Chapter 72: Return
Su Xiao helped Sha break through the door on the condition that all the tenants be released. Was it because Su Xiao had a change of heart? Of course not. The lives or deaths of these tenants had nothing to do with him.
Consider this: if all these tenants escaped, who would be the most furious? The answer was Alice.
Alice had spent who knows how many years imprisoning so many powerful beings on the first floor. Some were only successfully imprisoned with the help of the castle. This was Alice's life's work, and also her hobby—watching those once-renowned masters of the void, trapped in small rooms, some even groveling at her feet.
Having been imprisoned herself, Alice enjoyed this feeling. She treated these powerful beings as her collection. As for the tenants gradually breaking their seals through transactions with the game participants and regaining their freedom, that was simply impossible.
When those powerful beings broke their seals through dealings with the game participants, the energy extraction device in the fourth floor's Forest of the Strong awaited them. They would be injected with life-sustaining fluids daily, and as soon as they produced energy, it would be immediately extracted by the castle to maintain its normal operations. That was a fate worse than death.
For those 'seal-breaking' powerful beings, Alice had seen enough of their 'performances.' Once she grew tired of them, she threw them to the fourth floor. Gaining freedom was absolutely impossible.
These tenants had been imprisoned for who knows how many years, at Alice's mercy the entire time. The anger in their hearts couldn't be resolved even if they rubbed Alice against the ground ten thousand times.
What would happen if all these people escaped? The answer was that they would enjoy their freedom to the fullest, using every means to grow stronger. When they became strong enough, they would return to the castle to take revenge on Alice.
This was Su Xiao's goal. In the previous game, Alice had tried many times to kill Su Xiao. After failing, she chose to make Su Xiao's identity public, letting everyone know he was a Shadow of Law Destruction.
The identity of a Shadow of Law Destruction meant nothing in Reincarnation Paradise. No one would trouble him over a profession inheritance. But in the void, it was different. The Shadows of Law Destruction had many enemies.
This was Alice's open scheme. Since she couldn't kill Su Xiao within the castle except by the rules, she started making enemies for him in the void.
Clearly, Alice succeeded.
Due to the huge gap in strength, Su Xiao hadn't planned to retaliate against Alice immediately. He had neither the opportunity nor the right timing.
Now, however, it was different. Releasing all the tenants on the first floor was equivalent to creating dozens of irreconcilable enemies for Alice. These people had only one goal after gaining freedom: to keep getting stronger and then return to take revenge on Alice.
If Alice really fell into the hands of these people, the consequences...
Boom, boom...
Sounds of pounding and crashing came. Sha was helping a tenant destroy a wooden door. The two worked from inside and out, and the cracks on the wooden door rapidly increased. The efficiency was hundreds of times greater than breaking it from the inside alone.
With a crack, the wooden door shattered, and a large, dark-red bat rushed out of the room.
"Ah~ This is the feeling of freedom."
The large bat trembled, its two leathery wings raised high. It was a Blood Marquis.
Sha didn't bother with the Blood Marquis and went to destroy the next wooden door. Was Sha doing this because she kept her promise? Of course not. The first floor of the castle had an exit leading outside, but that exit also had a restriction. To break that restriction, she alone was completely incapable.
The Blood Marquis's gaze swept around, searching for the exit. As for the benefits it had promised Sha, it didn't mention a word.
"Congratulations on regaining a small portion of your freedom."
Su Xiao spoke as he walked toward the Blood Marquis.
"Hmm? Who are you?"
The Blood Marquis's attitude wasn't friendly.
"First of all, you've only broken through the wooden door. There's still a barrier between you and complete freedom that you can't break through on your own."
Su Xiao pointed to a metal door on the east side of the first floor. Light patterns flickered on the metal door, each one as thick as an arm. For comparison, the light patterns on the wooden door were only as thick as a hair.
"If I were you, I would immediately help the other tenants break their wooden doors, then work together to destroy that thing. Once that thing is destroyed, you'll be free."
Su Xiao's suggestion was immediately accepted. The Blood Marquis wasn't stupid. It turned and charged toward a wooden door, gathering blood light in its mouth and blasting it at the door. The tenant inside was overjoyed.
Soon, seven tenants of various races rushed out of their wooden doors. Su Xiao immediately went to negotiate. The negotiation was simple: making them understand the current situation.
What these tenants craved most was freedom. They displayed astonishing 'unity' and 'brotherly love,' since they all shared the same goal.
All the tenants who had broken out helped others escape. Even Anliya was holding a wooden plank, pounding on an intact wooden door. Anliya was the little girl who had once asked Su Xiao for candy. Under Su Xiao's 'friendly' conversation, she had provided him with many introduction letters.
Five minutes later, all the tenants had broken out of their wooden doors. About several dozen tenants gathered together, using various methods to attack the metal door on the first floor.
Su Xiao, meanwhile, had been mixing something. Soon, he concocted a black liquid, and a pungent, fishy smell spread.
Carefully pouring the black liquid into a test tube, Su Xiao walked toward the metal door.
"Move aside."
Su Xiao tilted his body and threw the test tube at the metal door.
Several tenants immediately dodged. With a crack, the test tube shattered against the metal door, releasing a pungent, fishy smell. The light patterns on the metal door visibly dimmed.
"You're in luck. I'm an alchemist."
Su Xiao continued mixing the black liquid. The tenants, seeing the light patterns on the metal door dim, were overjoyed and attacked the door with even more vigor.
Half an hour later, Su Xiao had concocted five bottles of black liquid. Whenever the black liquid splashed onto the metal door, the light patterns would dim for a few seconds, making the door most vulnerable at that moment.
The tenants noticed this. They stopped attacking the metal door in a chaotic swarm and conserved their strength. Whenever Su Xiao threw a test tube at the metal door, they would instantly unleash a terrifying attack. This increased the efficiency of destroying the metal door by at least ten times.
Su Xiao shook the test tube in his hand, focusing intently on his mixing. Around him, more than a dozen tenants with terrifying auras stood in a circle, their backs to him. If anyone dared to attack Su Xiao, these dozen would instantly turn into mad dogs and tear the attacker apart.
"Hurry, hurry, hurry..."
One tenant muttered incessantly. Su Xiao frowned.
"Shut up."
As soon as Su Xiao spoke, dozens of eyes turned to the muttering tenant. Those eyes held killing intent, anger, and ferocity. The tenant, once a desperado, immediately shut up.
"It's done. This time, let's break this restriction in one go."
Su Xiao looked around at the dozens of tenants. They all nodded, indicating they were ready to attack the metal door.
Su Xiao threw the test tube. The Blood Marquis, Sha, and others braced themselves.
With a crack, the test tube shattered, and the black liquid splattered. The light patterns on the metal door dimmed. These light patterns were a type of alchemical array. Although Su Xiao couldn't break it, he could temporarily weaken it. His alchemy skills weren't just for show.
"Scorpion Tail Strike!"
"Blood: Oblivion."
"Soul Storm."
"Flash Cannon."
...
Thud!
A dull sound rang out. A powerful shockwave pushed Su Xiao back, and he instinctively raised his arm to shield his face.
After a moment, the shockwave subsided. All the tenants on the first floor had disappeared. From beyond the shattered metal door came wild laughter and furious roars.
Within two seconds, those sounds faded. All the tenants had successfully escaped. The first floor of the castle looked as if a typhoon had swept through it.
Su Xiao sat cross-legged on the ground, waiting quietly.
After waiting a full five hours, spatial fluctuations appeared. A woman wearing a crown and a golden dress appeared.
The woman wore a gentle smile. She looked travel-worn and slightly tired. The intense spatial fluctuations indicated she had performed a long-distance teleportation.
However, upon seeing the state of the first floor, the gentle smile on the woman's face gradually faded.
"It seems you came back too late, Alice."
Su Xiao sat cross-legged, a cigarette between his fingers, a smile on his face.
"..."
Anger appeared on Alice's face.
"If I were those tenants, imprisoned for so many years, I would use every means to get stronger, then come back to take revenge on someone. Hanging would be a good choice. I heard there's a place in the void called the Void Platform. Hanging there would be fitting."
The Void Platform—this was information Su Xiao had obtained from the National Football Team. The Three Brothers of National Football had somehow learned that Alice had once nearly been hanged at a place called the Void Platform. For this information, the three brothers had spent 50,000 Paradise Coins.
A badge flew out from Alice's sleeve. She immediately tried to grab it, but with a crackle of electricity, she retracted her arm.
This badge was the 'Game Winner Medal.' As long as someone passed the castle game, Alice was obligated to issue it. Alice had tried to forcibly withhold this medal, but Reincarnation Paradise prevented her from doing so.
Su Xiao grabbed the badge. A notification appeared, indicating he could return to Reincarnation Paradise at any time.
"Sooner or later, I'll skin you alive and make your flesh into steaks. That will be a delicious meal, a meal that lifts the spirits."
Alice practically ground her teeth as she said this. She had been forced to leave the castle earlier, but when she hurried back, all the tenants on the first floor had escaped. Even if those tenants had marks on them, the distance was too great. She could no longer sense those marks. Soon, the tenants would remove the marks, break the seals on their strength, and use every means to get stronger, just to come back and take revenge on her.
Thinking of this, Alice wished she could tear Su Xiao apart alive, even though she still wasn't sure if the tenants' escape was related to him.
"You'll come back to the void sooner or later. When you do, countless people will be hunting you."
Alice wanted to kill Su Xiao right then and there, but she couldn't.
"The howling of a defeated dog."
Su Xiao flicked away the cigarette butt in his hand and chose to return to Reincarnation Paradise.
Bang!
Su Xiao's head was struck from behind. His vision went black, and he lost consciousness. This was Reincarnation Paradise's teleportation.
PS: (I have a bit of a cold and am not in good shape. Only two chapters today.)
Cold Worsened
Yesterday, I had a headache, a mild cold. I didn't think much of it. But today, it got worse. I got an IV drip. Now I'm lying in bed, dizzy, my whole body aching or sore—I can't tell. It's that feverish feeling.
Today's update is basically impossible. When the cold improves tomorrow, I'll work hard to catch up on the updates. Counting the chapters owed from yesterday and today, that's four chapters total.
I'll continue lying in bed like a corpse. A writer's frail physique really can't handle this. I hope everyone understands. Tomorrow, I'll change my name to Sick Mosquito, lol.
"Reincarnation Paradise" Cold Worsened is being typed. Please wait a moment.
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