Chapter 148 Star Sea Mechanic

The 【Star Sea Mechanic】 had already entered the advanced stage of the Mechanic class. At this level, one could already be called a master. The level cap for this stage was increased by 5 levels, with a maximum level of 25. According to Han Xiao's memories, in his previous life, most Mechanic players entered Grade A during the "Star Sea Mechanic" stage.

The new class was called "Star Sea Mechanic", and the machines they created were even more powerful, with applications ranging from small scenes to intergalactic warfare, becoming more sophisticated and cutting-edge.

Specifically, the enhancement allowed them to create more powerful mechanical weapons. For example, Herlous was a Star Sea Mechanic, and the Planet Destroyer Giant Soldier was a blueprint he developed during the "Star Sea Mechanic" stage, which eventually benefited Han Xiao.

From the player's perspective, this enhancement was reflected in the blueprint fusion. Transferring to "Star Sea Mechanic" was a prerequisite for higher-level blueprints, and the combination of previous knowledge would unlock more blueprints.

In terms of skills, "Star Sea Mechanic" would strengthen the specialized focus chosen in the previous stage, greatly enhancing Han Xiao's virtual technology. Relevant skills and specializations were strengthened, and he also gained two new virtual technology skills.

【Ultra-Fast Virtual Intrusion】 was self-explanatory, greatly increasing the intrusion speed at the cost of shortening the permission retention time.

And 【Quantum Network Matrix】 was a core skill with two effects. The first was a greatly increased intrusion range.

Range was an important attribute of virtual technology. Face-to-face intrusion and intrusion across an entire galaxy were obviously completely different realms. The quantum network was ubiquitous, and the level of virtual technology determined the extent to which a mechanic could utilize the quantum network. Han Xiao's range had greatly increased, but there was still a large gap before he reached the terrifying range of a galactic scale.

Super-A Grade Mechanics like 【Machinery Country】 Mannison possessed this kind of terrifying range, allowing them to intrude and strike across galaxies, even across star clusters.

The second effect of this skill was a virtual intrusion version of "splash damage."

For example, if the target of the intrusion were two independent intelligences, but both were exchanging data and information in real-time, then intruding into one of the intelligences would create an indirect intrusion effect through their information exchange, similar to the mechanism of a computer spreading viruses. This was equivalent to an AoE-type virtual intrusion attack, but the difficulty of judging the indirect intrusion would be higher.

As for 【Master-Level Mechanical Affinity】, there was no need to say much. When maxed out, it would grant a +75% effect to Mechanical Affinity, a practical skill.

The final 【Mechanical Theory Summary】 was a specialization. Like 【Mechanical Analysis Comprehension】, this ability was one of the core skills of the Mechanic class. The effect was also to convert Intelligence into Mechanical Affinity, with a conversion ratio of 30 Intelligence = 2.2% Mechanical Affinity.

As the main class continued to rise, the increase in strength from the core attributes of the class became more and more significant, which was why Han Xiao had been adding all his points to Intelligence.

"Level 146..."

Han Xiao thought for a moment and didn't continue to level up. He maxed out the new skills he had obtained and saved the remaining billions of experience points.

Class advancement was a watershed, so it would significantly increase combat power, but the benefits of leveling up next were not high. Reaching level 160 required a huge amount of experience, and the current stock on hand was far from enough. It was better to save it for upgrading skills and getting more potential points. What he lacked the most now was potential points, only a single digit remained.

With his physical strength full and his energy abundant, a torrent of strength flowed through his body. Han Xiao could feel his own significant changes. His perception was clearer, and when he gently stroked the compression orb, his mind subconsciously displayed the structure of the machinery. His understanding of machinery was even deeper.

After feeling it for a while, Han Xiao left the training room contentedly. Only then did he see the message sent by Herlous, inviting him to attend a pre-war meeting to discuss how to deal with the underground aliens.

Han Xiao couldn't help but shake his head.

The Sunilians hired the Black Star Army to eliminate the underground aliens, and they must have already had a rough plan. Rather than a discussion, it was more like the Sunilians were introducing their plan.

...

Han Xiao arrived at the army camp conference room. Even through the door, he could hear the intense arguments inside. When he opened the door and walked in, everyone looked over, and the discussion stopped abruptly. The Sunilian high-level officials stood up to greet him, and Herlous and Schelinder were also here.

Han Xiao coughed with his fist to his mouth and asked, "How's the discussion going?"

"Your Excellency Black Star, we are all waiting for you to make a decision."

A bald Sunilian high-level official spoke respectfully. Han Xiao thought for a moment and remembered that this high-level official was called Okitz, and he was the right-hand man of the Sunilian leader, holding a very high position.

"I'm just the executor, only responsible for specific actions. The overall strategic direction is your hiring requirement, and it's not up to me to decide." Han Xiao waved his hand. As a mercenary, he didn't like overstepping his bounds.

"Oh... okay, then I'll talk about the strategic goals. Eliminate the underground aliens, or reduce their numbers to a safe level, at least enough for us to safely destroy the underground Whispering Stone veins. Currently, there are three ideas for dealing with them..."

Okitz opened the projection and explained in detail:

"The first option is to send troops into the underground to destroy the nests of the underground aliens one by one. This option will consume a lot of manpower, and casualties will be difficult to estimate, because the underground is their home field. We can't let go and will encounter various difficulties, such as getting lost, cave-ins, and so on. It is considered a lower strategy."

"Second, lure the aliens to the surface on a large scale, and then use warships, missiles, and other weapons of war to carpet bomb them, which is more efficient in killing. One can eliminate tens of millions of aliens at a time, but how to lure them out is a problem, and it's best not to use nuclear weapons. We don't want to cause too much pollution."

"The last option is to capture some underground aliens alive, study their body structure, and develop special biochemical weapons to be released underground. There's no need to fight to kill the aliens on a large scale, but the research and development difficulty, cost, and time are all problems. There is too much uncertainty."

Just then, Han Xiao's panel suddenly moved:

[You have triggered a Grade A Faction Mission: 【Eliminate Underground Aliens】!]

[Mission Introduction: In the underground of Sunilan Star, there live ancient species. They are the natives of this planet, but they have become enemies that hinder the continuation of Sunilan. You have accepted the request of the Sunilians to completely solve this hidden danger.]

[Hint: This mission is a faction series mission. You can complete the following requirements in this mission.]

[Research Sample i: Capture 1 underground alien alive, reward 20,000 experience.]

[Research Sample 2: Capture 10 underground aliens alive, reward 200,000 experience.]

[Research Sample 3: Capture 50 underground aliens alive, reward 1,000,000 experience.]

[Slayer i: Kill 10 underground aliens, reward 50,000 experience.]

...

[Slayer v: Kill 1000 underground aliens, reward 5,000,000 experience.]

[Vein Destroyer (repeatable): Every time you destroy a Whispering Stone vein, reward 200,000 experience.]

[Remaining 8 targets...【Expand/Collapse】]

[After the mission is over, it will be scored based on the number of targets completed and performance, giving additional rewards.]

"A new Grade A mission?"

Han Xiao's heart stirred. This should be the main storyline of Sunilan. When the official action begins, players will be able to trigger it as well.

Different planets had their own main storylines, so Han Xiao had always attached great importance to the benefits of npC resource locations, borrowing chickens to lay eggs, and making up for the Black Star Army's own "storyline." Not only were there employment missions, but also main storyline missions that came with the plot itself. The rewards were very generous, a double dose of happiness.

Everyone stared at Han Xiao, and Herlous interjected, "Black Star, which plan do we execute?"

Han Xiao came back to his senses, tapped the table with his fingers, thought for a moment, and said, "Use them all."

Okitz had a happy look on his face and nodded repeatedly, "This is the best. We Sunilians will also send troops to fight alongside the Black Star Army."

After discussing the details of the plan for a while, the consensus of the crowd was to first capture some underground aliens alive and study their bodies.

The sooner this work was done, the better. Han Xiao didn't delay. After the pre-war meeting, he took Herlous and Schelinder on a spaceship to the entrance of one of the underground alien nests.

The three of them were powerful and didn't worry about risks. They were the most efficient, so Han Xiao didn't bring any players. If the task of capturing alive wasn't so troublesome, he would rather act alone.

The spaceship quickly arrived at the location, which was an excavation site with many drilling machines. There was a huge cave, dark and deep, extending into the underground, unfathomable.

This was originally a mine for mining underground Whispering Stone veins, but it became the first site to discover underground aliens. At this time, a large number of Sunilian armored soldiers were stationed here, sealing off the cave, because they had limited knowledge of the underground aliens. This was to prevent the underground aliens from rushing to the surface.

The spaceship landed, and Han Xiao informed the camp commander, who welcomed the three of them in. The patrolling soldiers cast respectful gazes.

It was late at night, and the sky was pitch black. Only the lighting equipment of the camp was releasing strong light. The three stood at the edge of the cave, poking their heads down to look, but the strong light could not penetrate the unfathomable darkness.

Han Xiao was about to go down when Herlous suddenly spoke, his tone complicated, "Black Star, do you... think this is dishonorable?"

"Oh?" Han Xiao stopped, turned to look at Herlous, "You mean dealing with the underground aliens?"

"Yes." Herlous' tone was apprehensive.

The appearance of underground aliens had changed the nature of the matter. No one had thought that they would discover the native race of Sunilan Star. The Sunilians were outsiders, and if they wanted to solve the disaster, they had to deal with these underground alien natives. In another sense, this became an invasion.

Without the help of the Black Star Army, Sunilan would not have the ability to deal with the underground aliens and could only live together in fear. But with Black Star, Sunilan had the confidence to eliminate the other party.

Based on the comparison of the combat power of both sides, it was predictable that once the war started, it would evolve into a unilateral massacre of the underground aliens.

Herlous was a Sunilian. He stood on the side of Sunilan. Even if this matter was not so honorable, he had to do it for the future of the race. But Black Star was different.

Black Star's hometown, Hailan Star, had been invaded by DarkStar, and the situation was similar to that of the underground aliens. They were both victims of being bullied by higher civilizations at will. Would Black Star stand on the side of the underground aliens and be dissatisfied with the actions of the Sunilians?

Herlous was very worried about this and wanted to know Han Xiao's thoughts.