The Legendary Mechanic, page 118
The Southern Continent players, who had been depressed for a very long time, suddenly realized that they were not the unluckiest, and they suddenly felt much happier.
Although the truth of [Energy Training Technique] was revealed, many low-level players still felt that it was worth it to learn this ability in advance.
Therefore, many Andrea players were still waiting for Han Xiao’s arrival, but what they were faced with was only shock.
Black Phantom had returned to the Southern Continent!
He was not going to Andrea anymore!
When Han Xiao had been in the Western Continent and the Northern Continent, players in Andrea had anticipated that they were going be the last ones, but the truth was too cruel—Han Xiao was not going there at all.
Their hope had resulted in disappointment; the players in Andrea were full of sorrow.
The Planet Aquamarine section on the forums was heated—even foreign players from the other planets joined in—yet players in Andrea had no position to say anything.
It had almost been two months since the official public launch. The average level of the earliest players was close to 20. With more and more new players joined the game, the number of players on Planet Aquamarine had reached hundreds of thousands, and it was still growing. The high-level players started to slowly interfere in the storyline of their planets, digging through the history, the environment, and joining the main storyline.
It was the same for Planet Aquamarine, more and more players were recruited by the Six Nations to be a special unit. The players had heard from the NPCs that the Six Nations’ expedition against the Germinal Organization would commence at any moment.
However, the interface had notified them that their level was not high enough to meet the prerequisites for the expedition mission, which meant that even if they followed the army to join the expedition, most of them would not receive any rewards.
Most importantly, with the current strength of the players, they would be easily slaughtered by the army.
This was the effect of Han Xiao bringing the main storyline forward; the players had lost the time that they should have had to become stronger and join the war immediately.
Also, the organizations of Planet Aquamarine had finally noticed that there was a limit to the number of times the players could revive, which made them more relieved. They felt that at least the Inhumans had flaws; they were not as nervous as before and started to take the Inhumans as a special kind of mercenaries.
At this time, a new issue of Bun-hit-dog’s ‘Galaxy Exploration Journal’ was released.
Chapter 218. Didn't Know You Are This Kind of Black Phantom |
Wild Boy, a member of Sky Territory Guild, was a loyal fan of Bun-hit-dog.
There were many types of Galaxy video hosts on the forum, but Bun-hit-dog was the only one that had first-hand information about Black Phantom, which meant that he was always ahead of other video hosts. Wild Boy liked videos about Black Phantom very much; he was really attracted to the dark and mysterious feeling that Black Phantom gave.
As soon as Bun-hit-dog updated, Wild Boy saw it. He clicked into it immediately and commented before the video even started. “International rule, ask for new updates before watching!”
The video started playing, and Bun-hit-dog’s bitchy voice appeared.
“Pure white legs and cherry red lips, rip your skin and harden your bones, take off these clothes and these pants, drunk by choice but not by booze, cup of Viagra is all I need—I will last through the night! Hello everyone, welcome to the Galaxy Exploration Journal. Audience, this is me as always, the different kind of Bun-hit-dog!”
Wild Boy spat out a mouthful of water. It was a standard procedure to always start with a poem every episode. The words used became more and more shameless. Even Wild Boy, who had a strong ID, could not take it anymore.
The comments would always explode when the poems came. It was so much that even the screen was obstructed.
“I once had both knowledge and fighting skills, but now I can only yell 666.”
“Clear theme, good poem.”
“I’m calling the police!”
“I sang along although I’m a girl…”
“Extraordinary level of dirtiness!”
“I can’t stop singing it!”
“Please be considerate toward the feelings of lady fans!”
“Reported, you’re welcome!”
The last episode had been about Bun-hit-dog and Frenzied Sword making a mess in Black Pine. This episode was a continuation, and the audience enjoyed it very much. When the mission was completed and the show entered the second half, the scene suddenly changed to a city that was being built. The large ‘Bennett Sanctuary One’ came into audiences’ sights.
In the scene, Han Xiao wore a black coat and stood with his hands behind his back.
The comments stopped for a moment before suddenly exploding.
“Wow, I get to see my Uncle Black again!”
“Great video host, have a recommendation ticket.”
After so many days, Black Phantom could finally be seen in Bun-hit-dog’s video, and Bun-hit-dog was the only person who could do this. The audience felt a sense of grace; it was like seeing someone they knew.
Since the public launch, Han Xiao had been in the sights of the players, and he had already made an impact and occupied a special position in the hearts of the players.
Wild Boy opened his eyes wide; he did not want to miss even one second.
“Black Phantom brought us into a special scene going during construction. During this time, I discovered main storyline missions from Black Phantom…”
The audience discussed among each other within the comments. The players knew that Han Xiao gave out main storyline missions, and the requirements for receiving the hidden storyline were very high. Could this main storyline mission be a different one?
Bun-hit-dog showcased his mission list, and a new mission appeared within, [Black Phantom Sanctuary Three]!
“What’s this?”
“There’s Black Phantom in the mission name…”
“What’s a sanctuary?”
“It is very similar to the name of this place.”
Bun-hit-dog explained the inside information with excitement. Dark Net was building shelters, and Black Phantom had brought a group of thousand people to Graymetal Ruins to build a city. This information had been gained from Han Xiao himself.
There were not any prior requirements this time; the mission could be triggered easily.
After the mission introduction ended, the comments section was filled with shock once more.
“It’s the construction of a city. My god, that’s such a large main storyline! Almost as huge as the expedition war.”
“This should be part of the Planet Aquamarine main storyline, too!”
Wild Boy paused the video. He read the mission requirements carefully again and again then swallowed his saliva before playing the video.
Without even having time to think about what the sanctuary actually was, he saw in the video that Han Xiao was yelling at the people below him.
“The overcast of war obscured the blue skies like the wings of death, and the scars of the previous war have been torn apart before they could even heal. Only a few decades have passed, but no one has forgotten the pain that the war cast upon the land. Up till today, it is still affecting the ground under us and the skies above us. Radiation, specks of dust, wasteland, and dead nations!
“How ridiculous! After the old era, our civilian technology regressed, but the military technology that is used against our own kind has been advancing continuously. They fight for their ideals and the nations’ benefits; they used iron and fire to spread death!
“For these empty and false reasons, they slaughtered those of their own kind who had no power to defend themselves! Countless people have been killed in the fires of war! The world became wounded and broken because of them, and it is on its way to the end. The ending of the world might quietly be upon us one day. The construction of the shelters is for preserving our civilization. Even if the world ends tomorrow, I still want to save the last bit of tinder for the civilization!
“I don’t possess greatness, but too many are small.
“If no one wants to pay the price, okay, I will be the first!
“But I know, I won’t be the last!”
Han Xiao’s tone was filled with cadence. Wild Boy felt short of breath. Although he was watching a video, he could feel his blood turning hot in his heart—that raw emotion was extremely infectious!
Wild Boy was not the only one who was shocked by this. The comment ‘I don’t possess greatness, but too many are small’ passed by the screen with three exclamation marks behind. It looked very impactful.
“Didn’t Know You Are This Kind of Black Phantom!” Many comments similar to this also flew on the screen. In the players’ mind, Black Phantom was quiet and did not speak much, but this speech that he had given had turned this impression completely upside down. Many players felt more familiar with Han Xiao—they had not expected Black Phantom’s ideals to be this great.
Wild Boy was very excited after he finished watching.
This time, he saw Jade Green Sky announcing a message in the guild channel.
“Attention everyone, the guild will be collecting Graymetal Ruins’ location and information. The intelligence provider will be rewarded.”
…
One day earlier…
Han Xiao gathered the group of a thousand people who followed him to build the city and gave out the speech in the video. Bennett just wanted him to say something casually at the time, but he did not expect him to say this much. Bennett was as shocked as the players.
The workers around stopped what they were doing and gathered. The number of people became more and more. They all looked up at Han Xiao, who was standing on the tall platform.
Seeing the crowd turning excited, Han Xiao knew that it was extremely effective. This paragraph had been copied from Bennett’s speech in the future, and its intention was exactly to shock everyone. Back then, Bennett’s position in the hearts of the players had been decided because of his noble ideals. Now that Han Xiao had said it first, no matter what happened in the future, the players would be reminded of him when they brought up Bennett, which would make stronger impacts in the impression the players had of him, making himself more valuable.
He knew that players liked to see such things. A character with noble ideals was usually very popular, and Bennett did not need to care about the players’ impression of him, so Han Xiao grabbed the opportunity.
At the same time, Bennett would be touched as well. Doing this had many benefits.
Players all love the story that a character has as it shows unique sparkling points of their personality. Han Xiao nodded discreetly. He wanted the players to seek him out after the impression that he had created, and whether or not those were his real thoughts, no one would know if he did not say.
Han Xiao turned around and saw Bennett’s expression. It was filled impassioned; these words had really expressed his mind.
Of course they would since they originated from him.
Bennett was very touched. Han Xiao had voiced the deepest thoughts in his mind. He realized that he was beginning to like Han Xiao more and more.
It was like rain and poured on the desert in his heart, Bennett realized that he was not alone anymore; he had found someone that was walking down the same path as him.
It’s all for the continuation of the civilization—he understands me. Bennett gave Han Xiao a pleased look.
Speech is a very scary ability; it can encourage the hearts of the people.
Originally, many workers there went for the money, but now, they felt like their hearts were filled with something more, and they became much more motivated.
The directors were shocked as well. They did not think that the Black Phantom, who had killed countless people, had such ideals. Despite their own motives, they were immediately impressed.
…
The next day, the construction team of Sanctuary Three gathered. The enormous convoy crossed the desolate wilderness and disappeared over the horizon, leaving only dust behind.
The convey was equipped with a scouting helicopter that was flying at a low height. It was the ride for important personnel so that they could escape in the face of danger. However, Han Xiao decided to take the car. Huang Yu, on the other hand, took the helicopter without hesitation. He was not going to be sucking up to Han Xiao.
Han Xiao sat in the back seat. He felt the vibration of the off-road truck and browsed the information of the team.
A notification popped up on the interface at this time.
_____________
Current Target: Protect the convoy until it arrives at Graymetal Ruins.
Current Population: 1,034
Upon arrival at the destination, 250,000 experience will be rewarded if the damage is below 20%. Mission grading will also be increased.
Current grading: E
_____________
A sudden notification of the mission goal. This is a characteristic of long-term missions. Han Xiao raised his eyebrows. Suddenly, he realized that he has been moving his eyebrows too much recently. That was not good; he needed to be more serious.
[Sanctuary Three]’s mission grading changed in real time, and the grading could be seen to increase when a requirement was met. The mission had just started, and nothing had been done yet. Thus, it was at the lowest grade, E.
700 people in the team were workers and technicians. The rest of the 300 were soldiers and guards. Divided into teams of 20, the guards stationed around the exterior of the convoy.
Military power is not enough. I have to strengthen the team.
The power of one person was limited. However, he was a Mechanic with a lot of assets.
Chapter 219. The Brutal Force of Mechanic! |
It required four to five days to travel from Sanctuary One to Graymetal Ruins across the wilderness, so the convoy could only camp in the wild.
At around dusk of the first day after departure, at Han Xiao’s orders, the convoy found a safe terrain in the wild and settled down. It was dangerous to travel after the sun set, and many beasts were active during the night.
The soldiers of Dark Net patrolled the surrounding areas in shifts. Han Xiao gathered the important people in the team for a meeting—Assistant Huang Yu, Head of Construction Coney Fury, and Guard Captain Liu Zhao.
The blueprints of the Graymetal Ruins Modification Plan were laid out on the table, and Coney Fury was speaking.
“The initial modifications of the entire city were estimated to be completed in three months, including weeding, getting rid of the beasts, cleaning of ruins, then completing the basic layout of the shelter, planting of the electricity network and water pipes, etc. But this is a plan based on 30,000 workers. We only have 1,000 in the first month. There’s nothing we can do, not even cleaning the ruins.” Coney Fury sighed.
Han Xiao nodded without giving approval or denial. He looked at Huang Yu and asked, “Do you have any suggestions?”
Huang Yu said perfunctorily, “No.”
Noticing the careless attitude of Huang Yu, Han Xiao roughly guessed what he was thinking. But Han Xiao didn’t care about it; it was not like he needed an assistant. He turned his head and said, “Manpower is not a problem—I plan to complete the blueprint construction within a month.”
Coney Fury was stunned. “That will need at least 100,000 workers. Even Sanctuary One doesn’t have that many workers.”
“I have my ways.” Han Xiao did not explain his plan in further detail.
Huang Yu stood by and watched. The amount of money needed to hire 100,000 workers was extremely large, and even with so much money, it was not certain they could hire that many workers. He did not understand where Han Xiao got his confidence from.
Liu Zhao suddenly pressed his headphones and said hastily, “Mr. Black Phantom, an airplane is closing in!”
“Let’s go out and take a look.”
Walking out of the camp, the guards looked at the sky on alert. In the dark night sky, a large airplane flashing signal lights was heading toward them—whether it was friend or foe was unknown.
“It’s ok.” Han Xiao smiled. “That’s the airdrop I called.”
The plane flew past above their heads and dropped a few huge resources boxes that were tied together. The parachute opened, and it landed not far from the camp. The symbol on the boxes belonged to the Fabian Company.
Han Xiao made use of his relationship network and had Fabian’s plane airdrop him a large number of mechanical parts. It definitely was not free, but Han Xiao had a lot of money. Such a small spend meant nothing to him.
Everyone was relieved upon hearing that it was a false alarm.
Huang Yu was secretly surprised. To be able to call an airdrop from the renowned munitions company Fabian, Han Xiao’s relationship network was broader than he thought.
These parts were worth millions of dollars. Han Xiao ordered people to load them onto the resources vehicles and started to build a large amount of machinery. He was very rich now, so he could build all sorts of combat machinery, and they could be used to protect the team as well.
The most famous combat style of Mechanics was the sea of machinery.
Han Xiao stayed in the car and worked for the next two days of the journey.
…
The convoy had arrived at the desert. The sun shone brightly in the sky, and the high temperature had turned the sand as hot as burning steel. Even light was distorted around the air not far from the ground.
The convoyed stopped under a Barbera tree. This type of tree was unique to the desert of Planet Aquamarine. It was also called ‘umbrella of life’. Its shade was like an island that insulated the heat, and its juices were plenty and sweet, which could be used to quench thirst immediately.
The people were very thirsty. The soldiers patrolled around, and everyone was covered in sweat.
Boom!
