Chapter 11 The Price of Disloyalty

Initially, I sought refuge with Xinglong to escape the Germinal Organization and find temporary protection, while also acquiring advanced knowledge. The Mimicry Mask was a contingency plan I had chosen long ago.

Once the Mimicry Mask is created, it's almost impossible for Germinal to lock onto me. Thus, I no longer need to worry about them finding me. This gives me the freedom to act independently, without having to stay put in one place for safety. Actively provoking the leader can shift Germinal's focus to Xinglong, giving them a misdirection… It's definitely not because of my wicked sense of humor! Definitely not!

Even if I want to use others to strike at Germinal, I no longer need to put myself under Xinglong's control. Xinglong seems very amiable toward me, but they certainly don't trust me completely. There's a hidden satellite tracker in the encrypted phone, which I discovered long ago, and now it's finally time to remove it.

In the last three months before the public beta, I need to level up quickly and accumulate more capital. Countless missions on the entire planet are like hidden treasures.

I accumulated early capital through my cooperation with Bureau 13, and now I no longer need to feign compliance; I can fly solo directly.

The world is so big, there's plenty of room to roam.

My plans are interconnected, one after another.

As a target-oriented chaoticist who changes his mind on a whim, in my eyes, Xinglong's faction favorability is insignificant compared to my own strength growth. Besides, I know that by version 2.0, not only Xinglong, but the Six Nations and Germinal will all be screwed.

Don't be fooled by the current stability and infighting of these major powers. When a planet-level disaster sweeps across the surface, these countries and factions will realize that their respective interests are completely hollow and meaningless in the face of the survival of the entire civilization. Their current status is like a bubble in the sun, colorful and dazzling on the outside, but easily burst with a single poke, like a beautiful dream.

"The first version hasn't even started yet. The real-world time for version 1.0 is seven months, which translates to three and a half years in the game. Add to that the one-year time span between version updates, and that means there's almost five years until the second version, the Disaster of the Mutated."

"The Disaster of the Mutated is a calamity. It's best to avoid the most dangerous and chaotic period at the beginning of version 2.0. So, within five years, I need to excavate the useful elements of Planet Aquamarine and find a way to leave this planet temporarily."

My eyes flickered.

Suddenly, a new prompt appeared on the panel.

[【Destroy Dark Crow Valley】, completion 100%, contribution 72%, you gain 360,000 experience!]

[Mission complete]

It seems the Haixia army on the other side has finished the battle.

I was very satisfied. If I hadn't intercepted Pan Guang and the others, the completion rate would probably only be forty or fifty percent. It was worth all the effort. I infiltrated and gathered intelligence, and even planted two spies, Lin Yao and Lambert, almost completely controlling the enemy's actions. That's why the contribution rate is so high. Without all that painstaking work, the rewards would have been reduced by at least two-thirds.

[Faction mission 【Dark Crow Valley Operation】 has ended. The objectives you completed are: 【Reconnaissance i】, 【Reconnaissance 2】, 【Dark Forest Killer】, 【Direct Conflict】, 【Beheading 2】, 【Beheading 3】, 【Destroy Dark Crow Valley】]

[Mission is being settled... Settlement complete, performance evaluation: Excellent]

[Xinglong Homeland Strategic Defense Bureau favorability increased by 1120 points, current relationship: Friendly (1370/3000)]

[Germinal Organization favorability decreased by 500 points, current relationship: Hatred (-1500/-3000)]

[You have received an Excellent-level evaluation reward: additional 50% experience (180,000), random reward x1, randomizing reward type...]

"There's even a random reward. My luck's not bad this time." I was slightly pleased. Large-scale missions and series missions have mission evaluations upon completion. The probability of triggering a random reward with an Excellent-level evaluation is 30%, which is not very common. The random reward for the evaluation is to first draw a reward type, which could be experience, items, skills, attribute points, potential points, and so on, encompassing everything. After determining the type, several rewards are randomly generated for you to choose from.

[The reward type you obtained this time is: 【Talent Perk】]

[Randomizing... randomization complete, please choose one of the following three perks]

[Tough Physique: Health +400, Abnormal Resistance +4%]

[Quick Eyes and Hands: Agility +6, Attack Speed +5%]

[Solidified Mind: Mystery +5, Mental Resistance +8%]

I tapped my chin lightly, lost in thought.

The effects of these three perks are mediocre. Tough Physique increases health, which is suitable for MT-type characters. Most of the time, I focus on ranged attacks, and I also have a set of magnetic-control armor to protect me, so I don't need health that urgently.

Quick Eyes and Hands is not bad. Agility affects all aspects of ranged attacks: accuracy, critical hit rate, attack speed, movement speed, etc. Choosing this perk would increase my output rate by 8-10%.

Solidified Mind is only needed by magic-type or psychic-type characters, and it's useless to me.

I made my choice, "Quick Eyes and Hands."

[You have obtained the perk 【Quick Eyes and Hands】!]

I looked at the panel. I didn't use the 12 free attribute points from leveling up. I put them all into Intelligence. Intelligence is as high as 88, the highest attribute at the moment.

The progress of the A-level mission 【Seeds Sleeping in Dust】 has increased by 1.8%. It doesn't seem like much, but I know that destroying the Dark Crow Valley base is equivalent to destroying an important bridge for future players to join the Germinal Organization, greatly curbing Germinal's future expansion speed. The potential effect could be at least 10% to 15%! When players choose factions, most new and casual players follow the principle of proximity.

However, the leader of Germinal does not understand the importance of the Dark Crow Valley base and only regrets that a large base has been eliminated.

The progress I indirectly obtained by providing information to other forces to attack Germinal is less than the progress of taking the initiative, which is a matter of the contribution rate. But if I pursue personally destroying Germinal's forces, I would be overwhelmed and unable to keep up with Germinal's expansion speed. So, the best choice is to spread Germinal's information widely.

The mission completion requirement is more than 20% progress. Pursuing perfection is counterproductive. It's best to stop when you've achieved something good.

I narrowed my eyes. "I should change the way I provide information."

With the mission settlement complete, it's time to get down to business.

I communicated with Lin Yao.

"What's the situation now?"

"Brother Xiao, the Haixia army has seized all the supplies from the Dark Crow Valley base and captured hundreds of Germinal members alive, including Du Meng, but unfortunately, the two directors, Pan Guang and Ji Jie, escaped."

"What are the movements of the Haixia people?"

"They are cleaning up the battlefield and are expected to withdraw to the border tomorrow."

"Okay, I understand."

…

After cleaning up the battlefield, the Haixia army set up camp and rested on the spot, preparing to withdraw tomorrow.

Lin Yao and Lambert met up with the others. The members of Bureau 13 came up to praise the two for their undercover work.

"A promising younger generation, a promising younger generation." This was Ma Qingyang.

"Little Linlin, your teammates did a good job." This was Di Su Su.

"Well done, too reliable." These were the cannon fodder who were too lazy to come up with a name.

Lin Yao scratched the back of his head and said embarrassedly, "Our actions were all directed by Brother Xiao."

So, the members of Bureau 13 changed the object of their praise. Qi Baijia stroked his chin and decided to commend Han Xiao's contribution in the battle report. But then he suddenly realized that Han Xiao hadn't returned yet.

"Huh, where is he?"

"Maybe something delayed him."

The sky gradually darkened, but Han Xiao did not appear.

"Why hasn't he come back yet?" Li Yalin asked doubtfully, pushing Lin Yao next to her and urging him to contact Han Xiao quickly.

Lin Yao said helplessly, "I've sent him over forty messages, but Brother Xiao hasn't answered me."

A long night passed. Until the next morning, when the Haixia army set out, Han Xiao had not appeared. This abnormal situation caused the members of Bureau 13 to imagine one possibility after another.

"Did Han Xiao return to the border ahead of time?" Zhang Wei had a sudden inspiration.

Everyone thought about it carefully. It seemed that Han Xiao's actions had always been very capricious and arbitrary. Perhaps he thought it was unnecessary to gather together. It wasn't impossible.

With worry, everyone followed the army on their return journey.

…

The Haixia soldiers looked relaxed, and the formation was sparse, without any vigilance.

In the center of the army, Kelt sat in the command vehicle, frowning as he considered a serious issue.

He didn't have a bright performance in this operation. On the contrary, his command had mistakes, causing unnecessary casualties, which would reduce the high-level assessment of his ability.

To expand his military achievements, he must highlight his importance in this operation.

"If I could share Bureau 13's credit..."

Kelt's mind moved. Perhaps he could write in the report that Han Xiao's team infiltrated the inner base and obtained confidential information because they were under his command. In this way, he could highlight his role as a commander.

"This method is feasible."

The mission is over, and Bureau 13 will leave. They can't jump out and refute it. His battle report faces the Haixia high-level officials. No one else can know what he wrote.

Kelt's eyes lit up. This credit might accumulate a foundation for his plan to enter the general rank.

Just then, there was a commotion outside the vehicle. Kelt found that the team had stopped.

"Colonel, there are two bodies ahead, they seem to be Pan Guang and Ji Jie!"

Kelt was shocked and hurried to get out of the car. In a clearing ahead, two bodies lay side by side, and they were the two heads of the Dark Crow Valley base.

The soldiers were shocked and talked a lot. They still remembered Pan Guang's strong performance not long ago, but they didn't expect to be killed.

"Who did it! Who put the body here?"

Kelt asked loudly. The soldiers looked at each other. No one answered. They had just discovered it.

The members of Bureau 13 heard the sound and rushed over, and were immediately surprised.

"It could only have been done by Han Xiao."

"He actually did it!"

"Why put the body on the road? This is a military merit, why give it to these Haixia people."

Kelt was overjoyed. The leader's body was another military achievement. He waved his hand and asked people to wrap the body and take it back.

As soon as the soldiers moved the body away, the sound of a mine being triggered came from under the body.

"Landmine!"

The surrounding soldiers were shocked and quickly lay down in all directions, dispersing the formation that was gathered together.

Kelt was startled and only had time to pounce on the ground.

However, after waiting for a few seconds, there was no explosion. Then a bold soldier got up in surprise and doubt, carefully dug out the landmine under the body, and weighed it in his hand. The weight was very light.

"This isn't a live round, it's empty!"

Only then did these soldiers realize that they had been tricked, and they were a little annoyed.

"This isn't fun at all!"

"Too bad!"

"My pants are wet!"

The faces of the members of Bureau 13 were strange, and they didn't know whether to laugh or not.

Li Yalin grumbled, "It's really like something Han Xiao would do..."

Kelt got up. His neat officer's uniform was covered in dust, dirt, and grass clippings, and he was very embarrassed.

His face was livid. He guessed that Han Xiao did it and thought it was a prank to embarrass him on purpose, and angrily said, "A boring trick!"

"Bang!"

A gunshot faintly sounded in the extreme distance.

A penetrating blood hole appeared in Kelt's temple, and the bullet that broke out took away a mark of blood.

Kelt's eyes widened, and he didn't seem to know what was happening. Without any psychological preparation, his eyes were full of nostalgia for life and disbelief. His pupils dilated blankly, his body swayed, and he fell to the ground.

The moment before, he was still fantasizing about military merit and his future, and he couldn't believe that he would die on the victorious return, on the eve of dawn.

In this instant, whether it was the hilarious expressions of the members of Bureau 13, or the angry expressions of the Haixia soldiers, all solidified!

Quickly transformed into horror!

…

On a cliff in the far distance, Han Xiao raised his head from behind the sniper scope, his expression calm.

"What goes around comes around."

ps: Uh, tonight I have a date with a beauty, so there's only one update. This chapter is scheduled to be released. This day has finally come, and people recalled the fear of being dominated by opposite-sex friends...