# Chapter 5: Calling for Cannon Fodder
Inside the main tunnel of the underground mine, it was not only stuffy and hot but also had the stench of subterranean mud. Many pig-headed people were watching from the surroundings. Although this would likely result in whipping, they had never seen dead overseers and guards before, so they all stopped to observe.
The pig-headed man with his vest stained red by blood stood there, blood dripping from his iron rod along the ground. He panted heavily, not from fatigue, but more from tension.
The pig-headed people watching from over a dozen meters away just stared. Of the two remaining guards, one was pinned to the rock wall by a blood spear, and the other was electrocuted into unconsciousness, occasionally twitching to show he was still alive.
Su Xiao examined the pig-headed man with the blood-stained vest. This pig-headed man's appearance represented one thing—some pig-headed people had not yet been completely tamed. They couldn't rise up in rebellion, but they could follow the situation and stand up to resist.
"Well done."
Su Xiao took an apple from his storage space and tossed it to the vest-wearing pig-headed man.
"What... is this."
The vest-wearing pig-headed man spoke with a halting tone. He could speak because he often heard the vassal overseers talking. After mining underground for over a decade and constantly listening, he naturally learned. The halting speech was because he only dared to mutter to himself while digging.
"Eat."
Hearing Su Xiao's words, the vest-wearing pig-headed man held the apple to his mouth and took a big crunch, biting off more than half. He chewed a couple of times, then his chewing abruptly stopped.
Having always eaten "pig slop," he had never tasted anything so rich in flavor. The combination of sweet and sour, mixed with the crisp and tender flesh, was so delicious it shocked him. Yes, shocked. He couldn't understand why such a thing existed in this world.
After the shock passed, the vest-wearing pig-headed man's chewing speed increased. In just a couple of bites, he finished the apple in his mouth. Because he ate too quickly, he even bit his own thumb.
"How does it taste?"
Su Xiao sat in the overseer's chair and lit a cigarette.
"Good... eat."
The vest-wearing pig-headed man's gaze occasionally drifted to the guard pinned to the rock wall by the blood spear. Having just beaten another guard to death with his iron rod, his beastly nature was gradually awakening. That feeling of revenge and returning violence with violence—just once—had him addicted.
"State your name. You can make one up yourself if you want."
"Haus... man."
The vest-wearing pig-headed man spoke without hesitation, which surprised Su Xiao slightly. Pig-headed people had no names; theoretically, they shouldn't be able to come up with a name in such a short time.
"I killed... him. His... name... belongs to me now."
The vest-wearing pig-headed man pointed at the corpse on the ground, meaning that although he had no name, this vassal guard did. The guard was originally called Hausman. Now, the name had changed owners.
Clearly, this vest-wearing pig-headed man was a ruthless one. Whatever he didn't have, he took—even a name.
"Hausman, how many pig-headed people are willing to pick up weapons like you?"
"Don't... know."
Pig-headed man Hausman's tone smoothed out a bit. It wouldn't be long before he could speak normally.
This was a very honest answer. Su Xiao now had a general understanding of this pig-headed man—fierce, courageous, able to judge the situation, and not prone to lying easily. Since pig-headed people who talked to each other would have their tongues cut out, Hausman naturally couldn't know whether other pig-headed people had the courage to pick up weapons.
Spatial ripples appeared, and Baha flew out from the alternate space, landing on Su Xiao's shoulder.
"Boss, I'm late. Did I miss anything?"
Baha shook his feathers. He had traveled a long distance but hadn't kept Su Xiao waiting long.
Several half-meter-long blood spears formed and pierced into the guard pinned to the rock wall. He trembled all over in pain, letting out muffled groans, but held back from screaming—his survival instinct was strong.
Pig-headed man Hausman stepped forward and pulled off this guard's high-tech helmet, revealing a face full of thick beard.
The bearded guard kept shaking his head, which made Su Xiao look at him with interest. With such a strong will to survive, he definitely couldn't be killed at this stage. This person would be very useful.
Six short blood spears were stuck in the bearded guard's body. Knowing that blood spears could explode, he naturally realized this was a death sentence. Yet under these circumstances, the bearded guard didn't despair or fight to the death. Instead, he showed a wise and tenacious will to survive.
There was only one possibility—he wasn't fighting for his own survival, but because there was someone very important to him inside this mobile fortress.
Compared to living in Fortress City, the quality of life inside the mobile fortress was much worse. There were no schools or the like here. Only Fortress City had various schools, large and small. With the salary of a pig-headed people guard, sending children to school in Fortress City would be no problem. Eliminating that possibility, it was basically that the bearded guard's wife or parents were in this mobile fortress, with the wife being more likely.
"Baha, go find his wife."
"Got it."
"Don't... don't do that."
The bearded guard finally couldn't hold back, speaking in a terrified tone. He found it hard to understand how Su Xiao knew his wife was also in the Doom Fortress. More specifically, he had no time to think about it.
This was the pressure Su Xiao deliberately applied. Sometimes, things didn't need to be prepared too thoroughly. Putting pressure on the negotiating party could make them fill in the gaps themselves.
Fear, worry, and other negative emotions were the best catalysts for filling in the gaps. People tend to let their imaginations run wild when afraid.
"Letting you and your wife go—what benefit does that bring me?"
"Yes, yes."
The bearded guard quickly agreed. Why was he like this? This was the effect of -10 Charm negotiation. Because of his -10 Charm, after entering this world, Su Xiao had replaced and taken over an infamous identity. Even when Su Xiao was bound by shackles, the bearded guard was constantly on guard, let alone now that Su Xiao had broken free.
"You're willing to work for me?"
Su Xiao extinguished the cigarette butt in his hand. Hearing this, the bearded guard nodded repeatedly.
"Alright, I believe you."
Su Xiao's words left the bearded guard bewildered. Even if it was just verbal, saying he believed him so suddenly was too abrupt.
But soon, the bearded guard understood that Su Xiao truly believed him—or rather, believed he could definitely accomplish what came next.
This task was to be completed by pig-headed man Hausman and the bearded guard working together. Hausman would hold an iron rod in one hand and drag the bearded guard with the other, going to find other pig-headed people. He would first throw the iron rod to them, then point at the bearded guard and say: "Beat him to death."
If that pig-headed person dared, they would join Hausman's squad. If not, they would be eliminated directly. In this matter, Su Xiao naturally trusted the bearded guard, since the latter was walking the line between life and death.
Baha was also responsible for this task. If they encountered other overseers or patrolling guards, Baha would handle them.
Before Baha, pig-headed man Hausman, and the bearded guard left, Su Xiao had Baha and Hausman disperse the pig-headed people watching nearby.
Su Xiao had something else to do. He urgently needed manpower, so of course, he would get the female secretary... cough, the Tianba's Drowning Leader, Tide Hunter, out. This was top-tier combat power.
That said, back in Alliance Star, Tide Hunter had hoped to obtain the Source Stone. As a man of his word, Su Xiao naturally fulfilled his promise and gave the Source Stone to Tide Hunter.
An "accident" occurred. When summoning Tide Hunter through the prop earlier, because the Source Stone was stored in her heart, she appeared with strength surpassing her peak and constructed a complete physical body.
The problem lay here. When Tide Hunter received the Source, an "anomaly" suddenly arose. Under the effects of the contract, Source power, and summoning unit, Tide Hunter was sucked into the Source Stone. This greatly "surprised" Su Xiao.
Before Tide Hunter was sucked into the Source Stone, her intelligence suddenly increased for a moment. She realized this might be a long-prepared trap, so she shouted to Su Xiao: "Next time, even if I die, I won't fight for you again."
Su Xiao took out the azure-blue Source Stone from his storage space and tried to summon the inhabitant inside. But in the next second, a strong resistance came through—the inhabitant inside was resisting with all her might.
"Since you don't want to return to Divine Village, forget it."
Su Xiao spoke. Source Divine Village was Tide Hunter's hometown. As if hearing his words, the resistance inside the Source Stone lessened for an instant.
"Most of the time, I keep my promises. I'll take the Source Stone and go to Divine Village."
As soon as Su Xiao finished speaking, a stream of azure-blue water surged out from the Source. Had Tide Hunter yielded? Not exactly. But upon hearing that Su Xiao was going to Source Divine Village, she was greatly alarmed.
There was no hint of threat in Su Xiao's words, but to Tide Hunter's ears, it meant something else entirely. She had witnessed with her own eyes Su Xiao commanding the Allied Forces in Alliance Star and blowing up the Western Continent.
From then on, Tide Hunter's understanding became: there was nothing Su Xiao wouldn't dare or wouldn't do—including razing Divine Village to the ground.