# Chapter 1: Initial Melee
Su Xiao took a deep breath as he returned to his exclusive room and began waiting for the teleportation.
The tactics had already been arranged. If, after entering the war world, Su Xiao, Bubu Wang, Amu, Beini, and Baha ended up at different teleportation locations, they were to regroup with nearby teammates as quickly as possible.
Bubu Wang and Baha were responsible for finding the World Core. One could fly, and the other was practically an expert in this field.
Beini didn't need to rendezvous with the main force. She had always been a solo treasure hunter, honing exceptional independent survival skills. This time, she was tasked with gathering enemy intelligence.
Amu, on the other hand, needed to join Su Xiao as soon as possible. He was the frontline combat power.
Just as Su Xiao finished laying out the plan, a prompt from Reincarnation Paradise appeared.
[The Hunter will participate in the Fifth Rank World War.]
[Note: You have received Common Language Lv.50 (Temporary Skill), which will be forgotten after the World War ends. This is a skill granted by the Four-Party Certification (Reincarnation, Apocalypse, Holy Light, Death).]
[Announcement: Long-distance space teleportation preparation complete. First stop: Starry Sky Transit Station.]
Space-time power enveloped Su Xiao. This spatial force was very gentle. Entering the war world wouldn't result in a "knock" to the back of the head.
Su Xiao's vision went dark. Although it was an ultra-long-distance teleportation, there was no discomfort.
In a hazy state of consciousness, Su Xiao felt himself rapidly traversing through some kind of tunnel. The tunnel was colorful, with light twisting quickly.
After an unknown amount of time, Su Xiao's consciousness recovered. He looked around and found himself floating in a stretch of starry sky.
Su Xiao stood up. His feet felt solid ground. He wasn't floating; he was standing on an invisible barrier. The Starry Sky Transit Station had arrived.
Looking around, there were several hundred Contractors in the nearby starry sky. Some stood, some sat. These were the Contractors who would be in the same war world as Su Xiao.
A rough estimate put the number of Contractors from Reincarnation Paradise at over three hundred. Looking around, none of these guys looked like good people.
Among them, a burly, strong man wearing scale armor was the most eye-catching. This guy stood there like a small mountain. Behind him were over a hundred Contractors. This was a medium-to-large adventure group.
Behind the strong man, his group members were a motley crew. These guys shared a common trait: none of them looked normal.
According to the prompt from Reincarnation Paradise, Su Xiao learned that this adventure group was called the "Symbiosis Alliance." At first listen, it sounded like a group of Contractors struggling to survive, but that wasn't the case.
Seeing these people, Su Xiao felt like he was looking at a fully grown Ming Men. Not a single member was normal.
Aside from this adventure group, the rest were lone wolves in groups of three to five. Don't underestimate these lone wolves. If you compared overall combat power, lone wolves who survived to the Fifth Rank were definitely stronger than adventure group members.
Compared to the three hundred plus on Reincarnation Paradise's side, the other side of the Starry Sky Transit Station had over a thousand people standing or sitting.
The Starry Sky Transit Station was divided into four sections by invisible walls. Opposite Reincarnation Paradise was Death Paradise.
Death Paradise's numbers were also around three hundred, similar to Reincarnation Paradise's side. They were all staring in one direction — at the people from Reincarnation Paradise.
These people's auras weren't weak, but they didn't have the madness and arrogance of Reincarnation Paradise's side. They currently had serious expressions.
To the left of Death Paradise's side were over eight hundred Contractors. Their eyes darted around, and some had their hands clasped together, muttering something. Needless to say, these were the "old friends" from Apocalypse Paradise.
"What are you looking at? You're dead this time."
"Wipe away the shame!"
"Allies from Death Paradise, we absolutely won't flee the battle this time. Please believe us."
Loud shouts came from Apocalypse Paradise's side.
The people from Death Paradise: "..."
"These guys... are really lively."
An old man from Reincarnation Paradise's side spoke. He was wearing loose gray clothes, completely bald, and sitting casually.
Compared to the cheering Apocalypse Paradise side, the group on the far right was silent. Looking over, it was a riot of colors — a group of girls of various appearances gathered together.
"Those are the people from Reincarnation Paradise? They look... really a bit abnormal."
"Adding up the numbers from the three Paradises, there are over 1,500 people. Five against one, there's no reason to lose. Don't be intimidated by their reputation."
"That's right. Besides, Death Paradise is on our side. They're very strong."
"Remember one thing: you absolutely cannot shy away from battle. At least... don't cower at the very back."
A woman wearing an ornate priestly robe and holding a long staff spoke.
Just as the Holy Light Paradise group was discussing tactics, a burst of cursing erupted.
According to past convention, before the two sides engaged in a life-or-death battle, it was customary to exchange greetings about each other's family members' well-being and the places where the enemies were born.
Reincarnation Paradise's representatives were a skinny monkey-like man and Baha. Although Baha's language ability occasionally failed, its trash-talking skills were not weak. A man from Death Paradise who seemed to be the leader had his face twitching from Baha's insults.
Apocalypse Paradise and Death Paradise naturally wouldn't just take the abuse. They also sent out representative S686s to start furiously insulting Reincarnation Paradise.
The girls from Holy Light Paradise looked at each other and fell silent.
"You... despicable scoundrels."
A girl from Holy Light Paradise shouted softly. This refreshingly unique way of insulting caught the attention of the skinny monkey from Reincarnation Paradise, who turned his firepower.
After more than ten seconds, that Holy Light Paradise girl retreated into the crowd, looking wronged.
After nearly ten minutes of mutual greetings, an announcement appeared.
[Announcement: Long-distance space teleportation preparation complete. Second stop: Ship Docking Point.]
Unexpectedly, they weren't entering the war world directly this time. They had to go to a ship docking point first.
After a brief spatial dizziness, Su Xiao found himself sitting on a metal chair, strapped in with dark green seatbelts.
Bubu Wang, Amu, Beini, and Baha were on Su Xiao's left and right. Su Xiao looked around. This was a giant spaceship cabin.
Unbuckling his seatbelt, Su Xiao walked to a circular window. What came into view was a large area of floating debris. In the distance, a blue-green planet was rapidly approaching.
"Look over there."
A Contractor shouted, pointing to the right side of the giant spaceship. There were three more giant spaceships there, also converging on the blue-green planet. Needless to say, those were the people from Apocalypse, Holy Light, and Death Paradise.
The giant spaceship was extremely fast. In less than half a minute, it entered the atmosphere of the blue-green planet.
Crack, crack, crack...
A sound like metal being cut came from outside the cabin. Su Xiao felt the spaceship start to shake.
Woo~
Even through the cabin, Su Xiao could hear a wailing sound.
"Hahaha, those three stupid Paradises' spaceships have lost power."
"Don't fucking laugh. Our speed... is the same as theirs."
"Uh~"
Boom!
A loud crash came from the cockpit, causing the spaceship to descend even faster.
The four spaceships fell from the sky like meteors, eventually crashing into a large grassland. Black soil and grass clippings splashed dozens of meters high.
[Announcement: Arrived at the only spatial coordinate node of Thorn Insect Star. This is the only possible landing location.]
[Announcement: World War begins!]
...
With a bang, the nearly half-meter-thick metal cabin wall was kicked open. Contractors from Reincarnation Paradise emerged from the wrecked ship.
Less than a hundred meters away, Contractors from Death Paradise also leaped out of their wrecked ship.
Reincarnation Paradise: 336 people.
Death Paradise: 342 people.
Holy Light Paradise: 409 people.
Apocalypse Paradise: 820 people.
Contractors emerged from the wrecked ships one by one. Soon, Death Paradise, Holy Light Paradise, and Apocalypse Paradise gathered together.
"Only one spatial coordinate. Everyone's landing point can only be here. You're dead."
At the front of the crowd, a man wearing a mecha arm guard spoke. His aura was quite strong.
"Bullshit!"
A skinny woman from Reincarnation Paradise took out a dark red injection and stabbed it directly into her neck.
Boom!
Large chunks of soil flew up. Most of the people from Reincarnation Paradise charged forward, leaving only the support and ranged types behind.
Seeing this, the combined forces of the three Paradises also stepped forward. A thousand-person melee erupted right at the start of the war.