Han Xiao spends six months in the Germinal's Valkyrie Lab, lying low and accumulating experience by disassembling and reassembling machinery. He endures daily torture from the sadistic trainer Baltar and the scientists' dissecting desires, all while secretly leveling his Mechanic class and Agent subclass. When the organization decides to hand him over for dissection, he executes a meticulously planned escape. He crafts a Lightweight Mechanical Arm, eliminates the surveillance room, and brutally kills Baltar and the lead researcher Lin Weixian. He then tricks the remaining guards into escorting him to the main gate by blending in with their ranks, finally bursting out into the open forest. His escape kills over thirty guards and an entire elite squad, triggering a Class-A main quest and earning him the Germinal Organization's eternal hatred. The freedom is short-lived as he is pursued by the Night Owl Squad and the relentless No. 1, forcing him to fight for his life in the dark woods.

After killing the pursuing Test Subject Squad, Han Xiao encounters a wanderer encampment where the kind-hearted Hu Xuan Jun and his blind wife An take him in. In a moment of greed, Hu Xuan Jun's nephew steals a gun, leading the Germinal agents to the camp. The agents massacre the entire camp, including Hu Xuan Jun and An, to cover their tracks. Han Xiao returns to find his friends dead and swears revenge. He modifies Hu Xuan Jun's old bayonet musket into a sniper rifle and ambushes the Test Subject Squad, wiping them out in a night of brutal firefights. The Germinal boss offers him a chance to return, but Han Xiao refuses, declaring war on the organization. He then smuggles himself into the Western Capital of Stardragon, the most peaceful of the Six Nations, and secures a position as an apprentice in a machine workshop owned by the mysterious Old Man Lu. There, he wins the favor of a one-armed old man, a high-ranking figure in Stardragon's Division 13, by crafting him a bionic arm.

Han Xiao is recruited into Division 13, Stardragon's elite intelligence organization, and assigned to a Covert Ops team. He quickly establishes himself as a valuable mechanic, crafting retractable knives and high-explosive gunpowder for his new teammates. His first mission involves capturing the infamous bounty hunter Black Spider, who is revealed to be a superhuman with the ability to transfer his consciousness. Han Xiao's knowledge of the boss's powers allows the team to defeat him, but the Research Department, jealous of his innovation, attempts to steal his blueprint and smear his reputation. Han Xiao retaliates by engineering a public fire that destroys the department's face, solidifying his position and gaining formal respect from the higher-ups. As the game's launch date approaches, he realizes players will soon arrive, bringing both opportunities for trade and the potential for chaos. He begins preparing his shop interface and strategic alliances, knowing that his knowledge of future events is his greatest weapon.

Division 13 and Hesla's intelligence forces launch a joint operation to uncover a Germinal stronghold near the border. Han Xiao's team, now fully equipped with his enhanced armor and weapons, joins the mission. During a night infiltration, Han Xiao infiltrates the enemy base alone, capturing two guards and collecting critical intel that reveals the Germinal Organization is planning a massive attack on the wandering army, aiming to seize strategic territory. He discovers that the Germinal boss is using a trump card super-soldier project, and that the organization has deeper ties to an external interstellar power. Despite his teammates' initial skepticism, Han Xiao's intel proves accurate. The Hesla commander, swayed by the evidence, decides to act against his own superiors' cautious orders, moving troops to intercept the Germinal force. Han Xiao's reputation grows as he demonstrates strategic foresight, and he secures a crucial military alliance between Stardragon and Hesla, setting the stage for the coming war.