Chapter 1 The Beginning

Lu Qian left after cleaning the room.

Lying on the bed, Han Xiao comfortably squinted, relaxing his body and mind, waiting for the Thirteenth Bureau to come knocking.

"My strength is still not enough."

Han Xiao knew very well that if he wanted to deal with Germination, borrowing power was just a shortcut. What he really relied on was his own strength. And if he wanted the Thirteenth Bureau to take notice, he also needed strength.

Currently, there aren't many opportunities to do quests or grind monsters, so he's left with technical work. Manufacturing machinery requires money, so it's imperative to find some side work. Xidu has many opportunities. Turning them into his own strength will be a long and arduous road. As a classic song goes, Zhang Guolao, hoofs facing west, carrying Sha Wujing, followed by the Calabash Brothers, going west to obtain the scriptures, a journey of tens of thousands of miles.

There are still six months until the public beta, and before that, he must be prepared.

...

After cleaning up the room, Han Xiao returned to the first floor. Lu Qian was working at the lathe, repairing some household appliance. Her round, firm buttocks were wrapped in hot pants, revealing a pair of straight, fair, long legs, which made him involuntarily take a few extra glances.

Lu Qian wiped the sweat with a towel and said, "The orders are all in the drawer."

The repair shop's business was slow, and most of the orders were backlogged. Han Xiao casually chose an easy one and started working at the lathe.

The repair shop closed at seven in the evening.

Lu Qian changed into a white long dress and let down her hair, which had been tied up. Her black and shiny long hair fell over her shoulders, making her even more approachable and gentle, with an older sister-like aura. There were signs of mending on the dress, which showed that she wasn't very well-off. Han Xiao couldn't help but wonder if Lu Qian wore such revealing clothes when working to save on fabric.

Old Man Lu didn't appear until dinner time. He had locked himself in his room all day, not knowing what he was doing.

"Dinner's ready."

Old Man Lu, with his carefree bald head and long hair, didn't look like someone who did housework. Lu Qian took care of all the cooking.

Han Xiao's eyes lit up as he put a piece of braised pork in his mouth, which was fatty but not greasy, and full of savory flavor.

"Delicious, isn't it?" Lu Qian smiled.

Han Xiao didn't have time to answer, his mouth was completely occupied.

This is what food is supposed to be! What have I been eating for the past six months?

"There's plenty more, take your time." Lu Qian was very happy that her cooking skills were recognized, and kept putting food on his plate.

After eating for a while, Old Man Lu suddenly spoke, "What's your background?"

Han Xiao paused as he picked up food. "I'm just an ordinary person."

"How could such a clumsy lie deceive me? Boy, tell me the truth." Old Man Lu chuckled coldly, stroking his bald head and combing his long hair, looking exactly like a hairy hard-boiled egg.

Han Xiao raised an eyebrow. "What if I don't?"

"Don't?"

Old Man Lu raised his voice and suddenly flicked his hair, shaking the heavens and earth, displaying the unrestrainedness of a heavy metal band guitarist, the boldness of someone who would never stop drinking, and a large amount of loneliness and sorrow fluttered towards Han Xiao.

What a dangerous scene of snow falling over the motherland's vast landscape! Han Xiao's eyes narrowed, and he quickly spun around, jumping five meters away, crossing his arms in a defensive stance, waiting in full battle readiness.

Old Man Lu narrowed his eyes. "Good Kung Fu. Could it be the legendary Ballet Steps of the Four Old Black Geese?"

"You have good eyes."

"Hmph, nothing more than that. I also have a move called White Dandruff Three Thousand Zhang, instant death to those touched, soul broken to those who come into contact, do you dare to take this move of mine?" Old Man Lu slightly curled two fingers, holding his long hair, as if holding a weapon, calm and steady, with the air of a grandmaster.

"Such a divine skill exists in the world?" Han Xiao's face changed.

"My realm is beyond your understanding."

Old Man Lu chuckled.

Lu Qian had a friendly smile on her face, and a dark cloud of lightning condensed behind her, like a manifestation of heaven and earth. She tapped the table lightly with her chopsticks and said calmly, "Sit down and eat."

The two returned to their original positions in the blink of an eye, with calm expressions, as if nothing had happened.

...

Xidu has a vast area, divided into eight districts and three satellite cities, interconnected by military railways.

District One is the central core area of the city, where all government office buildings are located, and no citizens are allowed to enter.

There are undercurrents between the six nations. Although the Germination Organization is a common enemy, the six nations also compete with each other. No one has absolute allies. Assassinations against senior officials of various countries have never stopped. Although the assassinations are openly blamed on the Germination Organization and certain super criminals, the intelligence agencies of various countries know very well that at least 70 percent of the assassinations are the work of other countries.

Intelligence agencies of various countries, the Germination Organization, vagrant warlords, arms dealers, information peddlers, super criminals, assassin organizations, hackers, and other desperadoes constitute the underground world of this planet.

The Dragon Horn Building is the core government institution of Star-Long, where the highest-level leaders work. In theory, the outer wall of the Dragon Horn Building can withstand intercontinental missiles, so the bigwigs of Star-Long don't have to worry about a missile hitting them while they are in a meeting.

And underground of the Dragon Horn is the headquarters of secret departments.

...

Dragon Horn Building, underground, unmarked floor on the elevator.

Headquarters of the Star-Long National Strategic Defense Bureau.

Dozens of huge black screens hung on the walls, a huge amount of matrix data flashed by, the sound of typing on the keyboard was continuous, and countless intelligence personnel came and went, busy and busy, like gears on a machine, maintaining the operation of this intelligence agency, simply known as "Thirteenth Bureau". Countless pieces of intelligence, large and small, gathered and were processed here, and then sent to the departments where they should go.

The Thirteenth Bureau is Star-Long's eyes and ears, a sharp knife hidden in its sleeve.

"Report, Minister, 'Zero's' whereabouts have been located."

A quiet female secretary with glasses hurriedly knocked on the door of the Intelligence Department Minister's office, only to see the Intelligence Minister sitting behind his desk with a serious face, with shiny water stains on the corner of his mouth. He said in a deep voice, "Speak."

"Minister, were you slacking off and napping just now?" The female secretary with glasses narrowed her eyes.

"Nonsense!" The Intelligence Minister glared. "Get to the point."

"Zero is currently hiding in a mechanical repair shop in the Seventh District."

The Intelligence Minister turned his chair around, pondered for a while, and then turned back, saying seriously, "The higher-ups want gentle contact."

"Did you turn around to wipe your drool just now?"

"I really regret promoting you..."

The female secretary with glasses pushed up her glasses, and a light flashed across the lenses. "How exactly should we implement this?"

"Since Zero came to Xidu alone, the subtext is that he is seeking protection and has already shown his intention to cooperate... Prepare for both possibilities. Adopt the informant protection program, and don't let Germination's spies in Xidu know of his existence. Have the hacker department intercept all messages mentioning Zero's whereabouts, and don't let any information leak out online. At the same time, send people to probe in secret to see if he is a spy deliberately sent by Germination. Don't make contact rashly until it's confirmed."

"There are two possibilities for a Germination defector worth a million. First, he has some key information. Second, he has formidable strength. His dangerousness is difficult to assess. We must not alert the enemy. I don't want to blow up two streets like the last operation to capture Black Spider, and still fail, and get scolded by the director for two hours."