The Legendary Mechanic, page 200
Han Xiao placed his arms in front of him, and the next moment, the beam collided with his arms, sending him flying and bashing onto the wall. The beam devoured the outline of his body.
As long as Pugilists learned [Shockwave Blast], they would be able to shoot beams—this was one of the abilities in a Pugilist’s ability Technique Tree, just like the Mechanic’s Knowledge Tree. Compressing energy into a sphere, its power depended on the energy level, the flaw was that it required a lot of energy to use.
Beams had different varieties, and compared to grade C, the beam of grade B was clearly thicker and longer lasting. Even though Herlous reduced the energy output because he was worried about shooting through the wall of the simulation room, the increased damage in the entire places clearly displayed the power of this hit.
“That should be enough… wait, why did I use this?”
Herlous was shocked. His original intention was to tutor, but because he felt a bit threatened during the battle, he subconsciously took Han Xiao as a strong enemy and used a strong attack. He suddenly deeply regretted using such a move—such an energy beam could even hurt grade C Pugilists, not to mention Mechanics.
He was about to stop the energy output, but at that moment, a flash of arc-shaped lightning expanded from within the beam and slashed it open!
Han Xiao jumped high up into the air, with a ferocious black scythe in his hand, and descended from the sky, slashing down!
Herlous immediately raised his blade to block. The scythe crashed down on the Battleship Slicing Blade and caused sparks like a thunderstorm. The friction between metal mixed with the sound of electric currents. He stepped back and dodged, then he saw Han Xiao, who was on the ground. Many parts of his mechanical suit had become red hot, and his whole body was covered in white steam from the high temperature. The energy reaction level was shocking.
Han Xiao twisted his neck and said jokingly, “That was close, almost couldn’t take it.”
Although that was what he said, his tone was casual and calm, filled with confidence, totally not sounding like he was hurt at all.
Herlous’ eyes widened. Someone who could tank a beam undamaged and give out this feeling was absolutely not just grade C.
“You’re a grade B Super‽” Herlous was stunned. You were not this strong back in Sunil!
Han Xiao shrugged. “I’ve improved.”
How many days had passed? And you’ve already advanced a grade! Are you more genius than me‽ Herlous was shocked. He had always known that he was very talented. Although he was not proud of it, when he saw a Super that was even more ‘genius’ than him, he did not feel very good and had very mixed feelings.
“Don’t stop, we’re not done fighting.” Han Xiao reached out his arm and grabbed the air toward the location of an equipment box on the other side. The mechanical suit arm and the box had a magnetic connection, so the summoned item flew over.
In midair, the box opened automatically, and the exoskeleton armor bounced out, hovered over quickly according to the position of the magnetic connection, then covered Amphiptere, turning into the [Siege Mode] like a small giant in the blink of an eye.
There was another benefit to Advanced Electromagnetism—it could make equipment combine automatically through adjusting the magnetism of different parts, increasing the speed of equipping different armor.
Feeling the energy reaction that made his heart retract, Herlous became focused. He adjusted his attitude, and the thought of tutoring was forgotten. “You’re right. Our battle deserves to be called a spar!”
Chapter 362. Invisible Corner (1) |
Upon experiencing the convenience of the automatic binding, Han Xiao could not help but feel good. Magnetic connection is truly convenient.
The exoskeleton armor looked rough and ferocious. It had a mechanic structure of heavy, black alloy armor combined with staggered fangs—the visual impact was very strong. The Siege Mode was focused on power and defense; it was like a train head when moving. The mechanical limbs were large and tough, equipped with a large number of moving gears, adding the bonus of dozens of Strength points and more than 10,000 armor points.
There were always pros and cons—the disadvantage of the Siege Mode was reduced Dexterity. Amphiptere itself was covered by the heavy exoskeleton armor, but luckily, there was the Nerves Connection, so controlling the exoskeleton armor was easy.
His scythe was originally a more than two meters long weapon, but now it was like a harvesting short sickle. Han Xiao charged forward with large steps, and the ground shook. As he slashed again and again, the scythe and the Battleship Slicing Blade collided with each other rapidly.
Clank clank clank!
The Battleship Slicing Blade left marks on the armor. Han Xiao knew Specialized Materials Science, so he had combined Advanced Electromagnetism with it and created a new alloy. It was highly durable and had bonus damage reduction when filled with electric current. The strong materials used for the fusion had very high defensive capabilities. If it was normal iron, it would have been cut in half by Herlous long ago.
The Great Mechanic Han was not so arrogant as to fight a Pugilist head-on in melee combat. He harassed with his Sonic Spheres, of which he could control seven at a time now because his nerves were stronger. He also used many other small weapons to keep attacking.
After fighting for a while, the exoskeleton armor was covered in damage, and Herlous had also been slashed by the scythe a few times—it was basically a draw.
Clank!
After one last collision between the weapons, the two distanced themselves from one another like they could reach each other’s mind and stopped attacking at the same time.
“Great fight.” Han Xiao laughed.
Through this combat, he had a more direct understanding of his own combat power. The bottom line of grade B was 5,000 Ona, and grade A was 10,000 Ona. The calculation of the Ona number was a curve—the higher the number, the bigger the difference between each point. Therefore, the difference between those of the same grade was larger. Even if both were grade B, the destructive power of one with 5,000 Ona and another with 9,000 Ona was completely different.
Han Xiao’s Energy Rank was a little more than 5,300—a novice in grade B. Herlous has been in grade B for many years, but he had abandoned training. Thus, his Energy Rank was about 5,000 as well. However, with Herlous’ talent, he had a lot of room to grow.
Supers with grade B strength were able to basically protect themselves in the galaxy, but it was countless miles away from being able to act completely carelessly. Han Xiao could only better prepare for the future if he knew his strength very clearly.
Herlous took a deep breath and put his weapon away. Sparring should always stop at a suitable point—there was no need to decide a winner. He would not use his trump card, and he knew full well that Han Xiao definitely had more trump cards as a Mechanic. Just through the fight earlier, he had already felt quite the pressure. Han Xiao had numerous attacking methods—like a hedgehog, he could be hurt with just a little bit of carelessness… oh wait, he was already hurt.
He dressed his wounds, and with the Pugilist’s physique, he would recover in a few hours. Black Star was an opponent on the same level as him—Han Xiao’s combat power had earned Herlous’ approval.
Herlous was much less worried about Han Xiao’s safety. Originally, when he realized that he was the strongest in the Black Star Mercenary Group, he had felt somewhat uncertain no matter what. Now that there was finally someone with the same level of combat power, Herlous’ mindset had changed. To put it more directly… originally, he had thought that his teammates were burdens, but now, they gradually turned into reliable friends.
Furthermore, having a friend with the same level of strength meant having common conversation topics. They smiled at each other and felt a sense of trust in one another. The basis of trust could only be built between people with the same level of strength.
Herlous volunteered to help move the equipment boxes, and the two of them walked out the simulation room side by side. Then they came to realize that Frenzied Sword and a few players were waiting outside with surprised faces.
“Black Phantom, you’re so strong!” Stars twinkled in Frenzied Sword’s eyes.
Frenzied Sword was very hardworking, so he had wanted to find Herlous to trigger a tutoring event, but coincidentally, he had witnessed the earlier battle. He was stunned, as the mercenary group only displayed one grade B, Herlous, but Han Xiao had been fighting him evenly earlier. That meant that he had to be a B, too! Frenzied Sword immediately made a logical guess—it must have been because Han Xiao hid it during the test.
In traditional ideals, the leader should be the strongest. Originally, when the captain was not as strong as the newly joined cadre, the players had felt rather weird. Now, Frenzied Sword and the others felt much more comfortable. The Great Mechanic Han’s image was strong and mysterious. In the players’ eyes, he could do all sorts of unbelievable things, and what he just did matched his position in their hearts.
Frenzied Sword was the first follower—he had witnessed Han Xiao’s rising experience step by step. Every time that he saw Han Xiao, he was glad of the choice that he had made. However, after entering the galaxy, Frenzied Sword had been somewhat upset. The team had expanded, and there were more people—he felt neglected.
Back then, Han Xiao gave him these high reward missions with strange requirements every day, and Frenzied Sword could not get enough of it. However, the missions now were too formal—Frenzied Sword missed that feeling…
However, at the same time, he was secretly delighted about it as well. No other players had witnessed these strange missions, not even Hao Tian, Maple Moon, and Bun-Hit-Dog knew what Han Xiao had been like back then. He was the only one to have experienced it. This was a very interesting and fun experience, and he thought back on it often.
Han Xiao raised an eyebrow and took a step to the side discreetly. Somehow, he felt that Frenzied Sword was looking at him weirdly.
“Who’s Black Phantom?” Herlous was confused.
Han Xiao waved. “Don’t mind it, that’s my nickname on my mother planet.”
“Oh, I forgot, you’re famous on your mother planet.” Herlous discreetly decided to find other teammates to know more about Han Xiao’s past. He was very interested.
There were few activities during the trip, and other than occasionally sparring with Herlous, Han Xiao chatted with Gashley whenever he was free to hear more about Sky Ring’s history. They sometimes also talked about the knowledge of traveling through the universe.
Gashley was an experienced mercenary—he had been to many places and had a lot of stories to tell. In terms of words, the Great Mechanic Han never backed off, and in terms of knowledge, ten Gashleys tied together would not be able to match up to him. They chatted happily and had very pleasant conversations, gradually familiarizing themselves with one another.
Most of the formal mercenaries were forthright and liked to make many friends.
Players communicated with the other Sky Ring mercenaries often. When talking about their armor, the Sky Ring mercenaries displayed the effect of the Sky Ring Armor. They were all products of compression technology. By pressing down on the triangular crystal on their chest, the humble Sky Ring combat suit would expand and become various full forms. It was truly gorgeous.
The Sunil Enlistee Class armor paled in comparison, so the players were all shocked and jealous.
Seeing that the players were tempted by their resources, the Sky Ring mercenaries tried to tempt the players privately by promising a free Sky Ring Armor after joining Sky Ring. If their recruitment was successful, the recruiter would be rewarded as well. Recruiting members from other mercenary groups was a very common activity—it was free real estate. Many Sky Ring mercenaries also belonged to other mercenary groups originally, and they had been attracted to Sky Ring due to their better offer.
However, this did not work on the players at all. Tempted did not mean shaken; they were still waiting for better things to appear in the mercenary group shop. One day, there might be Sky Ring Armor in the Black Star shop too. Therefore, they were in no hurry. These players trusted Han Xiao very much.
The private invitations were all rejected, and the Sky Ring mercenaries were very surprised. They had not expected the mercenaries under Black Star to be so loyal, and shock naturally turned into respect for the group.
When Han Xiao heard this from Bun-Hit-Dog, he felt warm inside. The faction unity was starting to shape slowly. This group of players had backbone.
…
At the same time, among some asteroid belt in the Fawn Galaxy, a few scavenger spaceships were moving stealthily. They kept the information disruption force field activated at all times, maintaining their Stealth mode. This was the scavenger organization that had attacked the Silvers. It was a slave trader that often sold slaves—they were notorious for their ruthless acts in the Shattered Star Ring.
The hold of one of the spaceships consisted of prison cells used exclusively for containing slaves. This group of scavengers had done quite a number of jobs before they attacked the Silvers. The not so valuable ‘goods’ were locked together, and the valuable slaves were imprisoned alone. Naturally, the seventeen captured Silvers were imprisoned alone.
A golden-skinned, messy-haired man walked into the prison area with a very gloomy look on his face. He was the leader of this group of scavengers, Peggy, a hybrid Godoran. The blood running through his veins was only one-eighth Godoran, but his appearance was still very similar to that of a Godoran. The Godoran genes were indeed very strong. He had tiny scales on different places on his skin and vertical pupils like a snake, suggesting that he had some kind of Snakeman genes.
The prisoners in the large cell immediately became riled up when they saw him.
“Let me out!”
“I’m an explorer of Holy Stone Civilization, how dare you detain me! Let me go now, or I will…”
“Who are you going to sell us to?”
The prisoners were very noisy, but Peggy ignored them completely. He skipped the large cell area and walked into the corridor of the single person cells. He had yet to do a routine interrogation after catching these Silvers—it was now time to test the ‘goods’.
Chapter 363. Invisible Corner (2) |
The Shattered Star Ring was filled with criminals, so it was very rare to see visitors from other Star Fields. Yet, there were still people who came.
Peggy asked eleven of them in a row, and the results were mostly the same. These Silvers were all friends and travelers, wanting to witness the edge of the visible universe, and Shattered Star Ring was one of the edges of the visible universe. They had passed by and had unfortunately been abducted by Peggy.
He walked into the next cell, and the Silver inside was somewhat different. The others would at least shiver a little when they heard the cell door open, but this guy was very calm and did not move at all. It was like he was not a prisoner but a guest of this ship.
“Are you the leader?” This Silver spoke first, his tone very calm. “I’m willing to buy my freedom with money. You can decide any price.”
“I’m not interested.” Peggy was expressionless. His spaceship maintained information disruption to prevent getting located, to prevent risks, so they would not let the slaves use their communicators before they were safe.
With a wave of his hand, his subordinate walked forward and frisked the Silver’s body. This Silver struggled violently and yelled with rage, “I have a lot of money! Aren’t you selling slaves for money‽”
Suddenly, a scavenger subordinate discovered something. He tore his shirt open and took out a tiny black bead from his lining. This Silver immediately became much more violent and wanted to pounce over to snatch back the black bead, but he was pressed strongly on the floor, only able to growl furiously.
“What’s this?” Peggy took the black bead from his subordinate and squeezed it. It was very hard, and the surface of the bead was emanating a deep light with a tint of magical glow.
“Give it back to me! I’m an emissary of DarkStar; this belongs to the DarkStar. If you dare take it away, destruction and death will fall upon you!” this man yelled angrily.
“DarkStar?” Peggy laughed coldly. “You did your homework well. Despite being far away in the Sea of Star Spirits, you know there’s a DarkStar organization in our Shattered Star Ring. I didn’t joint DarkStar even though I’m a hybrid Godoran, you want to scare me? Do you think I’m easily fooled?”
Peggy saw DarkStar as the great pioneer of liberation, and he had always wanted to join, but because DarkStar was too mysterious, he never could come into contact with them. If DarkStar gave him orders, he would willingly give his life.
Silvers were far in the Sea of Star Spirits, how could they possibly have any connection with DarkStar. He had caught them out of nowhere, and this guy happened to be the so-called ’emissary’? How could it be so coincidental! It was nothing but intimidation—Peggy had seen it way too many times.
“Seeing that you’re so nervous, this bead must be valuable. I’ll take it.”
Peggy pocketed the bead and planned to find someone to identify it when he was free. He brought his subordinates along and left the cell, then closed the gate.
Outside the door, the subordinate licked his lips. His face was filled with greed as he said, “A Silver has never appeared on the slave market of Shattered Star Ring before. It will definitely sell for a good price—this is a huge profit. Boss, who are we selling them to?”
“I’ve contacted the customer,” Peggy said. “We’re going to Floating Dragon Island.”
The subordinate widened his eyes. “that’s that man’s territory!”
“The customer this time is that guy’s subordinate, very generous with money.” Peggy had a gloomy smile as he walked away.
In the prison cell, this Silver was furious. He cursed in his mind, Damn scavengers! Luckily, the Secret Message Bead can only be opened with a password. They can’t take out what’s inside…
