Chapter 21: A Larger Scheme
The blood-red vortex slowly rotated, countless resources being sucked into it. By conservative estimate, it had already swallowed over a hundred thousand ores, and their quality was not low.
This was the accumulated resources of 5,972 contractors over 16 world progressions. Having this quantity was not an exaggeration.
Su Xiao stood beneath the blood-red vortex as items flew past him one after another. He had a total of three selection opportunities.
Su Xiao's perception was fully unleashed. He naturally wanted to choose items of the highest quality and practicality.
A broad-bladed greatsword flew past. Su Xiao's hand paused in midair, not reaching out directly. Based on his observation, this equipment's quality was probably not high.
Just as Su Xiao was about to search for the next piece of equipment, a wooden box flew past from his left side. He grabbed it directly.
[You have obtained 'Resource Box.' Forced Seizure Authority Count: 2/3.]
[You have opened the Resource Box. This item is not a chest-type.]
[You obtained Soul Crystal (Small) × 19.]
[You obtained Soul Crystal (Medium) × 21.]
[You obtained Soul Crystal (Large) × 8.]
...
Seeing the items produced by the Resource Box, Su Xiao raised an eyebrow. Clearly, compared to single items, this thing was the real prize.
As for what was inside the Resource Box, there was no way to know. There was an element of luck in the selection, but the opening reward was constant—whatever was loaded in would be what came out.
With a clear goal in mind, Su Xiao focused his attention on Resource Boxes. Compared to single items, the number of Resource Boxes was much smaller.
A few seconds later, another Resource Box flew out from the hole in the metal wall. Just as it passed above Su Xiao, he grabbed it in his hand.
[You have obtained 'Resource Box.' Forced Seizure Authority Count: 1/3.]
[You have opened the Resource Box.]
[You obtained Phantom Sound Art (Active Skill Scroll · Epic Rank).]
[You obtained Baptism of Chaos (Active Skill Scroll · Legendary Rank).]
[You obtained Crisis Warning (Passive Skill Scroll · Epic Rank).]
...
He obtained three skill scrolls, and one of them could be kept for his own use.
Su Xiao naturally had no interest in active skills. What he was eyeing was the 'Crisis Warning' ability—a passive perception-type skill.
Su Xiao was not planning to develop this skill. Rather, his Instinct ability had a unique characteristic: after mastering other perception-type abilities, he could integrate them into Instinct.
For example, with 'Crisis Warning,' if Su Xiao used this skill scroll and integrated it into his Instinct skill, the 'Crisis Warning' skill would disappear, thereby supplementing and perfecting the Instinct ability.
The Instinct ability was very special. It could not be upgraded in Reincarnation Paradise through Paradise Coins or Soul Crystals. It could only be accumulated through one battle after another.
There was a cost, but of course, there was also a benefit—Instinct's compatibility. Su Xiao could master other perception abilities to supplement Instinct. Although those newly mastered perception abilities would disappear, Instinct would become stronger and more complete.
Two consecutive Resource Boxes had yielded substantial gains for Su Xiao. For the last Resource Box, he began to be more cautious in his selection.
Su Xiao's gaze was fixed on the resources surging into the blood-red vortex. If Apocalypse Paradise had subjective consciousness, she would surely be trembling with anger right now. These were all her treasures, and now they were gone.
A Resource Box flew out from the hole. Just as Su Xiao was about to reach out, an even larger one flew out from behind—five times bigger than the previous one.
Su Xiao's hand was already raised, but at that moment, a Resource Box measuring 30 centimeters long and 5 centimeters high flew out. Unlike the other Resource Boxes, this one was red.
Su Xiao immediately changed his target. But before he could act, another Resource Box, 20 centimeters long and 6 centimeters wide, flew out. This one was completely black, with star patterns distributed across it.
Ordinary, Large Volume, Crimson Red, Black Star Pattern—four types of Resource Boxes appeared simultaneously.
Su Xiao did not hesitate any longer. He directly grabbed the pitch-black Resource Box with star patterns. The reason? This one looked more advanced.
[Forced Seizure Authority has been exhausted.]
[You have opened Resource Box (TQ491550).]
[You obtained Miracle Stone.]
[Miracle Stone]
Origin: Apocalypse Paradise
Quality: None (This item cannot be assessed for detailed quality)
Type: Item (One-time Consumable)
Effect: Can remove all abnormal statuses from oneself.
Maximum Rank of Abnormal Status Removable: ???
Description: Miracles are not far away; perhaps they will come tomorrow.
Selling Price: This item cannot be sold.
...
A cyan-colored gem appeared in Su Xiao's hand. This gem did not look dazzling or brilliant, but it was a life-saving trump card.
The rank of abnormal statuses this item could remove was ???, meaning Su Xiao's authority had not yet reached the level to understand such ranks.
Sometimes, an unknown upper limit was actually a good thing. Once Su Xiao was cursed by some powerful being or subjected to remote malicious harm, [Miracle Stone] could save his life. There was no doubt about this.
Even if that situation never occurred, given the probability of Su Xiao encountering powerful enemies, there might come a day when he faced an enemy with powerful debuff abilities. At that time, [Miracle Stone] would be a game-changer, even if it was a one-time consumable.
[Hunter has completed the Promotion Task: Contractor Camp (First Ring).]
[You obtained Golden Skill Points × 5.]
[Resource Plunder has been completed. Temporary Space Coordinates have been fully activated.]
[Warning: Due to excessive resources, the Temporary Space Coordinates will overload in 10 seconds.]
[Tip: Hunter is about to be teleported to the vicinity of Shelter No. 9.]
[Hunter must reach Shelter No. 9 to unlock the final phase of the Promotion Task.]
...
Crack, crack.
Cracks appeared on the metal pillar standing on the ground. Apocalypse Paradise was simply too wealthy—so wealthy that when transmitting resources, Reincarnation Paradise's 'Temporary Space Coordinates' overloaded.
Su Xiao seriously suspected that Reincarnation Paradise could have invaded this world long ago. It hadn't done so because it was waiting for this Contractor Camp to become rich before striking hard.
Su Xiao contacted Beini, telling her to evacuate the nearby area, and instructed Bubu Wang, Amu, and Baha to get close to the space coordinates. The teleportation was about to begin, with the target being Shelter No. 9 in this world.
Space fluctuations spread, and Su Xiao felt a pulling force.
In an instant, Su Xiao appeared in a desolate wilderness. The weeds here were knee-high, with grasshoppers and lacewings flying about.
Bubu Wang was still in a dazed state, as this space teleportation was too sudden and too smooth—arriving without any noticeable fluctuation.
Su Xiao habitually touched the back of his head, scanning the surroundings. He did not see the so-called Shelter No. 9.
Clearly, the resource-plundering task was over. As long as Su Xiao completed the final phase of the Promotion Task, he could advance to the Sixth Rank.
If Su Xiao's guess was correct, his subsequent tasks would most likely involve the World Core. After plundering resources, what else to plunder next required no guesswork.
During the battle in the C-shaped Corridor earlier, Apocalypse Paradise forcibly expelled over two hundred contractors from the spaceship. This situation occurred because Apocalypse Paradise had already determined that, given the terrain of the C-shaped Corridor, those contractors simply could not break through.
Moreover, compared to losing a world with extremely abundant resources, losing some resources was nothing. As long as this world remained, it could continuously produce resources like ores.