Someone once said that if one reviewed one’s previous life, one would realize that one’s wrongdoings in the past would come back to haunt one.

If those words were true, Han Xiao felt that he was bound to become a haunted house owner, surrounded by hateful specters, since every enemy that he killed stared hard at him with vengeful, angry eyes.

At the most critical juncture, Han Xiao used his amazing sniping skills to stabilize the battle situation. He gave the mercenaries time to regroup, and the rest of the surviving snipers also made use of the opportunity to head to new hideouts.

The mercenaries made Han Xiao the main fighter, and all of them provided support for him. The enemy’s plan to suppress Han Xiao with heavy fire failed badly. The troops working with Han Xiao managed to relieve his stress and pressure. In turn, this brought out the best of his strength and made his fighting easier.

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You are currently sniping while on the move.

You learned a [Moving Snipe] technique. (100/100)

You successfully grasped [Moving Snipe]!

Moving Snipe Lv.1 (0/4,500): Reduction of the loss of accuracy from shooting in motion, +2% explosive firing accuracy, +1% fire rate when equipped with sniper rifles.

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Han Xiao realized that [Moving Snipe] did not require large sums of EXP points. He channeled his additional EXP points into the skill and raised the skill to Lv.4. He became more comfortable with operating a sniper rifle and could use the weapon to the best of its ability.

After the enemy’s initial strong push, the situation was back in the defenders’ favor. The incoming enemy troops were fatigued. They wanted to use explosives to blow a hole in the exterior walls of the garden and follow-up by driving their vehicles into the compound. However, the tough steel plates and concrete with the urgent repairs going on made the exterior impossible to blow up.

The enemies then changed their plans and wanted to wipe out the guards of the base directly, but instead, they were stopped by the powerful Han Xiao, who suddenly emerged before their eyes. The enemies realized their assault was going down hill. They started their retreat and left piles of dead bodies.

The Y-5 Snake helicopter turned back and flew away from the site. The helicopter did not have the audacity to fly close to the ground. The pilots were afraid that Han Xiao could fire at its fuel-tank and ammunition storage, which would limit the helicopter’s fighting ability, making it less of a threat.

The battle is finally over. Han Xiao heaved a sigh of relief. His HP had dropped by over 600 points. The endurance level of the magnetically-controlled retractable armor was reduced by a great deal, but he had brought some mechanical parts with him, so he could conduct repairs on the damaged item.

The mercenaries by his side were all exhausted. They collapsed to the ground in fatigue. Chen Li walked toward them. He was curious about Han Xiao’s abilities. He wanted to find out Han Xiao’s full fighting capability and asked, “Mr. Black, are you alright?”

Han Xiao waved his hand to indicate that he was doing fine at the current moment.

Although Chen Li appeared relieved, he was in fact slightly shocked. He did not expect the Scorpion-level assassin to be more reliable than the Hornet brothers.

Shooting the enemies under such powerful concentrated enemy fire was not a feat that was attainable by a Scorpion-level individual.

Chen Li suspected that Mr. Black was a new member of the Dark Web, which would explain his rather low level. Based on his performance in the previous battle, as long as he survived, he could easily attain ‘Ghost’ level.

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Third round completed. You gained 150,000 EXP.

Change in Quest Requirement

Fourth Round Requirement: Defend against five waves of attacks.

Reward: 40,000 EXP per wave (Accumulated EXP will be kept if the mission fails.)

Special Reward: 100,000 EXP

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Han Xiao felt helpless. Why is it another defense mission? Can there be more variety?

Three forts have been destroyed, and many mercenary troops have also perished. Is the whole mission going to be an endless defense against enemy attacks‽

The only consolation is probably the experience and the special reward. Perhaps the special reward is the reason behind all the hidden requirements for the mission. What special tactics are they going to run this time round?

Han Xiao made his way to the logistics zone to start the repairs of the damaged equipment and replenish the exhausted ammunition. On his way there, he was met with looks of respect given by the mercenary troops. Their looks seemed like they had given the ‘green light’ to let Han Xiao be the leader of all the snipers in the force instead of the Hornet brothers.

Those troops with injuries spent the night having themselves treated while the troops who were not injured had a peaceful night of sleep.

The rain stopped at twilight. The ground was muddy, mixed with blood and bullet shells. A strange pungent smell was also emitted by the ground.

Han Xiao was prepared to close his eyes to take a short nap when he heard a commotion emerging out of the communication device.

“The targets have appeared!”

Han Xiao opened his eyes and looked toward the mansion.

The bald old man and a fine-looking gentleman appeared behind the fences of the mansion. All the mercenary troops were alarmed, and they stared curiously at the targets that they were supposed to protect.

When all the mercenary troops and assassins arrived before him, the bald open man started speaking. “Thank you for the protection you guys have offered for the past few days. I will now call out the names of some of the guys whom I want to speak with.”

The bald old man chanted out a list of names. The names belonged to the commanders of the mercenary troops and assassins with outstanding performances in the mission. Mr. Black, which was Han Xiao’s code name, was also mentioned.

“… please enter the mansion in ten minutes. I have something to discuss with you guys.”

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The condition for the mission to fail has changed.

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The condition of no entrance into the mansion, which would directly lead to mission failure, was no longer there.

The appearance of the two mysterious characters created an intense discussion between the curious and puzzled troops.

Waves of unease could be felt in Han Xiao’s heart instead. He managed to recognize one of the guys.

It is him, Bennett Anderson!

No flashy adjectives were required to describe Bennett. In fact, one simple sentence was enough.

Bennett was the main character of Planet Aquamarine!

Amazing, right? There was something even more amazing.

Bennett was another main character on Planet Aquamarine’s main storyline that could lead the players to access missions only available on the main storyline. With that said, it meant that Bennett was an important character that many players wanted to curry-favor with.

Furthermore, Bennett… was a hidden General Skills trainer.

Han Xiao’s eyes glittered. In less than ten minutes, he made a phone call to the Rothschild family.

“Alphonsus, I want to exchange for some items…”

“Er? Aren’t you on the deployment mission? What do you need?”

“The Silver Defender Leaders’ Saber and the Lock HOC Sniper Rifle.”

“… Alright, I did not imagine that you would have such a hobby. I’ll get someone to help you find the items. They will be sent to you in two days.”

_____________

You requested to exchange for the [Silver Defender Leader’s Saber] from the Rothschild Family.

Minus 300 affection points. Current relationship status – Friendly.

_____________

You requested to exchange for the [Lock HOC Sniper Rifle] from the Rothschild Family.

Minus 300 affection points. Current relationship status – Friendly.

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Han Xiao nodded and hung up on the phone. All the troops were looking at the selected individuals as they entered the mansion.

The interior of the mansion followed a minimalistic classical style. Other than a chandelier hanging from the ceiling, there were no signs of extravagance in the other parts of the room. The bald old man sat on his sofa, and the friendly gentleman was standing behind him.

“Sit anywhere you want.”

The selected individuals took their seats on the sofas and chairs in the different corners of the room. Han Xiao remained standing. He leaned against the glass cabinet that stored all the bottles of wine. He stared intently at the friendly gentleman. That was indeed Bennett. He might have looked like a middle-aged man, but he was in fact over sixty years old. He was a powerful superhuman; therefore, he looked younger since he aged at a slower pace.

The bald elderly man pushed up his spectacles and said in a deliberate manner, “Let me introduce myself; I am Wang Yuan, and I will require the protection of you guys for an extended period of time. Today, I called you guys here so that I could meet you all. Also, the mansion will be open for you guys to visit. If you guys want to, you all can even rest in the mansion. ”

“Wang Yuan… Never heard of the name before.” Everyone looked at one another in confusion. They were in fact puzzled by the fact that the two mysterious guys decided to seek refuge in River Valley Manor as Seagull City seemed like a much better place to do so. Also, who were the enemies that relentlessly hunted for them?

They realized that Wang Yuan had no intention the queries they had in their hearts, therefore they could not be bothered to ask these questions. Also, asking sensitive questions was not a good practice of their profession.

“You guys are the central force defending River Valley Manor, and once the mission is done,” Wang Yuan said, “I will hand out additional rewards to you guys in private.”

The eyes of many mercenary commanders lit up. The stipulated reward from the mission was supposed to be shared with all the fellow troops. However, an undeclared reward privately handed out to the commander need not be shared with their men. The commander could use the reward as they wished.

The meeting was a short one. The commanders moved back to take care of their fellow troops. Some ammunition supplies were also transferred into the mansion for storage. The mansion was very big with many empty rooms that were available for the troops to rest inside.

The hustle and bustle moved into the mansion, and soon, people began moving in and out of the mansion endlessly. Wang Yuan and Bennett stayed for a while before they made their moves.

Han Xiao moved quickly up to the two of them.

“Mr. Black, what’s the matter?” Wang Yuan gave a slight grin. He remembered the stunning performance by the sniper last night. It was still fresh in his mind.

Han Xiao looked at Bennett and said, “I want to speak privately with him.”

Wang Yuan and Bennett both looked shocked. They looked at each other for a moment. Wang Yuan smiled and made his way to another side of the room so as to give Han Xiao and Bennett their personal space.

“Why do you want to speak to me?” Bennett was puzzled. “Have we met before?”

Han Xiao took a deep breath and spoke softly at a volume that only both of them could hear. “Bennett Anderson. You are the legendary guy who was active back in the times of the old warring period. You previously trained in the Misihorot Training Camp, which was directly under the Ordina Intelligence Agency. You were one of their best agents and a cold-blooded killing machine. Halfway through the warring period, you became the captain of the elite team of Ordina agents that went by the code name [Blue Devil]. You carried out hundreds of infiltration, sabotage, assassination, and covert operations. You left Ordina and became a traitor eventually. You head is now worth a bounty of 15,000,000!

“After you defected, you disappeared for two years. Legend says that you were undergoing some tough training in the harsh terrain of the northern continent. You were supposedly hunting beasts in the Caroso mountain range. When you appeared once again, you became the strongest man on this planet. You entered the war again, but you did not help any of the parties involved in the war. Instead, you assisted the refugees in their escapes, and through that, you built a strong organization that was the predecessor of the existing Dark Web Organization.

“You appeared countless times in the war-ravaged regions, and as more people were saved by you, you gradually became known as the hero by the people of your time. Also, you left your mark by having an amazing and almost unbelievable battle record. As the war ended, you left the world stage. You covered you tracks and disappeared. From then on, you never appeared in the eyes of the public.”

All these words were the official description of Bennett that was given in the game. Han Xiao could no longer remember the nitty-gritty details and could only give a rough overview.

There were a couple of main characters on every planet. They were like the shooting stars in the sky, leaving bright trails for the people of their time and impressionable marks on the history of the planets.

Bennett was the ‘main character’ of Planet Aquamarine. Even Hila could not be compared to Bennett at an equal standing. The rise of the goddess of death belonged to later versions.

After listening to the words of Han Xiao, Bennett was astonished. Han Xiao was the first out of all his guards to actually point out his true identity.

Even after decades, someone could still recognize him. Bennett had looked really cold, like a block of ice, in the past, and he looked completely different now. He really did change a lot, so how was it possible for his true identity to be recognized?

The most probable speculation appeared in Bennett’s heart. He asked hesitantly, “So, are you my fan?”