Han Xiao raised an eyebrow.
Trust took time to build. Zhang Wei seemed aggressive, but that also showed he was a captain who took his duties seriously. Naturally, Han Xiao wasn't angry.
But removing him from the team was impossible. Zhang Wei wouldn't even be able to get past the higher-ups.
Zhang Wei knew it would be hard to challenge the higher-ups' decision, but as captain, he had a duty to lead his team. The higher-ups had dropped a newcomer with no track record into his lap without even giving him a file, leaving him knowing almost nothing about Han Xiao. How was he supposed to lead the team like that?
Zhang Wei wasn't angry because his position as captain had been challenged. He was angry because he felt the higher-ups didn't care about his team's safety.
A newcomer dropped in from above might lack the ability and easily make a bad judgment, putting the team in danger. Even if it was an honest mistake, he would still be a liability.
Zhang Wei had nothing against newcomers, but he believed they needed at least two or three years of experience before they were qualified to join the Secret Operations Department. He certainly didn't want to take one on a mission.
They dumped just anyone on him. What did they take his team for, a bunch of babysitters?!
They plainly didn't care about their subordinates' safety. You corrupt, privileged bastards, take my salted fish thrust!
Zhang Wei made a decision. If Han Xiao couldn't fit in with the team, he would kick him out even if it earned him the higher-ups' displeasure. Failing that, he would at least pass the problem off to another team!
Han Xiao knew nothing of Zhang Wei's thought process. He only noticed that Zhang Wei's gaze was growing increasingly hostile. He had no idea what this seemingly upright captain had imagined, but he had a feeling he'd somehow screwed someone over again...
Just then, Lin Yao's computer lit up. He laboriously turned his neck to look, and his expression changed. "Emergency mission. The higher-ups want us to leave immediately!"
Zhang Wei's expression turned serious. "Details?"
"Ma Qingyang's team was ambushed while raiding a Germinal base. The higher-ups want us to go support them immediately. I'll explain the rest on the plane."
A raid on a Germinal base? Han Xiao paused. Right, these were the three bases he'd provided intel on earlier. After a moment's thought, he could roughly guess what had happened.
The three Germinal bases he'd identified were all within Stardragon's borders, which was why Stardragon had been able to mobilize troops to raid them on short notice. The Thirteenth Bureau had already destroyed two Germinal bases within the country, bringing his mission progress to 2.0%. Even the Germinal Organization wasn't stupid enough to miss the fact that its intelligence had been leaked. They had prepared and set an ambush at the third base.
Zhang Wei hurried outside. As he passed Han Xiao, he paused and frowned. "Lin Yao, stay behind and cover logistics. Han Xiao, you're a newcomer, and this is a rare opportunity. Watch and learn, and try to make yourself useful as soon as possible."
Lin Yao started to speak but stopped. Han Xiao smiled and said casually, "Fine by me."
Zhang Wei hadn't taken part in the Black Spider operation, and he wasn't about to trust Han Xiao based solely on Li Yalin's animated account. It was only natural, and Han Xiao understood. He sighed inwardly. What could he say? He was an understanding man.
Han Xiao thought for a moment, stopped Li Yalin, and took out four magazines filled with high-incendiary bullets. "Consider this a contribution from a friend."
Li Yalin's eyes lit up. "Is this your new invention?"
"Use them sparingly." Han Xiao chuckled, his voice full of mystery. "They'll catch fire."
〔You have triggered the E-rank mission [Rescue].〕 〔Mission details: Rescue the secret operations squad being pursued. Your duty is to assist your teammates in completing this mission.〕 〔Mission requirement: Successfully rescue Ma Qingyang's squad.〕 〔Mission reward: 8,000 experience〕 〔Special reward: None〕
Eight thousand experience was better than nothing, but it was another logistics-level reward.
"Brother Xiao, the captain wasn't deliberately targeting you. Don't take it to heart," Lin Yao said cautiously.
"I know."
Hearing Han Xiao's natural tone, Lin Yao relaxed. He switched on three computers and rapidly tapped at the keyboards, tuning them to the same frequencies as the miniature cameras and earpieces used by Li Yalin and the other two. Sound and video came through at once, and the screens displayed the three agents' first-person views. The team had already boarded the plane.
Headquarters had its own underground railway, which could quickly transport personnel to the airstrip on the outskirts of the city.
The three boarded the fighter plane, accompanied by a fully armed twelve-person field squad. Han Xiao chatted on and off with Li Yalin and Lin Yao, while Zhang Wei and Lambert stayed out of the conversation and rested with their eyes closed.
An hour later, the fighter plane landed at their destination.
The footage showed a stretch of Gobi desert. Bare hills rolled into the distance like vertebrae rising from the earth. The sun radiated heat and light from the deep blue sky, and the air shimmered in the heat. The sand-covered ground was like a heated branding iron, kissing the soldiers' combat boots and giving off a faint scorched smell.
"We've arrived at the location," Zhang Wei reported in a deep voice.
All three were fully armed. Li Yalin still wore her yellow hooded sweatshirt and black bulletproof bodysuit, with a Folding War Blade at her waist and a black backpack containing the Light Power Arm.
Lambert carried dozens of folding throwing knives and a long, narrow, large-caliber sniper rifle.
Zhang Wei's weapon, however, took Han Xiao by surprise. It was a suit of individual power armor!
Thick, gray-black armor covered his entire body, its surface visibly scratched. The head resembled a heavy helmet worn by an ancient Western knight, with only a slit for his eyes. The arm armor was fitted with accessory rails carrying two bulky, modified automatic machine guns. Their ammunition belts were concealed beneath the armor, with well-covered replacement points on the outer thighs. A huge hexagonal steel shield hung on his back like a turtle shell. He was a massive hunk of iron, incredibly heavy and crude in design. One look was enough to tell he was definitely an MT.
Han Xiao's interest was piqued. "That's a prototype of the [Warrior Armor], one of the few basic power armor models in Planet Aquamarine's version 1.0."
The Six Nations each controlled different advanced knowledge and developed their own distinctive weapons, the so-called faction specialties.
Terilous focused on developing power armor. The [Warrior Armor] was a small, fully enclosed suit of individual power armor developed by Terilous some time after the open beta began. It was the first power armor to appear on Planet Aquamarine. It probably hadn't been completed yet, and what Zhang Wei wore was only a prototype. Han Xiao didn't know how he'd gotten his hands on Terilous equipment, but there might be something behind it.
Players could only buy this power armor after reaching [Respected] standing with the Terilous faction, and it was extremely expensive. Repairs after each battle alone cost tens of thousands, and players couldn't earn money as quickly as Han Xiao.
As the team's logistics support, Han Xiao was responsible for supplying and maintaining equipment. Zhang Wei's armor would be handed over to him for repairs from now on.
As long as there were no security measures, a mechanic could reverse-engineer a blueprint from the actual item. There were two possible scenarios.
First, if the mechanic had already learned the prerequisite knowledge for the blueprint, progress would be much faster, and the experience needed to comprehend it would be within an affordable range.
In the second scenario, a mechanic who hadn't learned the prerequisite knowledge could still derive the blueprint, but progress would be as slow as a snail, and the experience required would be astronomical. It was common for the cost to multiply dozens of times over. The resulting blueprint would usually be marked "defective," "incomplete," or something similar, and its effects would be far inferior to those of a proper blueprint.
The prerequisite for the [Warrior Armor] was advanced knowledge from another armament branch, controlled by Terilous.
Han Xiao bit a fingernail. If he could derive the armor blueprint, even an incomplete one, he would gain a new way to fight. Armor provided an extremely significant boost to individual combat power.
But after thinking it over, he put the idea aside. With his memories, he could fuse better mechanical blueprints that suited all kinds of needs. Spending a massive amount of experience to derive an incomplete armor blueprint wasn't worth it.
Lin Yao said, "The squad requesting help is thirteen kilometers away. Their pursuers have fifteen armored off-road vehicles and one Black Harrier Helicopter. The provisional rendezvous point is a hill three kilometers from you. It overlooks the area. Your mission is to intercept the pursuers and support your teammates. Don't get tied down in a fight. I've already sent them the rendezvous point, so get ready."
The instructions were clear and orderly. An observer saw things more clearly, and that was the job of logistics intelligence personnel: to coordinate the overall situation and quickly devise suitable strategies for combat personnel to use as a reference.
The three and the field squad soon reached the designated location and lay down behind the hill, waiting for the enemy to appear.
Soon, the roar of engines carried to them from a distance. Out on the open desert plain, more than a dozen of the Germinal Organization's armored vehicles surrounded and pursued a single vehicle. Machine-gun fire and grenade explosions rang out incessantly. Bursts of flame chased the fleeing vehicle, blasting craters into the ground and filling the air with dust and smoke.
The fleeing vehicle carried Ma Qingyang's squad.
"Stand by!" Zhang Wei's voice was stern as he watched the distance close. Only when the vehicles came into range did he give the order. "Open fire."
From behind the hill, the field squad unleashed a rattling storm of steel. Muzzle flashes erupted, and a hail of bullets struck the pursuing vehicles' armor plates, throwing off countless sparks amid an endless metallic clatter.
Caught in the ambush, the leading vehicles swerved to avoid the frontal attack, nearly rolling over at high speed.