On beginner planets with magical settings, the potions used to restore health and mana were things like "health recovery potions" and "mana replenishment potions." On a planet with Planet Aquamarine's setting, the equivalent of "red and blue potions" was obviously nutrition pods, healing agents, and the like.
After the infuriating shooting training ended, the researchers took Han Xiao to soak for two hours in a nutrition pod filled with healing agent. The knife wounds on his body scabbed over, and he could move normally, though movement tugged at the wounds and sent waves of dull nerve pain through him.
There was an unused mechanical modification room in the base. Because he had shown a talent for mechanics, he was housed there separately and could use the lathes, materials, and tools inside as he pleased. A surveillance camera stood in the corner of the room. Han Xiao was not surprised; presumably, the researchers were watching him at all times.
The bookshelves against the wall were packed, and Han Xiao found several books on basic mechanical knowledge.
In Galaxy Calendar year 687, Planet Aquamarine was one of the beginner spawn planets. It had only recently come into contact with interstellar civilizations and was transitioning from the "old civilization era" to the "new civilization era." Its civilization level was still confined to the planet's surface, and its technology was similar to Earth's. The mechanical technology one could find there was advanced knowledge at best.
The mechanic knowledge tree had three branches: weaponry, energy, and control. Each contained 20 kinds of knowledge, divided into five tiers: basic, advanced, high-end, cutting-edge, and ultimate. Class knowledge was a player's growth tree and the core system of their main class.
The first piece of class knowledge was used to obtain a main class. After that, learning class knowledge required potential points, which were also used to raise knowledge levels.
There were three ways to obtain potential points: leveling up, rewards from certain high-level missions, and training a skill to its maximum level.
With 2 potential points in hand, he had no plans to learn new class knowledge for the time being. There was no hurry, and he had other uses for the points. So many players had squandered all their potential points when leveling up was easy at the start, only to be left dumbfounded when they needed them. As a character grew, potential points became increasingly difficult to obtain, making every point precious.
All his time outside training was his own, and Han Xiao spent it on mechanics, hoping to save up enough experience to escape this enemy camp where he had no freedom.
Time flew by.
Han Xiao earned experience through two types of technical work: assembling and enhancing machinery. As his technique improved, he could keep his assembly perfection for basic machinery above 90%, earning a considerable amount of experience each time.
Assembling the same machine too many times yielded less and less experience, until it gave none at all. Fortunately, the base had its own armory with many kinds of firearms, providing him with ample material to grind assembly experience.
The Germinal Organization was not particularly wary of Han Xiao. He was a test subject whose past memories the organization had erased and who had also been brainwashed, so they did not expect any surprises such as rebellious thoughts.
Han Xiao maintained a low profile, presenting himself as a quiet, harmless person to lower everyone's guard against him.
The organization had high hopes for Han Xiao, but he knew well that the bird that stuck its head out got shot. He saved up his experience without leveling up.
The researchers soon grew disappointed in him. Trained logistics personnel could assemble machinery to that standard too, and it did not meet their expectations for the Valkyrie Experiment.
After observing him for a month, the researchers stopped their round-the-clock surveillance. They unanimously concluded that Test Subject Zero was a failed piece of junk and turned their efforts toward improving the Valkyrie Potion.
Han Xiao no longer had to keep up his act under the camera at all times, which was a considerable relief.
Since they saw no return on their investment, the Germinal Organization grew increasingly impatient with him. Only Lin Weixian and Balotta continued to pay attention to him.
Curious about Han Xiao's mutation, Lin Weixian repeatedly proposed dissecting him to obtain more experimental data, but each request was rejected on the grounds that they should "wait a little longer."
Han Xiao knew very well that, given the Germinal Organization's way of doing things, he would fall into Lin Weixian's hands sooner or later. This put him under considerable pressure.
Balotta, meanwhile, made no secret of his enthusiasm for torturing people, calling it a means of spurring test subjects to complete their training. He could not torture his colleagues, so the "emotionally dull" test subject became his only choice. Because healing agents existed, no one stopped him, and the researchers believed that a suitable amount of torture could help stimulate changes in the test subject.
Gradually, Han Xiao grew numb to the pain. He remembered the blood that splattered with every cut and waited silently.
Living in a den of danger surrounded by enemies, with no one he could talk to, Han Xiao devoted more of his energy to studying mechanics. He ground cold pieces of metal into different shapes on the lathe and assembled them into useful tools. The process gave him a sense of fulfillment.
Armed guards carried large quantities of supplies out of the mechanical modification room, while Han Xiao watched silently from the side.
"The organization is very disappointed in you. Starting today, your resource allocation will be cut by eighty percent."
A man with a crew cut stood before Han Xiao, a trace of smugness and disdain on his face. He looked down on Han Xiao with the eyes of a victor.
He was Test Subject Number One, the second test subject to survive after Han Xiao.
"I heard you were a test subject before me. The organization spent a huge amount of resources on you, but all you can do is fiddle with this junk."
"You're a failure. The organization made the right decision letting me take your place." Number One's tone was contemptuous. He was a completely brainwashed test subject who regarded the organization as his faith and held an inexplicable hostility toward Han Xiao. Han Xiao did not want to waste his breath; getting into a conflict would be an unwise move that exposed him.
If an investment failed to produce returns, Germinal would decisively change the target of its investment. Thus, after Number One came into being, the organization withdrew most of the resources it had given Han Xiao.
Han Xiao had expected this. What Number One displayed was the effect the Valkyrie Experiment was supposed to produce: he had a strong talent for combat, a robust physique, and could quickly be trained into an armed fighter.
Since the laboratory had no logistics personnel assigned to maintain its machinery, Han Xiao was allowed to keep the mechanical modification room and was put in charge of maintaining and repairing firearms. However, the mechanical parts and materials allocated to him for his own use each month were greatly reduced. The organization regarded him as a failed test subject.
Several guards passed by and, seeing the scene, openly mocked them.
"Tsk, tsk. Two poor wretches."
"They were taken away for experiments, turned into cannon fodder in reserve, and thoroughly brainwashed. Better to die than end up like them."
"Keep it down."
"What does it matter? They've been brainwashed anyway."
Every gaze held indifference and the condescension of someone looking at a pet.
Weren't test subjects nothing more than tools and cannon fodder in the Germinal Organization's eyes?
The voices receded into the distance. Han Xiao lowered his eyes, hiding the gleam in them.
Half a year passed in the blink of an eye.
During that time, Han Xiao figured out the layout and personnel deployment of the Valkyrie Laboratory.
The Valkyrie Laboratory was hidden underground and had three floors in total. Because it was a secret laboratory, it was not very large. It was concealed in a forest in the wilderness and resupplied by airdrops.
A total of sixty armed guards were stationed there. Hila was the head of the laboratory, and Lin Weixian was in charge of the experiments. At intervals, the organization sent over batches of "human raw materials" whose memories had been erased for use in the experiments.
This base was the main laboratory of the Valkyrie Project. Counting Han Xiao and Number One, it had produced 78 successful test subjects in total. Besides this place, the Germinal Organization had more than a dozen branch laboratories mass-producing cannon fodder.
Most of the 78 successful test subjects had been transferred elsewhere by helicopter. Only Number One and the nine most talented test subjects remained, forming a reserve elite squad under his command and undergoing training here.
Ever since the organization had begun paying less attention to him, Han Xiao's life had grown monotonous. Apart from training each day, he stayed in the mechanical modification room, repairing and assembling firearms. It had practically become his own little world.
The guards had grown accustomed to ignoring Han Xiao. When their eyes swept over him, they did not linger for an instant, as though he were no more a part of the background than the walls.
The lack of attention made things much easier for Han Xiao. He gained a massive amount of experience from his uninterrupted mechanical work, quietly drawing nourishment from the Germinal Organization under everyone's noses like mistletoe. He also memorized the construction of many basic firearms. These common basic-tech weapons could be learned through repeated assembly and did not count as blueprint skills recorded on the panel.
Assembly and enhancement granted experience separately. When Han Xiao could no longer gain experience from assembly, he began using enhancement modifications to earn a new round of experience. He was careful: every time he finished enhancing a firearm, he restored it to its original state to conceal his ability.
Through training with Hila and Balotta, he mastered the [Basic Combat] and [Basic Shooting] skills and unexpectedly unlocked the talent specialty [Well-Trained], which added 100 base health points and gave him an extra measure of protection. He also unlocked the subclass [Agent], bringing his total level to 4.
Through constant practice, Simple Repair and Basic Enhancement Modification rose to level 4, while Basic Combat and Basic Shooting rose to level 2.
Growth as a mechanic required enormous financial support, one of the class's limitations. Fortunately, the Germinal Organization provided materials for free.
By the time Han Xiao had assembled ninety percent of the types of firearms in the armory, the experience he could gain at the base had finally reached its limit.
600,000 experience points!
Half a year's accumulation!
In his previous life, the ratio of game time to "real" time had been six to one, so half a year was equivalent to one month in the real world. Without completing missions or killing monsters, this amount was considerable in the early stages. Only a mechanic could create such a wealth of experience under such limited conditions.
"Approve Lin Weixian's request. Let him dissect Zero. He's asked many times."
The leader spoke over the phone.
Hila frowned. "You've also refused many times."
"The organization invested resources in him. We must get a return." The leader's tone was indifferent. "The only value left in a piece of junk is to be dismantled and put to use. Zero is a piece of junk."
Hila bit her lip. "Understood."
Zero's situation was not the focus of this call. The leader changed the subject. "How is Number One's test subject squad progressing in training?"
"They're very promising, with tremendous potential."
"Good. Send them to Night Owl Base for training. I've already dispatched Night Owl Squad to pick them up. They'll arrive in two or three days."
"That's when I'm supposed to visit my younger sister!" Hila's tone darkened.
"You don't need to accompany Night Owl Squad on the mission."
"That's good."