Chapter 5: Carnival
All of Su Xiao’s previous doubts were resolved. Given the resource abundance of the Tiger Bee Zone, primitive tribes and other supernatural creatures shouldn’t have abandoned this place. There were many water sources scattered here, and the wild fruits on the trees were so plentiful they were beginning to rot naturally.
Now it was clear: this was the territory of the “Bee Queen.” Any other supernatural creature that came here would become food, and the native tribes wouldn’t easily provoke the Bee Queen either.
At this moment, it wasn’t suitable to start a fight with this overlord creature. There were too many contractors scattered throughout the Wildwood Forest. If someone else reaped the benefits from the conflict, it would be a massive loss.
Su Xiao told Bubu Wang not to disturb the Bee Queen. If he could snatch some benefits, bring a few back; if not, retreat.
Bubu Wang began exploring deeper into the hive. Su Xiao, located a kilometer away from the hive, kept his hand on Dragon-Slaying Flash at all times. If Bubu Wang was discovered, he would cleave the hive in two within a short time, while Amu would release ice for cover, allowing the entire team to retreat.
Upon seeing the Bee Queen’s existence, Su Xiao’s first thought was to find a way to control her, but he quickly abandoned that idea. It was nearly impossible.
The Bee Queen was different from the Insect Girl. Back then, the Insect Girl could become a temporary summon because she was weak, and Su Xiao helped her develop. The Bee Queen, however, was already fully developed and was an overlord-level creature herself. Controlling her would be several times, even a dozen times, more difficult than killing her.
Su Xiao even suspected that if his Charm attribute were high enough, he might be able to join the Bee Queen’s faction. Given the number of Tiger Bees in this area, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say the Bee Queen was one of the major powers on the Primordial Continent.
While Bubu Wang was searching for benefits inside the hive, he saw a very surprising sight. A figure swollen all over was hanging upside down inside the hive. Nearby, a Tiger Bee with a massive abdomen occasionally injected another dose of venom into the unlucky guy.
The unlucky guy’s face was unrecognizable, but Bubu Wang immediately recognized who it was. The green halo on top of his head was especially conspicuous—it was Ascension Bro.
Ascension Bro’s consciousness was already blurry. As for why he was here, the reason was simple. As soon as he entered this world, he found a small hive, cleared out the Tiger Bees, and obtained quite a few benefits from it.
This discovery opened up a new world for Ascension Bro. He temporarily set aside his main quest and began searching for hives everywhere, eventually finding this super-massive one.
As a Seventh Rank powerhouse, Ascension Bro naturally wouldn’t charge in like an idiot. Instead, he planned to test the waters first, to see if he could sneak in secretly.
But who would have thought? As soon as Ascension Bro approached the hive, hundreds of thousands of elite Tiger Bees swarmed out.
If the Tiger Bees’ hatred value for Su Xiao was 10 points, then for Ascension Bro, it was at least 30,000 points or more—the kind that wouldn’t stop until death.
Ascension Bro was completely dumbfounded. His true Charm attribute of 172 points seemed fake, as his summons were instantly killed by the swarm of Tiger Bees.
What made Ascension Bro even more despairing was that these elite Tiger Bees didn’t kill him. After stinging him to the brink of death, they dragged him back to the hive. A giant Tiger Bee stood guard, occasionally giving him another venomous sting.
Su Xiao wasn’t entirely sure what the grudge was about, but he suspected it had something to do with the halo on Ascension Bro’s head. That thing’s taunt effect was absurdly strong. The Void Tree’s punishment wasn’t easy to endure.
Bubu Wang silently mourned for Ascension Bro for a few seconds before crawling away. He didn’t want to end up hanging there too.
The exploration continued. An hour later, Bubu Wang crawled out of the hive in a prone position. Once he was more than 800 meters away from the hive, he immediately broke into a brisk run. The number of elite Tiger Bees inside the hive was even greater than expected.
Bubu Wang successfully rendezvoused with Su Xiao. His haul this time was considerable, and all the items were stored in the team storage space. Su Xiao took them out to examine one by one.
【Tiger Bee Milk (Royal Jelly · 230 grams)】
Quality: Holy Spirit Rank
Type: Recovery Item
Recovery Effect: After consumption, promotes cell regeneration, restoring 185–200 Health Points per second for 10 minutes (maximum total recovery of 120,000 Health Points).
Note: Requires consumption of at least 100 grams per use.
Rating: 902 points
…
【Natural Propolis (Three pieces, total 107 grams)】
Quality: Holy Spirit Rank
Usage Effect: After use, can remove severe poisoning effects within 1–3 seconds, including lethal, paralytic, and other potent toxins.
Rating: 925 points
…
【Nature’s Gift (30 grams)】
Origin: Primordial Continent (Unique)
Quality: Holy Spirit Rank
Type: Permanent Enhancement Item (Special Honey)
Effect: After consumption, permanently increases True Stamina by 1 point, permanently increases Health Points by 1,300 and Mana Points by 300 (this is the enhancement from consuming 30 grams).
Enhancement Limit: If 100 grams of Nature’s Gift are consumed at once, it can increase True Stamina by 3 points, Health Points by 4,500, and Mana Points by 1,000.
Rating: 1000+ (Holy Spirit Rank item ratings range from 700 to 1000 points)
Description: Thank nature for its gift.
Selling Price: 650,000 Paradise Coins.
…
Bubu Wang had obtained quite a few items, including recovery items, antidotes, and the special honey, Nature’s Gift.
If they could get more than 2,000 grams of Nature’s Gift, they’d be rich. According to what Bubu Wang saw, this special honey wasn’t abundant. The honey pool had accumulated about 2,000 grams or so, and only the Bee Queen was entitled to enjoy it.
A difficult problem lay ahead. If they wanted to deal with the Bee Queen, an Apollo carpet bombing was necessary; otherwise, it would be impossible to fight with so many elite Tiger Bees.
But if Apollo carpet bombed the area, Nature’s Gift would also turn to ashes. Earlier, Bubu Wang had waited a long time, even risking making some noise on purpose, just to get 30 grams of Nature’s Gift.
Even losing just 30 grams nearly got him discovered by the guarding worker bee. By conservative estimate, that worker bee was a Seventh Rank mini-boss.
The hive was full of good things, but all of them were guarded by Tiger Bees. Unlike humans, Tiger Bees didn’t slack off; they kept a constant watch on these resources. Only Bubu Wang, with his ability to blend into the environment, could manage this. Anyone else who took even a little would be discovered by the Tiger Bees, leading to the entire hive being locked down.
Just as Su Xiao was pondering a strategy, a loud explosion echoed in the distance.
Boom!
Like a muffled thunderclap, a signal flare shot into the sky and exploded, forming a black-red ф mark. The massive ф mark was so bright that even from a hundred kilometers away, its light would catch anyone’s attention.
Boom!
Another signal flare shot up, also a black-red ф mark. Black-red represented Reincarnation Paradise contractors, while blood-red represented Hunters.
Boom, boom, boom…
One signal flare after another shot into the sky. Those madmen had started their carnival.
Su Xiao watched the signal flares above. For now, he didn’t see any blood-red Hunter signal flares.
“Boss, should we fire one too? Let’s see if there are any other Hunters this time.”
“Sure.”
Su Xiao took a signal gun from his storage space, aimed it at the sky, and pulled the trigger.
Bang.
A red streak shot straight into the sky. This was Su Xiao’s first time using a signal gun.
With a boom, an unusually large ф mark appeared in the sky, completely blood-red, as if it had dyed the heavens red.
Just a few seconds later, as if responding to Su Xiao, another signal flare shot up and exploded, forming a blood-red ф mark. This meant there were other Hunters.
Looking up at the sky now, the Reincarnation Paradise side’s signal flares filled the air, with two blood-red ф marks standing out especially.
At the water source area, on the crown of a sky-reaching tree, a female contractor with a golden braid was looking up at the sky. Judging by her aura, she might be a healer from Holy Light Paradise.
“These madmen, are they all out of their minds?”
The healer jumped down from the tree crown, slowing down just a few meters above the ground.
Several contractors in different outfits were sitting around a campfire. One of them, a refined man wearing rimless glasses, spoke up:
“Who knows what those madmen are planning to do. Everyone, the area we’re in has a water source, but it’s too chaotic. Should we head to the neighboring swamp or the other side’s bee zone? You decide.”
“Bee zone. The swamp zone is too dangerous.”
“Agreed.”
“Alright then. Since all four of you agree, I have no objections. After all, we’re only cooperating temporarily.”
The glasses-wearing man smiled and nodded. He called himself an Illusionist, from Apocalypse Paradise. Among his four temporary teammates, two were from Apocalypse Paradise, one from Holy Light Paradise, and one from Sanctuary Paradise. What comforted the five of them was that, on the surface, there didn’t seem to be any Hunters among them for now.