The next few days passed peacefully. Han Xiao kept to a regular routine, going to Klo Scrap Station in the mornings to make guns for Raccoon Cat. He was paid at the end of each day, earning money every day, and found plenty of usable mechanical parts at the scrap station, which he quietly used to build a Ranger robot. Han Xiao hid the finished components in his room, intending to weld and assemble them once they were all complete.
At other times, he mostly stayed at the repair shop handling orders. The intelligence agencies had never given up probing him, and different agents came by in two or three waves every day. Lü Qian thought business was finally picking up and happily made five dishes and a soup every day to reward Han Xiao. Sometimes, when Han Xiao passed her, he would hear Lü Qian muttering words like "expansion" and "chain stores." It left him in a cold sweat, feeling as though he had given the proprietress some extraordinary misconception.
Old Man Lü occasionally hovered around Han Xiao, hoping to discern his origins from his assembly techniques, but it was all in vain. Han Xiao was entirely self-taught, and his methods offered no clues.
Old Man Gao often came by to play board games against Old Man Lü-honestly, Han Xiao did not think there was much to compete over in five-in-a-row-and frequently struck up conversations with Han Xiao. Han Xiao was happy to oblige, gradually raising Old Man Gao's favorability.
Among technical jobs in the mechanical class, manufacturing gave the most experience, followed by enhancement, then repairs. Assembly gave the least.
Since he had no opportunity to acquire advanced knowledge for the time being, Han Xiao spent his experience on the three skills closest to their maximum levels, [Basic Mechanical Affinity lv3], [Basic Combat lv8], and [Basic Shooting lv6], to gain more potential points.
As it happened, the class advancement requirement for [Mechanical Beginner] was to learn [Intermediate Mechanical Affinity], which required [Basic Mechanical Affinity] to reach its maximum of level five.
Mechanical Affinity was the mechanical class's most essential skill and a prerequisite for many blueprints and skills.
He had 15 potential points now, which seemed like a lot, but when he actually needed them, they would be spent faster than water flowing away. He understood that all too well, and painfully so. If he had not squandered his potential points back then, he would not have had to spend over ten million Inals, the universal currency, on the magical civilization's [Water of Forgetfulness] to reset his points. Those profiteering mage lords had emptied his coffers.
At Klo Scrap Station, Han Xiao operated a lathe and assembled a Type 73 Wasp Pistol.
Raccoon Cat handed Han Xiao a stack of banknotes. Han Xiao stuffed them into his trouser pocket without counting them. "That's it for today. I'm leaving."
"Thanks for all your help lately. I don't need any more guns for the time being, but my promise still stands. You can take your pick of the mechanical scrap here." Raccoon Cat smiled without warmth. What he meant was that he wanted to suspend his cooperation with Han Xiao for the time being.
His men had enough weapons, but it was not yet time to kill the donkey after it had finished grinding. He coveted Han Xiao's gunsmithing skills and had imagined more than once the enormous profits he could make if he mastered them himself.
Raccoon Cat was cautious. Han Xiao had disarmed him so easily when they first met that he did not dare act rashly. On top of that, Han Xiao managed to shake his tails every time, so Raccoon Cat had not dared resort to force. He was very curious about the face beneath Han Xiao's mask.
"Suit yourself." Han Xiao knew his extra earnings had come to an end.
After exchanging a few insincere pleasantries, Han Xiao left the scrap station, turned through several streets, shook off his tail as usual, and arrived at a large machinery market.
All kinds of metals and parts were sold here, and many students from Western Capital Academy's mechanical department shopped here as well.
Han Xiao had earned a total of seventy thousand Hailan dollars on the side. He bought all the materials for the Ranger, plus the materials for a Light Power Arm. Money went as quickly as it came.
After transporting everything back to the repair shop, Han Xiao shut himself away and began manufacturing.
A few days later.
All the components were complete. Han Xiao assembled the Ranger robot in his room.
It stood 1.2 meters tall, with thin armor welded to its exterior to protect the gears, precision parts, wiring, and power source inside. Its upper body was humanoid, and its oval head sat tucked into its torso without a neck. A pair of mechanical eyes came equipped with a simple remote-control and imaging system. The chip was a standard, store-bought model with ordinary processing speed.
A pair of mechanical arms hung at the sides of its torso. Bearings at the elbows and shoulders provided rotational movement, allowing the arms to turn like human arms. Its fingers had been converted into gun barrels, with a 170-degree firing arc to the front. Its waist could turn ninety degrees in either direction, magazines sat along its flanks, and its lower body ran on caterpillar tracks like a small tank.
The system prompted him to name the finished product. Following his habit from his previous life, Han Xiao named it "First-Generation Ranger."
[First-Generation Ranger (tracked model)] [Type: robot] [Quality: gray] [Basic attributes: armor value 800, defense 18, power output 58, maximum movement speed 23 km/h, energy 120/120] [Height: 1.18 meters] [Weight: 143 pounds] [Control method: remote control, electrical signal transmission] [Remote-control radius: 50 meters] [Power source: battery pack] [Combat consumption: 8 energy/minute] [Core power: 36/80 Ouna] [Right arm module: small-caliber automatic machine gun, attack 35-40, firing rate 4 rounds/s, maximum firing rate 7 rounds/s (10-second overload), ammunition capacity 30+60 rounds (belt-fed), output 40, power usage 18] [Left arm module: small-caliber automatic machine gun, same as above] [Additional ability: self-destruct-deals 280-430 fire damage within a thirty-meter radius; destroyed after use] [Additional ability: metal-reduces all damage other than armor-piercing damage by an additional 8%] [Note: Don't be fooled by how dumb this little guy looks. When it counts, it can blast you in the face.]
[Ranger] was the general designation for the model. It came in several types depending on its power system, weapons system, control system, and other configurations. Most mechs, robots, and large machines followed this naming pattern.
Raw materials affected the attributes of the finished product. The First-Generation Ranger's main materials were steel alloy and AS resin plastic, both common, ordinary materials. If Han Xiao had used higher-grade steel and alloys, the First-Generation Ranger's defense and armor value would have been higher.
The technologies contained in machinery were interconnected and influenced one another. Each component embodied different technologies, and if he could not manufacture certain components himself, he could buy ordinary parts to replace them.
As his knowledge accumulated, the manufacturing process would become more flexible. He could even machine the smallest screw himself, and each generation of finished products would be stronger than the last. For example, if he learned more advanced control-chip technology or advanced power-source technology, he could change the robot's remote-control mode and power output. That was the appeal of the mechanical class.
Every robot, vehicle, and mech had a power output limit. Mounting new modules increased the power load, and the stronger the mounted equipment, the greater the module's load, so accessories could not be added without limit. Only by upgrading power-source technology could a new generation be developed.
The First-Generation Ranger used conventional batteries with relatively low output. Only after learning knowledge from the energy branch could he manufacture power sources himself.
Upon completing the First-Generation Ranger, Han Xiao immediately received 24,000 experience. Manufacturing gave the most experience, depending on the production time, the quality of the finished product, and its technological content.
Han Xiao spent another day making the Light Power Arm, handling the familiar task with ease.
[You have manufactured a Light Power Arm (left) and gained 2,500 experience.]
The new Light Power Arm was still equipment for the left arm. The materials used this time were more rudimentary than the first time, and its quality had dropped by one grade.
[Light Power Arm (left)] [Quality: gray] [Basic attributes: attack 28-45, defense 8-12, power output 26, durability 205/205] [Equipment requirement: strength 23] [Attribute bonus: attack speed -4] [Length: 0.51 meters (elbow + forearm + palm)] [Weight: 13.5 pounds] [Additional effect: grants an additional +6 strength check]
His strongest ability now was combat, making the Light Power Arm the most suitable weapon for him.
A mechanical-class character who learned martial arts was known as following the Mechanical Martial Arts Style. Han Xiao did not intend to stick with this style forever; after all, the mechanical class's advantage lay in ranged attacks. Still, the Mechanical Martial Arts Style was one of the strongest styles for early-game combat in the mechanical class and could serve as a transition.
Han Xiao hid the mechanical arm in his room and returned to the first floor. A customer was talking to Lü Qian, glancing at Han Xiao from time to time. This person was also an intelligence agent.
During this period, all the intelligence agents posing as customers had been rebuffed by Han Xiao, so they changed tactics and asked Lü Qian for information about him.
After sending the customer away, Lü Qian gave him a strange look. "Why are so many people asking me about you?"
"I'm popular."
"But they're all men."
Han Xiao's expression stiffened. "You've misunderstood."
"Don't worry, I won't discriminate against you." Lü Qian giggled. No matter how he looked at it, Han Xiao found her smile very strange.
You've definitely misunderstood!
Han Xiao suddenly stirred. The system had a new notification.
[You have triggered the E-rank mission [Pursuit]. Accept/Decline?]
Han Xiao was slightly taken aback. How had this mission been triggered?
"Accept."
[Mission description: Some people have set their sights on the large bounty on your head. Out of your sight, they are stirring with hostile intent. Meanwhile, certain organizations are also waiting to see how you perform. What will you choose to do?] [Mission requirement: Successfully escape pursuit] [Reward: 10,000 experience] [Special reward: One skill upgrade card (basic)]
Clearly, someone had set their sights on his bounty. The "certain organizations" mentioned in the mission description made Han Xiao roll his eyes. He did not have to guess to know it was the Thirteenth Bureau.
Connecting the two gave Han Xiao a new theory. Perhaps the Thirteenth Bureau had deliberately leaked information about him to a group of pursuers to test his combat ability. If that were true, the group's destructive capabilities had to be limited, and they had to be easy to control. The Thirteenth Bureau could not tolerate large-scale destruction in the nation's capital, nor would it readily leak information about him.
The reward for an E-rank mission was ordinary, but the special reward caught Han Xiao's interest. A skill upgrade card could immediately raise the level of a skill of the corresponding tier, making it very useful to him.
Special rewards corresponded to a mission's hidden requirements, and the clues were all concealed in the mission description. Han Xiao believed the hidden requirement for this mission was probably to kill all the pursuers.
The enemy could show up at any time. I'd better not stay in the shop, Han Xiao thought. Since the pursuers were not strong, he did not want to rely on Old Man Lü's strength.
After a moment's thought, a suitable battlefield sprang to mind.
Klo Scrap Station.