The Thorn, with its menacing, Thorn -like appearance, traveled alone across the vast Ghost Wasteland, its cargo box towed behind it, looking top-heavy and out of place. The cargo box was filled with a large quantity of parts and materials worth millions, all of which were purchased in bulk by Han Xiao.
Han Xiao was the only one in the car. He drove while observing the coordinate radar, heading towards a ruined city called Gray Iron Ruins.
After completing the River Valley Manor mission, the Blood Pact Union's favorability increased significantly, jumping directly to Friendly. At this rate, as long as you continue doing missions, you can reliably achieve Legend Points before the official launch, and you can also complete the job change mission to obtain the [Night Stalker] class.
This secondary profession was relatively rare in version 1.0. Besides acquiring new skills, Han Xiao also planned to use it to reach level 40 and begin his Second Advancement quest. The main profession [Apprentice Mechanic] has a level cap of 15, and the experience required to level up increases significantly as you progress. Given the current efficiency of gaining experience, adding a secondary profession is a good choice and can also improve the combat system.
Before implementing his plan to deal with the Germinal, Han Xiao prepared to establish a secret base to store supplies and stockpile equipment, giving himself a way out.
Farrian is currently very reliable, but he likes to have a backup plan in case of conflict with Farrian someday. Although the possibility of this is very small, it is safer to rely on himself.
West Capital changes, especially interpersonal relationships. Brother Xiao has seen too many things like this, like his ex-girlfriends...
Alas, as long as you wield the hoe well, there's no corner you can't dig down. Since ancient times, deep affection has been fleeting, but cunning always wins hearts. If love had a color, it would surely be the color of forgiveness. Society is too restless; one careless step and things go wrong. It's all insignificant, utterly insignificant...
We're almost at the Gray Iron Ruins.
The reddish-brown earth resembled congealed dark red blood. The wheels rolled over the Hardening soil, producing a unique, muffled friction sound against the sand. Occasionally, through the car window, one could see some strangely shaped plants growing sparsely on the wasteland, desolate and barren.
In the distance, the outline of a city ruin appeared on the horizon.
The Gray Iron Ruins, a desolate city, where even wanderers refuse to live, and only insects and wild beasts survive.
This place was once the capital of a country, surrounded by lush plains. When war spread, the city became ruins, and the plains became the Ghost Wasteland we know today.
Civilization and wasteland are intertwined on this planet.
The world is constantly changing, for better or for worse.
Within these city ruins lies an abandoned base unknown to anyone, which is precisely Han Xiao's target.
Near the Gray Iron Ruins, the scene becomes even more desolate, with buildings covered in vines and streets blanketed in green moss, devoid of any human presence.
Several one-legged wall-jumping snakes leaped out from the middle of the road.
The sound of car engines awakened the life inhabiting this dead city. Insects crawled out from the cracks in the houses and roads, lay on the side of the street watching the cars rattle and whiz by, touched their compound eyes with their segmented limbs, and twitched their antennae.
To the south of the Gray Iron Ruins was a cluster of buildings that resembled a military base. The electrical wires were riddled with holes and there was no power. Most of the buildings inside had collapsed. Han Xiao drove in and parked outside a semi-circular armory bunker marked with a red "S-539". The bunker's door was just a gap, and dust floated in the air, making it somewhat pungent.
Stepping out of the car, Han Xiao took out the Unit-01 Spider and tossed it into the armory. He had modified the Unit-01 Spider's camera, giving it thermal and electromagnetic scanning capabilities, and it could also hear sounds. After spending half an hour using the Unit-01 Spider to thoroughly explore the bunker and confirm that there were no living creatures inside, he felt safe enough to go inside. He turned on his flashlight and groped his way to a room in the bunker. Finding a crack in the wall, he suddenly pulled it open, revealing the elevator shaft behind it.
The abandoned base he was looking for was located beneath the bunker.
Han Xiao knew this place very well; it was his base in his previous life, but unfortunately it was later taken over by a guild.
Back then, Brother Xiao was just a junior member, bullied by others who relied on their numbers. From today's perspective, he had this secret base with ready-made defenses. As long as he had energy, he wouldn't have been afraid of being attacked. He could only blame himself for being too incompetent back then.
The abandoned underground base was spacious enough, and had two emergency exits, but it was covered in cobwebs and dust.
"Let's call this place Gray Iron Base," Han Xiao suggested, offering a plausible name.
At this time, there was no power in the base, Han Xiao took out many self-powered flashlights to provide lighting, and then began the most crucial energy modification. The original cables of the Gray Iron Base were connected to the power plant in the military base, but now that the entire city was silent, the power plant had naturally stopped operating.
The power plant is located on the ground, some distance from the Gray Iron Base.
When Han Xiao arrived at the power plant, it was even more dilapidated, with many generators already scrapped. However, he didn't expect much from these old machines. He had known about this situation beforehand and had spent a lot of money to purchase a batch of solar generators from Farrian. They were currently stored in the cargo box. He took them out one by one and replaced some of the power plant's equipment. Then, he transferred the underground cable connecting to the Gray Iron Base to the brand-new solar generators.
Back at the Gray Iron Base, power was now available, and the lights came on, clearly revealing the entire base.
The base, long silent in darkness, has finally seen the light again.
The solar generator is clean, efficient, and discreet. Excess electricity generated during the day is stored in batteries, and its current power output can support the base's operation around the clock.
Han Xiao began cleaning the base, which was covered in dust and cobwebs. At that moment, he couldn't help but miss Lü Qian, who was skilled in housework. To be honest, he hadn't seen Lü Qian for a while and missed her cooking.
I left without saying goodbye, and I don't know how she reacted.
Recalling Old Man Lü had repeatedly tried to sell his granddaughter, Han Xiao couldn't help but smile.
After cleaning up, he unloaded the Thorn's supplies, categorizing and stacking the parts and materials in the warehouse. Water and canned food were placed in the refrigerator in the food storage room. With some experience, he directly upgraded [Basic Programming] to the maximum level of ten, modified the main control room, and created a chip program to manage the data of all the base's fortifications... Its specific function is like a work allocation panel in a simulation management game, facilitating energy allocation.
Over the next few days, Han Xiao was modifying the base, which gradually took shape. The warning devices included infrared and thermal detection, and the defensive fortifications included small machine gun arrays and piercing traps. The ground armory bunkers were also repaired, and the metal gates were fixed, making the Gray Iron Base even more secretive.
Most importantly, Han Xiao built three assistant-type Ranger!
Once the [Basic Programming] skill is maxed out, the Low-Level Intelligent Chip created can store simple operation blueprints, allowing robots to manufacture them. Connected to the base's main control system, it tirelessly manufactures ammunition and other machinery. Han Xiao himself also gains some experience, meaning he gains experience 24/7. One Ranger Assistant can contribute 2,000 to 4,000 experience points per day, so three can contribute nearly 10,000 experience points, which is quite stable.
The Gray Iron Base has limited energy resources, and the three assistant robots have reached their limit. The stockpiled parts and materials are only enough for the robot assistants to manufacture for ten days, so logistics cannot be interrupted. It just so happens that Han Xiao can take advantage of this time to go out and carry out assassination missions, forming a complete chain.
"In the early stages, if players want to build a base, they can only hire many mechanics to participate. Due to the lack of experience, each player's knowledge is biased and has shortcomings. However, my three branches of knowledge are upgraded simultaneously, so I can handle all the work by myself. However, the disadvantage is also obvious. My experience requirement is several times that of ordinary players. Fortunately, I have a way of making money." Han Xiao thought to himself.
Although the Gray Iron Base is small, it is fully equipped and looks brand new. Looking at the results of his work over the past few days, Han Xiao felt a sense of fulfillment.
"I can consider myself a man with a solid foundation now."
Having completed the base's modifications, the next step is to work on the Germinal. Even though we haven't provoked them recently, they've managed to grow a bit more. Han Xiao checked the destruction progress and, as expected, it had decreased by a fraction of a percent.
However, Han Xiao was not in a hurry at all. The reason he put this goal last was because he was no longer planning to be petty and take down the Germinal branch bases one by one.
He's about to do something big!
Han Xiao's plan was simple, yet very ambitious: to dump all the intelligence he knew about the Germinal branch bases on the Six Nations at once!
Crazy and deadly!
The Six Nations have long been hostile to Germinal. Once they seize Germinal's weakness, they will not let it go easily. If he takes such a crazy action, Germinal Organization will inevitably suffer a devastating blow, but at the same time, it will destabilize the entire Planet Aquamarine, and the original plot may be distorted...
But that's what makes it exciting!
Fear of changing the course of events is not the mindset of a strong person.
A world that never changes holds no fun for a chaos enthusiast!
Han Xiao clenched his fist, a surge of powerful energy flowing through his body, and a confident beat resounding in his chest.
"I am no longer the weakling who first arrived on Planet Aquamarine, constantly hesitant and fearful. I now possess enough strength to contend with most of the planet's enemies."
Strength is the foundation of confidence; forbearance is for the day when we no longer need to forbear.
Now that he can protect himself, he can finally fulfill this long-held idea!
Han Xiao connected his phone to his computer, created an anti-tracking program to hide his phone number and address, and then dialed a number he knew well.
"Hello, who is it?"
Feng Jun's voice came through the phone.
Han Xiao joked, "Guess~"
Feng Jun almost choked on his saliva. That cheeky voice was so familiar. He immediately recognized it as Han Xiao. He never expected Han Xiao to call back!
"You... you actually dared to call back?!"
Feng Jun was dumbfounded.