Chapter 1 A Luxurious Cell

Han Xiao had been living in a luxurious single cell for three days. He wasn't anxious at all; he had time to sort out his abilities and claim the skill upgrade card rewards.

Han Xiao looked at the panel. He had 90,000 experience points, some from tasks and killing enemies, and some from manufacturing guns for Tanuki some time ago.

Basic Combat was at Level 8. It would be most cost-effective to use a (Basic) Skill Upgrade Card to level it up once more. Han Xiao didn't hesitate, first raising Basic Combat to Level 9, and then choosing to claim the Skill Upgrade Card.

A card emitting a brass glow appeared in his hand out of thin air. With a thought, Han Xiao moved it, and the card turned into a stream of light, submerging into his brow.

His limbs and bones trembled, and a new force flowed through his muscles and bones. Han Xiao's spirit lifted, and he clearly felt his physical strength increase.

[【Basic Combat lv10 (max)】: Increases unarmed attack power by 10%, Strength +2, Endurance +1]

Many skills, when reaching a certain level, would have attribute bonuses.

After a character's level reached the maximum, they could still improve their combat power through skills. Each version of *Galaxy* had different level caps. A saying circulated in later versions: "Reaching max level is just the beginning."

[Your 【Basic Combat】 has reached the level cap. You have gained 1 Potential Point.]

Good, 16 Potential Points!

Han Xiao then spent some experience to raise 【Basic Shooting】 to lv8. With a little more than 20,000 experience left, he prepared to gamble on two blueprints.

Mechanics’ blueprints could be used in two ways: one was as their own trump card for combat, never to be revealed.

The other was for sale, accepting orders from others, and earning experience and money. Ordinary Mechanic players could only set up stalls to sell to other players, while large guilds and clubs controlled the opportunity to trade with NPCs.

But Han Xiao had no competitors and could get a head start. The blueprints he needed most for sale were for gaining manufacturing experience. Department 13 was a potential market, with great customer potential, and more opportunities than at the Germinal Organization base.

He remembered several blueprints that should sell well.

[Whether to perform Knowledge Fusion (Basic Weaponry + Basic Assembly), this fusion will consume 10,000 experience points.]

"Confirm."

[Fusion successful, congratulations on developing 【Folding Battle Blade】]

[Whether to perform Knowledge Fusion (Basic Weaponry + Basic Materials Encyclopedia), this fusion will consume 10,000 experience points.]

[Fusion successful, congratulations on developing 【High-Intensity Incendiary Ammunition】]

Han Xiao's eyes lit up. 【High-Intensity Incendiary Ammunition】 was the best invention he had envisioned. The ammunition was suitable for various carriers and was not difficult to manufacture. In his previous life in the game, ammunition items had the highest sales, and because it involved chemical knowledge, it was very difficult to copy, possessing innate confidentiality.

【Folding Battle Blade】, on the other hand, made Han Xiao feel complicated. This was a metal battle blade with a handguard on the handle, with distinct edges and a symmetrical rectangular shape. All of the 0.5 to 0.8 meter segmented blades were folded and hidden in the handle, making it portable and concealed. The blade could be ejected at any time during combat, controlled by a mechanism button on the handle. The advantage was its suddenness; it was essential for home travel, murder, and theft. It couldn't be said that this thing was bad, but the problem was, it was a standard equipment specifically for novices.

The Folding Battle Blade had low cost, low technical content, and was easy to copy. Even the confidentiality measures were ineffective. Any formal Mechanic could roughly understand the structure with just a glance, which was a bit embarrassing for Han Xiao.

It would be great if it was a ranged weapon. This kind of melee weapon without special effects wasn't very popular.

"One good, one bad, could it be that I am the legendary mixed-blood, with the bloodlines of a Non-Europeans and a Lucky Person intertwined?"

Fortunately, these two blueprints did not exist on Aquamarine Star. Han Xiao had many opportunities to operate. The theory learned by Mechanics was the same, but the applications were diverse. Just learning the basic theory did not mean one could manufacture all applications of that theory. Until the real world before Han Xiao's transmigration, there were still folk scientists creating new inventions every year. Leaving aside the practicality, at least there were many possibilities.

These two blueprints were the focus of Han Xiao's next work. He gained 600,000 experience points in half a year by assembling firearms at the Germinal Organization base. The opportunities in Star Dragon would definitely be more, and when he officially joined Department 13, it would be harvest time.

At this moment, a new prompt popped up on the panel.

[A-level mission 【Seeds Sleep in the Dust】, current progress 1.6%]

"Department 13 is taking action!"

Han Xiao's eyes flashed. The information he revealed to Department 13 about the three bases could be counted as indirect mission progress. 1.6% was not too little, but too much. He knew better than anyone the unfathomable power of the Germinal Organization. A branch base shouldn't logically reach 1.6% progress.

What Han Xiao didn't expect was that the attack on the branch base aroused the Germinal leader's suspicion of high-level members. This was the main event.

In his previous life, the conflict between Germinal and the six nations continued until the end of Version 1.0. If not counting the 2.0 [Disaster of Alienation], the results of the battle should have been a draw.

For a while, Germinal had been at a disadvantage. They were only one step away from destroying it, but the six nations flinched. This was all because of Germinal's trump card—the Dead Hand System.

This was a pre-set automated missile counterattack program. Once the organization faced collapse, the Germinal Organization would follow the established procedures, release all the missiles in storage, automatically strike the pre-set targets, and conduct a global cleansing. Even if the six nations could intercept 95% of them, the remaining missiles would still cause irreversible damage to the planet's ecology.

This was Germinal's last resort, to perish together.

Therefore, it was almost impossible for his mission to reach 100%... unless he could crack the Dead Hand System.

"The Dead Hand System is the trump card that Germinal exposed at the last moment. Although it prevented the organization from being destroyed, it also shook many Germinal members. The people who work for Germinal, first, want to take revenge on the six nations, and second, want to create a new regime following Germinal's ideas. When Germinal's trump card conflicts with its ideas, a large number of members will be lost. No one wants the world to be destroyed. If it can be exposed artificially..."

Han Xiao shook his head. This matter was still too far away, and he secretly suppressed it in his heart.

…

Before long, Feng Jun finally arrived and took Han Xiao to the interrogation room. It was still the intelligence minister who communicated with him.

"The information about the branch base has been confirmed to be correct. We believe in your sincerity in cooperation. The higher-ups have decided to accept you as a member of Department 13!"

Success! Han Xiao secretly breathed a sigh of relief. His connection with Old Man Gao was indeed effective. He wouldn't naively think that the higher-ups would unanimously agree to him joining Department 13. There must be an unspeakable transaction behind it.

"...The organization has decided to let you join the Secret Operations Division. You will be assigned to an action squad."

Han Xiao's expression became strange.

In the new era, countless elites and talents who had lost their countries were wandering outside. The intelligence agencies of the six nations relaxed the requirements for recruitment and began to hire members who were not from their own countries. However, the Secret Operations Division, this kind of trump card department, still had certain requirements for the loyalty of its members. Undoubtedly, it was Old Man Gao's operation again.

Does that old man think so highly of me?

Joining the Secret Operations Division was a good thing for him. There were many powerful figures inside that he could contact, and there were opportunities to go out. Those events and opportunities that happened outside Star Dragon could be intervened in, which was very important. Originally, according to Han Xiao's guess, if Department 13 restricted his freedom, he would defect immediately after the public beta, but now it seemed that there was no need to leave in a hurry.

A new prompt appeared on the panel.

[You have unlocked a new faction reputation!]

[Star Dragon National Land Strategic Defense Bureau has increased its favorability towards you by 300 points.]

[Star Dragon National Land Strategic Defense Bureau (Department 13): Neutral (300/1000) - [Level 1 Authority Member]]

A new faction relationship represented new opportunities, missions, events, and benefits. Faction relationships were divided into eight levels: Nemesis, Hatred, Hostile, Indifferent, Neutral, Friendly, Respect, Reverence.

Basically, the initial favorability of all new factions was [Indifferent]. 300 points of favorability reached Neutral. Generally, only at the [Friendly] level could resources be exchanged for favorability and contribution points.

Feng Jun took out a black mobile phone and handed it to Han Xiao. There was only his phone number on it. He coughed and said, "From today on, I will be your contact person. Don't turn it off."

"Oh, just an unimportant messenger, right?"

"Why does your wording always make me feel so uncomfortable?" Feng Jun was very helpless.

The black mobile phone had no decorations on the outside, and the operation interface was very simple. It only had the functions of making calls and sending and receiving messages. Han Xiao played with the mobile phone and asked, "Will it be tapped?"

"Don't worry, the line is specially encrypted."

The intelligence minister: "There is one more thing. We hope you can hand over the mechanical blueprints you know, including the lightweight powered arm and the robot you used to kill the Killer Bee squad."

Handing over the blueprints could increase faction contribution, but he needed to manufacture machinery to grow and upgrade. If he handed over the blueprints, and Department 13 learned them and used assembly lines to mass-produce them, there would be nothing for him to do.

What Han Xiao wanted was a cooperation method where others provided materials and he did the manufacturing.

Han Xiao shook his head and refused.

"What if agents privately order from me?"

"We don't care about that."

Getting this answer, Han Xiao smiled. It was good that they didn't care. All the agents of Department 13 were his potential customers.

There was a long way to go. The higher-ups of Department 13 wouldn't ruin the good cooperation with Han Xiao for one or two early-stage basic blueprints. They cared more about the intelligence of the Germinal Organization... at least the conservatives were rational. The hardliners who didn't like him, it was hard to say what they would do.

Another benefit of joining Department 13 was that Department 13 had a rich resource inventory, saving him the trouble of finding materials everywhere. He could buy a large number of parts and raw materials with money, as well as good things that were not generally available on the market.

After negotiating the cooperation, Han Xiao put on the black hood again and was led through winding corridors, took the elevator, and left headquarters.

(Was addicted to coding, almost forgot to update, sweat...)