Chapter 3: The Lone Walker
Personal information as follows:
Contractor No. 13013. (Protected identity for the Hunter; this is a false number that cannot be traced by any means.)
Name: Su Xiao (Hunter)
Level: LV.1 (First Rank). Every 10 levels constitute one rank. Level increases grant no attribute bonuses; they represent the Hunter’s authority within the “Paradise” and correspond to world difficulty, mission difficulty, etc.
Health: 100% (This attribute cannot be fully quantified; it changes based on injury severity.)
Mana: 60 (Intelligence × 10. Current mana recovery rate: 3 points per hour.)
Strength: 6 (Related to attack power, carrying capacity, etc.)
Agility: 7 (Related to movement speed, attack speed, etc.)
Endurance: 5 (Related to health, defense, abnormal resistance, etc.)
Intelligence: 6 (Related to magic damage, mana, perception, etc.)
Charm: 3 (Related to social interaction, summoning, etc.)
Luck: 1 (Related to item opening, crafting, etc. This attribute is extremely difficult to improve; the Hunter should cherish any opportunities to enhance it.)
Note: The standard attributes for an adult male are 5 points, with Luck at 1 point.
Killing Talent: Soul Devourer — Upon killing a target, permanently steal 1–15 points of Mana.
This talent can steal a maximum of 100 Mana per world.
[Personal information is provided for the Hunter’s convenience in estimating their own strength and is unrelated to actual combat power. Attribute values affect the Hunter’s physical capabilities, but combat is not solely determined by physical attributes. The Hunter should proceed with caution.]
...
After carefully reviewing the information several times, Su Xiao committed his personal attributes to memory.
His current level was LV.1. The significance of level was self-evident; it represented his authority within “Reincarnation Paradise.”
The world he had entered, the world of One Piece, had a difficulty level of LV.6, while his own level was only LV.1. This clearly indicated that he was in extreme danger within the One Piece world.
Under normal circumstances, “Reincarnation Paradise” would not teleport a contractor to a world five levels higher than their own. All of this was related to his identity as a “Hunter.”
What benefits this so-called “Hunter” identity brought, Su Xiao had yet to discover, but the drawbacks were already apparent: danger.
Entering an LV.6 world, then accepting an LV.3 mission, while he himself was only LV.1—the difficulty of this “game” seemed a bit high.
Moreover, according to the introduction from “Reincarnation Paradise,” in future worlds, he would need to assist “Reincarnation Paradise” in eliminating certain “anomalous” contractors.
This essentially meant that he was a natural enemy to the majority of contractors. Even if Su Xiao agreed to cooperate on missions, other contractors would not.
Once his identity was discovered, they would only gang up on him.
Who could be sure that his Hunter mission didn’t include their numbers?
As for the protective measures noted at the top, Su Xiao didn’t even fully trust “Reincarnation Paradise,” let alone the protection it offered.
But there was some good news. His attributes were all above average, the result of his rigorous training.
While such physical qualities meant little in the One Piece world, they gave him a higher starting point.
Su Xiao’s strength was not fully represented by these attributes. He had another specialty: he knew how to fight and was willing to fight.
Though he lacked the cunning to see through everything, he possessed a heart unafraid of injury or death. It wasn’t that he was completely fearless, but compared to ordinary people, his courage was greater, and he dared to take risks.
This was Su Xiao’s capital for navigating “Reincarnation Paradise.”
Sometimes, a brave heart was far more important than a strong body.
“Alright then, let me see just how dangerous this One Piece world really is.”
Su Xiao agilely dashed forward a few steps, stepped on the corner of the windowsill, and leaped up. He extended his arms upward, grabbing the eaves of the roof. Then, using his arm strength, he pulled his entire body upward, poking his upper body through the hole in the ceiling.
Just as Su Xiao was about to check the situation outside, a sharp sound rang out.
“Bang.”
It was a gunshot, somewhat muffled. Su Xiao immediately made his judgment.
He pulled his body back behind the wall, keeping his hands firmly on the eaves, and slowly poked his head out to survey the scene outside.
“Bang, bang, bang...”
Gunfire, like popping beans, rang out in a continuous chain outside. After observing, Su Xiao determined that this was a firefight between two factions at the “Refuse Terminal.”
Each side had dozens of people, engaged in a mid-range gun battle.
Su Xiao noticed that both sides wore tattered clothes and looked gaunt and malnourished. They were likely refugees from the “Refuse Terminal.”
“Toby, this territory is ours. What’s your game here? We’re all poor ‘scavengers.’ Are you trying to wipe us out?”
The gunfire subsided slightly as both sides began shouting at each other.
“Your territory? I’ve got over a dozen guns now. From now on, I call the shots here. Once I’ve saved up enough Berries, I’ll take my men out to sea and become a pirate.
Rogil, put down your weapons, and I’ll give you a chance to join...”
Before Toby could finish, he was interrupted by a gunshot. He quickly ducked his head back behind a pile of trash.
From the dilapidated house, Su Xiao could just see the speaker. He was a burly, bearded man, grinning viciously from behind a heap of garbage. It seemed he had no intention of accepting surrender; he wanted to annihilate the other side.
This bearded man named Toby was different from the gaunt refugees. He was tall and muscular, with bulging sinews.
Su Xiao sighed inwardly. He finally understood just how dangerous an LV.6 world could be.
If he had recklessly gone out earlier, he would have been riddled with bullets. And this was just the beginning; things would only get more dangerous.
As Su Xiao waited for the two groups to disperse, a nimble figure suddenly leaped from the roof into the house where he was hiding.
“Whew~, that was close. Finally found a safe...”
The newcomer stopped mid-sentence as they spotted Su Xiao clinging to the wall.
“Uh...”
Before they could speak, Su Xiao released his grip on the eaves and dropped to the ground.
Upon landing, Su Xiao crouched low, kicked off the ground, sending a few dead leaves flying, and lunged at the newcomer like a nimble leopard.
The other party tried to explain something, but it was too late.
Su Xiao first punched them in the stomach. He could clearly feel the soft abdomen denting under the force of his fist.
The newcomer doubled over in pain and was about to cry out, but Su Xiao’s hand clamped over their mouth and nose, muffling the sound into a grunt.
That wasn’t the end. With one hand covering their mouth, Su Xiao extended his other hand flat like a blade and jabbed his fingertips hard into the person’s chest.
“Thud.” The distinct dull sound of a heavy blow to the chest echoed.
Su Xiao felt the person’s body go limp. Panic flickered in their eyes as they collapsed, only able to let out a faint murmur.
When his fingertips struck the area around the heart, Su Xiao felt a very soft sensation.
“A woman?”
He had acted this way because he couldn’t determine whether the newcomer was friend or foe. It was better to subdue them first.
“Don’t... don’t hurt me.”
A voice as faint as a mosquito’s buzz reached Su Xiao. He looked the newcomer up and down.
Her black hair was uneven and messy, her face covered in dust, but the skin not hidden by grime was very fair. Her drab-colored clothes were quite loose, revealing a thin, frail body. She seemed young.
“Who are you?”
Su Xiao could roughly guess her purpose—she was probably seeking shelter.
“My name is Mia. I really mean no harm. Please don’t hurt me.” Mia’s voice was very soft.
After the heavy blow to her heart, the fact that Mia hadn’t fainted showed she had decent endurance. For a short time, she wouldn’t be able to move freely.
“Don’t make a sound, or I’ll kill you.”
If his life was in danger, Su Xiao wouldn’t hesitate to kill. He still had a blood debt to repay.
“Gulp.”
Mia, only about fifteen or sixteen, swallowed hard.
“Okay, I just want to take shelter. I won’t make a sound.”
Mia suddenly felt that staying with this man wasn’t any safer than being outside.
The gunfire outside gradually subsided. The chaotic battle should be ending soon.
Su Xiao waited. Once the chaos outside was over, he would head out immediately. Though risky, it was also an opportunity. He desperately needed a weapon.
Starting with empty hands, there wasn’t even a wooden stick nearby.