As they conversed, Han Xiao wondered when the tall old man would come clean with him and if he should act surprised when he did.
Suddenly, Feng Jun entered the workshop in a hurry and said to Han Xiao with a grave expression, “Let’s go outside for a talk.”
As Han Xiao’s caretaker, Feng Jun always kept a small team around the compound to monitor the workshop, mainly to keep an eye out for any Germinal Organization operatives.
As they stepped outside, the tall old man wondered what had happened.
“The research department has their eyes on you!”
Han Xiao narrowed his eyes.
“What do you mean?”
“The research department is tasked with inventing new weapons and equipment. They have the power to perform risk assessment on any equipment we use. Using the claim that your Retractable Knife is dangerous to use, they are demanding that you cough up the blueprints! As they have the right to do so, the other departments are unable to interfere.”
‘So they want my blueprints!
‘Risk assessment? What a joke!’
Han Xiao snorted coldly. If he handed them the blueprints for the Retractable Knife, they would immediately begin mass production of it!
Feng Jun proceeded to enlighten Han Xiao on the internal strife in Division 13. The research department and internal affairs were both on the side of the hardliners, and essentially hostile towards him.
As the research department had not produced many results over the past few years, their budget was continuously slashed every year. In Division 13, their standing was even lower than that of the logistics department, which was why they were now targeting Han Xiao’s blueprints. They were truly desperate.
“And what if I refuse?”
“You will be blacklisted by them, and it will reflect on your record. The good thing is that you are not an ordinary agent, and the Division values your intel highly, so it should not cause you many problems; after all, the research department can’t really force you due to your position.”
“Then that’s fine. I won’t give them the blueprints,” said Han Xiao as he shook his head.
Feng Jun laughed bitterly. He had come knowing that Han Xiao would most likely refuse.
Although the Retractable Knife would end up being over-saturated in the market, it was still earning him a lot for the time being. Naturally, Han Xiao would not give it up.
The tall old man made a phone call to someone in Division 13. When he learnt of what had transpired, his face darkened.
“A bunch of greedy imbeciles! All they do is stir up nonsense!”
That Han Xiao was able to achieve an amicable relationship with Division 13 was something that the tall old man had played a huge role in. Now, however, there were people within the division itself who were clumsily undermining his efforts! What if Han Xiao became averse to the division and decided to pack up and leave‽ Then, all of his thoughts and efforts would have been in vain.
“The gall of them!”
Chapter 43 - Stealing Credit (Part 1)
Translator: MJ_ Editor: Millman97
“Unbelievable!”
Li Ya Lin was enraged to hear of the research department’s plot, mainly because she was worried about her 20% discount.
“This is the higher ups’ game,” said Li Yao. “We can’t do anything about it.”
“Might as well get rid of that research department head,” suggested Lambert plainly as he polished his daggers.
Li Yao gave a start.
“Uncle! Don’t say that kind of thing!”
“Well, that seems like one way to solve things…” mumbled Li Ya Lin in deep thought, sending Li Yao to the verge of tears.
Even if you guys don’t want to live, I still want to live! he thought to himself.
Although Han Xiao had only joined them a few days ago, after the Black Spider operation, the trio had fully accepted him as their comrade. Naturally, they were displeased to hear of his predicament.
“Why not ask for his opinion directly?” asked Li Yao.
“His address is top secret, and his phone is always off!” scowled Li Ya Lin. “Who knows where he could be…”
“Then what should we do? How can we just watch him suffer at the hands of the research department?”
“Wait,” Lambert abruptly interjected.
Footsteps could be heard, and a few seconds later, a woman appeared at the door.
“Hey, Lin Lin, I heard that your new teammate is quite the troublemaker.”
The woman was short-haired, and a beauty in her own right. However, her voice was derisive, and she looked down on the trio antagonistically as she leaned against the door with folded arms.
The woman’s skin was extremely fair, and her lips were exceedingly red, as though the petals of a rose. She possessed a flirtatious temperament, and although she was tall, the strength of her aura did not seem to pale against Li Ya Lin’s. Although Li Ya Lin was unquestionably prettier, the woman was, without a doubt, more of a head turner than her.
Li Ya Lin’s face immediately darkened at the sight of her.
“Vixen Su,” she growled through gritted teeth, “are you looking for a fight?”
Di Su Su giggled tauntingly.
“If you dare.”
Di Su Su and Li Ya Lin were well known to be hated rivals. The bad blood between them could be traced all the way back to when they were fellow disciples of a dojo in their childhood. While Di Su Su always excelled in each of their tests and fights, Li Ya Lin’s performance was always average, and she was always easily defeated by her.
Even until this day, Li Ya Lin would sometimes be reminded of the way that she would put on a pretense in front of everyone and act nice to her despite them detesting each other. While everyone would praise Di Su Su and offer her guidance, Li Ya Lin’s conversations with their master always end in a few sentences, and he would always just ask her to follow Di Su Su’s example.
Recalling those events always dampened Li Ya Lin’s mood. Her master essentially treated her like an abandoned dog in the rain.
The two would eventually both end up joining Division 13, but only for history to repeat itself. Di Su Su’s always outperformed Li Ya Lin’s team, and her team became the ace of secret ops. What Li Ya Lin hated most was how Di Su Su would frequently come over to mock her, and the way she called her ‘Lin Lin’!
Bitch! Since when were we close?
Di Su Su was obviously doing it on purpose, and while Li Ya Lin knew this, it still got on her nerves.
“Hehe,” Di Su Su laughed softly. “I heard that you guys have a new addition, so I came specially to look for him. Where is he? He can’t have gone to hide, right?”
“He’s not here,” replied Li Ya Lin coldly. “Get lost.”
“Looks like I’ve made a wasted trip, but I guess that’s understandable, since he’s busy being destroyed by the research department.”
Li Ya Lin stared at her.
“Hurry up and get lost!”
“How heartless.” Di Su Su pouted. “We’re childhood sweethearts, after all.”
She shot a look towards Li Yao before sauntering off.
Li Ya Lin was already frustrated, but when she turned around to see Li Yao all intoxicated, her anger swelled. She stood up abruptly to grab Li Yao by his collar.
“Is this beautiful woman right beside you not enough‽” she yelled. “Why are you looking at that vixen‽”
“B-b-but,” stammered Li Yao, 'she smiled at me…”
“You had better give me a good answer: is she more beautiful or am I?” she asked threateningly.
For some reason, Li Yao still had to take a moment to think before he replied, “I think… that Sister Su Su is gentler than you…”
“Humph, Li Yao! I think that your brain needs some adjustment!
“Reverse-avalanche-bridge-breaking suplex!”
As Lambert casually sipped on the cup of water in his hand, he picked his phone up to make a call.
>
“Get a doctor over here—a bone specialist, preferably.”
…
The research department had expected Han Xiao to refuse their demands.
To mechanics, blueprints were like their lifeline.
They did not care about Han Xiao’s personal gain, or rather, that was to be expected, as the hardliners were hostile to him from the very start. In their eyes, giving Han Xiao the chance to cooperate was a soft move, and he should have been locked up and controlled instead.
On the other hand, the conservatives thought exactly the opposite. They were willing to give Han Xiao the benefit of the doubt as he seemed trustworthy and was cooperative. Why cause unrest and animosity over a simple beginner equipment blueprint?
What if he wasn’t scared of torture?
Division 13 had tried all sorts of methods on captured Germinal members before, but torture seldom worked, and nine out of ten would give false intel that was harmful instead of beneficial.
Besides, Han Xiao was a truly unique case.
As such, the conservatives, too, were outraged at the pressure that the hardliners were trying to put on Han Xiao. They saw them as a bunch of outdated, old farts. Times had changed, and talent was in high demand—Division 13 should have been treasuring him, not pressuring him.
Weren’t there other mechanics in the division too? Stealing Han Xiao’s work would reflect poorly on the division.
What year was it? All the talk about loyalty and what not would only serve to chase away prospects and talents seeking refuge. Don’t forget that the Six Nations was the main culprit for the destruction of all the other countries! It would not be surprising if these foreign talents just up and rebelled!
Unfortunately, as Division 13 was extremely compartmentalized, only the top brass would be able to interfere with the research department’s actions, but they seemed to only be interested in continuing to observe for now.
The research department was offering high amounts of cash to the agents for the Retractable Knives that they had bought from Han Xiao, which everyone saw through as a low move.
As most of the agents did not know of Han Xiao’s special status, most felt that it was unreasonable to bully an ordinary mechanic so, and they decided not to turn in the knives. Doing so would also be, in some sense, disrespectful to Han Xiao.
However, there were still some who turned them in for the money.
Korat was the first agent to strike a deal with the research department. He asked for 30,000 dollars—thirty times more than the opening offer—and the research department relented.
His reasoning was simple—it was simply worth the money. While most of the agents held on to their morals, he laughed at them for being fools to pass up the opportunity.
It’s just a small-time mechanic anyway, who even cares? Just wait till the research department mass produces it if you really want it.
…
In the research department, Luo Xuan and the head secretary were examining the retractable knife.
“Luo Xuan, can you reproduce it?”
Chapter 44 - Stealing Credit (Part 1)
Translator: MJ_ Editor: Millman97
“Piece of cake. This thing isn’t even well made; plus, it’s not encrypted.”
“Then I’ll leave it to you. If you can figure out the blueprints, I’ll pull you over into our department. Of course, your position will be higher.”
Luo Xuan’s eyes lit up. Since his debacle over the mecha arm, he had started to feel that he did not have a future in logistics.
If he could gain the favor of the higher-ups again, he would definitely be able to surpass that blasted Han Xiao!
…
Back at the workshop, Han Xiao had moved into the new building for convenience sake.
The arrangement brought Lu Qian some relief as things were still awkward between the pair.
“Whoosh.”
Hot steam gushed out as Han Xiao, who was wearing a heat-resistant suit, opened the furnace lid. He proceeded to use a pair of iron tongs to pick up a piece of glowing hot metal from within.
For now, there were two options available to Han Xiao for making the Retractable Knives—molding or stamping.
While both methods had their own advantages, the latter allowed for mass production with a higher success rate, so Han Xiao favored it.
The selling point of the Retractable Knife was its concealability. Since practicality was more important than the quality of craftsmanship, Han Xiao did not bother to put much detail into making them.
The metal sheets that he used for stamping were provided by Division 13, so they were top grade. Han Xiao had polished the metal sheet with a chemical spray before putting it into the furnace. After taking it out of the furnace, he set it under the stamping machine. Of course, he still had to carry out a few more steps before the knives were complete.
Each Retractable Knife gave him 100-200 experience, and the level of the blueprint itself had been increased to Lv. 2, giving the final product a slightly higher quality.
When he was done, Han Xiao stepped out of the heat-resistant suit and wiped the sweat off his brow. After examining the newly made knives, he proceeded to work on some workshop orders.
Midway, Han Xiao’s phone rang. He picked up his phone to see that it was Li Ya Lin.
“Something bad has happened! All the agents want to cancel their orders!”
“What happened‽” Han Xiao was shocked by the news.
“The research department has reverse-engineered the Retractable Knife, and they announced that they will proceed with mass production very soon and make it available to everyone!”
Although everyone could see how blatantly underhanded the research department was being, since they were going to be provided with free Retractable Knives, it was only natural for them to want to cancel their orders with Han Xiao.
The Retractable Knife’s profitability had run its course.
Han Xiao sat in deep thought. He had not expected the research department to be so brazen. Although Han Xiao had already known that something like this would happen, he did not expect them to take action so fast.
While giving up the blueprints voluntarily would earn him some faction reputation, he would not be able to earn any experience.
In any case, they were putting a dent in Han Xiao plans to get stronger.
Han Xiao picked up his phone to make a call to Feng Jun.
“I assume you’ve heard?” he asked in a low voice.
Feng Jun sighed.
“The research department is really too much. The higher-ups haven’t even given them permission, and they’ve already leaked that they will mass produce the Retractable Knife.”
Han Xiao frowned.
“Fill me in on the details.”
Feng Jun proceeded to tell Han Xiao about Korat and Luo Xuan.
“Has the research department given an official statement?”
“Not yet.”
Han Xiao’s face darkened. Looks like the research department did not even intend to give him an explanation.
How the research department dared to act was one thing, but the higher-ups definitely understood exactly what was going on. Han Xiao speculated that the reason they had not granted or denied the research department permission yet was to test how he would react. If he let the research department trample over him, it could be the green light for them to stop playing nice with him.
Of course, that was an extreme line of thought.
The top brass definitely won’t side with either faction. As long as I don’t push things too far, they will have to act accordingly and compensate me.
A thought suddenly occurred to Han Xiao. This could be my chance to obtain advancement knowledge!
However, as advancement knowledge was top secret, it would not be so simple to just mention it casually.
A plan began to formulate in Han Xiao’s mind.
Rob me in broad daylight? I’ll teach you all that I’m not that easy to bu
lly!
…
In the Research Department…
“Heh heh. Well done, well done.” The research department’s head secretary was full of praise for Luo Xuan.
Luo Xuan smiled plainly, but in truth he was suppressing his delight.
“The department head thinks highly of you. We’ve already requested all the necessary information and documents from the logistics department. You can already be counted as our staff.”
“What about the… promotion?”
“The department head specifically instructed that you will lead your own team. Your clearance will also be raised. Keep up the good work and there will be nothing to worry about.”
Luo Xuan’s smile widened.
“I heard that Han Xiao is valued highly by the higher-ups. Will there be any problem?” he asked.
“Relax, I have inside information. There is nothing he can do.”
Chapter 45 - The Last Laugh
Translator: MJ_ Editor: Millman97
News of the conflict between the research department and Han Xiao spread throughout Division 13 like wildfire. As everyone thought Han Xiao to be an ordinary mechanic, the outcome seemed obvious.
Over the next few days, Han Xiao showed no signs of action, so it became apparent that he had, as expected, decided to swallow it.
Nonetheless, it still remained a mystery as to why the research department would pick on a normal staff member so much.
Li Ya Lin also suffered from the incident due to her involvement with Han Xiao, and while she kept on trying to call Han Xiao to speak to him, the line always failed to get through.
Of course, Han Xiao was not going to let things end like that. While he had not made his move yet, that was because his preparations were not complete.
Han Xiao had previously made about $100,000 from selling the Retractable Knives, $30,000 of which was used to purchase materials for High-explosive Gunpowder.
The Legendary Mechanic c1-1385 Page 25