Capítulo 7: Next Moves
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Beta Test Concluded. Countdown to Game's Launch: 122 Days, 1 Hour, 23 Mins.
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John Smith shook his head upon discovering that the discussion board button had been grayed out.
'Looks like I was right, the amount of time between version changes in the real-world is not synced with my current time.'
"Why are you shaking your head?" asked Gu Hui suddenly. "I wonder what other information you possess."
John Smith was currently inside a conference room back at Division 13's headquarters. There were three big shots seated in front of him: Gu Hui, the Division Director, as well as the two heads of the Intelligence Department and the Secret Ops department.
Division 13 had known all along that John Smith must possess some degree of combat ability, but he had completely exceeded their wildest imaginations. Yet, what was more perplexing was the degree of ease at which he had been able to single out Lu Gao En.
Lu Gao En had been operating from within the city for over two years without ever leaving a trace. Division 13 had attempted to look for him many times, but they had all ended up in failure. The fact that John Smith could so easily locate him served as solid proof that he knew way more than even they.
And so, this meeting had begun. Simply put, Gu Hui wanted to learn more about John Smith's intel.
Breaking out of his daze, John Smith stroked his chin as he evaded the question. "My location is now exposed. Germinal might not know exactly where I live, but they will send even more killers into the city."
Gu Hui furrowed his brows. Although unsatisfied with John Smith's reply, he followed John Smith's lead.
"Then what do you intend to do?"
"There's no more need for hide-and-seek. I want to participate in the next operation."
"It's too dangerous!" protested a livid Gu Hui. "If you show yourself, that will only give them the chance to take action."
John Smith faked a cough.
"Can we talk alone?"
The two department heads exchanged exasperated glances. 'Do we seem that untrustworthy?'
John Smith glanced at his surroundings before whispering, "I can change my appearance."
Gu Hui was visibly shocked.
"You have superpowers‽"
John Smith shook his head.
"I can create a gadget that allows me to alter my looks, so there's no way that they will be able to find me."
'A skin mask? Not a bad idea,' thought Gu Hui. However, John Smith sounded as though he meant something more advanced than a simple skin mask that Division 13 already employed.
"Even if you use a mask, it's still too risky. You will have to take it off eventually."
The corner of John Smith's lips curled up.
"My mask is more convenient than that."
"Alright, then show it to me before I approve."
There were two reasons why John Smith wanted in on the action. The first was, of course, for the experience. The second was that he did not want to remain cooped up inside the Western Capital. This was the only way that he would be able to participate in more incidents. Ever since the assassination attempt, John Smith had been spending a lot of time thinking about his next move.
The Black Raven Valley Base was situated near the border of Hesla, one of the Six Nations. It was a major base on a completely different scale from the three sites that Division 13 had taken action on previously. Not only were the security and defenses extremely tight, but the commander of the base was also a superhuman! He was known as the Sword Phantom, Pan Kuang, a Pugilist close to reaching D-level.
Near the Black Raven Valley was a gathering spot for many wanderers known as Black Raven Village Town. It was a beginner starting zone.
John Smith planned to destroy Black Raven Valley Base as it would prevent a substantial number of new players from joining the Germinal Organization simply because of the base's proximity. This idea had occurred to him upon discovering the Throne of God's post, after which he had given it some proper thought and became fond of it.
It was not only an act of revenge toward the Germinal boss, but it was also a preemptive strike that would have unseen but deadly impacts. John Smith grinned with glee at the prospect.
"Near Hesla's border?" Gu Hui slammed the desk. "We will need to get in touch with them before making a decision."
"I await your decision," declared John Smith as he took his leave.
Feng Jun was waiting for him outside with a gloomy face.
"Why didn't you tell me about the assassin immediately? Because of that, I had to endure a yelling from my superior."
"Why would I inform you? It's not like you could have helped," teased John Smith, causing Feng Jun to become enraged.
"We might be buddies, but I'll still get angry if you insult me!"
John Smith smirked.
"Perhaps I should talk with the director over how my location got exposed…"
"Oh, you—hahaha—you little devil. I was just kidding."
John Smith rolled his eyes. Under Feng Jun's subservient escort, John Smith left the headquarters to return to the workshop. Altering his appearance was an idea that he had thought up a long time ago. He had known all along that the Germinal would resort to drastic measures against him once his location was discovered.
As it was more likely than not that the operation would be passed, John Smith also needed to prepare new equipment. The mecha arm and the retractable knife would not allow him to keep up with the level of the opponents they were about to face. It would also be nice if his current team was able to participate in the operation.
Thinking about his team reminded John Smith of the need to upgrade Zhang Wei's power suit.
The cost of the upgrade would not come cheap. As John Smith stroked his eyebrows, he searched through his memories for blueprints suitable for this mission.
"Looks like it's time to learn a bunch more stuff."
Suddenly, someone knocked on the door. It was Old Lu, with a chicken leg in one hand and beer in the other.
"Little brat, what are you doing here?"
"I want to borrow a few mechanic knowledge books," replied John Smith as he turned his attention back to the bookshelf, expecting Old Lu to chase him out.
To his surprise, he instead said, "The key is in the drawer. Just remember to return it when you're done."
John Smith's jaw almost dropped.
"You agree‽"
Since when had they been on such good terms‽
Old Man Lu put down the chicken leg in his mouth and snorted. "Treat it as a show of thanks."
'Thanks?' John Smith frowned.
"Are you still trying to promote your granddaughter to me?"
Old Lu's face immediately stiffened. 'What's so bad about my granddaughter that's stopping you from falling for her‽' But that wasn't why he wanted to thank John Smith. Instead, it was because the tall old man had told him that back then, John Smith had lured the assassin away from the workshop to prevent Lu Qian from getting involved. This alone had changed Old Lu's impression of John Smith considerably.
"Not bad, kid," praised Old Lu with a satisfied smile. He patted John Smith on the shoulder before leaving him to his own devices.
As he left, John Smith noticed an oily handprint on his shoulder
"That old imp."
He proceeded to unlock the cabinet with the key in the drawer, picked out seven books, and headed back to his room. Back in his room, John Smith took a deep breath as he prepared to 'learn' all of them at once.
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Do you wish to spend one talent point to learn the Energy Talent, [Basic Energy Theory]?
… Energy Talent, [Basic Biochemistry]?
… Energy Talent, [Basic Optics]?
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"Yes!"
Large streams of information began to fill up John Smith's mind, causing him to feel like his head was about to explode. After a short period of recovery, John Smith gritted his teeth and continued with the other books.
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… Manipulation Talent, [Basic Electromagnetism]?
… Manipulation Talent, [Basic Mechanics]?
… Manipulation Talent, [Basic Quantum Electronics]?
… Manipulation Talent, [Basic Spatial Sense]?
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Seven sets of basic knowledge!
However, the process did not stop there. John Smith decided to level up these new talents.
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[Basic Energy Theory] has been raised to Lv. 3!
[Basic Electromagnetism] has been raised to Lv. 2!
[Basic Digital Electronics] has been raised to Lv. 2!
[Basic Mechanics] has been raised to Lv. 2!
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As well as some previously learned talents!
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[Basic Weaponry] has been raised to Lv. 3!
[Basic Material Composition] has been raised to Lv. 3!
[Basic Assembly] has been raised to Lv. 2!
[Advanced Material Synthesis] has been raised to Lv. 2!
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Just like that, John Smith spent 20 of his 21 talent points.
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You have learned a new technique: [Novice Programming]
You have learned a new technique: [Energy – Magnetism Strengthening]
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[Novice Programming] was unlocked from learning [Basic Digital Electronics]. Like Basic Assembly or Basic Enhancement, it was an integral technique for a Technician, necessary for the making of both chipsets and system interfaces.
[Energy – Magnetism Strengthening], on the other hand, was a passive ability that unlocked upon learning an Energy Manipulation talent. It did have a prerequisite, which was, of course, for the player to possess an affinity with magnetism. On top of strengthening the user's control of magnetism, it also gave a boost to machinery crafting speeds and machinery damage output, 3% per level.
John Smith was currently sitting on 38,000 experience, accumulated from mass-producing incendiary bullets. His daily experience gain was about two to three thousand. As for money, that was the least of John Smith's concerns; he had earned a whopping $3,600,000 thus far.
"It's time to try and get the disguise blueprint!"
Before he started, John Smith invested a few thousand experiences to raise [Basic Programming] to level 3.
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Proceed with fusing of [Lv. 1 Basic Biochemistry], [Lv. 1 Optics], [Lv. 3 Material Composition], and [Lv. 2 Digital Electronics]? (20,000 experience will be consumed)
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Talent combination, also known as talent fusing, was not only limited to the fusing of two talents. However, the cost of adding additional talents was extremely high; adding a third would only cost 5,000 experience, but the cost of subsequent ones increased exponentially. A fourth one would cost 40,000 experience.
Generally, lower leveled Mechanics would perform talent fusion with only two talents because fusing more was not guaranteed to give better results. However, some blueprints, like the one that John Smith was aiming for now, could be crafted easily with the correct talents.
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Fusion was successful! Congratulations on inventing [Smart Optical Mask]!
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The Smart Optical Mask made its first appearance in Version 3.0 when players had just stumbled upon multiple-talent fusing. Not only did it require the leveling of four talents across all three talent trees, but it also required [Intermediate Machinery Affinity], 55 INT, Lv. 3 [Basic Programming], and last but not least, for the player to be a Technician. Nevertheless, the Smart Optical Mask's usefulness befitted the effort needed to obtain it.
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