Chapter 14: A Different Atmosphere
On the grassland, Amu dug a pit on the spot and tossed the enemy's corpse in for burial.
Su Xiao did not head directly to the Contractor Camp, because during the battle, he had sensed a feeling of being watched. After Baha scouted from high altitude, he found it was a few native residents, not Contractors.
Just as the battle ended, the roar of an engine came. An open-top off-road war vehicle charged over a low hill, looking quite wild.
This off-road vehicle appeared crude and somewhat battered, but upon closer inspection, the suspension system was extremely advanced. The pitch-black metal tubes actually housed a magnetic levitation system inside.
With a tearing sound, the tires skidded across the grass as the off-road vehicle came to a stop. On it sat three men and one woman, their faces bearing varying degrees of tattoos, and they wore metal exoskeletons on their upper bodies.
These people's clothing was somewhat tattered, but their gazes were sharp. This clearly indicated they were accustomed to fighting and unafraid of death.
"We have no hostility. We're just patrolling the nearby territory."
The bald man sitting in the passenger seat spoke. He had a tattoo on his face—a burning skull.
The bald man gave off only one impression: bold and unrestrained.
"..."
Su Xiao didn't speak. He still wasn't clear on the power distribution in this world.
"Without wearing mechanical armor and having that kind of combat power, interested in joining us? We're the Fire Skulls."
The bald man took out half a cigarette and lit it. Clearly, these people had no hostility. Or rather, from the perspective of this world's native residents, fighting had a cost. Fighting Su Xiao would likely be a losing proposition, possibly even costing them their lives.
"For now, no such intention."
"If you're interested, come to Shelter 17. That's our Fire Skull Gang's territory."
Leaving that remark, the off-road vehicle sped away. It seemed like a strange recruitment, but in reality, such things weren't uncommon in this world. Compared to the Undying, the number of humans was far too few. Only by banding together could they continue to survive.
More importantly, Su Xiao's strength was sufficient. Otherwise, those three men and one woman would have turned into raiders.
"Fire Skull Gang."
Su Xiao had heard of this faction. Two days ago, Doro had mentioned it, since the Ruined City was indeed the Fire Skull Gang's territory.
This faction was entrenched in Shelter 17, with a population of over a million, including tens of thousands of Transcendents. They accepted anyone, as long as they weren't there to steal resources.
Compared to the Fire Skull Gang, the newly opened World Channel concerned Su Xiao more. He tried to open it.
The World Channel was very lively, and the atmosphere was completely different from the Reincarnation Paradise contact platform.
Green Bean (Temporary Mining Team): "Selling 1090 grams of Gold-quality minerals, already sealed. Attributes random. Interested parties, meet at camp for discussion."
Wind Chime Bird (Rogue): "Trading Epic-grade firearm for Epic-grade mining shovel. At least 15% enhancement bonus, with close-range detection capability."
Venom Fang (Death Rock Band): "Recruiting temporary teammates. Tank, melee preferred, priority. Need a tank, melee masters also welcome. Support and ranged are ready for you."
Falling Star Man (Time Team): "Recruiting tank, strong-assault melee. Mission duration 2-4 days. Tank salary 70,000 Paradise Points, regular melee 50,000, strong-assault melee 100,000 Paradise Points."
Dong Lin (Rogue): "Tirith, you just wait."
...
Seeing these messages, Su Xiao couldn't help but marvel. In Reincarnation Paradise, Magic-type Contractors were more popular. The reason was that Reincarnation Paradise had many Tanks and melee fighters, and each one was stronger than the last. Most team leaders were Tanks or melee fighters.
As for Magic-types, due to their fragile bodies, it was very hard for them to survive the early stages. This resulted in fewer Magic-type Contractors. As the saying goes, scarcity increases value. Coupled with the reputation of Mage Lords, Magic-type Contractors naturally benefited from that association.
In Su Xiao's understanding, Mage Lords and Magic-type Contractors were two different combat systems. He knew one Mage Lord, a guy named Solomon, a Dark Mage Lord, primarily a Summoner, secondary ranged. In close combat, he could transform into a Dark Reaper, with large-scale life drain plus Scythe Mastery, incredibly smooth.
The atmosphere in Apocalypse Paradise was completely opposite. Tanks and melee fighters were more popular. Here, over 95% of Contractors formed temporary teams after entering a world.
Within a team, ranged and support were naturally safer, while Tanks and melee fighters needed to be at the front, with the highest mortality rate. Coupled with the mindset of Apocalypse Paradise Contractors, most people were unwilling to develop towards Tank or melee directions.
Over time, this led to scenes where several ranged Contractors desperately waited for a single Tank to form a team.
Su Xiao closed the World Channel, brought Bubu Wang, Amu, and Baha, and headed towards the Contractor Camp. The hidden threat had been eliminated; it was time to start the Promotion Mission.
The first part of the Promotion Mission wasn't simple. It required setting up a temporary spatial coordinate within the Contractor Camp. This coordinate couldn't be formed instantly; it needed one hour.
Su Xiao had two choices. First, kill all Contractors in the Contractor Camp, then set up the coordinate without any interference.
This method was the fastest, but the risk of exposure was also higher.
The second choice was to sneak in, choose a suitable terrain, and then set up the temporary spatial coordinate.
It was imaginable that during the setup of the temporary spatial coordinate, Apocalypse Paradise would definitely detect the anomaly. At that point, Reincarnation Paradise would need to intervene.
And while Reincarnation Paradise blocked Apocalypse Paradise, Su Xiao wouldn't have to worry about exposure. Anyone who dared to come and destroy the spatial coordinate would be killed.
After thinking it over, Su Xiao decided not to engage in scheming with those Apocalypse Paradise Contractors. That would be a waste of brain cells. When he could win through combat, Su Xiao never used schemes to kill enemies. That was too slow; efficiency was king.
Su Xiao's principle was: enemies he couldn't defeat → join a faction → gather manpower → surround and defeat that enemy.
As for enemies he could defeat, the process was much simpler: find the enemy → kill them → complete the mission.
Walking across the grassland, Su Xiao looked at the spaceship in the distance, which was over eight hundred meters long. That was the Contractor Camp.
Just as he approached within a hundred meters of the spaceship, Su Xiao sensed an invisible wave sweep over him. The brand card on him was activated, and the wave disappeared.
[Welcome back, Contractor No. 11092.]
[Checking mission...]
[Side Mission: Luodan City (Completed). Reward has been issued. Contractor can go to the Captain to receive other side missions.]
[Restricted areas: Energy Room, High-Fission Engine Bay, Transport Core, Material Space Storage Room.]
...
Su Xiao stopped in front of the spaceship. Not far from him, a few Contractors cast glances his way.
"Friend, want to buy minerals? 15% off."
"First-class rest cabin, five-day usage rights, 15,000 Paradise Points."
"One use of the Attribute Enhancement Pod, usable after returning to Apocalypse Paradise, only 150,000 Paradise Points."
Su Xiao didn't speak, only indicating that he didn't need anything.
From his contact with Apocalypse Paradise Contractors, Su Xiao learned a lot of information. Specifically, within Apocalypse Paradise, using the Attribute Enhancement Pod to improve physical fitness not only consumed Attribute Points but also cost Paradise Points, and a considerable amount at that.
In Reincarnation Paradise, the Attribute Enhancement Pod was completely free to use. Even for paid infrastructure, it was over 50% cheaper compared to Apocalypse Paradise.