Chapter 81: Kodu
The mushroom brother's actions were truly a timely help. Although with those 20 death warriors, locating the Queen Insect was only a matter of time, finding it sooner would greatly increase their chances of victory.
The scenery outside the car window flew by. Sitting in the passenger seat, Su Xiao began estimating which contractors would be involved in this matter. First were the Three Brothers of National Football, Scale Dragon·Alec, and Guang Mu. The first two had joined the Organization long ago, while Guang Mu had recently joined.
With such a major event happening, these people would inevitably notice and follow the main force to Kodu in the Eastern Continent, seeking benefits from the subsequent events or chaotic battles.
Black Rose had joined the Eclipse Organization. Su Xiao guessed she was likely already in the Eastern Continent, heading toward Kodu.
In this world, in a one-on-one frontal confrontation, three people posed a threat to Su Xiao: Fairy Ji, En Zuo, and Alec.
Su Xiao hoped Fairy Ji would go to Kodu now. The Organization and Eclipse had dispatched over 8,000 Transcendents in total, forming an encirclement from all directions, gradually converging toward the center.
These Transcendents were all ruthless individuals who frequently dealt with dangerous objects and survived intact. The experience of being besieged by them was unimaginable.
As Su Xiao pondered, the vehicle screeched to a halt. He got out and entered an underground warehouse. The area was about a thousand square meters, with spherical bulges on the walls—installations used to stabilize spatial teleportation.
Everyone in the underground warehouse was busy. Su Xiao stepped onto a teleportation array. Light and shadow flickered before his eyes, and the world seemed to be pulled into strips. When everything returned to normal, he was still standing on the teleportation array, now in another underground warehouse with furnishings ninety percent similar to the previous one.
[Notification: You have arrived at Eastern Continent·Kodu.]
After reading the landmark notification, Su Xiao felt relieved and walked out of the underground warehouse.
The sky was clear and cloudless. The morning in Kodu gave a sense of ease and tranquility, with the faint sound of an organ in the distance.
Su Xiao glanced at the sparse pedestrians on the street and first gave orders to the four members of the Fierce Dog Squad.
"Xili, your Fierce Dog Squad will seize the high ground in Kodu."
Su Xiao wanted the high ground for Ge·Ze Wu. That sniper from an alien race had withdrawn from the Southern Alliance and joined the Organization. It wasn't because the pay and treatment were better here, but because after coming here, he no longer seemed so special.
Ge·Ze Wu only had one ear? Very special? In the Organization, there were those who had lost a testicle in battle.
As for alien races? What is an alien race? Ever seen a pig-headed humanoid? There was someone like that in the Organization, named Butcher·Zili. He looked like a pig-headed man, but was actually affected by a dangerous object during a mission, turning him into that form. Originally, he was just a rough guy.
After Ge·Ze Wu joined the Organization, he found he wasn't special. The members' evaluation of him was strikingly consistent: "His marksmanship is damn accurate, and his iron sights are unbeatable."
Ten minutes later, inside the attic at the top of the Great Bell Tower in Kodu's city center.
Ge·Ze Wu lay on a dark green thick cloth. A sniper cannon over three meters long, with wind patterns all over its barrel, was set up. This sniper cannon, named "Disciple No. 5," was developed by the Eclipse Organization. Its maximum single loading capacity was one round. The gun had been specially polished with mechanical iron sights for Ge·Ze Wu.
Fifteen bullets were placed nearby. Ge·Ze Wu could only fire fifteen shots. The power and accuracy of this firearm and ammunition were impeccable, but the burden of use was also great. Estimated in Soul Coins, each bullet was worth about 350 Soul Coins, sponsored by Kingsley.
Ge·Ze Wu had two tasks today: first, to deal with the Queen Insect; second, to deal with contractors. If any contractor caused trouble, Ge·Ze Wu would make them feel what it was like to be hit by a bullet worth 350 Soul Coins.
Baha circled high in the sky. He wasn't scouting Kodu's situation. Kodu was a city with well-connected transportation routes, including trains and roads. Baha's task was to patrol the outer areas of Kodu to prevent suspicious targets from leaving.
Bubu Wang moved freely, blending into the environment and searching everywhere. Unfortunately, Beini wasn't there. Beini was the best in Su Xiao's team at finding people and objects, as she always went treasure hunting alone at the start of each world due to her lack of combat ability.
On the roof of a mill on the south side of Kodu, three figures stood back-to-back, arms crossed, staring ahead.
"Big Brother, that side hasn't come yet. This pose is a bit tiring."
"Second Brother, don't panic. Today, we three brothers swear brotherhood here in the Peach Garden..."
"Big Brother, you're mixing up stories. This isn't Water Margin."
The Second Brother of National Football smiled slightly. Hearing this, the Big Brother coughed dryly and said, "Stop talking nonsense. That's my sense of humor."
"Second, Second Brother, Peach Garden Oath... seems like... Romance of the Three Kingdoms?"
The Third Brother's tone carried a hint of doubt, as his Second Brother's tone was too firm.
"Nonsense, it's Water Margin. Song Jiang, Liu Bei, and Zhang Fei's three-way oath."
The Second Brother's tone carried a hint of sorrow—sorrow for his Third Brother's literary literacy.
"Is, is that so?"
The Third Brother looked confused. His Second Brother's tone was too firm, making him suddenly lose confidence.
"Someone's coming."
The Second Brother's words made the other two serious. A figure walked along the winding path—it was Guang Mu, coming to seek cooperation.
"Sister Guang Mu, you're late."
The Big Brother stood with arms crossed, looking composed. The Second Brother stood on his head in a golden rooster stance, with the Third Brother above him.
Guang Mu looked up at this scene, her mouth twitching.
"Three gentlemen, according to reliable intelligence, Kukulin Bai Ye is going to take on a final boss called the Queen Insect. Both our sides are members of the Organization, so we can openly participate in the subsequent battles. When we have the chance to surround the Queen Insect, we can join forces.
The prerequisite is that we form a team. With the team's advantage, we can secure higher kill contributions in the chaos. That way, the kill rewards belong to us. I believe your main missions were completed long ago, right? After so many days, unless the main mission was abnormally difficult, it should be done. Once we succeed, we immediately leave this world."
Guang Mu explained the plan in detail. Not only her, but Alec, Black Rose, and others had also formed alliances, including En Zuo, also known as Water Brother. Water Brother was now a member of the Eclipse Organization.
"Guang Mu, coming to us three brothers shows you think highly of us. We won't reveal this plan to Brother Bai Ye."
The Big Brother's words made Guang Mu's heart skip a beat. She was very concerned about the term "Brother Bai Ye."
"To be honest, we three brothers met Brother Bai Ye back at the first rank. We often had real man-to-man three-on-one battles. As for the result... cough, well, let's not mention it."
The Big Brother paused, then changed the subject.
"Guang Mu, seeking cooperation this time is a good intention. But if we happen to meet in a Primordial World and something good comes up, Brother Bai Ye occasionally thinks of us three brothers. Coming to us to scheme against him... that's not good, is it?"
The Big Brother reached out and grabbed a golden long-handled energy hammer. The Second and Third Brothers did the same.
"Indeed, not good. Sorry to bother you."
Guang Mu pretended to leave, but the Three Brothers of National Football all smiled.
"Guang Mu, do you know why Black Rose always walks around us?"
"No, and I don't want to know."
Guang Mu's face began to turn pale.
"No, you do."
The Three Brothers charged forward, leaping down at Guang Mu from above, each wielding an energy hammer, looking exceptionally enthusiastic.
...
Central Street, Kodu. Although the morning sun wasn't harsh, there weren't many people on the street, showing how slow the pace of life was here.
Su Xiao walked along the street. Finding where the Queen Insect was wasn't as hard as imagined. As long as Su Xiao got within a certain range, he could definitely sense it, just as it could sense him.
Of course, this sensing range wasn't far—about ten meters. If he didn't know the Queen Insect was in Kodu, searching this way would be like looking for a needle in a haystack.
Su Xiao looked around at the street sides. Nothing worth noting. A restaurant caught his eye. Since he hadn't had breakfast yet, he decided to head toward it.
Just as Su Xiao passed in front of an art gallery, his mind buzzed. His body ached to the point of instant numbness, and his soul felt like it was being torn into thousands of pieces.
Su Xiao's health dropped by 35% instantly, then continued to fall at 15% of max health per second as true soul damage. Due to his high soul strength, this damage was already heavily reduced. If someone with soul strength below 80 points entered this range, they would die instantly without even a chance to react.
Su Xiao's body was instantly covered in a crystal layer, but it had no effect. What was certain now was that this wasn't an enemy ambush; it was more like a trap. If it was a trap, retreat.
Su Xiao lightly leaped backward. It was as if he had left some kind of domain. The pain throughout his body disappeared, and the feeling of his soul being torn apart vanished without a trace.
At any time, stay calm when encountering trouble. Shouting might seem to bring courage, but it's actually a sign of inner fear.
The street was just as before—no powerful enemy appeared, no follow-up attack. The previous attack came without any warning.
Su Xiao flexed his numb right hand. The soul-targeting domain reminded him of a dangerous object: Dangerous Object·S-002 (Death Grail).
[Dangerous Object·S-002 (Death Grail)]
Origin: Unknown.
Characteristics: Based on compiled rumors, S-002 appears as an ancient metal cup...
Current Status: Contained.
Danger Tendency: Within 10 meters of S-002 (Death Grail) is a death domain. Except for a very few individuals, civilians or Transcendents who approach S-002 die instantly.
Whenever a living being dies within S-002's death domain, the domain absorbs soul power, causing its area to expand (817 years ago, the death domain once covered a quarter of the continent, with only a very few intelligent beings surviving by chance, probability less than 0.0001%). Only when someone drinks the liquid inside S-002 does the death domain shrink back to a 10-meter range. After the cup fills with liquid again, the above process repeats.
Statistics: Total attempts to destroy S-002 (Death Grail): 17 times, all failed. Appearance pattern undetermined. S-002's death domain is suspected to be able to affect an entire continent.
...
Su Xiao thought of a possibility: someone had stolen Dangerous Object·S-002 (Death Grail) from the Organization's containment vault and brought it to Kodu. Normally, this would be impossible, but now it was possible. To deal with the Queen Insect, he and Kingsley had sent too many people to Kodu.
And now, Dangerous Object·S-002 (Death Grail) was near Su Xiao, at most no more than 20 meters away, possibly even closer.
PS: (Today's update was ten thousand words. I might need to adjust my sleep schedule in the next couple of days. Three days ago, I quit smoking. I've been smoking for nearly ten years, and suddenly thought, why am I smoking? So I quit. I'm also planning to fix my sleep schedule and stabilize it, pursuing a healthy lifestyle.)