Chapter 750 - Unexpected Invitation
Planet Macipher, the Cornerstone Summit Corporation.
Han Xiao had been working here for more than twenty days. His name had already spread widely among the Senior Engineers. The entire corporation knew that a highly skilled Mechanic had joined them and that he had completed more than ten times the workload of a normal Senior Engineer in less than a month.
As the boss behind them had already spoken, the upper echelons of the corporation did not worry about the confidentiality of the blueprint anymore and daringly used Barne. They gave him extra quotas to hit, which led to Han Xiao getting more and more parts of the Eternal Light blueprint.
The [Engineer] mission was already completed, and he had obtained the [Proficient Technician] talent. Its effect was a slight increase in the attributes of the machinery he built of eight to fourteen percent, twenty-two percent quicker building speed, and six percent reduced cost. This scaled well given how much machinery he would be building, so it was quite a good talent.
As Han Xiao obtained the talent, he had only had one goal left in the Cornerstone Summit Corporation—to steal… no, learn the blueprint of Eternal Light.
Due to how many responsibilities were given to him, Han Xiao learned quite a lot of the blueprints. As for the blueprints given to the other Senior Engineers, he used Virtual Technology to hack into the artificial intelligence assistants of those Grade B Mechanics and monitored them in various ways. When the Senior Engineers looked at their blueprints, Phillip would then capture the image and duplicate the blueprint.
As for some blueprints that he was unable to see with this method, Han Xiao just visited those Senior Engineers with various excuses. All he had to do was look at the blueprint for a short while, and he would be able to obtain the blueprint through the interface.
Sadly, after a past Race Evolution, he had lost the Observer’s Mark ability, otherwise secretly learning the blueprint would be much easier.
In more than half a month, Han Xiao was able to obtain the majority of the Eternal Light’s blueprint. All that was left were the core blueprints. These were all tightly stored by the core engineers of the corporation, and Han Xiao had no chance to see them. He had been pondering how to obtain these blueprints for quite some time.
During this time, as players were learning more Knowledges from the faction store, his Experience increased once again.
Inside the workshop, Han Xiao was doing his job while looking at the Experience he had on his interface, calculating.
With the current amount of Experience I have, I should be able to reach about level 238 or 239. I’m just one step away from Lv240, which will be filled up in three or four more days…
Han Xiao was secretly excited. Beyond Grade As were on a completely different level to Calamity Grades. They were important people throughout the entire Galaxy, and even Universal Civilizations had to take them seriously.
Once he succeeded, he would get a seat on the highest table of the Star Field, and the Black Star Army would become a real Beyond Grade A organization.
After looking forward to it for a while, Han Xiao looked at the time. It was time for his lunch break. He stopped working, retracted all the building assistants, and planned to go for lunch.
As soon as he walked out of the workshop, Han Xiao noticed that Luke was standing outside the door.
“Bame, I was looking for you.”
“What is it? You want to have lunch with me?” Han Xiao stopped and looked at this old gentleman curiously.
Luke smiled and shook his head. “I’d be glad to do so, but this is not why I’ve come. The real owner of the corporation wants to see you.”
The real owner? Han Xiao raised his brows. “Sure, lead the way then.”
Luke gestured for Han Xiao to follow him and led him to the core area of the corporation.
After walking for more than ten minutes, the two of them arrived at the top floor of a tall building and entered a wide office.
In the room, a person sat in a chair with the chair’s back facing the door. Han Xiao could only see the back of his head. Luke stepped back and closed the door, leaving Han Xiao and this so-called ‘real owner of the corporation’ in the room. This time, this person spoke with his back still facing Han Xiao.
“Bame, this isn’t your real name, right?”
Then, this person turned around to face Han Xiao.
Seeing his appearance, Han Xiao was stunned for a moment before understanding.
It was Sardeem. Of course, that made sense. As the owner of Planet Macipher, Sardeem controlled many of its industries. The Cornerstone Summit Corporation belonging to him was not much of a surprise.
In his previous life, the players only knew that a talent would be rewarded if they worked in the Cornerstone Summit Corporation, and any Mechanics could do this mission. However, with the strength of the players at that stage, they did not come into contact with the corporation’s core. In the players’ eyes, the Cornerstone Summit Corporation was just a small unimportant side mission. Therefore, the players did not know that the owner of this shipyard turned out to be Sardeem. Nonetheless, this was not difficult to guess.
This means that the Eternal Light blueprint belongs to Sardeem… Why did he suddenly call me here? Did he find out who I am?
Han Xiao’s mind was racing.
Of course, he was not afraid at all. Although Sardeem was a Grade A+ Mechanic as well, he would be no match for him. However, he just wanted to secretly learn the Eternal Light blueprint. If his identity was exposed, he would have no choice but to snatch it… Still, Han Xiao did not like making enemies.
Seeing that Han Xiao did not speak, Sardeem gave a knowing smile.
“I’ve been observing you for quite some time. You’ve actually been hiding your strength. You’re not a Grade B+ Mechanic but a Calamity Grade Mechanic, am I right?”
Without waiting for Han Xiao to reply, Sardeem sized Han Xiao up and continued.
“A Calamity Grade willing to work in my company as a normal engineer makes me doubt your true intentions. Through my observations, you seem to be interested in the Eternal Light blueprint, right?”
After hearing what Sardeem said, Han Xiao felt relieved instead.
Whew, luckily, this guy only noticed that I’m Grade A and did not find out my real identity. He just thinks I’m a normal Calamity Grade Mechanic.
Seeing how confident Sardeem looked, Han Xiao could guess that Sardeem was certain that he had the upper hand.
Indeed, Sardeem was Grade A+ and had the entire planet as his base. This was his territory, so normal Calamity Grades were indeed no match for him in this situation.
Figuring out Sardeem’s confidence, Han Xiao calmed down. Without correcting Sardeem’s misunderstanding, he acted alert as if he really was a normal Calamity Grade.
“What do you want?”
Seeing this, Sardeem smiled with satisfaction. ‘Barne’ becoming nervous was exactly what he wanted to see.
“I don’t know where you got the information about Eternal Light from, nor do I know which organization you belong to. But don’t worry, I did not call you here today to hold you accountable. Instead, I’m giving you an invitation.”
“Invitation?” Han Xiao raised his brow.
Sardeem stood up, smiled, and said, “Become my subordinate. I can guarantee that this will be the wisest decision you ever make.”
“You’re recruiting me?” Han Xiao said with a strange tone.
Isn’t that too careless? You don’t even know my identity.
Is this because you’re absolutely confident I won’t be a problem for you?
Pal, that’s a little arrogant of you. Even someone as outstanding as me is not this arrogant!
“I have a lot of companies and a lot of troops, but I’m short of a capable assistant. You have the ability to be one. Us together will be an amazing combo,” Sardeem said in a calm tone.
Han Xiao shook his head with resignation. “
I’m not inter…”
This time, Sardeem shook his hand and interrupted Han Xiao. “If you’re willing to become my subordinate, not just Eternal Light, I can let you learn all the blueprints I know.”
“Hmm, I will have to consider…” Han Xiao immediately changed what he was about to say. As the leader of a faction, of course, he was not going to be a subordinate of a Calamity Grade. However, scamming some blueprints from him seemed to be quite tempting.
After all, whatever Barne does has nothing to do with Black Star… ahem.
Han Xiao suddenly asked, “Are you forcing me? If I don’t join you, will you use force on me?”
Sardeem shook his head and laughed.
“Don’t worry, I don’t like making enemies. If I was hostile toward everyone like you that visited Planet Macipher, I wouldn’t have been able to last till now. You can reject me, and I won’t chase you away. I won’t even force you to reveal your true identity. You can still stay in the Cornerstone Summit Corporation as ‘Bame’. I have no need to reject a Grade A Mechanic from working in my company. However, I will always keep an eye on you, and I won’t let you take part in any important projects.”
Han Xiao narrowed his eyes. “You’re quite generous.”
“It’s very tough for someone petty to achieve great things in life. I’ve managed Planet Macipher for close to a hundred and thirty years,” Sardeem said calmly. “What situation have I not seen before? Hmm?”
Han Xiao contemplated for a while and still shook his head.
As an almost Beyond Grade A faction leader, it would be too shameless for him to become a subordinate of a Calamity Grade just because of a blueprint.
Although he did put on a disguise, if he accidentally exposed his true identity one day, it would be a mark on his history he would not be able to wipe off. It would damage his high reputation in the eyes of the players and would not be beneficial for building a sense of belonging for the faction, as well as the cultivation of leeks. In conclusion, the cons outweighed the pros.
The Eternal Light blueprint was indeed a good item, but it was not something that he had to obtain no matter what.
Also, you think that I won’t be able to get the blueprint without joining you?
You’re dreaming!
Seeing that Han Xiao had rejected him, Sardeem narrowed his eyes.
“Hehe, I know you have the pride of a Calamity Grade, but I’m worth following. Do you think that normal people would be able to get the flagship blueprint of the Federation of Light?”
Han Xiao was slightly moved.
Indeed, even he could not buy a blueprint as rare as the Eternal Light blueprint. How did Sardeem get it?
Sardeem put his hands behind his back and looked at Han Xiao. “You might think that as a Calamity Grade, you don’t have to become a subordinate of another Calamity Grade, so you rejected me… But what if I told you that I’m not just representing myself and there’s a Beyond Grade A behind this?”
“Hmm?” Han Xiao noticed something.
Now that he thought about it carefully, there should be some unknown reasons that brought about Planet Macipher’s prosperity other than Sardeem’s personal strength. He might indeed be a secret officer of a certain Beyond Grade A.
However, there were only four Beyond Grade As in the Shattered Star Ring. Who did this guy work for?
Tyrant? Possible, but not likely. After all, Sardeem was not a buffed and muscular dude.
Magus? That did not feel right either. Sardeem was not a mage…
Star Pupil? Not likely given how rarely that guy left his own territory.
Could it be the Dragon Emperor? Laughable.
Seeing that Han Xiao was confused, Sardeem shook his head and smiled.
“You have definitely heard of him before.”
Pride appeared on Sardeem’s face, together with a sense of superiority.
“Do you know about… the Mechanic Empire?”
Han Xiao was completely shocked and almost wanted to leave right away.
Mechanic Empire Manison?
Don’t know, never heard before, bye!
Chapter 751 - 751 Arrival
751 Arrival
Sardeem being Manison’s subordinate was a piece of intelligence that Han Xiao did not expect to obtain. In his previous life, Sardeem had not been considered a known NPC to the players and had no mission to trigger. He did not think that Sardeem was hiding this much.
Manison was an extremely strong guy. As a member of The Ancient Ones, he created his own faction in the Calamity of the Supers version.
Han Xiao was very sensitive to anything related to Manison and did not want to have anything to do with him. This was because of Aroshia.
She was a survivor of an artificial intelligence civilization conquered by Manison, and Risda was still hoping that Han Xiao could avenge them. Han Xiao still had the [Reboot] mission on his interface.
However, he was not willing to mess with this ancient and powerful being. The Mechanic Empire had no conflict of interest with him. It would be too big a loss for Han Xiao to become his enemy for just a normal mission. He actually did not want to do this mission, so he had been delaying it. Risda also knew that this was impossible without the help of a Beyond Grade A Super, so he had waited patiently and did not hurry Han Xiao.
Manison was mainly in the Central Galaxy and the Primeval Star River, but his organization had fangs secretly distributed among many Star Fields. His ‘Mechanic Empire’ was not just a reference to his Mechanical Army but also signified that the number of Mechanics under his command could form an entire empire.
Manison likes to recruit Mechanics. This is probably also the reason his subordinate in the Shattered Star Ring, Sardeem, is suddenly recruiting me. No wonder this guy is so arrogant.
Han Xiao’s eyes gleamed.
However, although he was shocked by Sardeem’s background, he quickly calmed down.
No matter what, Manison did not even know that he existed. They had no conflict with each other, so he did not have to fear him.
Manison not knowing of Han Xiao’s existence was his biggest advantage. Furthermore, he had surprisingly discovered that Sardeem was secretly under the Mechanic Empire, which was a huge gain.
After purposely acting like he was hesitating for a while, Han Xiao shook his head. “Of course, I’ve heard of the Mechanic Empire, but I still don’t want to join you.”
Sardeem’s confidence fixed on his face. This time, he was the one that was shocked instead.
He had thought that as long as he mentioned the Mechanic Empire, recruiting this person would be a piece of cake. He did not expect ‘Barne’ to reject him.
“Don’t you know how many resources the Mechanic Empire has and how valuable they are to a Mechanic?” Sardeem said with an incredulous tone.
Manison had been stockpiling technology and blueprints for countless years. Not even mentioning the Cutting-Edge Knowledges, he most likely even had the Ultimate Knowledges for the Mechanic class, as well as all kinds of secret or lost blueprints. He even had tons of spaceships and weapon blueprints of the three Universal Civilizations. These attracted countless Mechanics to join under his command… of course, those Knowledges all had to be exchanged for contribution.
Han Xiao raised his brows.
“I know what you mean, but not all Mechanics want to be Manison’s subordinates, right?”
He was indeed tempted by the resources of the Mechanic Empire. However, that did not come for free. He had to do things for the Mechanic Empire over the long term. Unlike joining under Sardeem, whom he had confidence that he could completely beat, joining the Mechanic Empire was different as he certainly could not beat him. This meant that once he joined the Mechanic Empire, his true identity would definitely be exposed, and he would really end up working for him.
Therefore, there was no way that he was going to accept the invitation. This was like a Fortune 500 company trying to hire him, but he would rather start his own company.
Although my company is not as big as yours now, I’m the one that gets all the profits!
Sardeem narrowed his eyes, turned around, and sat back in the chair. With an expressionless face, he said, “Then you can leave now.”
Seeing that Barne had made up his mind, he did not want to waste any time and energy convincing him.
He was not worried about Han Xiao knowing his identity. After operating Planet Macipher for more than a hundred years, his background was no secret to many people. He dared to tell the truth of his background because he was not afraid of it being exposed. He was legally operating Planet Macipher, so what if people knew that he was part of the Mechanic Empire? His Excellency Manison was not a wanted criminal; having a subordinate in the Shattered Star Ring to build a stronghold did not break any laws.
Han Xiao did not care about Sardeem’s dissatisfaction. He shook his head and left the room with a little resignation.
He was not afraid of offending Sardeem, but this meant that Sardeem would definitely monitor him more closely, which would make stealing the Eternal Light blueprints even more difficult.
Fortunately, Sardeem did not discover my true identity. His misjudgment of my strength works to my advantage. I should be able to fool him with some tricks, but if I still can’t steal it in the end, I can only use Bame’s identity to rob it… Or should I change to another identity?
While thinking about murdering and robbing, Han Xiao slowly walked away.
After Han Xiao left, Sardeem was the only one left in the office. He shook his head and was rather disappointed.
Initially, he had thought that recruiting Barne would be simple, but he did not expect this guy to be so stubborn.
Di di di…
At this time, Sardeem’s communicator rang.
As he looked at the caller, his expression instantly changed, and he immediately picked up the communicator. “Greetings, Your Excellency Psyker!”
The Legendary Mechanic c1-1385 Page 481