Chapter 49: The Situation Becomes Clear
Su Xiao held the Ant King's heart in his hand. Among the hundred-plus contractors, at least the majority had their eyes fixed on him.
Su Xiao had obtained two-thirds of the Ant King's heart, meaning the total weight of the Ant King's heart was 424 grams, equivalent to 0.84 jin.
A normal human heart weighs 250 grams, so by that measure, the Ant King's heart was already quite heavy.
The muscle density of the Ant King's heart was naturally different from an ordinary person's; at the same volume, higher density meant greater weight.
The remaining third of the heart had been taken by Old Smoke. His arms were covered in cracks, and upon closer inspection, one would notice that these two arms were composed of smoke, not real limbs. His original arms had been torn off by the Ant King earlier.
Old Smoke was in a bad state now. His lower body was encased in solid ice, and a hole in his abdomen, as if pierced by a laser, emitted wisps of green smoke.
"Over there, two-thirds of the heart isn't being contested, yet you come for my one-third. Dust, are you treating me like a soft target?"
Although Old Smoke was heavily injured, his combat ability was far from weak, especially since he and Mizusaki had already joined forces.
"The competition over there is too fierce."
Dark elemental energy wrapped around Dust's hands, turning them pitch black. This was likely another instant-burst technique with immense power—typical of Dust's style: he wouldn't act unless necessary, but once he did, he had to achieve results.
"No room for negotiation?"
Old Smoke glanced at the twenty-plus contractors around him. These contractors had also set their sights on the heart in his hand.
"None."
"Is that so."
Old Smoke hesitated for a moment, then a flash of cyan light appeared in his hand. With a wet squelch, he tore the heart in his hand apart.
"Still want to team up?"
Old Smoke held a piece of the heart between two fingers.
"I wouldn't have it any other way."
Dust nodded to Old Smoke. Old Smoke tossed the piece of heart beneath him, and the ice encasing his lower body instantly vanished, taking the piece of heart with it as it disappeared.
Old Smoke's compromise wasn't out of fear of Dust but to avoid Dust allying with the twenty-plus contractors around them to besiege him and Mizusaki.
If it were just Dust alone, Old Smoke and Mizusaki wouldn't be afraid. But adding over twenty contractors changed things. If those contractors held them back while Dust prepared a big move from the rear, Old Smoke and Mizusaki would be in danger.
Faced with this unfavorable situation, Old Smoke directly gave Dust a piece of the heart. This way, the three of them would join forces again, and the surrounding twenty-plus contractors wouldn't dare cause trouble, or else Old Smoke's trio would wipe them out.
"These three have teamed up again."
"No chance now. We'll have to go to the other side."
"Let's move."
The "other side" these contractors referred to was, of course, Su Xiao's side.
At this moment, Su Xiao was surrounded by dozens of contractors. They hadn't attacked directly, only aimed various weapons at him.
"Hand over the heart."
A bald, burly man stepped out from the crowd. This was an "old acquaintance." The bald man was the leader of the Starfire Adventure Group. Earlier, he had led his people to besiege Youpi, one of the three Royal Guards, only for Su Xiao to steal the kill.
Not only that, but during the earlier scramble for the Ant King's heart, two members of the Starfire Adventure Group had died at Su Xiao's hands.
With new grudges added to old ones, the bald leader's eyes showed no hatred—not a trace. This was strange.
As the leader of a mid-sized adventure group, the bald leader had become the representative of the third faction present.
The people in the palace courtyard could be divided into four factions. The first was the temporary team of Old Smoke, Dust, and Mizusaki. Their intentions were unclear; they might come to seize the heart in Su Xiao's hands.
The second faction—no, this wasn't really a faction, as it consisted only of Su Xiao alone.
The third faction was the adventure group alliance represented by the Starfire Adventure Group. This included three small adventure groups, the mid-sized Starfire Adventure Group, and some undecided independent contractors, totaling about seventy people.
As for the fourth faction, this one was interesting. They were the largest faction besides the adventure group alliance. It was also a mid-sized adventure group, with more members than the Starfire Adventure Group, but they weren't very enthusiastic about snatching the Ant King's heart.
Their attitude conveyed a message: they had already gained enough benefits in the Hunter World. Now, they only needed to complete their main missions. There was no need to risk losing members by aggressively fighting for the Ant King's heart.
Of course, this didn't mean they didn't need the Ant King's heart at all—just that they required a small amount, over 30 grams.
Su Xiao wouldn't be hostile to the fourth faction for now, for a simple reason: the cute girl healer belonged to this faction. Earlier, Old Smoke had promised her a piece of the Ant King's heart as payment, but given the current situation, that promise seemed unreliable.
Thinking this way, Su Xiao's only enemies were Old Smoke, Mizusaki, Dust, the bald leader, and the like.
Old Smoke and his group might or might not act. They had already obtained a third of the heart, putting them in a stable position. Any additional heart they seized would be sold off.
The Ant King's heart in Su Xiao's hand suddenly disappeared as he stored it in his storage space.
This move by Su Xiao made the bald leader and the surrounding contractors' faces turn ugly. If they had only been threatening before, now their killing intent was boiling over.
Crack, crack.
Su Xiao stretched his joints. In his earlier fight with the contractors, he hadn't actually unleashed his full combat power. The situation had prevented him from doing so, as he had to constantly guard against someone touching the Ant King's corpse and stealing the heart.
As it turned out, Su Xiao was very good at killing enemies, but not so good at protecting or guarding something—after all, his abilities were all offense-oriented. That was why Old Smoke had managed to steal the Ant King's corpse.
Now that the heart was in hand, Su Xiao could fight without restraint.
"Keep my health above the safety line."
Su Xiao spoke, addressing the soft-spoken girl healer.
"Okay, 50% and above. I understand."
The soft-spoken girl healer immediately replied. Her heart was pounding because she had never supported a contractor as strong as Su Xiao.
Healers spent all their resources on enhancing others, and seeing the person they buffed perform so valiantly in battle gave them an immense sense of accomplishment.
Right now, the soft-spoken girl healer's sense of accomplishment was off the charts. It felt as if it wasn't Su Xiao killing the enemies on the field, but her.
"Above 30%."
"Eh~"
The soft-spoken girl healer seemed a bit uncomfortable.
"The situation is clear now. Hand over the heart, and our past grievances are settled. Of course, you can keep the portion you need for your own mission."
Although the bald leader had a grudge against Su Xiao, he was deeply wary of him. Thus, his demand was relatively polite, not asking Su Xiao to give up all the heart he had obtained.
"Oh?"
Su Xiao looked at the bald leader with interest. This guy seemed unremarkable and wasn't top-tier in strength, yet he had managed to rally a mid-sized adventure group. That already spoke to his ability.
"Honestly, I don't want to go all out against you unless I have to. Your methods... are too crazy."
The bald leader didn't make grand claims like "I'll avenge my fallen comrades." He was rational, almost coldly so.
The dead = worthless. This attitude was very similar to one of Su Xiao's "acquaintances," a man named Stan.