Chapter 94: Nearly Broken
Su Xiao put away the remaining three treasure chests. He usually stayed in Reincarnation Paradise for about three days each time. After 48 hours, the cooldown of Fate Dominator would end, and it wouldn't be too late to open those three chests then.
Su Xiao walked out of his exclusive room. Baha, having nothing better to do, followed. As soon as he stepped out, he received an email, sent by the Witch.
The email's content was that the Witch had a way to obtain an item that exempted negative charm penalties. This item could exempt charm attribute penalties within -20 points, called the Exemption Badge (★★).
Su Xiao had obtained an Exemption Badge before, but he had never heard of a two-star version. His current ability to exempt his negative charm attribute penalty was due to using an Exemption Badge. After use, although the exemption intensity had an upper limit, it was permanently effective.
The Witch made her move. She wanted to exchange the Exemption Badge (★★) with Su Xiao for the Despair Set (Holy Spirit Rank Set · 8/8). The Witch was obsessed with this set. This Holy Spirit Rank set, seemingly tailor-made for her, could greatly enhance her abilities, a qualitative change.
The problem was that the Witch had not yet obtained the Exemption Badge (★★). From her vague words, Su Xiao learned that a certain straightforward girl possessed the Exemption Badge (★★). The Witch would need to assist this straightforward girl in completing a very dangerous task in the next world progress, and only then would the straightforward girl give the Exemption Badge (★★) to the Witch as payment.
The Witch was feeling quite uneasy. The achievement task the straightforward girl wanted to complete was a near-certain death mission. Without the Despair Set, the Witch lacked the confidence to take the risk.
The Witch was essentially trying to get something for nothing. She wanted Su Xiao to hand over the Despair Set first to boost her strength in the next world. After she helped the straightforward girl complete that task and obtained the Exemption Badge (★★), she would give it to Su Xiao.
Baha also saw the email and couldn't help but remark, "Brilliant. Isn't this a freebie?"
Of course, this wasn't a freebie for the Witch. She would act as an assistant during the process and receive compensation. The key issue was: what if she died inside the mission world?
After some negotiation, the two parties finally reached an agreement. Su Xiao would prepay the Despair Set to the Witch, and the Witch would pawn a sealed box to Su Xiao.
This sealed box contained the Witch's entire fortune. Although she couldn't use these assets at her current stage, their value was undeniable. After being notarized by Reincarnation Paradise and deemed equivalent in value to the Despair Set, this sealed box was formed.
This sealed box had two ways to be opened: through the Witch's brand or upon the Witch's death.
"Don't... lose it... This contains... my most important... things."
The Witch, wearing a purple witch hat, spoke at her usual slow pace, holding a square black box in her arms.
Su Xiao decisively completed the transaction. After taking the sealed box, he traded the Despair Set to the Witch. The Witch's speech was too slow; if this were in a mission world, it wouldn't matter since they could reach out and touch, but Reincarnation Paradise was an absolutely safe zone.
"Bai Ye, ah~, why are you leaving? I still wanted to..."
The Witch's voice faded in Su Xiao's ears. Su Xiao was going to meet Violent Rat to help the Saber King complete the secondary treatment.
Su Xiao arrived at a sparsely populated area. After passing through a half-kilometer-long alley, the space ahead opened up.
"Been waiting long."
Violent Rat raised the bottle in his hand. Beside him was a door that had appeared out of thin air.
Following Violent Rat into the Saber King's exclusive room, Su Xiao saw a toad squatting on the coffee table counting bills. The currency in its hands was from some primordial world, which, due to its characteristics, had been notarized by Reincarnation Paradise and turned into a valuable item.
To Su Xiao's surprise, Sha was also there. Seeming to notice Su Xiao's surprise, Violent Rat explained, "We've been cooperating recently. Aside from being a bit violent, Sha is a good partner."
Sha was sitting beside the Saber King. Judging by her expression, she had been feeding the Saber King some toxic chicken soup, like "Pain is the driving force of growth" and "Hardship is the millstone that tempers willpower."
Looking at the Saber King's bright, spirited eyes, it seemed she had truly believed it and had overcome her fear of extracting the dark substance. Unfortunately, she didn't yet know that this time, not only the dark substance but also the dark sediment would be extracted.
"Bai, Bai Ye, thank you for coming to treat me again."
As the Saber King said this, she slightly turned her head away. This was her last act of defiance.
"..."
Su Xiao pushed the Saber King's head, making her tilt her head to expose the side of her neck. He noticed that the fine black lines on her neck were much fewer than after the last treatment. This made him think that Violent Rat and the Toad were both reliable; without them helping to procure rare medicines, such recovery effects wouldn't have been achieved.
Su Xiao walked to the metal door by the wall. After pushing it open, he saw a room with a metal operating table in the center, surrounded by various instruments.
The Saber King, sitting on the sofa, trembled. She stood up, but her steps grew slower and slower. Ahead lay hell.
A moment later, the metal door slammed shut. Su Xiao approached the operating table, his thoroughly disinfected arms slightly raised. He picked up a mask connected to several tubes, put it on, and then put on a pair of rubber medical gloves.
"What are you looking at? Lie down yourself."
Su Xiao's somewhat muffled voice came through. Hearing this, the Saber King gritted her teeth. Compared to last time, the sense of shame was much less this time. She had just been fed a lot of toxic chicken soup by Sha, but now that it was time to put it into practice, it was a completely different story.
A few minutes later, the Saber King lay naked on the operating table. Fortunately, she was covered with a blanket, which gave her some sense of security. However, the Saber King was also puzzled: why was this "demon doctor" being so kind as to give her a blanket? Last time... she didn't want to recall the scene from last time.
"With the first treatment experience, this time will only go more smoothly."
Su Xiao tossed a candy in front of the Saber King. Seeing this candy, the Saber King was truly panicked. Something was very wrong.
Su Xiao ignored the Saber King. He opened the recording device beside him and, while recording the video, said:
"Record 2, secondary extraction of dark substance. Time: 8:17 AM. Recipient's vital signs stable, no soul rejection reaction, blood oxygen levels normal, heart rate stable, psychological condition good, mental fluctuations calm. Type IV anesthetic administered for 2 minutes 21 seconds. Estimated 9 seconds until inhalation anesthesia complete..."
Hearing Su Xiao's words, the Saber King tried to get up from the bed, but she was lying very comfortably and didn't want to move. No matter how she tried to deny this feeling, she was eventually engulfed by a warm, pleasant sensation. It felt so good~
The Saber King drifted off to sleep in a daze. When her consciousness returned, it was awakened by a heart-wrenching, excruciating pain. The pain seemed to come from every cell in her body, making her want to scream and cry out, but unfortunately, she couldn't make a sound.
The Saber King slowly opened her eyes. The scene before her nearly sent her sanity plummeting into the negatives. She saw that all her internal organs were suspended by some kind of energy threads. Her still-beating heart was pierced from top to bottom by an energy needle, with black liquid dripping down the needle's tip into a collection vessel below.
The Saber King slowly turned her gaze and saw a figure wearing a surgical gown, a mask connected to tubes, and splattered with bloodstains.
"Oh? Awake?"
The figure in the Saber King's eyes picked up an injection gun and stabbed it into her neck.
"No... don't..."
The Saber King whispered these words before fainting again.
After an unknown amount of time, a blurry light appeared before the Saber King's eyes. She struggled to open them, only managing a slit. Everything looked blurry due to the obstruction of her eyelashes.
"What's with all this blood splatter around? Are you sure she's okay?"
"The little cutie cried, so she must have woken up during the surgery."
"Sigh, when she wakes up, prepare some good food for her. Let's go out first."
The voices of conversation reached the Saber King's ears. She opened her eyes, and the world before her became clear. The sounds also drew closer. Her senses had returned.
"There's something I need to tell you."
Su Xiao's voice reached the Saber King's ears. She turned her head with difficulty and asked weakly, "What... is it?"
"There was an accident. Now you have two choices. First, cherish your last three hours."
After hearing Su Xiao's words, the newly awakened Saber King took a moment to process.
"I... only have three hours to live?"
The Saber King wasn't afraid, only regret and helplessness in her eyes.
"No, there's another option."
"I can still be saved?"
The Saber King's emerald-like eyes regained their light. She didn't want to die yet; she still had many things to accomplish.
"Of course. Just re-inject the dark substance we just extracted into the 'second zone' of your body, the area where your kidneys are located. By using the 'clustering nature' of the dark substance, it can suppress your body's absorption of the remaining dark substance. Simply put, I'll perform another surgery for you."
"?"
The Saber King stared blankly at Su Xiao. It wasn't that she didn't understand Su Xiao's words; she just didn't want to comprehend them.
An hour later, Su Xiao put away several sealed test tubes. The harvest this time was quite substantial: he had obtained five portions of dark substance and one portion of dark sediment, all materials for creating "Eyes."
Su Xiao glanced at the Saber King, who was curled up in the blanket with vacant eyes. He inwardly pondered whether he knew any psychiatrists who could provide psychological counseling for the Saber King. She was like a mobile treasure trove; if she broke, it would be a huge loss.
After thinking for a long time, he couldn't think of a suitable person. Could he bring Mad Doctor or the Dean here? That didn't seem reliable. It would be better to have Sha feed the Saber King toxic chicken soup using quotes she found online.