Chapter 73: Minor Conflict
In the real world, a desolate suburban area.
Several unfinished buildings stood tall. Compared to the nearby small city, this place was much colder and emptier. Aside from the sparse vehicles passing by on the road, this suburb could already be considered barren.
Boom!
A fiery explosion shot into the sky. At the center of the blast, a man in a gray top, under thirty years old, stood within the flames. A grid-like scar on his left cheek gave him a somewhat fierce appearance.
The man held a severed leg in his hand, his body covered in splattered blood. Strangely, the flames did not damage his clothes, only sizzling the bloodstains on them, emitting a foul burnt odor.
Pfft, pfft...
The sound of a silenced pistol came. Bullets struck the man's chest, passing straight through as if penetrating a kind of soft mud.
"Calm... down... your, wife, isn't dead yet."
A young man in a black suit, lying on the ground with a broken leg, spoke. Though severely injured, he was still trying to salvage something.
"No, she's already dead."
The man with the grid-like scar on his face spoke. Though he looked fierce, the Scavengers involved in this battle all knew he was a man gentle with his wife.
"Winter Crocodile, calm down. Don't fucking court death."
A Scavenger member standing outside the unfinished building, leaning against the wall, spoke. He held an iron-black pistol that clearly carried some weight. As for its power, if using C-type ammunition, it could punch through the body of a second-rank contractor, after all, contractors in the real world had no equipment bonuses and couldn't use active abilities.
"She's dead, so I don't want to keep living!"
Winter Crocodile inside the unfinished building roared. His eyes were bloodshot. As a third-rank strength-type contractor, he had a muscular body and considerable physical defense.
"Let me go kill that bastard."
Winter Crocodile roared again, flinging away the severed-leg Scavenger in his hand.
"Brother, sorry."
Winter Crocodile muttered softly, his muscles bulging slightly.
Outside the unfinished building at this moment.
"Chief, what do we do? Rush in?"
Several Scavenger members holding guns stood against the wall. Their leader was a woman with her hair in a bun, wearing black-rimmed glasses and a black suit that gave her an OL vibe. Her code name was Peacock. She had once taken the initiative to meet Su Xiao, only to step on a landmine in his backyard—a modified anti-tank mine triggered by 10 kilograms of weight, with an explosive force roughly equal to two firecrackers. Su Xiao only used it as a warning device; it probably couldn't even hurt a stray dog.
"Rush in and subdue him. His wife died in an accident. That kid just happened to be nearby—a rich boy who coincidentally became a first-rank contractor."
Peacock stomped her foot in frustration. If this were a cliché plot, it would be that rich boy causing Winter Crocodile's wife's death, followed by Winter Crocodile taking revenge and killing all his enemies.
In reality, Winter Crocodile's wife died in a car accident. That poor rich boy only ran over the body a second time. On a dark night, who could see a corpse lying on the inside of a turn?
"Just rush in like that? Winter Crocodile is third-rank..."
"Look over there..."
Peacock pointed to a building in the distance.
"What?"
Several Scavenger members looked confused.
"In that small city, there's a fifth-rank monster. He lives right there. According to Reincarnation Paradise's rules, the nearby area is likely under his jurisdiction. Guess what—if he comes, will he reason with us?"
Peacock's gaze swept over the people present. Nearby the unfinished building, over a dozen Scavenger members were also lying in ambush.
"This..."
The Scavenger members exchanged glances and fell silent.
"Chief, let me try one last time. If we rush in, who knows how many brothers will come out alive."
A relatively older Scavenger spoke.
"You have two minutes."
Peacock sighed. At this point, she was the most troubled.
"Leave it to me."
The middle-aged man picked up a blue-and-white megaphone. Pressing a button, a somewhat harsh but rhythmically soothing music came from it.
Peacock: "..."
Not only Peacock was speechless; Winter Crocodile inside the unfinished building, preparing to break out, was also stunned.
"Sorry, wrong button."
Sweat appeared on the middle-aged man's forehead as he frantically pressed buttons on the back of the megaphone.
"Collecting scrap, washing machines, old appliances..."
A loud voice came from the megaphone. The middle-aged man was now drenched in sweat. Peacock snatched the megaphone, threw it to the ground, and crushed it under her foot.
At this moment, on top of the unfinished building, Bubu Wang was shaking with laughter.
"Woo-woo~"
Bubu Wang let out a long howl, drawing the attention of the Scavengers below.
"Is this... a Husky?"
Peacock looked at Bubu Wang suspiciously. For some reason, she felt this dog looked familiar.
Bubu Wang leaped from the dozen-meter-high rooftop, landed steadily, and crouched in front of the Scavengers.
"Woof."
Hearing Bubu Wang's bark, Peacock murmured, "It really is a Husky."
Bubu Wang bared its sharp teeth, its claws extending. This time, Peacock no longer thought Bubu Wang was a silly Husky, because she sensed a deadly threat from this dog.
Bubu Wang took a tablet from the small bag on its back and, amid everyone's stunned gazes, began typing.
'Take your people and leave this place.'
Bubu Wang turned the tablet toward Peacock and the others.
"Duty calls. Until the person is caught..."
Before Peacock could finish, Bubu Wang waved its paw.
With a thud, a man covered in blood with one leg bent backward was thrown out of the unfinished building. It was Winter Crocodile, now unconscious. Amu, disguised in human form, stood at the second-floor window.
"Hand the person over to me."
A somewhat cold voice came. Everyone looked toward the distant weeds, where a pale-faced man stood. Meeting his gaze gave a very unpleasant feeling, like being stared at by a cold-blooded creature.
"Fourth-rank... contractor."
Peacock swallowed her saliva. Today's situation was getting harder to handle. The warning device she carried vibrated—a specific reaction to encountering a fourth-rank contractor.
"This sir..."
Before Peacock could speak, the pale-faced man was already standing in front of her, their noses less than a centimeter apart.
In less than half a minute, the Scavenger members lay scattered on the ground. Bubu Wang stood on a sand pile in the distance, using its tablet to contact Su Xiao, asking what to do next.
Bang.
A bullet whizzed past Bubu Wang's ear. Bubu Wang paid no attention, but Amu inside the unfinished building was enraged.
The man spat out a lizard-like tongue, his pupils turning into brown-yellow vertical slits. He looked up at the rooftop of the unfinished building.
"This is my friend. I want to take him away. Give me face..."
Clang!
The blade rang out sharply. Blood sprayed into the air. The unfinished building turned into rubble flying everywhere, the cross-sections of the stones as smooth as mirrors.
With a thud, a headless corpse fell to the ground.
"Bubu, next time something like this happens, whoever attacks you, kill them directly."
"Woof."
Bubu Wang put away its tablet and trotted over to Su Xiao. At this moment, Su Xiao held a knife in his right hand and a fishing rod in his left. He had been fishing nearby, in a great mood, but was summoned by Reincarnation Paradise to quell a conflict between contractors.
"Take the corpse away."
Su Xiao walked toward the small city. As for why these people were arguing here, he had no interest in knowing. If their battle site weren't within his jurisdiction, he wouldn't even bother coming here.
However, Su Xiao wasn't without gains. He discovered that his self-developed blade techniques could be used normally in the real world, without any restrictions.