Chapter 87: Sharing
The expression on Yueshitu's face was quite peculiar. After reading these report comments, she really wanted to laugh but couldn't let it out. What the hell was 'he threw a sock at me, and I almost died'? What kind of sock was that, made of alloy?
Yueshitu continued browsing the reports against Su Xiao and Kaisa. She found that these report reasons were more creative than internet memes. After reading this stuff for a while, the pain of losing 1,560 Soul Coins faded away.
When Yueshitu saw a report comment that read, "This person hit me, beat me to death, I was crying and he still hit me. I tried to throw snot at him, missed, but almost got beaten to death," she nearly let out a pig-like squeal of laughter.
Compared to the compensation Molei and Yueshitu received, Su Xiao was actually more concerned about one other thing. Of course, the 3,000 Soul Coins he obtained this time were also a substantial income.
Su Xiao glanced at Molei, who looked relaxed with her little feet propped up on the coffee table, then at Yueshitu, who was laughing there.
In this situation, for Molei and Yueshitu to be in such a good mood could only mean one thing—they felt genuinely relieved at heart.
Why was that? What had happened before? The last time they met in the Sand World, both were frowning and worried, but now they were so relaxed. Based on the time frame, the only important event or item during this period was the Beast Heart.
Earlier, Su Xiao had wondered why Apocalypse Paradise sent Molei and Yueshitu to participate in this battle. Compared to this kind of competition, Molei was better at dealing with Violators—she was a PVP combat expert. As for Yueshitu, that was even more absurd—she was a phantom in regular worlds but a complete liability in war and competition-type worlds.
With this combination, it didn't seem like they were here to compete for Scroll Fragments to take over the World of Paintings. Since the [Insight Eye] had been following them, they seemed more like a silly, sandbag duo providing comic relief. Over at the Void Arena, they might even have fans by now.
Now, Su Xiao suspected that Molei and Yueshitu had already completed the competition mission Apocalypse Paradise had given them—to obtain the Beast Heart.
Aside from being a bit silly, Molei and Yueshitu were good partners. Without Molei, Yueshitu would have been dead long ago. Without Yueshitu, Molei coming alone would have been useless—her methods couldn't compare to the versatility of a Summoner who could summon over two hundred thousand moon-type summons. With that many summons, there was bound to be one that could resonate with the Beast Heart and extract it from the altar.
Su Xiao walked out of the room. Kaisa, who had somehow picked up several large bags and bundles, followed along. After leaving, Su Xiao took Bubu Wang and Baha back to his own room, while Kaisa headed into Room 7, treating it like his own home. Perhaps there was some secret in that small room.
As soon as he pushed open the door, the aroma of food wafted into his nose. In the past few days, Su Xiao had been eating at the Sun Church, where the portions were generous, but the taste—let's not even mention it.
After a full meal, Su Xiao leaned against the headboard and checked his newly obtained [Origin Stone Random Draw Permission]. This was the reward from the Sand World's side mission: Collection Mania. Unfortunately, he would have to wait until he returned to Reincarnation Paradise to activate this permission and randomly draw an Origin Stone.
Su Xiao lay down on the bed to rest. A faint, ethereal singing reached his ears. He couldn't make out the lyrics, but the voice was distant and airy, bringing a sense of calm to his heart.
This sleep was indescribably comfortable. When Su Xiao opened his eyes and sat up, he felt full of energy, with his Sanity Value restored to 495/495 points.
He checked the remaining time—13 hours and 26 minutes until he entered the next Inner Painting World. That was enough time to explore Nightmare: Castle Ward.
Even with the Nightmare prefix, it was still Castle Ward. With the lesson of Eternal Hope Town fresh in his mind, Su Xiao knew Castle Ward wouldn't be too large. At least the terrain wouldn't be expanded. The Nightmare and reality were projected at a 1:1 terrain ratio—very precise.
The core issue was Sanity Value. Su Xiao took a slender metal syringe from his storage space. This was [Extracted Sedative].
[Extracted Sedative (Holy Spirit Rank Potion): After injection, removes invading madness from the body, restoring 300–390 points of Sanity Value.]
A normal Contractor's thought upon getting this would be: "Such a good item, I need to save it for a critical moment to save my life."
Su Xiao's thought upon getting this was: Can I analyze the composition of this thing? By studying the property changes and fusion reactions of the materials in this item, I can reverse-engineer the manufacturing process and required materials. Then, using my Alchemy, I can improve it and brew more sedatives.
The gains were huge, but the risks were even higher. If he failed to reverse-engineer the [Sedative]'s composition, he would waste even the existing [Sedative]—losing everything.
An important issue was that time was insufficient for Su Xiao to reverse-engineer the [Sedative]'s composition and manufacturing method. Since he couldn't solve the problem at its root, he would take a more roundabout approach—try to dilute the existing [Sedative] to increase the total dosage he had.
Su Xiao sat at the wooden table, took out various small and medium-sized instruments and Alchemy containers, and began analyzing the composition of this thing using a small amount of [Sedative] as a base.
Dilution was much faster than reverse-engineering. He needed to create a solution with similar compatibility to the [Sedative] and no rejection of its cellular acid. Using this solution as a carrier, he would drip a small amount of [Sedative] into it, thereby transforming the properties of this adaptive solution to achieve a counterfeit [Sedative] effect.
Counterfeit goods weren't necessarily inferior—it depended on how you counterfeited them. With a rough plan in mind, Su Xiao took out the Golden Balance from his storage space.
[Golden Balance (Overlord Rank Equipment): Place any 'Consumable Item' on the left tray, and an appropriate amount of Soul Crystal (any specification) on the right tray. When balance is achieved, the placed 'Consumable Item' will receive a permanent enhancement (the amount of Soul Crystal required depends on the quality and rating of the 'Consumable Item' on the left tray).]
Su Xiao placed the metal syringe containing the Sedative on the left tray of the balance. Then, he untied the thumb-sized [Soul Lock Lantern] from his waist and released all the Soul Crystal Fragments accumulated inside.
Clatter~ A small pile of Soul Crystal Fragments piled up on the right tray, bringing both sides into balance.
This Sedative was a quality functional item. It counted as both a functional potion and fell within the category of Consumable Items, so it could naturally be enhanced with the Golden Balance.
The Soul Crystal Fragments on the right tray transformed into Soul Energy, traveled through the patterns on the balance's central rod, and merged into the metal syringe on the left tray. This process lasted several minutes before ending.
[You have obtained Enhanced Sedative.]
[Enhanced Sedative: After injection, removes invading madness from the body, restoring 470–530 points of Sanity Value.]
The enhancement effect was significant. Su Xiao began preparing the adaptive solution. He was very skilled at this. The principle was to replicate and dilute the properties of the [Enhanced Sedative].
Four hours later, five test tubes were lined up in front of Su Xiao, containing a milky-white solution with a slightly sticky, stringy consistency.
Su Xiao picked up the Enhanced Sedative, pressed his thumb down, and let one-fifth of the sedative in the syringe drip into the test tube below, mixing with the milky-white viscous liquid.
As soon as the two mixed, the milky-white viscous liquid rapidly changed color, shifting toward the light red of the Enhanced Sedative. The liquid was assimilated without any resistance.
Su Xiao dripped the Enhanced Sedative into the other four test tubes as well, until the syringe was empty.
The imitation and dilution process began. Su Xiao observed the solution in the test tubes. He had consumed all the Enhanced Sedative, which meant he was already fully confident.
Half an hour later, the solution in all five test tubes had turned light red. Su Xiao took out five metal injection guns and drew the solution from the test tubes into them.
[You have obtained Imitation Sedative ×5.]
[Imitation Sedative: This is a counterfeit product created by combining Alchemy, Eye Ritual Studies, and borrowing the Eye Replication properties of the Specter and the Assimilation properties of the Holy Descendant. Although not as good as the original Sedative, this sedative is still effective. After injection, it removes invading madness from the body, restoring 210–230 points of Sanity Value over the subsequent 5 seconds.]
Su Xiao stored the five sedatives in his storage space. With these, his chances of exploring the Ward were much greater.
For this exploration of the Ward, Su Xiao wouldn't bring Bubu Wang or Baha, but he didn't plan to go alone either.
Going to an unknown place was safer in a group. Sometimes, your teammates weren't just for selling—if used appropriately, you could even throw them out like a hidden weapon.
For a place as terrifying as Nightmare: Castle Ward, it was naturally best to share. As for the items inside being discovered and taken by others, Su Xiao didn't think that mattered. Compared to others, with the Cipher Code + Sedative, he had a natural advantage.
With such an advantage, if he still let others beat him to the punch, then he wouldn't have made it to the Eighth Rank fighting in Reincarnation Paradise. An Eighth Rank Hunter of Reincarnation Paradise—that carried more weight than any title. Given the brutality of Reincarnation Paradise, this was something earned through sheer bloodshed.
Aside from the downside of possibly being beaten to the punch in terms of gains, the benefit of bringing others into Castle Ward was that if danger appeared, two or more people would share the burden.
Beyond the advantage of the Cipher Code + Sedative, Su Xiao had another major advantage—his low Charm Attribute, currently at -9 points.
Under normal circumstances, if Su Xiao, Yueshitu, Molei, and Zuiyasi stood in a row and encountered a powerful enemy, the enemy would charge straight at Su Xiao, ignoring everyone else. That was how effective his Charm Attribute was.
But in the Nightmare World, the situation was reversed. If a Nightmare big boss saw the four of them, it would first chase after Yueshitu, who had the highest Charm, making her cry her eyes out, and would hardly bother coming after Su Xiao.
Su Xiao had already tested this in Nightmare: Eternal Hope Town. Because of his negative Charm Attribute, when he interacted with the loose women in Nightmare: Eternal Hope Town, he received a Charm-based conversational boost. At the time, he thought he had misread it and checked the prompt twice to confirm it was a boost, not a penalty.
With such an advantage, how could Su Xiao miss out? He left his room and knocked on the doors of Molei, Wude, Zuiyasi, Lilim, and Shui Ge in turn.
When he reached the last door, Su Xiao noticed that a Holy Light Paradise imprint had already appeared on it.