Star-Dragon National Land Strategic Defense Bureau, abbreviated as Bureau 13.
Han Xiao's mind raced.
Old Man Lu was the core figure of the hidden storyline and also Han Xiao's target for this trip.
Meeting Old Man Gao was purely accidental. He was a big shot in a high position. Han Xiao knew that his identity could be hidden from others, but not from Old Man Gao.
The original plan was to anonymously deliver intelligence about Germination, first showing goodwill, and then showing up when the time was right, but now the plan couldn't keep up with the changes and had to be adjusted.
Rashly contacting the higher-ups of Bureau 13 made his situation a bit passive, but Han Xiao rarely felt frustrated. If things changed, he would only think of new ways.
Since anonymity was no longer an option, he might as well expose himself directly, show his value, and make the other party feel that he was worth winning over, waiting for Bureau 13 to come to his door. The enemy of my enemy is my friend, and there was a potential basis for cooperation between Han Xiao and Star-Dragon.
Fortunately, he had already entered the city. Bureau 13 would have some concerns, worrying about damaging the urban area, so they would act cautiously. If he had exposed his identity at the checkpoint, he would have been surrounded by the army and left to be slaughtered.
Changing the plan might not be a bad thing. Old Man Gao had a respected position, and as long as he gained a little trust from Old Man Gao, his plan would be mostly successful.
While thinking about how to strike up a conversation, Han Xiao asked, "What test?"
Old Man Lu looked around, couldn't find any difficult problems, and suddenly his eyes lit up, pointing to Old Man Gao's severed arm, "Make him a prosthetic limb. Only if he is satisfied will you pass the test."
"Why are you dragging me into this?" Old Man Gao was stunned, but when he saw Old Man Lu winking at him, he understood that Old Man Lu wanted to deliberately make things difficult and drive Han Xiao away.
"Grandpa, you're going too far. Why are you being so harsh? What if you scare people away? You drink, play chess, stroll around and take walks every day. How long has it been since you managed the work in the shop? And you won't let me find an assistant?"
Lu Qian was indignant.
Old Man Lu ignored his granddaughter and stared directly at Han Xiao, waiting for his answer.
Han Xiao had a strange look on his face and emphasized again, "Are you sure you want me to create a prosthetic limb that this old man is satisfied with?"
"If you don't dare to accept it, then leave quickly."
"I accept."
Han Xiao agreed with a smile. The [Bionic Prosthetic Limb] blueprint he had obtained earlier was still gathering dust in his panel. The blueprints were readily available. Old Man Lu's request happened to coincide with his own needs, and he could justifiably get in touch with Old Man Gao. He didn't know if it was his own illusion, but he always felt that his bloodline had become a bit more European recently, and these days he always felt as if there was some kind of existence watching him in the dark.
"You only have three hours. I don't have the leisure to wait for you to build it for a day or two."
Old Man Lu snorted.
"Grandpa!" Lu Qian was very angry. To create a prosthetic limb, you first had to measure the size of Old Man Gao's arm, then draw a structural diagram, and finally create the finished product. Drawing the diagram and conceiving it could take several hours. Even if a lathe could simplify the manufacturing process, it would not take less than two hours, which was equivalent to giving Han Xiao almost no time to conceive. Moreover, the final product had to receive Old Man Gao's satisfactory evaluation. This was simply deliberate刁难 (diāo nán, making things difficult), and even designers didn't get treated this badly.
However, Old Man Lu was the head of the family, and Lu Qian's protests were useless.
Han Xiao didn't react much, took out a tape measure, and asked, "Old man, is it okay?"
Old Man Gao generously took off his coat and indicated that he could measure his severed arm as he pleased.
While Han Xiao was measuring the size, Old Man Gao was also observing Han Xiao.
Being so obviously刁难 (diāo nán, made difficult) by Old Man Lu, there wasn't a trace of displeasure on his face, but instead he seemed confident, and looked like he really had some ability.
"I just don't know why he's being offered a million bounty by the Germination Organization."
The first time Old Man Gao saw Han Xiao, he recognized his identity. The Germination Organization's bounty had caused a great uproar in the underground world, and almost all intelligence agencies had remembered the appearance of "Zero". Old Man Gao's position was responsible for such events, so he naturally knew. Seeing Han Xiao, who was wanted, swaggering into the city, he knew that there were corrupt garrison officers at the checkpoint again, and he really had to find an opportunity to thoroughly cleanse the internal team.
What was Han Xiao's purpose in coming to Xidu? Was he a threat? These were all questions that Old Man Gao was concerned about. For the time being, the other party's performance was normal, so Old Man Gao continued to observe.
Old Man Lu was different from him. Old Man Lu had wandered between life and death when he was young, and was experienced. He keenly noticed the baleful aura on Han Xiao that came from沾染人命 (zhān rǎn rén mìng, stained by human lives), so he deliberately刁难 (diāo nán, made things difficult), not wanting Han Xiao to stay in the repair shop, worrying about causing trouble. However, Old Man Lu had not been involved in the underground world for a long time and did not know that Han Xiao was Germination's bounty target.
"Old Lu's requirements are really苛刻 (kē kè, harsh), handing the power of choice to me. Is this wanting me to help?"
Old Man Gao exchanged a look with Old Man Lu.
Han Xiao quickly finished measuring. Lu Qian was dissatisfied with her grandfather's actions and enthusiastically came to help, saying, "Come on, tell me your ideas, let's draw the blueprints together, this can save time."
Unexpectedly, Han Xiao declined her help and said with a smile, "No need to draw a diagram, I already have a complete concept."
Lu Qian's eyes widened, and she said incredulously, "It's only been two minutes, and you already have an idea?!"
"Are you exaggerating?" Old Man Lu sneered. Conceiving a complete blueprint in his mind in two minutes was something that even he, a mechanical expert, couldn't do, let alone this kid? What a load of bull!
Han Xiao didn't explain much, and quickly wrote down a list of materials and equipment to be used on paper. Lu Qian was the shop manager, so it was faster for her to find things than for him to find them himself.
Lu Qian quickly prepared all the materials. She was very dissatisfied with Old Man Lu's behavior, so she had to try her best to help Han Xiao, but she didn't have much hope. With such harsh conditions, Lu Qian really didn't believe that Han Xiao could complete it.
Han Xiao picked out the materials and started working.
The raw metal materials of various shapes gradually turned into the shape Han Xiao had in mind under the workmanship of stamping machines, shaving wheels and other equipment.
The main material he used was a common type of aluminum alloy, which was light, strong, easy to polish and shape. Some rivets, screws, and chain cables were readily available, which saved a lot of time.
[Elementary Mechanical Affinity] endowed Han Xiao with an extraordinary perception of metal components. Touching the metal, he could vaguely feel the material about to be polished exuding an eager emotion. This feeling was fleeting, like an illusion. The Mechanical Affinity skill was the most core ability of the Mechanic class, affecting all aspects of the Mechanic class's use of equipment and manufacturing of machinery. Each level of Elementary Mechanical Affinity increased mechanical quality and manufacturing speed by 1%.
The top-level bionic prosthetic limbs could collect myoelectric signals. The wearer only needed to think, and the brain's nerve electrical signals could control the arm, which was no different from a real arm. The Winter Soldier's metal arm was an enhanced version of this type, but it needed to establish a nerve connection with the body through surgery, which required the [Basic Electromagnetic Principles] and [Neural Interconnection] of the Mechanic class's Manipulation branch.
If this technology was deepened, it would be colonial armor technology, and even limbs other than the brain could be replaced with machinery, becoming mechanical war soldiers. This method was equivalent to embarking on the path of mechanical life. The mechanical body could not generate Qi, and could only constantly look for stronger machinery to update its own modules, strengthening itself with external force. The only benefit was probably that its lifespan was extremely long, and there was no need to consider the character's hunger value or thirst value. However, a mind that had lost its senses was easily affected by the whispers of the mind that roamed the universe, and was subtly brainwashed by certain forces or powerful beings, losing its self. Unless one programmed one's own thinking, setting logical loops, and becoming a spiritual immune body, but in this way one would lose free thinking and become an intelligence that thinks according to the program. Advanced civilizations generally used this method to create cannon fodder, and basically no players chose this development path.
Slightly inferior bionic prosthetic limbs could use voice control mode, but they also had prerequisite requirements, requiring the [Basic Acoustics] of the Manipulation branch.
Mechanical technology was interlocked. The same creation, using different knowledge, had endless possibilities. Mechanical knowledge was a big tree, and the higher you went, the more branches there were.
Han Xiao settled for second best, applying the principles of the Light-Armor Powered Arm to the bionic prosthetic limb, with mechanical power as the core, weakening the power, and using batteries as energy, to prevent it from spraying black smoke everywhere like the Light-Armor Powered Arm and polluting the environment. The transmission of force was completed by the traction cables between the prosthetic limb's skeleton, which acted like tendons, following the movements of the wearer's stump to achieve consistent coordination.
Old Man Lu didn't know where he got a bottle of green glass bottled beer from, and watched while drinking, wanting to see what kind of玩意 (wán yì, gadget) Han Xiao could make. If he broke his brag, Old Man Lu wouldn't be stingy with his ridicule.