The Legendary Mechanic c1-1385

by Chocolion, 齐佩甲

  Freire could not be bothered with the rest of the troops. He knew that he needed to retreat.

  Don’t even think about escaping after you have entered my sight.

  Han Xiao’s glaze was as cold as the frozen ice as he activated a particular program. Having max leveled [Basic Programming], Han Xiao could bind most mechanical control systems to his computer.

  Three metallic plates were lying at a spot three hundred meters horizontally away from the Germinal troops. Suddenly, they all cracked open from the center and started a series of self-folding, forming a multi-barreled heavy machine gun, with the metal plate as the base of the battery. This was the foldable portable battery that Han Xiao had buried beforehand. They were equipped with automatic firing systems, and the ammunition loaded was all highly explosive and could pierce through armor. The firing range had a five-hundred-meter radius.

  The portable battery was one of Han Xiao’s new blueprints. It was the product from a mixture of various technology—a fixed battery combined with folding technology and many other designs. Han Xiao had spent a lot of effort and had failed countless times before arriving at the final model, which was very handy. He could have arrived at something similar by merging different ideas, but inventing the fort by himself saved him from using EXP.

  As Han Xiao learned more and more blueprints, it was becoming obvious that he was capable of grasping the functionality and usage of knowledge.

  Within the last two months, he already bought the last three types of basic knowledge that he had yet to acquire from the slightly friendlier camps. They were [Basic Energy Conversion], [Basic Thermodynamics], [Basic Acoustics]. To learn all fifteen types of basic knowledge was a feat even for some full-level players, not to mention players under level forty.

  The multi-barreled machine gun aimed at the Germinal troops, who were a few hundred meters away, automatically, warmed up for one second, and fired away. The fiery metallic storm blew all the trees in the way to bits, and the immobilized The Germinal troops’ armored vehicles could not escape the same fate!

  There was nothing but screams of agony and firework-like explosions.

  The cost of a small foldable battery port was high, as was the ammunition. Wars fought by Mechanics were all expensive like this, but with sufficient funds, Mechanics were capable of having dominating firepower. Only a rich and resourceful guy like Han Xiao was able to fully utilize the abilities of a Mechanic to the fullest extent.

  The firepower from the battery turret gave the rest of the players a huge shock, but this shock quickly turned into a craze over Han Xiao.

  “So, this is how Mechanics fight!”

  “One guy soloing against the whole army!”

  “He is way too strong!”

  Han Xiao did not idle either, he began sniping the enemies one by one. He smiled upon seeing the excitement among the other players. He did not have to use the battery turret against the small Germinal troop, but he did so anyway for the sake of demonstrating the destructive power of Mechanics.

  However, looks could be deceiving. When the players went to research about the actual cost to play as a Mechanic, they would find the painful truth behind this vocation–”Using Ona to create happiness, GTFO if you don’t have money.”

  Mechanics would be very weak in early games because most mechanics were poor.

  With the enemies mostly defeated, the rest of the players realized that it was the best time for them to deal extra damage, and they all began to rush forward to attack the army. Maple Moon also started firing. Her sniper scope was equipped with Electromagnetism Detector and aim assist, so almost every shot of hers could hit the Germinal soldiers. She gained momentum, and her damage output became steady.

  Although the realistic battle scenes were too gory for Maple Moon, she got used to it quickly as she had experience with gory scenes from other games. Moreover, she could change the game setting to make the graphics less bloody.

  Han Xiao shot through Freire’s knees but spared his life. Then, he switched to Red Falcon and started clearing the remaining Germinal soldiers at a rate much more efficient than normal players. One shot, one kill.

  The sound of gunfire gradually ceased; the battle had come to an end. Many seemed like they wanted to watch more.

  The paralyzed Freire could not be bothered with his own agony but looked at the crowd of spectating players in shock. He had been watching the battle very carefully, and he noticed that many of the players, who were killed earlier on, came back.

  “Are they zombies or what?”

  Freire was confused.

  Han Xiao, clad in full black, appeared. The players started to quieten down despite their excitement.

  He stood in front of Freire, squatted down, and stared into the latter’s eyes that were filled with shock and anger. “Where were you all heading toward?”

  “Black Phantom, Germinal will never let you off!” Freire was furious.

  “You got it wrong.”

  Han Xiao expressionlessly dragged Freire into the forest by his collar. Shortly afterwards, bone-chilling screams could be heard.

  It was not difficult to imagine that Freire was being tortured, and everyone felt a shiver down their spine.

  After ten minutes, the screaming finally ended. Han Xiao reappeared but without Freire.

  He wiped his hands clean of blood using a rag. He glanced around and saw that all eyes were on him. Now that he had the information that he wanted, he was free to end the mission.

  All the players received a notification simultaneously.

  _____________________

  [Hunt Down Germinal] has been completed. The Prize-Pool has 520,000 EXP.

  Damage Output Ranking:

  – No. 1 – Maple Moon (Solo)

  – No. 2 – Jade Green Sky (Team)

  – No. 3 – SliceYouUp (Team)

  – No. 4 …

  Reward pool will be allocated 30%, 25%, 20%, 15%, 10% of EXP accordingly.

  _____________________

  Everyone was shocked. No one expected this ranking.

  “She overtook Sky Territory and Kill-all.”

  “Hitting the scoreboard with solo output. Incredible!”

  “Who is Maple Moon? Is she a professional player?”

  “I never heard of this ID before though.”

  The crowd was going crazy.

  Chapter 133 - Mechanics Are So Powerful

  Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

  Jade Green Sky and SliceYouUp were shocked.

  A solitary player’s output was actually higher than that of a guild. The EXP earned by a team had to be divided equally among the players, but Maple Moon could keep the hundreds of thousands of EXP to herself. What this meant was extraordinary! In an instant, she had exceeded all the players to hold a safe lead, and that included the other novice planets.

  Maple Moon was hit with shock by her unexpected success, her face full of disbelief as she stared at the EXP bar on the interface. She had used a sniper rifle with firm and stable output through the battle and did not expect that she would emerge as the top player. She knew her limitations well. This was only possible because she had relied fully on Black Phantom. This was obviously a benefit that came from triggering the secret quest. Maple Moon made up her mind; she had to persist in unearthing the secret quest. Black Phantom was such a powerful aide, so she had to stay on good terms with Black Phantom.

  Han Xiao returned to the car, and Maple Moon immediately returned the sniper rifle.

  Some players followed them and were surprised to realize that Black Phantom was actually interacting with Maple Moon on close terms.

  Jade Green Sky immediately reacted. “There is a secret quest!”

  “She is so lucky.”

  Everyone stared enviously at Maple Moon. Maple Moon was not used to the attention from the crowd, so she blushed and hid in the car. Han Xiao saw this but did not chase anyone away. Instead, he started driving his car back to Big Horn Village. The
players had no choice but to follow on foot.

  As he was driving, Han Xiao scrolled through the forum. Suddenly, a new post was pushed to the top of the forum—”A high-ranking NPC’s combat capability!”

  Clicking into the post, the battle scene that just occurred popped up on the page. Some players uploaded their recorded videos. The Germinal Organization’s troops were displaying their formidable combat capability. When Seiberre was murdering players, there were a few barrages. The audience felt as if they were present at the scene—they were tensed up with nervousness. However, the next moment, Seiberre was killed in one shot. The shot blew out explosively, and blood was flying everywhere. Then, the portable battery demonstrated its prowess, crippling the Germinal troops in an instant. The scene was even more shocking.

  Responses to the post were posted in the dozens every second, and it soon accumulated a few thousand responses.

  “That character was so powerful, but he got killed in one shot!”

  “Isn’t Black Phantom the advanced NPC from Big Horn Village? What is his level?”

  “Mechanic is so powerful. I think there’s great prospects!”

  “Damn, I’m in a planet with a magic background; there are no Mechanics”

  Scrolling through the responses that were marveling at the scene, Han Xiao smiled to himself.

  Faking it… bah, the idea of showing my strength really worked.

  The effect was apparent. Once he got to the settlement, the players that had hesitated in switching their Class were now fervently picking up the basics. Prior to this, the entire Big Horn Village had only twenty percent of players choosing Mechanic. After the video went viral online, players’ excitement for Mechanics was just breaking through the roofs. The players swaying precariously between Classes immediately switched to Mechanic.

  A hundred, five hundred, then a thousand …

  The EXP on the Interface was just piling up like crazy. Han Xiao kept his face straight to not smile. In the short few days at Big Horn Village, he had collected two or three million EXP just by lazing around, and that was comparable to accumulating EXP through four or five missions. This was way safer and more efficient.

  The player market was indeed a market with the most potential. The NPC functions were really useful. Imparting skills was allowing him to gain great profit without any cost, and that was only possible because he owned the interface as well as the NPC functions.

  Han Xiao knew that you could not be impatient in grooming students, so he only imparted basic skills. The players that were convinced to switch to Mechanic would come to be his key customers in the future. After all, Han Xiao’s was a Mechanic.

  After these version 1.0 players gained a deep understanding of Mechanics, they would realize that they had been scammed. By then, it would be too late. Even if they lamented to heaven and knocked their heads against the earth, it would be pointless. They could only choose to continue or start from nothing again. In this way, Han Xiao’s goal would have been achieved—as long as these players wanted to improve their combat effectiveness quickly, they can only rely on him to buy advanced machinery.

  You want to become strong?

  How can you not spend money‽

  Han Xiao took a smoke, and he thought to himself, After a few versions, you will be thanking me…

  In this way, he brushed off his sense of guilt.

  …

  On one side, Jade Green Sky approached Maple Moon and asked politely: “Babe, I wonder if you’re free now.”

  Maple Moon looked up doubtfully and saw a group of male players with a look of thirst in their eyes. She stepped back nervously and warned, “What are you up to? I warn… warn you, this game prohibits any sexual harassment!”

  The members of Sky Territory were at a loss whether to laugh or cry. Babe, we are curious about your secret quest, not in you!

  Jade Green Sky coughed. “I only want to ask how you triggered Black Phantom’s secret quest. Don’t worry, we’ll reward you fairly.”

  Maple Moon shook her head, rejecting his request without a pause. She enjoyed unearthing secret quests, but that was not because of the profit, and she did not want Black Phantom to dislike her.

  With no alternative, Jade Green Sky could only give up and walk away. Just then, a member suggested, “We could ask around to see if there were other players who overheard the conversation between Maple Moon and Black Phantom.”

  Jade Green Sky’s eyes lit up, and he nodded in agreement. And there were really some results. They managed to find out ‘the secret way to trigger secret quests’ from a player.

  Han Xiao was sending off the last few players who had come to switch to Mechanic when Jade Green Sky rushed up to him. With the question that Maple Moon had asked in mind, Jade Green Sky asked, “Black Phantom, why are you enemies with the Germinal Organization?”

  Oh, someone is rising to the bait.

  Han Xiao looked at him. Although Jade Green Sky was the leader of a guild, his potential was not good at all. It was better to answer directly.

  “What does it have to do with you?”

  Jade Green Sky was at a loss. Why was he getting a different reaction compared to the response Maple Moon had gotten? Was he cheated?

  Not willing to give up, he kept on changing his lines. Han Xiao cast his eyes downward and refused to play along with him. In the end, Jade Green Sky could only give up in frustration.

  “Unless it depends on the gender?”

  This thought suddenly came up in Jade Green Sky’s mind. He stared at Han Xiao’s unattractive face for a long while, and he felt like he was enlightened.

  …

  The player’s market potential in Big Horn Village had been temporarily exhausted. It was still only the open beta—the players were rather fresh, and their lack of unity resembled a plate of loose sand. With growth, as they completed more missions, Han Xiao would have more opportunities to exploit them.

  Han Xiao had a set of ‘commercial’ plans for players, and this was only the initial link. As players advanced, his plan could then be gradually implemented.

  He was not in a hurry to go to the next novice village. He had a friendly chat with Freire and fished out some information on the Germinal Organization’s withdrawal route in South Continent. This is a large-scale war, which meant that he could probably get quite a number of A-level missions. With his character, he was sure to get a foot in. What would become of him if he did not try to get involved?

  With the wistful gaze of players in the Big Horn Village, Han Xiao drove his vehicle away.

  Maple Moon looked at the car driving off into the horizon and told herself that she would wait until she reached LV 20 before she contacted Black Phantom.

  Just half an hour after Han Xiao left, Frenzied Sword arrived at Big Horn Village, panting furiously. He grabbed a player and asked, “Where is Black Phantom?”

  “He has already left.”

  Frenzied Sword’s face turned white. He was late by half a day because the Western Capital was under martial law to search for Germinal spies.

  He felt like weeping but had no tears left! How infuriating!

  …

  The battle video stayed as the top post on the forum. Han Xiao was the strongest fighter the players had seen so far. He could kill a strong enemy in one shot from hundreds of meters away. Not only that, he could also deploy a portable battery turret. Players were very envious of his capabilities. Whenever he appeared, he was like a dark phantom, omnipotent and mysterious. If not for his unappealing look, due to the Facial Simulator, he would have many female fans.

  The first player to upload the videos was Mu Chen. He never had received any responses for his posts in the past, but this was his first time experiencing the feeling of having ten thousand people replying to his post. He was reading through the replies enthusiastically.

  Ding Dong.

  He received a notification from the system.

  Mu Chen was puzzled. He had not added any friends.
Who would send him a message?

  _____________________

  Dear esteemed player,

  Your video has been selected as promotional material for version 1.0. The reward will be sent to your account within one working day. Do look out for it.

  – Galaxy Official.

  _____________________

  Mu Chen was completely caught off-guard by the pleasant surprise.

  Chapter 134 - Finally Found You

  Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

  The vast majority of players were still busy with missions, but players in teams—essentially serious guilds or professional players—were more purposeful in their actions. They planned their developmental pathway carefully and worked steadily to advance.

  But the Guild of Gods was in an awkward situation. Jupiter had dumped all the daily administrative work to the Vice President. He could not give up on the A-level mission. He had been leading a group of people to search high and low for Germinal’s bases but to no avail. Without any other means, he could only focus on the forum to see if any players were in contact with Germinal.

  Despite all odds, Jupiter managed to find a lead.

  “Andrea Mainland is Germinal’s base camp. Any player who arrives on Andrea Mainland can join Germinal’s side easily.”

  But this lead was useless for Jupiter.

  The core members of the A-level mission were all in Southern Continent, and Zero was more likely to be in Southern Continent too. However, Jupiter could not possibly bring a team over to Andrea Mainland. Most importantly, they had no access to another mainland.

  In fact, they could actually take cruise ships or aircrafts, but none of the players had reached this level.

  The most popular post on the forum was the battle scene recorded by the players at Big Horn Village. Jupiter had not seen it before, but he was finally opening it to take a look. He was caught off guard by shock. Just as he was about to close the post, he suddenly had an outlandish thought. He paused the video and scrutinized the scene. He finally concluded that the troop that was attacked had the Germinal Organization’s emblem on them.