"Wow, Xiao Han, you bought a heavy truck?"
The four teammates were invited to the garage. Li Yalin and Lin Yao were amazed and excited, climbing up and down the truck. Lambert was very interested in the engine structure and silently admired it after opening the hood.
Zhang Wei came to Xiao Han's side and said solemnly, "Thank you."
A logistics vehicle is a luxurious configuration for a small team. Xiao Han paid for it out of his own pocket, making Zhang Wei feel very embarrassed.
Xiao Han chuckled, "Just consider it as me helping out my poor teammates."
Zhang Wei's mouth twitched, speechless. Although it was true, why did your honesty make me feel so uncomfortable?
"I racked my brains to come up with a name for this truck."
Zhang Wei perked up his ears, looking expectant.
Xiao Han cleared his throat and said seriously, "Big Black."
Zhang Wei slipped and forced a smile, "Good, good name."
"You think so too, right? It's catchy, concise, and to the point. I'm impressed with myself," Xiao Han said, clicking his tongue.
"…As long as you're happy."
"The cab is so big," Li Yalin was having a great time, suddenly thinking of something and asked, "Who's going to drive?"
Xiao Han: "This is my truck, of course, I'm going to drive."
Li Yalin's face turned pale, recalling the fear of being dominated by Xiao Han, trembling, "Can I not sit in it?"
Zhang Wei frowned and scolded, "Xiao Han spent money for our convenience, what are you refusing?"
Li Yalin looked as if she had lost all hope, muttering, "You will regret it."
Regret? Zhang Wei didn't understand what Li Yalin meant. Did she mean Xiao Han's driving skills were terrible?
What's the big deal? How bad can his driving be? We are all well-trained agents with excellent physical fitness. We won't get dizzy even on a roller coaster. What's there to be afraid of?
Zhang Wei was unconcerned.
"By the way, the higher-ups told us that we will depart in four days," Lin Yao suddenly said.
Xiao Han's eyes flashed. His comprehensive modification took about ten days. He originally wanted to set up turrets on the truck and had even learned the knowledge, but unfortunately, there wasn't enough time. He thought for a moment and said to Zhang Wei, "Bring your War Armor over, and I'll modify it for you."
Zhang Wei's eyes lit up. He had great faith in Xiao Han's mechanical abilities.
Upon hearing this, Li Yalin immediately jumped over, shaking Xiao Han's shoulders and repeatedly asking, "What about me? You promised to make custom equipment for me."
"I'll do it when I get inspired."
Xiao Han pushed the chattering Li Yalin away. As a martial artist, you should use your fists to hit people. Why do you keep eyeing my machinery?
The prototype of the War Armor was quickly delivered, propped up by a plastic frame like armor on display in a museum, placed in a person-high metal box. The logistics personnel were the slackers from the logistics department.
Xiao Han: "Time is limited. I plan to make the most necessary modifications. First, increase the energy efficiency limit, then the power mode, reduce the weight, and fill the mechanical power exoskeleton to assist your actions."
"That's great." Zhang Wei was overjoyed. The armor was too heavy, and every time he used it, he ended up with a sore back and legs, more tiring than running a marathon.
"Then there's the detection system. I'll equip your armor with a simple chip to detect external conditions, and I can personally provide you with a fire control system so that your long-range weapons can automatically aim."
"If time permits, I'll equip you with a simple melee weapon."
"Great!" Zhang Wei was overjoyed, completely reduced to a cheerleader.
Xiao Han suddenly changed his tone, "Of course, all of this comes at a cost, a total of 360,000."
"How, how much?!"
Zhang Wei was instantly disheartened. His savings were less than a million.
"Do you think it's expensive?" Xiao Han glanced at him sideways.
Zhang Wei quickly nodded.
"Are your parents still alive?"
Zhang Wei was stunned, "Why are you asking this? They have both passed away."
"Do you have any siblings?"
"I'm the only child in the family."
"Do you have a wife or girlfriend?"
"No, no, I'm all alone."
Xiao Han tilted his head, looking puzzled, "Then what are you saving money for?"
Heart-piercing!
"Alright, alright… stop talking! I'll pay!"
Zhang Wei clutched his chest in agony, as if his heart had taken a stampede from ten thousand rhinos.
Xiao Han never made a move until the money was in hand. Only after receiving the trembling advance payment from Zhang Wei did he start modifying the prototype of the Warbringer Armour.
With Basic Energy Theory at Level 3, Xiao Han had the skills to reinforce its power systems. He wasn't planning to give Zhang Wei an over-the-top upgrade, so he didn't bother creating any new energy blueprints. Good stuff should naturally be kept for himself.
The load‑bearing power frame and detection chip were fine to use—both were common enough blueprints.
[Begin knowledge fusion? (Basic Wide-Area Induction Lv1 + Basic Virtual Electronics Lv2). Cost: 10,000 EXP.]
[Begin knowledge fusion? (Basic Mechanics Lv2 + Basic Mechanical Engineering Lv4). Cost: 10,000 EXP.]
[Fusion successful. You have developed: Low‑grade Smart Chip!]
[Fusion successful. You have developed: K600‑type Power Endoskeleton!]
These were standard mechanical blueprints—stuff every mechanic would know. Xiao Han wasn't surprised they came out on the first try.
The low‑grade smart chip was even available on the market. The difference was that once he unlocked the blueprint, he could DIY and freely programme it. The word "low‑grade" meant exactly what it implied—there were high‑grade versions in the future: advanced AI for large robots, or intelligent systems for vehicles and warships, all evolved from this.
The K600 power endoskeleton was a basic model in its series.
Power exoskeletons were worn directly, whereas power endoskeletons were internal frameworks built inside full‑cover armour. Both served the same purpose: providing additional strength. Endoskeletons were essential for creating power armour, and it didn't take a genius to guess the advanced applications—small mechs, medium mechs, large mechs, absolutely massive mechs…
Xiao Han stripped off the exterior plating of the Warbringer Armour, exposing the intricate internal components. After examining it briefly, he rolled up his sleeves and got to work.
He first boosted the energy output, then built the inner frame, created the processing chip, and purchased cameras, detectors, and thermal sensors to assemble the detection suite.
By dawn on the fourth day, the modified Warbringer Armour was finally complete.
Externally, it still looked like the same hulking, pitch‑black armour. Inside, however, it was a completely different creature—finally resembling a rudimentary power armour.
There wasn't enough time to make a melee weapon, so Xiao Han simply let it go. Not delivering everything after taking money—well, that kind of behaviour was perfectly normal for him. He had even shelved the high‑explosive ammunition order for half a month.
He yawned and glanced at his interface.
[Warbringer Armour – Reverse Engineering Progress: 2%.]
Reverse‑engineering was one way mechanics obtained blueprints, but the requirements were harsh. Progress often got stuck midway, prompting prerequisite stats. For example, at 30% progress, a prompt might pop up saying "Intelligence must be above XX." Only then could research continue. Even after reaching 100%, learning the blueprint required a huge amount of EXP.
The core requirements for the Warbringer Armour were based on the mechanic advanced knowledge - Heavy Machinery Modification. Xiao Han suspected that at 50% progress, this requirement would pop up. Since the blueprint wasn't crucial to him, he simply ignored it.
Today was departure day.
The four squad members gathered in the garage. After checking the computer, Lin Yao suddenly said, "HQ wants us at the Eastern Checkpoint."
"Right. Let's move out," Zhang Wei said in a deep voice.
Before he finished speaking, Li Yalin dashed into the driver's seat at lightning speed, staring nervously at Xiao Han.
"I‑I… can I drive?"
Xiao Han rubbed his eyes. He had stayed up several nights in a row and felt like he could ascend to heaven in a spiral at any moment. So he didn't argue—he simply told her to drive safely, climbed into the cargo area, grabbed a few backpacks as pillows, and fell asleep on the floor.
Li Yalin immediately breathed a sigh of relief, feeling as if she had narrowly escaped death. She didn't even have the strength to complain about Xiao Han daring to tell her to drive safely.
Seeing that Xiao Han was asleep, the others got into the cab without disturbing him.
Western Capital – Eastern Checkpoint, Military Railway Station
HQ was taking the assault on the Dark Raven Valley Base very seriously. Bureau 13 had deployed three secret‑ops squads for this large‑scale joint operation.
One was Zhang Wei's squad.
One was Ma Qingyang's squad—the one Zhang Wei had previously rescued.
The last was the ace squad of the Secret Operations Department—Di Susu's squad, with her as captain.
At the moment, the two squads waited at the station. A staff officer from the Operations Department stood beside them, serving as accompanying adviser and supervisor, ensuring the squads stayed coordinated.
There had been incidents before—elite agents often had their own opinions and acted independently, leading to mission complications. To prevent this, Bureau 13 changed its policies: whenever multiple squads acted together, an Operations officer would be assigned to oversee the mission.
These officers were well‑trained in battlefield tactics and always reviewed the squads' profiles before deployment. Although most agents believed staff officers were only useful for writing reports and taking the blame, rules were rules. As long as the staff didn't micromanage, everyone got along fine.
"Why isn't Zhang Wei here yet? It's already this late."
Ma Qingyang took a drag on his cigarette, sounding bored. He got along well with Zhang Wei, and their squads were on friendly terms.
Di Susu and her squad waited on the other side. She toyed with a coin, letting it dance between her fingers, reflecting flashes of sunlight. She was looking forward to meeting Li Yalin again—bullying little Yalin was her favourite pastime. She was also curious about Yalin's new teammate, this mechanic called Xiao Han.
Staff officer Qi Baijia massaged her pretty eyebrows, pained by the reflection of the spinning coin. She had no choice but to turn away.
A deep, rumbling engine noise echoed from afar—massive horsepower, enough that one could feel the ground tremble through their boots.
Qi Baijia looked toward the sound.
In the distance, a massive, monstrous military truck rolled slowly into view.
Ma Qingyang flicked away his cigarette butt, crushing it under his toe.
Di Susu closed her fingers around the coin.
Qi Baijia straightened her collar.
"They're here."