Chapter 29: Surprise or Not
The three-story building was quickly cleaned up, and Yahada's corpse was secretly thrown into the corruption pool in District B.
Under the glow of incandescent lights, Naga stood on a high platform, now dressed in a black-and-red outfit. In his 32 years of life, he had never worn such clean and well-fitting clothes.
Below the metal platform, a large group of hunters stared at Naga, all puzzled. Why was a hunter captain standing on the platform, dressed so sharply, when the leader had summoned them?
There were several hundred hunters below the platform. The 9th Shelter had over 2,000 hunters in total, but most had been sent out to spread the word about the healing potion, quickly recruiting more people.
Bang!
A gunshot rang out, and the hundreds of hunters fell silent. They weren't afraid of gunfire—it was routine—but it caught their attention.
Broken Fang winked at Naga, signaling him to begin. Even Broken Fang was a bit confused now. Who knew what had happened? The seemingly "invincible" Yahada had suddenly dropped dead, and his friend Naga had become the new leader.
"Everyone, from today on, I'm in charge here."
Naga shouted, and the hunters below stared at him wide-eyed.
"Hahaha."
"You're in charge? Naga, have you lost your mind? The leader's punishment is no joke."
"Another change? How long was Yahada even in that seat?"
The chaotic shouting of hundreds made the scene extremely disorderly.
Naga raised his hand, and Broken Fang, catching on, fired a shot at the huge leather bag above.
With a crash, a cascade of Shocker Coins rained down like petals scattering from the sky. The hunters froze for a moment before frantically scrambling for them.
"Are you happy?!"
Naga's eyes were bloodshot as he roared, making the hunters scramble even more fiercely.
"Naga, if you're the leader, what do we get?"
A hunter with a full-face tattoo shouted, playing the role of a bystander.
"Good question. You get... this."
Naga gestured, and several people carried up a massive iron canister. Naga patted it and said:
"Here's the bad news: the healing potion can't permanently cure Bloodburn Syndrome."
As soon as Naga said this, the platform fell silent. As the saying goes, "I could endure the darkness, but you showed me the light."
Nearly half the hunters had just recovered from Bloodburn Syndrome, and now Naga told them it wasn't a permanent cure. They could still fall back into hell. The huge drop (luòchà) was unbearable for anyone.
"Here's the good news: this potion was concocted by Mr. Kukulin. Even if you contract Bloodburn Syndrome again, this potion will still work. Mr. Kukulin has chosen to support me. What about you?"
Naga's gaze swept across the crowd below. The hunters exchanged glances, suppressing their greed and ambition.
"Naga! Naga!"
The tattooed man, a decent actor, shouted twice.
"Naga! Naga! Naga..."
The hunters raised their fists and chanted. Now, they chose to support Naga. Food and water were necessities for survival, but for hunters, the healing potion was also a necessity.
With a large amount of Shocker Coins and the healing potion, becoming the leader was no problem. The shelter's power structure was simple, which was also why leadership changed so frequently.
Half an hour later, when Naga stepped down from the platform, his demeanor had shifted slightly. But his hands were trembling, and his heart pounded. Even now, he felt like he was dreaming.
"Naga, what do we do next?"
Broken Fang scratched his messy hair. Clearly, with his relationship with Naga, becoming the second-in-command of the 9th Shelter was a done deal.
"Let me think..."
Naga looked contemplative, while Broken Fang and his gloomy younger brother wore serious expressions.
"I'm a bit hungry. Let's fill our stomachs first."
"Cough, cough, cough..."
"I'm hungry too."
The gloomy younger brother's pale complexion made him look like he might drop dead at any moment, even though his Bloodburn Syndrome was cured.
No one noticed that two men and one woman were mixed in the crowd, their expressions quite interesting.
"Holy crap! The invader has already set up a faction. What do we do? Assassinate him?"
"Are you tired of living? If we can't kill him quickly, hundreds of hunters will swarm us."
"Then... observe for now?"
The woman among the three spoke. She had a soft, beautiful face and a calm demeanor, but right now, the unflappable Battle Angel really wanted to hit someone. She had been temporarily summoned as a Battle Angel.
After a grueling search, the 'Angel' girl had finally found her target, only to be 'pleasantly' surprised to discover he was the behind-the-scenes (mùhòu) boss of a faction. Killing him meant going against hundreds of people who would fight to the death.
Originally, when the three Battle Angels met up, they had exchanged knowing smiles. Usually, cleanup missions were solo, but this time they were in a team of three—steady as an old dog.
But after on-site observation (shídì guānchá), they realized it wasn't like that at all. If they made a move now, they'd be riddled with bullets in seconds.
"Then... let's observe for now."
The more mature-looking Battle Angel spoke. The three agreed: play it safe, wait for an opportunity. Very Apocalypse-like.
...
Inside Yahada's residence, Su Xiao was searching the second floor. His elimination of Yahada had been sudden, so the guy should have left behind some good stuff.
As for the reward for killing Yahada, Su Xiao was a bit disappointed.
[You have gained 1.68% World Source.]
That was it. No treasure chest dropped. Su Xiao had thought he'd at least get a Legendary or even Epic chest.
As for extracting Yahada's soul memories, Su Xiao had no interest. The guy clearly didn't share his combat style. Besides, in each world, the Soul Devourer's active effect could only be used three times, so he had to be careful.
Bang! Amu pushed over a row of wooden cabinets, while Baha was studying a metal box, trying various methods to force it open without success.
"Woof."
Bubu Wang's bark came from somewhere. Su Xiao walked over, followed by Amu and Baha.
Bubu Wang had his front half stuck in a wall, his hind legs kicking wildly.
"Brother Ha, what are you doing?"
Baha looked at Bubu Wang in confusion. Amu didn't get it either.
"Looks like... he's stuck."
"Woof."
Bubu Wang started kicking again. Seeing this, Su Xiao grabbed him and pulled him out.
The feeling of pulling Bubu Wang out of the hole was like uncorking a bottle.
With a crash, Shocker Coins poured out of the hole. This was almost all of Yahada's wealth.
After sorting through it, there were at least 100,000 Shocker Coins. Who knew how Yahada had squeezed out so many? No wonder the hunters had accepted Naga so quickly. Yahada was too greedy, though he had the capital for it. From his desperate last-ditch efforts before death, he was a mid-tier old schemer.
Su Xiao sat on the pile of Shocker Coins, lit a cigarette, and thought about his next move. It was clear now: use the healing potion to quickly recruit hunters, then send them across the world to find the seedlings of the transcendent (chāofán) plant Dibamu, or find the main body itself.
This also sealed the fate of the three Battle Angels who had chosen to lie low for now. They would gradually spiral into despair.