The Legendary Mechanic, page 61
The five assassins went their separate ways.
There’s time for free and easy activities in the fifth round. I suppose the danger could arrive at any time…
Han Xiao thought about it. He did not want to just waste the precious free time. He then decided to complete the prize-pool mission that was offered in Seagull City.
Since danger was bound to arrive, it was better for Han Xiao to not waste the time and accomplish some other tasks. He did not need to hide and make other preparations to face the impending threat.
As Han Xiao walked on the street, he could sense someone in a black windbreaker hiding under the darkness of the night. His heart skipped a beat, and he felt that there was someone following him.
Chapter 115. The Prize-Pool Mission |
Han Xiao pondered for a moment and finally realized the reason.
They should be the agents from Division 13.
He maintained his walking speed and did not reveal any sort of anomaly. He knocked into the pedestrians on the road discretely and stole the hard objects on their bodies, such as keys and cell phones. Once he turned a corner, he took out the hard objects from his pocket and threw them at all the CCTV cameras, shattering those cameras.
From afar, in the vehicle disguised as a loading truck that served as the control center of the agents of Division 13, the screens present in the vehicle suddenly blacked out. Di Su Su frowned hard and spoke into the communication’s set. “The target is very alert. Follow close.”
The agents in charge of tailing behind Han Xiao dashed toward the target only to find that Han Xiao had vanished into thin air.
Di Su Su’s expression tensed up. Mo Ran was worried about these assassins; therefore, he had sent them to tail the assassins closely. All the other assassins were being watched. Perhaps, some of them already realized that they were being watched, but none of them excepted the man in black to try ditching the agents. Di Su Su remembered that it was the man in black that sent chills down her spine.
“Check the footage of all the CCTV cameras in the city and find that man.”
The footage was quickly consolidated and analyzed using the facial recognition system. The result shocked Di Su Su.
There was no one that matched! The man could not be found.
“Wait, this scenario seems pretty familiar! I have experienced it somewhere before!”
Di Su Su thought of Han Xiao, who had vanished completely from the face of the planet.
Shaking her head, she realized that she was probably thinking too much. It was unrealistic to think that every vanishing individual was linked to Han Xiao. There were many in this world with great powers, and Han Xiao was just one of the many.
I have probably been under too much stress lately. Aye, I have to help Xiao Lin Lin hide from the debt collectors, and I have had literally no opportunity to relax at all. Di Su Su sighed.
…
The famous Street 53 located in the south section of the Seagull city was also known as the antique street.
Li Xin was locking up the doors of her antique shop. Business at the shop had been bad lately, and she was preparing to end the operations for the day.
Thud, thud, thud…
The sound of knocks on the door was heard. Li Xin lifted her head in shock, and a very charming and handsome man was standing right her eyes, merely twenty centimeters away from her.
Li Xin could feel her heart skipping a beat, and her faced immediately blushed as if she had drunk too much alcohol.
“What… what do you want to buy?”
The handsome figure knocked on the window and said, “Please let me in. I want to check out the antiques.”
“Oh, ok.” Li Xin immediately opened the door and stared hard at the charming man. The man looked perfect from all directions. She tailed behind the man, and her hands were fidgeting nervously behind her back.
The handsome man looked at Li Xin and smiled. He then asked, “Are you the owner of the shop?”
He smiled! The power of his smile was simply too great and irresistible! Li Xin seemed like she wanted to just scream in excitement.
Seeing that Li Xin did not speak, the man moved closer to her. Towering above her, he asked, “Are you the owner of the shop?”
The moment the man approached, Li Xin could feel numbness in her brain. She was so excited to the point that she lost control of her five senses. She could not hear what he was saying, and she was all flustered.
Seeing the look of admiration on Li Xin’s face, Han Xiao felt confused. He them touched the mask on his face. He thought to himself, I wonder how I look like this time round?
Han Xiao decided not to beat around the bush and blurted out the reason for his visit.
“Where is Tang Shu?”
The expression on Li Xin’s face changed drastically as she moved backward and knocked into the furniture.
Han Xiao lifted his shirt and revealed the pistol he was carrying. “Take me to him.”
…
The two of them arrived at a dilapidated factory that had been abandoned for years. Li Xin knocked on the door shakily.
A skinny old man appeared before their eyes. The man looked as if he was severely dehydrated, and one could not help but worry that the old man was weak to the extent that it was highly likely for him to be blown away by a strong gust of wind. The old man looked especially creepy, like a rat. Anyone that saw how the old man looked like would lose his appetite and feel disgusted. The eyes of the old man scanned the area like he was preparing to escape at any moment.
Tang Shuwas indeed a fitting name for the creepy old man that looked like a rat.
Tang Shu was a both a robber and a mysterious businessman. The items he sold were all rather unique and out of this world. Tang Shu covered his tracks well, and the only opportunity to run into him without fail was during the prize-pool mission that was triggered in Seagull City.
The prize-pool mission was highly competitive, and it could be concurrently carried out by multiple players. Every player had to sacrifice some of their experience points to activate the mission. The experience points would be accumulated as part of the mission, and the rewards would then be allocated to the best performing players that gained to most experience points.
Han Xiao instantly went toward the entrance. Once Tang Shu saw an unfamiliar face that he did not recognize, he sprung up like a mouse in shock and wanted to flee.
“Hold it right there! If you dare move an inch, there will be another hole in your ass.”
Han Xiao fired a warning shot at the area slightly in front of Tang Shu.
Tang Shu immediately halted in his steps. His body stiffened, and he was too afraid to fidget. He broke into a cold sweat stuttered, ” You, did Jack send you here? After I complete my latest trade, I will definitely return the money I owe him!”
“I have nothing to do with Jack. I am here for something else.”
“What?” Tang Shu thought hard about all the people he had once offended. There were too many of them, and he could not think of who exactly was before him. He was completely flustered.
“I want to be part of your latest business deal.”
Tang Shu was shocked, and he looked toward Li Xin. “You found him and brought him here?”
There was a blank on Li Xin’s face, and she replied, “Nope.”
“The place I come from is not really an important question. I am acting sincerely.” Han Xiao holstered his pistol and eased the tension on the situation.
The normal route to activate the mission involved gaining the trust of Li Xin since she was the one that would take the players to Tang Shu, who would then trigger the mission. Han Xiao took the unconventional path and instead threatened both Tang Shu and Li Xin with his brute force. After a friendly round of discussion, Han Xiao managed to convince the suspicious Tang Shu and Li Xin.
Even if Tang Shu did not trust Han Xiao, he could not say no as rejecting Han Xiao’s offer would mean that he would have to face a bullet. Tang Shu knew that the best way out was to agree to Han Xiao’s request without any hesitation.
“Although I do not know why you are here to help, you look really sincere.” Tang Shu glanced at Han Xiao’s pistol and coughed. “Anyway, we welcome you to the team.”
——————————————————————
You used 2,000 EXP points to trigger the mission [Return the Antique]!
Mission Brief: Li Xin’s family heirloom was forcibly taken away by the city museum. You are required to help to retrieve the treasure.
Requirement: Return ten pieces of the antique items back to Li Xin.
Participating Members: 1
Rewards Accumulated: 102,000 EXP
Mission Requirement: 10% EXP gained for every antique object returned.
Additional Pointers: The antique objects are very fragile. Do not shatter them.
——————————————————————
After the explanation and brief by Li Xin and Tang Shu, Han Xiao understood the situation that they were in and why Li Xin and Tang Shu embarked on the mission.
Li Xin’s father had ten pieces of prized antiques. After the city museum got their hands onto this piece of information, the chief curator of the museum dropped by to convince her father allow for the display of these treasures at the museum’s gallery. He claimed that these items were very valuable and had huge historical and cultural significance. The chief curator had a glib tongue and he managed to persuade her father to agree to his request.
After her father passed away, Li Xin tried to retrieve the antique items from the museum, but the greedy and despicable curator acted as if the items were wholly owned by the museum. The museum’s authorities completely ignored Li Xin and even dispatched security to prevent Li Xin from entering the museum. It was evident that the city museum wanted to keep these prized treasures for themselves.
The city museum was directly connected with the city government, and both parties had a tight relationship. Li Xin had no choice but to engage the help of a robber. Coincidentally, she met Tang Shu and decided to hire him.
The intentions of Li Xin could be summarized with one sentence.
I would rather destroy these items than to give them to the country!
After hearing from Li Xin, Han Xiao made a dry cough and said in a solemn manner, “The ideas you have in mind are very dangerous. How can you snatch and steal from the country? You need to be more politically correct.”
Li Xin looked confused. She did not understand what Han Xiao was trying to say. Wasn’t Han Xiao the one that voluntarily offered to help?
Tang Shu whispered under his breath, “Is he out of his mind?”
Han Xiao’s sharp ears heard the words of Tang Shu, and he immediately turned his head to stare at Tang Shu. Han Xiao stared hard at Tang Shu to the point where Tang Shu started trembling.
Tang Shu could not tell the reason, but he was feeling uneasy about what was going to happen.Shu means mouse in Chinese.
Chapter 116. Head Full of Crazy Methods |
“When shall we move?”
“Anytime, as long as you’re ready,” Tang Shu replied.
Han Xiao nodded in agreement.
In his last life, a large guild had discovered this prize-pool quest. For the sake of maximizing profits, the guild announced news about the quest onto the forum, attracting tons of gamers. This caused the prize pool to increase to huge figures, and eventually, they managed to complete the quest, receiving the huge amount of rewards.
Now, Han Xiao was the first person to do the quest, and although he would not accumulate the prize pool to such an extent, the initial base prize was his to begin with. The main difficulty of this quest was that anyone possessing an antique would drop it the moment they were killed, making the quest a competition between the players. Thus, the quest was more difficult than usual. However, in Han Xiao’s case, simply stealing the antiques from the municipal museum was a much easier task.
Han Xiao had no other competitors, so he decided to act immediately.
Tang Shu glimpsed and turned, rubbing his hands.
“How shall we split the reward?” he asked, smiling humbly in the process.
Han Xiao waved his hands. “I don’t need that reward of yours. Let’s act quickly—I have limited time to work with.”
Upon hearing that Han Xiao did not need the monetary reward, Tang Shu immediately heaved a sigh of relief.
Hang on, if he isn’t after the money, why is this uninvited guest participating in the heist?
Li Xin’s heart began beating loudly, and scenes of various dominant CEOs came into her mind. Her two hands were place over her heart, and she stared at Han Xiao in adoration. “Could it be because of me that you…”
“You are thinking too much.”
…
Han Xiao and Tang Shu spent over an hour traveling to the other end of the city to get to the Municipal Museum.
It was already late into the night, so the gates of the Municipal Museum had closed, and the surrounding streets were deserted. However, CCTV was surveilling the area around the clock.
The two of them hid in the alley across the street opposite the Municipal Museum. Tang Shu held onto the map and explained the plan.
“The Municipal Museum has three floors in total. The first and second floors are exhibition halls, and the third floor is the staff area. Here are the blueprints. Our goal is on the north exhibition area of the second floor. I have already surveyed the area; the showcase is equipped with laser alarms and a proximity detector. If we are one meter within the vicinity, we will trigger the alarm. There are resident guards around the museum, and we cannot alarm them. My plan is to sneak in from the window of the third floor, and then… Hey hey! where are you going?”
Tang Shu had yet to complete his sentence when Han Xiao walked toward the door of the Municipal Museum with wide strides. Tang Shu could not call him back in time as Han Xiao raised his foot and kicked the front door open and flying. The sound of the slamming doors travelled through the entire street.
Tang Shu was dumbfounded.
What on Earth! What about the plan of sneaking in‽
Han Xiao turned toward Tang Shu and shouted, “Why are you still daydreaming? Get in now.”
“What on Earth are you doing‽” Tang Shu was stunned.
“That plan of yours is too complicated. It’s just a museum; at the most, only a few cops will appear. Don’t waste time playing Assassin’s Creed; playing Berserk is the best option.”
Tang Shu had already noticed residents popping their heads out of their windows, curious about the source of the boom, and someone was bound to call the cops within three minutes. Tang Shu, with a sullen look, had no other choice but to follow behind Han Xiao. He could only hold onto the that hope that Han Xiao was actual reliable, despite how unlikely that would be based on what had just happened.
The two of them ran to their target on the second floor. Han Xiao broke the showcase without much hesitation and took the ten antiques. Such extreme behavior immediately triggered the alarms, and the museum’s guards, awoken from their sleep, rushed over.
“Thief!”
“Catch them quickly!”
Han Xiao ran with the antiques in his arms, while Tang Shu followed behind hurriedly.
They were soon back at the entrance of the Museum, only to see four cops already blocking the way out.
Han Xiao, with the antiques in his arms, was unable to raise a fist, so he turned to Tang Shu. “It’s your time to shine.”
Tang Shu pointed at himself with a look of disbelief. “Do I look like someone who can fight to you? You chose this plan, so shouldn’t you be the one to fix the situation?”
While they were still conversing, the guards rushed over.
“Stop hesitating.” Han Xiao kicked Tang Shu’s butt, and he flew toward guards. “There, I gave you a boost!”
The guards swung their batons. Tang Shu was terrified, and he anxiously took his crowbar out to defend himself and fight off the guards. However, his head was beaten into a bad shape in one round of fighting. He could not take the pain and rushed back to Han Xiao, crying, “It’s impossible. I’m just too weak.”
“Tsk, let me teach you a mysterious spell that would double your combat ability. Say it after me, RUA!”
Then, Han Xiao kicked the Tang Shu back toward the group of guards while he was still confused by what was happening.
Tang Shu was not able to go against Han Xiao, and he became extremely furious. He could only vent his anger by hitting hard on the guards, and he managed to take down two guards. However, he was soon concussed by a strike to the back of his head from one of the guards, and as a result, stars started appearing before his eyes. He ran back to Han Xiao, crying out desperately, “I really can’t do this anymore. I am begging you. You have a gun, and you can fight so well. Can you please finish them off‽”
“I can’t help you even if you beg me.” Han Xiao did not move an inch, and without a second’s hesitation, he kicked Tang Shu back into the fight scene for the third time. “I’m supporting you in spirit, and if you really need, I can give you a buff to enhance your combat ability.”
Tang Shu was in a tight spot. He eventually took down the guards with much effort. His face was fully battered, and he was panting heavily. Suddenly, he felt a gush of wind blowing past him—Han Xiao had run out of the door.
“You’d better wait for me!” Tang Shu followed behind closely, flustered and exasperated.
When the two of them walked through the alleys and passed by a grocery store, Han Xiao smashed open the door and searched for several large backpacks from the store. He then placed the antiques inside and stuffed them with sponges to prevent any damage. He felt much more comfortable after emptying his hands.
The alarm suddenly sounded, and the four police officers who were patrolling nearby quickly rushed over. They blocked the entrance of the alley. As they saw Han Xiao, who was carrying the bags, they immediately drew their guns and aimed him.
