The Legendary Mechanic

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You have triggered the urgent mission [Escape]!

Mission Introduction: Your friend Lothaire has successfully assassinated the Modo Civilization leader. He is being pursued and is trying to escape the Modo Civilization's territory. He needs help.

Mission Requirements: Help Lothaire escape the Modo Civilization territory.

Reward: 8 Billion EXP, 2 Random Rewards, draw 1 ability/talent from Lothaire, [Civilization Leader Slayer] milestone.

Remarks: By accepting this mission, -3,000 Modo Civilization Favorability.

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"Hmm, the mission only appeared now?"

In Black Star Palace, a notification popped up on Han Xiao's interface. He was both surprised and speechless.

Briefly looking at the mission introduction, Han Xiao accepted it without hesitation. There was already no room for his Modo Civilization Favorability to decrease any further.

Helping Lothaire was something he had to do, so getting rewarded for it was just a cherry on top. He only found it weird that the mission did not pop up when he chatted with Lothaire but only appeared after he had made the arrangements.

"The arrangements have been made. I wonder if I can get Lothaire out."

Han Xiao shook his head.

He was not very confident. On the low side, the odds of success were only ninety-five percent.

Ever since he became the three Universal Civilizations' consultant, building subdivisions for the Black Star Army had become much easier. There were subdivisions in the Primeval Star River too. Although he could not build an intelligence network there, the armed forces stationed there were quite strong. Han Xiao had also left quite a lot of mechanical soldiers there, including a King mechanical suit just in case.

After receiving the news from Lothaire, he had instantly ordered his men to infiltrate Modo's territory with a King. As long as they could rendezvous, Lothaire would be able to immediately escape using the King suit. The others in the Assassin's Society would have to figure something out themselves, but since they were not the main target and did not know Black Star was their boss, there was not much intelligence they could leak.

The King mechanical suit was the Universal Treasure that Han Xiao had built the most times. Although it was extremely expensive to build, ever since he obtained [Billion Mechanic Empire—Manison], his success rate of building Gold equipment had increased tremendously, saving him a lot of money. He had to admit that Manison's Exclusive Talent was incredible.

Of course, the main reason he could build so many of them was that he was rich.

Thinking back to when he just entered the galaxy, he had to carefully plan how to spend every Ena, but now he was too lazy to even look at deals that would earn him less than fifty million Enas profit.

"Maybe this is what growth is…"

Although rescuing Lothaire was important, he did not plan to go there himself. It was very far away, and having the local subdivision's mechanical troops take his Lord's Avatar along was more than enough. He had already done everything he could; there was not much more he could do to help Lothaire.

At this time, Black Star was on the rooftop of Black Star Palace, hovering five meters off the floor.

Dozens of different-sized, ring-shaped mechanical devices hovered around him. From Han Xiao's perspective, each of the rings was wrapped around hundreds of stars. Silk-like beams of light crisscrossed inside the rings like an energy filtering net, picking out tiny dots of light from nothing that landed on Han Xiao's body and dissolved, absorbed by his skin.

He was training Ames' [Dragon Emperor Star Energy Extraction Technique]. The ring devices were the assistive tools he had built called Star Energy Collectors. They could enhance the effects of the Dragon Emperor Star Energy Extraction Technique.

Han Xiao let out a breath of air that consisted of star energy and felt the energy flow inside his body. It was as if his cells were shrouded in a fuzzy layer of star light. He tutted with satisfaction.

"Tsk, the effects of this energy training technique are even better than Heber's Stellar Furnace Cultivation. Ames is quite creative. What a nice surprise this is."

Not a single Super would be unhappy about having too much energy. Even Beyond Grade As who could infinitely regain energy would never stop training their energy. Every slight increase in their maximum energy was an increase in their limits, and Han Xiao was no exception. He had always taken energy training very seriously and frequently searched for all kinds of energy training techniques.

Originally, among all the energy training techniques he had, [Heber Stellar Furnace Cultivation] had the best effects. It gave him a total of 16,750 increase in his maximum energy. Now, its position was replaced by [Dragon Emperor Star Energy Extraction Technique].

This energy training technique gave him 800 base energy, but the training time limit was 800. Each period of training it would give him up to 30 energy. In the most ideal situation, this could increase his maximum energy by close to 25,000.

Such an amazing effect could totally increase his Energy Rank by a whole new level, giving him a new layer of attribute bonuses. The impact would be tremendous!

Even though he had [Radiation Absorption], which would make him stronger without him having to do anything at all, it only gave him about 16,000 energy over close to thirty years, still less than [Dragon Emperor Star Energy Extraction Technique].

Nonetheless, [Radiation Absorption] gave him quite a lot of attribute bonuses in Strength, Dexterity, and Endurance.

Old Man Manison had once said that the strength of Mechanics came from their foundation. The longer they lived, the stronger they were. This ability was the perfect proof of that.

The training for this time ended. Han Xiao put the Star Energy Collector away and headed down back to the office while browsing the forums.

There were still some days till the date of the guild alliance war. Almost all the guild alliances responded to it; the influence was clearly visible. The sales of the army's faction store rocketed through the roof. The army players finally stopped saving money and spent like crazy. The EXP Han Xiao received in the past few days was massive.

On the other hand, the preparation for the fourth season of the Pro League had also started long ago, receiving quite the attention, indirectly increasing the players' shopping desire, helping him once again before the version ended.

"At this speed, when Version 4.0 ends, not only will I have enough EXP to level up to 340, but I'll even have quite a lot to spare."

Han Xiao was quite satisfied.

A blonde female walked out from the corner ahead. When she saw Han Xiao, she was stunned for a full second. She then trotted and sprinted into Han Xiao's arms.

"Uncle!" Aurora hugged Han Xiao tightly.

"How old are you now, still acting like a kid?" Han Xiao rubbed Aurora's hair, pressed on her head, and pushed her away.

"I'll always be a kid in front of you." Aurora giggled.

She was indeed qualified to say this. Her overflowing vital energy had kept her looking like a teenager.

Han Xiao placed his hand on her head and asked, "How is your strength progressing?"

"Quite fast." Aurora raised her hand and released a cluster of vital energy. It seemed to be brighter than before.

"Let me take a look."

Nanoparticles flowed at the tip of Han Xiao's finger and formed a metal needle. He stabbed Aurora's arm and triggered the combat information, seeing her full attributes.

Han Xiao looked at it and nodded with satisfaction.

Ever since Aurora became the master of the Holy Light Particle, Han Xiao had hired a ton of employees to specifically cultivate the Holy Light Seeds, helping Aurora become stronger. The effect of that was spectacular.

The Vital Energy Esper Ability was unique, so Aurora would never hit a wall. As long as she accumulated enough, her Grade would smoothly increase. Therefore, the method of harvesting leeks using the Holy Light Particle was perfect for her, making her grow at an incredible speed, much quicker than growing naturally. With her current growth speed, it would not take hundreds of years for Aurora to become a Beyond Grade A. The time would be reduced by roughly seventy to ninety percent.

Han Xiao smiled and said, "Not bad, not bad, I'm satisfied with your progress. Keep it up. Now go play,"

"Humph, I've been doing a lot of things in the army, not just playing. Don't always see me as a kid!" Aurora puffed her cheeks, turned, and ran away.

You just said you'll always be a kid, and now you're unhappy about me seeing you as a kid. What in the world…

Women are so unpredictable, even harder to understand than old man Manison's Felon technology.

Han Xiao shook his head and did not chase after Aurora, instead returning to his office.

As soon as he walked in, his communicator rang. He looked at it, and to his surprise, it was a call from Kasuyi.

Han Xiao casually sat on the Throne, lay back, and picked it up.

"Yo, Old Kasuyi, you rarely ever contact me. What's this about?"

"Are you free?"

"What, you want to ask me out?"

"Something like that. I'm planning to explore a special secondary dimension and hope to team up with a Mechanic. It'd be best if you're free."

Han Xiao's eyes flickered. He sat up straight slightly and asked, "Why didn't you go to Manison? Aren't the two of you quite close?"

"He's not in a good situation at the moment, so it's not wise to look for him. Comparatively, you're my top choice. You're more suited for this mission than him."

"Oh? Why?"

"Because that place is dangerous. I need a tank to stand in front, so… you know what I'm saying." Kasuyi coughed.

Han Xiao tutted.

No wonder you came to me. Turns out it's because of my tankiness.

Why hide something like this? You can just tell me you want my body.

"How dangerous is that secondary dimension?"

"I've never done field research, so I don't know the details either. However, it's definitely very dangerous. Even Beyond Grade As' lives can be threatened."

"Who else is going?"

"Just you and me. I don't want too many people to take part in this operation."

Hearing this, Han Xiao narrowed his eyes.

He felt that this was most certainly not just a simple exploration. He wondered what secret goal Kasuyi had.

"That's about it. Black Star, when are you free?"

"Erm… in a few months. You know what's happening between Modo and me. I don't have time to do something else for the time being. Are you in a hurry?"

"Not really. I can wait for you, but don't make me wait too long."

"That's easy. You can deal with Modo together with me, then I'll be free sooner, right?" Han Xiao teased.

"Hehe, go trick someone else." Kasuyi smiled faintly.

"I can surely go with you, but you'll at least have to show some sincerity, you know," Han Xiao said.

"What reward do you want? As long as it's a not too excessive request, I will agree."

"Now that you suddenly say that, I really don't know what I want… What about more requests?"

"No, just one." Kasuyi's expression remained the same.

"Then I've not decided yet."

Han Xiao shrugged. This was a favor from Kasuyi, so he did not want to waste it.

"It's still early anyway. Take your time to think about it. Tell me when you've made up your mind."

After the agreement was made, Kasuyi did not waste much time. They chatted for a little bit before hanging up.

Han Xiao put the communicator down and pondered.

"Fascinating. Even Kasuyi needs a teammate to bear the risk together. What's going on in that secondary dimension? Is it really that dangerous?"

Sadly, no mission was triggered yet, so he had no clue.

After pondering for a while longer and still having no idea, he put this matter in the back of his mind.

…

In the next ten or so days, the Modo Civilization searched everywhere for Lothaire. However, it was not going smoothly at all, and accidents occurred frequently. The forces the Crimson Dynasty planted in Modo's territory kept stirring trouble, obstructing the investigation in all ways possible, but they also lost quite a number of men who were captured and interrogated by Modo.

In this situation, the assassins inside Modo's territory all stopped acting and went into hiding, afraid of being suspected. They were all shocked by how daring this assassin who killed the Modo Civilization's leader was.

During the thorough investigation, Lothaire's experience proved to be a huge help. He continuously hid, shifted locations, and covered his tracks, avoiding the soldiers time after time.

He had multiple stealth abilities to begin with and the bonus of the Medium Luck Glow, so he was able to rendezvous with the mechanical army Han Xiao had sent into Modo's territory without getting caught in any battles.

The mechanical army successfully handed the King over to Lothaire. With it, he teleported away directly and finally escaped. He would never be found by Modo.

The Modo Civilization did not know about this. They were still searching everywhere. However, just a few days later, a sudden change happened in the Modo Civilization's leading level again.

As one of Modo's leaders had passed away, one of the Three Kings was missing. The race this position represented was very unhappy, and they did not want this situation to carry on. Therefore, a candidate quickly replaced this hole for the time being, and the Three Kings were complete again.

However, this new leader's political stand seemed to be different from the other two kings—he did not support sending more soldiers to the Flickering World.

Due to all kinds of factors, the objecting faction seemed to have grown stronger once again. Those objecting faction upper echelons, including Marco, were all released after they were proved innocent. Under the protection of some kind of political power, not only were they not cleansed, but they were even firmer about objecting to the decision to continue participating in the Flickering War.

A storm started in the Modo Civilization's leading level again, but this time was different from the public impeachment. Instead, it was all going on in private. The public did not know the truth; they only noticed that the shifting of officials seemed to be more frequent.

No outsiders knew what kind of political strife and compromising the Modo upper echelons had made. They only knew that more than half a month after the assassination incident, the Modo Civilization publicly announced the progress of the investigation.

The report did not mention the names of the three Universal Civilizations and the Black Star Army at all. They only stated that many suspects had been caught, and they had made some progress, but the details of the progress were not stated at all.

At the end of the report, the Modo Civilization stated that they would be attacking all the terrorist organizations outside the territory that had claimed responsibility for the assassination. They expressed that this was an insult to Modo's face, and these organizations were key suspects.

Under the operations of the Modo Civilization, the public opinion of the nation was directed at these terrorist organizations. The hatred was shifted.

The spies and mechanical armies that Han Xiao had left in the Modo expeditionary army's territory discovered their sudden movements—expeditionary army fleets disappeared in the territory one after another.

Very soon, not just the Black Star Army, but the three Universal Civilizations and the Super Star Cluster Alliance also noticed this.

Although it was not clearly stated, everyone could guess what the Modo Civilization was doing—the Modo expeditionary army was retreating!

The objecting faction rose, the nation's internal state was in chaos, and there were many possible traps behind the assassination. In the end, the objecting faction got the upper hand. The two old kings of Modo were forced to compromise. The order to pull out the expeditionary army was made. They had decided to give up on participating in the Flickering War.

A simpler conclusion for this would be…

The Modo Civilization was now disqualified by Black Star!