Chapter 175 Thanks

“The border of Hai Xia?” Gu Hui tapped the table and said in a deep voice, “We need to contact Hai Xia's intelligence agency first before we can decide whether to send troops on a distant expedition.”

“Then I’ll await good news.”

Han Xiao nodded and left the meeting room.

Feng Jun was already waiting outside the door, complaining as soon as they met, “You’ve caused me a lot of trouble this time. Why didn’t you notify me when you encountered assassins? I got a scolding from my superiors.”

“You couldn’t have helped anyway. What would I notify you for?” Han Xiao asked, feigning surprise.

Feng Jun felt as uncomfortable as if he had swallowed a cockroach, and he angrily said, “We’re friends, but if you insult me, I will get angry!”

Han Xiao smiled meaningfully. “Perhaps I should discuss with the bureau chief how my location was exposed.”

Feng Jun: “Oh, hehehehehehe, you old pal, how could I be angry with you?”

“How shameless,” Han Xiao rolled his eyes.

Under Feng Jun's bowing and courteous farewell, Han Xiao left the headquarters and returned to the repair shop.

Han Xiao had long had the idea of making a disguise mask. With his understanding of the Germination organization, he knew that he couldn’t hide his identity forever. When his location was exposed, he would inevitably face a thunderous response. The disguise mask was one of the backup plans he had prepared for himself.

Star Dragon would probably agree to this operation, so he needed to upgrade his combat equipment. The Lightweight Mechanical Arm and Folding Battle Blade couldn't keep up with the strength of the enemies he was about to face. Moreover, this operation was outside the country, so Han Xiao felt he needed a personal vehicle, preferably one that the team could ride in together.

Speaking of the team, Zhang Wei's Warframe Armor urgently needed improvement.

A big project indeed.

Han Xiao rubbed his temples and quickly found a bunch of drawings in his vast memory that were most suitable for the current situation, and thought, “It seems I have to learn a lot of things this time.”

Knocking on Old Lu’s door, Han Xiao found the old man gnawing on spicy chicken feet, washing it down with wine and thoroughly enjoying himself. His hands were greasy. He turned his head and glanced at Han Xiao. “Stinky brat, what are you doing here?”

“I want to borrow some mechanical knowledge books.”

Han Xiao turned his head to look at the entire wall of bookshelves.

He thought Old Lu would refuse like last time, but unexpectedly, Old Lu actually agreed directly. He nodded toward the bookshelves. “The key is in the drawer. Take whatever you want, but remember to return them when you’re done.”

Han Xiao was shocked. “You actually agreed?”

I don't think we're that close!

Old Lu put down the chicken feet and grunted. “Just take it as my thanks.”

Thanks? Han Xiao frowned and asked uncertainly, “This isn’t another one of your routines to promote your granddaughter, is it?”

Old Lu’s face stiffened, feeling depressed. What’s wrong with my granddaughter? Why can’t you see her merits?

However, Old Lu wasn’t thanking Han Xiao for that reason. Old Gao had told him that Han Xiao had encountered an assassination before and had specifically left the repair shop to face the enemy, without involving Lu Qian. This was the reason why Old Lu was thanking him. After this incident, Old Lu's impression of Han Xiao had improved quite a bit.

“Kid, you’re not bad.”

Old Lu patted Han Xiao on the shoulder, a satisfied smile on his face, and strode out, leaving him in the room to read whatever he wanted, clearly trusting him.

Han Xiao looked at the oily handprint on his shoulder and twitched his mouth. “Old fart.”

Taking out the key and opening the bookshelf, rows of basic knowledge books came into view. Han Xiao took out the seven he needed and took them back to his room.

Taking a deep breath, he adjusted his state and chose to study everything!

[Do you want to spend 1 potential point to learn the energy branch [Basic Energy Theory]?]

[...Energy branch [Basic Biochemistry]?]

[...Energy branch [Basic Optics]?]

“Yes!”

A large amount of knowledge poured into his mind, and his brain seemed about to explode. It took a while to recover. Han Xiao gritted his teeth and continued to pick up the remaining knowledge books.

[...Control branch [Basic Electromagnetic Principles]?]

[...Control branch [Basic Mechanical Principles]?]

[...Control branch [Basic Virtual Electronic Technology]?]

[...Control branch [Basic Wide-Area Sensing]?]

Seven basic knowledge skills!

And that’s not all!

[Basic Energy Theory] increased to lv3!

[Basic Electromagnetic Principles] increased to lv2!

[Basic Virtual Electronic Technology] increased to lv2!

[Basic Mechanical Principles] increased to lv2!

[Basic Mechanical Engineering], which he already knew, increased from lv2 to lv4!

[Basic Weaponry] increased to lv3!

[Basic Materials Compendium] increased to lv3!

[Basic Assembly] increased to lv2!

[Advanced Material Synthesis] increased to lv2!

Potential points were spent faster than water flowed. Han Xiao originally had twenty-one potential points, and this crazy learning spree cost him a full twenty points!

Han Xiao could guarantee that all the knowledge he learned could be integrated into powerful blueprints, without wasting a single point, and even so, it cost a lot of potential points.

[You have comprehended the skill [Basic Programming]!]

[You have comprehended the skill [Qigong - Electromagnetic Enhancement]!]

Basic Programming came from [Basic Virtual Electronic Technology] and was a prerequisite skill for manufacturing various chips and programs. Like Simple Assembly and Simple Enhancement Modification, it was a core ability of the Mechanic class.

Qigong - Electromagnetic Enhancement was an ability that the Mechanic class could unlock after awakening the Magnetic attribute and learning the Energy branch. It enhanced the effect of the Magnetic attribute of Qigong, increasing the speed of manufacturing machines and the power of using machines by 3% per level. It was another passive skill.

[Qigong Refining Method] had been practiced a total of 34 times, adding seventy-two points of Qigong more than the previous ten times. His Qigong had not yet reached the Lv5 standard.

The interface showed 380,000 experience points, which was the harvest from manufacturing high-explosive bullets in large quantities. He had a fixed income of twenty to thirty thousand experience points every day. Not to mention money, he had accumulated 3.6 million Aquamarine coins, with plenty of funds available.

First, fuse the disguise blueprint!

Han Xiao invested a few thousand experience points to raise [Basic Programming] to level three.

[Do you want to perform knowledge fusion (Basic Biochemistry lv1, Basic Optics lv1, Basic Materials Compendium lv3, Basic Virtual Electronic Technology lv2)? This fusion will cost 20,000 experience points!]

Knowledge fusion wasn’t limited to two knowledge skills. Each additional basic knowledge skill increased the cost by 5,000 experience points. Multiple fusions were based on this foundation and doubled. For example, if this combination was fused again, it would cost 40,000 experience points.

In general, early-stage Mechanic players only performed two knowledge fusions. The probability of a combination of more than two knowledge skills resulting in a blueprint by luck wasn’t high.

Han Xiao naturally didn’t have such concerns. He knew the distribution of these combinations and could accurately fuse the blueprints he needed.

[Fusion successful! Congratulations on developing the [Smart Simulated Optical Mask]!]

Han Xiao let out a breath. This thing was definitely a good thing. It first appeared in version 3.0, when a player accidentally fused this blueprint. First of all, the strict combination of four knowledge skills was difficult to achieve by chance. It spanned three branches. Second, the level of the four knowledge skills had to reach his current standard. Third, there were skill and attribute prerequisites, requiring Intermediate Mechanical Affinity, 55 Intelligence, and Basic Programming reaching lv3. Finally, it had to be the Mechanic class.

Of course, the value was relative. The effect of this blueprint was worth the demanding conditions.