Chapter 338: The Ordnance Engineer
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
The upcoming Catastrophe instilled horror in people’s hearts, but the people on the street currently had broad smiles on their faces, as if the Supers had driven off their fear.
“Under regulation, I need escort you into the city, ” Lerden said.
“It seems like your civilization really worships the Supers,” Han Xiao commented.
“It’s more like gratitude rather than worship,” Lerden replied calmly. “After our race faced sudden changed and migrated to this planet, we still don’t have enough power to stand on our own. The efficiency of resource gathering is too slow for us to sustain our consumption, and we needed to purchase a lot of materials from the galaxy. Therefore, our expenses are greater than our production.
“In order for us to survive, Supers that are strong enough will head into the universe and become mercenaries. Most of their rewards are sent home, and it is the main source of economic income. There was no way for this civilization to build enough weapons to fight the Catastrophe.”
Han Xiao had a better understanding of the situation. The Sunil was a civilization in crisis. They could only temporarily rely on strong individuals, such as the Supers, to support the entire economy of the race. That was why the people treated the Supers like heroes, and one held great honor if one was a super.
Han Xiao still remembered that Lerden was extremely cheap. In reality, Lerden gave all his income to the race, so he tried to spend as little as possible, all to contribute more to the race.
“It will bring disastrous effects if this civilization keeps on relying on the Supers.”
Lerden nodded. “That is indeed true, but we do not have any other choice. In the end, it is all because of the Catastrophe, which is slowing down our recovery. We have to split significant portions of our funds to build weapons and military equipment to defend against the Catastrophe. Our development in infrastructure and industries has been held back because of all the extra expenses that won’t help the economy.
“If we don’t solve problem of the Catastrophe, we cannot break away from this vicious cycle, and our civilization would always suffer till the end of time.
“We tried a lot of ways to solve the problems, and we even considered killing all the beasts, but that is worst option. Not only is it impossible to deal with, once the food chain is destroyed, the entire planet will face an inevitable death. Thus, we chose another way—trying to excavate the Prophecy Stones and deal with the cause of Catastrophe once and for all. The project has been going on for years, and we are cleansing the stones bit by bit. One day, the Psychic Current will disappear, and the race will never have to face the tragedy of the Catastrophe again...”
Lerden’s face let out a sense of hope. “There’s always light at the end of the tunnel.”
Han Xiao had a decent impression of the Sunils. They were a resilient race with the Supers carrying more and more responsibility in order for the civilization to live on. They had no complaints.
What a pity... Han Xiao sighed as he remembered the fate of the Sunils in the previous world.
The Supers spread out after they reached the city and went back to their home. The crowd also slowly scattered.
Han Xiao used his distorted memories and finally reached an alleyway after circling around. He stopped in front of a black narrow door, and a wine glass was hung on the sign.
“A bar? The person you want to visit is here?” Lerden frowned.
“Do you have problem with that?”
“... No.”
Lerden remained expressionless. He looked down on people who spent their money for leisure as he thought that it was being wasteful of their money and their life.
After all, he had lost his right to enjoy his life.
They pushed open the door and walked into the bar. The bar was dim, and there were not any customers. The city was in an emergency state, so no one had to guts to get drunk in a bar. Han Xiao walked in front of the counter, and a soft snore came from the back of the counter.
The Great Mechanic Han looked over and saw a man sleeping with his head on the counter. He was well asleep alongside a pile of empty bottles.
Bang!
Han Xiao smacked the counter as hard as he could and shouted, “Customer is here! Wake up!”
The man’s fingers moved at first, and he let out a long breath from his nose. He then finally stood up with the stench of alcohol oozing from his body. His eyes were lifeless, and he looked like he was only half awake. The man then asked, “What do you want?”
“Two signatures.”
“One is enough,” Lerden interjected.
The man yawned. “Pay first.”
Han Xiao took out his communicator and prepared to pay. The man suddenly laughed out loud and said, “My dear, you are not trying to pay with Enas, right? This is a small business, so we only accept local currencies.”
Lerden frowned. He usually spent his time in the galaxy, so the Sunil currency was not worth much for him. He reached for his pocket and wanted to pay for Han Xiao, but at the same time, Han Xiao laughed. “I don’t have Sunil currency, can I use another method of payment?”
The man did not look at Han Xiao and reached for another bottle. “Like what?”
“A name.”
The man frowned, looking annoyed. He glared at Han Xiao and replied, “I don’t have time for a game. Get out if you are not paying.”
“Delvis,” Han Xiao said in a calm voice, but it was as loud as thunder in the ears of the man.
The man froze as he tried to take a sip from the bottle. The relaxed atmosphere vanished, and he became expressionless, as if he was not drunk at all. The dizziness in his eyes disappeared instantly, and he stared right in Han Xiao’s eyes.
He quietly put down the bottle and said, “Wait for a moment, I need to wash my face.”
The man walked away from the counter and went to the bathroom.
Only Han Xiao and Lerden were in the bar, and Lerden said, “You don’t even know him, so you are not visiting someone you’ve met before.”
“I know his brother, that’s why I decided to visit him,” Han Xiao explained.
The drunk man was Herlous, and Delvis was his older brother. The subclass that Han Xiao was interested in was called [Ordnance Engineer]. For players, this subclass was extremely rare, and there was a method among the Sunils to change his class. The item for activation was called [Delvis’ Journal].
Delvis was a famous ordnance engineer before the Sunil race was attacked. He created a lot of inventions for military equipment, and he wrote all his thoughts in his journal. After DarkStar attacked, Delvis died in the battle, and the journal was handed to Herlous.
Han Xiao wanted to borrow the journal from Herlous to change his class.
After a while, Herlous got back to the counter with his head washed. He was a middle-aged Sunil. His skin was light blue, and there were a few wrinkles on the side of his forehead, far fewer than one might expect of a hundred-and-fifty-year-old. Other than that, he was almost the same as a Super.
Herlous opened up a bottle and brought it to Han Xiao. “I don’t know how you found me, but my brother’s name is worth a bottle. I brew this myself.”
The bottle was covered with white smoke, and the smell of alcohol penetrated their noses. Alcohol made by Sunils was usually made from the leaves of a certain tree, which had a bitter taste. After a sip, Han Xiao felt the spiciness on his tongue.
“I am just a mechanic. I have heard your brother’s name, and I want to borrow his journal.”
“Is that it?” Herlous raised his eyebrows and tried to get more information.
“That’s it for now.” Han Xiao laughed and glanced at Lerden. “Do you think I have another purpose?”
Herlous heard the obscure response and asked in a cold voice, “Do you think this is threatening?”
“No, no. I am being friendly.” Han Xiao smiled. “But for a nice person like yourself, you won’t reject this small request, right?”
On the side, Lerden did not understand what was happening. Were they still speaking with a real language? Why could he not understand?
Herlous hesitated for a while, but his expression showed that he had given up. He went into the house and came out after a while with the journal in his hand. He slammed it on the desk and said, “Leave when you are done.”
Han Xiao touched the journal, and the interface popped out a hint.
_____________________
You obtained [Delvis’s Journal].
_____________________
He had finally obtained it! Han Xiao suppressed his excitement as he opened the diary. He acted like he understood everything, but the journal was written in the Sunil language, which looked like cursive English. However, it did not matter if he don’t know the language. The interface showed a progress bar, and as long as he finished ‘reading’ the book, he could change his class.
Through the normal mission, one needed to be extraordinarily lucky to obtain the journal. The procedure to obtain the journal was complex, since no one knew the identity of Herlous. Most people would not think that a stranger working in a bar was that man. Most of the time, the players would only find out about the journal by becoming friends with Herlous and drinking with him. Only then would Herlous would start talking about his brother when he was drunk.
However, Han Xiao knew the information, so he directly cut to the end without going through the complicated procedure.
Lerden was surprised and asked, “Can you read Sunil?”
Han Xiao closed the book and said, “I can’t”
“Then why are you reading it‽” Herlous stared at Han Xiao with his eyes wide open.
“Just think of it as me paying my respects to your brother. Thanks for the drink.”
Han Xiao put down the journal and smiled as he turned away.
“What a weird guy. Don’t disturb me again!” Herlous shouted from behind Han Xiao.
“Maybe I will.” Han Xiao looked back playfully.
After walking out of the bar, Han Xiao opened up the interface and looked at the new hint. He was in a good mood. He had finally gotten the subclass, and the explosive amount of experience points could finally be used!
_____________________
You obtained the class [Ordnance Engineer].