# Chapter 11: Loyal and Righteous·Adeli
The next morning, the noisy cries of vendors outside the window woke Su Xiao from his slumber. He sat up somewhat groggily, sunlight streaming through the gap in the curtains into the bedroom, dust particles becoming especially visible within that beam of light.
"Bubu, what time is it."
"Woof."
Hearing Bubu Wang say it was already seven in the morning, Su Xiao washed up and went downstairs. As he walked through the inner door into the shelter, he saw Baha and Amu eating breakfast.
Su Xiao sat down and picked up a food item that resembled a stuffed bread. It tasted pretty good, the sweet and sour flavor helping to stimulate the appetite.
"Did they send back the old hunter's identification token?"
"Identification token? No, I kept watch all night and didn't see a single ghost of a figure. I just kept listening to this woman talk in her sleep. I'm practically becoming her straight man."
Baha pointed with his wing toward the cylindrical glass bottle on the table. Sure enough, faint sleep-talking sounds were coming from inside it.
"After breakfast, you three head to the ancient castle outside the city. The hunters are all very cautious. Someone must be interfering."
"Woof."
"Got it."
"Moo."
After finishing breakfast, Bubu Wang, Amu, and Baha set out. Just as they reached the doorway—
Jingle~
The door was pushed open. A man with slicked-back hair, wearing a gray suit, strode in. His muscular frame seemed ready to burst the seams of his suit, giving the feeling that if he struck a bodybuilding pose, the suit would rip apart with a crack.
Behind this man followed several men and women. Before long, more than twenty people were either standing or sitting inside the shelter. Seeing this, Amu and Baha didn't rush to leave. If a fight broke out, Amu would block the door, and Baha would handle assassinating any perception-type contractors.
Baha flew over to Su Xiao and landed on the armrest of his chair.
"Kukulin, hello! I'm Adeli."
The man calling himself Adeli had a warm smile on his face. The leader of the Holy Hall Adventure Group had arrived. Reaching across the wooden table, he extended his large hand.
"Adeli?"
Baha muttered the name under his breath. He knew about Adeli penguins. These penguins took the concept of "loyal and righteous" to the extreme.
Adeli penguins have a habit. Before going into the sea to catch fish, they gather at the edge of the ice by the shore, peering down into the water to check if there are any seals lurking below, lest they become a seal's meal upon entering the water.
But with their poor eyesight, Adeli penguins clearly can't determine whether there are seals in the water. So they use a "selection" method, randomly kicking one companion into the sea, then staring intently at the unlucky wretch who fell in.
If that unlucky one gets eaten by a seal lying in ambush, the other Adeli penguins on shore scatter in all directions. If the unlucky one doesn't get eaten, only then will the other Adeli penguins enter the water. Truly "loyal and righteous."
And now, the leader of the Holy Hall Adventure Group, Adeli, was beaming with a warm smile, ready to shake hands with Su Xiao to show friendliness.
"Mr. Kukulin, hello!"
As Adeli spoke, he shook his raised hand slightly. Seeing this, Su Xiao shook hands with this stubborn fellow.
"People's hearts are complicated, the ice is slippery. To be honest with you, Mr. Kukulin, I couldn't make it in the Watch Guild, so I ran to Sodo City."
"Captain! Don't tell the truth."
A healer from behind couldn't help speaking up. The other members looked like they were used to this. In the mission world, they weren't afraid of powerful enemies, only of old schemers.
"Nonsense. Making friends requires honesty."
Adeli puffed out his chest, and the gray suit on him let out a faint "groan," as if it was about to tear.
"Ahem, since we're friends now..." Adeli was a master of creating friendship out of nothing, continuing with a full smile, "If you have any commissions, you must consider us first."
Seeing Adeli's words and actions, Baha was a bit stunned. He felt that if such a contractor were in Reincarnation Paradise, they'd die in the first rank.
Adeli seemed like a simpleton, but this was his unique way of negotiating.
"There are plenty of commissions."
As Su Xiao spoke, he opened a hidden compartment in the wooden table. Before he could take out the more than thirty file folders inside, Adeli across the table spoke up.
"That's great. We have no problem on our end."
"Captain, calm down."
The healer behind him was already feeling helpless. Heaven knows why she joined the Holy Hall Adventure Group in the first place.
"No matter. We came here to share the Watch Guild's burdens, didn't we?"
Just after saying this, Adeli's hearty laughter abruptly stopped. His team information indicated that his group had received a full 31 side missions.
Adeli seemed a bit dazed. He clearly couldn't figure out how a single shelter could have so many commissions.
In reality, the previous administrator of this shelter had been dead for a while. There were many supernatural incidents in Sodo City waiting to be handled.
Adeli quickly calculated in his head. Assuming they formed five-person teams, with 165 people, that would be 33 teams. If each team handled one commission, there would still be 10 people left over. Very stable.
Thinking this, the smile on Adeli's face gradually regained confidence. Since he was taking them all anyway, he decided to show off a bit, demonstrating his team's strength to facilitate future negotiations.
"There are indeed many commissions, but no problem."
Just after Adeli finished speaking, another team notification appeared.
[Notification: Team has activated side missions × 153. Accept all? Yes/No.]
Seeing this notification, Adeli couldn't smile at all anymore. He now understood why the Dark Prison World was so special. These side missions were practically being handed out like candy.
Seeing Su Xiao start taking out more documents, Adeli's heart was spasming, but his expression remained unchanged as he said:
"Considering this is our first collaboration, I'll handle the 31 commissions from earlier first."
"..."
"With supernatural incidents, time is life. See you next time."
Adeli straightened his collar and walked out at a brisk pace. Before long, all the contractors had left the shelter.
"Boss, are these guys reliable? They won't get discouraged and go mining, will they?"
"Probably... not."
"Bubu, Amu, and I will head to the ancient castle area. I feel like there's a familiar scent."
Baha landed on Amu's shoulder and left with him.
[Notification: Molei Team has completed side mission: Red Banshee. You have gained 7 World Reputation (Mission Difficulty × 10% + Mission Reward Increase 15% - Mission Time).]
Molei Team's efficiency was quite good. Seeing this notification, Su Xiao realized that the previously mentioned "Mission Reward Increase 15%" applied in this area.
Just as Su Xiao finished reviewing the mission notification, a team email appeared. It was from Beini.
After reading the email, Su Xiao was quite surprised. Beini had actually entered the Dark Prison. Frequently exploring for treasures alone had improved Beini's abilities considerably. Entering this world not long ago and already reaching the Dark Prison was good news.
The email was sent at 10 PM last night, and Su Xiao received it around 8 AM this morning. This indicated that the fusion between the Dark Prison and this world was already quite advanced, which was why team emails transmitted so quickly. Previously, it took a day or several days.
Beini's message wasn't very long. First, it explained the method to enter the Dark Prison. One had to find a place where a Dark Prison rift had once opened. Within 10 hours of the rift disappearing, one had to carve a hexagonal formation diagram there and use a living Dark Demon as a medium to reopen the rift and enter the Dark Prison.
Besides this information, Beini also sent two photos. The first showed a dim, dark yellow sky with a slowly rotating vortex.
The second photo captured the ground. On the withered, reddish-yellow earth, a large pile of hunter tokens lay discarded. These tokens were covered in rust, as if corroded by something, some even rusted through with holes.
These were all conditions inside the Dark Prison. Compared to these two photos, Su Xiao was more interested in knowing to what degree the Dark Prison had fused with this world. He urgently needed the [Exemption Badge] rewarded by the main mission, because he felt that his 0.2, no, 0.1 Charm Attribute couldn't hold out much longer. When he woke up this morning, his Charm Attribute was already in this state.
Tap, tap, tap~
Footsteps came from outside the door. Hearing these footsteps, Su Xiao drew Dragon-Slaying Flash and placed the sheathed blade in front of him.
Jingle~
The door was pushed open. Wild red hair, a strong yet not bulky body, sharp claws that could easily leave scratches on a wine bottle—carrying two large bottles of liquor, the Bold Ghost strode boldly into the shelter.
"Old friend, I've come to see you. And to apologize for running away without a fight last time."