As the workshop wasn't that busy, Han Xiao had quite a lot of free time to look for the extra income he needed.
Kero Junkyard: the biggest disposal ground in District 7. Here, endless piles of trash were sorted out everyday.
This place fell under the territory of an underworld boss known as Big Raccoon. Where there is light, there will be shadows—such is society—and this holds all the more true in times of chaos.
Although the Western Capital was the main capital of Stardragon, it was certainly not a holy sanctuary for the law-abiding. It was infiltrated with spies from other nations, and plagued by criminal networks and illegal businesses. Small-time bosses like Big Raccoon may have been infamous, but they were certainly not the key players.
As Han Xiao entered the junkyard with a dust mask on, he was stopped by a few vicious-looking thugs.
"Kid, you're in the wrong neighborhood."
A bald, muscular thug blocked Han Xiao's path as he stared him down. To them, Han Xiao, with his small frame, looked like an easy target to bully.
Han Xiao, unfazed, spoke. "I want to see Raccoon."
The thugs instantly burst out in laughter.
"We don't have time to play with you, kid. Run home to mummy, or I'll break your legs," threatened the bald thug.
"Is that what Raccoon teaches his dogs to say?"
"What did you say?" The bald thug was enraged. He began to grab Han Xiao by the collar.
Han Xiao looked back at the thug calmly as he squeezed his wrist.
The pain caused the thug to let go of his grip, and when he looked at his wrist, he found that there were already bruise marks on them.
"Friend, which gang are you from?" The bald thug's expression had changed to one of caution.
Suddenly, he paused to listen to his receiver and stepped away from Han Xiao's path, saying, "The boss wants to see you."
Han Xiao followed the bald thug and was brought to a resting area inside the junkyard where a thin man sat cross-legged on a sofa as he enjoyed a glass of red wine. From his appearance alone it was hard to believe that this man was the infamous Raccoon who ruled the District 7 underworld.
"I heard that you want to see me. What's your name?" he casually asked.
"Technician Han," answered Han Xiao.
The Raccoon sneered.
"You should know what will happen to you if you're just wasting my time."
The reason why he had agreed to letting Han Xiao in was that he was curious to see what business a snotty-looking brat had with him.
Suddenly, Han Xiao reached out to steal the bald thug's gun. The bald thug felt a tug at his waist and turned around, but it was too late.
The grunts behind Raccoon hastily drew their guns.
"What's the meaning of this?" he asked nervously. The bald thug was one of his most trusted subordinates, and he was strong enough to take on ten people at the same time. Yet, he wasn't able to react to Han Xiao's speed! Who the hell is this kid?
Unexpectedly, Han Xiao began to disassemble the gun, but it wasn't a simple disassembly. The gun unraveled almost instantaneously, as if Han Xiao were performing some kind of magic; the disassembled parts fell and scattered onto the floor.
"Firearms are a sure-profit. I can help you manufacture them in exchange for a little bit of compensation."
This kid can make guns!
Firearms were hot in demand in the black market. Using a gun and making a gun were two completely separate concepts. Mechanics who knew how to create guns were rare and highly esteemed. Even though Raccoon was the leader of a gang, they were just small-time hoodlums. To be able to find a mechanic willing to make guns for them was inconceivable; yet, here Han Xiao was. 'This is my chance!' thought Raccoon.
"What arrangements do you have in mind?"
"I will make a list of materials and parts for you to gather. Manufacturing and assembly will all be done by me. I'll come here to work for two hours every morning. I want $1500 per gun, and freedom to take anything I want from this junkyard."
Han Xiao had already thoroughly analyzed the Germinal Organization's guns. He was now able to easily make simple guns.
"Since I'm providing the materials, $1000," negotiated Raccoon.
Han Xiao instantly turned around and began to walk away.
This caused Raccoon to become flustered. He had only been trying to test out Han Xiao, and did not expect such a big reaction.
"Wait wait wait—we'll follow your charges," he hastily said.
One handgun was worth $3,000 to $4,000 on the black market. Han Xiao's asking fee was still quite reasonable.
"Get a workbench ready, along with the materials. I will come from tomorrow onwards. I'll go check the junkyard out now."
A skilled craftsman always retained the power to dictate his terms. Han Xiao knew full well his own value. Furthermore, his true strength and identity was a mystery to them. This gave him the complete upper hand.
…
Han Xiao salvaged quite a number of parts from the junkyard before leaving. As he left, he noticed that someone was following him. Clearly, Raccoon was trying to find out more information about him. However, for Han Xiao, shaking him off the thug was an easy task.
Division 13 will learn of my mechanic skills… thought Han Xiao to himself. The fact that he was working with Raccoon would definitely be found out by them. In any case, it was a way to demonstrate his abilities to them, plus he also needed the opportunity to craft machinery for experience.
The reason he had chosen Raccoon was due to the junkyard's proximity.
…
When he returned to the workshop, Lu Qian questioned his whereabouts.
"I went to the junkyard," said Han Xiao, pointing to the big bag of spare parts in his hand.
"The junkyard? That place is not safe. Don't go there in the future."
Lu Qian wasn't really concerned with what Han Xiao did in his free time as long as his did his job right. In fact, she had a soft spot for people who did not demand high pay.
Han Xiao put the spare parts aside and summoned the interface. He still had a lot of unused Potential points, and he decided he would dump all of them into the two unlocked 'Arms' talents.
This workshop was a treasure trove of Mechanic knowledge. It was one of the best places to level up as a mechanic. Han Xiao went to look for Old Man Lu to borrow some of his books. He found him cooped up in his room as he expected.
"I wish to borrow some Mechanic knowledge books."
"Go away, you! There's not a single book for you here."
"Don't be so petty! Think of it as investing into a promising young man and nurturing him."
"… It seems like you are more thick-skinned than me. However, I simply don't want to lend you my books. What can you do about it?"
What, indeed, could Han Xiao do about it?
…
The following day, Lu Qian entered Old Man Lu's room with a spare key and stole some books for Han Xiao. Old Man Lu was infuriated.
"Why do I have such a disloyal granddaughter‽
"Just you wait! I will make you leave this workshop!"
…
In Galaxy, each player's advancement mission was not always the same. Han Xiao's Lv. 20 advancement mission could be counted as one of the harder ones as advancement knowledge was extremely rare on beginner planets. In fact, his advancement difficulty was actually comparable to a Lv. 40 one.
Most Lv. 20 characters were usually unable to find basic knowledge for even one talent tree. Some unlucky ones would not even have a main class.
Since there wasn't any advancement knowledge in the workshop, Han Xiao could only learn more basic knowledge. However, Han Xiao was content with this. Finding knowledge books was a common problem for players. Some players weren't even able to learn all their class's basic knowledge by Lv. 40 or even Lv. 50!
Fortunately for Han Xiao, the workshop contained a complete set of basic Mechanic knowledge, which more than gave him a head start—it was an expressway to the finish line!
Inter-galactic Contact Law (7th Edition).
"When coming into contact with new civilizations, these 127 intrusive actions are to be avoided: war, gene manipulation…"
This was why Planet Aquamarine had not been given any cutting-edge technology. Advanced knowledge was the best that the planet had to offer, and even that itself was heavily controlled and treated as a top secret.
_____________________
Add 1 Potential point into [Basic Weaponry]? Yes/No
Add 1 Potential point into [Basic Material Composition]? Yes/No
"Confirm."