Chapter 141: Unexpected
The backyard wall had been raised to nearly 4 meters, and the cement was smoothly plastered, making it impossible for an ordinary person to jump over. Xia hadn't climbed over the wall; in her life, aside from being chased by a dog and crying while scaling a wall at age 11, she had never done such a thing again. This was related to the traditional upbringing she had received.
But now, Xia's worldview was being tested. She had come through the back door mainly to avoid being seen by others, preventing unnecessary risks.
She felt like she had stepped on a landmine. She had never stepped on a landmine in a mission world, but here, she had. Just like in the movies, there was a *click* under her foot, a small iron rod pressing against her sole. Fortunately, she never wore high heels.
"Junior, I think I stepped on a landmine."
Xia spoke, and the friend behind her was her former junior from school.
"What nonsense are you talking about? You probably stepped on a soda can in the dirt. I saw a movie where a soldier stepped on a soda can in the desert and thought he stepped on a mine..."
*Click~*
Before the junior could finish, she felt something trigger under her foot. Lucky penalty stander +1.
In reality, Xia and her junior weren't well-versed in this area. The mines they had stepped on were pressure-release type, also known as bounding mines, an old-fashioned model mainly used for alarms. Nowadays, they were pressure-detonation mines—step on them, and whether you lift your foot or not, it's *boom~*.
Five minutes later, inside the accessory shop, Xia sat on the sofa holding a cup of cold tea, letting out a long sigh.
"Bai Ye, I'm sorry to come find you in the real world. Even though I came through the back door, it might still bring unnecessary danger to you..."
"The thing you're worried about won't happen."
Baha spoke, noticing Xia's confusion, and continued, "Eighth-rank contractors can't easily fight in the real world. Even if they do, they open a space and duel one-on-one. So far, few people have come to fight us. But a while ago, we had a thief, a female thief in tight leather. That figure, tsk tsk tsk."
Baha started to ramble, and Xia was amazed. After stepping on a mine in Su Xiao's backyard and hearing about a thief here, she felt a sense of unreality.
"What's the matter this time?"
Su Xiao glanced at the time. It was 7 AM, and he hadn't eaten breakfast yet. He signaled Amu to buy ingredients. Since Xia was here, did he even need to ask? Of course, she was cooking.
"This is my junior, a first-rank contractor."
Xia's words made Su Xiao shift his gaze to the junior. At first glance, the junior wasn't particularly pretty, but she gave off a girl-next-door vibe.
"H-Hello."
The junior was very nervous. In fact, her body was trembling slightly uncontrollably. She didn't know why. Ever since she entered this room, she felt like she was sitting on pins and needles, as if an invisible ferocious beast was nearby, ready to bite her in two at any moment, blood splattering on the ceiling.
The more she thought about it, the more she trembled. This was actually normal. If an ordinary person shared a room with Su Xiao, due to the overwhelming disparity in perception, they wouldn't feel panic or unease.
But the junior, a first-rank contractor who had only been through a few worlds in Reincarnation Paradise, was at the peak of persecution paranoia, so her perception was naturally sharper. However, she couldn't sense where the danger was coming from.
As for Xia, she felt nothing—she was used to it.
Su Xiao placed a freshly poured cup of cold tea in front of the junior. As the bottom of the cup touched the coffee table with a soft sound, the junior's body suddenly stopped trembling. She didn't know why.
"I came this time because my junior is in danger. She..."
"She pissed off a team or an adventure group? They threatened to kill her in the real world, right?"
Baha cut in directly. Xia nodded. The details were off, but the general direction was right. The junior picked up the thread:
"That adventure group is..."
"Sis, that's not important. What you need now is righteous assistance."
Baha's smile grew more mischievous.
"Wh-What?"
The junior was stunned. She felt this wasn't how things were supposed to go. Usually, when coming to a big shot for help like this, you either paid a huge sum, were forced to join a faction, or got targeted for your looks, leading to an enemy +1. She was especially anxious about that.
"Righteous? What should I do?"
"Use this thing. This thing is damn righteous."
Baha slammed Su Xiao's handmade sniper rifle onto the coffee table with a *clang*. This righteousness was very heavy.
"Look at this righteousness. Heavy, isn't it?"
"?"
The junior was completely baffled until Baha pulled out half a box of finger-length bullets. Then it clicked.
"I get it. You want me to fight back and not be a coward."
"You're probably not awake yet. I want you to be bait. I'll snipe."
"Uh~"
The junior felt that every word, even every syllable, from the other party was unexpected.
The junior left with Baha, which made Xia a bit uneasy. It wasn't that she doubted Baha's strength, but she felt Baha's personality was somewhat malicious. For friends, Baha was a reliable teammate. But clearly, a one-time acquaintance like the junior wouldn't be immediately classified as a friend. Under these circumstances, the junior might have a rough time.
"Amu, are you busy today?"
"Moo."
Amu, who was reading a picture book, just grunted.
"Eat a full meal."
"Moo."
Amu didn't move, staying put.
"Five meals."
"Moo?"
Amu put down the picture book. Soon, he changed into a leather work vest, picked up a large suitcase, and headed out. Inside the suitcase was a wooden-handled high-chromium steel battle axe, custom-made by a craftsman commissioned by Yan Chen.
The original plan to go out was abandoned due to Xia's arrival, even though she left that afternoon.
Actually, the main reason was that Su Xiao hadn't decided where to go, and his patience was wearing thin. When he took out the Deathmatch Terminal, everything was set in stone.
Moreover, at 5 PM that day, two groups of elderly dance troupes arrived. Seeing this, Bubu Wang took out a pre-prepared speaker remote. In just over ten minutes, the two groups started a "dance battle." Old folks, moving their joints was good for them.
Bubu Wang recorded the scene with his phone, updating his short video account as usual. Before uploading, he added a caption: "The Ultimate Showdown Between the Bald Old Man and the Long-Faced Old Lady."
Worth mentioning, Bubu Wang's short video account already had 350,000 followers. And Bubu had never done any promotion or bought bots.
At 7 PM that evening, the two elderly dance troupes left, agreeing to battle again tomorrow. A crowd of uncles and aunties, each holding a senior citizen bus pass, departed.
"Boss, it's handled."
Baha returned in the evening. The junior's matter was resolved. Baha's strategy was: first talk, kill if talk fails, and if they won't submit, exterminate them.
The result was that during the talk, although the other side wasn't exactly scared, they readily agreed to let the matter rest. That's how the world works. When a high-rank contractor steps in and negotiates, it's a face-saving opportunity. With a way out, no one wants to fight to the death.
A first-rank adventure group backing down after encountering an eighth-rank "contractor's" follower wasn't shameful. In fact, it was considered wise. After all, in outside rumors, Su Xiao had a fearsome reputation. The number of allied contractors he had killed was at least eight hundred, if not a thousand.
Peaceful real life began. The next day, with nothing to do, Su Xiao arranged to go fishing with Yan Chen, the leader of the Mingmen Adventure Group. Yan Chen brought along Hei Xue, the self-detonating youth.
The deputy leader of Mingmen also came, a man with small round sunglasses and a perpetual fake smile.
Su Xiao had met the deputy leader a few times. He grabbed a fishing rod, a small bucket, and a folding chair, got into Ma Pangzi's car, and headed to the reservoir. Only Bubu Wang followed, sitting in the back seat enjoying the view.
An hour later, by the reservoir, wild grass grew thick. A gentle breeze blew, creating small ripples on the water. The scent of reeds drifted into his nostrils. Sitting on a folding stool, Su Xiao lit a cigarette and stared at the float in the water.
*Bang!*
A dull thud came, followed by a notification.
[Notification: Detected contractor combat within the Hunter's jurisdiction.]
[Combatants: 3.]
[Estimated damage: Low.]
[The Hunter may decide whether to intervene in this contractor battle based on their judgment.]
...
Su Xiao dismissed the notification and looked at Hei Xue, who was holding a long-handled spiked mace, and the deputy leader of Mingmen, whose half-smashed head was twitching on the ground after being ambushed.
It turned out that if someone suddenly invites you fishing or hiking for no reason, you'd better be on guard.
Su Xiao exhaled a puff of smoke. A dozen meters away, Yan Chen and Hei Xue each had a folding shovel, digging a hole to bury someone.
The most absurd part was Hei Xue. He even had funeral paper ready. As soon as the body was buried, he pulled out a roll of funeral paper from his pocket and asked Su Xiao for a light.
By sunset, not a single fish had been caught, and the number of fishermen had dropped from four to three. Clearly, there was an internal issue within Mingmen. Yan Chen was decisive enough; seeing the trouble, he took out his own deputy leader.
In the blink of an eye, a few days of stay passed. Yan Chen, his sister, Hei Xue, the OL beauty, and others all said their goodbyes, leaving the accessory shop feeling much quieter.
Bubu Wang lay on the sofa, lifeless. Heaven knows why Yan Chen loved hotpot so much. Lunch and dinner hotpot were acceptable, but being dragged out of bed while still groggy in the morning to find a spicy hotpot already set up on the table? That was unbearable for anyone.
[Notification: The Hunter's stay time has reached its limit.]
[Treeborn World is about to open.]
[Notification: The unique resource of Treeborn World, ???, due to human factors, has entered an over-limit growth phase (final yield will receive a significant boost).]
[Due to this change, do you agree to postpone Treeborn World?]
...
Seeing this notification, Su Xiao knew that Huishenshi's long-laid plans were coming into play. That side had invested a lot of blood into entering Treeborn World. The previous trip to the Alliance World to seize the Death Grail, resulting in a mutual elimination, was all preparation for entering Treeborn World.
Although there had been no declaration of war, the implication was clear: settle life and death in Treeborn World, ending the long-standing grudge.
[Notification: Since over 65% of contractors entering Treeborn World have chosen to delay its opening, with the Void Tree's certification, Treeborn World will be postponed (the next world progress will definitely open Treeborn World, and it cannot be delayed by any means).]
[Notification: Breakdown of opposing votes this time: Apocalypse Paradise contractors 43%, Sanctuary Paradise contractors 27%, Watchful Paradise contractors...]
[Due to missing this world progress, you will receive 15-25 days of real-world stay time (depending on the specific situation).]
...
After these notifications appeared, Su Xiao knew that Huishenshi had already made his move. That side had paid a heavy price to push Treeborn World's already mature unique resource into an over-limit growth phase.
This gave all participants a choice through voting: whether to open Treeborn World now.
The voting result was obvious: postpone entry. This led to a situation where Su Xiao had to wait in the real world to enter Treeborn World.
Every world progress he went through significantly boosted his strength. This stay time essentially meant losing a world progress.
Huishenshi and Shenfu would definitely use this time to set up their plans for entering Treeborn World.
There was an option that seemed good: use the [Navigation Compass] to track Huishenshi and disrupt his series of pre-arrangements for Treeborn World.
But Su Xiao felt that this was exactly what Huishenshi and Shenfu wanted to see. Those two old yinbis would surely have precautions, plus the combat power of Xian Ji. Rushing in blindly would result in a heavy loss.
For the current situation, Su Xiao had a better solution. He wouldn't wait in the real world. Instead, he would open a world progress himself. He had over 200 ounces of space-time power, enough to do this. Moreover, he still had Treeborn Leaves.
[World Lock (Active): Can consume one 'Treeborn Leaf' to lock the coordinates of a specified world.]
[Note: This is a self-selected world. Mission rewards increased by 50%, World Source rewards increased by 30%.]
If he hadn't used a Treeborn Leaf to exchange for the Alchemy Codex, he would only use this item to enter worlds.
Rather than facing unknown traps over there, Su Xiao thought it was more reliable to strengthen himself. When he was strong enough, all schemes and tricks would lose their meaning.
Su Xiao used 100 ounces of space-time power plus one Treeborn Leaf as a ticket, submitting a request through his imprint to Reincarnation Paradise to enter a high-adaptability world.
A high-adaptability world was one that better suited his ability characteristics and produced more of the resources he needed. Normally, such a good thing wouldn't happen, but this time Su Xiao paid space-time power—a paid entry.
[Notification: The Hunter has submitted an application through authority. World search in progress...]
[Found a world with high compatibility with the Hunter's abilities. This world is 'Ser Star.']
[Ser Star is a world belonging to Apocalypse Paradise.]
[This world entry has been changed to World Invasion!]
[Invasion Target: Apocalypse Paradise.]
[Invasion Method: Imprint Disguise/Full Combat Power Invasion.]
[Paradise Invasion Review in progress...]
[Review complete. You will soon invade a world belonging to Apocalypse Paradise.]
[Restriction contact in progress...]
[Contact complete!]
[Scarlet Card acquisition probability increased.]
[Kill authority fully unlocked.]
[Notification: You are about to be teleported back to Reincarnation Paradise. Estimated 33 minutes and 59 seconds later, you will be teleported to Apocalypse Paradise's eighth-rank world: Ser Star (Impregnable Fortress).]
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**Leave Extension for One Day**
Today I went to treat my neck again, with acupuncture and massage. The doctor said my neck isn't very serious. Rest today and don't sit for too long. It should be mostly fine by tomorrow (implying this condition isn't easy to cure and I need to strengthen my exercise). So, normal updates will resume tomorrow. I can't do extra updates for now; I'll stick to the usual three chapters. After a few days of recovery and when I'm in better shape, I can update more. Thank you, dear readers, for your understanding and concern.
*Reincarnation Paradise* Leave Extension for One Day