The Legendary Mechanic

Han Xiao's fleet had stopped at the Crimson Dynasty's temporary Ancient Star Desert military base to resupply and repair their armor.

Over the past few months, using the information he had gained through the black market channels, he had done a cleansing of the restless gray organizations in the Ancient Star Desert, creating an image of him being merciless. This successfully made the rest not dare to take the risk. They chose to obey and stopped touching the Virtual Mutiny Virus. Hence, the Star Field's situation was getting better.

While doing so, Han Xiao was also trying to find the virus core. He had let Harrison choose the overlapping data points multiple times with his Luck Glow.

However, for once, the Luck Glow did not work, and he was never able to find the virus core. Even old man Aesop could not 'prophecy' his way to the location of this thing.

He was in charge of cleaning out the uncertainties, while Manison was focusing on researching. Both sides had gotten some results. Currently, the Intelligent Plague was somewhat under control.

"… I thought you guys would be able to come up with the antivirus very soon. Turns out it took you months. Now this doesn't suit your level, Manison."

Inside the lounge for upper echelons of the military base, Han Xiao was chatting with Manison's remote projection while snacking on some kind of seed similar to the Chinese melon seeds.

Manison shook his head and said, "Analyzing the virus' code wasn't easy. Plus, we had to prevent the virus from erupting, so we had to go around the conditions that would trigger it. We had no choice but to be extremely cautious. That's why it took us some time."

Beyond Grade A Virtual Mechanics could easily eliminate the Virtual Mutiny Virus, but the difficulty of turning their own ability into a tool that anyone could use was a completely different matter. For example, a man would be able to naturally walk and run, but if he was asked to build a robot that could do the same, he would definitely not be able to come up with it as easily.

"What are the three Universal Civilizations planning to do now?"

"The problem is still the conditions of triggering the virus eruption. In order to make sure it doesn't erupt, we can't cause the infection speed of the virus to plummet all of a sudden. Therefore, even if there are firewalls, we can't use them on a wide scale. For the time being, they can only be installed after all the infected nodes are cleaned. This is also the reason that despite the three Universal Civilizations' control, the Virtual Mutiny Virus has still infected more than half of the network nodes in the Ancient Star Desert over the past few months."

"If I recall correctly, cleaning out the virus on a large scale will also trigger it, right?" Han Xiao asked.

"Yes," Manison replied. "Therefore, the scanning tool the three Universal Civilizations have asked us to build can't be discovered by the viruses. They plan to secretly lock onto all the infected nodes by scanning them, then implant antivirus tools with precision to clean all the infected nodes simultaneously. Afterward, they'll install firewalls immediately to prevent repeat infections. This way, even if the virus ends up erupting, the damage will be minimized."

"Although this method is a little bit troublesome, it's safest."

Han Xiao had no objection to the three Universal Civilizations' plan. It sounded quite reliable.

However, he had a question in mind. In his previous life, the three Universal Civilizations should have done exactly the same thing, so how did it still turn into a disaster for the entire universe in the end?

Could it be because I've done my job too well and changed some unknown details? For example, someone should have transported the virus out but has been stopped by me?

Han Xiao put this question to the back of his mind.

Manison did not know what Han Xiao was thinking. He continued to explain the three Universal Civilizations' plan.

"Therefore, we have made various preparations. One is this plan to wipe out all the virus; the other is to locate the virus core. The virus core is the controlling terminal for most eruption triggers. As long as it's eliminated, the risk will be reduced even further, and we won't have to worry about the viruses erupting when we attempt to wipe them out."

"Do you guys still have no leads on the virus core?"

"It's hidden itself too well." Manison shook his head and did not say much.

Han Xiao snorted softly. He felt that old Manison was not telling the truth. However, there was no point exposing him. The two of them were competitors in this respect. Manison would not be so kind as to share clues with him.

Out of all the Beyond Grade A Mechanics who had come to help, all of them wanted to obtain the virus core to learn the full secrets of the Virtual Mutiny Virus technology.

Now that the pandemic was under control and the most dangerous period had passed, the competition revolving around the virus core had come to the surface. Even the three Universal Civilizations intended to compete for it.

Han Xiao knew that he would not be able to get any information from Manison, so he skipped this topic and said, "Now that your work is done, are you still planning to stay in the research department?"

"No, I'm planning to go and take a walk. One reason is to find clues about the virus core. Another is that I plan to go and take a look at the Machinery Faith."

"Machinery Faith?" Han Xiao's brows raised.

He had never forgotten that the two of them had conflicts of interest due to this religion. Manison was always in the position of the main god. He wanted to keep most of their faith to himself to maintain the [Key of Adeptus Mechanicus] bonuses.

For that, Manison had struck more than a decade ago and made Han Xiao suffer a slight loss.

Back then, he had chosen to use his soul talent of not competing. After that, he had been growing stronger while keeping a low profile, at the same time maintaining a decent relationship with Manison.

"What, you have some thoughts about it?" Manison sounded like he was smiling, but he was not.

"Humph, can't I?" Han Xiao narrowed his eyes.

"Compared to about ten years ago, you have indeed improved. However, it's still too early for you to want to challenge me again," Manison said coldly. "Don't envy what's mine. We have quite a good relationship now; keeping things this way is good for you. Don't say I never warned you. I don't wish to see you have any contact with the Machinery Faith in any form."

Then, the green remote projection disappeared, and Manison had hung up the communication.

Han Xiao's face turned black. He was a little irritated.

What a b*stard this guy is, changing his attitude like flipping pages of a book.

Also, when did the Machinery Faith become yours?

Shameless!

Speaking of, it's already been more than ten years since I last fought him…

Han Xiao narrowed his eyes and pondered.

He opened the interface, looked at the huge amount of EXP he had accumulated, and felt assured.

The Black Star Cup had been going on all this time, giving him bonus EXP for the past few months, which had stacked up to quite a huge amount. He did a slight calculation—it was roughly enough for him to level up from level 320 to between 335 and 337.

Just a portion of this much EXP would be enough for him to obtain enough Potential Points to max all his class knowledges.

After farming for so long, I feel like I can have a rematch with Manison…

Han Xiao had decided to take a step back more than ten years ago because he wanted to become stronger first. Now that he had improved, his restless mindset once again seized control.

The competition around the Machinery Faith was one thing, but to Han Xiao, the other reason was the main reason.

I'm not happy. I have to fight that old man!

Last time, I was weaker, so I put up with it, but it's never too late for revenge!

In the past, you came to me and bullied my Phillip. Now, I have reason to be confident, so it's my turn to initiate the challenge and see the difference in our strength.

Due to the existence of the Beyond Grade A Association, the strength difference between individuals also affected the weight of their words. Although Manison's term was still long, he could totally make some early preparations for the next election.

Also, it was because of the development union that he did not have to worry about Manison's retaliation. As the president, Manison had to set an example and not cause trouble secretly, or it would go against the purpose of the development union.

Although Manison provided some help to him during the attack on Hila, it was more of a win-win. To Han Xiao, favors and beef did not cancel out each other. He would repay Old Man Manison for what he did in the future at most.

All kinds of thoughts flashed past Han Xiao's mind. He brought up the ability list, selected a bunch of blueprint abilities, threw in EXP, and maxed out their levels. Notifications kept popping up on the interface.

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You have maxed the level of one ability. You have received 1 Potential Point.

…

You have maxed the level of one ability. You have received 1 Potential Point.

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Currently, Han Xiao only had three Ultimate Knowledges that were not at their maximum level. [Ultimate Mechanical Engineering] was at Lv.3, [Mechanical Life Tinder] was at Lv.4, and [Endless Material Science] was at Lv.2. They required a total of 144 Potential Points. Even though he still had some Potential Points left, he still had to max out more than a hundred abilities.

The more max level abilities he had, the higher the cost of leveling up the rest of the abilities, including even the low-level blueprints. Though, the cost did not increase as much as leveling up himself. This meant that although the players could utilize different levelling strategies, they would not have too much of an impact. They would still have to put in a lot of effort to receive more Potential Points.

His EXP gauge went down very quickly. Very soon, he had already spent more than half of it. When his remaining EXP was only enough for him to level up to 326, he finally had 144 Potential Points.

Although leveling up would also give him Potential Points, he did not want to wait any longer. He had tons of leeks and a continuous source of EXP, so being so calculative was not something he needed to do.

Furthermore, Han Xiao was also very curious as to whether Potential Points would still be of any use when all his knowledges were at the maximum level.

Looking at the 144 Potential Points, Han Xiao took a deep breath and spent them all on the last three Ultimate Knowledges.

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You have leveled up [Ultimate Mechanical Engineering] to Lv.5 (Max)!

You have leveled up [Mechanical Life Tinder] to Lv.5 (Max)!

You have leveled up [Endless Material Science] to Lv.5 (Max)!

All 60 of your Class Knowledges have reached the max level!

You have received 1 [The First Sanctum] Ability Fragment.

You have acquired talent [Great Machinery Sage]!

[Great Machinery Sage]: +1.25 Total Machinery Affinity bonus multiplier; +3 levels to Mechanic Class related abilities (Not limited by the ability's max level); +40% production, enhancement, and repairing ability; +60% Virtual Technology effects; +15% Machinery basic attributes; +120% Machinery production speed; +3,000 INT.

Remark: "In the machinery territory, you're an all-knowing sage."

The current Potential Points in your possession and the Potential Points you obtain in the future can be turned into 'Awakening Points' at a 1:1 conversion rate.

Usage I: 1 An Awakening Point can be converted into 100 Free Attribute Points (Irreversible).

Usage II: 1 An Awakening Point can be used to level up one maxed level ability by 1 level (Irreversible).

Usage III: Awakening Points can be used to increase the awakening process of Unique Talent. The amount increased by every 1 Awakening Point depends on the level and grade of the Unique Talent (Irreversible). 100 Awakening Points can be used to activate the brief structure of a Unique Talent (Custom talent direction).

Usage IV: Awakening Points can be used to increase the grade of blueprints. The amount increased by every 1 Awakening Point depends on the level and grade of the blueprint (Irreversible).

Usage V: Awakening Points can be used to increase the progress of inventing a blueprint. The amount increased by every 1 Awakening Point depends on the level and grade of the blueprint (Irreversible).

Your [Ultimate Mechanical Engineering] has reached the max level. [Inspirational Creation] activated!

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Woah! Han Xiao was thoroughly surprised.

[Great Machinery Sage]'s effects definitely matched how difficult it was to obtain it. Not only did it provide very comprehensive bonuses, but the bonuses were also all quite large. Its impact on his strength was probably on the same level as [Perfect Mechanical Sense], increasing his overall strength by about ten percent.

I wonder if the suffixes of the talents given when all class knowledges are at the max level is the same for all the classes…

The Magic Sage? Sounds fine.

The Psychic Sage? Now that sounds a little weird…

The Esper Sage? Hmm…

The Pugilist Sage? Forget it, the Muscular Sage is definitely much better.

The talent was within Han Xiao's expectations, but the new use of Potential Points surprised him. No player in his previous life could level up all their abilities to the max level. This was a first even for him.

His Potential Points were now Awakening Points.

He carefully read its uses. The more he read it, the more excited he got. Compared to the one and only use the Potential Points had, the uses of Awakening Points were much more diverse.

Converting them into Free Attribute Points and increasing the upper limits of his abilities were clearly very practical and needed no further explanation, but what he was more impressed by were the other three functions.

Increasing the blueprint's grade seemed to be able to give him a stable stream of Gold blueprints.

For example, if he kept throwing Awakening Points into just an ordinary low-level pistol blueprint, given enough Awakening Points, this blueprint might turn into a Gold blueprint!

And the type of blueprint would not change too much. It would only turn from a gunpowder pistol into a portable Planetary Obliteration weapon.

The Awakening Points could also be used to increase the progress of inventing a blueprint, which could be used together with [Inspirational Creation].

[Inspirational Creation] had been gathering dust in the interface. The prerequisite for activating it was max level [Ultimate Mechanical Engineering]. The effect of this ability was to use EXP to assemble multiple blueprints into one or more improved or fused blueprints, with no upper limit on the number of blueprints. At the same time, a choice could be made for the improvement path of the fused blueprints, such as attack, defense, or support.

This ability made inventing blueprints more stable and ensured a result. It was also the only way the players in his previous life could invent Gold blueprints. However, the chances of doing so were extremely low. Most of the time, one would only obtain the brief structure of a Gold blueprint or Inspiration Fragments, which he could use Awakening Points to increase the progress of.

The last use of Awakening Point was what the Great Mechanic Han liked the most—it could be used to fuse Unique Talents!

Han Xiao's eyes sparkled as he mumbled, "Old Manison, Sorokin, and the others might have obtained their Unique Talents this way."