Chapter 68: Upgrades (Part 3)

Sixty black, glossy, round-shaped objects lay neatly within the two cases before Han Xiao. These were the ‘Highly Explosive Delay-action Shrapnel Bombs’, known as time bombs for short, that he had purchased from Division 13, and their unnecessarily long name, if anything, was telling of their destructive capabilities.

“Each bomb costs $800, so sixty of them amount to $48,000. Hmm, yep... this calculation should be right.”

Although the bombs were ready-to-use, Han Xiao decided to perform some modifications on them. With [Basic Mechanical Engineering], he made them flight-capable by installing mini-propellers on them, along with power supplies. This greatly improved their range of attack.

The only downside to this modification was that it made them look... rather comical. They now almost seemed like the kind of gadget that a certain likable, blue, robotic cat (A Doraemon reference) would pull out from his pouch.

With the additions of the enhanced Facial Simulator, Desert Eagle, Lightweight Mechanical Arm, Foldable Machete, Sky Swallow Gliders, Magnetically-controlled Armor, and last but not least, these flight-capable bombs to his arsenal, Han Xiao had finally finished with all his upgrades. Although Division 13 would definitely still provide them with more equipment, at Han Xiao’s current level, his gear could be said to be semi-godly already. He was currently—without a doubt—the strongest person in his level range.

“This equipment will suffice.”

Han Xiao crossed out ‘Personal Upgrades’ on his to-do list. The next line read ‘Transport Vehicles’.

Creating an entire vehicle from scratch would take too much time, so it was better for Han Xiao to directly purchase one from Division 13 and then perform modifications on it.

Quality-wise, Division 13 would definitely not disappoint. After spending some time looking at the available options, Han Xiao decided that a detachable cargo truck would best suit their needs. It would act as a mobile warehouse and a workshop—a logistics vehicle for the team.

Han Xiao could buy the truck with either money or exchange reputation points for it, which was essentially requesting that Division 13 give him the truck.

Currently, he had a whopping $2.8m to spare. Already, the money-spending ability of the Mechanic class was starting to shine through. Of course, none of this would have been possible without Han Xiao’s prior experience that helped him in accumulating money.

Without happily spending all their money and getting used to living paycheck to paycheck, one could never become an excellent Mechanic.

Nonetheless, he decided to pay with reputation points; that’s what they were meant for, after all. In comparison, paying with money would set him back an unnecessary $800,000. Han Xiao rang Feng Jun up.

...

“Give me the vehicle. How long will it take for you to deliver it to my place?”

“I will need to pick it up from the military factory. About two hours.”

Feng Jun’s punctuality was proven time and again; exactly two hours later, Feng Jun arrived at Han Xiao’s doorstep in the very truck.

A problem immediately presented itself: the truck was too big to enter the garage.

Han Xiao and Feng Jun stared at each other, dumbfounded. They had carefully accounted for every single detail except for this issue.

“What now?”

“How about you guys expand the garage for me?”

“Come on, do you think that Engineering Department staff have that much free time to spare?”

As Han Xiao rubbed his chin, his eyes suddenly lit up.

“Didn’t you bring in an undercover squad to watch over this district? Where are they now?”

“Be more rational jackass! Don’t you think we are grabbing too much attention!”

Han Xiao looked away from Feng Jun and began to size up the military truck. It was 4 meters tall, 3.5 meters wide, and attached with an 11 meters long container that extended beyond the width of the front of the truck itself.

“What attention-grabbing? I don’t think so.” Han Xiao was not at all flustered when bullshitting.

“Only the blind would not see such a huge truck!” Feng Jun basically spouted saliva all over Han Xiao’s face.

“What is with the saliva-spitting when you speak?” Han Xiao grabbed Feng Jun’s sleeve, wiped his face, and said with a look of disdain, “Not that I am criticizing you, but the volume of saliva that came out of your mouth is huge.”

Old Man Lu walked out at this moment and exclaimed, “What a huge truck.”

“Why don’t we just demolish the whole garage?” Han Xiao’s eyes glittered.

“Get lost,” Old Man Lu scolded sulkily. He then rubbed the bald area on his head and pondered for a moment before he dug out a key from his pocket and threw it to Han Xiao.

“I have a garage a few blocks away. I will lend it to you.”

Han Xiao was utterly shocked. “So generous! Old Man Lu, are you on wrong medicine today?”

“Get lost!” Old Man Lu was swearing again. He then pushed them away as they were blocking his way, and he walked out for a leisurely stroll.

...

Han Xiao drove the truck and arrived at the garage ten minutes later.

“Bleurgh—”

“Hello. Do you really have to do that?’

Feng Jun’s face was as pale as a sheet as he leaned out the car window. He waved his hands hysterically while he continued vomiting.

Han Xiao could not understand what Feng Jun was trying to convey. Does he mean that he will not sit in my car every again, or is he saying that I don’t have to care how he feels?

Han Xiao shook his head and threw the unimportant question to the back of his head. After he sent the nauseated Feng Jun away, he began modifying the heavy military truck.

He checked every inch of the truck and found no hidden cameras or bugs.

Products made by the military factory were of excellent quality. The truck was equipped with numerous parts, including ten cylinders and turbochargers, which enhanced its horsepower. It could move at a top-speed of 135km/hr. The truck had five heavy-duty, slip-free tires on each side. The cargo compartment was large, and it could contain quite a few pieces of equipment. Han Xiao wanted to modify it into a small workshop, so he needed to move the workshop equipment up.

The base plate of the truck was modified for multi-terrain use, with parts like spring suspension and air damping suspension, which allowed the truck to move smoothly on bad terrain. The truck was also equipped with an anti-sliding gadget, which would prevent small vehicles from sliding under the truck. The movie scenes of protagonists driving sportscar under the villain’s car to fight would never happen with this truck. Hold on... why am I naturally picturing myself as the villain?

The driving cabin was not at all small—it could easily fit six people. It was equipped with a ten-gear gearshift, so there was a suitable gear for any type of movement.

Han Xiao checked the air bags. There were eight of them. As long as the passenger did not fly out of the vehicle upon collision, they would definitely not be injured. Plus, this passenger could enjoy the pleasure of being squashed in between a big ‘chest’.

Speaking of car collisions, the front of the truck was not strengthened with a front bumper. Han Xiao needed to add it himself. He then looked at the truck windows—they were bullet-proof. Division 13 did not cut corners.

Overall, the truck was up to standard; it did not need any major modification. Han Xiao decided to add a few nitro-boost cylinders to the truck for additional thrust. The thought of having a nitro boost for the truck already excited Han Xiao greatly. His truck could be the ultimate king of the road.

Han Xiao started modifying the truck.

The inside of the cargo compartment was made into a small-scale workshop. Han Xiao also strengthened the base plate and the front bumper—the thick and heavy armor looked rather sturdy. Four nitro-boost cylinders were installed in the truck for additional thrust during crucial moments. Furthermore, Han Xiao bought spare tires, and he installed a radar with an antenna for receiving radio signals and sending wi-fi signals.

With these numerous upgrades, Han Xiao spent more than 10,000 dollars. He could not help but shake his head. Upgrades sure were costly.

Gazing upon the black truck before him, he rubbed his chin as the idea of giving it a name suddenly occurred to him.

Han Xiao decided to go with the simplest and most obvious one.

“Big Black!”

Hmm, not a bad name at all.