Chapter 66: Mr. J Goes into Seclusion
At the edge of Zuer City, a large group of Awakened gathered, forming a defensive line. Although the Execution Agency had privileges, there was one thing they would never violate: allowing a large number of Awakened to leave Zuer City.
Golden flames suddenly appeared in the outskirts, like a small sun landing on the ground. Reinhardt heard a sizzling sound in his ear and instinctively tilted his head, catching the wireless earpiece as it fell into his hand.
The blue indicator light on the earpiece gradually dimmed and finally went out. Seeing this, Reinhardt froze for a moment.
"The Legion Commander is in trouble, just outside the city."
Reinhardt's voice was low. Hank, standing nearby, immediately stepped forward and grabbed the fabric at his shoulder.
"Are... you... sure?"
Hank's mismatched eyes showed no strong emotional fluctuation. In the Execution Agency, anyone dying was perfectly normal.
"Very sure."
"Let me out!"
Gus, half-demonized, stood up from within the metal cage.
...
Two hours later, south of Zuer City.
It was now one in the morning, and the city was eerily quiet. A man wearing a metal mask with large scorch marks on it entered the Zuer City area.
Rumble...
Dark clouds gathered in the sky. Mr. J, wearing the mask, looked up. Though the weather was terrible, his mood was quite good. The most troublesome opponent had been lured out of the Ghost World. In Mr. J's view, Su Xiao had been invited away, not forced back. He speculated that the other party had likely completed their promotion mission; otherwise, it would have been a life-or-death struggle instead of a direct retreat.
Crack.
Mr. J stepped on a twig and stopped, his gaze shifting to the gap between two residential buildings. It was pitch black there, but he sensed a living creature's presence in the darkness.
"It's late to be entering the city. Show me your residence permit."
An old man with mismatched eyes stood up from the darkness.
"Of course, respected sir."
Mr. J bowed like a stage actor, and in the next moment, a playing card appeared in his hand.
The sound of battle wasn't too loud, and it ended quickly. In less than five minutes, Hank's mutilated corpse lay on the street.
Mr. J pulled the dagger from his lower abdomen, dark red blood gushing out. This relic, named Gray Lady, caused partial blood necrosis in the enemy upon injury.
Mr. J took a deep breath. The earlier explosion had already taken half his life, and the current situation was even worse. He couldn't understand why there were Execution Agency personnel here. Based on his understanding of the Empire's power structure, no one would avenge a "fallen" Legion Commander.
Others might not, but two people certainly would: Hank and Reinhardt. Before Su Xiao became Legion Commander, even among their colleagues, they received strange looks and treatment. After all, not everyone could accept a Ghost-eater and a grotesque appearance. This was evident from their former positions: one was a manager of a half-abandoned warehouse, and the other was a bodyguard—one who couldn't show his face.
Sparse raindrops began to fall from the sky. A man dressed in a high-collared coat, looking like a priest, walked through the rain.
"May the Holy Spirit be with you."
Reinhardt muttered in the rain. He tore open his collar, revealing the lower half of his face without lips or muscles. A finger-sized vial appeared in his hand, and he poured out some white powder. This time, he didn't inhale it through his nose but licked it directly with his tongue.
Crack!
Thunder struck, and blue-white arcs of electricity filled the area within dozens of meters around Reinhardt. The ground crackled under the high-voltage current, an eerie and terrifying sight.
...
Within a starry expanse, Su Xiao closed the Reincarnation Paradise notification. He hadn't been directly teleported back to Reincarnation Paradise; it was the same when entering the Ghost World. Now, he was waiting for the subsequent settlement of the mission.
"She punched you? What was her specific purpose?"
Su Xiao looked at Bubu Wang with a puzzled expression.
"Woof."
Bubu Wang meant: "I'm not sure either. That woman suddenly punched me and then ran off."
"Oh, if I see her later, I'll kill her on the side."
"Woof~"
Bubu Wang hesitated a bit, meaning: "No need to be so harsh. Let me punch her back once."
Su Xiao didn't speak. When he left Zuer City earlier, he had guessed that contractors would come to besiege him. But not going to seize the Space-Time Core was clearly impossible. Any further delay would only allow the enemy to prepare more thoroughly.
What he didn't expect was Sin's appearance. After fighting Sin, dealing with other contractors was clearly impossible. Gulu and Mr. J were both at the peak of the fourth rank. If Su Xiao hadn't fought Sin, he could have killed one of them in a short time. With Gulu's frail build, if the Blood Beast pounced, her survival chances were very low—being one-shot was normal. Mr. J wasn't much better off.
Sin's strength, however, was off the charts. He was a hybrid of Ghost and human, plus a World Boss template. The Blood Beast couldn't one-shot him, but it still took 65% of his health in one pounce. Su Xiao even suspected that even if Sin were placed in a fifth-rank world, he wouldn't be a nobody.
Although Su Xiao was forced back by Gulu and Mr. J, he had accomplished many things before that, such as completing the promotion mission and killing Sin. His main goal was to complete the promotion mission. As for the extra two days of stay, he really had nothing to do, since the Ghost Ring had been completely eradicated.
If Su Xiao wanted to continue gaining World Source, there was only one method left: temporarily switching sides and opposing Harold. Beyond that, there was basically no quick way to obtain World Source.
While Su Xiao was waiting for the mission's subsequent settlement, a teleportation sensation appeared in the starry expanse. This should be a contractor who had completed the promotion mission.
Bang! A charred lump fell to the ground. This lump struggled to stand up and, upon seeing Su Xiao a few meters away, was visibly startled.
Their eyes met. Su Xiao was also a bit surprised, but after seeing the other's injuries, he vaguely guessed what had happened.
The charred man let out a long sigh, paused for a moment, and then said, "Your subordinate... there's one who can use electricity, right?"
Hearing the charred man, Mr. J's inquiry, Su Xiao's doubts were all resolved.
"Reinhardt actually forced you back. That's reassuring."
A smile appeared on Su Xiao's face, and he felt much more at ease.
"Not forced back. I almost died at his hands."
Mr. J also smiled, as if mocking himself.
"Thunderstorm weather?"
"Exactly... right."
Mr. J was clearly feeling a bit defeated. He had calculated everything but hadn't anticipated encountering Execution Agency personnel, especially Su Xiao's trusted confidant.
"Pfft~"
Bubu Wang laughed out loud. Encountering Reinhardt in a thunderstorm meant even Su Xiao couldn't directly confront him. Reinhardt in a thunderstorm + drugs equaled the combat power of a fourteen-eyed Ghost, even far surpassing Sin. If not for Reinhardt's abysmal mobility, Su Xiao would have definitely brought him along when leaving the city.
Ignoring the sullen-faced Mr. J, Su Xiao silently waited for the mission's subsequent settlement. Half an hour later, the settlement was complete. Another contractor was teleported into the starry expanse. This contractor's mission was to find an abandoned eye chamber. It was closely related to Su Xiao's mission, but the gap in strength was too great, so the gloomy young man chose not to cooperate with Su Xiao.
The mission settlement was complete, and the teleportation sensation reappeared, enveloping Su Xiao.
Bang!
Light and shadow flickered before his eyes. When Su Xiao regained consciousness, he was inside Reincarnation Paradise.
[Teleportation complete. Hunter has returned to exclusive room.]
[Settling derivative world rewards...]
Derivative World: Ghost Continent
Difficulty: Lv.15 ~ Lv.47
World Source Obtained: 113.2%
Missions Completed: 3 (Promotion Missions × 3)
Comprehensive Evaluation: S+
Comprehensive evaluation is S+, beginning World Source collection...
World Source collection complete. Beginning reward tally.
Rewards Obtained: 14 True Attribute Points, 97,000 Paradise Coins.
Detected that hunter has completed fifth-rank promotion mission. Fifth-rank promotion qualification granted.
Settlement complete. Rewards have been deposited into hunter's Mark.
...
./0_
.。m.