Chapter 39: Harvest
Ancient Capital, Sun Temple.
After the World Domination War ended, the surviving allied contractors gradually returned to Reincarnation Paradise, awaiting their high-value mission rewards.
Su Xiao sat atop the Sun Temple. Most contractors had already left this world, which was good news for him.
Not everyone had departed, however. The twenty or so surviving contractors from Apocalypse Paradise remained, and more Apocalypse Paradise contractors from another seventh-rank war world were being teleported in one after another, totaling about a hundred or so.
These hundred-plus Apocalypse Paradise contractors were here for resource gathering, as very few allied contractors specialized in such tasks.
Demon Star had become a Primordial World belonging to Reincarnation Paradise. Because some Apocalypse Paradise contractor had discovered "Terminal Root Tendrils," many gained permission to stay in this world.
These hundred-plus Apocalypse Paradise contractors would mine ores or underground resources. Part of their haul would offset the penalties for losing the war, more would be collected by Reincarnation Paradise, and only what remained would belong to them.
Su Xiao wasn't very familiar with this type of resource gathering and had no intention of pursuing it. The reason was that such abilities required heavy early investment and a great deal of time.
He wasn't too concerned about these hundred-plus Apocalypse Paradise contractors. If he encountered them, he'd "negotiate"; if not, peaceful coexistence.
Compared to the Apocalypse Paradise contractors, Shenfu was someone who required vigilance. The old fellow's ultimate goal was still unpredictable.
One thing was certain: there was some item or power in this world that he desperately wanted, so much so that he was willing to leave Sanctuary Paradise.
Shenfu had fully become a Violator, and he was completely different from ordinary Violators.
Ordinary Violators, at low ranks, exploited "rule" loopholes to kill large numbers of allied contractors or caused derivative worlds to collapse, forcing the Paradise to consume massive Space-Time Power to reset those worlds.
More than half of such Violators regretted their actions as they reached higher ranks. The reason was that the Hunters pursuing them grew stronger. In most cases, these Violators were willing to become contractors again, even at a heavy cost.
Some Violators were different, like Mr. J, who acted purely on personal whims, doing whatever they wanted.
The last type was Shenfu. He was a contractor from first to sixth rank, then suddenly became a Violator when about to advance to eighth rank. This was definitely premeditated, possibly planned as early as fifth or even fourth rank.
Su Xiao glanced at Shenfu standing before the temple. Somehow, a group of wild goats had gathered near him.
[Tip: The current round of the World Domination War has ended.]
[Merit rewards will be settled after the Hunter returns to Reincarnation Paradise.]
[War mission rewards being settled...]
[You have obtained "Proof of Steel Trial" (Authority item. After passing the "Steel Trial," this proof can be obtained. Using this item will permanently remove the 200-point True Attribute barrier, but the permanent bonuses derived from 200 True Attributes will be reduced by 45%).]
[You have obtained "Spiritual Saint Emblem" (One-time equipment. After activating this equipment, the user's mental power will be drawn into it for high-intensity tempering, greatly and permanently increasing mental power strength and toughness. This equipment will be permanently destroyed after one use).]
[You have obtained Immortal Chest × 1.]
The rewards were threefold. Su Xiao wouldn't use the [Proof of Steel Trial]; it would reduce the attribute bonuses for breaking through the 200-point True Attribute barrier. He hadn't tried it yet and wouldn't choose this semi-abandonment method.
It was certain that the [Proof of Steel Trial] was very valuable. Some contractors tried multiple times to break the 200-point barrier, eventually losing the opportunity, forever unable to advance further.
Such contractors would sell everything they owned to buy the [Proof of Steel Trial]. Stagnating in Reincarnation Paradise meant death was near.
As for the [Spiritual Saint Emblem], it was for tempering mental power strength and toughness. Although Su Xiao didn't rely on this in combat, Alchemy required strong mental power. The [Spiritual Saint Emblem] would be kept for personal use.
Just as Su Xiao stored the gains in his storage space, subsequent prompts appeared.
[Your eighth-rank promotion assessment mission has been activated.]
[Because this world now belongs to Reincarnation Paradise, the Hunter can normally obtain World Source within this world.]
[Because the World Coordinates are in the initial formation stage, the Hunter's World Source acquisition will be increased by 50%.]
[Tip: 95.3% of this world's areas are in an unexplored state. You have a higher chance of obtaining chests, scrolls, or this world's unique outputs.]
[Tip: This world's overall difficulty rises in a "stage mode." Different areas have vastly different danger levels.]
[Tip: In 2-3 natural days, fifth-rank and sixth-rank contractors will enter this world's low-risk area, the Northern Archipelago.]
[Warning: The Hunter must not actively harm low-rank allied contractors in this world! The combat power difference is absolute crushing.]
The prompts contained quite a bit of information. The best news was that he could now obtain World Source in this world. Secondly, since the allied seventh-rank contractors had successfully captured this world, it was in a state of extremely abundant resources.
In 2-3 days, a batch of fifth-rank and sixth-rank contractors would arrive at this world's low-risk area to enjoy its rich resources.
These contractors were both lucky and unlucky. If they came to the Eastern Continent, it would be fine, as the Eastern Continent had a complete legal system maintained by the Magic Association, Healing Divine Cult, Steam Alliance, and Fate Church.
But if any allied fifth-rank or sixth-rank contractor sought excitement and wanted to explore the Western Continent, the consequences were predictable.
In Smoke Capital, if they encountered any random desperado, the weakest small fry, they'd have to treat it like a final boss, with over a 99% chance of losing.
This was Su Xiao's first such experience. In the past, he left after the World Domination War and never had the chance to stay in a newly captured world. Of course, in return, he always received massive rewards.
"Bai Ye, not leaving the Ancient Capital? The Void Tree's arbitration has ended."
Shenfu called out from below the temple. The wild goats around him were gathering more densely, some grazing right at his feet, completely unafraid of him.
"Have you negotiated with Rogash?"
Su Xiao jumped down from the Sun Temple. As soon as his feet touched the ground, the surrounding wild goats scattered.
Su Xiao had never met Chairman Rogash, but based on available intelligence, he was certain that Chairman Rogash was the most powerful person in this world, bar none, and his combat strength was definitely not weak.
"I've negotiated. His intelligence channels are very important. Whether we can find the remaining two keys depends on him. He's... a very troublesome secret technique master."
Shenfu frowned. Chairman Rogash was difficult, and even Shenfu found him troublesome.
"La la la~"
A cheerful female voice came from not far away. Hearing this, both Su Xiao and Shenfu looked puzzled, turning toward the source. Between the nearby ruins, two contractors walked over, chatting and laughing.
"Morei, maybe we shouldn't go. Those madmen might have left explosives in the Sun Temple."
Yueshitu now only had a few core summoned creatures left. The others had been forcibly dismissed from temporary summoning. Considering there would be no more battles, it didn't matter.
"Relax, who would waste explosives there? Besides, the other contractors have already left, and the Sun Temple has been cleaned by the Void Tree. It's our secret base now."
Morei plucked a small flower and tucked it behind her ear, clearly in a good mood.
"Wait... those two people over there look... familiar."
Yueshitu stopped, the smile on her face gradually freezing.