The journey from the First Sanctuary to the Gray Iron Ruins takes four or five days across the wilderness, forcing the convoy to camp in the open.
It was dusk on the first day of our journey.
Under Han Xiao's instructions, the convoy found a safe spot in the wilderness to rest. Traveling after dark would be dangerous, as many wild animals are active at night.
Dark Net soldiers patrolled the area near the camp in shifts. Han Xiao convened a meeting with key members of the team, including his assistant Huang Yu, engineering supervisor Kony Fury, and guard captain Liu Chao.
Kony Fury laid out the blueprint for the transformation of the Gray Iron Ruins on the table and began to speak eloquently.
"The initial renovation of the entire city was originally planned for three months: clearing overgrown vegetation, driving away wild animals, clearing the ruins, and then completing the infrastructure of the Sanctuary, laying the power grid, water supply, and so on. But this was a standard plan for 30,000 workers. In the first month, we only had 1,000 people, and we couldn't do anything. Even clearing the ruins was difficult," Kony Fury said helplessly.
Han Xiao nodded noncommittally and looked at Huang Yu, "Do you have any suggestions?"
Huang Yu replied evasively, "No."
Sensing Huang Yu's indifferent attitude, Han Xiao roughly guessed Huang Yu's thoughts: he was unwilling to be his assistant. Han Xiao didn't mind; he didn't need an assistant anyway. He turned and said, "Manpower isn't a problem. I plan to complete the blueprint construction in a month."
Kony Fury was taken aback. "That would require at least 100,000 people. Even First Sanctuary doesn't have that many workers."
"I have a way," Han Xiao said without explicitly stating it.
Huang Yu watched coldly. The cost of hiring 100,000 workers was astronomical, and even with money, it was not guaranteed that so many people could be hired. He didn't know where Han Xiao's confidence came from.
Liu Chao suddenly pressed his earpiece and said urgently, "Lord Black Phantom, an aircraft is approaching!"
"Let's go out and take a look."
Stepping out of the tent, the guards of the group vigilantly gazed at the horizon. In the pitch-black night sky, a large aircraft with flashing signal lights was approaching, its identity unknown—whether it was friend or foe.
"It's nothing, that was the airdrop I called." Han Xiao smiled.
The plane flew overhead and dropped several huge supply crates tied together. They landed not far from the camp with parachutes, and the crates were clearly marked with Farrian's logo.
Han Xiao used his connections to get Farrian to send planes to airdrop a large number of mechanical parts, which naturally cost money, but he was now wealthy and didn't care about this expense.
It was a false alarm, and everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
Huang Yu was secretly alarmed. The fact that Black Phantom could so easily summon an airdrop from the long-established arms group Farrian meant that his connections were far wider than he had imagined.
These parts were worth millions. Han Xiao had them moved to the logistics vehicle and began manufacturing machinery on a large scale. Now that he was wealthy, he could freely manufacture all kinds of combat machinery, which would be perfect for protecting the troops.
The Mechanic is most famous for her swarm tactics.
For the next two days of the trip, Han Xiao stayed inside the construction vehicle working.
The convoy arrived at a desert. The sun was shining brightly, and the high temperature made the sand feel like a hot iron, distorting the view of the air above the ground.
The convoy stopped under a Barbara Tree, a plant unique to the deserts of Planet Aquamarine, also known as the "Umbrella of Life." Its shade is like a small island, insulating the heat, and its sap is sweet and can be drunk directly to quench thirst.
Everyone was parched, and the soldiers on patrol were drenched in sweat.
rumble--
Suddenly, the desert in the distance seemed to surge like a tidal wave, with countless enormous beetles bursting out of the ground. Each beetle was more than half a meter long, with a shiny brown carapace and a ferocious appearance. They had six pairs of chelipeds and two pincers, and the rustling sound of their activity was like the sound of ocean waves. The swarm of beetles rushed toward the Barbara Tree.
"Beast attack!"
The alarm sounded, and three hundred soldiers hurriedly took their positions with their guns drawn. They found that swarms of insects were coming from all directions, like a sea of beetles, with nowhere to escape. Their faces showed fear, and their hands holding their guns trembled slightly.
The Desert Blood Shell Pincer a social creature that inhabits the desert. It is a powerful desert predator, leaving nothing but desolation in its wake. There are at least tens of thousands of them here.
"Get in! Get in! Roll out a road!" Huang Yu shouted hurriedly, then jumped into the helicopter in three quick steps and urged the pilot to take off quickly.
Faced with such a large swarm of insects, no one had the will to fight. Hearing Huang Yu's order, they were preparing to get into the vehicle and escape when Han Xiao stepped out of the engineering vehicle and said, "Don't panic, everyone take your positions and prepare to engage the enemy."
Captain Liu Chao said urgently, "There are too many insect swarms. We can't defend all directions. Once we engage in battle, there's a high chance we'll suffer heavy losses..."
Huang Yu shouted, "Black Phantom, get on the plane quickly!"
Han Xiao waved his hand.
Huang Yu cursed under his breath. Seeing the swarm of insects getting closer and closer, he ignored Han Xiao and ordered the pilot to take off immediately. The pilot was also afraid, so he immediately obeyed and started the aircraft. The rotor started and the helicopter left the ground.
The ground troops dared not disobey Han Xiao's orders and nervously watched the swarm of insects rapidly approach.
At this moment, Han Xiao took out his tablet computer and pressed a few buttons.
Buzz--
Twelve Combat-Type Ranger drove out from several support vehicles, their triangular tracks spinning at speeds no less than the vehicles themselves. Everyone watched in astonishment as these Ranger Robot quickly dispersed in various directions, like steel guards. Their cold metallic luster reflected the dappled sunlight filtering through the trees, making them appear as if they were covered in golden scales.
These Ranger are the latest improved 2.5 generation. Han Xiao upgraded the blueprints several times. He is no longer the same as before. The basic attributes of the machines he creates have increased significantly, and the quality has reached blue.
The 2.5 Combat Ranger all equipped with automatic fire control systems, enhancing firepower and ammunition magazine capacity. They are also at a similar height to humans, and their tracked movement allows them to overcome many harsh terrains. They also have more powerful engines.
When the mission notification appeared, Han Xiao guessed that the journey would not be peaceful, so he called in airdrops and spent the last two days manufacturing a large number of machines.
Han Xiao's manufacturing speed has become extremely fast. When he was level 20, it used to take him several days to manufacture Ranger Robot, but now he can complete it in just a few tens of minutes.
When a mechanic's manufacturing speed exceeds a critical point, they can perform temporary battlefield manufacturing. As long as there are materials, weapons will be produced in an endless stream. This is an ability that only advanced mechanics possess, requiring them to learn [Second-Speed Assembly], which is also an important reason for the rise of the 3.0 Mechanic Class.
"Go, take all the metal discs out of the car and arrange them in all directions."
The Dark Net soldiers obeyed him without question and hurriedly did as he said. After placing a total of twenty metal discs on the ground, Han Xiao activated the program and began to unfold and transform. The base was inserted into the sand to fix it in place, and the folded modules assembled together to form a gun barrel. The entire unfolding process took only four or five seconds.
These are Foldable Mini Turret; Han Xiao has also upgraded the blueprints to include automated intelligent fire control.
Looking at the thick, long, and dark twin-barreled gun, the soldiers felt a little more at ease.
As the swarm approached within 400 meters, the Generation 2.5 Ranger and small artillery opened fire simultaneously, unleashing Rainstorm of steel from the camp Barbara Tree.
A hail of bullets filled the sky, and the sounds of gunfire were perfectly synchronized!
Da da da da--
In an instant, countless green sap burst open from the swarm of insects. Faced with the killing weapon made by humans, the shells that these Desert Blood Shell Pincer were so proud of were as fragile as eggs. Steel and fire pierced through each and every giant beetle.
The area within 400 meters of the camp became an insurmountable barrier, leaving behind countless insect corpses. The insect swarm could not advance an inch, and the desert was soaked with their blood. After a volley of fire, the insect swarm was reduced to at least one-third.
Several Ranger drove out of the camp, equipped with Sunworm Flamethrower. The cone-shaped flames swept across the swarm of bugs, sizzling and crackling, while the pincers of the Desert Blood Shell Pincer were completely unable to penetrate the Ranger ' Taibo Alloy armor.
The fierce firepower resulted in a completely one-sided massacre.
This is the brute force of the Mechanic!
Group battles are an advantage for Mechanic Class. While those with superpowers or martial arts skills may be very strong, their stamina is limited.
Of course, the limitation for the Mechanic is money. This batch of mechanical creations is worth millions, which is difficult for even a max-level 1.0 player to afford. Moreover, the ammunition cost is enough to bankrupt any player's wallet, with thousands of steel-core armor-piercing rounds every second.
Funding has long been a problem for the Mechanic Class. Building a mechanical legion is a powerful combat style for Mechanic Class, but it's also the most expensive. As the average strength of the enemies increases, a legion with higher-level mechanical skills is needed, and the cost rises exponentially. Most Mechanic Class players find it difficult to manage a legion strategy. Even if they sell everything they own to build a legion, the losses in battle will be unbearable. Legion strategies are generally used as a last resort. Han Xiao isn't worried about funding, as he has his ways of making money. However, he doesn't want to pursue a legion strategy for now; he only plans to create a simple guard regiment to have sufficient firepower when necessary.
Liu Chao held his submachine gun, ready to fire once the swarm of insects came within 300 meters, but the swarm was consistently kept beyond 400 meters by the barrage of steel bullets.
His arm ached from holding it up, but he couldn't find an opportunity to fire.
"That firepower is too intense."
Liu Chao glanced at the gun turret next to him, which was spitting out bullets. The automatic bolt was like a piston cylinder, and spent cartridge cases were being ejected all over the ground with a crackling sound. A few even hit his face.
Swallowing hard, Liu Chao realized he had nothing to do. The Black Phantom's mechanical creations were handling all the enemies, and the guards provided by the Dark Net were completely useless and unnecessary.