<h4>Chapter 619: Sunil’s Grade A Main Storyline</h4>
<strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios
As a [Gxy Mechanic], Han Xiao had stepped into the advanced stage of a Mechanic. At this stage, he could already be considered a master. This stage increased the level limit of his main ss by five, the maximum being Lv.25. As Han Xiao recalled, most of the Mechanic yers in his previous life entered Grade A when they became Gxy Mechanics.
The new ss [Gxy Mechanic] meant that he could build stronger machines that could now be used in gctic wars, machines that were more advanced and precise.
For example, Carroll was a Gxy Mechanic, and the Giant Soldier, Ship Destroyer, was a blueprint that he invented at the Gxy Mechanic stage.
From the yers’ perspective, the best improvement that this ss Advancement brought was rted to fusing blueprints. The ss [Gxy Mechanic] was a prerequisite for more advanced blueprints. The samebinations as before could now unlock more blueprints.
In terms of abilities, [Gxy Mechanic] strengthened the branch selected during the previous stage, which was Han Xiao’s Virtual Technology. The rted abilities and talents were enhanced, and he also obtained two new Virtual Technology abilities.
[Rapid Virtual Intrusion], as the name suggested, sped up the speed of Virtual Intrusion. In exchange, the duration of the authority obtained through Virtual Intrusion would be shorter.
[Quantum Network Matrix] was a core ability. It had two effects. One was a huge increase in the range of intrusion.
Range was a very important attribute of Virtual Technology. Clearly, there was an enormous difference between hacking something right in front of it and hacking something an entire Star System away. The quantumwork existed everywhere, and the level of Virtual Technology determined the degree to which a Mechanic could make use of the quantumwork. Han Xiao’s range increased tremendously, but of course, it was still far from being able to use Virtual Intrusion across Star Systems.
Only Beyond Grade A Mechanics like [Mechanic Empire] Manison could do it across such terrifying distances, hacking from Star Systems or even Star Clusters away.
The second effect of this ability was the Virtual Intrusion version of ‘sshing’.
For example, if the targets of the intrusion were two independent artificial intelligences but the two of them were exchanging data, if one artificial intelligence was hacked, through its data exchange with the other artificial intelligence, the other artificial intelligence would also be indirectly hacked. It was simr toputers spreading viruses, like an AOE Virtual Intrusion. However, the judging difficulty of indirect intrusion would be higher.
As for [Master Machinery Affinity], it was a very practical ability. It provided +75% Machinery Affinity at the max level.
[Machinery Theory Summary] was a talent. It was considered one of the core abilities of the Mechanic ss just like [Machinery Analytical Comprehension]. It increased Machinery Affinity based on Intelligence at a rate of thirty Intelligence to 2.2% Machinery Affinity.
As the main ss continued to level up, the core attribute of the ss would have a bigger impact on his strength, which was why Han Xiao put all his points into Intelligence.
<i>Level 146...</i>
Han Xiao thought about it and did not continue levelling up. He maxed the levels of the new abilities and kept the remaining billions of experience.
ss Advancement was a new stage, which was why it made him much stronger, but the benefits of continuing to level up were not very high. Leveling up to 160 required an enormous amount of experience, and what he had was far from enough. It was better to keep it and use it to level up abilities, getting some Potential Points. What he was shortest of was Potential Points—they were in single digits.
Energized and refreshed, energy flowed in Han Xiao’s body like a stream. Han Xiao could feel his body’s changes clearly. His senses were clearer. He gently touched apressed orb, and his brain subconsciously presented its structure. His understanding of machines was now deeper.
After enjoying this feeling for a while, Han Xiao left the training room satisfied. Only now did he see the message that Herlous had sent him, inviting him to attend the meeting before the battle, to discuss how to deal with the Subterranean Mutants together.
Han Xiao could not help but shake his head.
Sunils had hired the ck Star Army to get rid of the Subterranean Mutants, so they had most likely formted a rough n long ago. Instead of calling it a discussion, it was more like the Sunils introducing their n.
...
Han Xiao went to the military conference room, and he could hear the heated argument even through the door. Han Xiao opened the door and walked in. Everyone looked at him, and the discussion suddenly stopped. The Sunil superiors all stood up to wee him. Herlous and Sehrinde were there, too.
Han Xiao ced his fist in front of his mouth and coughed. “How’s the discussion going?”
“Your Excellency ck Star, we are waiting for you to make the decision,” a bold Sunil superior said respectfully. Han Xiao recalled that this superior was called Otis, the right-hand man of the Sunil leader. His position was very high.
“I’m just the executor, only responsible for carrying out the n. The overall strategy is up to you, not decided by me.” Han Xiao waved his hand. As a mercenary, he did not like to cross boundaries.
“Oh... okay. Then I shall talk about the strategic goal—eliminate Subterranean Mutants or shrink their number down to a safe standard, at least allowing us to safely destroy the Prophecy Stone mines underground. We now have three possible ways to deal with them...”
Otis turned on the projection and exined the ns in detail.
“The first n is to send soldiers underground and destroy Subterranean Mutant’s nests one after another. This n will need a lot of manpower, and the casualty number is difficult to estimate. The underground world is their stage; we can’t fully make use of our strength. We will also meet all sorts of difficulties like getting lost, being caved in, and so on. This is considered thest resort.
“Second, lure the Mutants up the surface in groups, then use war weapons such as spaceships and missiles to bombard them. This would be much more efficient, killing tens of millions at once. The problem is how we are going to lure them out. Also, it’s best not to use nuclear weapons. We don’t want to cause too much pollution.
“Thest n is to capture some Subterranean Mutants alive. Study their body structure, invent specially made bioweapons, and drop them underground. Eliminating them en masse withoutbat. However, the difficulty, cost, and time of inventing such a thing are all unknown. The level of uncertainty is too high.”
This time, Han Xiao’s interface suddenly popped up.
______________________________________________
You have triggered Grade A Faction Mission [Eliminate Subterranean Mutants]!
Mission Introduction: An ancient species lives under Sunil’s surface. They’re the natives of this, but they have be enemies that obstructed the Sunils’ development. You epted Sunil’s request topletely resolve this hidden threat.
Reminder: This is a Faction Series Mission. You canplete the requirements stated below during this mission.
Research Sample I: Capture 1 Subterranean Mutant alive. Reward: 20,000 experience
Research Sample II: Capture 10 Subterranean Mutants alive. Reward: 200,000 experience
Research Sample III: Capture 50 Subterranean Mutants alive. Reward: 1,000,000 experience
ughterer I: Kill 10 Subterranean Mutants. Reward: 50,000 experience
...
ughterer V: Kill 1,000 Subterranean Mutants. Reward: 5,000,000 experience
Mine Destroyer (Repeatable): Destroy a Prophecy Stone mine. Reward: 200,000 experience
8 targets remaining... [Expand/Copse]
When the mission ends, based on the number of targetspleted, a rating and bonus reward will be given.
______________________________________________
<i>A new Grade A mission?</i>
This appeared to be Sunil’s main storyline. When the n officially started, the yers would be able to trigger it as well.
Differents all had their own main storyline missions, which was why Han Xiao always took NPC resources very seriously, using them to make up for the ck Star Army’s ‘storyline’. Not only were there missions, but there were also main storyline missions. Double the rewards, double the happiness.
The people stared at Han Xiao, and Herlous asked, “ck Star, which n do we use?”
Han Xiao knocked on the table, pondered, and said, “All of them.”
With joy written all over his face, Otis nodded rapidly and said, “That’s the best. We Sunils will deploy soldiers as well to fight together with the ck Star Army.”
After discussing the details of the n, they agreed to first capture some Subterranean Mutants and study their bodies.
It was a task better done sooner, so Han Xiao did not waste any time. After the meeting ended, he took Herlous and Sehrinde in a spaceship, heading toward one of the Subterranean Mutant nests’ entrances.
The three of them were strong enough to not worry about any danger, so it was most efficient for them to do the job. This was also why Han Xiao did not bring along any yers. If not because the task of capturing them alive was more troublesome, he would rather have worked alone.
The spaceship arrived there very quickly. This ce was in the middle of being dug up, so many drilling machines were scattered around the ce. There was a huge hole in the ground, dark and extending to the underground.
This had initially been a cave for the Prophecy Stone mine underground, but it had be the first ce to discover Subterranean Mutants. There were a lot of armored Sunil soldiers stationed there. Since they had very limited knowledge of the Subterranean Mutants, this was to prevent them froming up to the surface.
The spaceshipnded, and Han Xiao notified the campmander. Themander weed the three of them, and the patrolling soldiers looked at them with respect.
It waste at night, and the sky was dark. The illuminating devices around the camp were the only sources of light. The three of them stood at the edge of the cave and looked down. Even the strong light could not reach the bottom.
Han Xiao was about to go down. This time, Herlous suddenly said, “ck Star, do you think this is... hical?”
“Oh?” Han Xiao paused and turned to Herlous. “You mean eliminating the Subterranean Mutants?”
“Yes.” Herlous’ tone was anxious.
The appearance of Subterranean Mutants changed the nature of the issue. No one had expected to discover Sunil’s natives. The Sunils was outsiders. If they wanted to resolve the Catastrophe, they had to deal with these native Subterranean Mutants. In a way, this had be an invasion.
Without the ck Star Army’s help, the Sunils would not have had the ability to deal with the Subterranean Mutants. They would have had no choice but to coexist with them in terror. Only with ck Star did the Sunil have confidence in eliminating them.
Comparing the power between the two sides, it was clear that as soon as the battle started, it would be a single-sided ughter of the Subterranean Mutants.
Herlous was a Sunil, and he stood on the Sunils’ side. Even if this was not very ethical, he had to do this for the future of his race, but ck Star was different.
ck Star’s home, Aquamarine, had once been invaded by DarkStar. Their situation was simr to that of the Subterranean Mutants, both victims of a higher civilization. Would ck Star stand on the Subterranean Mutants’ side and be unhappy with the Sunils’ actions?
Herlous was very worried about this and wanted to know what Han Xiao was thinking.