Chapter 17 Basic Knowledge

[Basic Weaponry] contains the knowledge of basic firearm and cold weapon manufacturing, reducing the assembly times required to master basic firearm blueprints, and speeding up weapon manufacturing efficiency.

[Basic Materials Encyclopedia] is the core knowledge of the Armament branch. The basic attributes of mechanical equipment depend on raw materials. New-generation materials can even spark technological innovations, raising the overall quality of machinery by a grade. Many synthetic materials are prerequisites for advanced machinery.

[You have learned five basic skills of the Armament branch. You have comprehended the skills [Elementary Refinement] and [Overload]!]

[You have comprehended the blueprint [Robot – Ranger]!]

[Elementary Refinement] allows him to refine materials, increasing their grade. Skills with the words "Elementary" and "Simple" are usually the original versions of core class skills. The advanced version, [Molecular Refinement], can directly use ki to alter the properties of materials.

Materials, like equipment, are graded. The higher the quality, the higher the value. Materials of the same quality also vary in value. For example, a common raw material called Rock Iron costs thirteen Aquamarine coins per pound. After refinement, it becomes Obsidian Iron, worth forty-five Aquamarine coins per pound, both being grey quality.

Materials also have their own properties. For example, a metal suitable for energy transmission is not suitable for use as armor.

[Overload]: An active skill that consumes ki to temporarily increase a machine's power by 30-50%, greatly reducing its durability. For example, the Light-Armor Powered Arm Han Xiao once used could increase its attack and defense by 30-50% when using Overload. His 120 points of ki could only support it for about ten seconds, making it a burst skill.

Finally got an active skill! Han Xiao looked excited. The Mechanic class had very few active skills in the early stages. If he had possessed an active skill when escaping the Germination organization, he wouldn't have had to escape so pathetically.

[Robot – Ranger] is one of the easiest robot blueprints to obtain in the early game (at least for him). It's a low-end, multi-functional robot that can be equipped with various devices and machinery for combat, reconnaissance, defense, support, and even self-destruction. Its comprehensive nature means it lacks focus, but it has great modification potential. Han Xiao knew that many guilds used support-type Rangers for surveying and mining in their logistics production teams.

Some blueprints comprehended by Mechanics already exist, while others have not yet appeared, depending on the situation of each planet.

Gaining so many skills for just two potential points is a great deal!

Old Lu sauntered over, his face full of curiosity. "You've been looking excited since just now, what are you doing?"

Han Xiao glanced at Old Lu. "Don't you think you look out of place hanging around here?"

"Out of place? Why?" Old Lu looked down at his beach shorts and shook the bottle in his hand, belching with a drunken scent, not feeling anything was wrong at all.

Lu Qian heavily placed her welding gun down, her face flushed with sweat from the heatwave. She rolled her eyes behind her protective goggles and said in a stiff tone, "Working hours. Unrelated personnel, please stay as far away as possible."

"Stinky brat." Old Lu muttered, took a swig of his wine, and leisurely went out for a walk, living an extremely comfortable life.

"Boss, do you fix things here?"

No sooner had Old Lu left than a customer arrived. A middle-aged man walked in.

Han Xiao looked over and noticed that the middle-aged man was also looking at him. Their eyes met, and the middle-aged man turned his gaze away.

Han Xiao paused slightly, then lowered his gaze and noticed the middle-aged man's steady and powerful footsteps. He immediately understood something, his face remaining unchanged.

There was an eighty percent chance that this person was an intelligence officer from Bureau 13, specifically sent to test him.

Lu Qian greeted him with a polite smile for customers, "Hello, what do you need to have fixed?"

"My car broke down, just at the intersection." The middle-aged man's gaze passed over Lu Qian, observing Han Xiao.

"Okay, no problem." Lu Qian prepared to pick up her toolbox to go out. The middle-aged man suddenly pointed at Han Xiao and said, "I'd like that young man to fix my car."

Lu Qian was stunned, feeling somewhat dejected. Did she look like her skills weren't up to par? You're discriminating against women!

"I'll do it." Han Xiao took the toolbox from the resentful Lu Qian.

The two walked out of the alley together. An old sedan was parked by the roadside.

"This is the car."

Han Xiao opened the hood and, after taking a brief look, took out the repair tools from the toolbox and began to repair the car.

The middle-aged man leaned against the car, pretending to find a topic to chat about, and asked, "Young man, you're not very old, are you?"

"I'm thirty."

Thirty? Do you think I'm blind! The middle-aged man almost choked, his lips twitching. "How should I address you, young man?"

Han Xiao didn't even look up. "Before asking someone's name, you need to show some sincerity."

The middle-aged man had no choice but to say, "My name is Feng Jun."

"A good name." Han Xiao's tone was calm, completely devoid of any hint of praise.

Feng Jun felt a headache. What was with this tone that sounded like he was praising "Lucky" or "Wealthy"? Besides, what's so good about my name?

"But you misunderstood what I meant," Han Xiao rolled his eyes, "I just wanted a cigarette."

Feng Jun's face stiffened. He lit a cigarette for Han Xiao.

Han Xiao squinted his eyes, the cigarette dangling from his mouth, and buried himself in repairing the car. "You can call me Han Xiao."

Feng Jun secretly memorized it and continued to probe, "Han Xiao, you're not from West Capital, are you? Where are you from..."

"Fixed."

The words Feng Jun had prepared were all choked back into his stomach, his expression resembling constipation.

What the hell? My probing had only just begun! Did your skills have to be so damn good!

Han Xiao expressionlessly held out his hand. "The hydraulic hose was broken, that'll be sixty. Pay up."

Nonsense, of course I know it was the hydraulic hose, that's what I did myself!

Feng Jun forced a smile and took out his wallet, taking out the money as slowly as possible, as if the wallet was a bottomless pit, trying to delay for time to ask a few more questions. "Your skills are really good, where did you learn them?"

"Self-taught."

"Oh, that's really impressive. Where are you from?"

"From the countryside."

"..."

Han Xiao saw that Feng Jun had been fumbling for a long time and raised his eyebrows. "Are you reminding me that I should give you a discount?"

Feng Jun coughed awkwardly and finally took out the money and handed it to Han Xiao. What else could he do? He couldn't just not pay, and he didn't know if the organization would reimburse him.

Han Xiao chuckled. "It's the first time I've seen such an unfathomable wallet, I thought you were going to take half an hour."

Feng Jun could swear to the heavens that if it wasn't to complete the probing mission, he'd consider it a loss to stay another second.

Han Xiao whistled, picked up his toolbox, and swaggered back the way he came.

Feng Jun made a depressed phone call. "Preliminary observation results, the target is a Mechanic, his level of danger is currently impossible to assess. The conversation lasted four minutes and thirty-eight seconds. All that was learned was that the target calls himself Han Xiao. I recommend further probing and investigation, and to avoid any conflict with him."

"Target personality analysis? Hmm... extremely unpleasant!"

Feng Jun's tone was full of gnashed teeth.