The Legendary Mechanic, page 87
He was Alumera’s second in command, Xiao Jin.
Xiao Jin held the tablet with one hand and said, “There are two of them. One is the big warlord of South Continent, Lu Cheng.”
“I have heard of his name. Gather the armed men in South Continent! An eye for an eye! Alumera will seek this revenge!”
Darryl patted the table and asked, “Who might the other person be?”
“He’s the assassin from the Dark Net, Black Phantom.”
“Bring him to…” As he said these three words, Darryl’s tone changed and came to his senses. “How did we end up provoking him‽”
Darryl was very wary about Black Phantom, a legendary killer. He knew it was best not to provoke lone rangers like him. While the Alumera family was big, they were most fearful of legendary killers like him. If he wanted to start a mad killing spree to assassinate the middle-class of the Alumera family, it would be impossible to stop him.
Although Darryl was impulsive by nature, he knew who not to provoke. Dealing with Lu Cheng was an effortless decision; Lu Cheng’s forces were entangled in South Continent, and he was not going to affect the Alumeras’ influence in the North. Black Phantom, on the other hand, was different. He was a lone ranger who could travel up to the North. He had even slain Liu Cheng. Whether the Alumera family ‘s top forces could even hurt the Black Phantom was still a question in doubt.
Furthermore, Black Phantom’s movements were erratic. There were not many reports on him through the intelligence network, and without an expansive intelligence network, they could not track him down. In addition, the organization he belonged to was in fact the world’s largest intelligence network. If they wanted to target someone from the Dark Net Organization and requested help from the Dark Net itself, it would be ridiculous. Darryl was eighty percent sure he would be called a fool.
Therefore, becoming enemies with the Black Phantom was certainly an unwise decision. Darryl could only suppress his anger and find other excuses. “Investigate the reason the Black Phantom is intervening. Don’t provoke him just yet.”
Xiao Jin agreed with an expressionless face. It was hard to know what he was thinking about.
Darryl had always been an impatient man, and now that he was frustrated. He pointed to Xiao Jin’s face and ordered, “Go deal with your son’s business. The war is coming. I don’t wish to deal with any sort of Germinal’s business at this time.”
Xiao Jin adjusted his glasses and said, “He’s my son. Once I find him, he will come back obediently.”
…
Day was about to break, and the gunfire in Green Valley Ville was finally coming to an end. The remaining enemies had all been killed.
When Lu Cheng had conquered Green Valley Ville, he ordered his troops to clear the battlefield and restrained them from harming any residents.
The worried residents who could not sleep for the entire night rushed to the streets and listened to the new master of the town, Lu Cheng, in the square. He promised to safeguard the residents’ lives and property.
For the [Green Valley Ville Invasion] task, players who had chosen to protect the camp had all failed and were feeling dejected.
The battle last night had been very intense, and many players wished it had been longer.
Han Xiao also gained some experience from the task. He held his arm and leaned against a house to wait for Lu Cheng to complete his speech. He had Frenzied Sword and Bun-hit-dog by his side.
Frenzied Sword was in bad mood as he was not able to keep Han Xiao to himself now. He was upset.
Bun-hit-dog went over to Frenzied Sword and said, “I know you. You were featured on Galaxy Times. You are a professional gamer.”
“Oh.” Frenzied Sword reacted coldly.
“Have you always been following Black Phantom?” Bun-hit-dog was curious.
Frenzied Sword did not want to bother with Bun-hit-dog, but as a professional player, he had to take note of his image, and he should not be too cold. He nodded.
“Do you know his origins?”
“His real name is Han Xiao,” Frenzied Sword replied. He came to realization immediately and turned around to see if Han Xiao had heard him. He relaxed. “He used to serve Star Dragon. I’m not very sure about the exact details, but I do know that he is acquainted with someone in the camp called Stardragon Strategic Defense Department.”
Bun-hit-dog’s eyes lit up. The video he wanted to make would be an investigation about Black Phantom’s origin. Frenzied Sword had been his longest follower. He was likely to know things that others did not. He was impressed. He said in a light-hearted manner, “Let me introduce myself. I am a game video producer…”
Frenzied Sword stared blankly. He only recalled now, that Bun-hit-dog’s ID was rather familiar. He was the producer of the series “XX Adventure Diaries”. When he was playing Knight in the past, he had come across Bun-hit-dog’s Knight Adventure Diaries as well. He was a small yet famous video maker.
“It’s you!” Frenzied Sword collected himself up. When he received Bun-hit-dog’s friend request, he immediately accepted it.
Only status and fame would bring one recognition. If he was a plain and dull player, Frenzied Sword would not even have bothered. Thing were different when one was famous.
“I’m preparing to focus on Galaxy and start a series. I’m intending to place Black Phantom as my focus in my first episode. I would like to know more about this person’s origins. I hope you can provide me with some material. You could appear on screen together with me to do a series as well.”
Han Xiao never talked about his origins, so Bun-hit-dog decided to change his focus onto Frenzied Sword.
“Alright, sure,” Frenzied Sword replied. This was a win-win situation. A professional gamer appearing on the program was bound to rise in reputation. This would be good exposure for him.
Listening to the two discussing behind him, Han Xiao did not stop them. Frenzied Sword had limited knowledge about him. Such information could be disclosed and made known, and this would only make more players curious. He wanted to reveal the information bit by bit. This was precisely his intention in bringing Bun-hit-dog along.
After assuring the residents of Green Valley Ville, Lu Cheng handed over the affairs to the deputy and went to Han Xiao’s side. “Black Phantom, thank you for your aid. If not for you, I would not have conquered Green Valley Ville. If only Balsas didn’t escape…”
“Oh, I killed him.”
Lu Cheng’s face went blank, and he felt a tight squeeze on his heart. “I am very grateful, but do… you really not want anything?”
Han Xiao chuckled a little and changed the topic. “Have you discovered the unique aspects of the refugees?”
Upon mentioning this, Lu Cheng was delighted. “This group of refugees can all die and then resurrect. It’s simply amazing! I thought they were simple ordinary people. This world is so big, and it seems like nothing is impossible!”
Lu Cheng originally did not plan for the refugees to join the battle. But as the players took action, he soon realized that they had the special ability to resurrect. He was shocked, and he figured out what Han Xiao had originally meant. These helpers were just too special. He had looked down on them. Now he knew why they were not afraid to die. That was because they simply just do not die.
Bun-hit-dog, who was by the side, felt that something was strange. Refugees? Are they actual players? Why would the NPC think that the players resurrecting is strange? Won’t an NPC not be bothered with that?
Han Xiao pulled Lu Cheng to the side. He did not want other players to hear what he was going to tell Lu Cheng.
“Black Phantom, do you know the origin of these refugees?” Lu Cheng curiously asked.
“I’m not too sure,” Han Xiao replied, “but I do know that they are very diligent. They are extremely profit-driven. Didn’t you destroy Green Valley Ville? You need these people to rebuild the place. These refugees are the best laborers you can find. You can use them to your liking.”
“But some refugees were against me before. They are my enemies…”
“Their assistance to Balsas was not a loyal and faithful one. You can treat them as mercenaries.”
When he said this, Lu Cheng understood it. “I can try… You really don’t know what happened to them? They can all resurrect, is it just their special ability? We don’t know where Balsas found this group of people.”
Chapter 161. Order Born of Violence |
Han Xiao smiled and said, “Time will tell you the answer.”
Lu Cheng nodded, and he decided to suppress his questions regarding the refugees for now. He would get his subordinates to find some information regarding it.
He invited Han Xiao to his territory—the Black Pine Base—for a tour. Han Xiao said that there was no need to pay him back, but Lu Cheng did not dare take his word for it and insisted on offering his services.
Han Xiao did not resist further. His intention was to get to know Lu Cheng better anyway.
Before this, Han Xiao checked on the Dark Net. Lu Cheng was the one of the strongest vagrant warlords in the Southern Continent. Black Pine territory was so huge that small towns like Green Valley Ville would be insignificant placed next to it. Black Pine sat amid the ruins of a small city left from the Old Ages. It had been transformed into a settlement that tens of thousands of civilians resided in. There was a plethora of facilities, including even biological and weaponry research laboratories. Everything was really high end.
Territory owned by vagrant warlord and territory owned by vagrants were completely different concepts. The latter was formed with vagrants who band together against threats from the wild, with a responsible leader chosen democratically. There would rarely be hierarchies.
With vagrant warlords, they would be the leader who would use their resources to build a residential area. The area would be built such that it could take in some vagrants from the outside world, and the leaders could collect protection fees from them. The fees could be paid in the form of tax or labor. There would be purposeful usage of military power, for example to attack other warlords. Most of the soldiers were employed, but there were some who signed on voluntarily.
There were many warlords, and their territories, coming in all sizes, were distributed across every continent. Bennett’s shelter plan was aimed at unifying all the warlords and creating a new mega city that stood apart from the Six Nations and provided shelter for all refugees. Naturally, this would clash with the goals of the warlords. Moreover, it would be a very large and tedious project.
Bennett’s plan would provide help and shelter for all vagrants out there, not just from war but from other natural and wild dangers. It was nothing but ambitious.
Lu Cheng invited Han Xiao into his car and drove toward the Black Pine.
Green Valley Ville’s players could still get quests from the town, and those who chose to defend the base were surprised and relieved to find out that their access to the town did not get revoked. They watched Black Phantom as he left.
…
There was one more person with them now that Bun-hit-dog had joined the team.
The scenery outside the window flew past. Han Xiao made a call and instructed the Dark Net helicopter pilot to wait for him at Black Pine. He told Lu Cheng about this, who acknowledged and ordered for a landing site to be prepared.
They were chatting casually while Han Xiao suddenly asked, “With your military strength, you could have attacked immediately when you came to the town, and the refugees could not have stopped you. Why did you give Balsas time to prepare?”
Lu Cheng shook his head. He had not known that players could revive at that time. He said, “Only people without faith would think that violence is the solution to every problem.”
“Your soldiers’ lives are lives too though.” Han Xiao smiled.
“The strong ought to protect the weak.” Lu Cheng paused and said, “I won’t kill unarmed refugees; no warlord want to see the Tragedy of La Potter repeat itself.
“Tragedy of La Potter? What happened?” Bun-hit-dog questioned, still recording.
Lu Cheng thought Frenzied Sword and Bun-hit-dog were Han Xiao’s followers, so out of respect, he explained, “La Potter was once a huge Vagrant settlement in the West Continent. It was invaded by a Vagrant Warlord and his troops. Even though the military troops were supported by the locals, the enemies were too strong, and they were defeated. The warlord was upset that the vagrants dared fight against him, so he initiated a massacre of the helpless and unarmed civilians, raiding all their supplies and burning everything, killing countless innocent souls.
Bun-hit-dog was unimpressed. Massacres like this had occurred numerous times in history. He probed, “So what happened then?”
“Then, the warlord and all of the few hundreds of his professional soldiers died in one night twenty days after that, killed single-handedly by one superhuman. After that, no warlord had the guts to kill any innocent civilians.”
Bun-hit-dog was puzzled. “Why though?”
Han Xiao answered, unfazed, “Because some people see themselves as heroes.”
If it was the normal world, no one could fight against the cruel authorities. Nothing could be done. However, with superhuman powers, even in lawless lands, those with powers could technically become those in charge of upholding laws. Superhumans could easily kill those that they did not see fit, so what they chose to uphold became the standard law for everyone else on the planet.
So, what would they choose to uphold? It would be the issues that most people would agree on based on their moral compass.
Unless one could carry out genocide or murder on a massive scale without letting any news out, there was bound to be a superhuman to punish the instigator for his evil deeds. This could be seen as moral coercion. The weak had to follow the moral standards of the strong. Even though this in itself was questionable, it gave rise to a rough form of rules for the wild and indirectly protected the lives of vagrants.
Bun-hit-dog recorded all this. He loved this type of stuff that could spice up his content.
Han Xiao stroked his chin. The Tragedy of La Potter reminded him of another wild BOSS.
La Potter was a mess. The burned corpses were left unattended and attracted beasts. A new virus sprouted from the corpses and spread into the soil and water sources. All the beasts in the region mutated, and every once in a while, there would be a Beast King level wild BOSS found there, which could trigger a quest to kill the BOSS and harvest its mutated heart for a research group. This would lead to potions that could add on attributes and might even awaken potential talents.
The players could repeatedly fight the wild BOSS, but the usual process of grinding through quests would be inevitable.
In Galaxy, there were a few types of Instance Dungeons, the first being the special scene where monsters spawned endlessly, such as some magical realms or mock combat rooms in labs. Other than these special realms, in Galaxy’s world, there were also important realms that were protected by military troops. Large-scaled battlefields could also be made into an Instance Dungeon. This type of Instance Dungeon was extremely random and could close anytime.
The second type would be Instance Dungeon Crystal, which was a special item dropped from special quests. Only players could use it, and it would bring the player back in time to a parallel world to experience events that had happened in the past. The Crystal would allow a player to enter different scenes based on the quest that the player came from.
The quests that awarded the Instance Dungeon Crystal would refresh once in a while, making this type of dungeon a readily accessible one. The players could also steadily grind to break the record of the shortest dungeon clearance time and other records.
Upon using the Instance Dungeon Crystal, others would see that the player had suddenly vanished. The player would enter a parallel universe and could not affect the original world. However, they could still obtain rewards from the Instance Dungeon. This type of dungeon was similar to magic teleportation and scientific time travelling. Han Xiao was not sure if he could use the Crystal as well, but he felt that it would be risky because he did not know the principles behind the Crystal. If it were to atomize the body structure, a normal player would be able to revive, but he did not have the luxury.
Some special items could be used by players only, such as the Gene-awakening Elixir that could be purchased from the vendor. A potion would appear out of thin air after purchasing it. There was also the Gene-blending Elixir that Han Xiao received as reward from the Rose Militant Quest earlier on. The Instance Dungeon Crystal fell under a similar category.
Let’s not risk it in trying to get the Instance Dungeon Crystal.
Indeed, it would be a waste of time. He would rather complete main quests and hidden quests.
The car fleet drove on for a few hours, and the silhouette of the Black Pine Settlement appeared on the horizon. It was huge, almost like a small city. The scenery was very exotic; there were bricks, leather, and scrap metal lying around, and there were electric wires crawling along the walls. The path with barbed wire fences on its sides was the only path that led up to the main entrance, and there were many ‘scars’ of war on the metallic door, left behind by bullets and explosions.
Lu Cheng smiled and proudly said, “Welcome to Black Pine.”
Chapter 162. Grouper Plague and the Grinding |
“It’s enormous.” Bun-hit-dog gasped. “This can’t be the place where newbies first enter?”
The main gate slowly opened as the car entered the gates. The first thing that came into sight was the magnificent lookout tower, sandbag barricades, and the barracks. Fully-armed soldiers were standing guard and patrolling the area. Further into the encampment, they arrived at the residential district.
