Chapter 1 But Han the Technician Never Does a Losing Business

However, Han the Great Technician never does a losing business. His asking price is very high, and most players cannot afford his equipment. He immediately thought of the weapon rental business, renting out his weapons for a steady stream of income and small profits but quick turnover.

However, Han Xiao quickly dismissed the idea.

"If the players damage the weapons, I'll be at a loss. Maybe some players will even hack my equipment. Until I can guarantee that the weapons can be returned intact, the rental business is not mature," Han Xiao thought.

Intense gunfire rang out in the West District underground nest, along with muffled explosions that shook the surface. The ground trembled slightly, and dust billowed.

While the players were hunting the Shadow Predator Vipers, the Dark Web people were not idle either. Based on the images from the detectors, they sketched out a map of the underground nest and delineated the nest area on the surface.

"Your Excellency, the Shadow Predator Vipers have habits somewhat similar to ant colonies. The nest is intricate and can be roughly divided into two parts: the core area and the activity area. The activity area occupies ninety-five percent of the area, while the core area is still being searched for and its location has not yet been determined," Huang Yu said.

Han Xiao nodded. If he wasn't mistaken, the Shadow Predator Viper Beast King would be in the core area.

The Beast King was estimated to be between level 50 and 60 and should have a Boss template. This was a difference in level, and the current players could not overwhelm it even with a zerg rush. He had to deal with it himself. Once he found the core area, he would be ready to take action.

The nest was the Shadow Predator Vipers' home field. On the first day, the players advanced in a scattered manner, and their progress was very slow. Most players were beaten to the point of doubting their lives. Facing high-level monsters for the first time, the tender hearts of the newbie players were ravaged.

Han Xiao didn't keep his eyes on the West District all the time. This was just an interlude in the construction of the shelter. He inspected the construction of other areas, fulfilled his responsibilities as the person in charge, and then returned to the workshop to continue manufacturing machinery.

The job change requirement was five pieces of purple equipment. Now, the composite magnetic chain splitting blade, the Iron Fist - mounted heavy mechanical arm, and the small mobile device could stably produce deep blue quality equipment. As long as he performed exceptionally well, he could make purple equipment.

Failed products (not yet purple equipment) filled up half a room.

Only Han Xiao, with his abundant assets, dared to burn money like this.

…

In the evening, players finally came to visit.

Bi Kong You You brought a group of guild members to express their intention to purchase equipment.

At this time, a large number of players lived in the shelter, which almost had the appearance of a main city. Players could be seen everywhere forming teams to do missions, and many Mechanic players set up stalls to provide maintenance, manufacturing, and enhancement services. Feng Yue would sometimes go to set up a stall to pass the time.

These Mechanic players obtained some low-end mechanical blueprints through knowledge synthesis, each with its own characteristics. Among them, gunpowder firearms were the most common.

The Mechanic players who set up stalls asked for very low prices, so most players who were not very rich were willing to patronize their business, but Han Xiao disdained to do this kind of low-level manual labor. For him, it was a waste of time. His time was worth hundreds of thousands per minute, and he took the high-end route. The quality of his products far exceeded that of the players, and he also had various blueprints that the players did not have.

No one could replace him, so there was no competition for business.

"Want to buy equipment?" Han Xiao put down the parts in his hand.

Bi Kong You You nodded hurriedly.

Sky Domain had accepted the prize pool mission and hoped to obtain a high ranking, but other major guilds had come to the shelter in the past few days, all of whom were strong competitors. Therefore, Bi Kong You You wanted to find another way and purchase Black Phantom's equipment.

When the public beta had just started, Bi Kong You You bought a light-duty powered arm, and even now, it was still his main weapon, so he had great confidence in Han Xiao's products.

Han Xiao pondered. In order to cooperate with the players whose strength was growing day by day, he put up some new machinery. Han the Great Technician now had 230 million experience points on his panel, which was a completely astronomical figure, so he was very confident. He spent some experience to gamble for many new blueprints, and his inventory was full of varieties.

After thinking about it, he also put the Iron Fist - mounted heavy mechanical arm and the small mobile device on the store interface. These two kinds of machinery had accumulated many failed products (blue equipment), and he couldn't use them himself, so he took the opportunity to dispose of them and make the best use of waste.

However, he didn't sell the composite magnetic chain splitting blade. This thing could barely be regarded as one of the early-stage artifacts, and Han Xiao didn't want to sell it to players casually.

As soon as the store interface opened, the people of Sky Domain gasped in surprise. The dazzling array of goods made their hearts beat wildly, and everyone's eyes lit up.

"God, the lowest is green equipment, and there's even blue equipment. I've never seen it before."

"I want them all!"

Bi Kong You You stared at the heavy mechanical arm without blinking, his heart burning. This thing was stronger than the light-duty mechanical arm and could greatly improve his strength.

Looking at the price, 120,000!

"So expensive!" Bi Kong You You's face twitched. Although the guild had money, 120,000 was not a small amount. It could buy dozens of guns and several large boxes of ammunition.

After hesitating for a while, Bi Kong You You's expression became firm, and he decided to buy it. He believed it would be worth the money!

The major guild had money. This time, they purchased equipment worth a total of 300,000 and distributed it to the core team to grind the prize pool mission.

Han Xiao made money and also disposed of some accumulated machinery that was useless to him. This deal was very profitable for him.

In these machines, he set up confidentiality measures. The Mechanic players who were only in their teens and twenties now would only have a chance to break through his confidentiality in their dreams. It was impossible to leak the blueprints, so Han Xiao sold them with peace of mind.

Mastering the source of technology was equivalent to industrial monopoly, becoming an oligopoly, with no other branches, and generating the greatest profit.

Dudu——

Bi Kong You You had just left when Kuang Dao and the others returned with new discoveries.

"We detected a very high concentration of radiation, almost reaching the peak value of the meter." Feng Yue handed the instrument to Han Xiao.

Han Xiao was slightly surprised. The radiation concentration in the nest was so high that long-term life in a high-concentration radiation area would cause biological mutations, which could be malignant or benign, depending on the type of organism and its own habits. Powerful animals had high resistance, and the mutations were more likely to be benign.

In that case, this Shadow Predator Viper group should have a variant similar to an elite monster, Han Xiao thought.

"We also found the source of the radiation, which is these things."

Kuang Dao took out a bag of blue crystals and spread them on the table. The inside of the crystals was filled with foggy and ice-cracked patterns, which looked very turbid. When the blue crystals were illuminated by the light, they emitted a hazy halo, which was somewhat gorgeous and psychedelic.

[Unknown Crystal: A crystal formed for unknown reasons, containing a high concentration of radiation]

When the instrument was close to the crystal, the radiation value obviously rose, which was indeed the source of radiation.

Han Xiao put on gloves, picked up a crystal the size of a finger, examined it carefully, and asked, "Where did you find it?"

"The walls in the depths of the nest," Hao Tian replied succinctly.

Kuang Dao added, "These crystals are embedded in the walls. If we hadn't scraped off a layer of mucus during the battle, we wouldn't have discovered them. Moreover, the deeper we go, the denser these crystals become, and the more monsters there are. We couldn't go deep, so we came back early."

The crystal had its own temperature, and even through the gloves, it made his fingers feel warm. This finally solved one of his questions: the Shadow Predator Vipers liked heat, but they settled here because this crystal provided heat.

Han Xiao beckoned to Kuang Dao.

Kuang Dao did not doubt him and approached. Han Xiao suddenly made a shocking move, pinching Kuang Dao's cheek, stuffing the crystal into his mouth, and then covering his mouth tightly to prevent him from spitting it out.

"Swallow it."

"Ugh ugh ugh——" Kuang Dao looked surprised, struggled hard, but couldn't break free from Han Xiao's iron-like hands. He moved his throat and swallowed the crystal. The three people next to him were stunned.

"Any reaction?" Han Xiao stared at him intently.

Kuang Dao took a breath, his face resentful. He sighed resignedly, touched his chest, and then glanced at the panel.

[You swallowed a high-concentration radiation crystal (unrefined). Detected race: Human. Endurance below 50. No related skills... You have entered the [Radiation Damage] state!]

[Radiation Damage: Maximum health and stamina reduced to 33%, all attributes reduced by 50%, lasts for two hours. (Can be restored in advance with related drugs)]

Kuang Dao told the truth. Players who couldn't die were the best test subjects. Han Xiao gave Kuang Dao a big experience bonus as a reward and nodded, "Thank you for your hard work."

Seeing the experience points coming in, Kuang Dao's spirits lifted, and he felt comfortable. He even savored the feeling just now, looked at the remaining crystals on the table, and secretly pondered, "Will I get more experience if I eat them all... The taste is quite similar to jelly beans."

Seeing Kuang Dao's expression, Han Xiao knew what he was thinking. He smiled and shook his head, put away the crystals, and dispelled Kuang Dao's thoughts.

He roughly knew the function of the crystal. Refining this kind of radiation crystal could condense it into crystal-like solid energy, pollution-free and additive-free, turning it into clean energy.

Han Xiao's mind became active. There were many such crystals in the nest. He could use [Primary Refining] to refine them, turning them into reserve energy, and as long as he made an energy converter, this kind of energy crystal could adapt to various machines, which was of considerable value.

Crystal energy was used the most in magical civilizations, and it occasionally appeared in technological civilizations. To put it in a more fashionable way, this kind of clean energy crystal could also be called "attribute-less magic crystal," "magic guide stone," "magic crystal," etc. Magicians used magical techniques to extract crystal energy to replenish their own magic power, or use it as a casting material, with various uses.

"The density of the crystals should be the indication to the core of the nest." Han Xiao's heart moved, and he immediately called Huang Yu over.

After explaining this matter, Huang Yu immediately marked an area on the drawn nest map based on the new clues.

"There is a ninety percent chance that this is the core area." Huang Yu pointed at the map, confidently.

"Very good."

Han Xiao nodded.

It's time to take action!

…

In the middle of the night, players who didn't need sleep were still fighting in the nest.

The prize pool mission motivated the players. Even without the mission, ganging up to kill Shadow Predator Vipers would yield considerable experience for killing monsters above their level.

The current ranking showed that Sky Domain was in first place!

"Hurry, hurry, three tanks pull the monster, main tank and off tank retreat!"

"Martial Arts players, get close and output!"

"Esper team, give it your all, last a little longer! If you're out of energy, go to the side to recover first!"

"Mechanic players, don't get close, stand far away and output from a distance!"

"Those carrying beast eggs, move quickly, don't get hit by the aftermath."

The people of Sky Domain were ganging up on a Shadow Predator Viper, treating it as a Boss. Bi Kong You You commanded, shouting and yelling, fighting with great passion. The core team cooperated tacitly and in an orderly manner.

The mucus in the nest would reduce the speed of the players. Although it was the Shadow Predator Viper's home field, in the face of the Sky Domain core team, which was experienced in fighting Bosses, it was like a fish in a net. It rushed left and right, but no matter how it jumped, it could not break through the encirclement, and its health steadily decreased.

"Execute range, execute range! All output!"

Various attacks landed on the Shadow Predator Viper's body, its carapace cracked, and mucus splattered.

Bi Kong You You strode forward, wearing a heavy mechanical arm several times thicker than his arm on the right half of his upper body, activating the mechanical arm's own skills.

The motor roared, and the vents all spewed out scorching steam. The steel fist was like a catapult launch, hitting the Shadow Predator Viper's head heavily. At the same time, Bi Kong You You let out a passionate roar!

"Hiyah! Powered Iron Fist!"