Chapter 6: The Old Yinbi and the Madmen
Just as he arrived near the base camp, Su Xiao noticed the contractors from his own side in the vicinity. A series of glances were cast his way. After confirming that Su Xiao wasn't a contractor from another paradise, the gazes shifted away.
Bubu Wang ran out from the rear compartment of the spaceship. Amu and Baha were near the tail hatch. As for Beini, she had already set off to search for the World Core. She was a professional in that regard.
"Woof."
Bubu Wang patted the grass beneath his paw with his dog paw, meaning that before the spaceship landed, the Sanctuary Paradise religious order had arrived nearby. The two sides had faced off for a few minutes but hadn't started fighting.
This information was very important. First, it spoke to the strength and audacity of the Sanctuary religious order, directly confronting the Reincarnation Paradise side right from the start. That was rare.
Second, who had restrained these madmen on their side? Under normal circumstances, with enemies blocking the base camp, these lunatics wouldn't give a damn about competing for Space-Time Power condensates. They would absolutely prioritize killing all the enemies first.
This situation hadn't occurred, which only meant one thing: there was a super old yinbi on their side who, through strategy, had prevented this from happening.
An ordinary old yinbi couldn't command respect in Reincarnation Paradise. It would take at least someone of Sfenx's caliber to make these madmen listen to guidance. Note: guidance, not orders. No one could order them around.
Near the base camp, the madmen on their side were either lying on the grass taking a nap, basking in the sunlight, or gathered together chatting idly. Someone was even standing atop the spaceship, delivering an impassioned speech.
An old man stood on the spaceship, his tone very agitated. From what he was saying, it seemed he was planning to unite everyone, first go after the neighboring Holy Light Paradise, and then attack the Apocalypse Paradise on the other side.
The old man was already bruised and battered, his white robe stained with mud and grass juice. He had clearly been kicked around a few times, but he wasn't discouraged. Instead, he was even more fired up.
"Brothers, we need to unite."
"Director, this isn't the rehabilitation center anymore."
A man in blue clothes spoke. He was in his early thirties, wearing rimless glasses, giving off a refined and gentle feeling.
"Nonsense, you're all patients. As the director, I won't give up on you."
The old man in the white robe glared at the glasses-wearing man. Clearly, the two knew each other well.
"Big brother, may I ask, what kind of director is he?"
A child wearing a beret spoke. He looked only twelve or thirteen, but having survived in Reincarnation Paradise until now and becoming a sixth-rank contractor, his mental age was definitely that of an adult.
"Director of the Second Road Mental Hospital."
The glasses-wearing man smiled gently. The little kid silently walked away. He was one of the very few 'normal people' among these two hundred-plus contractors. In his own opinion, he was normal. The only slightly abnormal thing was his ability: he could burrow into an enemy's body and control them.
Just imagine, with such a heinous ability, could this little brat be normal?
"Friend, don't leave. You can call me Doctor Lan. Call the one on the spaceship Director. The three of us teaming up, that's not a bad idea, is it?"
"Doctor... Doctor Lan?"
The little kid stammered. If he was an extreme case of acquired behavior, then the two he was facing were born madmen.
The little kid had, of course, heard of the combination of Doctor Lan and the Director. One was a mad doctor, the other a super old yinbi. He couldn't recognize either of them individually, but hearing both names together, he immediately knew who they were.
Realizing this, the little kid's body stiffened. When they had been kicking the Director earlier, he had participated too, even jumping up to kick him. After all, the Director was just too noisy. More importantly, the Director was famously vindictive. He was the type who, even if you sold him, he would still be grateful. He had just been bored and was messing with them.
"Young friend, you kicked my face just now, didn't you?"
The Director had somehow appeared behind the little kid, placing a hand on his shoulder.
"Bai Ye is here."
The little kid's words made the Director's eyes light up. Seizing the opportunity, the little kid bolted.
[Warning: You have been marked.]
The little kid's footsteps stopped.
[Mark cleared. Disciplinary warning issued to Contractor 11**7.]
As soon as this prompt appeared, the Director grunted. He looked at his right hand, where a ф-shaped mark had appeared.
The Director calmly raised his arm. Doctor Lan, the mad doctor beside him, narrowed his eyes. With a *shuā lā* sound, a flash of cold light passed. A few drops of blood splattered from the Director's wrist, and his right hand fell to the ground.
"I was just joking with the kid, but... he's a brat."
As the Director spoke, the flesh at the severed end of his wrist surged, and a new right hand grew out.
"Bai Ye, we've been waiting for you."
The mad doctor nodded to Su Xiao, looking refined and gentle. He was the type who, even after dismembering someone and being splattered with blood, could still maintain a cultured demeanor.
*Pā, pā, pā...*
A burly man clapped his hands, drawing the attention of the contractors. This burly man was covered in black hair, looking like a gorilla.
"The night of beheading has arrived. You damnable bastards, gather in the main cabin of the spaceship. Hahaha."
"Idiot."
A round of 'friendly' greetings made the gorilla-like man laugh even more heartily. The madmen near the base camp began to file into the spaceship.
Ten minutes later, in the spaceship's self-service restaurant, on the strip-shaped alloy seats, Su Xiao, the mad doctor, the Director, Yixi, and King Kong King, five people in total, sat around a square dining table.
Nearby, over two hundred contractors were either sitting on the strip-shaped seats or on the dining tables. Some were chewing cigars, others had cigarettes between their fingers, and someone was holding a bowl of fried rice, wolfing it down like a starving ghost.
Su Xiao had heard of both the mad doctor and the Director. The former had once been a violator. On one occasion, Su Xiao had almost received a mission to go to a specific world to hunt down the mad doctor.
As for the Director, he was a super old yinbi, skilled in strategy, scheming, and understanding the human heart. His big-picture thinking was above average, but not top-tier.
Yixi was a woman under thirty, a venomous beauty. It was said she had had 105 husbands, all of whom died on their wedding night. This woman was a bit twisted. She detested any physical contact with men, yet craved romantic weddings. The contractors called her Widow Xi, the husband-killing Widow Xi.
Widow Xi was skilled in strategy, with a stronger big-picture sense than the Director. If the two cooperated, whichever world they entered would be in for a world of trouble. These two had teamed up at the fourth rank and entered the Naruto world.
Two large adventure groups, the five great ninja villages. By the time these two devils among devils left, only Konoha was left struggling. Konoha had even produced a Ninth Hokage. As for the previous ones, of course, they had been schemed to death by the two. Obito of the Akatsuki had it worst. This big boss hadn't even made his appearance before being besieged by the five great ninja villages.
The Director sowed discord, while Widow Xi worked from within Konoha. The two large adventure groups were schemed to the point of doubting their own existence. If not for the mission time limit, the Moon's Eye plan would have succeeded.
As for King Kong King, he was lacking in strategy but was very suited for the battlefield. After transforming, he became a war beast, a fearless war beast.
"Bai Ye, you're too slow. We've been waiting for you for a long time."
The Director spoke. He knew Su Xiao had arrived because he had seen Bubu Wang.
"I went to do a temporary 'mission'."
"Doctor Lan, it's your turn to perform."
The Director looked at the mad doctor. The mad doctor pushed up his glasses and transmitted information to Su Xiao through his mark.
Mad Doctor: 'I was once a violator, Hunter.'
Bai Ye: 'I've heard. A certain hunting mission once targeted you, but it changed before I entered the world.'
Mad Doctor: 'I've reformed. I'm a contractor now.'
The mad doctor paused for a moment before transmitting another message.
Mad Doctor: 'I have a potentially violating ability. With you here, it should be fine.'
Bai Ye: 'Use it.'
Receiving Su Xiao's reply, the mad doctor's expression remained unchanged. He knew that once he revealed Su Xiao's identity as a Hunter, regardless of the outcome, Su Xiao would hunt him down until he died. He wouldn't doubt a Hunter's tracking ability.
The mad doctor raised his arm and opened his palm. Strangely, his reincarnation mark was actually on his palm.
"Everyone, please don't gang up on me next."
The mark in the mad doctor's palm gradually faded, changing from a blood-red ф mark to a deep blue mark. This was... an Apocalypse Paradise mark!
"Apocalypse, Holy Light, Death, Sanctuary, Watchful, Reincarnation, six kinds of marks. I... possess them all!"
The mad doctor grinned, revealing his white teeth. He had obtained these marks by killing contractors from other paradises and forcibly seizing them. If there wasn't some protection from Reincarnation Paradise involved, Su Xiao absolutely wouldn't believe it.
[Prompt: A 'suspected violator' has been detected. The Hunter must supervise this contractor's actions. If this contractor betrays, the Hunter must immediately eliminate this contractor/violator.]
[Reincarnation Paradise has certified.]
[Void Tree certifying. Detected that Reincarnation Paradise has not forcibly sent seventh-rank contractors into this world. This certification is complete.]
The Void Tree's certification was significant. This certification clearly favored the Reincarnation Paradise side. This wasn't unfair. It was because the other four sides had already prepared to send seventh-rank contractors into this world. Reincarnation Paradise hadn't done so, and therefore, the mad doctor's ability received the Void Tree's certification. This was a fair ruling.
As for why Reincarnation Paradise didn't forcibly send seventh-rank contractors into this world, the reason was simple: it wasn't necessary. As long as a seventh-rank contractor wasn't at the upper-middle level of the seventh rank, Su Xiao could handle them one-on-one. He was a Hunter with a sixth-rank mark and seventh-rank combat power. This gave the Reincarnation Paradise side a significant advantage.
It was for this reason that Su Xiao's method of arriving in this world was somewhat special. He wasn't teleported. Instead, he came by spaceship and then landed via an ejection pod.
"Which side do we hit first? You decide. Director, you're better at this."
Widow Xi was also smiling. With the mad doctor's ability, as long as it was certified by Reincarnation Paradise, he could infiltrate any side he wanted.
Su Xiao wasn't afraid of being schemed against by the Director and Widow Xi. He was confident in that regard.
The mad doctor's 'violating' ability, Su Xiao's combat power, the strategic planning of the Director and Widow Xi in the rear, King Kong King's frontal charge leading the team, and over two hundred mad contractors. The terror of this lineup was unimaginable.
The question now was which side to hit first. As for competing for the Space-Time Power condensates? There was no rush. The best approach was to clear the other four sides out of this world first. Then there would be no need to compete.