Chapter 59: Overloaded Perception
The chaotic battle ceased, and the factory fell silent, leaving only the hissing sound of steam venting.
"Hey... handsome guy over there."
A shout came from behind the machine where the healer was hiding. It appeared to be an old compressor, now leaking oil in spurts from several bullet holes.
The healer from the Apocalypse Paradise crouched behind the compressor, her body curled up, tears in her eyes. Her fear was understandable; even healers within the Reincarnation Paradise weren't particularly tough, let alone those from the Apocalypse Paradise.
After witnessing her teammates being slaughtered like chickens, this healer with a delicate face was in despair, but her survival instinct kept her from giving up. She was prepared to pay a price to buy her life.
"I'm a non-combat support personnel. According to the Apocalypse, no, from a humanitarian standpoint, that's not right either..."
The more she spoke, the more desperate she became. The rules of the Apocalypse Paradise were clearly not something the people from the Reincarnation Paradise would follow. As for humanitarianism, don't joke around; these madmen had nearly leveled Lubei City and wouldn't care about such rules.
"I surrender!!"
The healer shouted, simultaneously pulling out a scroll and hiding it in her sleeve, ready to use at any moment.
"Fine."
Su Xiao spoke, sheathing the Dragon-Slaying Flash and tossing the D·Assassin to his right hand, the muzzle aimed directly at the compressor where the healer was hiding.
With a tearing sound, the healer ripped open the upper part of her clothes, revealing a generous amount of skin. After a manual adjustment, she enhanced her allure, raised her hands, and slowly poked her head out from behind the compressor.
Pfft.
A faint gunshot rang out, and a bullet pierced the healer's head. She fell to the ground with a thud.
Golden light enveloped the wound on her head. Lying on the ground, her eyes were wide open, and her fingers twitched involuntarily.
Su Xiao approached the compressor, his gun aimed at the fallen healer.
"Why..."
Pfft, pfft.
Two bullets pierced her heart and throat respectively, and she immediately lost all signs of life.
Now, on the battlefield, whether from a standpoint or the situation, any contractor from the Apocalypse Paradise still in Lubei City was an enemy. Showing mercy to an enemy was a foolish act. Some seemingly weak enemies could actually unleash astonishing lethality.
Take this healer, for example. The one-time-use scroll in her sleeve, judged by the Reincarnation Paradise's rating, was a Legendary-grade one-time attack item.
The healer seemed fragile, but no one was stupid. They would find ways to protect themselves, and high-power one-time items were the best choice.
Eight people had ambushed Su Xiao: five dead, three escaped.
Was that really the case? No, this squad had nine members in total.
On the steel beams of the factory roof, a young man crouched motionless. His attire was somewhat feminine, and he was about one meter fifty tall. At that moment, he didn't dare move a muscle.
This young man was the squad's perception-type. He hadn't participated in the fight, and due to his specialization in perception, his ability to shield perception was extremely strong, so Su Xiao hadn't detected him.
Su Xiao had mastered the Instinct ability for a long time. This ability couldn't be improved within the Reincarnation Paradise, but with his use, it could rapidly advance. Now, the Instinct ability had reached a point where, even though its perception range wasn't large—forming an invisible circle with a diameter of 16 meters and a radius of 8 meters—anything entering this circle could be sensed by Su Xiao.
From the moment he mastered the Instinct ability, Su Xiao understood that it wasn't a large-scale perception ability. Based on his verification in the Naruto World, the sensitivity of the Instinct ability in capturing enemy attacks was over seven times that of Observation Haki at the same level.
To gain something, you must give something. The benefits of Instinct for melee combat were obvious, but the sacrifice was range.
After the Instinct ability reached Lv.32, Su Xiao mastered a new ability, or rather a new dodging technique. He had used this ability during his fight with Buck and had thereby defeated him.
[Instinct (Passive)]
Skill Effect (Passive): Forms a perception circle with a diameter of 16 meters and a radius of 8 meters. Any attack entering the perception circle, even if the subjective consciousness is not on alert, the body can automatically dodge.
Perception Strength: 20 + 31 points (Base Strength + Intelligence Attribute × 35%).
Tip: When Perception Strength reaches 20 points, you can dodge simultaneously as the enemy's attack enters the perception circle (Mastered).
Tip: When Perception Strength reaches 50 points, you can overload the perception force, thereby unilaterally slowing the enemy's attack speed. This is the Overloaded Perception State (Mastered).
Tip: When Perception Strength reaches 100 points, you can predict enemy attacks within the perception circle, discerning the enemy's attack direction in advance based on their attack initiation (Not Mastered).
Tip: When Perception Strength reaches 200 points, you can predict future enemy attacks within the perception circle, with a prediction time of 0.23 to 0.51 seconds in advance (Not Mastered).
Tip: This skill cannot be improved within the Reincarnation Paradise. It can only be enhanced through the Hunter's own training and practice.
...
Due to the distance, Su Xiao hadn't noticed the contractor on the steel beam above. This contractor naturally wouldn't jump down and roar, "Dare you fight me?"
He had witnessed how his five teammates died, especially the healer's final moments, which made him realize that the guy below was beyond reason. If he exposed himself, even if he could talk a dead person back to life, that guy would just shoot him in the head.
Clap, clap, clap...
Sparse applause echoed. Su Xiao adjusted his gun's aim. His luck wasn't great this time; after killing these enemies, no chest had dropped.
"I've long admired Brother Bai Ye's reputation. Meeting you today, it's indeed well-deserved."
A man in a suit with an ordinary face walked into the factory.
"Something?"
Su Xiao put away the D·Assassin. He hadn't seen this suit-wearing man before, but the other party was on his side.
"Pardon me, I forgot to introduce myself. I am Qing Yan."
Qing Yan stopped ten meters away from Su Xiao. He knew the consequences of rashly approaching a melee fighter. Even if the other party was an ally, Qing Yan couldn't guarantee that an ally wouldn't cut off his head. Allies within the Reincarnation Paradise needed to be treated with caution.
"Qing Yan..."
Su Xiao nodded. Although Qing Yan looked unremarkable, a person's ability wasn't determined by appearance or background.
Qing Yan had sought out Su Xiao for some reason, but he didn't state his purpose immediately. The contractor from the Apocalypse Paradise crouching on the steel beam above held his breath. His only thought at that moment was, "Can you two go outside to talk?"
The contractor wasn't curious at all about what Su Xiao and Qing Yan were going to discuss. The two below gave off a strong vibe of villainous bosses, which made him very nervous.
"Come out. Hiding any longer is pointless. If you're willing to answer a few of my questions, I swear on my honor to let you live."
Hearing Qing Yan's words, the contractor on the steel beam felt his bladder tighten, staring at Qing Yan in disbelief.
Su Xiao was a bit puzzled. He scanned his surroundings, and when his gaze fell on the steel beam above, he felt as if someone was making eye contact with him.
Su Xiao didn't ignore this feeling, which was akin to an illusion. The D·Assassin appeared in his hand.
Pfft, pfft, pfft...
After Su Xiao fired the third shot, a splash of blood appeared out of nowhere. After the eighth shot, a corpse crashed through the factory window. With a shattering sound, glass shards flew, and the body fell outside the factory.
"There really was someone."
Qing Yan clicked his tongue in wonder. He had said that earlier only out of caution.
"Brother Bai Ye..."
Qing Yan's voice grew softer, and only then did he reveal his purpose.