Chapter 13: Double the Pleasure
Su Xiao raised his left arm and looked at the temporary mark on his upper arm. This thing had been on him ever since he entered the Dark Star World, and it was because of this that he had the imprint fluctuations of the Apocalypse Paradise side. Otherwise, he would not have appeared before any contractors from the Apocalypse Paradise side.
Now, the function of this temporary mark was more complete. He could even access the World Contact Platform and draft contracts on behalf of the Apocalypse Paradise side.
This was very interesting. Contractors from the Apocalypse Paradise side dared not sign contracts from the Reincarnation Paradise side, but what about their own contracts? The answer was: as long as they examined it carefully, they still dared to sign.
The World Contact Platform was also very important. Su Xiao could use the information inside to know the general movements of the enemy contractors.
There was no rush on this front for now. Su Xiao had to finish seizing the ore first.
"Big brother, we don't have much combat power. You don't need to bother with—"
Before the Prince could finish his words, the [Sinfall Celestial Relic] appeared before him. With a single swing of the club, the procedure still had to be followed.
Bang~, Bang~, Bang~
After a bout of howling and wailing, the three miners were already squatting on the ground. The miner girl, Belle, sniffled, a trail of bloody snot running down her face, her expression pitiful and aggrieved.
Su Xiao grabbed the Prince by the neck with one hand and released him after a moment. The Prince didn't notice that a blue mark flickered on his shoulder and vanished.
Now that Su Xiao had a temporary identity as a contractor from the Apocalypse Paradise side, his plan changed. If he only seized the mineral resources and then left, letting this mining team called the 'Heaven Squad' continue mining, he could wait until they had gathered enough and then go find them again. Double the profit meant double the pleasure, right?
Coming to the Dark Star World, Su Xiao wasn't here to kill contractors; he was here to gain more benefits.
"Ore."
Su Xiao smashed the club onto the alloy box, denting its middle section and causing both ends to lift up.
"We're getting it, we're getting it."
The Prince made a gesture to Belle, Old Fish, and the masked man. The four of them took out pieces of ore one by one and placed them all into a metal box. In no time, there were over a hundred pieces.
"That's all there is. Light Silver Ore is a Holy Spirit-grade ore, very difficult to mine. That's really all we have."
The Prince wished he could open his storage space and show Su Xiao.
"Mm-hmm, mm-hmm, that's all."
Belle spoke timidly. After meeting Su Xiao's gaze, she quickly looked away. What kind of gaze was that? Calm, yet with a murderous intent so intense it was almost tangible.
"Young man, don't be impulsive. Killing us miners comes with a penalty for reduced gains."
Old Fish spoke earnestly, then shut up after Su Xiao glanced at him.
Su Xiao put away the ore box, and a prompt appeared.
[You have obtained Light Silver Ore × 165 pieces (Holy Spirit-grade).]
165 pieces of Light Silver Ore, each piece cut or fused according to standard units. This was the miners' habit. Reid had been collecting this stuff for years. Each piece was worth 46 Soul Coins. For 165 pieces, that was 7,590 Soul Coins in hand!
At this moment, Su Xiao gained a new understanding of how wealthy miners were. These few were all Eighth Rank miners. Their combat strength was negligible, but at least their mark rank was Eighth Rank.
"Soul Coins."
Su Xiao spoke again. Hearing his plan, the Prince initiated a trade request.
[Evaluating...]
[Temporary mark has been supplemented. This transaction will not pose any risk.]
[You have obtained 1,652 Soul Coins.]
The Soul Coins obtained weren't much. The total profit this time was 9,242 Soul Coins, which was more than what Su Xiao earned from fighting an entire world at Seventh Rank.
"Big brother, you're not really going to kill us, are you? There's no need for that."
The Prince spoke while blocking Belle, worried that the enemy might lose control of his beastly nature, which would be too tragic for them.
"You."
Su Xiao looked around at the four.
"Yes, yes, yes, tell us."
The Prince felt this time was over. The enemy was too greedy, wanting to take their high-quality mining tools and equipment.
"Don't court death."
"Huh?"
Hearing Su Xiao's words, the four of them were completely dumbfounded. They all wanted to roar: 'Big brother, we never courted death! You came to us yourself, beat our hired bodyguards to death, and then beat us up. Thanks for your concern!'
Su Xiao flicked the bloodstains off the [Sinfall Celestial Relic] and walked toward the exit, soon disappearing from the sight of the Prince and the other three.
"We've run into the toughest kind of contractor. Only slightly less crazy than those lunatics from Reincarnation Paradise."
"Not that exaggerated. Last time I watched a battle recording, those lunatics treat risking their lives as routine. Half their head gets chopped off, and they're still smiling."
"Heavy losses."
"It's okay, at least that big brother didn't take our equipment."
"Um~, we saved on Red Gold's pay for today."
Belle's words drew the gazes of the other three. They realized that Belle's train of thought was remarkably peculiar.
"Prince, what now? Retreat?"
"No retreat. Hire a stronger bodyguard. The area nearby is the Lost Withered Forest. Going back to the surface now is very dangerous. We'll wait until the new bodyguard arrives before making plans."
The Prince showed a very sunny smile. He was well aware of his own combat talent. Besides, what joy was there in fighting compared to mining?
Soon, the four miners were busy again, mining while waiting for someone to arrive.
Su Xiao leaned against the wall near the entrance. The Heaven Squad actually didn't plan to retreat. He hesitated for a moment, wondering whether to block them again. But thinking that he had already left a mark, he turned and left.
Returning to the surface, Su Xiao headed straight for the Lost Withered Forest. After arriving there, he noticed that the rune stones on the ground had dimmed considerably, no longer emitting a multicolored glow.
This was good. When the rune stones failed, outsiders would be unable to reach the White Town.
Passing through the Lost Withered Forest, the White Town appeared before Su Xiao. He walked into a half-collapsed building, sat down on a wall stone, and activated the World Contact Platform. He planned to create a temporary 'new alias.'
[You have activated the World Contact Platform. Please set a code name or name.]
Su Xiao thought for a moment and set 'Hunter' as his code name.
[Code name set. World Contact Platform is now open. You may speak freely.]
Perliu (Rogue): "Recruiting a temporary partner. Location, Old Royal Capital."
Little White Shark (Alliance Adventure Group): "Guarding the mine shaft. Bored to death."
Magic Hand (Honest Merchant Guild): "Buying all qualities and types of ore. Selling resource mining consumables. Selling recovery potions. Selling..."
Haijini (Rogue): "Main quest completed. 12 days of stay time remaining. Looking for a mining team. Daily fee: 350 Soul Coins. Teams with stable output preferred."
Prince (Heaven Squad): "Brother, how's your combat power? I just got robbed by a masked man. That guy... was as ferocious as a wild beast."
Molei (Battle Angel): "Got robbed? 6,000 Soul Coins, I'll help you get revenge. Combat authority is active. Stable. I'll beat that masked man flat in no time."
Little White Shark (Alliance Adventure Group): "A Battle Angel with combat authority activated? You've been entrusted with a major mission?"
Molei (Battle Angel): "Ah~, just arrived at Eighth Rank and got combat authority activated. It's not a major mission. Just to prevent the Holy Light Paradise side from snatching resources from the mining teams."
Prince (Heaven Squad): "Thanks, big shot Molei. Not needed for now. Haijini, are you interested in accepting my employment?"
Haijini (Rogue): "Yes."
Prince (Heaven Squad): "Deal. Contact through the mark. Let me state in advance, when we were robbed earlier, Red Gold died."
Haijini (Rogue): "Red Gold, huh. I'm a magic-type."
Hao Mei (Sealing Heaven Guild): "Hire me. 900 Soul Coins per day. I can take on three Haijinis and eight Red Golds."
Haijini (Rogue): "..."
Prince (Heaven Squad): "Can't afford it."
...
Su Xiao closed the World Contact Platform. The Heaven Squad had hired a new 'bodyguard' and even chose a magic-type. This was very convenient.
Let alone a magic-type slightly stronger than Red Gold, even the top-tier magic-type at Eighth Rank, Su Xiao could beat them until they couldn't find their way north.
From the current situation, the Heaven Squad could be nurtured for a while.