As a participant in the main quest mission, the mission Han Xiao would receive should be quite different from the other players’, and he was very excited.

Alumera seemed like an indirect enemy. Han Xiao rubbed his chin and muttered to himself, “We’ll see when the time comes. There isn’t any cause for concern now. This is just a small territory.”

The interface showed that he had accumulated more than one million EXP. Aquamarine had nineteen novice villages. Excluding the six on Andrea Mainland and not counting Big Horn Village and Green Valley Ville, this meant that Han Xiao still had eleven chances of earning from teaching mechanic skills to those who switched to the mechanics class. This was more than enough for him to rise till LV 60, after which he could then go to some dangerous places, collecting rare abilities, skills, and machinery. Hence, it was rumored that ‘max level is the beginning’. Although he did not have a rank limit imposed by the version, the quality-price ratio to continuously increase his rank was not the highest.

Since Han Xiao possessed a huge channel of EXP, he used it extravagantly to improve his skills.

Talent points could not be used carelessly, but EXP did not really matter.

He straight away upgraded three skills to the highest level; [Flaming Will], [Overload], and [Moving Snipe]. These three combat skills were all important, and the explosive power was upgraded once again. If [Flaming Will] and [Overload] were to start at the same time, it was even possible for the Ghost sniper rifle to take over two thousand HP. The three skills were fully upgraded, and they brought along three talent points. His accumulated talent points were 24 now, and he saved them so as to not use them unnecessarily.

With the remaining EXP, Han Xiao fused his knowledge together and randomly obtained new blueprints. Fortunately, the fusion this time around was quite good.

[Sunworm Portable Flamethrower], the flame had continuous damage. The important point was that it had a small volume but a large range of impact. It could be carried with you or loaded as a small component on a vehicle or robot.

A player who took the role of patrolling in the town suddenly dashed over and shouted in fear, “I found an army. They are approaching, and they have triggered a mission!”

The players of Green Town Ville became restless and all went to check out their interface.

Han Xiao’s brow jumped momentarily. He actually received a mission too!

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You have triggered a random mission, [Invasion of Green Valley Ville].

Mission summary: Green Valley Ville, which is controlled by the Alumera family, is very close to the inhabited land, Black Pine, Lu Cheng’s territory. There has been continuous friction between them. Now, Lu Cheng’s troops are once again invading Green Valley Ville. You can choose to help the Alumera family protect Green Valley Ville or help Lu Cheng attack. Please choose your position.

Mission requirements: Tip off Balsas and protect Green Valley Ville. Otherwise, you can choose to join Lu Cheng’s troops and attack Green Valley Ville.

Note: Once you have picked a side, you are not allowed to switch.

Mission rewards:

1. By protecting Green Valley Ville, you will receive 12,000 EXP and 3,000 Aquamarine Dollars.

2. By helping Lu Cheng compete the attack, you will receive 10,000 EXP.

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I actually received the novice mission as well?

Han Xiao broke into laughter. He did not care about this small reward, but Lu Cheng, who was mentioned in the mission, caught his attention. If he remembered correctly, Lu Cheng was Old Man Lu’s son, a South Continent vagrant who was a big warlord.

Old Man Lu’s four blueprints could only be obtained from Lu Cheng. An idea came to Han Xiao’s head, and he immediately made a decision. As long as he got to interact with Lu Cheng, he would then be able to know when the secret quest would begin.

As for those four uncommon blueprints, he had been eyeing them for a long time.

I will observe for a while, see if the leader is Lu Cheng himself or his subordinate.Han Xiao took out his sniper rifle and oiled it. He idled around and appeared as a sharp contrast to the busy players around him.

This urgent mission resulted in the players taking action, some of them immediately chose to protect Green Valley Ville, which offered a higher reward, and went to tip off the guard. There were still some players surveying the situation first.

Balsas received the information and jumped out of his lover’s bed in shock. He hurriedly threw on his clothes and arrived at the town’s lookout tower with quick steps. The observatory was built with stones and bricks, and the top was spread with weeds as a ceiling.

“Damn it, the bastard of Black Pine came again!” Balsas cursed with a pair of gloomy triangular eyes.

Green Valley Ville was just one part of Alumera, and Lu Cheng was actually a local vagrant warlord from the South Continent. His power was even more tremendous. Lu Cheng’s headquarters were in Black Pine, and Green Valley Ville was located just dozens of miles away. Lu Cheng had eyed this strategic location for a long time and tried to invade several times. No one had expected him to launch an attack today.

Xiao Rui arrived beside Balsas and pointed at the dense mess of surrounding players and assured him, “Don’t worry, don’t we have cannon fodder?”

Balsas’ eyes lit up. With this bunch of unbeatable eccentric refugees, they were able to counteract Lu Cheng’s military advantage!

Balsas called the assistant and ordered, “Go tell that bunch of refugees outside that I need them to ward off Lu Cheng’s army. As long as they completed my mission, everyone will receive money.”

“Don’t give too much,” Xiao Rui added on. “Their lives are worthless.”

“I understand.” This bunch of refuges were the best cannon fodder; they were the trump card to defeating Lu Cheng. Balsas let out a sinister smile.

Luck is on our side!

…

Lu Cheng sat in the middle of a war chariot and looked serious. This unit had more than sixty off-road armored vehicles equipped with machine guns and rockets, followed by hundreds of fully-equipped elite soldiers. They were all trained and qualified soldiers; one soldier could fight at least three enemies, and the soldiers knew how to work together in different formations. They were not a common vagrant of the mob.

Lu Cheng had been coveting Green Valley Ville for a long time. There was a strategic mountain pass between this town and his land, Black Pine. Once he seized the town, there would be no worries in the future.

“We must capture Green Valley Ville this time round.”

The troops were getting closer to Green Valley Ville. Lu Cheng soon noticed the crowd surrounding the town; they wore ragged garments, like a group of refugees, guarding the town.

Lu Cheng’s face immediately darkened, and there was a trace of anger in his eyes. “What a despicable bastard to use refugees as cannon fodder!”

He ordered the military fleet to park a distance away from the town, just outside of the firing range of the machine guns. The smoke and dust quickly dissipated. The ruts left on the muddy road exuded a burning smell, and the heat from the friction somewhat contorted the air.

The players who chose to protect the town all held onto their weapons tightly and waited on high alert. The cold armored vehicles and the compressed gun barrels made many people nervous. They swallowed their saliva with unease. Beads of sweat on their foreheads were reflecting light under the sun.

Many observing players had some doubts. Were they not allowed to choose their camp? It seemed like that they would begin fighting any minute now, and they might have no time to choose a side.

“Balsas, are you thinking of blocking my gunfire with these pathetic fellows?” Lu Cheng took out a megaphone, and his voice travelled out. Everyone in the town could hear his voice clearly. “My men are able to tear them to shreds easily, do you want me to paint your territory with fresh blood?”

Balsas emerged above the wall and smiled coldly.

Lu Cheng frowned and looked at the group of shabbily dressed refugees. He calmly offered, “I’ll give you the opportunity to leave now. There is no need to die here.”

The refugees were restless for a while, but he realized that they did not waver despite that.

“Are these people unafraid of death?”

Lu Cheng was astonished. He realized that there was not the slightest bit of fear on this bunch of refugees’ faces. He hesitated to give the command of attack.

Balsas faintly guessed the values of this group of refugees; what they cared about the most was profit instead of their lives. Seeing Lu Cheng hesitation, Balsas was very proud of himself and was rather scornful of Lu Cheng’s indecisiveness. He ridiculed lowly, “What an excessive tendency to clemency.”

To be apprehensive toward endangering the refugees’ lives would only hinder his battle; Lu Cheng’s choice appeared awfully stupid in Balsas’ eyes.

Balsas grinned evilly and was about to order the refugees to counterattack when he suddenly realized that there was movement from the side-lines.

Black Phantom!

Han Xiao stretched his back and strode unhurriedly to the center of the confrontation. He instantly caught the attention of both sides and the players. He crossed his arms and called loudly, “Give me some face. If you all want to go to war, do it tomorrow!”

His voice was as good as a loudspeaker. Everyone was taken aback.

“Why is he intervening‽” Balsas immediately swallowed back his almost released order.

Lu Cheng froze, sizing Han Xiao up, before exclaiming hoarsely, “Black Phantom‽ Why is this fellow here?”

The commanders of both sides were afraid of the consequences, so they ordered the troops to lay down their weapons. The tense atmosphere of confrontation dissipated immediately.

The players were bewildered. They were not very familiar with Aquamarine’s background. From the mission brief, it was known that Balsas and Lu Cheng were warlords of influence. Black Phantom gave out an order on his own, and the two warlords with armed forces immediately feared the consequences. This roused the players’ curiosity.

With one sentence from Black Phantom, he was able to halt the war. He was able to make the two warlords overlook their feud, who exactly was he?

Just how high was his status to dare say the phrase ‘give me some face’? The most terrifying thing was that the two warlords halted immediately; how much weight does he carry‽

Then the players noticed something else. These NPCs all recognized Black Phantom. Exactly how big was his reputation on the planet? Could it already be to the point where he was able to cut in anywhere he went‽

Is this Red-Hair Shanks’ legendary ability, Fruit of Face 1 ?

Bun-hit-dog, who was secretly videoing the scene, was thrilled. This kind of news material was exactly what he wanted.