Chapter 2: This Is Just the Beginning
Su Xiao sat up from the stone chest, looking around. Contrary to his expectations, he wasn't in a tomb chamber but a natural cave, with the stone chest situated at the cave's inner side.
The entire cave was about a thousand square meters in size, with a height of over ten meters. Sunlight streamed onto the ground at the center, directly below a four-meter-wide hole in the cave ceiling, where a trickle of mountain spring water flowed down the rock wall.
Various plants grew inside the cave, and the "sliding-lid stone coffin" Su Xiao was in wasn't actually a coffin but a stone chest used for storing treasures.
Not far away stood a stone statue of a man holding a long spear, his hair flowing. The spear wasn't made of stone but metal, nearly three meters in total length. The front half-meter formed the blade, with a horizontal edge extending below it, giving the front fifth of the spear an L-shape.
Aside from this statue, there was nothing noteworthy in the cave.
"The Violator's lair..."
Su Xiao closed the stone chest lid and sat on it, his mind racing. He had too little information right now.
[Notification: The 'Imprint Fluctuation' of Contractor No. 15053 has been detected.]
[Locking in...]
[Due to the particularity of this world, new spatial coordinates cannot be established. Position lock failed.]
[Imprint linking...]
[Link successful. The Hunter can communicate with Contractor No. 15053 for 5 to 10 minutes. Please cherish this opportunity.]
A light screen appeared in front of Su Xiao, flickering a few times before showing an image.
In a dim, cold room, a slender figure sat before a fire, hugging her knees. Half a metal kettle hung above the flames, with a brown liquid bubbling inside. Xia was... brewing coffee.
"Hey."
Su Xiao spoke. As soon as his voice sounded, he saw Xia on the other side of the screen flinch.
"Who! I-I'm not afraid of you! I can fight!"
Xia grabbed a grenade, looking ready to blow herself up at any moment to avoid capture. In Reincarnation Paradise, even workers weren't easy targets. Though weak in combat, they wouldn't let enemies get the better of them.
"Look over here."
"Huh? That voice..."
Xia froze for a moment, then turned around to see the light screen behind her. Clearly, she hadn't received any notification from Reincarnation Paradise.
"Su... Bai Ye?"
Xia's eyes were full of confusion, clearly not understanding what was happening. She quickly corrected herself, not using Su Xiao's real name.
"I've taken a mission to retrieve 10,850 ounces of Space-Time Power from you."
"You took... that mission."
Though Xia was panicking, she quickly calmed down.
"Bai Ye, this is a Sixth Rank world. Are you... really okay? What rank are you now? If the mission penalty isn't forced execution, consider giving it up. I don't know where I am, but it's... probably very dangerous."
After the initial excitement, Xia began recounting her previous experiences. She didn't know why the trade had failed either. She had suddenly been teleported into the room she was in now.
Su Xiao had many doubts about the trade between Reincarnation Paradise and Apocalypse Paradise, but with so few clues, he couldn't deduce anything.
"I just advanced to Sixth Rank. More precisely, this is my first world in Sixth Rank."
"This..."
Xia's face showed hesitation. Of course, she wanted Su Xiao to carry out this mission—it would increase her chances of survival—but as a friend, she didn't want to see him walk into death.
"Did you see anything before you were teleported there?"
Su Xiao had no intention of giving up this mission. A forced execution penalty was no joke.
"See anything... Hmm~ A bunch of tentacles. Lots and lots."
"That's it?"
"That's it."
Xia wrinkled her nose, catching a whiff of something burning.
"I'm now..."
"Shh~"
Su Xiao raised his index finger to his lips and signaled to Bubu Wang and Baha.
Bubu Wang leaped to the cave's edge in a few bounds, very agile, and even buried a Magnetic Hunter along the way.
Through the light screen, Xia witnessed this. She was momentarily stunned because, in her memory, Bubu Wang was just Su Xiao's "mascot." Clearly, that wasn't the case now. Bubu Wang displayed combat skills that left Xia astonished.
Baha climbed onto the rock wall. Though the space was open, it wasn't suitable for his fighting style.
A figure jumped down from the hole in the cave ceiling, landing with a loud crash. The man was nearly three meters tall, with dark skin and faint tattoos visible on his bald head.
As soon as the bald man landed, six figures dropped behind him—tall, short, fat, and thin—four men and two women, making seven in total including the bald man.
These seven were dressed differently, but Su Xiao was all too familiar with their aura. They were all Violators.
"What a coincidence. Just passing by, and we run into a Hunter who just finished teleporting."
The bald man rubbed his shiny head, his hatred undisguised. Compared to Battle Angels, Pioneers, or Punishment Knights, Hunters were the most ruthless. In battle, they never wasted words with Violators—they just killed.
"Brother Black, don't waste words with him. His equipment should still be in transit. Kill him now."
A woman with a face full of scars and a voluptuous figure spoke. Her name was Poison Ji, and the scars on her face were left by a Hunter, which she had kept to this day.
"Of course."
The bald man, Brother Black, grinned. He clenched his fists, and the veins on his arms bulged like green snakes.
A faint spatial fluctuation emerged, and the Black King Bracer appeared on Su Xiao's hand. The first piece of equipment had arrived, but unfortunately, it wasn't Dragon-Slaying Flash.
Bang!
A sonic boom rang out. Su Xiao raised one arm to block, crystal layers rapidly spreading over his arm.
With a crash, Su Xiao was blasted into the rock wall. Seeing this through the light screen, Xia's eyes filled with despair. A friend had come to save her, and if even he died in this world, it would be worse than being killed herself.
Rubble slid down as Su Xiao leaped out of the dent in the wall, rolling his neck left and right.
"What the hell, is this a tank?"
The bald man looked at his fist. His strength was below average for Sixth Rank, so after detecting Su Xiao's Imprint Level at Lv.50, he was confident he could take him down.
"Don't care what he is. Rush him together."
"Time's precious. After dealing with him, we still need to track that Battle Angel. It's 'His' orders."
"Shut up, are you an idiot?"
The six behind the bald man surrounded Su Xiao, charging in a semicircle.
Crack, crack, crack...
Crystal layers spread over Su Xiao's arms. He dodged a bullet while swinging a fist sideways, blasting back an invisible Violator.
Heavy footsteps thundered—the bald man, now glowing with a dark green light, moved at incredible speed.
With a whoosh, the bald man closed in on Su Xiao, but the next moment, Su Xiao vanished.
Dragon Shadow Flash pierced through space. Su Xiao appeared behind the bald man and delivered a side kick.
Boom!
Rubble flew as the bald man crashed into the rock wall, leaving a human-shaped hole.
A long blade swung toward Su Xiao's neck, the wind howling.
Clang~
Before the blade could strike, Su Xiao knocked it away with his elbow, the sword passing over his head. But there were too many enemies.
A massive force hit Su Xiao's lower back, and he felt weightless as he flew sideways.
Mid-air, a blood blossom burst on his left arm. A bullet aimed at his throat was blocked by his hand.
Boom~
Su Xiao slammed into the stone statue, which had stood for centuries, shattering it into rubble.
Getting up from the ground, Su Xiao flexed his arm, forcing the bullet lodged in his muscle out.
"We need to hurry. If this guy gets a proper weapon, he'll be a monster!"
The bald man was about to charge when he felt a threat from behind—Baha. Baha hadn't recklessly joined the fight but kept making feints, drawing the enemy's attention to create openings for Su Xiao.
Seizing the moment, Su Xiao stomped the ground. The impact spread, sending rubble flying. Among the debris, the long spear rose, and he grabbed it.
He had a weapon now, even if he wasn't skilled with it.
Su Xiao leaned forward and charged straight at the bald man, who was clearly the leader.
The roar of battle continued. Though Su Xiao wasn't proficient with the spear, it had an edge, so he could use it like a blade.
Inside the light screen, Xia stared blankly at Su Xiao. She had known him for so long and knew he was strong, but she hadn't expected him to be this powerful.
"So... strong?"
Hope flickered in Xia's eyes. She clearly saw that Su Xiao wasn't wearing much equipment.
Five minutes later.
Thud!
Poison Ji was sent flying by a sweep of Su Xiao's spear, tumbling to the ground in disgrace.
It turned out that even without equipment, Su Xiao could still fight. He just lacked a blade, which weakened his combat power.
The seven Violators were in a tough spot. They hadn't come here by chance—they were tracking a Battle Angel. Sensing Su Xiao's aura, they had decided to deal with him. In a fully open Primordial World, Violators held the advantage.
The skirmish lasted five minutes. Su Xiao's Killing Instinct Belt, Wild Hunt Night Coat, Scarlet Angel Boots, and three pieces of the Black King Set were all transmitted, already equipped.
With a dull thud, an invisible hammer struck the spear. The ground beneath Su Xiao cracked, but he didn't retreat. However, the weapon couldn't take it anymore and shattered.
Even so, the seven Violators' expressions weren't good. The enemy had been unarmed at first, and they still couldn't handle him. Now, they were considering a strategic retreat.
A faint spatial fluctuation appeared beside Su Xiao.
"Here it comes."
A smile spread across Su Xiao's face.
Clang~
The long blade rang out, its edge gleaming. Su Xiao grabbed the hilt of Dragon-Slaying Flash and slashed diagonally. A cut appeared on the ground beside him, spreading to the top of the rock wall before stopping.
Boom!
Bloodlust surged. The battle had only just begun.
On the other end of the light screen, Xia stepped back a few paces. Even from an unknown distance, she could feel Su Xiao's sharp aura.