[[Rescue]Completed. You gained 8000 EXP.]
[Star Dragon Territory Strategic Defence Bureau Affinity +100.]
"Bro Xiao, you're incredible!" Lin Yao's eyes sparkled with admiration.
"You just noticed today?" Xiao Han raised an eyebrow.
Zhang Wei was straightforward. Realising he'd doubted Han Xiao wrongly, he apologised candidly: I apologise for doubting your abilities earlier. Without your command and the new gear, we'd have been doomed. As your squad leader, I welcome you to our team."
Though belated, the captain's welcome was better than none at all, Zhang Wei thought to himself.
Xiao gave a faint, ambiguous smile. "No need to apologise for such trifles. I'm a magnanimous person, after all."
A chill suddenly ran down Zhang Wei's spine. Why did that sound like sarcasm?
Han Xiao suddenly remembered something. "By the way, who manufactured your armour?"
"Oh, this is an unfinished prototype of the Warfighter Armour. It was captured from Tilius as war booty several years ago. Currently, we only have this single prototype. We're working on reverse-engineering the blueprints, but progress is slow. Even maintenance is a hassle. For now, it's my personal equipment."
The prerequisite for Warfighter Armour is the Advanced Weaponry branch's [Heavy Mechanical Modification] skill—a foundational requirement for many individual mechs, exoskeleton armour, and large combat vehicles. Tilius only developed a prototype, so Star Dragon's progress must be even slower.
Xiao's eyes flashed. "Leave the maintenance of your armour to me from now on."
"Alright." Zhang Wei's face lit up. After this operation, he had complete faith in Xiao Han's capabilities.
Li Yalin excitedly chimed in over the earpiece, "Is this bullet your new invention?"
Xiao Han explained the high-combustion ammunition's function. As seasoned operatives, they instantly recognised it as a new type of specialised incendiary round—similar to armour-piercing incendiary rounds but with significantly enhanced combustion capabilities.
Armour-piercing incendiary rounds penetrated armour; the projectile's igniter generated heat upon impact to ignite surrounding combustible materials. High-combustion bullets, however, utilised an unknown new incendiary agent. They didn't require impact to generate heat; they could directly ignite the air, adhere to any object, and "set fire" to everything. Their temperature was extremely high, with a destructive power equivalent to a high-concentration Molotov cocktail. Moreover, they could be fired from firearms, offering speeds and ranges many times greater than hand-thrown devices. In jungle environments, they would be an extremely lethal weapon, opening up more tactical options!
Zhang Wei and his team witnessed firsthand how the Black Hawk helicopter, capable of withstanding armour-piercing rounds, was ignited by just three shots from Lambert and forced to withdraw from the battlefield. Unless protected by special heat-resistant materials, metal surfaces could easily be heated to levels unbearable for humans and capable of destroying precision instruments.
Ma Qingyang squeezed into the channel, asking excitedly, "Are you selling this ammunition?"
"Of course. Fifty per bullet." Xiao's eyes lit up—this was the perfect opportunity to launch the high-combustion ammunition. Real combat results would boost their reputation.
Ma Qingyang couldn't wait. "I'll pre-order two hundred twenty in pistol calibre, one hundred fifty in submachine gun calibre, and thirty in sniper calibre."
"Got it. You'll have them within a day."
Xiao instructed Li Yalin, "Keep forwarding orders to me. You still get your 20% discount."
Li Yalin's eyes curved into crescent moons. "Got it."...
News of Ma Qingyang's squad being rescued spread like wildfire throughout headquarters, carrying the reputation of the high-combustion ammunition with it.
"Xiao's new product?"
"Heard Old Ma's squad survived thanks to those high-combustion ammunition."
The folding combat knife incident had piqued many Bureau 13 agents' curiosity about Xiao Han. Learning Ma Qingyang had ordered a batch of high-combustion ammunition, they flocked to investigate. Having been rescued by Xiao's squad, Ma Qingyang returned the favour by publicly demonstrating the rounds' capabilities on the training ground.
Blazing inferno!
The onlookers were instantly captivated by the high-explosive ammunition' destructive power.
What a marvel!
Leaving the training ground, the agents rushed straight to Li Yalin to place orders. The quantities were enormous. As Xiao had predicted, this versatile ammunition proved far more popular than close-quarters weapons.
The emergence of this new bullet type immediately drew the attention of Bureau 13's higher-ups. They were determined not to repeat past mistakes and allow blueprints to leak.
Thus, the R&D director, still reeling from the previous incident, was dragged out again for another stern warning. He was utterly frustrated—he had no intention of provoking Xiao Han again.
The 13th Bureau offered unlimited purchase terms for equipping field operations and special forces, though the price was slightly lower, two hundred thousand for five hundred rounds. Xiao accepted the deal, as agent orders lacked the stability of bulk purchases, and an additional sales channel was welcome.
Within a single day, Xiao's stockpile of thousands of rounds was completely sold out. The 200,000 Sea Blue Coins added to his coffers, combined with his existing 1.5 million from the dark web, meant he wouldn't have to worry about funding for the foreseeable future.
After advancing, Xiao's production speed surged again. Focusing entirely on high-explosive ammunition, Bureau 13 demonstrated its support by supplying specialised equipment for manufacturing casings and primers. With casing polishing no longer a burden, efficiency skyrocketed. Each batch yielded at least three hundred rounds, allowing him to produce over ten batches daily. Each high-explosive bullet granted a minimum of 5-10 experience points, steadily bringing in two to three thousand experience points daily.
Experience points piled up at an insane rate.
Xiao was confident that no other Mechanics-specialized player at his level could grind experience faster than him.
Beyond his daily, unshakable practice of refining his Qi, Xiao Han immersed himself entirely in manufacturing high-explosive rounds.
Finally, the season of harvest arrived!
'High-explosive ammunition not for sale to me?'
Krat's face twisted with shock and fury. Having heard rumours of the high-explosive ammunition, he'd come to purchase it. He'd prepared to apologise should Li Yalin make things difficult, confident Xiao would likely overlook it – why pass up a chance to make money? Yet no sooner had he stated his purpose than Li Yalin flatly refused.
Li Yalin snorted coldly. 'Xiao Han stated you're on his blacklist. He won't conduct any transactions with you whatsoever, nor will he accept any apologies from you.'
Agents waiting to place orders eyed Kratt with amused expressions.
Many operatives who had hesitated over selling their folding combat knives now felt immensely relieved. Thankfully, Kratt had beaten them to it, narrowly avoiding offending Xiao. It seemed Xiao Han was serious.
Kratt's face twisted with embarrassment. He snorted angrily and turned to leave. He refused to believe that if he offered more money, none of his colleagues who had bought the high-explosive rounds would be willing to resell them to him.
Yet after making the rounds, he found no one willing to sell. Even when he raised the price to two hundred per round, no one agreed.
Even some colleagues he usually got along with politely declined.
'Why?!'
Krat was utterly shocked, feeling the frustration of being ostracised.
Finally, an old acquaintance explained the reason: 'Selling to you would mean offending Xiao. Who knows if we'd end up on his blacklist? Besides, Xiao might have other valuable items in the future. Risking his goodwill just to help you isn't worth it.'
Krat suddenly recalled his earlier reasoning—how he'd deemed it unwise to forgo profits from the R&D department for fear of displeasing Xiao Han.
Now the situation had completely reversed.
Ending up on Xiao Han's blacklist for a pittance? That was truly not worth it!
How short-sighted he had been!
Krat was filled with regret....
Research and Development Department, a workshop.
Luo Xuan's expression was icy as he produced a small box containing twenty high-combustion bullets, procured through a third party.
Xiao's blacklist only included Klatt's team, not Luo Xuan, the decoder. He reasoned that as a member of R&D, Luo Xuan had derived the blueprints through legitimate means—a duty beyond reproach, unlike Kratt's malice. With R&D now under orders not to trouble him further, Xiao saw no need to target Luo Xuan.
Moreover, he believed Luo Xuan, a mere logistics officer, had no need for his equipment.
Luo Xuan, however, saw it differently. He felt deeply slighted.
'Xiao Han! Do you hold me in such contempt that you won't even bother to deal with me?'
Rage boiled within Luo Xuan, his heart churning with bitter resentment.
Yet he was mistaken. Xiao didn't look down on him—he simply hadn't noticed him at all...
The R&D Director had issued a strict order forbidding anyone from researching high-combustion ammunition. Yet Luo Xuan discerned from this the high regard the Bureau 13 leadership held for such munitions.
It wasn't that the higher-ups didn't want the blueprints; they feared offending Xiao Han.
Thus, Luo Xuan resolved to privately reverse-engineer the high-combustion ammunition blueprints and discreetly present them to the higher-ups. Bureau 13 possessed numerous military factories where production could be concealed from Xiao—he couldn't possibly know everything. Having successfully decoded the folding combat blade last time, Luo Xuan's confidence had soared. He now deemed Xiao's technology mediocre and believed he could effortlessly crack the high-combustion munitions this time too.
'Should I succeed, the higher-ups will surely regard me differently! This is my sole chance to redeem myself—failure is not an option!' The more Luo Xuan contemplated his plan, the more feasible it seemed.
As for the R&D Director's orders, Luo Xuan paid them no heed whatsoever. That bastard had broken his word; to curry favour now would be nothing short of self-degradation.
Taking a deep breath, Luo Xuan adjusted himself to peak condition. Manipulating the precision tweezers, he prepared to separate the warhead. The core of the incendiary round lay within its combustion agent—identifying its composition was paramount.
Clink.
The warhead separated cleanly. First step accomplished!
Next came dismantling the warhead to extract the incendiary agent. This step demanded extreme caution—no collision or friction whatsoever. A buffer tube lay ready; whether powdered or liquid, the agent would not ignite.
Luo Xuan felt he'd executed flawlessly, opening the warhead with steady precision.
'Success! Now to analyse the composition...'
Luo Xuan was overjoyed.
Yet the instant the casing opened, a violent flash of light exploded before his eyes.