Chapter 78: Targeted by the Big Boss
[Teleportation completed.]
[Hunter has returned to the real world.]
On the second floor of the accessory shop, Su Xiao stood up from the floor, checked the alert devices in the room, then went downstairs.
The accessory shop reopened. Su Xiao sat behind the counter, holding a tablet in his hand. His real-world life was exceptionally peaceful.
Not long ago, Wei Dong from the Scavengers had sought out Su Xiao. Ostensibly a visit between old friends, it was actually to confirm whether Su Xiao was plotting something.
In Wei Dong’s mind, Su Xiao was undoubtedly one of the most dangerous individuals around. And yet, this dangerous person hadn’t caused any major commotion recently. Instead, he rarely left his hometown, a small city.
Upon discovering this, Wei Dong lost sleep. After personally visiting him, he confirmed one thing: as long as no one actively provoked Su Xiao, nothing would happen.
Inside the accessory shop, Su Xiao was focused on a puzzle game. Just as he was about to clear a major level, the shop door was pushed open.
“Bai Ye.”
A somewhat low male voice came through. Su Xiao’s fingers paused, and his game character instantly died, falling to its death while being chased by a fat enemy.
Su Xiao looked up with a smile at the newcomer. This was a man around forty years old, with ordinary features, but his eyes were like those of a cold-blooded animal—just like his nickname in Reincarnation Paradise: Half-Man Crocodile.
“You…”
Half-Man Crocodile instinctively reached for the gun at his waist. In that instant, he felt as if the person before him was no longer human, but a ferocious beast grinning at him.
“Bubu, go make tea.”
Su Xiao put down his tablet and walked over to the coffee table.
“Sit.”
Su Xiao pointed to the sofa across from him and sat down very relaxed.
Seeing this, Half-Man Crocodile felt considerable pressure. The person he was negotiating with was most likely an old yinbi. In an extremely short time, the other party had judged that he had no hostile intent.
Amu brought two cups of tea and placed them on the coffee table. Su Xiao raised his hand and pushed the clear tea in front of Half-Man Crocodile.
“Thanks.”
Half-Man Crocodile politely picked up the teacup, appearing to take a sip, but actually didn’t drink at all.
“The reason I came…”
Before Half-Man Crocodile could finish, Su Xiao spoke.
“You want me to help you kill someone? Before this, we’ve never met. Even if we’re both Hunters, I won’t kill for you.”
“…”
Half-Man Crocodile was silent for a moment, then downed the scalding tea in one gulp.
“I want you… to kill the Unnumbered Contractor: Xi!”
“Hm?”
Su Xiao was a bit surprised, but only a bit. Earlier, when he invaded Holy Light Paradise and fought several Battle Angels, an unknown enemy had interrupted him. Their ability was crystal, and at the time, he had felt a sense of familiarity.
“I’ve investigated everything about Xi and used my Hunter authority. Bai Ye, you ‘killed’ her before, but you should have killed her cat first. That cat was the real trouble.”
“…”
Su Xiao didn’t speak. When he fought Xi at the second rank, if it had been a one-on-one fight, he would most likely have died. Xi was killed by him using Apollo to blast her. That woman had a full nine lives—no, ten lives.
“If Xi were still in Apocalypse Paradise, she wouldn’t be a threat. You know the situation in Apocalypse Paradise. But now… she’s as strong as a monster, feeding on the ‘Source’ of neutral deities.”
“So?”
Su Xiao certainly wasn’t afraid of Xi. Back then, he was growing all four attributes simultaneously, and as a Shadow of Law Destruction, it was a late-game class. At the second rank, of course he couldn’t beat Xi. Now, it was different.
“So she’s killed 76 Hunters. Don’t underestimate her. Feeding on the ‘Source’ of neutral deities is an extremely painful process. The reason I came to you is that I received a mission from Reincarnation Paradise to deliver this to you.”
Half-Man Crocodile pulled a strand of silver hair from his chest.
“Don’t let her grow. Since we’ve encountered her, kill her. Strangle her while she’s still on the path to becoming stronger.”
Half-Man Crocodile placed the strand of silver hair on the coffee table. A red glint seemed to flash in his eyes.
“Did she teach you a lesson?”
Su Xiao glanced at Half-Man Crocodile, then picked up the strand of silver hair from the table.
“Yes, I lost… badly. There’s ‘some existence’ backing Xi. Judging from her aura, equipment, and abilities, the resources she gets are beyond what we can compare to. She’s now the ‘favorite daughter’ of some mysterious existence. CTNND!”
Half-Man Crocodile cursed, then continued:
“Bai Ye, based on my guess, maybe you made her what she is. She managed to achieve that much back then with a bunch of useless teammates, which is why some existence chose her, sparing her from dying at your hands.”
With that, Half-Man Crocodile walked toward the door. As if suddenly remembering something, he stopped at the entrance, turned his head slightly, and said:
“Bai Ye, that woman is your problem now.”
Half-Man Crocodile left. Su Xiao sat thoughtfully on the sofa.
Xi wasn’t dead. Su Xiao wasn’t actually worried. If he could kill her ten times, why couldn’t he kill her an eleventh? What truly gave him pause was the existence behind Xi.
That existence was like a stick stirring up trouble, occasionally appearing to annoy Su Xiao.
Half-Man Crocodile had just said he received a mission from Reincarnation Paradise, which was why he sought out Su Xiao.
Based on Su Xiao’s speculation, his next world’s mission would most likely be to hunt down Xi, or rather, to drag out the existence behind her.
That existence, which had twice concealed Xi’s traces, seemed powerful, but in reality, Reincarnation Paradise had seized Space-Time Power from it. It felt like cutting flesh to save Xi—or rather, in Reincarnation Paradise’s judgment, executing Xi was far less important than seizing the Space-Time Power.
Su Xiao had already become enemies with Xi. According to Half-Man Crocodile, Xi was now feeding on the “Source” of neutral deities, as strong as a monster.
Of course, that was from Half-Man Crocodile’s perspective. Su Xiao’s power increase over the last two worlds had even surprised himself. Until now, he hadn’t determined his own strength within the sixth rank. He simply couldn’t find an opponent worth fighting. The arena had been nothing but easy wins.
What to do with an enemy like Xi? The answer was simple: find her before she fully matures and kill her.
For Su Xiao, as long as the power gap with an enemy wasn’t completely insurmountable, he would act immediately, find the enemy, and eliminate them.
As for waiting for the enemy to grow stronger—that was the kind of thinking for a rival. It didn’t exist in Su Xiao’s mind. In his view, only a dead enemy was a safe enemy.
He had already guessed Xi wasn’t completely dead. This unexpected incident gave him the chance to eliminate Xi while she was still growing.
Su Xiao looked at the silver hair in his hand. It matched his memory—Xi had silver hair.
In Su Xiao’s impression, Xi was a woman who was both strong and clever. Of course, that was at the second rank.
Even someone like Sphinx, a super old yinbi, had been handled by Su Xiao. After all, Su Xiao had encountered too many old yinbis. Xi, who had only been clever back then, would now face Su Xiao. Who knew how thoroughly she’d be outmaneuvered?
From her earlier attack, Su Xiao judged that Xi had grown in combat power. If it were him, with the advantage of being in the shadows, he wouldn’t have acted so hastily.
In reality, Xi had misjudged Su Xiao’s rate of growth. After undergoing hellish training, she felt she could finally eliminate her lifelong enemy. So she struck, and was “pleasantly” surprised to find her enemy was very hard to deal with.
Su Xiao felt that Xi wasn’t the main issue. The real problem was the existence behind her.
Life in the real world had no more disturbances. Two days later, Su Xiao received a summons and returned to Reincarnation Paradise.