Chapter 305

"Ding-ling-ling—"

The piercing fire alarm sounded as thick black smoke billowed from the research and development department, igniting a raging fire. The research department members hurriedly evacuated.

The automatic sprinklers on the ceiling rotated, spraying water and quickly extinguishing the fire, leaving behind only a scene of chaos. Various documents and blueprints were soaked, turning into soft mud that would fall apart at a touch. Some non-waterproof computers crashed, sparking electric arcs. The walls and floor were covered in charred black marks.

"How did the fire suddenly start?" The head of the research and development department asked, his heart filled with lingering fear as he looked at the devastation.

Guards quickly arrived to inspect the scene.

"The fire came from the workshop!"

Luo Xuan, soaked to the bone and wrapped in a blanket, was escorted out by the guards, his face covered in soot. His hair had been completely burned off, and even his eyebrows were gone, making him look like a bald, or rather, a preserved duck egg.

Luo Xuan was terrified. If he hadn't dodged quickly and if there hadn't been a fire extinguisher nearby, he might have been disfigured.

He hadn't expected that the burning agent in the high-explosive incendiary rounds would be a gas. Once the warhead was opened, it would leak and immediately ignite upon contact with the outside world, meaning that it couldn't be opened after being manufactured. It could even burn briefly in a vacuum.

With his current skill, there was no way he could replicate it.

He lost... Luo Xuan felt a wave of unwillingness.

"What have you done?!" The head of the research and development department raged.

A guard held up several blackened bullet casings, the fiery red base faintly discernible. He said in a deep voice, "These are the casings of high-explosive incendiary rounds. Your people were researching high-explosive incendiary rounds."

The head of the research and development department's eyes widened, and he pointed at Luo Xuan, unable to speak.

*Did you take my orders as a fart?!*

*If the higher-ups investigate, I'll be the one taking the blame again!*

*You're all bottomless pits!*

Gu Hui arrived quickly and said sternly, "Explain yourselves."

The head of the research and development department gritted his teeth and dragged Luo Xuan forward. "He acted on his own!"

Gu Hui was expressionless. "Do you have anything to say?"

Luo Xuan lowered his head. If he had succeeded in his secret research, it would have been a great achievement. However, he had exposed himself, disobeyed orders, and even caused a fire at headquarters. As an ordinary member without any backing, he was definitely going to be in big trouble.

"I remember you're a member of the logistics department. Transfer him back," Gu Hui said, leaving without another word.

Luo Xuan staggered. He had jumped ship to leave the logistics department, and now they were transferring him back. This was a way to freeze him out and suppress him.

His face dark (in every sense of the word), he returned to the logistics department. His former colleagues turned their heads, pretending not to see him, a stark contrast to how they used to fawn over him. The head of the logistics department, who had once been optimistic about him, didn't even want to see him, merely sending a secretary to inform Luo Xuan that he would be working in a team from now on.

Luo Xuan felt a wave of disappointment, wondering if he had made the wrong choice.

*If I hadn't been so arrogant and narrow-minded back then, I wouldn't have lost my composure and these things wouldn't have happened.*

*I'm still too young...* Luo Xuan lamented.

...

Han Xiao learned about Luo Xuan's situation from Feng Jun and was immediately amazed. Even he, the creator, didn't dare to open the finished high-explosive incendiary rounds, but this guy was incredible.

*What a madlad. I'm impressed.*

Soon, Han Xiao put the matter behind him. His impression of Luo Xuan remained just a name.

Zhang Wei's Warframe arrived at his workshop. The prototype technology seemed very crude.

[Warframe (Prototype)]

[Type: Full-Coverage Small Individual Armor]

[Quality: White]

[Basic Attributes: Armor Value 682/1400, Defense 35, Power Level 86, Energy Value 250/250]

[Equipment Requirements: Strength 42, Endurance 48]

[Attribute Bonus: Agility -10]

[Height: 1.95 meters]

[Weight: 370 pounds]

[Control Method: Human Control (No Chip)]

[Energy Source: Electrical Energy]

[Combat Consumption: 5 Energy/Minute]

[Core Power: 125/130 Ona]

[Skeleton Module: Spring Piston Shock-Absorbing Bracket, Reduces 65% Load, Slightly Improves Shock Resistance, Occupies Power 20]

[Right Arm Module: Large-Caliber Triple-Barreled Machine Gun (Three Bullets per Shot), Attack 105~124, Fire Rate 5 rounds/s, Maximum Fire Rate 8 rounds/s (Five-Second Overload), Magazine Capacity 30+120 (Bullet Chain), Output Energy Level 75, Occupies Power 35]

[Left Arm Module: Large-Caliber Triple-Barreled Machine Gun, Same as Above]

[Right Wrist Module: Pop-Up Alloy Blade, Attack 12~15, Output Energy Level 9, Occupies Power 5]

[Leg Modules: Spring-Powered Running Device, Movement Speed +15, Activation Consumes 1 Energy/Minute, Occupies Power 30]

[Accessory Module: Simple Thermal Imager, No Power]

[Accessory Module: Hexagonal Steel Heavy Shield, No Power]

[Attached Ability: Thick Armor—Reduces Physical Damage by 12%]

[Note: This is simply a disgrace to the armor world!]

Crude!

Han Xiao almost couldn't bear to look at it.

First of all, not to mention the low power, it didn't even have a chip installed. The chip was the core of the mecha, used to load various combat programs and assist the user in battle. Without a chip, it couldn't quickly collect and process battlefield information, and it had no wide-area detection methods. Relying solely on a pair of eyes to find the enemy, while the vision was limited by the helmet, how could this be fun? No wonder Zhang Wei used sweeping fire instead of aimed fire; he simply couldn't aim!

Then there was the power. Only the legs had simple mechanical drive, and there was no internal skeleton installed. The user had to rely entirely on his own strength to swing the other parts. He understood why Zhang Wei didn't use the steel shield on his back; he couldn't swing it!

Also, the external armor was too crude to bear. Simply welding a few large iron plates on it was considered armor, showing Thales's crudeness everywhere.

Even if this thing was a prototype, they should have taken it seriously!

Han Xiao's mouth twitched as he looked at the Warframe, his arms crossed over his chest, his fingers rhythmically tapping his arm. Various ideas gradually surfaced in his mind.

However, modifications weren't urgent. Some ideas required learning new knowledge to understand. After a cursory repair, Han Xiao had Feng Jun return it to Zhang Wei.

Now, he needed to consider another matter. Three Germinal bases had been destroyed. What intelligence should he give Star-Long next?

The three sub-bases were just the tip of the iceberg of the Germinal Organization. There were no other Germinal bases within the borders of Star-Long. The locations that Han Xiao would give next required Star-Long's troops to operate outside the country. For armed forces to enter another country's territory without permission was an open declaration of war. Although the six nations were competing secretly, none of them wanted to start a war at this time. The great war that had spanned from the old era to the new era had greatly depleted the nations' strength. The six nations were all recuperating and recovering from the wounds of war. Whether they would fight in the future was still unknown.

Therefore, cross-border operations required cooperation with other countries, which would add many variables. His intelligence alone was not enough. He had to accompany the team to deal with any emergencies.

The question was whether Star-Long's high-level officials would reject his application to leave West Capital.

Feng Jun suddenly called, his tone serious.

"Han Xiao, Germinal's spies lurking in West Capital have begun to move. They're looking for your tracks, and they seem to know you're working for us."

"I know."

Han Xiao was calm. He had anticipated this situation when he let Li Ya Lin use the light mechanical arm.

"Don't worry, we've deployed a large number of people nearby, monitoring 24 hours a day."

West Capital was the territory of Bureau 13. Even if the Germinal Organization found his location, it would cost them a lot to deal with him.

However, he still had to be careful. Han Xiao knew that Germinal had some Esper assassins who were very difficult to deal with.

He should prepare some weapons for self-defense.

"Help me get two Mad Eagle pistols from your bureau's warehouse."

The Mad Eagle pistol was a short-range combat pistol, known for its large caliber and power. Within a range of 30 meters, its power was comparable to a sniper rifle, but beyond 30 meters, its power rapidly declined.

A high-powered pistol, combined with [Sliding Shot], would provide a balance of offense and defense.

In addition to pistols, he also needed to manufacture melee weapons.

Manufacturing high-explosive incendiary rounds for the past three days had earned him nearly 100,000 experience points. Without hesitation, Han Xiao spent 40,000 experience points to upgrade [Basic Refinement] to Lv5, meeting the manufacturing requirements for Tiberium alloy.

He wanted to upgrade his equipment.

...

A few days ago, the leader learned that Zero's light mechanical arm had appeared on a Star-Long agent, and combined with the three attacks on Germinal's sub-bases in Star-Long, he could only conclude that Zero had defected to Star-Long and leaked Germinal's intelligence, no matter how unbelievable it seemed.

"Is this a supernatural event?"

The leader couldn't understand. Zero had never been exposed to this kind of intelligence. How could he know the locations of the organization's secret bases? He hadn't suspected Zero at all before and had even suspected an internal mole, almost killing a high-ranking official, resulting in a huge loss.

More than a month ago, Zero's arrogant words surfaced in his mind: "I will destroy you!"

*Is this what you're relying on?*

The leader suddenly clenched his fist, his eyes frightening. "I underestimated you, but you're not qualified to be our enemy! I don't believe you really have that much classified intelligence!"

"Pass down my order to recruit some new and unfamiliar faces and wanderers, and let them go to Star-Long to investigate Zero's tracks. As long as they have any gains, the organization will reward them handsomely!"

The leader's tone was cold and his killing intent resolute.

"If you find any clues, let Nosa deal with him."

Nosa, on the same level as Hela, was an executioner of the Germinal Organization, an assassin.

Each executioner had their own specialty. The number of executioners in the Germinal Organization had always been a secret, and even their own people didn't know.

The leader's eyes were deep.

*Thinking that you can be carefree after defecting to Star-Long?*

*Naive!*