Hannes and Bennett were still clueless about how to deal with Keton, but Han Xiao thought the man might have some use.
Keton is a citizen of Goddora. This kidnapping was a bit risky. Fortunately, Keton was just a marginalized person living on the Gauting Colony Planet. The Sky Ring mercenaries managed to bring him over after some trouble. However, according to them, there were two other people present at the time, which made the whole thing suspicious. After all, it wasn't an operation personally directed by Han Xiao.
There are risks involved. Even if someone is an unemployed otaku, Goddora will still protect their citizens. However, Han Xiao will not release him. Although Keton's actions are illegal in Goddora and he could be convicted if released, Goddora will not compensate Planet Aquamarine for anything.
However, in the interstellar era, there is frequent travel between planets and the population moves very quickly. Many citizens do not live on colony planets but travel to other star systems by spaceship. The huge population and complex distribution lead to relatively liberal security management policies. It is a minor matter for a citizen living on a peripheral colony planet to be arrested. The local security bureau does not have the manpower to track it down into space and will transfer the matter to a higher level, which is not very efficient.
As long as Goddora can't find him, this kidnapping will be dropped. After all, it's just a case of an ordinary person going missing, not an important figure. It's impossible to invest massive resources in searching for him. If he can't be found for a while, it will become a cold case. The Sky Ring mercenaries activated Stealth on the road, making it difficult to track their tracks after the jump. They're definitely not incompetent teammates, which makes Han Xiao very relieved.
"You remind me of my hometown," Resta's voice suddenly rang out from the driver's seat.
"They're all pretty pathetic, aren't they?" Han Xiao shook his head.
"At least there's still hope." After saying this, Resta fell silent again. He had always stayed in the Blacklight Stealth to control the spaceship and didn't like to show his face.
Resta allowed Han Xiao to use her body and cooperated fully. Han Xiao also didn't let Phillip control the spaceship. When it came to virtual intelligence capabilities, Resta was far superior to Phillip, as he was an AI life form.
The Blacklight Stealth landed at the Sanctuary. Han Xiao instructed Bennett not to kill Keton for the time being, and then went about his business.
After routinely inspecting the recruitment progress and checking Sylvia's studies, he returned to his residence to view the mission rewards: over eight million experience points, one random reward opportunity (which he temporarily saved), 2 free attribute points, and 1 potential point. Higher difficulty missions would reward additional attributes.
The best reward is naturally the Medal of Honor, which grants a +3% bonus to all attributes.
[You have obtained the [Medal of Honor - Historian (A)]]
This item, like the character card, takes effect directly on the character panel. He also has the Germinal Mission and Sanctuary Medal of Honor, which have the same effect, but only one can be active at a time. Only by collecting three Medal of Honor can he exchange them for a special badge that grants a +12% bonus to all attributes. He happened to have obtained the third one, so he exchanged it for the special badge. The +12% bonus to all attributes is quite significant, essentially a permanent buff.
After seeing the rewards, Han Xiao opened his attribute panel. Today was a good day. He had finally finished practicing Harmon's Energy Training Method, and his strength had broken through the 9,000 mark, allowing him to enter the next level and receive a new layer of bonuses.
[Physical attribute: [Magnetic] -- Increases Mechanical Affinity]
[Stamina [Lv10]: Strength +18, Agility +25, Endurance +28, Intelligence +32, Mysticism +22, Maximum Stamina +3400, Mechanical Affinity +25%]
The attributes of this level alone increase the total strength bonus by about one-third. The higher the strength level, the more significant the bonus of each level.
The advanced quest [Secret of Energy] has been completed. The job change requirement is to choose a strength from the three branches of large machinery, micro machinery, and virtual technology. The way to do this is to max out the relevant High-End Knowledge points.
Among the three branches of weaponry, energy, and manipulation, Han Xiao hasn't yet acquired [Super Nanodynamics], but he plans to choose the one he excels in, which is virtual technology, so it won't have much of an impact.
Virtual technology is mainly used for intrusion and defense, and it is very powerful in the Mechanic Class's internal war. It can basically be summarized as "what's yours is mine, and what's mine is still mine." Even without intrusion, it can prevent other mechanics from taking away one's machines.
Furthermore, virtual technology and legion-based strategies complement each other; the stronger the ability, the larger the legion that can be controlled, and the farther the range. In interstellar space, it's not just about building mechanical legions; if one is proficient in virtual technology, one can counter legion-based strategies to a certain extent.
Virtual technology also has its weaknesses. When facing opponents other than Mechanic Class, it is not as strong as the large and micro mechanical routes. After all, the strength of those two routes is obvious, and their combat power is obvious. It's just a matter of piling up mechanical attributes.
He had explored both of these approaches in his previous life, creating even more powerful machines that could be easily pushed forward and left to fate.
Of course, this is a bit of an exaggeration. Experts in these two branches still need to manage the battle situation. The strategy of pushing horizontally is only suitable for lazy people who don't want to do the manual work.
In the past, most players chose these two paths because the virtual technology branch was too difficult and not accessible to the average player.
More importantly, even without going for the legion build, there are many powerful tactical options for both large and micro mechs, but the virtual technology route is best suited for legion-based tactics.
Players prefer tactics that are cost-effective, after all, making money isn't easy, and is the "army rush" strategy something poor people can afford?!
Based on Han Xiao's actual experience, virtual technology is the most useful branch. Although it doesn't have the obvious advantages of the other two routes, it is very stable and has stronger operational capabilities in actual combat. It has an advantage in internal battles, and it is definitely not weak against opponents of other professions, after all, it is still Mechanic Class, and its foundation is there.
Han Xiao doesn't pursue the ultimate attributes of a single machine. If the quality is insufficient, quantity can make up for it. With the large market of players, he is not worried about the cost. Compared to strengthening the strengths, he prefers to make up for the weaknesses.
With enough experience, he can raise his blueprints and manufacturing skills to a very high level, so that even the quality of his machinery won't be much worse than the other two routes.
Moreover, there were more personal reasons for his choice of the virtual technology branch.
Having confirmed the route, Han Xiao allocated his potential points to the relevant knowledge, and a large amount of information popped up on the panel.
[You have completed the level 120 advancement, stamina bonus increased! 1 stamina = 65 health points = 75 stamina points]
"With this level advancement, the stamina-to-health conversion rate is higher. Initially, each advancement increased the conversion rate by 5 points. After the first racial ascension, each advancement increased it by 10 points, and now it's increased by 15 points. Previously, the health conversion rate was 1:50, but now it's 1:65."
Han Xiao clenched his fist, took a deep breath, and the familiar pain returned, but compared to the pain he felt when he became Void Prowler, this pain only made him frown and silently endure it.
[Advanced Virtual Intelligence Technology] has reached Lv5 (Max), job change successful!
[You have obtained a new profession [Virtual Mechanic lv1], Strength +150, Agility +3, Endurance +3, Intelligence +6, and you have gained 6 free attribute points and 1 potential point.]
[You have mastered the skill [Expert Mechanical Affinity]!]
[You have learned the skill [Intelligent Defense Enhancement]!]
[You have learned the skill [Control Intelligence Enhancement]!]
[You have learned the skill [Intrusion Computation Enhancement]!]
[You have learned the skill [Resource Allocation Plan Optimization]!]
[You have mastered the skill [Mass Production Line Configuration Process Optimization]!]
[You have mastered the [Virtual Technology Specialization]!]
The newly acquired skills primarily focus on enhancing virtual technology, such as intrusive computing and intelligent defense to strengthen network attack and defense capabilities; these are considered the core of this approach.
[Control Intelligence Enhancement] slightly increases all attributes of independent machines; the skill description is "An excellent intelligent system improves the efficiency of the machine."
[Resource Allocation Plan Optimization] and [Mass Production Line Configuration Process Optimization] enhance production line efficiency. The former reduces costs, while the latter accelerates manufacturing speed. The virtual technology route has the greatest impact on improving mass production skills, making it very suitable for legion-based strategies.
[Expert Mechanical Affinity] is a core skill in the Mechanic Class, and its effect at max level is +60% Mechanical Affinity. The new specialization [Virtual Technology Specialization], on the other hand, provides an additional bonus to Virtual Technology from the Intelligence attribute, similar to the effect of [Mechanical Analysis Comprehension].
Because it was a job change based on a specific path of expertise, he learned more skills than before. These skills were even more important than simply leveling up. Without hesitation, Han Xiao upgraded all these skills to the maximum level, striving to achieve the strongest effect.
In recent days, he has gained more than 3 billion experience points from players by teaching them skills, and he has spent more than 1 billion experience points upgrading these advanced skills to the maximum level.
The investment was worthwhile, and the results were remarkable. The combat power level soared by more than 800 Ona. At higher levels, the enhancement of combat power brought by skills even exceeded the effect of leveling up.
With 2.2 billion experience points remaining, leveling up the main class at this level becomes extremely expensive. However, the experience rewards from quests will also increase, though it still requires a long period of accumulation.
Only Han Xiao was able to accumulate such a vast amount of experience in such a short time.
All his experience was invested in upgrading, and his main profession leveled up four times. He still had enough experience left to upgrade it one more time, but Han Xiao stopped. Instead of continuing to upgrade his main profession, he used the remaining experience to upgrade his [Scholar] sub-profession, from Lv5 to the maximum level of Lv10. In the end, he still had more than 100 million experience left, which was not enough to upgrade it further.
The cost of upgrading a secondary profession increases with the total level, but it is still much less than upgrading the primary profession. The [Scholar] profession is somewhat useful, as it provides an additional 50 Intelligence points and 5 Potential points.
When the [Virtual Mechanic] reaches level 5, the total bonus is 15 points of Agility, 15 points of Stamina, 30 points of Intelligence, 30 points of Free Attribute Points, and 5 points of Potential Points.
All free attribute points are allocated to Intelligence as usual.
His energy surged within him, and despite the discomfort, Han Xiao carefully examined the drastically changed attributes.
[Total Level: 130]
[Main Occupation: Mechanic Class]
[Race: Void Lurker) ]
[Strength 181, Agility 401, Endurance 361, Intelligence 1110, Mysticism 124, Charisma 41, Luck 1]
[Free attribute points: 0]
[Potential Points: 49]
[Health Points: 37824]
[Stamina: 37995]
[Stamina: 9770 [Lv10]]
[Lv10 Total Strength Bonus: Strength +71, Agility +97, Stamina +108, Intelligence +122, Mysticism +77, Maximum Stamina +10920, Mechanical Affinity +85%]
[Energy level: 8945 Ona]
[Rank: B+]
[You are a powerful interstellar mechanic, an elite among elites, a hero among heroes. The biggest difference between you and other Grade B superhumans is that you have a "+" sign.]
Hey, this is a note about leather.
"Level 130, with a combat power of nearly 9000, means that once you reach level 140 and successfully advance, you can officially enter the Grade A level, possessing destructive power akin to that of Calamity Grade."
Han Xiao silently calculated that although he leveled up quickly, his skill levels hadn't lagged behind, and most of the upgrades were to his main profession. Therefore, he was about 20 to 30 levels ahead of the other players, and his actual combat power also exceeded the average standard for this level. He could basically sweep away most Grade B superhumans.
If we were to face Ashes again now, even without prior planning, we could still put up a fierce and back-and-forth battle for a long time.
Even if you can't win, you can still annoy the opponent to death.
Especially the health points. Every time Han Xiao saw that number, he couldn't help but feel a chill run down his spine. In his previous life, at this level, the average health of a Mechanic was less than 20,000, which was even less than the health of a Tank of the same level!
The [Intermediate Tenacious Life] feat is just too overpowered. If this feat were upgraded again, it would probably be so powerful that just looking at it would make people want to vomit.
It takes billions of experience points to go from level 130 to 140. I've already harvested most of the profits by teaching skills to other players. At this point, I can still earn about a billion experience points by selling skills. After that, I'll need to use new methods to harvest more players.
After so many days since the update, players have basically used up all their experience points and will have to wait for their experience reserves to accumulate again.
"It seems it will take some more time." Han Xiao was already quite satisfied. At this level, he couldn't expect to level up twenty levels in a row like he did in the early stages.
The pain lasted for more than an hour before it gradually subsided. Han Xiao exhaled and felt the surge of power for a while. He was very hungry, so he ate more than a dozen concentrated energy bars to replenish his sustenance.
He took off his sweat-soaked clothes, glanced down at his well-defined muscles, then changed into a dry shirt and put the balls back on.
beep beep...
Just then, the communicator rang, and Melos requested to communicate.
"If you're just here to show off your new arm again, you can end the call now." Han Xiao raised an eyebrow and casually put a compressed ball bracelet on his wrist.
"No, this is serious business." Melos frowned and said in a deep voice, "Nagokin has issued a recruitment notice to the Inhuman, and many Inhuman have been attracted to go and watch..."
In Melos's view, the players were all helpful allies who could help Sunil overcome the Calamity, but Goddora actually poached them, which made him furious.
"Oh?"
Han Xiao's eyes flickered, and a knowing smile appeared on his face. "Heh heh, you really are going to try and take a look at me with your hoe. You're ruthless, so don't blame me for being ruthless too. I'll go check it out later."