Chapter 20: You Call This Safe?
Matou Shinji was filled with terror inside the trash can, his expression clearly indicating he was ready to sell out his teammates to survive.
"Where is Kirei Kotomine?"
Su Xiao hooked his finger, and the Realm Severing Thread shot out from his sleeve, wrapping around Matou Shinji's neck.
"Th-this..."
Matou Shinji was momentarily at a loss for words. He actually didn't know where Kirei Kotomine was either. The last time they met, he had found the other party through multiple channels, and even then, it involved a great deal of luck.
"Since you don't know, you're useless."
"No, give me some time..."
Zzzz~
The Realm Severing Thread tightened, deeply cutting into Matou Shinji's neck. The cold thread sliced through his flesh before withdrawing from his body, a thread of blood dispersing into the air.
Matou Shinji's eyes bulged as he clutched his throat, gurgling blood spurting out. He made choking sounds as his body slowly slumped down into the trash can.
With a bang, Su Xiao closed the trash can lid and walked out of the alley. Behind him, Tohsaka Rin was stunned for a moment before reluctantly following.
"Sorry about that."
Tohsaka Rin muttered softly, then walked out of the alley in a daze. Having an acquaintance die before her eyes was a heavy blow, but the other party was an enemy Master—that was the Holy Grail War.
Outside the alley, Su Xiao was closing his eyes, sensing something. The Apostle's Eye high above had switched to alert mode. When Amu had clashed with Cu Chulainn earlier, Su Xiao hadn't shown himself mainly because he was searching for Kirei Kotomine. Given the other party's cautious nature, he was likely hiding nearby.
Unfortunately, Su Xiao still couldn't locate Kirei Kotomine's position. As for tracking Gilgamesh, that was indeed a good method, but given Gilgamesh's strength, only Bubu Wang could successfully tail him. However, Bubu Wang was currently watching Stan and his two companions.
Ultimately, Su Xiao still needed to eliminate the Blood Gate Adventurers before he could participate in the Holy Grail War with peace of mind.
Thinking of this, Su Xiao recalled the Apostle's Eye, took Tohsaka Rin, and headed toward the edge of Fuyuki City. In this battle, Su Xiao's gains were not insignificant. After all, Amu had killed Cu Chulainn. Now, he finally had time to check the Reincarnation Paradise notifications.
[Your Servant has killed Cu Chulainn (Lancer).]
[Cu Chulainn is one of the seven Heroic Spirits participating in this Holy Grail War. You have obtained 7.3% World Source. Total World Source obtained: 7.3%.]
[You have obtained a Treasure Chest: Gold Set (This chest has a high chance of dropping a Gold Set item).]
...
[You have killed Matou Shinji.]
[You have obtained 0.2% World Source. Total World Source obtained: 7.5%.]
...
Seeing that killing Matou Shinji also yielded 0.2% World Source, Su Xiao wasn't particularly surprised. As for the Gold Set chest dropped by Cu Chulainn, if it actually contained a Gold Set item, its value would be no less than a Legendary chest.
Walking down the street, Su Xiao was constantly pondering one thing: what exactly was the Blood Gate's team main mission?
Based on Su Xiao's understanding of large adventure groups, first, their main mission was definitely not simple, and it likely required teamwork to complete. Second, there was a high chance it was related to the Holy Grail War.
The ideal approach now was for Su Xiao to sabotage the Blood Gate's team main mission. That way, he could get all of Blood Gate's members killed.
Leaving aside everything else, directly fighting Blood Gate head-on was completely not worth it. The first two times Su Xiao had ambushed Blood Gate members, it was because he had no other choice. Now, with Bubu Wang's tracking, Su Xiao had confirmed the importance of the team main mission to Blood Gate.
First of all, the drop rate of Scarlet Cards in this Holy Grail World was absurdly low. Su Xiao had killed nearly 60 Blood Gate members in bits and pieces, yet only obtained 3 Scarlet Cards. There were only two possibilities: either the Scarlet Card drop rate in this world was genuinely low, or his Luck Attribute had expired.
Thinking of the latter, Su Xiao felt a dull ache in his head. He was somewhat unwilling to accept the latter. If other Contractors had his level of Luck Attribute, they should already be using it in battle. But Su Xiao didn't feel that way at all. He always felt that he had only restored his Luck Attribute to a normal level, or rather, his luck fluctuated between good and bad, occasionally reverting to the Great Chieftain's Halo.
Su Xiao calmed his mind, stopped thinking about matters related to the Luck Attribute, and refocused on Blood Gate.
The situation was now clear: fighting Blood Gate head-on was simply not worth it. Although it was satisfying, the cost of killing enemies didn't even cover the bullet expenses—that was extremely frustrating.
As Su Xiao pondered, he and Tohsaka Rin arrived at an unoccupied two-story villa. After a preliminary inspection, Su Xiao confirmed that no one had lived here for at least two months.
Su Xiao pulled out a strangely shaped key, inserted it into the lock, and turned it. The door opened with a click, leaving Tohsaka Rin stunned.
Soon, the villa was brightly lit. Su Xiao sat down on the sofa, while Amu sat on a small wooden stool in front of the sofa, intently watching TV.
"Amu, you're seriously injured..."
"Moo~"
Amu's voice changed pitch as he shook his head like a rattle drum, meaning: "Master, Amu is fine. I can recover without treatment."
"Is that so? Rin, go help Amu bandage his wounds."
"You can't be serious. I'm injured too, you know."
Tohsaka Rin found the medical kit and began carefully bandaging Amu's wounds. If not for Amu tonight, she didn't know what might have happened to her.
Su Xiao's next plan was simple: wait. He didn't believe Stan would skip the team main mission. Once any clue emerged, that would be the beginning of their annihilation.
"Tohsaka Rin, take off your clothes. You need some self-defense capability."
"Huh?!"
Hearing Su Xiao's words, Tohsaka Rin was shocked to the core. She slowly backed away, looking as if she would rather die than comply.
Seeing Tohsaka Rin's reaction, Su Xiao's expression remained unchanged. He had a very interesting idea and needed to test it now. Based on tonight's situation, at the very least, Tohsaka Rin needed some self-defense ability to be safe.
"I'm saying, this kind of thing can't be forced, and this is a crime. Whether it's..."
Under Tohsaka Rin's symbolic resistance, her top was removed, and she lay face down on the sofa.
Su Xiao pulled over the coffee table and sat on it, with over a dozen alchemical materials placed on top. In front of him was Tohsaka Rin, lying face down on the sofa, only wearing a bra, her face flushed with a mysterious blush.
"Is it... really okay? I won't turn into a monster?"
"Theoretically, no problem."
"Theoretically..."
With a snap, Su Xiao used his folding knife to cut the back strap of Tohsaka Rin's bra. Feeling the release, Tohsaka Rin became even more nervous, using her hands to cover the sides of her chest to avoid exposure.
Su Xiao's idea was simple: to engrave an alchemical array on Tohsaka Rin's back. The main function of this array was to store energy, with properties as close to Command Seals as possible.
You see, in this world, magical energy was universal. What truly determined one's magical attributes were the Magic Circuits. Su Xiao had no research on Magic Circuits and didn't want to study them. What he wanted to do was give Tohsaka Rin a massive amount of magical energy. Even if it couldn't enhance her magical strength, at least it would turn her into a magical artillery platform.
A metal injection gun appeared in Su Xiao's hand. Seeing this, Tohsaka Rin, who had just calmed down, nearly sat up in shock.
"What is this for this time?"
"This is a biological anesthetic. Its side effects are over 70% less than most anesthetics. It prevents you from going into shock from the intense pain during the engraving of the 'Third Starlight Alchemical Array,' which could cause brain death. Overall, it's very safe."
Words like Starlight, Alchemical Array, intense pain, shock, and brain death continuously stimulated Tohsaka Rin's nerves. She grabbed her clothes and tried to escape, but half a minute later, she was back lying on the sofa, sleeping exceptionally soundly.