The Legendary Mechanic, page 9
“Please, uncle, don’t chop them off,” he bawled.
“Which leg do you want me to chop?”
“J-just don’t chop off my balls…”
“…”
“You and your dirty mind! Don’t worry, I’ll chop them off for you since that’s what you want!”
Hu Xuan Jun was about to raise a hand to slap Hu Fei when he remembered that Han Xiao was sleeping. He let Hu Fei off with a warning.
Noticing that there was someone else in the tent, Hu Fei peered beyond the partition to see who it was. When he saw Han Xiao, his jaw dropped.
‘Isn’t that the devil from this afternoon‽’
“What are you looking at? Tonight, you sleep outside,” Hu Xuan Jun suddenly whispered from his side.
Hu Fei gave a start and fell backwards. He quickly scrambled out of the tent on all fours, leaving Hu Xuan Jun bewildered.
‘Is my face that hideous?’
…
“Why am I running away from my own home? This is the perfect chance to get my revenge!” realized Hu Fei as he stopped in his tracks.
He proceeded to turn back to return to the tent, instantly changed his mind at the thought of Han Xiao’s scary face.
“Hu Fei, ah, Hu Fei, show some guts!”
As he began to formulate a plan he recalled that there was a package in the tent that he had never seen before.
“It must be his!”
…
Hu Fei waited until midnight, when everyone had gone to bed. He tiptoed into his own house and picked up the package.
“Hehe. What do we have here?”
When Hu Fei unfolded the package, his eyes widened in disbelief.
Guns!
High quality guns!
“I can’t take them all…”
Hu Fei picked out two 73-WASPs.
“Forget it. Since my uncle is playing host to you, I’ll only take two as compensation!”
He wrapped the remaining guns up and returned the package to its original position.
“It’s only two guns. He probably won’t notice.”
Chapter 16. Misfortune |
Han Xiao woke up the next morning fully recovered.
“Brother Han, you’re awake,” greeted Hu Xuan Jun, who was doing his morning exercises outside the tent.
Although Han Xiao was somewhat unwilling to bid farewell to the kindhearted couple, he knew that he had to leave.
“I am indebted to you. Unfortunately, I need to leave now. I will repay you in the future.”
“I’ve made some pancakes; you can eat them while traveling,” said An as she handed a small package over to Han Xiao.
The warmth from the pancakes flowed into Han Xiao’s hands, resonating with his heart.
“I slept well last night. Thank you for everything.”
“Ha ha. Don’t mention it. Just helping a brother in need,” replied Hu Xuan Jun sincerely.
Han Xiao went to gather his belongings. When he went to fetch the bundle of guns, he noticed that the leaf he had placed on it the night before had fallen off.
“Someone has touched my stuff.”
“That’s not possible!” Hu Xuan Jun was alarmed. “An and I didn’t—hold on! Hu Fei! Get your ass over here right now!”
Hu Fei, who had been eavesdropping from behind the tent, walked out.
“You again?”
Hu Fei averted his eyes to the ground.
Hu Xuan Jun kicked his nephew in the butt.
“Did you steal again? Hand it back right now!”
Hu Fei bit his lips and grudgingly took out a 73-WASP handgun from his clothes.
“Brother Han, do as you deem fit! This kid deserves a beating.”
“It’s okay. Everything is fine as long as I get the gun back. My guns will bring you misfortune,” Han Xiao sighed a breath of relief.
“May we be fated to meet again. Farewell,” bid Han Xiao.
“Take care,” nodded Hu Xuan Jun.
Han Xiao picked up his backpack and departed.
“I will never forget this kindness,” he thought to himself.
“Bastard’s finally gone,” rejoiced Hu Fei. “Hehe, he didn’t realize that I stole two guns.”
He slipped to the back of the tent where he had hidden the other handgun in a box.
“Even if he comes back, I just have to deny that I have it.”
“But… why does this gun have no trigger?”
…
The map that Han Xiao had obtained had been crudely drawn. However, Han Xiao was able to learn his current position from it and that sufficed.
He was currently in the country of Stardragon, and by his estimations, it would take him just three more days to reach the main road. There, he could hitch a ride to the city.
In the afternoon, Han Xiao found a spot to eat and replenish his stamina.
As he unpacked his guns to return them to his backpack, he suddenly discovered that something was amiss.
There seems to be a missing gun.
Han Xiao recounted to confirm his suspicions. He immediately dispelled any thoughts of lunch and hastily packed up to retrieve it.
…
No. 1 and his men arrived at the encampment right after Han Xiao had left. They rounded up the wanderers and were holding them at gunpoint.
“Has anyone seen this man?”
No. 1 projected a holographic face in mid-air using a device on his wrist.
It was none other than Han Xiao.
“No.”
“Never seen him before.”
Everyone denied seeing him.
They knew that the Germinal Organization would not dare to do anything to them.
Wanderers were a neutral faction, and both the Six Nations and the Germinal Organization were always trying to win their support.
Only one wanderer was trembling uncontrollably for some reason.
No. 1 was in a foul mood, having been in pursuit of Han Xiao for 7 days before arriving at this encampment. If the people here had not seen Han Xiao, it meant that he had gone in the completely wrong direction.
“Withdraw!” ordered No. 1. However, just as he was about to board the car, he noticed the shaking Hu Fei.
“Bring that kid here!”
Hu Fei was dragged to No. 1.
No. 1 squinted at him and asked, “Do you know this person?”
“No, I don’t.” Hu Fei shook his head repeatedly.
No. 1 noticed an out-of-place outline in his clothes and ordered, “Search his body!”
Hu Fei was pressed to the ground and watched in horror as the 73-WASP was taken from him.
“This is one of our guns!” exclaimed No. 1. He held the gun up to the crowd and shouted, “Zero has obviously been here. How dare you all try and lie! Do you want to die‽”
“Speak! Where has he gone!”
The terrified wanderers began to turn their eyes to the person who had first spoken to Han Xiao, Kai Luo.
Kai Luo was squatting in the corner like an ostrich.
“What are you guys looking at me for? All I did was sell him some stuff. Ask Hu Xuan Jun! He definitely knows!”
Hu Xuan Jun stood up slowly in the crowd.
“I don’t know,” he declared.
Kai Luo, wanting to cast away the suspicion on him, retorted, “How can you not know? You let him spend the night at your house!”
No. 1’s face darkened.
The other wanderers began to urge Hu Xuan Jun to say the truth.
“Hurry up and say what you know!”
“Do you want us to die because of some outsider?”
Hu Xuan Jun cursed Kai Luo under his breath before taking a deep breath to compose himself.
“That person went in that direction,” he said, pointing to the opposite of where Han Xiao had headed.
“You’re very good, you.”
Bang!
A hole appeared in Hu Xuan Jun’s forehead. He fell back and landed on the ground with a loud thud.
Hu Fei shrieked at the sight of his lifeless body.
Just… just like that‽
No. 1 stared at the Hu Xuan Jun’s dead body. He would not hesitate to kill anyone who helped Han Xiao.
“Old Hu?” An couldn’t see, but she could hear exactly what had transpired. She stood up from the crowd and attempted to locate her husband.
Bang!
Her head exploded.
An’s body crumpled to the ground, landing an arm’s length away from her husband.
No. 1 sneered.
“Asked for it.”
Hu Fei was torn with regret.
His one moment of greed had caused all of this.
All the wanderers were stunned, unable to comprehend what had just happened.
Suddenly, No. 1’s transmitter lit up, projecting a holograph of the boss’s face.
“What the hell are you doing? Who gave you permission to kill?”
No. 1 instantly shrunk in fear. He hastily began to explain, “These wanderers lied to us, so I was just trying to teach them a lesson. We’ll depart right now.”
“Forget it. Since you’ve already started it, end it properly. Don’t let news of this get out.”
No. 1 nodded and gave a signal.
…
Dusk had fallen.
Han Xiao was finally reaching the encampment. Suddenly, the smell of blood filled his nose, causing his heart to sink.
“I’m too late.”
Han Xiao entered the encampment to a gruesome sight. It was the aftermath of a bloodbath.
He spotted Hu Xuan Jun and An’s lifeless bodies, causing him to shake with rage.
Suddenly, a figure began got up from the ground. It was the big bearded merchant who had attempted to scam Han Xiao.
Kai Luo had fainted at the start of the massacre, and it ended up saving his life. Before he could rejoice, however, he noticed that there was someone looking at him. When he saw that it was Han Xiao, he began to tremble in fear.
Han Xiao walked over to him and grabbed his collar.
“Tell me what happened here!”
“It was the Germinal Organization! The Germinal Organization! They killed us because we wouldn’t tell them where you went! Ah! They massacred us! You must take revenge for us, for Hu Xuan Jun!”
Chapter 17. Kill |
“Ugh… cough…”
Han Xiao suddenly heard another person making feeble noises. He followed the sound and found Hu Fei, who was riddled with 5 or 6 bullet holes. He was on the brink of death.
When he saw the handgun clutched in Hu Fei’s hand, Han Xiao understood exactly what had transpired. Mixed emotions filled him.
“I told you the gun was dangerous… but you didn’t listen…”
Hu Fei clutched onto Han Xiao’s pants with a shaking hand. The sight of him crying was heartbreaking.
“I shouldn’t have been so greedy! I— I regret it so much… I was wrong… I was wrong…”
Hu Fei weakly lifted a finger to point at Kai Luo.
“Don’t believe him… he betrayed my uncle…”
Hu Fei spurted out a big mouthful of blood.
“I will help you end your misery,” said Han Xiao, shaking his head.
Crack!
“Don’t listen to h-”
Before Kai Luo could finish his sentence, Han Xiao fired a shot. A hole appeared in his head.
Kai Luo’s body collapsed to its knees.
“Everyone is dead. You should join them, too.”
Han Xiao closed his eyes tightly.
Although Han Xiao’s killing intent was skyrocketing, it was being restrained by his logic, much like a caged tiger. The cooler he appeared, the hotter he would erupt.
Han Xiao walked over to Hu Xuan Jun’s body. His finger was still outstretched, pointing towards some car trails.
The exact opposite of where he had headed to!
Hu Xuan Jun had not sold him out.
Han Xiao’s heart ached.
Even until the end, Hu Xuan Jun had looked out for him, an outsider.
_____________
You have activated a Class-E Quest
[Revenge]
Quest Hint: Eliminate the Test Subject Squad
Quest Reward: 15,000 Experience
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Han Xiao left the couple’s side and walked into the tent to retrieve Hu Xuan Jun’s prized bayonet musket. For a second, it seemed to glow and call out to Han Xiao.
“You want to avenge your partner, right?”
Han Xiao took all the guns in his bag and lay them beside the bayonet musket. He began to dismantle them and use their parts to remodel the bayonet musket.
Han Xiao’s Basic Assembly and Basic Enhancement were both Lv. 10. Although the names of these two abilities were very simple, they were indispensable abilities of a mechanic.
_____________
Bayonet Rifle (Modified)
Grade: Average
Base Stats:
Damage: 66-69
Fire Rate: 1.1/s
Magazine Capacity: 10
Effective Range: 450
Power Output: 37
Bonus Stats: +2 Dexterity
Length: 0.86m
Weight: 8.3kg
Additional Effect: Accurate – Wind effects reduced.
Additional Effect: Piercing – Modified to use large-caliber ammo for higher penetration.
Description: It hungers for vengeance.
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Han Xiao counted his sniper bullets. There were 25, all looted from Silver Blade.
As there seemed to have only been two cars, there was probably not more than twelve enemies.
Han Xiao began to give chase into the forest.
He knew that it would be impossible to catch up with a car, but that was not Han Xiao’s intention at all.
There was a high chance that they would realize they had been lied to and head back. Hence, Han Xiao planned to ambush them when they inevitably retraced their steps.
Although if Han Xiao fled in the opposite direction he would be able to shake them off once and for all, an inner voice told him that he would regret it.
The quest itself was irrelevant. This was personal.
“Germinal!” spat Han Xiao hatefully.
…
The forest was pitch black at night, making it hard to even see one’s fingers. Wolves howled in the distance.
Han Xiao had been lying in wait for almost three hours.
Suddenly, the sound of engines approached. Han Xiao’s face twitched. Four headlights appeared in the distance.
“Finally…” mumbled Han Xiao calmly.
He put on one of the Night Owl Squad’s night vision goggles and spotted the outline of two cars.
He then cocked the rifle and held his breath to aim.
After eight seconds, he pulled the trigger.
In an instant, the sniper bullet travelled across hundreds of meters to strike a tyre on the front car, causing it to explode.
The car crashed into a tree.
“Do you even know how to drive‽” cursed a dazed No. 1.
“Leader, the tire exploded.”
“How can a low-pressure tyre explode‽”
One of the squad members knelt down to investigate the tyre.
“There’s a bullet lodged in here!” he suddenly exclaimed.
“Ambush!”
Suddenly, the agent closest to No. 1 was blown up in the head by a sniper bullet. His blood splattered all over No. 1.
“Get down!” he yelled.
The agents hurriedly dropped to the ground. A suffocating silence ensued. They were all terrified. Only No. 1 was able to contain his nerves and he immediately called for reinforcements.
The Test Subject Squad was pinned. None of them dared to move.
“Who is ambushing us?”
“No idea!”
“It’s so dark here. He must have night-vision goggles!”
“What do we do now?”
“Just lie in wait I think… until reinforcements arrive.”
No. 1 suddenly exploded. “Are you stupid‽ Won’t he escape then? The enemy is one, why are we so afraid of him? What will the Organization think of us?”
The faces of his teammates instantly changed.
“It’s just one enemy! We have cars, guns, and the advantage in numbers. How can we lose?” No. 1 added.
“Right…! We need to counterattack!”
“Ascertain the sniper’s position!”
One squad member plucked up the courage to reveal himself, hoping to bait the sniper into revealing his location. However, the sniper was faster than he could imagine. He was instantly shot. The force of the impact alone caused his body to fly back several metres.
No. 1 felt a chill run down his spine. Who is this godlike sniper‽
The agent’s death had not been in vain. One squad member was able to catch the muzzle flash of Han Xiao’s rifle.
“I’ve found him! 300 meters south!”
“Get in the car!”
Han Xiao could see them get up and run towards the other vehicle. He instantly understood their plan.
There were seven enemies displayed on the thermal imaging. They seemed to be betting on the slow firing rate of a sniper, and were willing to sacrifice one or two to get to the vehicle.
Han Xiao decided not to rush. He calmly fired two more shots to kill two more of them before the rest hopped onto the vehicle. The vehicle’s engine roared as it charged towards him.
All of a sudden, Han Xiao’s situation seemed to turn for the worse. However, he still appeared calm.
The best tactic, he mused, is also the most predictable one.
Chapter 18. Bigger Than You Imagined |
“Go to hell!” screamed No. 1 as he stepped on the pedal, not noticing several grenades hanging from mid-air in their path.
The vehicle came to a sudden stop as it ran into the rope that Han Xiao had tied between two trees. The two trees were almost uprooted by the force of the crash, and, the agents in the vehicle were tossed around like rag dolls.
Immediately after, the grenades exploded, setting the night ablaze. The bulletproof windshield was heavily cracked by the shrapnel.
It was a simple, yet devastating trap.
