Chapter 24: The Wisdom of the Bear
A burly man wearing a mechanical exoskeleton walked into the room. As he passed by the severely injured young woman, he stomped on her head.
Crack.
The girl's body twitched once, then went still.
The burly man blocked the doorway. This thug-faced fellow struggled to adjust his expression, eventually grinning at Su Xiao with a somewhat simple and foolish look.
"Sir, this is our gift for you. Please, you must accept it."
The burly man pulled a 20-centimeter-long, 5-centimeter-thick metal tube from his chest and bowed as he handed it to Su Xiao.
Both ends of the metal tube were sealed. The short blade inside Su Xiao's sleeve vanished. If the situation had developed in a certain way, he would have absolutely killed them all to silence them.
Su Xiao glanced at the metal tube, flicked his finger, and one end opened. A yellowed blueprint slid out.
[You have obtained the 'Magnetic Explosion Hunter' Blueprint (Epic Rank).]
Su Xiao unrolled the cylindrical blueprint. The paper was black, with white lines outlining over a dozen diagrams. Each diagram had text annotations nearby.
Seeing Su Xiao accept the Magnetic Explosion Hunter blueprint, the burly man seemed to breathe a sigh of relief.
"Broken Fang, come closer. I have something to say to you."
The burly man narrowed his eyes and coldly stared at Broken Fang.
Broken Fang hesitated for a moment, then put down his metal gun and walked toward the burly man with his head lowered.
The moment Broken Fang reached him, a fist greeted him.
Bang!
Broken Fang crashed straight into a pile of broken furniture. He took a few seconds to crawl out of the wreckage, shook his head, and even slapped himself twice before barely regaining his senses.
"What the hell were you thinking? Are you stupid? Did you really believe that if you died, your brother would live?"
After Su Xiao accepted the Magnetic Explosion Hunter blueprint, the burly man's tone clearly became more meaningful.
"He's too weak. It's not his turn."
Broken Fang wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, still keeping his head down because he knew that the young woman had betrayed him.
Broken Fang's goal was actually simple: first conceal the fact that Su Xiao could cure 'Blood Burn,' letting Su Xiao treat his brother first.
On this planet, where combat technology was advanced but medical care was backward, Blood Burn was almost incurable. Over sixty percent of Transcendents eventually died from it.
In reality, even if medical care were advanced, Blood Burn couldn't be cured. It wasn't a conventional disease but a mystical-side illness—energy eroding the internal organs.
Alchemy was a knowledge-type ability within the mystical side. In Su Xiao's view, Blood Burn was about as threatening as a severe cold—not difficult to cure.
As a mystical-side disease, Blood Burn was nearly incurable on the Siren Star. It was like a wizard dying from appendicitis—sounded absurd, but due to different world traits, such things had happened, and not rarely.
Broken Fang's concealment had already put one foot in the grave. Or rather, it was a choice made out of desperation. Once the leader of Shelter No. 9 found out someone could cure Blood Burn, Broken Fang's brother would most likely never receive treatment. There were simply too many hunters suffering from Blood Burn.
As for the credit for discovering the Holy Flame Alchemist, Broken Fang never believed that selfish leader would reward him with even a single Shok, let alone a treatment opportunity (Shok: energy currency).
Clearly, the young woman in the green grass coat who had been with Broken Fang earlier had betrayed him. She ignored his bribe, wanting to pass the information to the leader to profit. Unfortunately, she wasn't qualified to see the leader directly, and the matter was too serious. If she mishandled it, she might die inexplicably because of it.
So, the green grass coat woman sought out the hunter squad leader, Iron Bear Naga, her captain.
This young woman didn't know one very important thing: Broken Fang and Iron Bear had once been in the same squad. Moreover, she didn't believe anyone would uphold honor and loyalty.
However, Iron Bear was one of the rare 'exceptions.' Broken Fang had lost his eye partially because of him. If Iron Bear hadn't blocked that blow, Broken Fang wouldn't be alive today.
Although Iron Bear looked rough, he was meticulous. After learning the gist of the situation, he immediately calmed the young woman down and had her lead the way.
That was what had just happened. Iron Bear wasn't stupid. He wanted to repay his debt to Broken Fang, but he didn't want to sacrifice himself in the process.
Therefore, as soon as he appeared, he said, 'Sir, our leader invites you.' This was insurance—a way to shift the blame if needed.
The second thing Iron Bear did was silence the young woman, killing her. The third was to observe. When he felt the time was right, he took out a treasure he always carried to bribe Su Xiao. His earlier words were also interesting: 'Sir, this is our gift for you.'
Note: 'our,' not 'our leader's.' The difference was vast. After Su Xiao accepted the 'Magnetic Explosion Hunter,' Iron Bear knew he had mostly succeeded.
Small people had their ways of survival. At least based on Su Xiao's experience, he had never encountered mindless cannon fodder. Even those with extremely weak combat abilities knew how to assess the situation.
"Naga, thank you... but don't get in my way."
Broken Fang's words were contradictory, showing his conflicted feelings.
Iron Bear Naga completely ignored Broken Fang and looked at Su Xiao, offering a polite smile.
"What should I call you, sir?"
"Holy Flame."
Su Xiao sat on a worn wooden chair, tossing the cylindrical blueprint in his hand. He had originally planned to silence all three of them, but now it seemed unnecessary. On the contrary, these three might play an unexpected role, especially Broken Fang.
"Mr. Holy Flame, Broken Fang's head... hmm, you've probably noticed."
Iron Bear rubbed his hands together, the implication clear: as long as the secret was kept, they were willing to offer more good things.
"My purpose in coming here is simply to find a place to stay."
"Yes, yes, yes. A place is no problem. I have a residence in District A with good ventilation."
Iron Bear dragged his chair closer to Su Xiao.
"Mr. Holy Flame, about today's matter..."
"I'm not interested in your personal grudges."
"Hahaha, of course. People like us, small fries, might die in the wilderness any day, but who knows what good things we might stumble upon by chance?"
If Iron Bear had a cigarette, he would have definitely pulled one out and said, 'Mr. Holy Flame, please have a smoke.'
It could be said that Iron Bear handled this matter quite skillfully. He had saved Broken Fang from certain death.
"Mr. Holy Flame, this way, please."
Iron Bear stood up and made a gesture. Su Xiao walked out of the room. His purpose in coming here was to make contact with the higher-ups of Shelter No. 9.
Seeing this, Broken Fang's mouth opened and closed. Iron Bear shot him a glare. When he reached the doorway, he spoke in a low voice:
"This time, I don't owe you anything. Two days, maybe longer. It'll be your brother's turn."
Leaving these words, Iron Bear walked out of the room.
For some reason, Broken Fang also stood up and walked out, which made Iron Bear frown.
"My mind was a bit unclear earlier. Take me to see the leader. This matter has to be completely resolved. Looks like I'll have to pay something this time."
"Now that's the Broken Fang I know."
Iron Bear slapped Broken Fang on the back, nearly sending the stick-thin man flying into the wall.
The off-road combat vehicle started. Iron Bear drove, Su Xiao sat in the passenger seat, and Broken Fang was in the back. As for Broken Fang's younger brother, the boy just watched silently, knowing he might say the wrong thing, so he said nothing at all.