The Legendary Mechanic, page 158
“I prefer to decide my time of death myself.” The leader’s eyes became firm. He reached out his hand, held onto the nuclear launch keys, and started turning slowly.
A suffocating pressure came out of the screen, and the leader’s movement seemed to be lasting forever. Bennett hands clawed at the sofa’s armrests and tore the leather open.
Every degree he turned, one second was taken away from the countdown clock of countless lives.
The second hand gradually pointed toward the final result.
Han Xiao looked at the leader’s face calmly and suddenly asked, “I never got your name.”
“My name?” The leader lifted the corner of his lips and gave a ferocious smile. “Not important.”
“You’re right, so… goodbye then.” Han Xiao sighed and waved his hand.
The keys turned one hundred and eighty degrees.
The sound of a quake came out of the screen—that was the sound of missiles rising into the sky.
The leader retracted his hands and sat on the chair like a statue. At that moment, his tone did not have any hatred, regret, or sadness of almost facing his death; there was not any intense emotion. Like old neighbors passing each other, he nodded at Han Xiao.
“Goodbye.”
…
“Warning! Warning! Fast-moving objects are rising from the Germinal Organization headquarters!”
All of the waiting military officers in the Six Nations combat conference stood up in shock; this was the worst-case scenario. Although the people present were mentally prepared, when this moment arrived, they still found it hard to accept.
A nuclear blast killing hostages, resulting in pollution, burning the Germinal Organization headquarters to the ground, countless classified technology lost forever… It could not be considered a win for any party.
“Activate anti navigation?” the assistant said shivering.
All the officers had no choice. Without hesitation, their responses were the same. “Activate immediately!”
In the Germinal Organization headquarters, the ground and the buildings were trembling slightly. The hiding Germinal Organization soldiers looked up to the sky through the windows and saw the missiles rise one after another.
An atmosphere of silence and death spread among the people. Everyone knew the leader’s decision and what was going to happen next.
Tears, despair, madness, twitching, trembling, screaming, growling, indifference…
The countless emotions and responses right before death.
In the sky far away, a dense number of black objects approached rapidly—some clashed with the rising missiles, and some landed in the headquarters.
Hum—
The first sound was a high-pitch explosion undetectable to the human ear. Most of the people in the Six Nations camp faraway covered their ears, but blood was still flowing out.
A fire pillar, tens of kilometers in diameter, shot up the sky. The group of bases disintegrated in an instant. Black dust was spat out from the blinding firelight, gradually rising and turning into a condensed black mushroom.
In the Six Nation camp far away, the people who looked out could only see white. The light had temporarily blinded most of the people, and even the superhumans had to close their eyes. No one could stay natural in the face of this kind of power; everyone felt small and insignificant, like they had become sand that was going to be blown away by the next wind. Unable to control their own fate, they started to shiver uncontrollably.
Even in further areas, the fire could be seen to soar through the clouds above the Germinal Organization on the horizon, and the clouds formed a circle in the sky.
Right after, the firelight shone a second time, emitting a yellow spherical shockwave mixed with dust and ash. Everywhere it passed, the ground cracked, and the buildings shattered into pieces. Countless bent pieces of metal easily flew for miles like feathers, falling onto the wilderness like rain.
The shockwave finally arrived at the camp. Like the breath of the god of wind, tents were blown away, spinning like dandelion seeds; heavy vehicles rolled like balls; for the people there, a few broken bones was just a light injury. The onlooking players were shocked and excited—they recorded the moment and did not want to miss out anything.
With the expanding shockwave came the second explosion, and the frequency could be caught by human ear this time, almost breaking people’s eardrums.
Boom!
The sound was like the sky was falling apart!
Deafening!
The camps behind started to stand their ground and commanded the troops to retreat quickly.
The continuous firelight was the only thing left on the wilderness. The image was like a punishment from the gods, and the tumbling mushroom cloud kept changing its shape like the smile of a devil.
The leader, with his unfulfilled belief and the organization that he had created, turned into a bright firework that lit up the entire sky.
The Germinal Organization had ended.
The nuclear explosion that burned the headquarters to the ground marked the end of the Planet Aquamarine war.
…
The highest ranked officials of the Six Nations hosted an emergency meeting. The enemy had been defeated, but the upcoming impact was not optimistic.
“In accordance to the scale of the explosion, the climate bureau created a calculus model. The first batch of radiation dust will enter the atmospheric cycle in the next three to six hours. Within the next month, the land of Andrea will enter a nuclear winter that will last for at least half a year. During that time, the land will not be suitable for any lifeform. Flora and fauna will die in droves, and the land will become a complete death zone. The radiation will reach the sea area near Andrea, which might cause the marine food chain to collapse. Some sea creatures might also go through unknown mutations.
“High-density radiation and pollution will enter the sea cycle, then spread to the entire world through the form of rain. This process will take about 300 to 500 days to complete. By then, the entire planet’s climate will start to deteriorate. As the affected area is much larger, the deterioration is not as severe as it will be in Andrea, but it still will heavily damage the atmosphere and have a negative impact in every way. This impact might last as long as more than ten years. In this time, the entire planet’s technology is estimated to be unable to advance and might even recede.”
The high ranked officials of the Six Nation all had serious expressions. This was not just about a nation—it was about the entire world, the entire race.
An anti-war official slammed the table and said wrathfully, “Look! Look what you did! Our troops suffered huge losses. Not only do we not get any benefits after winning, it even led to this result. We never should have started the expedition and the war in the first place! We should have let the Germinal Organization hide in Andrea and stopped after we destroyed their sub bases!”
Back then, when the expedition was decided, some politicians had been anti-war, because once the war started, the resources and authority would heavily slant to the military. Of course, some high ranked officials would not be happy about it. However, majority ruled, and their voice was ignored. Now that they had justified excuses, they decided to stand up for themselves after what had already happened.
“We are already at this point; don’t say any more useless things.”
The bitter fruit of war had to be borne by the entire world; it affected a lot of innocents. In order to get rid of this enemy, they had paid such a big price. Some high ranked officials started to ask themselves if this was all worth it.
The answer was yes.
At least in the eyes of the high ranked officials, such a strong enemy posed more of a threat than what they called a planet-scale climate disaster. After they got rid of that, only then could they feel safe and have the condition to grow steadily. The high ranked officials of the nations all thought that. Everyone had to face the climate disaster threat, everyone had to deal with it, so they were still on the same starting line, and it was fair for everyone.
At least the result could still be saved.
“Should we lock down the news and not share it with the civilians?”
“Too many people already know about it. There’s no a need for that. Announce it officially.”
“The people will definitely protest and blame us for causing this.”
“Not important, the war has ended. What we need to face now is the disaster that will come after that. Let everyone know we’re on the same boat, and they should let go of the past and not dwell on what was wrong or who was right. We have to work together to get through this.”
“Then, what about…”
The high ranked officials of the nations discussed one suggestion after another.
…
With a furious expression, Bennett walked back and forth in the room, mumbling to himself. Han Xiao sat on the sofa with his legs crossed. He looked up the blue sky outside the window and shook his head.
The leader had turned to ash with the headquarters.
The Germinal Organization could be considered as the first big BOSS that he had faced, and this big main storyline on Planet Aquamarine had been destroyed by him. He started to like this feeling a little.
No matter how legendary the leader’s past was, he had been Han Xiao’s enemy. Han Xiao very rarely showed mercy to his enemies. Victory meant victory, and there was no need for the winner to fake regret and remorse.
With a deep breath, Han Xiao got excited. He opened the interface and browsed the notifications that had shown up.
_____________
You have received Planet Legendary Points—[Germinal Organization Slayer]!
Grade A Main Storyline Mission [Fall of the Germinal] Completed!
Grade: Unbelievable
You have received mission reward for [Unbelievable] grade
Calculating reward…
Calculating reward…
Please wait patiently…
Chapter 286. Dungeon Creation |
Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled. In the past, the highest mission grading that he had received was [Excellent], and [Unbelievable] was better than [Excellent].
For normal players, the normal mission process should be like this—Infiltrate one sub base after another to uncover the location of the other bases through the stolen information. As the Germinal Organization became more cautious, the player would face stronger enemies, and the mission would become increasingly cumbersome. Every time the player got the intelligence about the next base, they would face the choice of destroying the base themself or borrowing power from the Six Nations. The former would reward higher process.
Han Xiao had skipped the most cumbersome part of collecting intelligence and instantly given out all the Germinal Organization bases’ locations. The difference in efficiency was like the difference between using a sickle and a tractor.
[Fall of the Germinal] was a grade A main storyline mission, and even Han Xiao had spent more than one year to complete it with his prior knowledge. Han Xiao was satisfied with the result that he had almost completed the final target of the entire large main storyline by himself. He was anticipating the reward.
_____________
[Planet Legendary Points (Planet Aquamarine): Germinal Organization Slayer]
The Germinal Organization, planet-sized large organization, the enemy of the Six Nations for many years, its power is like a majestic mountain. You are just a tiny traitor, but you gradually uprooted the Germinal Organization and buried it. The Germinal Organization became your stepping stone, and your actions will be passed on and admired by countless people. Your name will be written in the books of history on this planet.
_____________
New legendary points. This was a reward that he had expected. His single mission EXP reward quota increased by another five percent, and his daily quota increased by a hundred percent.
Very soon, the other reward showed on the interface.
_____________
[Fall of the Germinal]
Personal Destruction Percentage: 48.72%
Grade: [Unbelievable]
You have received:
4,870,000 EXP
+2 Potential Points
+4 Free Attribute Points
+800 Relationship Points with all Six Nations
_____________
His personal destruction percentage was close to half, which meant that in the operation of destroying the Germinal Organization, Han Xiao almost did as much as the entire military forces of the Six Nations. After all, Six Nations’ many operations had been carried out with the support of the intelligence he provided. One could say that his intelligence had controlled the entire war.
Using the hostility of the Six Nations toward Germinal Organization, he just had to give the Six Nations a knife, and they would attack. Even if the Six Nations knew that Han Xiao intended to use them, they were willing to be used. The end result was that both Han Xiao and the Six Nations achieved their own goal.
_____________
You have received reward for [Unbelievable] grade:
Bonus 120% EXP (5,830,000)
Random Reward * 1
Special Item * 5
_____________
In accordance with my mission evaluation, the hidden percentage for receiving something good as the random reward should be quite high.
The random reward could be an item, ability, or something else; it only had a chance of appearing when the mission grade evaluation was very high.
Leaving the random reward aside, he first looked at what were the five special items.
_____________
You have received [Character Summon Card: Germinal Organization Leader]!
You have received [Character Summon Card: Destiny’s Child]!
You have received [Character Summon Card: Aurora]!
You have received [Character Summon Card: Hila]!
You have received [Medal of Honor—Germinal Organization Slayer (A)]!
_____________
Han Xiao was stunned. This was the first time that he had received this many character summon cards at once. The use of the character summon card was to give the user the ability of the character summoned temporarily. It was a consumption item, and if used well, it could change the situation in an instant. He had only received two before.
The leader, Destiny’s Child, Aurora, and Hila—all of the abilities of these four people are quite good, and all of them can be used more than four times, very durable.
_____________
[Character Summon Card: Germinal Organization Leader—Armor Penetrating Consecutive Attacks]
For 8 seconds, all attack will be considered armor penetrating critical hits, reducing the defense of targets hit by 24%.
Duration: 5 minutes
Usages: 0/12
[Character Summon Card: Destiny’s Child—Foresight]
Predict an ‘opportunity’ in the future. Can indicate to be a mission, an item, action of a certain person… etc.
Usages: 0/5
[Character Summon Card: Aurora—Life Return]
Restore back to full status instantly.
Usages: 0/6
[Character Summon Card: Hila—Whisper of the Dead]
Deals psychic damage three times to the enemy. The damage is based on the user’s INT or MYS (can be indicated). Decrease all statuses of the target by 15%.
Duration: 3 hours
Usages: 0/8
_____________
Only the effect of Destiny’s Child was not very clear. The rest were all simple, straight forward, and practical.
Predict an ‘opportunity’… this is quite ambiguous. Could it be predicting opportunities of completing a mission or getting a certain item?
Han Xiao had a flash of insight, he was thinking of leaving Planet Aquamarine, but all the methods that he could think of were not very reliable. He could just nice try the effect of the Destiny’s Child card.
Without any further hesitation, Han Xiao used it, with thoughts of going into the galaxy in his mind.
His vision suddenly blurred, and like fog, it was all white. Unaware of how much time had passed, a tint of black appeared in the middle of his vision, then it became an eerie image. The background seemed to be a wasteland, and a flame fell from the sky, creating a circular crater, giving out black smoke and electrical sparkle.
Some unknown information flashed in his mind.
“The location is… The time is…”
The image suddenly stopped, as if everything was just an illusion.
Han Xiao regained his focus. The information was in his mind, and his expression changed a little. It really did predict an opportunity to head out into the galaxy. This opportunity was originally already one method I had thought of bud didn’t know when it would happen. This card broke through the fog of fate and predicted a location and time estimate.
The effect of this card was very surprising, and he now had more confidence in leaving Planet Aquamarine.
He looked at the last item, [Medal of Honor—Germinal Organization Slayer (A)]. When completing a high difficulty main storyline mission with a high evaluation grade, one would receive this type of medal. Its effect provided a three-percent boost to all attributes, and after collecting three, it could be exchanged into a special achievement medal, providing a twelve-percent boost to all attributes. He had farmed it in his previous life before. Knowing its effect was very good, he equipped it on the spot.
After he arranged the special items, he started to select random the reward.
_____________
Randomizing…
Your reward time this time is… an Item.
Please select one from the three items below:
Race Change Card: Change into a random race
Mission Completion Card * 3: Consider one mission to be completed and receive the reward based on the lowest grade
Esper Ability Potential Enhancing Fluid: Increase the potential of Esper ability.
_____________
This is good! Han Xiao’s eyes glimmered. [Esper Ability Potential Enhancing Fluid] was extremely rare. Espers were willing to use everything they had to buy this thing because there were only two ways to increase one’s Esper ability potential. One was through rare experiments and drugs in game, and the other was Esper Ability Potential Enhancing Fluid. The other two items were not suitable for Han Xiao, so he chose the Esper Ability Potential Enhancing Fluid and left in on the interface without collecting it.
