"Hah!"

Hela exhaled, her delicate fist exploding with powerful force, striking towards Han Xiao's chest like a bullet, creating a crackling sound.

Han Xiao withstood the punch, enduring the stifling feeling in his chest, his large hand grabbing the collar of Hela's combat suit. He twisted his waist, executing a shoulder throw, sending Hela flying to the other side.

Hela didn't panic in the slightest. She supported herself with her hand, lightly somersaulting, easily neutralizing the shoulder throw.

Seeing this, Han Xiao didn't pursue her, standing in place and rubbing his chest.

"Is that all the progress you've made?" Hela said, looking dissatisfied.

Han Xiao didn't say a word. He was deliberately hiding his skills. Based on his performance, the organization should have given up on him. But for the past six months, Hela had still been putting him through combat training every day, and she was particularly energetic today.

Hela didn't expect Han Xiao to speak. She knew Zero was taciturn, like an emotionless robot. Although she was the supervisor, she was actually very idle, with nothing to do at the base every day. Training Han Xiao was one of her few activities. After learning that the leader wanted to hand Han Xiao over to Lin Weixian, Hela felt very conflicted.

Although the two of them hardly ever communicated, after spending half a year together, there were always some different feelings. Even frequently used objects would be missed, let alone people. Perhaps it was a trace of reluctance. Hela couldn't bear to see Han Xiao dissected into hundreds of pieces on the operating table of a scumbag like Lin Weixian.

So many times, familiar faces had disappeared on some ordinary day, never to be seen again.

The organization's cold and ruthless style had caused her to lose many friends.

And... her sister, Hela thought wistfully.

If Zero could demonstrate a talent for combat at the last moment, perhaps the leader would change his mind. That's why she had been training Han Xiao so hard today.

Unfortunately, miracles were not so easy to come by.

"The leader has agreed to let Lin Weixian dissect and study you..." Hela sighed.

Strictly speaking, this was the first thing Hela had said to Zero that wasn't related to training.

Hela didn't notice that Han Xiao's eyes sharpened for a moment, then disappeared.

"This day has finally come..." Han Xiao had long anticipated that his performance would eventually lead to this result. To the Germination Organization, useless people were garbage stocks that needed to be sold off as soon as possible to recover the investment.

But he didn't regret it at all, because the degree of importance was linked to the degree of surveillance. If he had shown extraordinary abilities in a high-profile manner, he would only have been subjected to even more brutal exploitation. His identity would never allow him to enter the core of the Germination Organization. He would always be treated as a tool, at most just a useful one or not. Otherwise, Han Xiao wouldn't have minded working for Germination.

Han Xiao suddenly caught sight of a photo on the ground. It seemed to have fallen out of Hela's pocket during the shoulder throw just now. He bent down and picked it up.

It was a group photo. The background of the photo was a blue sea and sky, with a setting sun hanging on the horizon, painting the sky with a sunset glow. The two little girls standing side by side were the main subjects of the photo. One was Hela as a child, smiling brightly and vivaciously. The other girl looked somewhat similar to Hela, but her hair was snow-white, and she had a gentle and well-behaved demeanor.

Hela's expression changed, and she suddenly reached out and snatched back the photo. Seeing that the photo wasn't damaged, she breathed a sigh of relief, carefully put the photo close to her body, took a deep look at Han Xiao, and turned to leave the training ground.

A message suddenly popped up on the panel.

[You have triggered a D-level mission: Project Night Owl. Accept/Decline?]

Han Xiao's eyes flickered slightly. This was the first time he had triggered a mission in the past six months.

There was no need to hesitate. Accept!

[Mission Hint: The dark and bloody rise of the Germination Organization has always been a deeply hidden mystery for the six major nations of Aquamarine Star. Hela has an unknown past. Is she really loyal to the Germination Organization? You have grasped a trace of a clue. Pursue it, and you might obtain unexpected gains, or perhaps unexpected... dangers! Of course, you can also provide this clue to certain interested parties in exchange for remuneration, or you can keep the clue to yourself. In any case, the choice is yours.]

The mission was obviously triggered by the photo. Coincidentally, Han Xiao happened to recognize the white-haired girl. That was Hela's sister, Aurora.

Aurora also possessed supernatural abilities, but her abilities were the opposite of Hela's. Hela was extremely aggressive, while Aurora's blood possessed potent healing abilities, even capable of extending lifespan and reviving the dead. Because of her talent, Aurora was controlled by Germination, who not only used her abilities but also used her as a threat to make Hela do many bloody things for Germination.

The only thing Hela cared about was her sister.

At the end of Version 1.0, the war between the Six Nations and Germination entered a heated stage. As the war became intense, Germination dissected Aurora and used her flesh and blood to create countless doses of healing potions comparable to a "second life." This led to major victories on local battlefields. Hela, who was at the front lines, didn't know what had happened until months later.

Hela completely broke down. The Germination Organization had long anticipated her reaction and immediately sent a large number of experts to capture and imprison her. Hela suffered inhumane torture in prison. The deep-seated hatred gave her terrifying resilience, and she endured all the torture, eventually finding an opportunity to break out of prison and escape.

From then on, Hela became cold-blooded and brutal, using countless lives to develop her abilities, becoming stronger by any means necessary, and completely degenerating into an evil force, eventually becoming the dreaded "Goddess of Death" of the Shattered Star Ring.

Although Hela was indifferent now, compared to the future Goddess of Death who regarded countless lives as dust and destroyed civilization after civilization, she was a million times kinder. If he had the opportunity, Han Xiao would like to help her change her tragic future. It wasn't out of pity, but to avoid trouble. In his previous life, Hela was simply a madwoman who killed anyone she caught. Han Xiao had the misfortune of encountering Hela more than a dozen times, and each time his warship was destroyed, resulting in huge losses.

To change Hela's future, the key was Aurora.

However, for now, Han Xiao didn't have the ability to do so. Escaping was the top priority.

Every two months, Hela would regularly leave the laboratory once. There were still two days until Hela left again. His experience reserve was also sufficient.

The opportunity had finally arrived.

...

Returning to his mechanical modification room, Han Xiao called out the panel. He now had three professions: Civilian, Agent, and Beginner Mechanic.

The civilian profession could be ignored. The other two were his capital for escaping the laboratory.

Among the five major profession systems, the Mechanic system was relatively weak in the early stages, but he didn't regret it at all. The Mechanic system was the profession he was most familiar with.

The Mechanic system leaned towards logistics and life professions in the early stages, but after the opening of the high-end knowledge of the profession knowledge tree in Version 3.0, the Mechanic's combat power soared, gradually becoming popular, and even competing with the Martial Arts system, which had the most players.

In the later stages, a high-level mechanic was an entire interstellar legion!

The Mechanic system was known for its many skills. Each blueprint invention was equivalent to a skill, and there were thousands of Mechanic blueprints, so the later development potential was very high. Different skills could be combined to create countless combat modes: trap flow, defense flow, heavy artillery flow, sniper flow, legion flow, mech flow, and so on...

But the drawbacks were also obvious. To cultivate a Mechanic expert, the experience required was several times more than other professions.

After thinking about it, Han Xiao invested his experience into the Beginner Mechanic profession, frantically leveling up.

[Beginner Mechanic has been raised to Lv3. Strength +10, Intelligence +1, Endurance +1. Gained 2 free attribute points. Gained 1 potential point.]

...

[Beginner Mechanic has been raised to Lv10 (Max). Strength +30, Intelligence +1, Endurance +1. Gained 2 free attribute points. Gained 1 potential point.]

The level cap of most professions was level 10. Only after job advancement could you continue to level up.

It took a total of 130,000 experience to raise Beginner Mechanic from level 2 to the maximum level of 10, providing 8 points of Endurance, 8 points of Intelligence, 100 points of Strength, 16 free attribute points, and 8 potential points, increasing his total level to 12.

The main profession was usually given priority to level up, which could increase strength and was the most cost-effective.

After Beginner Mechanic reached the level 10 cap, Han Xiao temporarily couldn't meet the job advancement requirements. He had anticipated this and temporarily put it aside.

Han Xiao then raised Agent to level 9, consuming 80,000 experience. The Agent profession had given him a total of Strength +12, Agility +9, Charisma +3, 9 potential points, and 9 free attribute points.

His total level reached 20.

A character could have an unlimited number of professions, but every 20 levels was a bottleneck. He needed to complete an advancement mission to continue leveling up. The total level cap would be unlocked with version updates. The total level cap in Version 1.0 was level 60.

Galaxy had hundreds of professions, allowing players to have countless combinations. In the later stages of the game, personalization was very important. There was no fixed growth strategy. Each character was different, so it could always maintain its appeal.

But Han Xiao found that his panel didn't display the total level cap, meaning he could have power beyond the player version.

In Versions 1.0 and 2.0, the players' activity area was basically the novice planets. In the depths of the universe, those large interstellar forces had always existed, but players couldn't come into contact with them. So the version was a restriction on the players, and he was currently an NPC, so naturally he didn't have this limitation.

[Level 20 Advancement Mission: Learn an advanced knowledge of the Mechanic System.]

The prerequisite for advanced knowledge was learning five basic knowledge items from a branch. The base's armed branch professional knowledge was incomplete, so there was nothing he could do about it.

Spending another 150,000 experience to raise Simple Repair and Simple Modification to level 10 would grant him two potential points, which was related to his follow-up plans.

Consuming 10,000 experience, he raised Intermediate Mechanical Affinity to level 3.

Based on his familiarity with Galaxy, Han Xiao spent 60,000 experience to raise Basic Combat and Basic Shooting to level 6, successfully obtaining two new skills, Grappling and Precision Shooting.

He had 170,000 experience left, which was Han Xiao's reserve for "gambling on blueprints."

Inventing blueprints was the most important ability of the Mechanic system.

Upgrading Mechanic System professional knowledge would automatically grant blueprints. This was the first way to obtain blueprints.

The second way was to obtain them from missions or special NPCs, which were special blueprints and generally more rare.

The third way was to dismantle mechs and reverse engineer the blueprints, but the conditions were harsh and it would cost a huge amount of experience!

The fourth way was the main one: "Knowledge Fusion," which was to fuse two or more professional knowledge items. If the combination was correct, new blueprints could be developed. Each fusion would consume experience.

There were countless combinations of 60 types of knowledge, and each combination hid many blueprints, but each fusion would only develop one of them. Some blueprints even had hidden prerequisite requirements, so it was difficult to figure out how many blueprints a combination could develop.

The fusion experience of the same combination would continue to accumulate. Even if a new blueprint wasn't developed, the experience wouldn't be returned, so it was also called "gambling on blueprints."

This was the characteristic of the Mechanic system, which created the Mechanic system's ever-changing combat style and was also the root of its power in the later stages. It was also a bottomless pit that consumed experience.

Before he transmigrated, players had found thousands of combinations. With more than ten years of experience, Han Xiao had an impression of eighty or ninety percent of them. Choosing the Mechanic system gave him a huge advantage, which could minimize the weakness of the Mechanic system in the early stages. There were a few rare blueprints that were god-tier items in the early stages of the Mechanic system!

Of course, there was also a rarely used function—free creation, which was to create mechs according to the player's ideas. However, ninety-nine percent of the time, what was created was a pile of scrap metal. The success rate depended on the rationality of the idea, the quality of the materials, the level of professional knowledge, specialties, tools, and other aspects. Until the version before Han Xiao transmigrated, no player had developed the self-creation function perfectly. Even if they occasionally created a self-created mech, the effect was not as good as the blueprint mech. This function had always been regarded as a gimmick.

Professional upgrades had given him 19 potential points. Two skills at max level had given him 2 points, for a total of 21 potential points.

Han Xiao took out the professional knowledge book he had prepared long ago, took a deep breath, and invested his potential points.

[Do you want to spend 1 potential point to learn the Armed Branch Basic Mechanical Engineering?]

[Do you want to spend 1 potential point to learn the Armed Branch Basic Bionics?]

"Confirm!"

A large amount of knowledge poured into his mind. Han Xiao's head swelled, operating beyond its capacity, as if it was about to explode. The pain made his face twitch. It took a full ten minutes to alleviate.

Mechanical knowledge that he had never understood before was deeply imprinted in his mind.

Han Xiao then spent 2 potential points to raise Basic Mechanical Engineering and Basic Bionics to Lv2 respectively, increasing his mastery.

"These two level-2 basic mechanical knowledge combinations can develop six blueprints. The fusion experience of the same combination doubles each time. The first fusion of a basic combination costs 10,000 experience. 170,000 experience is enough for me to fuse four times. I must gamble that thing out in these four times!"

Han Xiao felt nervous and his palms were full of sweat. On the panel, he dragged Basic Mechanical Engineering Lv2 and Basic Bionics Lv2 together.

[Do you want to perform knowledge fusion (Basic Mechanical Engineering + Basic Bionics)? This fusion will consume 10,000 experience.]

Yes!

His brain was dizzy for a moment, and a brand new invention blueprint appeared out of thin air.

[Fusion successful. Congratulations on developing the Cloud Swallow Glider!]

"Not this!" Han Xiao clenched his fist and continued!

[...This fusion will consume 20,000 experience.]

[Fusion successful. Congratulations on developing the Bionic Prosthetic Limb!]

Damn it, even the most garbage blueprints have come out. It's not this either!

Again!

[...This fusion will consume 40,000 experience.]

[Fusion successful. Congratulations on developing the Light-Load Powered Arm!]

"Got it!"

Han Xiao excitedly slapped the table, knocking off a screw.

Ha, the light-load powered arm... This is what I wanted!

Half a year of accumulation was almost completely squandered.

——————

Name: Han Xiao

Race: Carbon-Based Human (Yellow)

Template: NPC (1.0 Public Beta Countdown: 182 days, 8 hours, 23 minutes)

Total Level: 20 (Advancement Not Completed)

Experience: 100,000

Sub-Profession: Civilian Lv1, Agent Lv9 (0/25000)

Main Profession: Beginner Mechanic Lv10 (Max, Job Advancement Mission Not Completed)

Health: 320/320

Stamina: 434/434

Attributes: Strength 21, Agility 17, Endurance 22, Intelligence 15, Mystery 1, Charisma 5, Luck 1

Free Attribute Points: 27

Strength: 120 [Lv3]

Lv1 (10) - [Strength +1, Agility +1, Endurance +1, Stamina Cap +20]

Lv2 (50) - [Strength +3, Agility +2, Endurance +3, Stamina Cap +50]

Lv3 (100) - [Strength +3, Agility +3, Endurance +5, Stamina Cap +100]

Energy Level: 48~55

Tier: F (Mortal)

[Compared to the weakest Esper, you're a big ant]

Specialties: High Focus, Low-Level Mental Resilience

Well-Trained - Extra 100 Base Health

Skills:

--Mechanic System: Intermediate Mechanical Affinity Lv3, Simple Repair Lv10 (Max), Simple Reinforcement Modification Lv10 (Max), Blueprint - Cloud Swallow Glider Lv1 (0/5000), Blueprint - Bionic Prosthetic Limb Lv1 (0/2000), Blueprint - Light-Load Powered Arm Lv1 (0/10000)

--Agent: Basic Combat Lv6 (0/16000) - Increases Unarmed Attack Power by 6%

Basic Shooting Lv6 (0/16000) - Increases Shooting Correction by 6%

Grappling Lv1 (0/3000) - Increases Parry Counter Rate by 3%, Unarmed Attack Power by 2%

Precision Shooting Lv1 (0/3000) - Increases Shooting Correction by 3%, Ranged Critical Rate by 2%

Potential Points: 17

Professional Knowledge Tree:

--Armed: Basic Assembly Lv1 (0/1)

Basic Mechanical Engineering Lv2 (0/1)

Basic Bionics Lv2 (0/1)

[17 Unlearned Items]

--Energy: [20 Unlearned Items]

--Control: [20 Unlearned Items]

Influence: 0

Legendary Status: 0

Equipment: None

——————

Half a year of accumulation, straight to level 20, skyrocketing combat power!

A total of twenty-seven free attribute points, Han Xiao spent five points to raise his Intelligence to twenty, meeting the manufacturing requirements of the Light-Load Powered Arm blueprint, and saved the rest to deal with emergencies.

The last link was to arm himself!

Looking at the mechanical parts all over the floor, Han Xiao chuckled.

"I'll tell you what it means to nurture a tiger and suffer the consequences!"

...

(Cherish the attribute panel, it won't appear again for a long time)

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