Chapter 4: The Arbiter
Su Xiao was originally clad in a set of white standard-issue attire, the clothing of a rogue cultivator, but now it was rapidly transforming.
The color of the white standard-issue clothes began to change, gradually turning black. The hem lengthened, becoming a black trench coat.
A mask capable of covering the entire face appeared. This mask was half black and half white. On the left white half was a pattern of a black scythe, and on the right black half was a white scale. Black within white, white within black.
The black scythe represented judgment, the white scale represented justice.
The spatial battlefield had opened, and the true role of the Hunters was being realized.
[Neutral Class has been activated. The Hunter will serve as the Arbiter (Ruler)!]
[Black Steed Perspective has been activated. This function is exclusive to this world.]
A semi-transparent screen floated beside Su Xiao. The screen was neatly divided into four sections, showing the conditions in four directions around the airship. Su Xiao could zoom in on these images.
[Detected that the Hunter is carrying a biological Imperial Artifact that can serve as a mode of transportation. Proceed with disguise? This function is free.]
Su Xiao was taken aback for a moment, then immediately chose to disguise.
Bubuteni was summoned, and its appearance began to change. From its original black-and-white spotted pattern, it turned completely pitch black, and two additional heads sprouted from the sides of its neck.
A three-headed hellhound!
Bubuteni's appearance was merely a disguise; its actual abilities remained unchanged. In Su Xiao's perspective, Bubuteni still looked like its original self. Only in the perspective of the Contractors did it appear as a three-headed hellhound. This was purely for intimidation.
Su Xiao's attire was the same. It wasn't the clothing of a rogue cultivator, but his original clothes. However, in the sight of the Contractors, he was an Arbiter wearing a black trench coat and a mask.
Su Xiao rode on Bubuteni's back. An Arbiter riding a three-headed hellhound had appeared.
Su Xiao raised an eyebrow. This was all just for show. It didn't grant any additional abilities; he would still have to fight using his original skills.
Chi~.
The rear hatch of the airship opened, and Su Xiao rode Bubuteni out from inside.
Beneath his feet was a stretch of charred wasteland. For hundreds of square miles, nothing grew. The ground was covered in scorched plants. This was a peculiar sight that only appeared after frequent nuclear bombings.
A sense of unease crept into Su Xiao's heart. Would a nuclear bomb suddenly fall on his head?
A feeling of malice from the derivative world emerged. Looking around, Su Xiao suddenly felt that everything in his sight was very 'dazzling'.
The scorched plant stems on the ground seemed to be pointing at him. The entire derivative world was rejecting him.
Get out! Get out! Outsider, get out!
This was the will being conveyed by the entire derivative world. Su Xiao had become an outsider, an unwelcome outsider.
If it weren't for the suppression of Reincarnation Paradise, a real-life version of Final Destination might be playing out right now, where everything wanted to kill him.
Su Xiao vaguely understood the purpose of this trip: to set up 'World Coordinates' and seize ownership of this derivative world. This was also Reincarnation Paradise's goal—invasion!
Checking the task list, two tasks appeared.
War Task: World Coordinates (0/2)
Difficulty Level: Lv.10
Task Brief: Set up two World Coordinates. Contractors must protect the coordinates for 12 hours.
Task Information: There are a total of three World Coordinates. One is already built into the airship. The Hunter needs to deploy the remaining two coordinates to designated locations.
Task Duration: 5 natural days.
Task Reward: 8 Attribute Points.
Task Penalty: If a World Coordinate is destroyed, the Hunter will be permanently stranded in the 'Parasyte' derivative world and will suffer the expulsion of this derivative world.
...
Hunter Task (Special): Suppress the Mutiny.
Difficulty Level: Lv.9
Task Brief: Prevent Contractors from engaging in passive combat. If a warning is ineffective, the Hunter may execute judgment on the Contractor.
Task Information: Judgment is a high-level ability in this world. A barrier will be set up to trap the judged Contractor, and no one else may interfere in the battle.
Task Duration: 5 natural days.
Task Reward: 30% World Source.
Task Penalty: If the number of Contractors fleeing exceeds 50%, all of the Hunter's attributes will be reduced by 10.
...
Su Xiao began to sort out the tasks for this trip. First was setting up the coordinates. After he set them up, he wouldn't need to worry about them anymore; the Contractors would protect them, as they had corresponding tasks.
Second was the supervision during the war, to prevent deserters.
Although these two tasks seemed easy, they were actually fraught with danger.
Take setting up the coordinates, for example. He didn't need to set up the first one, but the second coordinate was thirty kilometers away from here, and the third was even farther.
The situation in this wasteland was unknown. The world difficulty was as high as Lv.10. Danger could strike at any moment. And he was alone, with no support. He had to rely on himself for everything.
As for his identity as the Arbiter, Su Xiao had roughly understood it. He had to be cautious when judging the Contractors on his side. These Contractors still had to guard the 'World Coordinates'. If too many of them died, it would be troublesome.
As for the enemy's violations... did he even need to ask? He would just go straight over and kill them. He wouldn't even send a warning. His ultimate goal was to win the war.
Since Su Xiao was both the Arbiter of the battlefield and the overseer of the Contractors, this must have been a manipulation by Reincarnation Paradise to ensure victory in the war.
Reincarnation Paradise would act within the rules, and the current arrangements were all within the rules. This might be one of the reasons Reincarnation Paradise cultivated Hunters.
Bubuteni trotted slowly across the wasteland. The surrounding radiation made it very uncomfortable.
Su Xiao's Stamina attribute was 14 points, which allowed him to stay in the radiation zone for a long time.
There was a pungent, sour smell in the air. Su Xiao frowned. It was the smell of formaldehyde. The Kala Star people were releasing large amounts of formaldehyde to create an atmosphere suitable for their survival.
The appearance of the Kala Star people puzzled Su Xiao. There were no Kala Star people in the original Parasyte story. Reincarnation Paradise wouldn't let a derivative world develop to this extent either.
Perhaps the enemy this time was the Kala Star people. Were they native inhabitants of this derivative world, or were they Void creatures? It was hard to tell.
Su Xiao was actually more curious about what a derivative world was. He had always thought that derivative worlds were created by Reincarnation Paradise.
But now it seemed that wasn't the case. Derivative worlds might all be stolen by Reincarnation Paradise. They existed on their own and wouldn't have their timelines reset. They would continue to develop normally. Resetting the timeline was Reincarnation Paradise's ability.
Seize this derivative world, then obtain the rewards. Su Xiao's goal became simple.
The task cycle was too short. The time to set up the World Coordinates was barely enough. He would be busy the entire time, possibly without even time to sleep, let alone explore the secrets of the derivative world.
Su Xiao wasn't discouraged. If this mission went smoothly, his strength would increase significantly. After that, he should enter some derivative worlds with medium-level combat power.
Organizing his thoughts, Su Xiao looked at the screen floating beside him, which showed the conditions in four directions around the airship.
His current position was at the edge of the battlefield. The battlefield wasn't large. It was ten kilometers long and only half a kilometer wide, forming a rectangular shape. The airship was docked at one end of the battlefield.
Contractors were not allowed to leave this area, but Su Xiao could. He would have to go ahead of the Contractors to set up the World Coordinates.
The airship was surrounded by Contractors, divided into four groups to defend it. The Divine Emperor, Brotherhood, and Shining Gold adventure groups each guarded one side. The rear of the airship was guarded by several dozen rogue cultivators, where the intensity of attacks was the lowest.
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