The Legendary Mechanic

Han Xiao passed a list of items to Feng Jun.

"Oh my god! BOK-recombiner, Farer IV Solvent, and 12 microchips‽ Do you know how expensive these things are?"

"I'm paying," replied Han Xiao plainly, instantly reminding Feng Jun that they were not on the same pay scale.

One hour later, he arrived at Han Xiao's workshop with three briefcases in hand.

The first briefcase contained three ten-centimeter-long transparent tubes that were filled with an opaque white, sticky fluid. This was the BOK-recombiner.

The second briefcase contained a small vial of pale blue solution. This was the Farer IV Solvent.

These two materials could only be made within an equipped laboratory and were extremely valuable. These two tiny vials had cost Han Xiao $120,000.

The third briefcase contained the 12 microchips. Each one was only about the size of a fingernail, and they were extremely thin. Upon closer observation, one would find that they were jam packed with circuit lines. They were commonly used for small and complex gadgets, and the set of 12 cost $60,000.

Han Xiao immediately began working on the mask.

He started by opening holes on the thin plastic mask for his eyes, nose, and mouth. Then, he carved out 12 small holes on various locations of the mask for embedding the microchips in.

Before putting the microchips in, Han Xiao uploaded the data from a scan of his own face to his computer. Using a library of over thousands of faces, he then spent two to three hours linking them up to a simple facial recognition and projection program on his computer.

When he was done, Han Xiao retrieved some laboratory apparatus and began to work at mixing the BOK-Recombiner and the Farer IV Solvent together. After some time, he managed to produce a composite material that was neither white nor blue like its constituents, but instead, the color of flesh.

This was the key material for making the Smart Meta-Optical Mask. Not only did it possess some of the useful properties of the BOK-recombiner and the Farer IV Solvent, it had, most importantly, good conductivity.

Han Xiao proceeded to embed the microchips beneath the mask before pouring the flesh-colored mixture over it. After a few more finishing touches, he left it to set within a special freezer.

A short while later, Han Xiao opened the freezer and reached in to retrieve the mask. Apart from where the microchips were located, the mask was extremely smooth. On its thin surface, Han Xiao had installed an advanced crystal display that, upon being pressed, caused a spectrum of colors to appear on the spot.

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You have crafted [Smart Meta-Optical Mask], gaining 5,000 exp!

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[Smart Meta-Optical Mask] - Face Equipment

Allows the user to change the appearance of his face when worn, concealing his identity. Charge 5 minutes for 10 hours of usage.

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This mask had cost a whopping close to $200,000 to make.

Han Xiao picked up the mask and walked over to the mirror to test it out. A cool sensation enveloped his face when he put it on, and he pressed gently onto the micro-chip on the cheek area to activate it. The appearance of his face immediately transformed, and it continued to change into a different face with each press.

This was by no means an ordinary mask of disguise! It was a godly piece of equipment that allowed the user to change his appearance at will!

The [Smart Meta-Optical Mask] would only 'transform' into the faces of humans, as Han Xiao had only fed the program data of human faces. Apart from randomly changing, it was also able to store up to three different faces for the user to access and could revert back to the last three faces used. It also had an additional function that allowed it to scan a target's face and transform to it with a 70-80% accuracy.

After playing with the mask a bit more, Han Xiao removed it and headed back to headquarters to look for Gu Hui.

"You've created your mask?" asked Gu Hui.

Han Xiao smiled and put the mask on.

As Han Xiao did not intend to reveal the mask's transformation capabilities just yet, he had prepared it to display the face of an ordinary-looking young man beforehand.

To Gu Hui, it simply looked like an extremely realistic mask. However, while Division 13 could already make such masks, none of them were as realistic as Han Xiao's. Furthermore, not only did it seem to be extremely portable, it was clearly very easy to wear.

"Interested in selling the blueprints to us?"

Han Xiao faked a burst of laughter.

"It's just a simple mask, why would I need a blueprint to make it? You guys can make them too, right?"

'That's true,' thought Gu Hui to himself.

Inwardly, Han Xiao let out a breath of relief upon seeing Gu Hui give up the idea.

'I managed to fool him!'

"Then," continued Han Xiao, "can I join the operation?"

Gu Hui thought for a moment before nodding.

"The Hesla Intelligence Service has decided to join us for this operation. You will come along with your team."

Han Xiao had known that Hesla would agree to taking action. It was the Germinal Organization, after all.

Suppressing the excitement in his heart, Han Xiao asked, "When do we depart?"

"There's no rush. It will take some time to arrange our forces, plus, we will both have to work on a proper strategy first. It'll most likely be half a month before deployment."

'Half a month,' thought Han Xiao. 'That will be enough time for me to finish up my equipment.'

…

Back in his workshop, Han Xiao wrote his goals down on paper.

One, to obtain even more rare blueprints.

Two, to purchase a vehicle for his team. As a logistics personnel, a vehicle equipped with all the maintenance and crafting tools he needed would be invaluable.

Three, to upgrade the [Fighter Suit].

"Ah, so much to do. One at a time, I guess."

Han Xiao shook his head.

The most important thing was still to raise his own combat ability. There were a few ways to do this.

The first and most important way, in Han Xiao's opinion, would be to improve his defensive capabilities. After all, survival was key.

The second was to enhance his long-ranged offensive capabilities. For this, Han Xiao planned to enhance his Berserk Eagles.

While Han Xiao did prefer fighting from a distance, close-combat ability was still important on the battlefield, so he also planned to upgrade the Mecha Arm.

As for mobility, the Swallow Gliders that had been collecting dust in his inventory were finally going to see use. As the terrain around the Black Raven Valley Base was extremely rough, they might end up proving invaluable to have.

Han Xiao also decided to prepare a little something in the event that the battle did not go their way, a little something explosive.

After giving it quick thought, Han Xiao scribbled down another list of materials for Feng Jun to help him procure. The total cost of the items on the list cost around another $300,000.

Feng Jun found himself growing more and more exasperated at Han Xiao, but fortunately for him, the higher-ups had known before that Han Xiao would be a pain to deal with, so they had given him a raise. For the sake of his $25,000 monthly wage, plus insurance, he relented to act as Han Xiao's errand boy.

Feng Jun sighed as he looked up to the sky dramatically.

'With great power comes great responsibility, I guess.'