Chapter 32: What Are You Waiting For?
‘Dia Tribe’ and ‘Lord of the Tiger Wasps’—upon hearing these two pieces of intelligence, Su Xiao’s mind raced with thoughts. He had been very busy over the past few days, either fighting or rushing to the next battlefield, leaving no time to explore areas beyond the three main zones.
From Axiwa’s implication, it seemed all contractors were completely unable to leave the trial zone, at least through conventional means. The only exit was the Death Forest.
To pass through the Death Forest, there was only one temporary method: obtaining White Amber at the altar. As for the specifics, Su Xiao was still unclear.
“Even if we get there, will we really gain anything? Nagi·Ga said the danger there reaches the peak of the seventh rank.”
Cocoa clearly didn’t want to leave the trial zone. She had joined the Survivors’ Alliance only to wait out the survival trial safely.
“A fish’s mindset.”
Ice Jue’s tone was contemptuous. He wasn’t too worried about failing to reach that place. The area outside the trial zone was dangerous, and the mortality rate for tank-type contractors was high. When a squad entering ‘that place’ lost its tank, they would naturally come to him.
As the leader of the Survivors’ Alliance, Nagi·Ga’s plan was ambitious and ruthless.
Nagi·Ga held the only method to enter that place. After gathering all the contractors, he planned to organize them into squads of 20 to 30, sending the survivors to hunt down the pursuers one by one.
His reasoning was twofold: he wanted to reap the benefits of that place while also eliminating all the pursuers, and finally wiping out the Reincarnation Paradise survivors. That way, the supply crates for the following days would all belong to his Survivors’ Alliance—whether the purple material crates or the Holy Spirit rank set dropped on the last day.
By controlling the entry method to that place, Nagi·Ga would have greater leverage. After obtaining the supply crates, he could claim at least 10% to 15% for himself, profiting both in that place and within the trial zone.
“Talking is useless now. Let Nagi·Ga gather his forces to deal with Reincarnation Paradise’s Bai Ye. The more survivors die, the more Soul Coins we get to split.”
Ice Jue followed Axiwa. The female sniper and the healer Cocoa exchanged glances, and though reluctant, they followed as well.
“Brother, I can see you’re no ordinary man. How about we two brothers team up?”
The Shotgun Brother approached, raising an eyebrow at Su Xiao.
“Not interested.”
“Don’t be like that, brother. I’m strong with gunpowder weapons. You might not have seen it, but I gave Bai Ye a blast from my shotgun, and he didn’t dare charge at me.”
“…”
Su Xiao walked on in silence. He had been wondering earlier who had shot him with a shotgun during the fierce battle. The buckshot’s power was pitifully weak, making him feel like he was back in a low-rank melee. Back then, he had taken plenty of shotgun blasts.
“Hey, brother, why are you walking away?”
The Shotgun Brother quickened his pace to follow, seemingly unaware of who he was trying to team up with.
Led by Axiwa, the group sprinted through the dense forest. The further they went, the more familiar the surroundings felt to Su Xiao. Over an hour later, they arrived before a cave entrance.
Bubu Wang, blending into the environment, tilted his head. This cave looked familiar—no, very familiar.
“That madman from Reincarnation Paradise.”
Axiwa muttered as she entered the cave. After passing through a winding underground passage, a vast underground space appeared before them.
The underground space was lit by firelight. The walls and ceiling were a reddish-brown, as if magma had cooled and solidified there, compacted tightly.
Su Xiao now recalled where this was—the dwelling of the Rain Throat Tribe. The scene before him was the result of his four Apollo bombs.
Compared to before, the underground space had changed drastically. The number of passages had increased from two to six, with several emergency exits below and a teleportation array set up by someone unknown.
Clearly, the destruction of the Rain Throat Tribe had put the contractors on high alert. Among the 200-plus contractors, there were those skilled in demolition who had deduced that this place had been blown up. This prompted the Apocalypse Paradise contractors to dig numerous passages around and underground to prevent another bombing.
Entering the underground space, Su Xiao spotted several familiar figures: Molei, Mu Xiao, and even the Gourmet.
The Gourmet was, of course, not in his original form. He was disguised as a summoner-type contractor. His disguise was good, but Su Xiao and the Gourmet had exchanged contract numbers and formed a temporary alliance in this world. The moment they met, they recognized each other.
The Gourmet yawned and scratched the back of his neck, roughly meaning: ‘You’re here too?’
“Axiwa, where are the others?”
A man with an ordinary, forgettable face spoke. But when you met his gaze, you instinctively felt fear. This was Nagi·Ga. His face was natural, but his aura was forged by experience.
“All dead.”
“A pity. But… why did you come back? As the squad leader, you should have died with them.”
Nagi·Ga’s tone was calm, as if he cared more about whether the beast meat he was roasting was done than about Axiwa’s squad.
“We encountered Reincarnation Paradise’s Bai Ye.”
“Kukulin Bai Ye? I see. You’ve worked hard, fighting the strongest one.”
Nagi·Ga reached for the meat over the fire. Just as everyone thought he would tear off a strip to test its doneness, he picked up a red-hot ember and put it in his mouth, chewing. Quite unexpected.
“You knew he was the strongest? Why didn’t you say so earlier?!”
“Of course I knew. He’s the hunter who took out Feishi. When I saw him at the space transfer station, I was in a bad mood.”
“You…”
Axiwa felt she had been played.
“Don’t look at me like that. Ranking him fourth in danger was the majority’s opinion. The human heart is a strange thing. Having one monster like Gasc already hard to accept, and then a beheader like Night—Axiwa, do you think anyone would still dare to go out ‘hunting’? People always want to see the results they expect. I’m just following the group’s will.”
Nagi·Ga smiled as he chewed. But a moment later, he touched his tongue with his index finger. The black mark on his finger made him frown. He seemed to have eaten charcoal again.
“I had already given up. The beheader Night, the gentleman’s puppet, the death beast Gasc, the condemner Mu Xiao, the gluttonous Gourmet, the biological tank—what kind of people are these?”
Nagi·Ga shook his head with a smile. Faced with this lineup of gods and demons, he had originally refused to show himself. But for some reason, the gentleman’s puppet suddenly died. This gave Nagi·Ga an opportunity. The seat he wanted was now vacant. He didn’t want to confront that gentleman directly, as they had some history.
“I’ll give you and Ice Jue one slot each. From now on, either die or shut up. I like a saying: see it, hear it, then shut up.”
Hearing this, Axiwa felt a chill in her heart. She couldn’t understand how he knew she and Ice Jue had known each other for a long time.
“Take this and head straight south. The edge of the swamp is the Death Forest. Don’t let me see you again, understand?”
As Nagi·Ga finished speaking, eight contractors stood behind him, all expressionless, staring at Axiwa and Ice Jue behind her.
“Understood…”
Axiwa took the white amber Nagi·Ga tossed to her. By now, her undergarments were soaked with sweat. Only by meeting Nagi·Ga’s gaze could one understand the pressure she was under.
“Before you go, do one thing for me.”
Nagi·Ga stood up from the ground. He shifted his gaze to a certain person in the underground space.
“Mr. Gourmet, my technique-type has returned. What are you waiting for?”
Nagi·Ga looked at the Gourmet, whose appearance had changed, a faint smile on his face.
“What am I waiting for? I’m waiting to die.”
The Gourmet grinned, his mouth stretching almost to his ears. Several black-red tentacles pierced through his cheeks.