Chapter 52: Bubu Wang's Hobby
East Gorteau, 10 kilometers east of Sally Town, an abandoned mine.
Clang, clang, clang...
The sound of striking came from within a mine tunnel. Su Xiao stood at the entrance of a partially collapsed tunnel, with Bubu Wang and Amu inside.
Just as Su Xiao was about to enter, the striking sounds ceased, and footsteps approached.
Moments later, Bubu Wang and Amu emerged from the tunnel. Their appearance was quite iconic.
Amu carried a mining pick on his shoulder and a large iron box strapped to his back, while Bubu Wang wore a miner's helmet, the glass visor of its headlamp bearing two cracks.
"Is the follow-up to the mission for you to come here and mine?"
"Woof."
Bubu Wang barked, indicating the situation was "complicated." He began using body language, expressions, and barks to narrate the whole affair.
"Oh? Your personal hobby?"
Su Xiao understood Bubu Wang's meaning. The mission was already complete. As for why they came to mine, it was purely Bubu Wang's personal hobby. This guy had once mined with the Bana Dwarf Clan in the void and had apparently gotten addicted to it.
There was actually a reason for this. Bubu Wang didn't mine to find treasures; he originally enjoyed digging holes and then crawling into them.
Unfortunately, Bubu Wang's digging skills were terrible. Often, as soon as he crawled into a hole he'd dug, the earthen tunnel would collapse, burying him alive. This wasn't really digging holes anymore—it was digging his own grave.
Ever since he started mining with the Bana Dwarf Clan, it was like opening a whole new world for Bubu Wang. Digging holes was already fun for him, but digging holes and finding treasures at the same time? That was the greatest thing ever!
Su Xiao had been wondering earlier why Bubu Wang had proactively asked about the progress of the Ant King's heart battle. It turned out this guy was asking if Su Xiao needed support.
Clearly, the heart battle was over, so Bubu Wang had rushed to this abandoned mine to start digging. Unfortunately, he hadn't been digging long before Su Xiao found him.
Bubu Wang took out the [Hidden Treasure Chest] obtained from the mission from his small storage space. With a clang, the metal chest hit the ground.
Su Xiao tried to touch the Hidden Treasure Chest, and a prompt appeared.
[Yes/No to open the Hidden Treasure Chest. If you open this chest, the Hunter must select an opening mode.]
This prompt surprised Su Xiao. He couldn't quite understand what "opening mode" meant. After a moment's hesitation, he decided not to rush into opening this special chest.
The immediate priority was to sell the Ant King's heart. If it wasn't sold before the main mission ended, this item would just be a high-quality heart with limited value.
The derivative world contact platform could serve as a temporary auction platform. Su Xiao still had 10 speaking chances left, which was more than enough.
Auctioning on the contact platform had an advantage: due to the limited speaking chances, contractors who hadn't obtained the Ant King's heart wouldn't bid recklessly. They would try to directly offer a price that satisfied Su Xiao. If they exhausted their speaking chances without offering a satisfactory price, the joke would be on them.
180 grams of heart meant trading with 18 contractors. No matter the situation, Su Xiao had to maintain a reputation for integrity in this matter. Once a price was set with a contractor, he absolutely couldn't change it easily, or the whole transaction would descend into chaos and become a real headache.
After all, those contractors who hadn't obtained the Ant King's heart were in a near-frenzied mental state. If they couldn't get it, they would all die.
But before that, Su Xiao needed to confirm one thing: whether the Starfire Adventure Group had already disbanded. This was crucial for the stability of the transaction.
Although the Starfire Adventure Group now existed in name only, if the team mechanism was still intact, then Starfire's members only needed 30 grams of heart to save over twenty people.
The reason the bald leader had snatched the heart wasn't just to complete the mission—it was to fleece the scattered contractors. The usually rational bald man died from greed, which was a common occurrence. In a place like Reincarnation Paradise, if you didn't advance, you stagnated, and stagnation meant death was near.
Su Xiao began planning the auction process. A few minutes later, he posted his first message on the contact platform.
Bai Ye (Scattered): Selling 30 grams of Ant King's heart. Time to be determined, location to be determined, price to be determined.
...
Su Xiao chose to sell 30 grams in the first round to test whether the Starfire Adventure Group's team mechanism was still intact. If it was, his first transaction would be the largest one.
Adventure groups, due to their numerical advantage, had impressive group assets—equipment, recovery items, rare resources, and so on.
No one responded on the contact platform. Because of the main mission, speaking chances had become extremely precious.
If Starfire's team mechanism was still intact, they wouldn't be pushed to a dead end, because they could still buy Ant King's hearts from other channels. The hearts in the hands of Old Smoke, Dust, and others would be enough for them to complete the mission.
[Prompt: Hunter has received a temporary email. This email can be blocked.]
Su Xiao opened the email.
'Sandstorm: Arrange a meeting place.'
After a moment's hesitation, Su Xiao replied with three words: 'Sally Town.'
...
An hour later, over twenty contractors arrived near Sally Town. Leading them was Sandstorm, wearing a wine-red robe, a hood, and a high-tech mask that made his voice sound electronic.
"I've been waiting for you for a long time."
At the entrance to Sally Town's main street, Su Xiao sat atop a tall gate, holding a trimmed branch skewered with several large pieces of roasted rabbit meat.
This was a large wild rabbit unique to East Gorteau, about the size of a wild dog. Skewered on a Gaga branch that grew in shady areas and simply roasted, it became a rare delicacy.
"On the way here, we happened to meet two other sellers. They could also provide 30 grams of heart. Unfortunately, their asking price pushed us to a dead end—a dead end from which we could never recover."
Sandstorm spoke. His voice revealed no gender. His demeanor was masculine, but his build was somewhat slender.
"Find a quiet place, and we'll start negotiating."
Sandstorm was well aware of his situation. He was a fat sheep waiting to be slaughtered.
"Right here is fine. Since the Chimera Ant incident broke out, the residents of Sally Town rarely leave their homes, so this is the quietest spot in town."
Su Xiao chewed on the tender, crispy-skinned roasted meat.
"You wouldn't... suddenly kill us, would you?"
Sandstorm directly asked his biggest concern. Before the chaotic battle, he wouldn't have believed Su Xiao had the ability to kill over twenty of them, but now he did.
"How could that be? Most of the time, I only kill enemies. What? Do you want to forcefully take the Ant King's heart?"
"Don't joke like that. We've already tried that. As they say, there are no eternal enemies, only eternal interests."
"That makes some sense. So... what are you prepared to offer in exchange for your lives?"
Su Xiao, sitting on the gate over ten meters high, tossed aside the wooden skewer and casually lit a cigarette.