The impending Calamity had initially filled the civilians with dread, but now everyone on the street was all smiles, as if the return of superhumans had dispelled their fear.
"I'll take you into the city, and according to regulations, I must accompany you the entire time," Reldon said.
Han Xiao readily agreed, saying, "Your race seems to greatly admire superhumans."
Reldon said calmly, "To be precise, it's gratitude. Our race suffered a drastic change and migrated to this dangerous planet. After so many years, we still haven't gained a foothold. Our resource gathering efficiency is too slow, not even enough to meet our own needs. We have to buy many materials from interplanetary space, and our productivity can't support foreign trade."
Therefore, in our race, sufficiently powerful superhumans go into interstellar space to become mercenaries, handing over most of their earnings to the race. This is a vital economic pillar for the race; otherwise, we simply wouldn't have enough resources to manufacture so many weapons and wouldn't be able to withstand the Calamity.
Han Xiao understood. As a civilization in ruins, the Sunil Race could only rely on powerful individuals and a group of superhumans to support the entire tribe for the time being. Therefore, they were treated like heroes. Becoming a superhuman was an honor in the eyes of ordinary people, so the whole nation valued martial arts.
Han Xiao still remembered that Reldon was very stingy when it came to money. However, in reality, Reldon handed over almost all of his earnings to the tribe. He lived frugally, just so he could earn more money for the tribe.
"Relying solely on the strength of individuals to support the economy is a pathological condition for a civilization," Han Xiao said.
Reldon nodded. "That's true, but it's a choice made out of necessity. Ultimately, it's because the Calamity has slowed down the tribe's recovery, forcing them to spend a large portion of their income on weapons to fight off the Calamity. This has prevented them from expanding and building rapidly, resulting in a lot of unnecessary losses."
If m. hetushu•com•com does not thoroughly resolve the Calamity, this vicious cycle cannot be broken, and the community will live in torment, never able to escape its dire situation.
We've tried many methods, even considering exterminating all the wild beasts, but that's a poor choice. Regardless of its feasibility, once the food chain collapses, each link in the chain will cause the entire planet to decline and perish. Therefore, our people chose another method—mining the Whispering Stone veins. This approach addresses the Calamity at its source, minimizing harm. This work has been ongoing for many years, clearing away the ore bit by bit. If we persist, sooner or later, the Psionic Undercurrent will disappear, and at that time, our people will no longer be troubled by the Calamity ..."
A hint of longing flickered across Reldon's indifferent face as he murmured, "Difficult times always pass."
Han Xiao gained a basic impression of the Sunil Race. They were a resilient race; with great power came great responsibility, and they worked tirelessly for the continuation of their race...
"What a pity..."
Recalling the development trajectory of the Sunil Race in his previous life, Han Xiao couldn't help but feel a little sentimental.
After entering the city, the superhumans scattered and went home, and the crowd gradually dispersed.
Following his memory, Han Xiao wandered through the alleyways, eventually arriving at a narrow black doorway. A sign next to it depicted a wine glass.
"A bar? The person you're visiting is here?" Reldon frowned.
Is there a problem?
"... No."
Reldon remained expressionless, inwardly despising anyone who spent money on enjoyment, considering it a waste of money and a waste of life.
After all, he has lost the ability to enjoy life.
Pushing open the door, Han Xiao found the bar dimly lit and empty. With the city in a tense state, hardly anyone was drinking. He walked to the bar and heard soft snoring coming from behind it.
When Master Han peeked out, he saw a man lying face down on the floor behind the bar, his cheek pressed against the floor, fast asleep, with a pile of empty bottles beside him.
Bang!
Han Xiao slammed his hand on the table and said, "We have a guest! Get up!"
The man first twitched his fingers, letting out a lazy hum from his nostrils, before slowly getting up. Reeking of alcohol, his eyes were still sleepy and blank; he hadn't quite come to his senses yet, and mumbled, "What do you want to drink?"
"Two signature cups."
"One cup is enough," Reldon interjected.
"Pay first." The man yawned.
Han Xiao took out his communicator, ready to transfer the money, when the man suddenly gave a mocking laugh, "Darling, you're not thinking of paying with Enas, are you? I'm just a small business, I only accept local currency."
Reldon frowned. He usually operated in interstellar space, Sunil Race's currency was of little use to him. He was about to pay for Han Xiao's bill when Han Xiao smiled and said, "I don't have the local currency. Is it alright to pay with something else?"
The man didn't even glance at Han Xiao. He took a bottle of wine from under the counter, opened it, took a swig, and casually asked, "What is this?"
"A name."
The man's lips curled down in an impatient smile. He glanced at Han Xiao and said irritably, "I'm not interested in guessing games. If you're not going to drink, get out of my bar."
Delphis.
Han Xiao's tone was calm, but to the man it sounded like a thunderclap.
The man's pose, about to tilt his head back to drink, froze. His languid expression vanished, replaced by a blank face, showing no signs of drunkenness. The intoxication in his eyes instantly disappeared, replaced by a compelling light as he stared into Han Xiao's eyes.
He slowly put down the bottle and said gently, "Sit and wait a bit, I'll go wash my face first."
After saying that, the man walked out from behind the bar and went to the restroom.
Only Han Xiao and Relton remained at the bar when Reldon suddenly said, "You don't know him at all; you're not visiting an acquaintance."
"I know his brother, that's why I came to visit him," Han Xiao explained casually.
The drunken boss is named Melos, and Delphis is his brother. The secondary profession that Han Xiao is interested in is called [Ordnance Engineer]. For players, this secondary profession is very rare. There is a way to change to this profession among the Sunil Race, and the trigger item is called "Delphis's Journal".
Delphis was a renowned military mechanic for the Sunil Race before the catastrophe. He invented many innovative machines and wrote down his insights in a diary. Later, when the DarkStar attacked, Delphis was killed, and the diary passed to his younger brother Melos, becoming his keepsake.
Han Xiao wanted to borrow the notes from Melos in order to complete his job change.
After a while, Melos returned to the bar, having washed his hair. He was a middle-aged Sunil man with a light indigo skin and several raised lines on his forehead near his temples. He was about 150 years old and otherwise indistinguishable from other extraterrestrial humans.
Melos opened a bottle of wine, handed it to Han Xiao, and said, "Although I don't know how you found me, my brother's name is worth a bottle of wine. I brewed it myself."
Thick white smoke billowed from the bottle's mouth, and the smell of alcohol was pungent. The Sunil people brewed their wine using the leaves of a certain tree as a raw material, giving it a slightly astringent taste. Han Xiao took a sip, experiencing the spiciness and numbness on his tongue, and then stated his purpose.
"I am a mechanic, and I've heard of your brother's reputation. I'd like to borrow his journal."
"That's all?" Melos raised an eyebrow, his tone probing.
"That's how it is for now." Han Xiao chuckled, glancing sideways at Reldon with a meaningful look, and said, "Do you think I have other motives?"
Melos received a veiled response, his tone turning cold as he said, "Is this a threat?"
"No, no, it's out of kindness." Han Xiao smiled, "But a kind person like you certainly wouldn't have the heart to refuse such a trivial request."
Reldon, standing to the side, had no idea what kind of cryptic conversation the two were having. Were they even speaking human language? He couldn't understand a word they were saying.
Melos seemed to hesitate, then his expression turned helpless. He turned and went into the inner room, emerging a moment later with an old diary in his hand. He slammed it on the bar and said irritably, "Read it and then get out of here."
Han Xiao touched the diary, and a prompt appeared on the panel.
[You have obtained [Delphis's Journal]]
He got it! Suppressing his joy, Han Xiao opened the diary and pretended to read it. It was full of Sunil's words, which looked like an English cloze test. But it didn't matter if he couldn't understand it. The progress prompt would pop up on the panel. As long as he "read" the book, he could change his job.
Obtaining this notebook through the usual quest-based methods requires a great deal of luck and involves extremely complex steps. After all, no one knows Melos's identity beforehand, and most people wouldn't bother to cultivate a seemingly ordinary bar owner's favorability. The normal outcome is that after becoming familiar with Melos, during a drinking session, a drunken Melos will reminisce about his older brother and produce this relic, allowing the player to coincidentally trigger a class change.
However, Han Xiao knew his secret information and went straight to the point, skipping the tedious procedures, and was able to borrow it.
Reldon glanced at it and asked doubtfully, "You understand Sunil script?"
Han Xiao closed the book. "I don't understand."
"You still want to watch?!" Melos's eyes widened.
"Just consider it me paying respects to your brother. Thank you for the wine."
Han Xiao put down his diary, smiled, and turned to leave.
Melos shouted from behind, "You weirdo, stop bothering me!"
"That's hard to say." A playful glint flashed in Han Xiao's eyes.
Stepping out of the bar, Han Xiao opened his interface and was overjoyed to see the latest notification. After being stuck on the job change requirements for so long, he had finally obtained his desired secondary job, and the overflowing experience points on his interface could finally be put to use!
You have obtained a new profession: [Ordnance Engineer]!