Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
The invitation from Bennett signified his trust. The meeting point this time was the first shelter that Dark Net was building, located in a city ruins named ‘Ruins of Lloyd’ in a wasteland in the Northern Continent. It had once been the financial center of a dead nation in the Northern Continent.
Han Xiao sat in Bennett’s private helicopter. When he looked down at the city from the sky, he could see the building process of the shelter. The first thing he saw was the tens of meters tall enormous wall that was being built. In the areas that had yet to be completed, he could see workers welding steel bars together onto the scaffolding. The concrete of the wall was mixed with other materials and had a metallic feeling to it. With Han Xiao’s professional knowledge, he knew that the wall was so strong that smaller rockets would at most only leave traces of burn marks on it. The wall was built to the standards of a fortress; it was extremely expensive.
The Dark Net’s symbol was painted on the wall in dark red together with the new name of this city.
Bennett Sanctuary One!
The helicopter flew past the wall, and the construction machinery came into sight, clearing the roads and the abandoned buildings. Countless workers in gray uniforms ran around doing their job to lay the foundation for the new buildings and planning the layout of the city. Steel bars, bricks, wood, and other stacks of industrial building materials lay out in the open, and it looked exactly like a gigantic construction site.
“You named the shelter after yourself.” Han Xiao patted Bennett’s shoulder with a smirk. “I didn’t know you’re this shameless.”
Bennett slapped the palm on his shoulder away and said, “Let’s go. Come to the high ranked officials meeting with me.”
“What has the meeting got to do with me?” Han Xiao asked in surprise.
Bennett shook his head and laughed. “You’re a high ranked official, too.”
Han Xiao blinked.
Bennett cleared his throat and said, “I strongly recommended you to be a director personally. You won’t disappoint me, will you?”
Dark Net had recently reconstructed their high ranked officials, with the highest ranking being the founders such as Bennett and one level lower being the various directors.
“What are you talking about?” Han Xiao asked with a serious face. “When did I disappoint you?”
Bennett did not know whether to laugh or cry. He led the way, and Han Xiao saw the construction of the shelter at a close range.
“Sanctuary One is our test. I’ve put in plenty of resources, and it’s progressing quite well. The basic layout should be completed within a year. The layout of the shelter is divided into a few sections. In order to have enough basic infrastructure to meet the requirements of its residents, the plants and livestock also needs to form a self-sustained ecosystem so that even if war breaks out in the outside world, the shelter can provide for its own, and the defensive measures are, of course, to defend against enemies.”
Boom!
An abandoned building in front was being demolished, and dust filled the area as it fell down.
Han Xiao waved the dust away and said in awe, “Just this shelter would’ve cost you a huge sum.”
“The Six Nations’ resources can only support two to three sanctuaries,” Bennett said with his hands behind his back. “My plan is to build at least three to five sanctuaries across the continents.”
“That will be outrageously expensive.”
“This sum of money is insignificant when it comes to preserving our civilization.”
“Wow, I could almost see the halo above your head,” Han Xiao mocked.
Bennett’s mouth twitched.
After arriving at the new fortress, directors of the Dark Net gathered in the meeting hall. They stood up and bowed slightly to show their respect when Bennett and Han Xiao walked in.
Black Phantom had displayed his strength and was now the top fighting force of Dark Net, and with Bennett’s support, the high ranked officials present all agreed that Han Xiao’s position was at the same level as theirs.
The high ranked officials reported the progress of Sanctuary One in turn, and when Bennett was done settling them, he said, “Sanctuary One has been proven to be practical. The message has been sent out. Many wanderers came to look for protection upon hearing the message. With more residents, the building progress can be sped up.
“At the same time, we can give them job opportunities to take part in the construction process of the shelter, which will aid in strengthening unity. I foresee that in the months to come, as the message of the shelter gets spread out further, more wanderers will come.
“The construction of shelter has to start sooner rather than later; I have decided to commence the construction of Sanctuary Two and Three immediately.”
The high ranked officials exchanged looks, and one of them asked hesitantly, “Mr. Bennett, wouldn’t that be too much of a rush? Why don’t we wait for Sanctuary One to be completed?”
“Because we don’t have much time. We need to speed up the progress.”
“Sanctuary needs someone to be in charge. Who will be in charge of Sanctuary Two?”
“Xena will be in charge of Sanctuary Two,” Bennett said. Xena was currently the highest director of Dark Net and had been recommended by many senior officials. Of course, no one opposed this decision.
“As for Sanctuary Three, Black Phantom will be in charge.”
Han Xiao’s eyebrows shot up. He did not expect Bennett to trust him this much and let him be in charge of an entire shelter. The power of this was very huge.
The directors were shocked as well.
Black Phantom had just become a high ranked official, and now he was in charge of such an important issue. It seemed to many that he was not senior enough to do so. Many directors wanted to object, but Bennett had already seen through their thoughts. One simple sentence made their mouths shut.
“Each shelter needs someone with extraordinary strength to guard. If any of you have the confidence that your subordinate is stronger than Black Phantom, feel free to object.”
Stronger than Black Phantom? The directors laughed bitterly. Across the entire Dark Net, other than Bennett and two others who had already retired, no one could beat Black Phantom.
Bennett ended the meeting since no one opposed the decision and brought Han Xiao to a private meeting room. They chatted for a while before Bennett stopped debating with Han Xiao over if there should be a reward for being the person in charge of Sanctuary Three. He faced Han Xiao’s look of contempt without any shame and showcased the detailed plan of Sanctuary Three.
“Sanctuary Three’s construction is basically completed. Its location will be in Graymetal Ruins.”
Han Xiao thought that place sounded quite familiar, and then he remembered that Graymetal Ruins was where he had set up his secret base. It was quite a coincidence.
Bennett briefly explained the layout and that Han Xiao’s mission was to sit in, monitor the construction team, and when any threat arose nearby, he could settle it entirely by himself. There was only one requirement—complete the construction of the shelter.
Han Xiao almost fell asleep because of how boring and tedious the explanation was, and at this time, a notification popped up in the interface. Han Xiao was immediately awake.
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You have unlocked a new organization, [Dark Net Organization]. Subsidiary [Blood Pact Society] detected. Relationship status: Respect (4450/6000) – [Rank One of Killer Leaderboard]
[Dark Net Organization] initial relationship: Friendly (2225/3000) – [Director]
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Part of the reason Han Xiao was able to become a high ranked official of the Dark Net was because of Bennett. If a player wanted to gain a high position in Dark Net, the relationship had to be at least Respect, and to become a high ranked official, it had to be at least ‘Reverence’. However, the prerequisite for Han Xiao was not that strict, which was a benefit of being an NPC. It was not restricted by the rigid requirements in the interface.
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You have triggered the rank-A mission [Sanctuary Plan — Sanctuary Three]!
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Seeing the mission requirements, Han Xiao smiled. It was as he expected. As the person in charge of Sanctuary Three, his mission was construction, and the mission type was also a series mission that was divided into tens of requirements. Each of them was one part of the construction blueprint. For every part of the construction that was completed, one requirement would be considered met, which included defensive measures, residential areas, bases, buildings, cleaning the ruins, plantations, farms, and many more. It was like modifying a city.
The mission also notified him that if an unexpected situation appeared, he would also be entirely in charge of solving it, and the grading might become lower or higher depending on the situation and results.
The more requirements that were completed, the higher the completion grading would be, and the rewards would be given based on the grading.
For the players, they could take on this main storyline normally, but their situation was completely different from Han Xiao’s. The players had to take on different missions from the lowest ranked or middle ranked personnel and take part in the construction from side missions. On the other hand, Han Xiao received the overall mission, which included all the side missions and main storyline missions. This was a benefit of becoming the core member of the plan—he was very clear on what needed to be done.
Also, his reward was far greater than the players’. The fragmented missions that players completed would all be considered as part of the construction in the end, which indirectly met his requirements. As mentioned before, the requirement for the same mission might even differ based on who was doing it, and with the special relationship Han Xiao had with Dark Net, he received this mission that had loads of benefits.
“However, there are some problems.” Bennett cleared his throat and said, “Due to funding constraints, the resources are concentrated in Sanctuary One and Two. Therefore, there might be not as many people who will be working with you to build Sanctuary Three.”
“How many?” Han Xiao suddenly had a bad feeling. Sanctuary One had tens of thousands of workers, so he would require a similar workforce.
“About a thousand…”
Han Xiao squinted with an expression that said, Are you kidding me‽
“It’s mainly because of the flow of the funding not reaching its destination,” Bennett said awkwardly. “This will only be the case for the first month. We will hire more people to help you afterward.”
Han Xiao picked Bear Cub, who was sleeping on his laps, and threw it toward Bennett. Bear Cub fell onto the sofa upside down and finally opened its eyes slowly.
“Hit him.” Han Xiao pointed toward Bennett.
Bear Cub blinked in confusion and only understood after staring at Han Xiao’s finger for a very long time. It then turned over and slapped Bennett’s left cheek.
Bennett laughed bitterly. He rubbed Bear Cub’s furry buttock then pushed it aside and said, “I know it’s difficult, but you’re the only person that can help me. No one else has the ability to.”
Han Xiao pondered for a while before he nodded and said, “No worries, I will be able to build a basic layout within a month.”
Bennett’s requirements for Sanctuary Three were very low. As long as the construction was stable and the ruins were cleaned within a month, it was more than enough. He took Han Xiao’s words as a joke and didn’t take it to heart at all.
“By the way, I have another requirement,” Han Xiao said.
“What is it?” Bennett replied.
Han Xiao laughed and said, “Sanctuary Three has to be named after me.”
Since Bennett had already done that, how could the Great Mechanic Han Xiao not received the same treatment? And by naming the shelter after himself, it would definitely create a strong, long-term impact.
