Chapter 42: Black Abyss
Although quite a few items were obtained this time, only the [Clothes Drying Pole] and [Law Box] needed to be sold; the rest could be used.
After contacting Beini, Su Xiao placed the [Clothes Drying Pole] and [Law Box] into the team storage space, letting Beini take them for sale.
This time, Su Xiao had no abilities that needed improvement, or rather, he temporarily lacked enough Paradise Coins to upgrade these abilities. He was about to undergo the attribute breakthrough assessment for the 99-point barrier, and if he didn’t complete it soon, the situation would worsen.
After all four of Su Xiao’s main attributes reached 99 points, Reincarnation Paradise issued a notification.
[Notification: The Hunter’s four main attributes have all reached the extreme value of 99 points. The attribute barrier breakthrough assessment must be completed as soon as possible. If the main attributes reach 100 points, the Hunter will receive a special reward.]
[The Hunter can choose 1 to 4 main attributes to break through the barrier.]
[Detected that the Hunter possesses 4 true main attributes. If all are selected, the assessment difficulty will significantly increase, rising to 400% (Nightmare). If the assessment is completed, special rewards for all 4 attributes will be granted.]
[The ‘Nightmare’ difficulty assessment requires entering the Black Abyss·Shallow Layer (The Black Abyss consists of: Shallow Layer, Middle Layer, Lower Layer, Deep Layer, and Deepest Layer (Biological Forbidden Zone)).]
[Detected that the Hunter already holds an invitation to the Black Abyss. Entry is possible at any time.]
[Warning: The Black Abyss is located within the Void. The Hunter must consider carefully.]
[Note: If the Hunter does not accept the assessment before the next derivative world, the comprehensive evaluation will decrease by 70%, and all gains will be reduced by 50%. This penalty will increase with the number of worlds the Hunter experiences. After three derivative worlds, there will be no gains.]
...
Reincarnation Paradise’s notification was straightforward: Su Xiao needed to complete the attribute breakthrough assessment for 99 points as soon as possible, and he had to go to the Black Abyss. If he didn’t, his gains from future worlds would keep decreasing until there were none.
If he were part of an adventure group, he might be able to withstand such a penalty by accumulating resources through teammates, but Su Xiao couldn’t handle it at all. Even enduring one world would have a significant impact on him.
Therefore, Su Xiao planned to enter the Black Abyss within the next few days. This time, he might not strengthen his abilities but instead use Paradise Coins to replenish various resources, such as recovery potions, Apollo, ammunition, and so on.
Especially good stuff like Apollo. This was Su Xiao’s first time going to the Black Abyss, and if he didn’t prepare five or six Apollos, he wouldn’t be doing justice to the Black Abyss’s fearsome reputation.
After leaving his exclusive room, Su Xiao headed straight for the trial ground to complete a transaction with someone.
Half an hour later, Su Xiao arrived at the trial ground and activated the summoning permission for Sha. However, after waiting for over ten minutes, Sha still hadn’t arrived.
In the empty arena, Su Xiao sat cross-legged on the ground, holding a tablet.
Bang!
A dull thud sounded in front of Su Xiao, and a few drops of blood splattered onto his face.
“Cough, cough… Just in time.”
Sha, covered in blood, grinned. At this moment, she looked less like a tomboy and more like a female ghost.
“Chased by people from Arcane Eternal Star?”
Su Xiao casually wiped the blood spots off his face, speaking calmly.
“If it weren’t for those people, do you think I’d be this miserable?”
Sha took off her top, tore it into strips, and wrapped them around her wounds while speaking, “As you can see, I can’t be your sparring partner right now, unless you want to give me a good beating.”
“There’s something else,” Su Xiao put away the tablet, thought for a moment, and continued, “I’m planning to enter the Black Abyss.”
“Good news, you’ve finally had a change of heart. Which layer? Anything below the lower layer is off the table; I’m not ready to die yet.”
“Shallow Layer.”
“Shallow Layer…”
Sha’s face showed difficulty.
“How about visiting the Middle Layer? It’s more dangerous than the Shallow Layer, but it should be fine for you.”
“It has to be the Shallow Layer.”
“#￥%* (Void language).”
Sha said something Su Xiao couldn’t understand at all, not even a single syllable.
“What, is the Shallow Layer of the Black Abyss very dangerous?”
“There’s no place in the Black Abyss that isn’t dangerous. But well, there’s a spot in the Shallow Layer that makes people…”
“Then you’ll have to wait for another opportunity.”
“I was almost blown to bits by a magic energy cannon just now. Fine, the Shallow Layer it is. See you in the Black Abyss Shallow Layer.”
“See you in the Shallow Layer.”
Su Xiao took out a syringe and stabbed it into Sha’s neck. Sha didn’t resist, just stared into Su Xiao’s eyes.
Sss~
The medicinal liquid was injected into Sha’s body, and her injuries gradually healed. At the same time, Su Xiao canceled the summoning contract.
“Wait…”
“Hmm?”
Su Xiao ‘vaguely’ heard Sha’s roar of anger.
“Sorry, I forgot you were still being chased.”
The corners of Su Xiao’s mouth curled up. Would he really forget something like this? Of course not… He finally understood why Mawen Hua’erzi always tricked him—because tricking people was indeed very satisfying.
Sha wasn’t as easygoing as she seemed. If she met Su Xiao in the Black Abyss at full strength, no one knew what would happen.
Void, Desert Star.
Space energy surged, and Sha appeared out of thin air on a desert. Not far from her, several figures who were about to leave stopped in their tracks.
“That Su bastard, I *******.”
Sha turned and fled. After being injected in the neck by Su Xiao, her injuries had recovered by at least 30%.
“Flame.”
“Wind.”
“Shape.”
“Capture her, Gray Demon.”
As several spellcasters spoke, a giant beast covered in flames appeared. The desert terrain greatly enhanced this fire and wind elemental giant beast.
Boom!
The wind-fire giant beast vanished from its spot, its speed terrifying enough to make one’s hair stand on end. The surrounding space twisted slightly, and the sand where it passed was crystallized by the high heat.
‘Mad Scorpion.’
Sha suddenly stopped in place. Her hands pressed against the ground, and her entire body’s weight rested on her left leg.
Rumble…
The sand sank, and the wind-fire giant beast lunged.
Thud!
A shockwave spread, kicking up waves of sand for several kilometers around, turning the desert into an ocean.
...
In the exclusive room, Su Xiao sat in the alchemy laboratory. Light flickered in his hand as a cluster of emerald-green medicinal liquid floated in his palm. He guided the liquid into a crystal vial, completing the creation.
[You have obtained Ancient Secret Medicine (Gold) ×1.]
Su Xiao had already crafted 14 bottles of Ancient Secret Medicine, costing 140,000 Paradise Coins + 7,000 mana points. After all, he was about to enter the Black Abyss, where the environment was undoubtedly extremely harsh, and supplies might be scarce.
Beini had already sold the [Clothes Drying Pole] and [Law Box]. Due to the high usage requirements of the [Clothes Drying Pole], it didn’t fetch a high price, but the [Law Box] sold for a decent amount, totaling 1,450,000 Paradise Coins.
Mana points were insufficient, so Su Xiao began exchanging for firearm ammunition. 100 rounds of standard ammunition for the Duke of Annihilation cost 100,000 Paradise Coins, plus 50 elemental rounds, totaling 175,000 Paradise Coins.
D·Assassination’s bullets also needed replenishing. This gun had stronger close-range lethality than the Duke of Annihilation due to its high fire rate. Su Xiao directly exchanged 200 rounds of 7.62mm hydrogen alloy bullets, costing another 180,000 Paradise Coins.
Over 1.4 million Paradise Coins seemed like a lot, but after this round of resupply, only 1,075,000 remained. And he hadn’t even spent the big chunk yet—the creation of enhanced Apollos.
Looking at the remaining over a million Paradise Coins, Su Xiao hesitated. Should he use these Paradise Coins to strengthen his own abilities, or craft 10 Apollos? Currently, each Apollo cost 100,000 Paradise Coins + 1 Soul Crystal (Medium) + 1,000 mana points.
With 10 Apollos, Su Xiao could greet all the monsters and freaks in the Black Abyss with Apollos, treating them to some ‘pineapples.’