Chapter 99: Accidentally Ate Them
Xia gasped for breath, her face smudged with mud and water like a tabby cat.
"Sure enough, we shouldn't have taken that mission. Workers carrying out tasks in the real world is practically suicide."
The senior sister pressed a hand to her lower abdomen, blood dripping onto the stockings on her thighs.
"You think I wanted to take it? It was a forced mission. I'm pretty desperate too, alright."
"Sigh, you jinx. I can't do anything with you. Later, I'll draw their attention, and you sneak up from behind. I hate to admit it, but you're better at fighting than I am."
Just as the senior sister was about to stand up, Xia quickly grabbed her clothes.
"What are you going to use to draw their attention? Your dog's life?"
Xia was filled with despair. Her senior sister was practically a useless teammate.
"Dumb brain, of course I'll use my tits."
"Huh? What the hell?"
"We're about to lose our lives, and you still care about that?"
The senior sister was clearly more open-minded than Xia. Xia crossed her arms over her chest and shook her head rapidly. What the senior sister said made sense, but it was way too embarrassing.
"Don't even think about it. The hardware doesn't allow it. 36D isn't something everyone has. It's a gift."
"I... you..."
Xia was momentarily speechless.
"Wait for the opportunity. It's up to you, Xia."
The senior sister took a deep breath. She trusted Xia a lot. Xia's expression turned serious. If anyone was going to die first, it would be her.
"This beautiful lady, rather than letting the enemy enjoy the view, why not let me have a look first?"
Hearing this sudden voice, Xia and the senior sister nearly jumped out of their skin. A young man with blood-red pupils was crouching beside them, holding a phone.
"Found them. One's been shot a few times, the other looks unharmed. Oh, got it. Just keep the one who looks decent safe. Mm, mm, okay, got it. Brother Bai Ye, next time we have time, let's go kill someone together."
The blood-pupiled youth hung up the phone, a smile on his face as he looked at Xia. Xia swore to the heavens that compared to the two second-rank contractors chasing them, this blood-pupiled youth gave her a sense of danger dozens of times stronger!
"First meeting, I'm Black Blood. Uh... let me add, I'm a helper brought in by Beheading Night."
Hearing Black Blood's words, Xia and the senior sister exchanged a glance.
"Xia, I always thought you were bragging about being close to Beheading Night."
The senior sister plopped down on the ground. She too sensed Black Blood's danger, but it was precisely this danger that assured her those two second-rank contractors were no match for him.
"Speaking of which, why didn't Beheading Night come himself? I was kind of hoping to see him in person."
The senior sister's face grew paler; after all, she had been shot twice.
"If Brother Bai Ye came here, it wouldn't be a personal grudge anymore. Those Scavengers might even think about jumping into a river."
Black Blood chuckled and stood up.
"Let's go."
"Huh?"
"What about the enemies?"
"Enemies?" Black Blood seemed to realize something, scratching his head with a slightly 'shy' look. "I accidentally ate them."
"Accidentally... ate them?!"
The senior sister scooted back a bit. The idea of eating people clearly frightened her.
"Crispy, chicken flavor. Let's go. I'll take you to a nearby city. My boss is also heading this way."
"Alright... alright..."
Xia and the senior sister stood up, dazedly completing their mission.
With a loud boom, a signal flare shot up over the grassland.
"Crap, the boss is here."
Young Black Blood was clearly a bit nervous. Noticing his expression, the senior sister swallowed hard. Anyone who could make Black Blood this afraid was definitely even more unhinged.
"If I remember correctly, Bai Ye is a lone wolf. And your Mingmen Adventure Group is actually willing to work for him?"
Xia voiced her confusion.
"Of course. He saved me twice. This is repaying one of those times."
Though Black Blood was mentally unstable, that didn't mean he was ungrateful.
Rustling sounds came from the grass nearby. Black Blood's steps faltered as a refined-looking man emerged from the weeds, followed by a girl in pajamas.
"Black Blood, did you... eat someone again?"
"Boss, please, let me explain. I, well, this..."
"Every excuse is just a justification for doing wrong."
As the refined man spoke, a flaming spike materialized out of thin air, piercing through Black Blood's head. Black Blood collapsed stiffly.
"Is Black Blood dead?"
The girl behind the refined man clapped her hands.
"Both of you, come with me. Let Black Blood reflect here for a while."
The refined man was named Yan Chen, the leader of the Mingmen Adventure Group.
"Boss, that side is handled."
A female voice came from nearby. It was a girl in a white lab coat, looking like a doctor. She was Mingmen's chief healer, named Yogurt. The name sounded harmless, but she was basically a female version of Hannibal.
The Fake Joker stood behind Yogurt. Together, they formed a team of psychotic killers.
Sister-con Yan Chen + his crazy sister + Yogurt + Fake Joker—these four didn't look like good people at all.
The senior sister and Xia exchanged a glance, both feeling like they had just escaped a tiger's den only to enter a wolf's lair.
Five hours later, inside the accessory shop Su Xiao had opened.
"Thanks for this time. Past grudges are settled. Mm, contact me when you have time."
Su Xiao hung up the phone. He had to admit, Xia was lucky this time. The Mingmen Adventure Group happened to be in a city near her.
Distant water can't quench a nearby fire. Even if Su Xiao could crush second-rank contractors, being a thousand miles away meant he couldn't help.
Su Xiao had fought his way from first rank to fourth rank, so of course he knew many contractors. Quite a few could be contacted in the real world.
Most rookie contractors would hide their tracks in the real world, but after Su Xiao reached third rank, he realized this was largely pointless.
First, the real world had its own balance. Unless it was a special case, contractors wouldn't clash here. Revenge was always carried out in derivative worlds, not the real world. Stan was an extreme exception. After that incident, Stan had a rough time too—the Scavengers weren't pushovers.
Second, given contractors' abilities, if someone really wanted to track a person's location, would hiding their identity actually work? Some divination or aura-locking abilities were simply unreasonable.
Third, fighting in the real world was unpredictable. A fifth-rank mage once clashed with a fourth-rank melee fighter. Because active abilities couldn't be used in the real world, that fifth-rank mage actually died. After that, contractors basically avoided conflicts in the real world. The uncertainty was too high, and the consequences were severe.
For someone like Su Xiao, who relied on a bunch of passive abilities like a beast, ordinary fourth-rank contractors in the real world would be strung up and beaten by him.
Just as Su Xiao hung up, Xia called to thank him for saving her life and invited him to a big meal next time (at Xia's restaurant).
Xia naturally knew the financial power of a fourth-rank contractor, so she didn't offer Paradise Coins or anything. She understood Su Xiao didn't care about her meager coins.
With Xia's matter settled, Su Xiao began a comfortable and fulfilling real life. His body and mind gradually relaxed. Now he finally understood why Reincarnation Paradise had forcibly teleported him back to the real world. Constant high-intensity combat in Reincarnation Paradise would either snap a string or cause mental issues.
Under the setting sun, Su Xiao sat cross-legged on a lounge chair, working on a puzzle game. Bubu Wang lay beside the chair, letting out a long yawn.
[Hunter's stay time in the real world has reached the limit. Returning to Reincarnation Paradise. A new derivative world is about to open.]