The Legendary Mechanic, page 566
Ever since the Flickering World was discovered, the galaxy had been unstable.
Regardless of how slow witted the galactic residents were, they were able to see that the three Universal Civilizations were having conflicts around this new Star Field.
…
After the dynasty made their announcement, the various Super Star Cluster and Star Cluster Civilizations immediately activated their intelligence net to gather information.
Black Star had become the focus of all these organizations, and many organizations became wary of him.
The Beyond Grade A allies of the three Universal Civilizations had always been the target for research of the various organizations. However, Han Xiao was different from the other Beyond Grade As that had joined for a few decades. He had joined the dynasty less than a year prior, and information was limited. However, many organizations had no choice but to adjust his threat to the level of the three pillars of the dynasty and label him as a target to pay close attention to.
The Arcane Church then revealed the various methods that Han Xiao had displayed in the battle through their various hidden intelligence agencies, and all the organizations now knew that Black Star had two Universal Treasures in his hands. There was no need to talk about the Evolution Cube since it was the reason for the battle.
However, the other Universal Treasure was actually able to block the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter and seal a Beyond Grade A. With such methods up his sleeves, Black Star had a special strategic position and could not be considered an ordinary Beyond Grade A combatant.
There were naturally those with greed as well. The Arcane Church intentionally revealed such information so that many organizations would eye the Universal Treasure in Han Xiao’s hands. They had indeed succeeded, but the other organizations did not dare to take any reckless actions since even the Arcane Church had failed.
Black Star’s battle merits were a true deterrent to many organizations.
…
A few days later, the dynasty began their counterattack, and Arcane Church’s stargate located in the Shattered Star Ring suffered from an ambush. An intense battle broke out, and it was said that the energy reactions of the battle could be felt from a Star Zone away.
After Sagman’s ambush failed, the Arcane Church had guessed that the Crimson Dynasty would attempt to destroy their stargate located in the Shattered Star Ring. Thus, they had already begun mobilizing their reinforcements and had even mobilized other Beyond Grade A combatants.
However, in order to secretly send out six Beyond Grade As, the Arcane Church had gotten their other Beyond Grade As to attract the attention of the public in various locations. As such, it would require some time to mobilize them, and the dynasty managed to seize that window.
Ames was the only Beyond Grade A present in the Shattered Star Ring, and she participated in the attack before the Arcane Church’s reinforcements could arrive. Her Force Field was a sharp weapon in galactic warfare and could easily disrupt and penetrate the formation of the army stationed at the stargate. Furthermore, she was also able to use her Force Field to destroy the stargate and cut off the enemy’s route of retreat.
Following which, the dynasty began monitoring all the public stargates and sent out their spies to monitor the Arcane Church’s movements.
However, as a Universal Civilization, the Arcane Church had many other ways to deal with that.
…
Old Medal Bar was located in the seventh junkyard of some galactic transit station in the Shattered Star Ring. Although it seemed like a public bar that was a little tattered on the surface, it was actually the gathering point of a black-market merchant with the nickname of ‘Night Bat’.
There was no absolute order in the universe, and there would always be shadows when light existed. The galactic black market was the biggest shadow in the galactic society.
There would always be needs when there were people, and there would always be smugglers when there were needs. Every region in the universe had their own black markets. Some were businesses that the government chose to look away from, and others were gray regions that were not controlled by any civilizations.
In the black markets of the Shattered Star Ring, Night Bat was not a bigshot. On the contrary, he was an unknown character who mainly collected scrap. He made use of such a disguise to smuggle some military machines.
There was no need for him to behave sneakily. Almost all the locals knew that Old Medal Bar was his black market gathering point, but because of its small size and the items being sold being relatively safe, no organization paid close attention to him. In this galactic transit station, there were hundreds of such black merchants.
Today, a freight captain arrived at the Old Medal Bar, and this captain had been working together with Night Bat for a long time. He would sell some scraps to Night Bat with some smuggled goods hidden within the scraps. Night Bat personally invited him to the underground chamber under his bar to be a guest today.
Only Night Bat and this freight captain were left in the office.
The freight captain then lit a cigarette and blew out a mouthful of smoke. He took out a sheet of paper and pushed it toward Night Bat.
“This is the list of scraps.”
“Thanks.”
Night Bat was a skinny man with a fawning smile on his face. Everyone would think that he was a crafty merchant upon seeing his face.
“The goods have been delivered. I’ll make a move now.” The freight captain stood up.
“Aren’t you going to have some fun? I heard that Red Widow on Gray Shed Street has some new mixed-blood elves…”
“Mixed blood elves… forget it. Have you heard? The Crimson Dynasty and Arcane Church have begun fighting in the Shattered Star Ring. The situation in the outside world is far too unstable. I will return home after this trip and wait for them to finish their battle before coming out to do business.”
The freight captain seemed a little tempted but decided otherwise and left the room.
Night Bat followed behind him and called for his subordinates to shift the scraps on the cargo ship.
With everyone being busy, no one would notice subtle changes. No one noticed that Night Bat had suddenly grown a few centimeters taller with his body shape changing slightly. One of the workers of the freight captain had also experienced such a subtle change.
After half a day, the goods were finally unloaded, and the cargo ship left the planet.
The cargo ship was set to autopilot, and the captain received news of iron eating bugs being spotted in the warehouse.
This was an extremely common bug that would destroy the internal structure of a spaceship. It had to be cleaned up immediately the moment it was spotted.
The captain went to the warehouse, and more than thirty workers had flamethrowers in their hands to burn the ten or so centimeters bugs into ashes.
“Captain, we have already stabilized the situation and are checking the damage. Some goods show signs of being bitten,” a worker reported.
Upon hearing that, the freight captain became anxious. All the goods in the warehouse were his customers’ orders, and he would have to pay for them if they were damaged.
He was only an ordinary individual in the universe and was not able to afford such goods.
“Bring me to take a look!”
They entered the depths of the warehouse.
Right at that moment, the worker suddenly took out a silenced handgun and aimed it at the captain’s head.
“You…” The captain was shocked.
The worker then opened fire decisively
Pap pap pap!
Three bullets shot through the skull of the freight captain. This was definitely a fatal injury to an ordinary individual.
The freight captain landed on the ground with blood flowing out from his body.
This worker wiped his face and took off a mask-like item to reveal Night Bat’s appearance.
Night Bat had a cold expression on his face without any trace of his ‘cunning merchant’ aura.
He took out the access card and communicator from the captain’s body and carried the captain’s body back to the region where they had been burning bugs.
When Night Bat walked out from the darkness, the situation was already completely different. Only five of the thirty plus workers were left, and they all had silenced handguns in their hands. There were more than twenty corpses on the ground, and they had all been shot dead.
They looked toward Night Bat and greeted him. “Captain.”
They were all spies trained by the Arcane Church. Night Bat had disguised himself as a black market merchant for many years to manage an insignificant smuggling business. A portion of his team had been disguised as workers and worked for this freight captain.
After smuggling for so many years, they had secretly gathered sufficient parts to build a new stargate. These workers had secretly loaded up the stargate equipment onto these spaceships when they were unloading the goods previously.
After remaining hidden for such a long time, they had always been waiting for their organization to summon them. The Arcane Church activated these spies at such a moment, and their mission was to obtain an insignificant looking spaceship and meet up with the Beyond Grade As to help them escape with the stargate equipment.
Night Bat’s team was not the only one with such a mission; similar scenes were playing out all around the Shattered Star Ring.
These usually insignificant characters had begun to take action.
Beyond Grade A was the peak of individual strength, but no one would be able to call themselves the protagonist of the universe. The universe was far too big, and every character had their own role to play. Even an insignificant individual could influence the bigger picture.
Chapter 862. A Devastating Number |
The dynasty’s Beyond Grade As returned to the Shattered Star Ring from the Flickering World through the stargate located in the Dawn Star Cluster. After another period of flying, Han Xiao returned to the Colton Star Cluster together with Milizaus and the others.
During the period that they were travelling, the Crimson Dynasty and Arcane Church were in a confrontation in the Central Galaxy, and the situation was extremely tense.
On the Shattered Star Ring’s side, the dynasty’s forces located at the borders of the Flickering World had thoroughly investigated the secret stargate exit coordinates provided by Han Xiao, but it was already empty.
When they heard this news along the way, everyone knew that the following job belonged mainly to the intelligence personnel, and they would not be able to do much.
In the spaceship, Han Xiao, Milizaus’ avatar, Beyoni, and Maximiler were gathered together, looking out at the Black Star Army headquarters outside the window.
Gigantic battleships were taking off and landing on the gigantic planetary grade fortress, and metal buildings loomed everywhere.
The officers present at headquarters had also received news of their arrival and came forward to receive them.
As the hatch opened, Han Xiao and the others disembarked from the spaceship and were greeted with a sea of people. The warriors of the army were lined up neatly and gave a salute in unison.
“Army Commander!”
Upon seeing that, Han Xiao was stunned for a moment and slightly confused.
Why did they arrange for such a grand ceremony? While it was a spectacular scene, he did not remember giving such an order.
In front of the soldiers, Sylvia pushed Lagi forward.
As the vice commander, Lagi had no choice but to step forward. He then cleared his throat and said with a less monotonous voice, “Cough cough, we welcome the Army Commander’s return.”
Han Xiao’s face contorted slightly, and he asked, “What are you guys doing? It has only been a few months since we last met each other. Why bother with such a solemn ceremony?”
“Sylvia said that the entire universe now knows that you have defeated a Beyond Grade A head on, and we can make use of this opportunity to foster the cohesiveness within the army,” Herlous said softly.
There was another reason that he did not mention. Sylvia knew that Han Xiao was inviting the allies of the dynasty over as guests and thus created such a scene to build up Han Xiao’s image.
Of course, Lagi felt that this was completely pointless but couldn’t convince Sylvia otherwise.
Han Xiao did not really like such a display and did not feel that it was necessary for the army to boost his image. However, he would not nitpick something so small. Since he had given his subordinates authority, he would allow them to have their own thoughts. He then instructed, “Arrange a room for these three Excellencies.”
“It has already been arranged,” Sylvia said.
Right at this moment, Lagi sighed. “I heard that Austin joined in the battle, and this resulted in huge losses for the Forbidden Sorcerers. Is this true?”
“Yes.” Han Xiao nodded.
“Sigh, another few familiar faces have disappeared. Thankfully, I switched sides…” Lagi shook his head weakly. “However, it is meaningless to talk about this. In a few more years, all our bodies will rot, and we will become…”
“Alright, I know that we will all become dust. You can keep quiet now,” Han Xiao interrupted.
After stopping Lagi from embarrassing himself, Han Xiao turned around to look at Milizaus and the others.
“I have some matters to handle. You guys can go and rest. You can inform my men if you have any needs. I will go and find you guys later.”
“Okay.”
Milizaus’ group of three had no issues with that. Since they were in the territory of another, they would listen to Black Star’s arrangements.
Watching the three enter the headquarters, Han Xiao walked toward his office to meet all his officers and asked them about the recent situation.
The army was already on track, and together with him having sufficient prestige, no one in the Shattered Star Ring would dare provoke them.
Furthermore, the galactic pirates and scavengers had begun avoiding the territories of the Black Star Army, which improved the security of many regions.
It was time for the logistics report, and Reynold gave his report calmly. After listening to his report, Han Xiao did not ask about the matters of the army but about Nero’s studies.
“He is extremely talented, and his learning speed is extremely fast. He finished reading all the theory books that I gave him.”
He was probably forced to read them by you, right?
Han Xiao’s mouth contorted slightly, and he asked, “Where is he?”
“Right outside.” Reynold then brought Nero in.
After not meeting him for a while, Nero had already grown up. He now had thick eyebags around his eyes and looked extremely sleepy.
Nero was no longer as energetic as before, and he greeted Han Xiao weakly.
“Hello godfather.”
“You…”
Seeing his pathetic appearance, Han Xiao felt a tinge of pity.
Reynold, you are truly a demon! Look at how you tortured this kid.
It seemed like he must hide Nero well from the players. If not, those darn players might end up triggering an ‘assassinate Reynold’ type mission.
Shaking his head, Han Xiao got Nero to stand in front of him. He then pricked Nero slightly to activate the battle notification and viewed Nero’s attributes.
Wait a moment, this…
Looking at the interface, a look of surprise could be seen on Han Xiao’s face.
In Nero’s talent section, a new talent that had not been there before appeared. It was [Middle Grade Mechanical Sense]!
My guess was correct! Nero has an Advanced Luck Glow and has the right to obtain a Molding Talent. He can even learn a talent like Mechanical Sense!
Although it was only [Middle Grade Mechanical Sense] at the moment, he had a chance of learning Reynold’s [Perfect Mechanical Sense] if he continued!
There was finally a new point to break through to Reynold, and Han Xiao was truly excited!
Thinking about that, Han Xiao stroked Nero’s head and said with concern, “Your appearance looks extremely poor. Are you too tired from studying?”
Nero then glanced at Reynold, and his body trembled slightly. “No… not tired at all…”
“Don’t need to be afraid. You can just tell the truth with me around.”
Looking at Han Xiao’s compassionate eyes, Nero felt a sense of courage welling up in his heart. He then began to openly complain about Reynold’s crimes.
“Godfather, he doesn’t even treat me as a human. The sheer amount of homework that he gives isn’t even meant for a human! I have less than three hours of sleep every day, and it is interfering with my development. I… I am still a kid!”
Han Xiao then looked at Reynold and snorted. “Is this the truth?”
“Since the Army Commander handed Nero over to me, I will not let you down,” Reynold said with a strict appearance. “I will definitely groom him to become a great Mechanic!”
“Sigh, I know that your intentions are good, but you must pay attention to your method.” Han Xiao shook his head.
Upon hearing that, a glimmer could be seen in Nero’s eyes, and he felt a trace of hope in his heart.
Godfather is speaking on my behalf!
Does this mean that my hellish life will end today‽
His body trembled with excitement, and he was like a man dying from thirst in the desert who saw an oasis.
At this moment, Nero suddenly felt as though a sacred halo could be seen on Han Xiao’s body.
Han Xiao took out a bottle filled with dragon’s blood. This was Milizaus’ blood that he had gathered from the battlefield. He then said to Reynold, “Give this dragon blood to Emerald Grass and get her to research a body strengthening medicine.”
The next moment, Han Xiao turned around and looked at Nero with a smile.
“Reynold didn’t think things through. How can you learn properly without a strong body? Medicine developed from dragon’s blood will be able to replenish your energy, and your development won’t be affected no matter how late you sleep. Don’t worry and follow Reynold. You must learn properly.”
