Chapter 1 A Frown

Trust takes time to build. Zhang Wei seemed aggressive, but it also proved that he was a captain who took his responsibilities seriously. Han Xiao naturally wouldn't be angry.

But it was impossible to kick him out of the team. Zhang Wei couldn't even get past the higher-ups.

Zhang Wei knew he couldn't easily refute the higher-ups' decision, but as a captain, he had to take responsibility for leading the team. The higher-ups had parachuted in a newcomer with no experience and hadn't even given him any information about him, leaving him with almost no understanding of Han Xiao. How was he supposed to lead the team like that?

Zhang Wei's anger wasn't because his position as captain was being challenged, but because he felt that the higher-ups didn't care about the safety of their team.

A parachuted newcomer, if lacking in ability, could easily make wrong decisions, leading the team into danger. Even if it was unintentional, they would still be a black sheep.

Zhang Wei didn't discriminate against newcomers, but he believed that newcomers needed at least two or three years of training before they were qualified to join the Secret Operations Department. He didn't want to take newcomers on missions.

They were stuffing all sorts of people into his team. What did they think his team was, a daycare?!

They simply didn't care about the safety of their subordinates. Corrupt privileged class, take this Salty Fish Thrust! (an internet meme)

Zhang Wei secretly decided that if Han Xiao couldn't fit into the team, he would kick Han Xiao out of the team, even if it meant incurring the displeasure of the higher-ups. If all else failed, he would pass the buck to another team!

Han Xiao wasn't aware of Zhang Wei's mental journey. He only noticed that Zhang Wei's gaze was becoming increasingly unfriendly. He didn't know what this seemingly upright and unyielding captain was imagining, but he had a feeling that he had screwed someone over again…

At this moment, Lin Yao's computer lit up. He turned his neck with difficulty to take a look, his expression changing as he said, "Emergency mission! The higher-ups want us to leave immediately!"

Zhang Wei's expression turned serious, "Specifics?"

"Ma Qingyang's team was ambushed while carrying out a raid on a Germination base. The higher-ups want us to go and provide support immediately. We'll talk about the details on the plane."

Raid on a Germination base? Han Xiao was stunned. That's right, this was the information about the three bases he had provided earlier. After a little thought, he roughly guessed what had happened.

The locations of the three Germination bases he provided were all within Star-Long territory, so Star-Long was able to mobilize troops for a surprise attack in a short period of time. The Thirteenth Bureau had already destroyed two Germination bases within the country, bringing his mission progress to 2.0%. Germination would have to be stupid not to realize that the information had been leaked. They were prepared and set up an ambush at the third base.

Zhang Wei hurriedly walked out, pausing beside Han Xiao and frowning, "Lin Yao, you stay and take over the logistics position. Han Xiao, you're a newcomer, this is a rare opportunity. Study hard on the side and strive to be useful as soon as possible."

Lin Yao hesitated, but Han Xiao smiled and said indifferently, "Alright."

Zhang Wei didn't participate in the Black Spider operation. He wouldn't trust Han Xiao based solely on Li Ya Lin's excited description. That was only human nature, and Han Xiao could understand it. He secretly sighed, who asked him to be such an understanding man.

Han Xiao thought for a moment, stopped Li Ya Lin, and took out four magazines filled with high-explosive bullets, saying, "Consider this my friendly sponsorship."

Li Ya Lin's eyes lit up, "Is this your new invention?"

"Use them sparingly." Han Xiao chuckled, his tone full of mystery, "They'll catch fire."

…

[You have triggered E-level mission [Rescue].]

[Mission Content: Rescue the Secret Operations Team being pursued. Your duty is to assist your teammates in completing this mission.]

[Mission Requirements: Successfully rescue Ma Qingyang's team.]

[Mission Reward: 8000 experience]

[Special Reward: None]

Eight thousand experience, better than nothing. Another reward at the level of logistics.

"Xiao-ge, the captain isn't deliberately targeting you, don't take it to heart." Lin Yao said cautiously.

"I know."

Hearing Han Xiao's natural tone, Lin Yao felt relieved. He opened three computers and quickly tapped on the keyboard, adjusting to the same frequency as Li Ya Lin's three miniature cameras and miniature earpieces. The sound and images appeared simultaneously. The screen showed the first-person perspective of the three people. The team had already boarded the plane.

Headquarters had an exclusive underground railway that could quickly transport personnel to the airfield on the outskirts of the city.

The three of them boarded the fighter jet, accompanied by a fully armed twelve-person field team. Han Xiao, Li Ya Lin, and Lin Yao chatted idly, while Zhang Wei and Lambert didn't join in, closing their eyes to rest.

An hour later, the fighter jet landed, arriving at the target location.

…

The scene was a desolate desert, with bare hills stretching as far as the eye could see, like the raised vertebrae of the earth. The sun radiated heat in the azure sky, and the air shimmered and distorted in the high temperature. The ground covered with yellow sand was like a scorching iron, kissing the soldiers' combat boots and emitting a faint burnt smell.

"Arrived at the location." Zhang Wei reported in a deep voice.

The three of them were fully armed. Li Ya Lin was still wearing her yellow hooded sweatshirt and black bulletproof tights, with a folding combat knife at her waist and a black backpack carrying lightweight power arms.

Lambert carried dozens of folding throwing knives, as well as a long-barreled, large-caliber sniper rifle.

Zhang Wei's weapon surprised Han Xiao. It was a set of powered armor!

The whole body was covered with thick, gray-black armor, with obvious scratches. The head was like a heavy helmet of a Western ancient knight, with only the eye slits exposed. The arm armor was equipped with pendant rails, carrying two modified, thick, linked machine guns. The bullet chains were hidden under the armor, and the replacement position was on the outside of the thigh, tightly covered. A hexagonal steel giant shield was hung on his back, like a turtle shell. The whole person was a big iron lump, thick and heavy. The style was very simple. It was clear that this guy was an MT (main tank) through and through.

Han Xiao became interested, "This is the prototype of the [Warbringer Armor], one of the few basic powered armors in the Hailan Star 1.0 version."

The Six Nations controlled different advanced knowledge and developed different characteristic weapons, which were the so-called faction specialties.

Tylos focused on the development of powered armor. The [Warbringer Armor] was a fully enclosed small-scale single-soldier powered armor developed by Tylos after the public beta had been running for some time. It was the first powered armor to appear on Hailan Star. It shouldn't have been fully developed yet. Zhang Wei was only wearing the prototype. He didn't know how he got his hands on Tylos's equipment. There might be something going on.

Players had to reach the [Respected] relationship with the Tylos faction to purchase this powered armor, and the price was extremely expensive. The maintenance costs after each battle alone would cost tens of thousands. Players didn't have Han Xiao's speed of making money.

As the team's logistics officer, responsible for equipment supply and maintenance, Zhang Wei's armor would be repaired by him in the future.

As long as there were no confidentiality measures, a Mechanic could reverse-engineer the drawings from the actual object, which was divided into two situations.

First, if he had already learned the prerequisite knowledge of the drawing, the deduction progress would be greatly accelerated, and the experience consumed in understanding the drawing would be within an acceptable range.

In the second case, if he had not learned the prerequisite knowledge of the drawing, he could also deduce the drawing, but the progress would be as slow as a snail, and the required experience would be astronomical, often dozens of times more. The drawings obtained were usually marked with suffixes such as "incomplete" and "incomplete", and the effect was far inferior to that of formal drawings.

The prerequisite knowledge of the [Warbringer Armor] was the advanced knowledge of another armed branch, which was in the hands of Tylos.

Han Xiao bit his nails. If he could deduce the armor drawings, even if they were incomplete, he could obtain new combat methods. The improvement of individual combat power by armor was extremely significant.

But after thinking about it, he suppressed the idea. With his memory, he could fuse better mechanical drawings and adapt to various needs. It was not cost-effective to spend a lot of experience to deduce an incomplete armor drawing.

Lin Yao said, "The team asking for help is thirteen kilometers away. The pursuing enemies have a total of fifteen armored off-road vehicles and a Black Harrier helicopter. The gathering point is tentatively set on a hill three kilometers away from you. It's a commanding height. Your mission is to intercept the pursuers and provide support for your teammates. Don't get bogged down in battle. I've already sent the gathering point to them. Get ready."

The orders were clear and organized. The so-called bystanders see clearly, this was the work of the logistics intelligence personnel, coordinating the overall situation and quickly formulating suitable strategies for combat personnel to refer to.

The three of them and the field team quickly arrived at the designated location, lay down behind the hill, and waited for the enemy to appear.

Soon, the roar of engines came from afar. On the empty desert plain, more than a dozen armored vehicles of the Germination organization were chasing and intercepting a vehicle. The sound of machine guns and grenade explosions never stopped. The fire of the explosions chased the fleeing vehicle all the way, blasting out dirt pits and smoke filled the air.

The fleeing vehicle was Ma Qingyang's team.

"Stand by!" Zhang Wei said in a serious tone, staring intently at the shortening distance. Only when they entered the range did he decisively say, "Fire!"

The field team hiding behind the hill spat out a rain of steel bullets, the muzzle flames erupting. The overwhelming bullets hit the armor plates of the pursuing vehicles, scattering countless sparks, with a constant clanging sound.

Encountering the surprise attack, the leading pursuing vehicles hurriedly turned to avoid the frontal attack, almost rolling over at high speed.

ps: Thank you to Silent Fortress and Reading for Health for the rewards!