by <unknown>
The dark-blue electromechanical force coiled around the turret barrel, and the damage was suddenly amplified. One armored truck was destroyed within a few seconds.
The convoy began to return fire. They had stronger firepower compared to the side of Han Xiao, and bullets and missiles, with an orange trail in the air, were coming for Han Xiao from every direction.
Han Xiao’s technical interface analyzed the path of the light rockets for Han Xiao to shoot it down before they hit their target. As for machine gun bullets, they could only forcefully rely on the armor of the jeep to protect them.
Because the firepower of the Germinal Organization was too powerful, Han Xiao had decided to modify a ranged version of the mechanical suit since he knew how difficult it is to fight when one was being kited around.
Boom!
The sound of explosion continues.
Han Xiao fought against multiple vehicles and dozens of soldiers at the same time, and the battle was in a stalemate. Suddenly, Han Xiao gave Hila the signal.
Hila knew that it was her time to fight. Her eyes were filled with red light, and from the corner of her eyes leaked the burning light. She opened the window, pushed her hand outside, and a light red curve of flame penetrated three different vehicles, dealing mental damage that reduced the physical armor.
Hum!
Shock wave explode in their hearts and souls.
Everyone in the car suddenly spat out blood and was heavily injured.
“Cough cough…” Hila suddenly started coughing, and her face looked even more fragile.
The frequent use of such power drained her energy level down to the bottom, but at the same time, her power had somewhat advanced. A few days ago, if she wanted to use this attack, she would have had to charge up for a few seconds, but now, she could instantly cast her attack. Only when people were under extreme pressure could they extract their hidden potential. Hila’s potential was as high as S level, and she had an exceptional improvement throughout the battle
With the cooperation of the two people, the battle quickly reached to the end. The four executive officers were only around LV 30, but it gave Han Xiao two Trial Points. He realized that not only did enemies above LV 40 give out Trial Points, enemies with lower levels could also give out some, but the system would not show that if it is below one point. It would still add the accumulated points in the system.
_____________
[The Ultimate Trial]: Current Progress 723/2000
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Seven hundred or so points, I am progressing faster than I expected. Han Xiao looked at the battle interface popped up a new message.
_____________
Battle has ended. From the difference between the forces of the two sides, you receive an extra 15 Trial Points.
_____________
In these four days, Han Xiao found a new requirement to advance the mission.
It seemed that fighting against overwhelming numbers of enemies would give out more Trial Points, and the extra Trial Points were calculated after the battle. When he was charging through the enemy forces as he escaped the headquarters, he had gotten an extra eighty Trial Points. He did not have time to check as he was in danger, and later on, he had forgotten to check it since there were too many missions. It was not until now that he noticed the bonus after the battle.
Included in [The Ultimate Trial]’s description was ‘The harder the victory (calculated by the amount of health lost), the more the Trial Points.’ Han Xiao had thought that if he won the battle while having lower health, he could get more points. But for the bigger picture, he had to keep his health at a high level, so he did not bother losing health and reducing his chances of survival just for some small gains.
But now he realized what the statement meant. ‘Calculated by Health Points’ was probably calculating the total Health Point allies and enemies. So, when there were more enemies while he had fewer allies, he could get a higher reward. This means that the mission encouraged players to fight as a small group against a large force, and this could lower the reward for rich players who hired more players to join the team. Therefore, people with higher skill would finish the mission and earn the class advancement at a faster rate. This system was to ensure a balance between rich players and skilled players, shortening the gap between them.
Han Xiao started to disassemble the parts from the equipment that he had just gotten. Destroying was always easier than creating. The speed of Han Xiao taking parts away from equipment makes one’s head dizzy.
“From my calculation, it seems that the enemy reinforcements will come between seven and twelve minutes,” Han Xiao said. “So, we can only stay here for another five minutes. Can you still drive? If not, I will do it.”
“I’m fine.” Hila chugged another energy drink and boosted her energy level.
Han Xiao quickly went through the spare parts that he had disassembled and took the ones that were useful. Then they drove off while having an anti-radar layer on top of them. The only way for the Germinal Organization to catch them again was through a blanket search.
Ten minutes later, as the Germinal Organization’s reinforcements arrived, they could only see the scattered parts lying on the ground. Han Xiao had disappeared from their vision again.
Chapter 253. A Love Story |
In the car, Han Xiao was smoking and repairing his suit when he decided to check out the forums and saw the post made by the Germinal players that he had just killed.
“Found mission target. Han Xiao’s location coordinates are…”
“Germinal has distributed new tailing missions. We are looking for two more members for this group mission. Leaving in twenty minutes.
Han Xiao chuckled when he saw this.
Germinal players were also trying to find him. As the mission only required the players to find his whereabouts, it would not lower their reputation points with him, and many players took on the mission for the reward.
As the old sayings went, there is no better way to show your love than through beatings.
Although Han Xiao had not given them any benefits, but following the players from the three other continents as examples, the Germinal players still loved him.
Once his identity was revealed, the players became very passionate about him and were eager to accept any missions that were related to him. However, it was not like they had much of a choice. Now that Germinal’s full attention was on catching Han Xiao, practically all the missions had something to do with him.
Logically, having to fight immortal players should have had been troublesome, but Han Xiao was actually glad that a lot of players were chasing him.
Aside from trying to find him directly, the Germinal forces were constantly trying to widen their search net to encircle Han Xiao. However, Han Xiao was always able to escape through a gap just before they could complete the encirclement.
This was not just a coincidence. The forum posts made by Germinal basically gave Han Xiao free information on the enemy troop movements.
Germinal was not aware of the existence of the forums while there was no way the players could have known that an NPC could see their posts.
Han Xiao’s group kept escaping through the openings between their forces, and Germinal had no idea how the information was being leaked.
Germinal could not have known that their own Inhumans were the ones dragging them down. All this did was further convince the Germinal leader of Han Xiao’s power to predict the future.
…
Han Xiao was not afraid of running out of posts to read. Due to the recent rise in his popularity among the players, posts about him basically dominated the Planet Aquamarine forums.
Revealing his own identity also gave his image a boost. Compared to Black Phantom’s uninspiring middle-aged uncle face, Han Xiao’s current look was basically prince-like, and he was able to capture the hearts of countless female players. There were a bunch of comments along the lines of “Well hello, handsome…” that
started to appear in the forums.
A BOSS level character that manipulated the war behind the scenes actually looked so young and handsome. This change finally helped Han Xiao acquire female fans. One should know that back in his Black Phantom days, all those who chased after him were just a bunch of stinky, hairy, hot-blooded, gamer guys…
However, the players’ enthusiasm on this topic far exceeded Han Xiao’s expectations, and after the initial shock, the direction of the conversations on the forums started to go somewhere weird.
Many of the players had seen Han Xiao bringing a sister-duo along with him when he broke out of Germinal’s ambushes. Discussions about this suddenly exploded.
“Why would he bring two girls when running for his life? Is there any doubt? It must’ve been for love!”
Then, a player who had let his imagination break through the skies posted this story…
“I was once a test subject. I was tortured and went through endless unimaginable suffering in a hell-like place.
“She was my only source of light. Every time I saw her tall figure and ice-cold face, the pain I felt all over my body suddenly disappeared. Although I was only a test subject, and she never spared me so much as a smile, seeing the fury in her eyes taught me the warmth of spring.
“Maybe this is what it feels like when love finally arrives.
“So, I swore, when I one day escape this place, I will become stronger and rise to the top. When that day comes, I will stand in front of you and tell you with all my heart that I love you… ”
When he saw this post, Han Xiao coughed all the energy drink that was in his mouth onto Hila.
Which god damn pervert wrote this‽ Where did this idiot jump out from?
Don’t you ever let me see you! I will kill you all the way back to level one!
This was only one of the versions that the players came up with. Another person wrote about how Han Xiao fell in love at first sight with the older sister and decided to elope with her while bringing along the little girl!
Or how Han Xiao and the redhead were lovers to begin with, and the little girl was actually their secret child!
Some even claimed that the sisters were already Han Xiao’s women, but they were taken away by the evil Germinal leader. To take back what was his, Han Xiao had gone on the path of revenge, eventually causing this whole war for love.
Basically, the people’s imaginations were endless!
“Ohohoho, I never thought that you were like this, Black Phantom.”
“So, we’re all the same…”
“Oof, the little girl’s the best!”
“The older sister’s where it’s at!”
Just as Han Xiao was having a headache from all these stories, he found out that the players had given him two new nicknames.
Black Phantom: The Womanizer!
Technician Han: Your Knight in Shining Armor!
Han Xiao was conflicted.
Although it was not his original intention, his popularity still went up because of this. It was normal that characters with some ‘dirt’ on them were more likely to be talked about by the players.
Although my image among the players isn’t what I intended, at least I’m getting more and more famous.
Han Xiao could only stay optimistic. Most of these posts were not made seriously. These people must have come to cause trouble because of popular he was.
The reveal significantly boosted his popularity with the players, but his legend points on the interface were taking a while to be updated.
Suddenly, a new post caught Han Xiao’s attention.
“Everyone, look! I have received a new mission. It’s a large-scale encirclement operation this time! Request for group members to carry me…”
A Germinal player posted his mission details, and the photo of the map that he attached showed a massive force that stood on what was supposedly Han Xiao’s current route of escape. This group of Germinal forces was unlike anything that they had ever seen. It completely blocked off all the possible openings that Han Xiao could use.
Han Xiao’s expression grew heavy when he saw the post.
“This is bad.”
…
“The encirclement forces are in place. It will take another six hours before they make contact with Han Xiao.”
“How many men do we have?” the Germinal leader asked in a grave voice.
“Sir, we have mobilized a total of eighty high ranking executives, six hundred super soldiers, and several thousands of armored infantry troops. There are also over three hundred tanks and thirty attack helicopters. I’m sorry, sir, but this was all we could muster. The Six Nations are currently applying pressure on all fronts, and we are stretched thin.”
Boom!
The leader violently smacked the table and roared, “If it weren’t for those b*stards from the Six Nations, this encirclement would’ve already been complete. Zero must’ve made a deal with them. We have already locked onto him four times, yet all our missiles have been intercepted by the Six Nations!
“Humph! Now that our forces are in place, the Six Nations will have to drive their troops right into the middle of my territory if they want to stop us from catching Zero. Order the troops to start closing in on him. Even if he can predict the future, he will still be forced to go head to head with our troops!”
The Germinal leader spared no efforts in taking out Han Xiao. He had already learned his lesson from the numerous times that Han Xiao had broken out of his traps so far. Now, the new group of troops were placed right around his escape route, and he had finally trapped the traitorous b*stard!
The leader believed that even if Han Xiao was able to predict this all from happening, there was nothing that he could have done to stop the encirclement from being completed. He had sacrificed the previous squads who pursued Han Xiao to direct him to this path.
The encircling forces on the plains were to be the leader’s decisive move to end things once and for all with Han Xiao.
“Zero is very strong; only the older executives can finish the job. How many of them went with the troops?” the leader asked.
“Five in total. Here are their files,” the assistant quickly replied.
The leader took a glance and nodded. These old folks could be considered the organization’s strongest force. Even he would have to be careful against them in a fight. Their strength had already reached a certain level and would be enough to take on Han Xiao.
With five of them together, even the leader would take some time to come out on top.
This time, the leader was confident that Han Xiao would finally be taken care of, and he let out a vicious glint in his eyes.
Chapter 254. Separation |
The night came, and two rays of light were moving around the plains. Han Xiao and his companions got away from the chase from the troops. The plains were quiet, and they could only hear the low humming sound of the exhausted engine.
“Pull over,” Han Xiao suddenly said.
Hila shook her head and disagreement. “We just got away from the troops. If we stop now, they will soon catch up.”
“We are heading into a trap. The path ahead has been closed off. There will be nowhere out.” Han Xiao shrugged.
Hila jumped. “What? How did you know?”
But she recalled hearing that Han Xiao could predict the future, so she took back her question. Both of them had forced their way out of the headquarters, and after the eventful and stressful days, she trusted Han Xiao with all her heart.
She stopped the jeep, and silence took over the scene.
“If the Germinal Organization has encircled the plains, they will for sure move inward and confine us in a smaller area. We now have two options. First, we fight our way through before they enclose their forces on us, or second, we wait for our opportunity.”
“If we drag this out for too long, our area for movement would be smaller, and our chance of surviving will be even slimmer,” Hila said hesitantly. “Will we
have a chance if we break through the encirclement?”
“The trap they’ve set up this time is strong and secure. All the troops are close to each other, and there is no space or opportunity where we can sneak past them. Even if we head back the way we came, we still cannot escape.” Han Xiao shook his head—this was the analysis done by a player who had posted this information on the forums. [The Encirclement of the Plains] mission was the largest mission in the Germinal Organization, and it was a mission in the battle series, so more and more players came together.
“There is a chance that we can break through their trap, but the risk is too high, and we won’t be able to protect your sister. But what you said was right; waiting around is also bad for us.”
After Han Xiao analyzed the situation, Hila remained quiet and tried to think for a new method.
Even though Aurora could not understand what Han Xiao had said, she could tell that the atmosphere was serious and dense. She then grabbed Hila’s sleeve.
Hila’s serious face relaxed, and she patted Aurora on her head.
It was not the end. No matter how dangerous and challenging the circumstances were, she would never give up. When she had been the Germinal Organization, Hila was as cold as an iceberg. But after Han Xiao showed the hope that she could save her sister from imprisonment, he slowly chipped away at her cold personality and would occasionally show her care and kindness to others. Although, most of the time, she still wore an unemotional face.
Hila looked back and asked, “Do you have any idea?”
“I need to make a few calls.” Han Xiao had a plan slowly forming in his head.
…
Buzz!
The leader’s computer received a call. When he saw the notification, his pupils suddenly contracted. It was Zero.
Why is he calling me?
The leader was shocked and shouted at his assistant, “Track his location now!”
The assistant quickly called for communication technicians to track the communication system.
The leader then accepted the call. Han Xiao’s face appeared on the screen, and the leader showed a murderous intent in his eyes. Han Xiao also did not talk, and they stared at each other for a while. Even though they were looking through a screen, they could feel the intense hostility from each other.
