Chapter 74: Resources
Returning to the accessory shop, Su Xiao sat at the coffee table, picking up several documents on it. This was the intelligence he had purchased from Yin Luo. Due to insufficient time, he had simply asked Yin Luo to send the information to an encrypted email in the real world, which he then manually printed out.
The contents of this document had cost Su Xiao tens of thousands of Paradise Coins. It contained intelligence on Death Paradise, Holy Light Paradise, and Apocalypse Paradise, with the most information on Apocalypse Paradise and the least on Death Paradise.
Su Xiao first examined the intelligence on Death Paradise. Barring any surprises, this would be the most troublesome opponent in this world war.
The intelligence noted that most contractors from Death Paradise were formidable in combat, with their most famous trait being a fearlessness of death.
Regarding this point, Su Xiao directly dismissed it. If it came to being unafraid of death, compared to contractors from Reincarnation Paradise, Death Paradise had no advantage.
What truly troubled Su Xiao was Death Paradise's mysterious unity, especially within war worlds, where internal conflicts rarely occurred.
A very troublesome opponent that required full effort to deal with—this was Su Xiao's assessment of Death Paradise.
As for Holy Light Paradise, if comparing the overall attractiveness of female contractors, no one could match them. Their combat strength was average, but their support abilities were strong—this was Yin Luo's evaluation of Holy Light Paradise.
Regarding Apocalypse Paradise, Yin Luo's assessment was not to be underestimated, a view Su Xiao shared.
If talking about overall combat strength, Apocalypse Paradise was the weakest of the three. However, when it came to resources, it was a different story. A large number of miners could produce astonishing amounts of resources, which led to lower prices for equipment, items, and supplies in Apocalypse Paradise.
Moreover, due to weaker punishment mechanisms, the number of Apocalypse Paradise contractors had greatly increased. In war worlds, they often faced enemy forces at a ratio of 1 to 3, or even 1 to 5.
With such a massive number of contractors, there were naturally some strong ones among them. Combined with lower prices, this gave the strong a chance to grow, reducing the likelihood of early death.
Su Xiao had once fought a strong contractor from Apocalypse Paradise, a woman named Xi. Not only was she powerful in combat, but she also had extremely high intelligence. If Su Xiao hadn't fed her several Apollos in a row, it was uncertain who would have had the last laugh back then.
However, the weakness of Apocalypse Paradise was also obvious: too many greenhouse flowers. Once a desperate situation arose, it could lead to a collapse of the front line, resulting in one god carrying hundreds of noobs.
If those three paradises united, the problem wouldn't be too great. But people aren't machines without emotions. Once war broke out, they would fight like dogs. Whether Death Paradise and Holy Light Paradise would flee in battle was unclear to Su Xiao, but Apocalypse Paradise would definitely shrink back to the rear—this was understanding from dealing with an old opponent.
Combat strength wasn't simply 6+2+1=9; it could easily become 6-2-1=3.
Reincarnation Paradise contractors weren't good at much else, but they excelled at using brutal methods to break the enemy's will. In a certain world war, Reincarnation Paradise was wiped out—not surrounded and annihilated, but after their combat personnel had fought to the last against the enemy, the support and healing types didn't flinch. The result was predictable, earning them the name "Madman Paradise."
If Holy Light Paradise and Apocalypse Paradise weren't intimidated, then Reincarnation Paradise would be in grave danger.
But if either Holy Light or Apocalypse chickened out, the other would inevitably harbor resentment. "You're hiding in the back, why should we go die? Why should we fight those madmen to the death? Isn't Death Paradise still there?"
The possibility of Death Paradise backing down was low, but if they had two useless teammates behind them, they might only be able to use 80% of their full strength. After all, they didn't want to die either.
Reincarnation Paradise, on the other hand, had no retreat. Even if they could survive on the battlefield, the forced execution of war missions was unavoidable. It was better to fight the enemy to the death.
Su Xiao didn't know why a three-against-one situation had arisen. Since it had come to this, studying such questions was meaningless. Finding a way to win was the key.
Compared to the combat strength comparison, what type of world they entered was also crucial: technological, mystical, biological, mythological, eerie, and so on.
Time passed quickly. Su Xiao encountered no special situations in the real world until he received a summons from Reincarnation Paradise.
[Tip: A new world is about to open. The Hunter will return to Reincarnation Paradise. Please ensure there are no witnesses nearby.]
[Tip: The new world is an ultra-large world, involving conflicts with external forces, large-scale battlefields, etc.]
[The Paradise Merit System is about to open.]
[The World War is about to begin.]
[Transmitting... Transmission Location: Reincarnation Paradise.]
[Transmission Completed.]
[Announcement: Void Tree notarizing...]
[Announcement: Notarization complete. During the World War, Death Paradise, Holy Light Paradise, and Apocalypse Paradise are not permitted to provide any form of assistance to their travelers under their jurisdiction. Under special circumstances, Reincarnation Paradise may provide appropriate assistance to its travelers.]
[War Location: Insect Race Battlefield.]
[War Intensity: Medium-High!]
[Announcement: According to Initial Law Article 1548762, the Void Tree is an absolutely neutral party.]
...
Inside his exclusive room, Su Xiao saw this series of prompts and understood the battlefield location. He had certainly heard of the Insect Race Battlefield's reputation. It was also known as the Bloody Battlefield, where the insect race and native inhabitants were said to be exceptionally formidable.
Compared to the endless sea of insects, the native inhabitants of the Insect Race Battlefield were not to be underestimated. Those primitive tribes excelled in supernatural abilities like witchcraft and sacrifice, and even the insect hordes couldn't deal with them.
Strangely, in this world's history, it wasn't the insect race that invaded this planet. Those primitive tribes were the invaders. Their homeland's resources had been exhausted, and after sacrificing more than a third of their population, these primitive tribes entered the Thorn Insect Star.
Su Xiao checked the items in his storage space. Everything was prepared. With nothing else to do, he pushed open the door and walked out of his exclusive room.
As soon as he stepped out, Su Xiao noticed the blood-red color above. A layer of blood-red light membrane covered the top of Reincarnation Paradise.
Su Xiao arrived at the Trade Market. At this time, the market was filled with stalls, all set up by workers. The prices of all items had dropped by about 20-40%. This was a mandatory measure by Reincarnation Paradise. Once a world war broke out, workers had to set up stalls and sell various items at low prices to boost the contractors' combat strength.
The contractors in the Trade Square moved with urgency. Even facing a three-against-one situation, these contractors didn't seem desperate, because they were used to it. They had experienced far more desperate situations countless times before.
This was the advantage of Reincarnation Paradise's contractors: strong combat power and high resistance to pressure. If Apocalypse Paradise faced a three-against-one situation, then...
No, Apocalypse Paradise simply couldn't be in a three-against-one situation. Their punishment mechanism wouldn't allow it. If such a situation occurred, Apocalypse Paradise's contractors would likely abandon the fight. Apocalypse Paradise would have no choice but to give up the war, losing a large amount of resources, which would be a slow death.
The beneficiaries of world wars weren't just the winning paradises. Where did the resources for contractors to grow stronger come from? From what they obtained in derivative worlds? Don't be ridiculous.
The consumption incurred by contractors in improving their physical attributes and strengthening equipment—if they had to pay for it all themselves, it wouldn't just be a matter of consuming attribute points and Paradise Coins.
The existence of paradises wasn't metaphysical; they also consumed resources. The maintenance costs of attribute enhancement pods and the consumption during enhancement were far beyond what contractors could afford. Contractors only paid a small portion, which they earned by risking their lives, so they were qualified to grow stronger.
As for the remaining majority, Reincarnation Paradise made up the difference. Where did these resources come from? The answer was simple: plunder! Plunder worlds in war, seize resources from other paradises.
Apocalypse Paradise had lost to Reincarnation Paradise many times, which was why they had become mortal enemies. Fortunately, Apocalypse was a mining paradise. If an ordinary paradise had lost that many times, it would have lost the qualification to wage war with Reincarnation Paradise.
Su Xiao hadn't understood this at lower ranks, but after reaching the fifth rank, he learned these things from Reincarnation Paradise. Therefore, world wars weren't just about Reincarnation Paradise's interests; they also involved his own. To keep growing stronger until reaching the peak, he had to fight. Reincarnation Paradise provided an opportunity to become infinitely stronger by risking his life.