Faction 'Mechanical Hunters'

Day 2

A nuclear-powered helicopter descended from the sky, and Xiao Huang excitedly rushed out of the cabin.

"Where's Senior Engineer? Where's your Advisor Gao? He took down two A-level radioactive beasts in a row, eliminated that terrorist leader, and captured their flagship. That was a brilliant victory!"

"It is all thanks to General Xiao Tong's command that we have been able to achieve such remarkable results," said Director Du, who was picking up the passengers at the airport, with a calm expression.

Xiao Huang paused, glanced around, and asked, "Where is Advisor Gao?"

"You've come at a bad time; he just left."

Looking at the sparsely populated camp, Xiao Huang blinked. "Where are the others?"

"Some of them were taking care of the wounded, while others were clearing out the remaining animal herds in the city."

"Clear the beast herds. The urban area is gone, so where are the beast herds?" Xiao Huang scratched his head, a sudden inspiration flashing in his mind.

"They weren't there to clear out the animal herds; they were there to collect biological materials."

Du Zhaodi glanced at the other person in surprise, as if to say, "How could someone like you think of something like this?"

Xiao Huang rolled his eyes and said, "I may be a playboy, but I'm not stupid. The reason those biotech companies disagree with your proposal is precisely because the metropolitan area can produce a large quantity of rare biological materials."

Xiao Huang suddenly paused for a moment, then cursed, "Damn, I didn't realize it until you mentioned it, but if you calculate it like this, how much profit will you make by cleaning up one metropolitan area after another?"

Du Zhaodi did not respond, but instead handed over a list, saying, "These are the supplies we lost in resisting the beast tide. Please have General Xiao Tong reimburse us."

Xiao Huang took it, glanced at it, and almost choked on his own saliva.

"Damn, did you guys add a few extra zeros?"

"The amount of these supplies is enough to build not just one oasis, but ten."

"Please pass this on to General Xiao Tong."

"Submitting it is no problem, but whether it will be approved is another matter."

As they were talking, a girl in blue walked over, carrying a stack of documents. Du Zhaodi took the documents and signed them one by one.

Xiao Huang sized up the girl in front of him, mainly noting her blue work uniform, and asked curiously, "Are you from the factory?"

"Bean Sprout, my former secretary, a logistics member at the Equipment Research Institute," Du Zhaodi said without looking up.

With its semi-bionic modifications, near-transparent skin, and large, anime-girl-like eyes, Xiao Huang stroked his chin. "A secretary-type android? Is this a prototype? It doesn't seem to have any special functions."

"Prototype my ass! I have an excretion function, do you want to try it?" Bean Sprout uttered an uncivilized remark, rolled her eyes, and left with the documents.

"Bean Sprout is the girl I'm in charge of; she just underwent cybernetic enhancements."

While signing the documents, Du Zhaodi said, "We have a lot of work to do, including negotiations with factories, cooperation with large enterprises, and the relocation of new equipment. We can't entertain you, young master. If you want to see Engineer Gao, he will be back in three days. If there's nothing else, just go do what you need to do."

As a member of the Xiao family and the younger brother of a major general, it had been a long time since anyone had treated him so rudely.

However, Xiao Tong was not angry. As a mechanical engineering committee member who was currently very popular, the other party had the right to do so.

"It's nothing major, just that some family members have come and want to meet with the senior engineer."

Du Zhaodi paused slightly with her pen. Others might not know, but she certainly did: the senior engineer's identity as a "descendant of the empire" was a complete fake.

"Then why didn't he come?"

"He and my brother went to another place, where Advisor Gao will meet them."

Seeing Xiao Tong's lewd expression, it was clear that his private parts were not proper, Du Zhaodi's face turned cold.

"He has something to do and can't go."

"You can't refuse," Xiao Tong said cheerfully, pulling out a purple-gold invitation card. "This is an invitation from the Lieutenant General, inviting our Advisor Gao to Sky City to participate in the medal awarding ceremony."

On an abandoned highway, an armored monster was charging forward at breakneck speed. The armored vehicle, weighing several tons, managed to reach a speed of 500 km/h. On the rear of the monster, four nitrogen jets the size of washbasins were spewing flames, making it seem as if the speed was about to reach an even higher level.

Huang Yuanli's face turned from red to green, then to purple. She pounded the back of the driver's seat and yelled, "Damn it, slow down! I'm going to throw up!"

Amidst the roar of the engine, Ironhide didn't hear a word the other person said; at that moment, he was filled with excitement.

"Boss, are you serious? Are you really confident you can turn me into that Autobot?"

"Well, you can choose your favorite sports car or tank later, and I'll give you a full makeover. By the way, I personally recommend Bumblebee."

Professor Han calmly said, "While mechanical modification isn't my forte, if you want your human form to be complete without missing limbs, you'd better drive slower."

"Oh."

The tinplate finally behaved itself.

Professor Han took a deep breath, suppressing the churning sensation in his stomach, before looking at Huang Yuanli with some disdain, and said, "Why did you call her here?"

Huang Yuanli was feeling carsick and didn't have the strength to argue, so she gave the other person the middle finger in a friendly manner.

The senior engineer ignored the two of them and instead looked at the timetable on the system panel. After 24 hours, the settlement of the beast tide was finally about to be released.

Just as the timer reset to zero, a notification sounded indicating that the mission was complete.

[Statistics complete]

[Reward 1: During the Frenzy mission, the Mechanical Hunter faction killed a total of 2 A-grade Radiated Beasts, 34 B-grade Radiated Beasts, and 423...]

[Total 2.85 million experience points]

[Reward 2: Experience +45000, Regional Reputation +10000, Mechanical Puzzle Fragment *1, Specialization Points *2, Skill Points *5, Lottery Chances *5]

[Reward 3: The host has obtained the 'Legendary Hunter' template; faction establishment successful]

The senior engineer immediately opened the faction panel.

[You have established the "Mechanical Hunter" faction]

[Registration successful for both career paths]

[Mechanical Hunter: A combat class that hunts prey by implanting mechanical modules and modifying cybernetic bodies. They have a damage bonus against non-humanoid creatures. Class level cap: 30]

[BioHunter: A combat profession that hunts prey by transplanting organisms and implanting biological weapons. They have a damage bonus against non-humanoid creatures. Class cap: 30]

[You have obtained the faction-exclusive building: Mechanical Weapon Modification Hall]

[You have obtained the faction-exclusive building: Bioweapon Modification Hall]

[Please proceed with the faction location selection as soon as possible.]

The construction of "High-Tech Buildings" increases faction experience and reputation.

Acquiring "Large Technology Blueprints" increases faction experience.

Selling faction items increases faction experience and reputation.

Expanding your faction's influence increases faction experience and reputation.

The addition of high-level characters increases faction reputation.

[Changing the 'historical storyline' can...]

These faction quests were incredibly varied, and I completed over thirty of them, including the rank advancement quest for the founder, Senior Engineer.

The senior engineer clicked on the "Faction Experience" section.

Faction Experience: This experience can be used to build faction power, but cannot be used to increase the host's level.

Current experience points: 0

You can't grind for levels, but you can gamble on blueprints and grind for knowledge; that's how senior engineers understand it.

As for 'faction reputation'—

Faction Reputation: Increasing reputation helps to enhance the attractiveness of a faction.

Current reputation value: 15950

Hmm, the reputation value number looks familiar. Isn't this my own region's reputation?

In this newly formed camp of emotions, I am the only leading figure.

Or is it that the faction selection process hasn't taken place yet, and high-level support characters like Professor Han and Director Du haven't officially joined?

It should be the latter.

[You have obtained task posting privileges]

[The task is posted to an NPC and may offer rewards such as bonuses, equipment, and job titles.]

[The task is posted to players and offers rewards such as experience, reputation, favorability, bonuses, and equipment.]

What's a little money?

The players are all my brothers. How can you talk about money with your own brothers?

The senior engineer stroked his chin.

After the Mountain's death, those powerful colonists were all alone and helpless; I could have easily taken them in.

And those imperial workers in New Steel City—I, as a 'descendant of the empire,' can provide for their old age.

I know the whereabouts of those reclusive masters who survived World War II.

In an instant, countless ideas for expanding the camp popped into Gao Gong's mind.

This is also very helpful in improving one's own strength.

Putting everything else aside, just by establishing a faction, you gain a "Legendary Hunter Template" for yourself, with three very useful additional effects.

Legendary Hunter (Faction Exclusive):

Hunter's Master: Increases the damage of all hunter-specific skills by 40% and reduces skill cooldown by 30%.

Mechanical Eyes: The eyes of a mechanical hunter, enabling them to more easily find the weaknesses of mechanical beings; weakness attack +45%.

Weapon Affinity: Weapon affinity +100%. All weapons are designed for hunting, and as a legendary hunter, you can easily master the use of various weapons.

The bonuses from the "Legendary Hunter Template" are far greater than those from the "Commander Template," essentially granting three advanced stat boosts.

The senior engineer was thrilled after glancing at the increased experience and skill points.

Then, after glancing at the four-digit rejection number, the senior engineer quickly regained his composure.

At this point, whether it's upgrading, adding points, or human body modification, it will cause a surge of rejection.

Let's just bear with it for now.

The pre-war research institute was located in a remote, uninhabited mountain forest. After the car drove to the last stretch of road, even the armored vehicle could not be driven in. The metal sheet could only be left on the car to wait, and the three of them got out and walked.

"Hey, you perverted consultant, you're injured now. What kind of mutated monster are you going to encounter? Can you handle it?"

Looking at the deep, dark no-man's-land, the young woman swallowed hard and whispered.

"Of course it can't hold on anymore, otherwise why would I have called you over?"

"Me?!" The young woman's eyes widened. "You couldn't even handle it, do you think I could?"

The senior engineer suddenly smiled strangely. "Since you're already here, aren't you going to come out and say hello? Don't you want to go home?"

Huang Yuanli stared wide-eyed, looking around, but there wasn't a soul in sight, not even a ghost.

Just as she was feeling a chill run down her spine, a tremendous spiritual power erupted from her body, and the substantial spiritual fluctuations swept away all the ghosts and spirits around her.

Huang Yuanli's eyes rolled back as she calmly said, "It's been a long time, Mr. Gao, Researcher Han."