Chapter 182 Mutated Heart

The White Lion King suddenly leaped up, using a skill to pounce.

The wind pressure bore down from above, but Han Xiao's expression didn't change. He aimed his arm at the sky and activated the repulsive field driver. An invisible wave of repulsive force shot from his wrist, and the White Lion King was instead lifted up into the air, landing heavily and kicking up dust.

Han Xiao activated many modules, and the mech's energy value slowly decreased.

After countless punches landed on the White Lion King, its health dropped to about thirty percent. The White Lion King roared at the sky, and its skin turned blood red all over, entering an even more violent berserk state. In player terms, it had entered the second phase, and Han Xiao felt the pressure suddenly increase.

"It's best not to fight head-on in a berserk state." Han Xiao chose to avoid its sharp edge, retreating into the distance. Being able to fight and run was his combat style.

The White Lion King chased for a while before slowing down, its movements showing signs of fatigue.

At this moment, [Willpower Burning] finished cooling down. Han Xiao directly picked up the Ghost Gauss Sniper Rifle and fired a shot at the mutated White Lion King's remaining good eye.

This time, he achieved the highest multiplier since obtaining [Willpower Burning]: 4.1 times!

Yes!

With one shot, the remaining eyeball burst open. The White Lion King suffered a heavy blow, fell into the dust, unable to move, with only a few hundred health points remaining.

"Got it!" Han Xiao exhaled, feeling invigorated. The Viper-Modified's performance was even more powerful than he imagined, compensating for the Mechanic's shortcomings in physical attributes, providing more security in close combat, and being very comprehensive.

The Viper-Modified was the cornerstone of the second tactical plan. Just like the sniper build slowly taking shape, the mech also needed to be continuously improved with new modules, and it was only a prototype for now. This battle was a practical test, and Han Xiao was secretly analyzing the mech's modification tendencies in his mind. There was room for improvement in ranged, melee, and stealth capabilities.

Han Xiao finished off the White Lion King and took out his folding combat knife, digging out the mutated White Lion King's heart, the size of a basketball, covered in dense, cyan-purple blood vessels, and as hot as a ball of fire.

[You have obtained the special item [Mutated Heart] x1]

[You have triggered the mission [Virus Research]!]

[Mission Introduction: The beasts in this area have been infected with the death-transformation virus. Some organizations need sufficiently powerful samples for research, and yes, I'm talking about the heart you're holding.]

[Mission Requirement: Hand over the [Mutated Heart] to the Louis Biological Research Institute within seven days.]

[Reward: Death-Transformation Virus Potion x1]

This mission was an additional reward triggered by the heart. Handing over the heart would grant a potion that permanently increased attributes, with a chance to awaken a rare talent.

In his previous life, whenever a Beast King Boss spawned in the Loper region, it would be hunted and killed by players within a few hours because the potions made from the death-transformation virus were reusable, and large guilds always dominated the area to farm this item.

Louis Biological Research Institute was a publicly known, large-scale private biological research institute where players could exchange all sorts of strange materials for equally strange potions. They publicly sold some potions and were located in Red Maple.

Han Xiao took out the prepared liquid nitrogen metal box and put the lion's heart inside. At that moment, he heard footsteps. Yang Dian and Nid hesitantly walked up.

"Thank you for your help." Yang Dian curiously sized up the Viper-Modified's mask, but unfortunately, he couldn't see Han Xiao's face.

Han Xiao didn't speak, checking his ammunition and armor on his own. Then, he got up and left. The smell of blood here would attract beasts, and he needed to quickly find a place to rest.

The two were a little embarrassed and exchanged a glance, understanding each other's intentions. They hurriedly caught up with Han Xiao, first introducing themselves, then saying hopefully, "We came to the Loper Forbidden Zone to rescue an exploration team. They went deep into the area to solve the virus problem and are now missing. We hope you can help us."

[You have triggered a D-grade mission [Rescue the Exploration Team]. Do you accept?]

"Decline."

Han Xiao waved his hand, adjusting his tone to a synthesized electronic voice, saying hoarsely, "Don't bother me."

Rescuing people would definitely involve crossing the Forbidden Zone with ordinary people who lacked combat power. The success rate was too low. Every second spent in the Forbidden Zone increased the danger. Han Xiao's only goal was the mutated heart, and since the established goal had already been completed, there was no need to create unnecessary complications and waste time. He didn't want to be led around by a mission.

Nid said anxiously, "They're in danger because they're trying to solve the disaster. How can we just stand by and watch them die!"

Han Xiao directly activated his hover boots and left, making his intentions very clear: You guys do whatever you want, just don't drag me into it.

The two watched Han Xiao leave, looking helpless.

Not everyone was as enthusiastic as they were. They understood this, and could only regret losing a powerful helper.

...

Leaving the Loper Forbidden Zone, Han Xiao returned to the transport plane parked far away from the Forbidden Zone, took off the mech, and breathed a sigh of relief.

The Viper-Modified had excellent performance, and he was very satisfied with the results of the field test.

The plane took off. The next stop was Red Maple, to contact the Louis Research Institute, exchange the heart for a potion, and also do the intimidation mission. The Blood Pact Society's contact person was also in Red Maple.

Han Xiao looked at the mission briefing on the computer.

"My contact persons are two assassins. Huh, this name is a bit familiar, Golden Fox? I think I've seen it somewhere."

Han Xiao raised an eyebrow but didn't take it to heart. He opened the forum; the players' issues were his current focus.

There were still two novice villages left to visit in the West Continent. The newbies there were eagerly waiting. The average player was almost level ten. In his previous life, at this stage, they had already started leaving the novice villages on a large scale, exploring the map everywhere. But because of Han Xiao's existence, some players obediently stayed in the novice villages, waiting for Han Xiao to grace them with his presence.

This feeling was especially great. His actions indirectly influenced the players' behavior, thanks to his reputation-building efforts during this period, giving him some influence in the player community.

Looking at the forum, some new posts caught his attention. Most of the people posting were players from the Andia Continent, complaining.

"Asking for help, why is the Germinal Organization capturing people in the novice villages?"

"I've been brainwashed, my faction relationship is locked, and even my favorability is gone. How could this happen!"

"An NPC dissected me and even asked about my origins..."

"Me too!"

"Is this a sudden plot development, but I didn't get a panel notification."

Players had recorded the Germinal Organization's actions in capturing players in the novice villages. Fully armed Germinal soldiers were handcuffing the players one by one. Some players resisted, and the Germinal soldiers directly opened fire with tranquilizer guns.

A bunch of players were handcuffed and sitting in a crowded carriage. They could only see the outside world through the bars of the carriage windows, like a scene from a prison drama.

Then, these players were taken to various Germinal bases. On the Andia Continent, the Germinal's bases were not as secretive as the branch bases on the other three continents. Each of the headquarters' bases was very large, conspicuous, and heavily guarded.

The land on the Andia Continent was barren and brownish-yellow. If one could look down from a satellite's perspective, they would see the Germinal bases as black areas distributed across the yellow land, like patches of infection. This desolate continent was filled with radiation and dust, devoid of life. Germinal occupied many old national ruins, inheriting many facilities, including former military forbidden zones.

"The Esper incident has begun." Han Xiao's eyes flashed. He had also experienced this event in his previous life, which had sparked widespread discussion among players and was the hottest topic at the time, bar none.

The NPCs' curiosity about the players was the core attraction of Galaxy. The players' existence itself was part of the plot, and each novice planet showed different attitudes toward the players. And now, the signs of this event were appearing earliest on Planet Aquamarine.

In the past, he had watched the excitement as a player, but now, with a different perspective, Han Xiao felt he could see some other things.

"I made Germinal lose all their branch bases. Fewer players will join their faction. I guess Germinal realizes how much they've lost." Just thinking about the leader's frustrated expression made him feel very happy.

Opening the computer, Han Xiao browsed the intelligence on the dark web. The players' existence had been noticed by more forces. The native inhabitants of Planet Aquamarine were amazed by these uninvited guests.

"I estimate the Six Nations will take action soon. In that case, the expedition war will be delayed for a while, but it's still much earlier than in my previous life."

Han Xiao narrowed his eyes. The war starting early had both advantages and disadvantages for him. The advantage was that the players hadn't grown up yet, and the Six Nations and Germinal would break out into a head-on conflict. The players' role would be greatly weakened, reducing unexpected factors. With the Six Nations' unburdened strength, as long as the players didn't mess things up, they could beat Germinal easily.

Because of his meddling, the Six Nations and Germinal's main conflict storyline would soon begin its climax before the players had the ability to participate in the plot.