Chapter Summaries

Han Xiao accepted Old Man Lü’s challenge to build a prosthesis for Old Man Gao, using the task to create an opening with the Thirteenth Bureau official who knew his identity. He began constructing a mechanically powered arm under a three-hour deadline, while Old Man Lü watched skeptically.

• Old Man Lü challenged Han Xiao to make a prosthesis that satisfied Old Man Gao within three hours, and Han Xiao accepted because he already had the blueprint.
• Old Man Gao recognized Han Xiao as the Germinal Organization’s bounty target and observed him cautiously, while Old Man Lü tried to drive him away after sensing his killing aura.
• Han Xiao measured Old Man Gao’s amputated arm and told Lü Qian he already had a complete design, then requested materials and equipment.
• Lü Qian gathered the materials, and Han Xiao began shaping an aluminum-alloy prosthesis using the repair shop’s machinery.
• Han Xiao designed the prosthesis around mechanical power and a battery, with traction cables linking its parts as Old Man Lü watched and drank beer.

Han Xiao proved his skill by crafting a prosthetic arm that impressed Old Man Gao, who accepted it and allowed Han Xiao to stay at the repair shop. Han Xiao settled into his new position as an apprentice while planning to use the shop’s hidden storyline and its blueprints to strengthen himself.

• Han Xiao completed a bionic prosthetic arm, and Old Man Gao found it comfortable and fully functional.
• Old Man Gao praised the prosthetic and accepted Han Xiao’s request to stay, despite Old Man Lü’s objections.
• Old Man Gao contacted Zero and reported that the Germinal fugitive Han Xiao had entered West Capital, recommending that they approach him cautiously.
• Han Xiao considered the repair shop a useful refuge and a source of Mechanic knowledge and valuable blueprints.
• Lü Qian offered Han Xiao an apprentice position with room, board, and a monthly salary of one thousand, and he accepted.
• Lü Qian showed Han Xiao his room and helped him clean it.

Han Xiao settled into work at Lu Qian’s repair shop while waiting for the Thirteenth Bureau to contact him, and clashed comically with Old Man Lu over dinner. The Thirteenth Bureau located Zero in District Seven and prepared to investigate him discreetly while protecting his identity.

• Han Xiao reflected on his need to grow stronger before the open beta and began repairing orders at Lu Qian’s shop.
• Lu Qian served Han Xiao a delicious dinner, and Old Man Lu demanded to know his real background.
• Old Man Lu challenged Han Xiao with extravagant hair-based techniques, but Lu Qian ordered them both to sit down and eat.
• The Thirteenth Bureau’s secretary reported that Zero was hiding in a District Seven repair shop.
• The intelligence director ordered the bureau to protect Zero’s identity, intercept messages about his location, and discreetly assess whether he was a Germinal spy.

Han Xiao secured a weapons-manufacturing deal with Raccoon Cat and gathered mechanical scrap, then used Lü Qian’s help to obtain the repair shop’s remaining basic Mechanic knowledge. He learned the final two subjects in the armed branch, leaving his advanced-knowledge advancement requirement difficult to meet on Planet Aquamarine.

• Han Xiao demonstrated his skill to Raccoon Cat by disarming a guard and dismantling his gun, then negotiated a deal to manufacture handguns for a fee and take mechanical scrap.
• Han Xiao collected usable parts at Klo Scrap Station and shook off a follower sent to learn his identity.
• Han Xiao told Lü Qian he had gone to the scrap station for parts, then asked Old Man Lü to read his mechanical knowledge books and was refused.
• Lü Qian secretly gave Han Xiao the books the next day, angering Old Man Lü.
• Han Xiao learned Basic Weaponry and Complete Compendium of Basic Materials, completing the basic knowledge subjects in the armed branch.

Han Xiao learned new Mechanic skills and the Robot: Ranger blueprint, then dealt with a Thirteenth Bureau agent who tried to investigate him. Feng Jun left with little information and recommended further probing while avoiding conflict.

• Han Xiao learned Basic Refinement and Overload and comprehended the Robot: Ranger blueprint after gaining five basic armament knowledge fields.
• Old Man Lü questioned Han Xiao, while Lü Qian told him to stay out of the workshop during working hours.
• Feng Jun arrived at the workshop and asked Han Xiao to repair his broken car, prompting Han Xiao to suspect he was a Thirteenth Bureau agent.
• Han Xiao repaired the car quickly, gave Feng Jun only his name and vague answers, and collected sixty dollars.
• Feng Jun reported that Han Xiao was a Mechanic whose danger level was unknown and recommended further investigation without provoking him.

Han Xiao finished building his First-Generation Ranger and another Light Power Arm while preparing for the next stage of his mechanical development. After learning that pursuers were targeting his bounty, he accepted a mission to escape them and chose Klo Scrap Station as the battlefield.

• Han Xiao earned money making guns for Raccoon Cat, bought materials at a machinery market, and completed the First-Generation Ranger and a Light Power Arm.
• Han Xiao received 24,000 experience for manufacturing the Ranger and 2,500 experience for making the Light Power Arm.
• An intelligence agent questioned Lü Qian about Han Xiao, and she teased him about the attention he was getting from men.
• Han Xiao accepted the E-rank [Pursuit] mission, suspecting the Thirteenth Bureau had arranged the pursuers to test his combat ability.
• Han Xiao decided to leave the repair shop and draw the pursuers to Klo Scrap Station.

Han Xiao went to Klo Scrap Station, where the Thirteenth Bureau monitored the mercenaries pursuing him and Raccoon Cat hosted him as an honored guest. The chapter ended with Ma Jie being summoned to meet Raccoon Cat after revealing that he had encountered Han Xiao before.

• Han Xiao took a day off, packed his mechanical arm and First-Generation Ranger, and headed to Klo Scrap Station while the Stinging Bee Squad and the Thirteenth Bureau followed him.
• The Stinging Bee Squad planned to kill Han Xiao for the bounty, while Li Hui and Feng Jun observed the pursuit as part of the bureau’s test.
• Han Xiao arrived at the scrap station, accepted Raccoon Cat’s invitation to eat, and discussed the guns he had made for him.
• After a subordinate summoned Raccoon Cat away from the meal, Ma Jie arrived at the station with his cousin and recognized Han Xiao as someone he had met while sneaking across the border.
• Raccoon Cat’s subordinate learned that Ma Jie knew Han Xiao and ordered Ma Jie to come with him to see the boss.

Ma Jie betrayed Han Xiao’s background to Raccoon Cat, who decided to seize Han Xiao’s gunmaking techniques and kill him. Han Xiao sprang into action when Raccoon Cat’s men aimed their guns, flipping the table and charging toward the guarded door as gunfire erupted.

• Ma Jie told Raccoon Cat that Han Xiao was a penniless wanderer with no family or friends in West Capital, and Raccoon Cat recruited him.
• Yellow Hair asked Ma Jie to look after him, while one of Raccoon Cat’s men explained that they planned to torture Han Xiao for his gun blueprints and then kill him.
• Raccoon Cat confronted Han Xiao and demanded his gunmaking techniques, while six gunmen surrounded him.
• Han Xiao warned that his backpack contained explosives and tried to make Raccoon Cat hesitate, but Raccoon Cat ordered him to surrender.
• Han Xiao activated his mechanical arm, flipped the table into the four gunmen across from him, and charged toward the two guards by the door as Raccoon Cat shouted for them to fire.

Han Xiao fought his way through Raccoon Cat’s junkyard gang before the Stinging Bee Squad arrived to kill him. He lured the mercenaries into an ambush with his First-Generation Ranger, which opened fire and killed three of them.

• Han Xiao broke out of Raccoon Cat’s compound, fought through reinforcements, and used a pistol to kill more than twenty thugs.
• The Stinging Bee Squad attacked the junkyard, routed Raccoon Cat’s men, and then turned their guns on Han Xiao.
• Han Xiao fled under fire until he returned within range of the First-Generation Ranger’s remote controller.
• Han Xiao piloted the Ranger into a blind spot between car shells and waited for the squad to approach.
• The First-Generation Ranger ambushed the Stinging Bee Squad with its finger barrels and killed three mercenaries.

Han Xiao killed the six mercenaries who pursued him, completed his mission, and was taken into custody by the Thirteenth Bureau. Meanwhile, Raccoon Cat realized the bureau was arresting him to silence witnesses after learning Han Xiao was a Germinal Organization bounty target.

• The First-Generation Ranger ran out of ammunition, then Han Xiao detonated it, killing the long-haired man and another mercenary while Kaili escaped.
• Han Xiao intercepted Kaili, dodged his gunfire, and killed him with an Overload-powered punch before Li Hui's agents arrived.
• Han Xiao completed the Pursuit mission and its hidden condition, then surrendered to the Thirteenth Bureau agents, who took him away.
• Raccoon Cat found the Germinal Organization's bounty on Han Xiao and realized his attack had targeted a dangerous figure.
• The police arrested Raccoon Cat on the Thirteenth Bureau's orders, and he concluded Han Xiao's identity had made him a witness to be silenced.

Han Xiao negotiated with the Thirteenth Bureau by claiming Germinal had contacted DarkStar and offering locations of secret bases. The intelligence chief agreed to consider cooperation, but Han Xiao remained detained while Stardragon checked his claims.

• Li Hui and Feng Jun interrogated Han Xiao about the bounty on his head, but he demanded to speak with someone more important.
• The Thirteenth Bureau’s intelligence chief questioned Han Xiao, who claimed he had defected from Germinal and revealed an alleged communication with DarkStar.
• Han Xiao used his supposed knowledge of DarkStar to persuade the intelligence chief that cooperation against Germinal could benefit Stardragon.
• Han Xiao marked three alleged Germinal sub-bases on a map and offered to reveal more after the Bureau verified his information.
• The intelligence chief ended the call to report Han Xiao’s situation, leaving him in custody as Han Xiao warned them not to keep him waiting.

The Thirteenth Bureau debated how to handle Han Xiao and decided to recruit him into the Secret Operations Department after verifying his intelligence about Germinal bases. The bureau examined his Light Power Arm but failed to crack its security measures, while Old Man Gao told the director that Han Xiao could be valuable beyond the intelligence he provided.

• The Thirteenth Bureau's department heads argued over whether to detain Han Xiao or cooperate with him, and the director pushed through a vote to recruit him.
• The director decided Han Xiao would join the Secret Operations Department once the bureau confirmed that his intelligence about Germinal's branch bases was accurate.
• Luo Xuan tried to dismantle the Light Power Arm but found four layers of security measures and could not make progress.
• The head of Intelligence took the Light Power Arm to be tested in the field during the planned attacks on three Germinal strongholds.
• The director told Old Man Gao that he had recommended Han Xiao for Secret Operations, and Old Man Gao said Han Xiao would be an important asset against Germinal.

Li Yalin, Lambert, and Lin Yao infiltrated a Germinal Organization branch base during a military assault to steal intelligence, but the base’s defenses and self-destruct procedures put their mission at risk. They escaped after Li Yalin used the Light Power Arm to break into the server room, while the chapter left unclear how much information Lin Yao had managed to save.

• Li Yalin, Lambert, and Lin Yao entered the branch base through a side entrance and made their way toward the server room.
• Li Yalin and Lambert killed a squad of guards, but the base raised the alarm and began formatting its systems as more enemies closed in.
• Li Yalin activated the Light Power Arm and smashed open the server room door while Lin Yao worked to back up data and access the Germinal Organization’s database.
• Li Yalin and Lambert fought off guards pouring into the server room until the system finished formatting and the base lost power and network access.
• Li Yalin led the group through the darkened base as Lambert escorted Lin Yao, and all three escaped after a fierce battle.
• Li Yalin admired the Light Power Arm, and she and Lin Yao wondered whether Luo Xuan had invented it.

After Stardragon destroyed a Germinal Organization base, Li Yalin tried to find the maker of the Light Power Arm while the Germinal leader suspected an internal leak. Meanwhile, Lü Qian persuaded Old Man Lü to pressure Old Man Gao into bringing the missing Han Xiao back.

• Li Yalin praised the Light Power Arm and went to the logistics department to find its inventor, but Luo Xuan admitted he had not made it and Feng Jun said the inventor's identity was classified.
• The Germinal leader learned Stardragon had destroyed sub-base forty-five, suspected a traitor among the organization's upper ranks, and ordered a purge without suspecting Han Xiao.
• Lü Qian worried because Han Xiao had been missing for three days and pressured Old Man Lü to help find him by threatening to sell his hidden liquor.
• Old Man Lü called Old Man Gao, learned that his people had taken Han Xiao to work with him, and demanded that he send Han Xiao back.

Han Xiao improved his skills, developed two new blueprints, and learned that the Thirteenth Bureau’s campaign against Germinal had advanced his mission. After joining the Bureau’s Secret Operations Department, he secured permission to make machinery for agents’ private orders and left headquarters.

• Han Xiao used a Skill Upgrade Card to raise Basic Combat to its level cap, then fused knowledge to develop the Folding War Blade and High Combustion Ammunition.
• Han Xiao saw that his mission progress had risen to 1.6% and considered Germinal’s Dead Hand System as a major obstacle to completing it.
• The head of the Intelligence Department accepted Han Xiao into the Thirteenth Bureau and assigned him to the Secret Operations Department, while Feng Jun became his contact.
• Han Xiao refused to hand over his mechanical blueprints but confirmed that agents could place private orders with him.
• Han Xiao received a black phone and left Thirteenth Bureau headquarters with his cooperation agreement in place.

After returning to the repair shop, Han Xiao learned he had been assigned to the Thirteenth Bureau’s Secret Operations Department, while his arrival stirred uncertainty among West Capital’s district bosses. He made new ammunition and a folding knife as he waited for his credentials, then received orders to report to the Bureau.

• Han Xiao returned to the repair shop after three days away, where Lü Qian scolded him and Old Man Lü mistook his presence for romantic interest in Lü Qian.
• The head of the Logistics Department told Luo Xuan that Han Xiao had been specially recruited into the Secret Operations Department, leaving Luo Xuan angry and shocked.
• The bosses of West Capital’s six other districts declined to take over Raccoon Cat’s vacant Seventh District territory and planned to wait for a newcomer to make a move.
• Han Xiao used materials from the Thirteenth Bureau to make High Combustion Ammunition and a folding combat knife, improving his Basic Mechanical Affinity.
• Feng Jun messaged Han Xiao that his credentials had been approved and ordered him to report that day.

Han Xiao joined the Thirteenth Bureau’s Secret Operations Department as a mechanic assigned to Li Yalin’s squad, where he met his new teammates and learned his logistics duties. The squad received a mission to capture Black Spider, and Han Xiao accepted it as his first operation.

• Han Xiao followed Feng Jun to the Thirteenth Bureau headquarters, refused to wear a joke mask, and covered his face with torn cloth instead.
• Han Xiao met Li Yalin, Lambert, and Lin Yao in the squad’s conference room and kept his identity concealed.
• Li Yalin recognized Han Xiao as the maker of the Light Power Arm and offered to back him if he made her a mechanical arm.
• Lin Yao explained that the squad’s captain was recovering from food poisoning and that Han Xiao would handle equipment, supplies, and intelligence support.
• Lin Yao announced a mission to capture Black Spider in West Capital, and Han Xiao accepted the mission.

Han Xiao equipped Li Yalin, Lambert, and Lin Yao with folding sabers and remotely coordinated their operation to capture Black Spider. The team entered the slums at night to search for him, while Han Xiao monitored them from the Secret Operations Department.

• Han Xiao realized the mission’s hidden reward required capturing Black Spider and believed his knowledge of Black Spider’s weakness gave the squad a strong chance.
• Han Xiao sold Li Yalin a folding saber and accepted orders from Lambert and Lin Yao for more weapons.
• Han Xiao made eleven custom folding sabers before the operation and earned money and crafting experience.
• Li Yalin, Lambert, and Lin Yao set out to pursue Black Spider while Han Xiao monitored their cameras and headsets and handled command.
• The three agents moved through the dark, crime-ridden slums of the Eighth District, where intelligence reports placed Black Spider.

Li Yalin, Lambert, and Lin Yao fought Black Spider and his armed backup, but Han Xiao warned them that the supposedly dead assassin was still alive. The team was left to investigate the strange claim that Black Spider was an esper.

• Han Xiao warned Li Yalin that Black Spider had spotted the team, and Black Spider's masked gunmen ambushed them.
• Li Yalin led the team through the alleys before drawing the gunmen into a dead end and launching a counterattack.
• Lambert killed four gunmen with throwing knives while Li Yalin used her folding combat blade to defeat the rest.
• Lambert shot Black Spider in the head after the wounded assassin claimed Li Yalin could not kill him.
• Han Xiao said Black Spider was still alive and told the team to inspect a masked corpse, but Li Yalin and Lin Yao doubted him.

Han Xiao helped Lambert, Li Yalin, and Lin Yao expose Black Spider’s clone-based immortality and capture him alive. After the team’s successful first operation, Han Xiao faced a hostile review by Internal Affairs, which left their conflict unresolved.

• Han Xiao guided Lambert, Li Yalin, and Lin Yao through identifying Black Spider’s faceless clones, and they captured Black Spider by crippling his final body instead of killing it.
• Han Xiao revealed Black Spider’s limits to Li Yalin, who warned him that the team could keep him imprisoned; reinforcements took Black Spider away.
• Han Xiao completed the mission, chose 40,000 experience over the Mind Stabilizer, and learned Black Spider would be confined at Death Knell Island Prison.
• Feng Jun told Han Xiao that Internal Affairs had requested a second review and that hardliners in the department opposed cooperating with him.
• Han Xiao mocked the reviewer during the investigation, answered the psychological assessment at random, and left after the reviewer warned that Internal Affairs would watch him.