Chapter 42: Contract Camp
[You have entered the Arena.]
[Current Match: Match 16205.]
[Competitor: Su Xiao.]
[Status: Good.]
[Paradise Arena Ranking: 14th (Fifth Rank).]
[Consecutive Wins: 0.]
[Top Ten Honor Rewards: Not Obtained.]
...
Inside the rest area, Su Xiao chose to start matching opponents. Only 13 people could fight him, and the matching speed was very slow.
Originally, Su Xiao was ranked 12th, but after declining two challenges, his rank dropped to 14th.
After waiting a full half hour, Su Xiao successfully matched with the 13th-ranked competitor in the Paradise Arena.
A teleportation sensation appeared, and Su Xiao was transported to a ruin. The scene here felt somewhat familiar.
A young girl with tied-up hair and a slender build stood a few dozen meters away. The more Su Xiao looked at her, the more familiar she seemed.
"Hedgehog?"
"You're the hedgehog! Your whole family are hedgehogs! You hedgehog, you hedgehog!"
The young girl across from him had sharp hearing. Her expression wasn't great. She had fought Su Xiao once before, back when she was ranked 12th. She specialized in physical, mental, and soul-based control. Although she was a support type, her combat strength was extremely high.
The match began. As an old rival, the Hedgehog Girl raised her hand, releasing a wave of soul impact. Then... nothing happened.
The Hedgehog Girl's hand froze mid-air. She stared at Su Xiao, who showed no reaction from a few dozen meters away, then looked at her own small hand. She suspected her soul impact had failed, possibly due to a problem in the release process.
Thump!
Enduring the stabbing pain in her head, the Hedgehog Girl stomped her foot and used soul impact again. She knew that aside from soul-based control, the freak across from her was immune to everything else.
The impact swept past. Su Xiao still showed no reaction.
"What the hell!"
The Hedgehog Girl panicked. Bloodshot veins appeared in her eyes. She stomped again. Thump!
"..."
Su Xiao's black hair was ruffled by the strong wind, yet he still showed no reaction. The awkwardness was suffocating. The Hedgehog Girl's mouth opened and closed, wanting to say something, but the bitter feeling in her heart left her speechless.
Compared to the Moon God's soul tremor, the Hedgehog Girl's soul impact was truly weak.
Just then, Su Xiao received a notification.
[Notification: Your opponent has forfeited.]
[You have been added to this opponent's refusal list. If matched with this opponent again, you will automatically win.]
...
Su Xiao teleported back to the rest area, his hand still on the hilt of his blade. He hadn't even drawn his sword before the opponent surrendered.
Meanwhile, in a very childlike rest area.
"Disgraceful... Is soul-based ability really this weak? No! This is a rare ability! But... why was there no reaction at all?"
The Hedgehog Girl stared at her hands, clearly questioning her existence.
...
Su Xiao continued matching opponents. With nothing else to do, he took out a tablet and started browsing the "news." This was a software Bubu Wang had discovered, called Contract Camp. It was developed by a merchant guild. They updated the software daily with 3 to 20 pieces of news. Some were intelligence, some were gossip about first- to sixth-rank contractors, and some were purely humorous.
The software was a one-time purchase, costing 50,000 Paradise Coins per person. The merchant guild promised that as long as they weren't wiped out, the software would keep running. Today's content was as follows:
'Is it moral decay, or is the sister-in-law too charming? Fourth-rank contractor Huang Fen pursues Stan's ex-wife, Nai Luoyi (Welcome to the "Sister-in-Law, How Could You Do This to Me" series, and the most innocent collateral victim, Christmas).'
'Soul Crystal prices have risen by 3.7% overall (Can we even survive this?).'
'The strongest white-quality equipment has been born, reinforced to +13 (White Quality Limit). Detailed equipment information can be viewed in the attached image.'
'Blade cultivation reaching the transcendent level truly allows you to do whatever you want. Fourth-rank strongest, Beheaded Night's combat video (1 vs. 39 contractors). Melee combat textbook. Some combat footage has been cut from this content (We still don't dare to offend that person. Hope you understand. We need to make a living, so please support us).'
...
Su Xiao shook his head. The entanglement between Wusan and Huang Fen's sister-in-law wasn't over yet. Wusan had really hit rock bottom this time.
Just as Su Xiao was about to continue scrolling through the real-time messages on "Contract Camp," he matched with an opponent.
[Matching successful. Opponent's rank: 11th (Fifth Rank).]
[Notification: This is an Apocalypse Paradise contractor.]
...
When the teleportation sensation faded, Su Xiao appeared on a yellow sand battlefield. This was a public match, but there was no commentary. The surrounding circular spectator stands were small, with only a few hundred people filling the single row of seats.
"Feisha, you must not lose! The opponent is from Reincarnation Paradise. Don't forget the shame of the War World."
"Apocalypse's last hope, charge into the top ten! Even though you've lost to the 10th several times, we believe in you!"
The cheers from the audience were surprisingly unified, all supporting Feisha from Apocalypse Paradise. Clearly, the viewing seats for this match had been bought out by Apocalypse Paradise's contractors and workers. Very extravagant.
Feisha raised his arm and greeted the crowd. He even winked at a female contractor, who was his team leader. Feisha's current strength wouldn't have been possible without his team's support.
"Feisha, if you lose, don't come back."
The female team leader shouted. Everyone around her laughed. Feisha's face twisted in bitterness, but when his gaze shifted to Su Xiao, his expression turned serious. This guy was very hard to deal with.
[Match, Start!]
Golden characters appeared in mid-air. Feisha clenched his hand, and a folding bow appeared in it. The bow was over two meters long, with blades on both sides and eight gems embedded in the middle.
He drew an arrow and pulled the string in one fluid motion. The bowstring creaked, carrying immense kinetic energy.
When Feisha aimed the bow at Su Xiao, Su Xiao drew the long blade at his waist.
Bang!
The alloy arrow left the string, the bowstring vibrating into a blur.
Whoosh! The alloy arrow flew past Su Xiao's ear. Su Xiao crouched low and vanished in an instant.
Boom!
Yellow sand splashed over a dozen meters. The momentum of Su Xiao's charge caused the cheers from the audience to drop a notch.
During his charge, before even closing in on the enemy, Su Xiao slashed out a blade aura.
The pale blue blade aura emitted a sharp cutting sound. Feisha raised his long bow and struck the blade aura directly.
Clang! Sparks flew. Feisha shattered the blade aura, but the immense force from it caused his feet to plow back half a meter through the sand.
Facing Su Xiao's melee assault, Feisha showed no fear, because he was also a melee fighter.
The folding bow in Feisha's hand contracted into a long staff, with a blade at the tip.
Su Xiao, mid-charge, came to an abrupt halt. His perception was fully open, and the enemy's movements were gradually slowing down.
Dragon-Slaying Flash traced a blue arc, slashing diagonally toward Feisha's neck. Feisha thrust his long staff downward, causing the yellow sand beneath him to explode.
A metallic clang rang out. Su Xiao's arm lifted slightly from the recoil of his blade. Feisha, gripping the long staff with both hands, drove it into the sand and retreated. It was a clever move.
However, Su Xiao vanished, reappearing behind Feisha. By then, Su Xiao was already in a slashing stance.
Feisha's lips curled up. He loved dealing with enemies who had spatial abilities.
"Sand Boil..."
Just as Feisha was about to spin his long staff, an impact struck him from behind, slowing his movements. The smile on his face froze.
A cold sensation pierced Feisha's back.
Pfft.
The bloodstained blade tip burst through Feisha's chest. The inner armor he had invested heavily in and placed great hope on was as fragile as paper.
A violent, abnormal energy invaded Feisha's body, completely numbing him.
A whoosh came from Feisha's side. He felt something heavy strike his flank. First, his ribs broke, then his internal organs began to rapidly shatter. The faint smell of blood in the air made him feel like he might actually die.
Thump!
Feisha's body stiffened. He found himself sitting on a sofa. After a moment of confusion, he realized what had happened. He had been kicked to death by the enemy. The protection mechanism triggered, and his invincible state instantly teleported him back to the rest area.
"Well, I lost. Almost got one-shot."
Feisha slapped his thigh and began eagerly reviewing the battle footage. This was one of the strengths of Apocalypse Paradise contractors: they had excellent mental resilience, as long as they didn't actually die.
On the yellow sand battlefield, hundreds of Apocalypse Paradise contractors and workers stared wide-eyed at Su Xiao.
"Is it... over already?"
An Apocalypse Paradise contractor covered his face with one hand. Without a doubt, in the next War World, they would still have to face Reincarnation Paradise's contractors. It was a sad story.