construction requirements as stated below: [Expand/Collapse]
Rewards: 800,000 Experience, +1250 Dark Net Prestige, Increased Mission Grading
Extra Requirement: If construction is completed in advance, bonus rewards and grading will be awarded based on the number of days. Experience reward: +10% per day
Chapter 221. Gathered Players |
These thirteen construction requirements were all basic tasks, including evicting the beasts, cleaning the ruins, and building the water and electricity network, residential areas, and walls. There were tens of requirements for [Sanctuary Three]—these were only part of it.
