by <unknown>
[The Traitor’s Ambush] mission is already completed, and my job is done. All I have to do now is relay the confidential information to the Six Nations and let them worry about the rest.
He decided not to deal the final blow as it did not really matter to him at this point.
As the cars were just about to pass him, one of the doors opened, and Han Xiao quickly jumped aboard, leaving the troops behind in the dust.
The Germinal troops were completely left behind this time, slowly becoming specks on the horizon.
“It’s done.” Han Xiao finally let out a deep breath. The leader would no longer have any chance to stop him now.
This had truly been an exhilarating experience.
This time, he had rescued Aurora and Hila from the Germinal headquarters, stolen advanced Mechanic Knowledge from their lab, and even gotten hold of a bunch of crucial war information. Killing his way out and revealing his identity had also cemented his position as a Legend on the planet as well as further boosting his reputation among the players. He had broken past Version 1.0’s limit after killing countless high-level Germinal executives and even beaten up the leader himself, obtaining the lucky draw on two of the leader’s abilities.
Although he had faced endless danger along the way, the reward made it all well worth it!
Han Xiao thought of something and suddenly looked back at the Germinal leader from the car window.
The leader stood shakily on a distant sand dune, with his now weak-looking figure swaying in the wind.
Han Xiao and the leader’s gaze locked onto each other’s despite the long distance.
The leader was expressionless. He had mustered all his resources this time yet had ended up with nothing to show for it. However, instead of raging over it, all Han Xiao saw in the leader’s eyes were conflicting emotions of pain, dejection, and even a sense of release and weariness. It was as if he had used up all his will and no longer had the energy to let out his fury.
Han Xiao was somewhat puzzled and became curious about this character.
Leading the Germinal Organization to overthrow the mighty Six Nations. Why did he do all this? What kind of person was he?
Ambitious? Cruel? Immoral?
Despite his long-time adversity with the leader, Han Xiao barely knew about his foe.
Oh right. I don’t even know his name.
Han Xiao once again focused his gaze on the leader, and the leader also met his gaze from the distance.
In that instant, it was someone had pressed the pause button, and even time itself had stopped. The gaze between the two looked almost like a still painting.
This was Han Xiao’s first face-to-face contact with the leader…
… and also the last.
Later, the Six Nation fighters present would describe this scene and leak it to the whole world.
After the war had ended, when each nation was re-organizing, they would find out that this was the turning point in the war. The stare-down between Zero and the Germinal leader would become a historical moment and be recorded in Planet Aquamarine’s history.
…
The moon lit up the night, and stars were scattered throughout the sky. The astral sea lit up this side of the hill, and artificial lighting was not even needed deep into the night.
The three cars were parked atop a hill that was hidden in the middle of a small forest. The engines were turned off, and silence filled in the surroundings. Everyone had gotten out their cars and spread out to mind their own business. Some chewed on their rations, some tended to their wounds, and others made small talk.
After the intense combat throughout the day, they had decided to stop there for the night to rest. Driving past the plains in front of them would get them to the border between the Six Nations’ and Germinal’s warzone. Germinal had limited control over this area, and it was nothing compared to the forces that were swarming around the headquarters. The forces that had pursued and ambushed them earlier had suffered heavy casualties, and there were truly no more threats to the team.
Han Xiao finally had some time to take in the changes that he had gotten from evolving his race.
He observed his body under the gentle moonlight. His skin was still yellow, but there were some minor changes. After the minor changes to his DNA, his body became even better proportioned, and his limbs seemed to have grown longer. He also felt that he had become more handsome as he checked himself out with a mirror…
Yup. Definitely not just my imagination.
[Type-i Space Human] had high compatibility with his body. This was a race of humans who had adapted to live in space and had been exposed to a variety of different types of radiation as well as the planet’s environments over the years. This was a race that followed strictly followed the laws of evolution, and those who could not adapt naturally could not survive. The logic behind was similar to how humans on Earth had evolved into different races: Asians, Caucasians, Africans, etc. The differences all came from the different living environments. Type-i Space Humans also started as the countless normal humans in the universe—more commonly recognized by other alien races as Carbon Monkeys, Parasites, Sneaky B*stards, Prideful Creatures, Racists, Not Delicious, etc.
Due to the harshness of space, the Type-i Space Humans had much stronger bodies. They had a more perfect body structure, and their organs could function at a higher capacity. If normal humans were comparable to thin sheets of paper, they would be like rubber, much harder to break.
Of course, the body still looked more or less like a normal human. There was not anything such as green skin or longer teeth.
Each race and species’ evolution paths were very much traceable. Carbon-based organisms could not suddenly become mechanical lifeforms. Those that evolved or mutated into having potential to utilize life energy were commonly known as True Soul Carriers. Most thought-capable species had the potential to develop this power.
Although a normal human has a lot of evolution paths to choose to follow, the more one evolves, the harsher the requirements will become to evolve again. A Space Human has less of an option in evolving as there is usually only one main pathway, but with more evolutions, the compatibility will also increase. Those extremely powerful races all require high compatibility and also have the most potential.
Han Xiao nodded. Evolution was a step-like process. Gaining massive power early on would naturally mean that one would mean losing out later on. Only by walking on a wider road would he have more options in the future.
It was also important how well the evolution pathway worked with his class. As he did not need to go for those all-brawn-no-brain races, the [Type-i Space Human] evolution was very suitable for Han Xiao.
I might as well finish dealing with [The Traitor’s Ambush] now.
Han Xiao rubbed his hands and was full of expectations like an old gambler.
Ahem. It was more like the excitement one felt from getting their pay.
_____________
[The Traitor’s Ambush] has been completed.
You have obtained: Lucky draw for two of the Germinal leader’s abilities.
Commencing lucky draw… Draw complete.
Please choose two out of the five following abilities:
1. [Advanced Martial Arts] – Talent: Decrease energy consumption by 30% when using pugilist skills and increase damage output by 15%.
2. [Venomous Attack] – Skill: Assassin-type skill. Strike fast like a snake, and deal 4 – 7 consecutive blows to your opponent. The first hit will deal 41 – 59 bonus damage, and each following blow will deal 5% less.
3. [Repel – Thorns] – Skill: Use your energy to absorb 30% of all incoming attacks. If it’s a melee battle, reflect the same amount of absorbed damage back to your opponent. Uses 300 energy, 500 stamina, and cools down in 110 seconds.
4. [Iron Fist] – Talent: Bare-handed attacks increase in damage by 7% and block chance increases by 3%.
5. [Steel Body] – Talent: Immune to true damage.
_____________
Unfortunately, the Lucky Halo was not one of the draws.
Does he not have it, or is my luck just too bad? Han Xiao shook his head.
The leader had several dozen different abilities, and the chances of getting something good with only five draws was truly too low. So, Han Xiao was not that disappointed.
The leader was a pugilist, so most of the drawn abilities had something to do with martial arts. He was able to choose two out of the five abilities for himself.
“This is great! It’s a Molding Ability!” Han Xiao’s eyes lighted up.
Molding Abilities were unique in that they were very powerful, specific, and absolute—as in the case of damage immunity. This was exactly what Han Xiao was looking for.
[Steel Body] was basically a BOSS template. It would make him immune to attacks that dealt true damage. This would greatly reduce the chance of accidents from happening, and he would be much hard to be killed in one-shot. For example, without this ability, someone with a skill similar to [Flaming Will], which could do true damage, would have posed a huge threat to Han Xiao. However, with [Steel Body], that danger was completely negated. As Han Xiao himself did a lot of explosive attacks, he knew the pros and cons of true damage very well.
He chose [Repel – Thorns] because he did not have any other better choice out of the remaining draws. The others were all pugilist skills.
When he thought back on the previous fight between Bennett and the leader, the leader must have used this ability to tank Bennett’s broken quintuple damage punch.
When Han Xiao thought about the leader again, he could not wipe away his interest in this main storyline character.
Chapter 265. The Next Class Change Requirement |
You have obtained [Repel – Thorns]!
You have obtained [Steel Body]!
_____________
A paralyzing feeling passed through Han Xiao’s body, and it made him much more focused. When he stretched out his arms, he found out that his body had become much tougher. His chest even gave off satisfying echoes when he gave it some test smacks.
Looks like I’m progressing well on the road to become a true meat shield. Han Xiao was in a good mood as he was very glad about the mission reward this time around.
He had obtained his second Molding Ability. True damage was damage that directly reduced one’s health regardless of other defensive stats. For example, when a normal attack with a hundred attack power landed on someone, it would be reduced by a certain amount depending on the armor that the assailant wore. On the other hand, true damage would be able to do a hundred flat damage without reductions.
With this ability, he was much harder to kill and was starting to look more and more like a BOSS character.
After maxing out his [Magnetic Ring Mechanic] class in the interface, Han Xiao still had 125,000,000 experience points left, which he used to directly max out [Machinery – Last Stance] and [Repel – Thorns]. After spending another 13,000,000 exp, he gained two additional Potential Points.
Both of these abilities were very useful. [Machinery – Last Stance] was self-explanatory—it was basically like combat Viagra for Mechanics. [Repel – Thorns] was a very powerful defensive skill as it could directly mitigate a portion of all incoming damage.
Maxing out [Magnetic Ring Mechanic] also unlocked the new class change requirements.
_____________
Class Change Requirement: Reach LV 80, obtain 400 Intelligence Points, learn five advanced mechanic knowledges.
_____________
Well that’s surprising. Han Xiao’s eyes flashed.
Several of the class change requirements for main classes were the same for everyone. Han Xiao had class-changed four times and had [Mechanic Novice], [Novice Technician], [Mechanic Trainee], and [Magnetic Ring Mechanic]. All Mechanic players who went with the Magnetic Ring class change tree would have to complete the same requirements.
Only when they had learned enough advanced knowledge and leveled up intelligence enough would they be able to move onto the next level.
My intelligence stat has already reached 321 points. With 40 free points, I now only need 39 stat points to meet this requirement. So, the important thing now is to look for a sub-class to max to obtain LV 80 overall.
Even someone like Han Xiao who basically only assigned points into intelligence did not have enough to do the class change. It was even worse for the Mechanic players who did not know any better and put points randomly into different areas. These players would have no other choice but to arduously look for more subclasses to gain stat points from.
The cap on Version 2.0 was LV 90. The higher the overall level, the higher the required experience to level up one’s sub-classes. This was why the later one fulfilled one’s class change requirements, the higher the cost would be.
Eventually, when a player’s sub-classes’ levels made up most of their overall level, their actual strength would then be laughable.
In the past, some Galaxy players had only been able to meet their class change requirements once they got to LV 80. Before they could level up their main class after the class change, they soon ran into the Version’s level cap. Unsurprisingly, these players were the weakest when it came to PVP.
Han Xiao threw in all forty of the unassigned points into intelligence and muttered, “I also need to find a subclass. My strength has already far surpassed the Version cap, so I don’t need to focus on leveling up anymore for now. Hmm… I should try to look for one of the rarer sub-classes. Those tend to give more free skill points per level, so I will be able to class change without leveling up too much.
He was not worried about obtaining advanced mechanical knowledge. It seemed hard because the rate of his growth had already surpassed the norm in the current Version. Advanced knowledge was something that would come by sooner or later.
“Hey, Black Phantom. Can I have my weapon back?”
Someone called Han Xiao from behind him. Havalen had walked over as he asked Han Xiao.
He was the mechanical pugilist who owned the rocket-boosted hammer. The hammer was still with Han Xiao at the moment.
Han Xiao turned and replied, “Oh this! I gave it a small check before, and it seemed like your weapon wasn’t functioning properly. Let me help you repair it first.”
Or in Han Xiao’s mind… You can have it back after I’ve figured out the blueprint for this thing.
Havalen had a face full of suspicion. “There’s a malfunction? But it worked fine when I was using it.”
“Oh, you know, damaging weapons is often unavoidable during intense battles.”
“Uh, this weapon was developed by Theseus’s military factory, and I was ordered not to let anything about the technology leak out…” Havalen was troubled. He knew that Han Xiao was a Mechanic, so he was naturally concerned.
“That’s not right,” Han Xiao replied in a righteous voice. “Do I look like that kind of person? We’re teammates right now, you and I!”
Han Xiao was not feeling guilty about this at all. Teammates were supposed to be used, or what difference would they have from fish in the market?
Havalen hesitated for a few seconds before finally relenting, and he returned to where was previously.
He did not believe a word Han Xiao said, but the thing was, this dude was much stronger than every other person present.
What could he do?
The Six Nations’ agents were busy reporting the current situation to their higher ups. All the nations had their full attention on this issue. Han Xiao did not really mind. He might as well let the Six Nations people know how strong he was so as to avoid any misunderstandings in the future.
Han Xiao saw that Bennett was huddled up and talking with a small circle of people, so he walked over. He noticed that they were clamoring over a wheel that had fallen off and asked, “What’s this about?”
“I’m not sure if you have noticed, but we’re trying to fix this wheel,” Bennett said in a sal
ty voice.
Han Xiao looked at him weirdly. “I have eyes. Are you taking the piss with me?”
The two stared at each other before Hannes could not stand it anymore and butted in to explain, “This wheel had been shot. There are some tools in the trunk. Do you think you could help us fix it? You’re a Mechanic, right?”
“You should’ve said that earlier.” Han Xiao pulled up his sleeves, took out his tools, and started fixing the wheel while making a bunch of clanking noises. The group of people just stood around him and gawked like a bunch of fools.
After Han Xiao was done, Hannes reattached the wheel onto the car. Bennett then finally looked at Han Xiao and signaled before he walked off to the side. Han Xiao shook his head a few times before he followed behind helplessly.
The debt collector was finally here.
Once they were a distance away from the campsite, Bennett stopped, and so did Han Xiao.
“Humph!” Bennett turned before staring at Han Xiao and said, “Explain yourself.”
Obviously, he was talking about Han Xiao’s double identity. Bennett still could not get over it.
Han Xiao was delighted upon hearing this. Bennett sounded just like a pouting daughter-in-law…
“So, you don’t want to talk about it? Do you see yourself right now? Oh… you think you’re so tough?” Thinking back to what had happened over the past few days pissed Bennett off. “Why not tell us that you’re an alien as well?”
Han Xiao was speechless.
You might’ve guessed right…
However, Han Xiao was extremely thick-skinned, and no matter how much Bennett whined and complained, Han Xiao only gave off an occasional “huh” to let the other person know that he was still listening. When he saw how Han Xiao was not willing to speak at all, Bennett also felt helpless about it and sighed before saying, “Whatever, it’s all in the past anyway.”
Han Xiao was a friend and someone who had made great contributions to the Dark Net. He had also devoted himself to the Shelter plan, and Bennett trusted him completely. He would not fuss too much over something like this. Moreover, Bennett secretly respected Han Xiao for his accomplishments.
