Clank!
Han Xiao opened his arms in midair, and almost a hundred compressed orbs shot out from the pipes. They landed on the ground and quickly expanded, turning into artilleries and many mechanical beasts.
The rain of bullets focused on Herlous; his armor was covered in countless fire sparkles.
Even though Han Xiao had yet to update and enhance his machinery and was still using gunpowder and electromagnetic artillery, his Machinery Affinity received higher bonuses after his Promotion, so their damage was increased too. At least it did not deal the minimum ‘1’ damage due to not being able to penetrate Herlous’ defenses.
Countless ‘-5’ and ‘-6′ damage numbers popped up continuously on Herlous’ body, mixed with the odd ’20’ to ’30’ dealt by electromagnetic artilleries.
The damage dealt on one single instance was not high, but the horrifying attack frequency caused damage numbers to pop up from Herlous’ body like a waterfall.
This time, Herlous growled, “This tactic… is not useful against me anymore!”
Chapter 473 - Shattered Light (3)
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Bang!
Before the mechanical beasts pounced, Herlous stomped the floor, cracked open the ground, and jumped into the sky.
The white cape on his shoulders suddenly started dancing. His Energy turned into power and gave these two soft alloys the ability to hover through some special method. Herlous had started flying! He jumped in the sky and charged toward Han Xiao.
Clunk!
The Battleship Slicing Blade collided with Han Xiao’s armor, making Han Xiao fly back and roll in the air.
This armor can fly?
Han Xiao stabilized his position and squinted. A Pugilist that could fly would be a much bigger threat.
Han Xiao realized that Herlous had hidden this up his sleeves. If he had yet to go through Promotion, he probably would not have been able to beat Herlous in this state.
Not only was he not shocked, he was delighted. The stronger Herlous was, the stronger his mercenary group would be.
“Now this…” Under the mechanical suit helmet, Han Xiao grinned. “This is interesting!”
…
On the ground, Aroshia, Feidin, and the others looked up at the intense fight in the sky.
“Herlous the Fraud can fly, too. Looks like it’s the end for captain. A Mechanic that is forced into melee combat with a Pugilist is basically dead.” The oldest Volga tutted.
“Teacher won’t lose!” Sylvia’s palms were sweaty, her knees weak, as she watched the battle closely.
The two of them were flipping midair. The mechanical beasts on the ground were useless, and the artillery could not hit Herlous due to his speed. Herlous’ combat style was smooth, swift, and left no openings, giving Han Xiao no time to increase the distance between them. The way that Sylvia saw it, Han Xiao was clearly disadvantaged.
However, she had an indescribable confidence in her teacher.
The oldest Volga brother’s eyes sparkled. “Want to make a bet? I bet that the captain will lose, and you will bet on him to win—what do you say?”
Sylvia was troubled. “My teacher says that gambling is a bad habit.”
“Bullsh*t, he only says that because he can’t win,” the oldest Volga brother said. “Let’s bet 300 Enas. Are you this unconfident in the captain?”
“Okay, I’ll take it!” Sylvia clenched her teeth and agreed to the bet.
Hum—
Suddenly, a formless disruptive electromagnetic field expanded from Han Xiao’s helmet. Herlous’ mechanical suit vision instantly turned black, and he lost his sight for a second.
Herlous quickly opened his helmet and observed with his eyes. Seeing that Han Xiao did not get far, he immediately slashed Han Xiao’s back sideways with his blade
“You want to run? Have you asked for permission from my blade‽” Herlous laughed.
However, this slash cut Han Xiao in half without any resistance. Herlous was shocked.
Then, the two halves of ‘Han Xiao’ shook like ripples and vanished.
Void Mirror Image!
“What ability is this? Why have I not seen it before?” Herlous suddenly had a bad feeling.
With his opportunity, Han Xiao discreetly returned to the ground directly under Herlous. A new machine had appeared under his feet. It was a huge metal disc that was placed flat upon the ground. At the heart of it were three equilateral triangle shaped holes emitting a dim blue light—these three holes formed a larger hole, which was pointed at Herlous.
Hum!
Before Herlous could move, the triangular hole shot out a wide, translucent blue light beam that covered him. He lost control of his body and quickly descended. With a loud clank, he was tightly sucked and fixed onto this machine, unable to escape quickly.
This was a mechanical trap. It was initially used by spaceships to draw in objects and not used for combat at all. It was very difficult for it to hit a high-speed target, but if it successfully hit, it would be a very strong constraining method. Shamefully, in his previous life, Han Xiao had been the first player that used this in actual combat.
Han Xiao snapped his fingers. All the artillery aimed at Herlous, who could not move and fired. At the same time, he activated [Overload], [Surging Mechanical Force], and [Mechanical Force Overload] for all of his artillery before activating [Gene Liberation].
Although he only got the lowest 2.2 times damage bonus, it was more than enough to end this battle.
Boom!
Thick smoke from the attacks completely covered Herlous.
“Stop stop stop! I admit defeat! Stop hitting, my armor is going to explode!”
Herlous’ panicking voice came out from thick smoke. Han Xiao slowly walked to the side, stopped the artillery, and deactivated the trap.
Herlous stood up. The magnificent and cool Shattered Light was covered in burn marks and cracks. Herlous was heartbroken by how damaged it was.
Not long ago, he had totally held the upper hand, but he had never expected that one single flaw would cause him to lose in an instant. When did Black Star become so strong? Herlous could not beat him even by wearing Shattered Light. Why did the difference between them not grow smaller but larger instead‽
He had thought that he could finally defeat Han Xiao and erase his shame, but now he was more frustrated.
“How much of your strength did you use?”
“Not all anyway of it. You mad?” Han Xiao grinned. As the weak spot of the Mechanic class was melee combat, he was most not afraid of that. After playing the Mechanic class for so many years in his previous life, the people whom he had beaten who tried to force him into melee combat could stack up to a hill.
However, although Han Xiao did win, he still discovered some problems. These cheap styles that he had been using looked rather weak when he used it on an opponent who had the same Grade as him; he had to use the explosive abilities in order to win.
There’s nothing wrong with the tactics. It seems like I need to build stronger machines.
Herlous was still grinding his teeth. He was used to being aggressive in battle and fighting the enemy head on, but he felt very restricted when he fought Han Xiao, and it made him feel uncomfortable. It looked like he always had the upper hand, but it was more like he was following Han Xiao’s plan. The battle seemed intense, but only he knew how well Han Xiao dodged his attacks. He had only landed a few hits.
Herlous could not maximize his fighting skills as a Pugilist at all. So, all in all, it had been a very uncomfortable and restrained fight for him.
“Alright, stop moping. Not like it’s the first time you’ve lost to me. Take it off, I’ll repair for you.”
Han Xiao patted Herlous’ shoulders and comforted him.
On the other side, Sylvia’s face was red from excitement. She extended her hand and chuckled. “300 Enas, a bet’s a bet.”
“My hard-earned money!” The oldest Volga br
other whined in regret.
Regret of trusting that Herlous!
…
The spaceship took off and left Planet Sunil. In the machinery modification room on the spaceship, Han Xiao repaired Shattered Light. Since he satisfied the prerequisite knowledges, he successfully got the Commander Class armor blueprint after paying some Experience.
It was armor specifically for Supers, so its attributes were stronger and could enhance one’s Energy. Other than it not having many functions, its performance was not much lower than his Amphiptere. Plus, in comparison, its materials were much cheaper, so the cost of mass producing it was much lower.
Han Xiao had already gotten all of the armor sets from Sunil—Enlistee Class, NCO Class, and Commander Class. He could sell these to the players gradually, which would basically be the first faction specialty. After all, Sunil would not sell their top armor, so the players would have to farm Faction Favorability if they wanted to buy from them. Han Xiao, however, was selling them for money.
Spending money could save time, and time was priceless. This way, the players would be buying their priceless time with money.
How worth it was that‽
Noriosse was very far, located at the border of the Shattered Star Ring like one of the gates into the Star Ring. Even with the various stargates, the spaceship would still have to travel many days before arriving.
This time was more than enough for Han Xiao to build new, stronger machinery to make himself stronger.
Furthermore, he would have the time to think about what preparations he had to make for the upcoming Version 2.0.
The Promotion difficulty was over, so Han Xiao felt very relieved. He had solved it much earlier than he had expected, so it meant that he saved quite a lot of time.
After he completes Ames’ mission, he would officially start making preparations for his plan.
It’s just finding someone, so it won’t take long.
Chapter 474 - Shattered Star Ring’s Door—Noriosse!
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Many days later…
A metal planet was getting closer. It had no green forests, no gray ground, and no blue seas. Metal completely covered the planet’s surface.
“Destination detected, hum… Arriving at Noriosse, hum… Surface temperature suitable, hum…”
In the spaceship hall, a round, chubby robot was speaking in a very mechanical voice. Its cylindrical body looked like a can, with two long, thin mechanical arms on both sides, and was about one meter tall. At the bottom of its body was a wheel that allowed it to move.
Suddenly, a big hand grabbed this robot’s head and lifted it up. The robot seemed to be panicking, its two mechanical arms swinging randomly in the air. With its round robotic body, it looked strangely adorable.
“Got caught, hum…” the robot said.
This time, the man wearing a black shirt sitting on the sofa spoke.
“Put it down. How many times have I said, Herlous, don’t play with my robot!”
Herlous shrugged and put the robot down. As soon as this little guy returned to the ground, it quickly rolled to beside the sofa and tried to hide behind Han Xiao’s legs while shivering.
Han Xiao petted the robot’s metal head gently.
Herlous scratched his head and said, “Can this artificial intelligence you built really fight?”
“Can’t you remember its name? It’s called Phillip!” Han Xiao said. “It’s still semi-finished.”
During the time the spaceship travelled, Han Xiao occupied himself. He had combined quite a few stronger blueprints, updated his combat machinery, and used the new [Advanced Artificial Intelligence Technology] that he had obtained to build Phillip—an artificial intelligence. Compared to the smart chips, the calculation speed, logical structure, and data capacity of an artificial intelligence was many times higher.
There were a few types of artificial intelligences, among which there were two types that were more special. One was giving the system its own virtual personality but still retaining its fixed logics, simulating an intelligent creature. The benefit of this was that artificial intelligences made this way would always obey orders. The other was giving the system a true independent mind; it would have imagination and would be able to think. It would only follow fundamental orders.
Clearly, the latter was smarter and livelier and would have the potential to become a Virtual Life or Mechanical Life. Of course, the risks were higher as well.
For the time being, Han Xiao only needed a good assistant, so Phillip was the former. The reason for it being semi-finished was that some logical orders were not set up yet. Its virtual personality still had flaws and needed to be improved. Nonetheless, running it was not a problem. Phillip could download data through the network, but it would not affect its fixed virtual personality. Han Xiao later built a robot body for it.
Regarding why its name was Phillip, this was the name of his pet turtle in his previous life. To lazy people that wanted a pet but did not like cleaning, turtles were the perfect choice. It would probably not die even if its owner died.
Han Xiao looked out at the planet that was closing in and said in a deep voice, “We’ll be arriving soon. This is one of the interchanges into the Shattered Star Ring, and there will be many people from other Star Fields. It’s unknown how many strong Supers will there be. We have to keep a low profile and not cause any unnecessary trouble. The goal is to find the Dragon Emperor’s teacher. Ames is rushing back from another Star Field. Even if her carrier is very fast, it would still take quite some time. Until she arrives, we will look for clues on Noriosse.”
Noriosse was at the border of Shattered Star Ring. This planet did not belong to any civilization. Very long ago, a large financial group had their eyes on the strategic location of this planet and bought it. Back then, this planet had just been a desolate planet with a serial number, its environment very harsh. That financial group had modified the planet, using countless devices to change its ecological environment and make it habitable. Hence, this place became an interchange to enter the Shattered Star Ring.
As there were no planets anywhere near Noriosse and even the nearest stargate was at least three days of jumping away, many travelers would choose to rest there to refuel, restock supplies, repair spaceship, and have some fun. Therefore, that financial group made a lot of profit and earned back their investment in less than fifty years.
The prospering economy there attracted many galactic residents. They smelled financial opportunities and opened stores there. Many commercial organizations started operating there as well. Countless travelers gathered in Noriosse, but Noriosse did not tolerate criminals like Floating Dragon did; their wanted status was effective there. Hence, almost no galactic pirates or wanderers went to Noriosse.
Nonetheless, the financial group that controlled Noriosse deployed many frigates outside its atmosphere to prevent galactic pirates from having their eyes on this prosperous area. They also set the harbor outside the planet, not allowing any spaceship to enter the atmosphere of the planet, not even the frigates. This was to prevent frigates being stolen by someone to enter the planet. Furthermore, the financial group also deployed a large energy shield that shrouded Noriosse’s atmosphere, guarding against long-range attacks that would destroy its surface.
All visitors had to leave their spaceships in the port. If any spaceship forcefully entered the atmosphere, the frigate would send out a warning immediately, and if the warning was not taken, they would fire on the spot. If travelers wanted to go to the surface city for entertainment, they had to take the ten thousand meter lift that connected the sky with the ground.
These were the security measures of Noriosse, extremely tight but made the travelers feel safe.
However, in the past, there had been galactic pirates that did not give up. Some tried to force their way in and were blasted into ashes by the frigates; some robbed on the surface and were captured by the security forces wait
ing for them at the lift. The situation that happened most was, when the galactic pirates robbed others on the surface, they were killed by the travelers that happened to pass by. No one knew who these travelers from other Star Fields were.
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon!
At a closer distance, five enormous metal space stations could be seen floating above different locations in Noriosse. These were five outer atmosphere ports. They were filled with all sorts of guarding turrets and surrounded by a large number of frigates.
The spaceship parked at the closest port. Han Xiao registered for spaceship storage and brought the others to the lift area. It was overwhelmingly crowded, and the queue was full of all kinds of species and creatures.
Aroshia looked up and said, “This place feels familiar. I might have come here before…”
This time, a notice popped up on the interface!
Han Xiao looked at it, and to his surprise, the progress of [Reboot]’s second round had increased by one.
Looks like Noriosse is one of the locations in Aroshia’s memory pieces. She came here in one of her lives, and we coincidentally came as well.
Feidin looked around and said, “I felt at least forty Grade B presences around this place.”
“No wonder we have to keep a low profile.” Sylvia was a little nervous. She felt like she was a sheep that had entered a tiger cave. Luckily, her teacher, Herlous, and Aroshia were just as strong, making her feel more secure.
In Han Xiao’s previous life, Noriosse had been a high-class area. If the players wanted to go to other Star Fields, they had to pass by similar interchanges. Of course, when the players could leave their Star Fields, their level was definitely not low.
After queuing for a while, it was finally their turn. The lift ticket inspector continuously collected tickets with a professional smile on his face, greeting every passenger with words of welcome.
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