Through the headlights, Han Xiao saw the enemy's armed forces, all armored vehicles rushing towards them, followed by running gunners, manpower and vehicles working in unison.
The next moment, the mercenaries in the manor opened fire. The heavy machine guns roared, firing incessantly, the flashes of the muzzles becoming a striking light in the darkness. Han Xiao glanced at them and felt relieved; the enemy's numbers and firepower were average, and they couldn't break through the mercenaries' machine gun blockade.
"Bang!" Han Xiao heard the sound of a Sniping rifle coming from the central bunker. The Venomous Bee Brothers had made their move, with two highly accurate Sniping rifles positioned in the center.
Han Xiao looked at the area he was responsible for. It was a small area with tricky angles, and only those who had slipped through the net would dare to sneak in. Just then, an enemy squad invaded. He set up his Red Falcon, aimed, and fired Spindle-Shaped Piercing Bullet pierced the necks of the enemies one by one, exploding into clouds of blood mist.
The bearded man, still uneasy about Han Xiao's abilities, glanced at him a few times. Seeing that Han Xiao was hitting his target almost every time, he was secretly surprised and realized that he didn't need to worry about this Mr. Black. So he stopped looking back and confidently handed the other area over to Han Xiao.
The battle lasted for half an hour before it ended. The enemy suffered heavy losses and couldn't even advance within two hundred meters of the manor. Han Xiao killed a total of nine enemies.
[First stage completed, you have gained 20,000 experience points]
[Task requirements changed]
[Second stage mission requirements: Defend the River Valley Manor, time limit: three days]
[Reward: 80,000 experience points]
"The first wave was too easy, and the mission experience seemed a bit low, but the increase is still pretty good."
Han Xiao stroked his chin. "The first ring is 20,000, the second is 80,000, and at this rate, the third ring might be 320,000, and the fourth ring would be over a million... Stop it, this is a dream."
To be honest, the third ring road should have over 150,000.
The second step would take three days, Han Xiao felt was a bit of a waste of time. Suddenly, he had a change of heart and thought that he could stay here and generate income. The mercenaries' mechanics brought equipment and lathes, which he could borrow and use to repair the equipment for the mercenaries for free.
He was a man of action, so he immediately went to the logistics area and found the repairmen. Most of these people were pseudo-mechanics who had learned repair as a side job, and there were only two genuine Mechanic Class superhumans.
"You want to help us with repairs?" one of the repairmen asked, looking surprised. "Are you a mechanic?"
Han Xiao proved it with his actions. He picked up a pistol from the workbench, disassembled it in no time, and then reassembled it like magic. The whole process was completed in one go, taking no more than two seconds. He was no longer the novice who used to take forty seconds to assemble a pistol. With the enhancement of various abilities, his speed in manufacturing and assembling machinery had exceeded that of ordinary people.
The repairmen agreed without hesitation, some even eager to get started.
Repairing is hard and tiring, and it's all unpaid work, yet someone actually volunteered to do the hard labor. The repairman couldn't be more eager to dump all the work on this suddenly appearing official mechanic.
Early morning, before dawn.
Chen Li carried a damaged machine gun to the logistics area and asked a familiar mechanic to repair it.
"Wang Xi, help me fix this machine gun."
Wang Xi, a thin middle-aged man wearing a vest, was resting with his eyes closed. Upon hearing this, he opened his eyes, glanced at Chen Li, and said casually, "Just put it there. I'll fix it when I have time."
"Please hurry, we might need it during the day."
Wang Xi said impatiently, "Alright, I'll fix it for you in a bit."
Chen Li walked away helplessly. Although Wang Xi had a bad temper, she was a true Mechanic Class superhuman with excellent skills. In order to prevent the machine gun from being damaged again at a critical moment in the battle, he had no choice but to ask Wang Xi for help.
After Chen Li left, Wang Xi closed her eyes again and began to doze off.
About five minutes later, Wang Xi heard footsteps approaching again. She opened her eyes impatiently and found it was Chen Li again. She said angrily, "What's the rush? I'll fix it for you when the time comes. Don't bother me anymore."
Chen Li shook his head and said, "Give me back the machine gun, I'll find someone else to fix it."
Wang Xi frowned. Although he was annoyed by Chen Li's repeated interruptions, he didn't want the weapon to malfunction, especially since he was also at the manor. So he softened his tone and said, "If others aren't skilled enough, I'll start fixing it at dawn, okay?"
Unexpectedly, Chen Li insisted on getting the machine gun back, saying, "No need, that guy's skills are better than yours."
Wang Xi was immediately displeased upon hearing this. The logistics area was only so big; everyone knew each other. The other full-fledged mechanic wasn't as good as him, and those repairmen were even worse. Who were you trying to fool?
Under Chen Li's insistence, Wang Xi had no choice but to return the machine gun to Chen Li. Seeing Chen Li walk towards the other side of the logistics area, Wang Xi had an idea and followed him, wanting to see who the so-called mechanic who was better than him was.
Upon arriving at the location, Wang Xi was taken aback. He saw the group of lazy repairmen surrounding a man in black, staring intently at him with expressions of shock, envy, and eagerness to learn.
Wang Xi stared intently, then froze on the spot.
The man in black moved with the speed of a phantom, rapidly manipulating various devices and repairing multiple weapons simultaneously. His movements were fluid and terrifyingly smooth, requiring no pause or thought. Wang Xi had never seen such a technique before; it could only be performed by a mechanic of a higher rank than himself!
The repairmen initially intended to pass the buck and dumped all their work on Han Xiao, but Han Xiao started repairing, his lightning-fast techniques immediately captivated them all. They watched with rapt attention, eager to take notes on every step Han Xiao took, and many of the details provided them with tremendous inspiration.
If they have a control panel, a message like this will appear. "You observed Han Xiao (LV34) performing mechanical repairs and gained some insights; your repair skill proficiency has increased."
Another mechanic, whose skill level was similar to Wang Xi's, stood to the side, staring at Han Xiao with a look of fascination.
Wang Xi found Han Xiao's technique flawless; to be precise, his own skill level was insufficient to find Han Xiao's weaknesses. He felt frustrated and wanted to turn around and leave, but he unconsciously stopped, unable to control his desire to stay and continue watching Han Xiao's technique. He was torn between these two feelings.
Ignoring the ulterior motives of others, Han Xiao was engrossed in repairing, his experience points rapidly increasing. Level 1 Fine Repair was far more effective than Basic Repair; the two were not even in the same league. Basic weapons and machinery could be repaired quickly, and if it weren't for the relatively rudimentary equipment, the efficiency would be even higher.
For three consecutive days, Han Xiao spent his rest time fighting and repairing machinery. There were four waves of enemies attacking during those three days, including yachts, armored vehicles, and stealthy ambushes. A group of enemies wearing frogman suits tried to dive across the small river to the west, but they were spotted and killed by Sniping.
As the enemy's attacks intensified, by the fourth wave, Han Xiao sensed that the manor's guards were already overwhelmed. The accumulated fatigue from several days of high-intensity combat had finally surfaced, leading to mistakes and casualties.
The mercenaries' fierce fighting had little impact on Han Xiao. He focused on his small area, shooting and taking down people. He noticed that more and more "escaped fish" were invading the flanks, and the Venomous Bee Brothers were gradually showing their shortcomings.
Three days passed without incident, and as dawn broke, a notification appeared on the control panel.
[Second stage complete, you have gained 80,000 experience points]
"That's not bad. I reckon the third ring will really get tougher."
Han Xiao opened his eyes from a light sleep.
With the experience gained from the missions and the crafting and enemy-killing experience over the past three days, I've accumulated a total of 180,000 experience points, which is an acceptable rate.
[Task requirements changed]
[Third mission: Resist the next wave of attacks]
[Reward: 150,000 experience points]
"Wow, that really is 150,000."
Han Xiao muttered a complaint, noting that the task requirements made him sense something unusual.
The next wave of enemies will likely be very powerful; there's a 90% chance the mercenaries won't be able to hold them off.