# Chapter 6: The Cannon Fodder Who Stopped Struggling
Azure liquid surged out from the [Source] stone, eventually forming a humanoid figure. After confirming there were no observers nearby, Tide Hunter began transitioning from her source state back to physical form.
A moment later, Tide Hunter put on the set of clothes Su Xiao tossed over. Her body was still in the transformation phase; a few seconds later, the last energy-converted area on her neck turned into flesh. She opened her eyes, the centers of her pupils black, with a faint blue tint at the edges.
The Source Bow appeared beside Tide Hunter, along with over a dozen slender arrows left over from last time.
"This time, I won't be deceived by you again."
Tide Hunter grasped the Source Bow, her gaze firm.
"Then do your best."
"Are you underestimating me?"
"Yes."
"Do you think I'll still fight for you? If I don't fight, how can you use me? Aside from my combat value, I have no special meaning in your eyes."
Tide Hunter looked around, adopting a relaxed demeanor. This time, she had made up her mind—if she didn't fight, she had no value, and thus couldn't be used. It was an unbreakable dead loop.
This was Tide Hunter's counterattack after realizing the gap between her and the enemy in terms of scheming was too vast.
As long as she didn't fight, she couldn't be used. This was an invincible shield. At worst, she would die. She had dared to fight to the death against the Supreme Insect, shooting it full of arrows like a hedgehog; of course, she wasn't afraid of death.
Thinking this, Tide Hunter's heart was unusually calm. After witnessing Su Xiao's cooperation with Kingsley, she not only saw herself clearly but also abandoned many unrealistic fantasies. Since she couldn't win against Su Xiao in a game of wits, she wouldn't resist and would choose to stay completely still.
"Oh? But you signed a contract."
Su Xiao took out a piece of parchment. Seeing this, Tide Hunter looked at him with both surprise and confusion, saying, "White Night, when I fought alongside you against the Supreme Insect, do you think I... fear death? As a Tianba, would I fear death?"
Tide Hunter wasn't surprised by the contract itself, but rather that Su Xiao thought she would be afraid of death. Clearly, in Tide Hunter's subconscious, violating the contract meant death. Saying she wasn't afraid at all was a lie, but she could accept death.
"You won't die. According to the terms of this contract, after you violate it, you'll only grow old."
Su Xiao flipped the contract over and showed it to Tide Hunter.
"Birth, aging, sickness, death—everyone experiences this."
Tide Hunter crossed her arms, unconcerned.
"Is that so? What a pity. Your appearance will also age, the skin on your face will wrinkle, your long hair will turn gray. By then, you won't be the Tianba's number one beauty anymore. Perhaps the Tianba's old turtledove?"
Tianba's old turtledove, Tianba's old turtledove...
These words echoed in Tide Hunter's mind like magic. Her red lips parted, wanting to say she didn't care at all, but the words got stuck in her throat, refusing to come out.
Tianba's number one beauty—this was another goal Tide Hunter pursued alongside strength. In fact, compared to being called the Drowning Leader of the Heavenly Palace, being called the Tianba's number one beauty made her feel even better inside.
Back on the Alliance Star, why did Tide Hunter initially agree to help? There was a reason no one knew: that time and this time, when Su Xiao summoned her, the Source Power within her gathered inside her body, completely becoming her own power, which also restored her skin to its fair complexion.
The Tianba clan's blue skin wasn't innate—this was common knowledge. The Tianba clan were actually transformed humans. Young Tianba were completely identical to ordinary people. They would drink Source Water, which was water infused with Source Stones.
They would drink Source Water until around 14 to 16 years old. When blue star-like spots appeared on their skin, they had the prerequisite to become Tianba. At this stage, they would start drinking higher-concentration Source Water. By around 18 to 19 years old, they would get close to the [Source] Stone. At this stage, the Tianba clan's skin would completely turn blue.
Tide Hunter's love for beauty was particularly strong. Due to being summoned by Su Xiao and multiple factors including the [Source] Stone, her skin had returned to her beloved fair complexion. She felt extremely pleased inside. After having a way to save face, she chose to assist Su Xiao for one world progression.
Forget about past enmities being like passing clouds, or mutual respect between the strong—none of that was the case. Tide Hunter's skin had returned to her beloved fair complexion, and she felt incredibly satisfied inside, so she reached a transactional cooperation with Su Xiao. That was just how realistic it was.
Don't forget, when Tide Hunter was first summoned and could move freely, the first thing she did was buy clothes.
Why was she so close with Mrs. Kingsley? The reason was that they would find time to go shopping for clothes together, compliment each other, and praise each other's beauty. Both would be modest verbally, but both felt great inside.
"Don't worry too much. Strength is more important. Appearance is just yesterday's clouds..."
"Do we have any plans?"
Tide Hunter asked calmly.
"Whatever plans there are have nothing to do with you. I respect your choice. Resisting the contract punishment takes courage..."
Before Su Xiao could finish, Tide Hunter interrupted, "After I said all that, you... don't go too far."
Tide Hunter's teeth ground together with a cracking sound.
"Then welcome to the team. After this contract is activated, it's valid for one world progression. If you survive, be careful not to sign a second contract. Otherwise, you'll have to work for me for another world progression. But you're a high-level cannon fodder, so you're very welcome."
"Absolutely, not."
Tide Hunter let out a long breath. She pulled a black elastic band from the top of her Source Bow, tied up her long hair, and formed a ponytail.
Having successfully recruited a high-level cannon fodder, Su Xiao took out a military terminal. The screen lit up and was divided into dozens of sections, each an independent feed monitoring every move on the second and third floors of the fortress.
The third floor, the top floor, was where only the Vassals could enter. At this moment, this floor was already in chaos. Large groups of Vassal guards were running through the corridors or entering and exiting the monitoring room.
Su Xiao zoomed in on the monitoring room feed. By watching the surveillance screens inside the monitoring room, he identified the listening device hidden near him—a slightly protruding rock diagonally above, very inconspicuous, with no feeling of being watched.
Su Xiao took out a device resembling a satellite phone from his storage space, studied it for a moment, and pressed the number 5.
The next second, in the surveillance footage, the monitoring room on the third floor exploded violently. The explosion's impact was much smaller than expected. The enemies inside were all turned into shattered crystalline objects. The Mechanical Sister's bombs were very useful, just too expensive. The ones now were free trial versions she had given, hoping to lure Su Xiao into buying more in the future.
The Mechanical Sister clearly didn't know that Su Xiao, as an Alchemist, could also manufacture explosives. So this freeloading was especially successful. From now on, whenever the Mechanical Sister had trial bombs, he must try them all. Freeloading was truly too satisfying.
A few minutes later, after six consecutive explosions, the Vassals on the third floor were essentially "blind." Most of the electronic surveillance equipment was destroyed.
This world's technology wasn't backward, but that was relative. This world's technology leaned toward biological technology, which was evident from the mobile fortress itself.
The Vassals on the third floor didn't act rashly. They now occupied the second and third floors but hadn't charged into the first floor. The reason was that Su Xiao's current identity was a fierce individual who had killed hundreds of Vassals. After the Fortress Leader, Li Xiniwei, learned that Su Xiao still had combat capability, he felt quite uneasy.
Buzz~
A small, sturdy-looking drone flew over. High technology didn't mean flashy; it meant practical + sturdy + precise.
A folding screen unfolded beneath the drone. The image flickered twice before showing Li Xiniwei sitting in the main control room.
The main control room had elegant furnishings, mostly solid wood. It wasn't the cold, monotonous metallic color one might imagine, but warm-toned. The front semicircular wall had a thick glass window in the middle, providing good lighting while also offering a view of the scenery outside the fortress.
This main control room on the top floor of the fortress was quite nice. Su Xiao was very interested in it.
"Kukulin Bai Ye, how much did they offer? I'll pay three times, no, five times!"
Li Xiniwei raised his hand and spread five fingers. His words sounded strange but had a basis.
Su Xiao's identity had been judged by one of the three major Vassal forces, the "Vassal Alliance."
The so-called "Vassal Alliance" was actually formed by the merger of two Vassal forces: the "Shelter Gate" and the "Heavenly God Cult."
After prolonged internal struggle, these two forces completely merged, forming a more powerful nation, the "Vassal Alliance." Outsiders often called this place the "Tower Hall."
Among the three major Vassal forces, the radical, conservative, and neutral factions—the radical one was the "Vassal Alliance."
The conservative one was the "Aurora Council," and the last, the "Watchtower," was the most neutral among the three major Vassal forces. Their fortress city was the trade center of the entire continent, neutral and prosperous.
The "Vassal Alliance's" tribunal had judged Su Xiao guilty but hadn't sentenced him to death. Instead, they sent him to the Doomsday Fortress.
Without thinking, if the goal was truly to punish Su Xiao, they would have permanently stripped him of his combat power.
The current situation was that Su Xiao's combat power hadn't been weakened at all. This made the Doomsday Fortress leader, Li Xiniwei, think that he must have offended someone, and someone had hired Su Xiao to kill him.
So Li Xiniwei immediately said he was willing to pay five times the price, meaning he would give Su Xiao more money to bribe him into killing the client instead.
"Xiniwei, this isn't a matter of money."
"It is!"
Li Xiniwei wiped the sweat from his forehead on the screen. This guy was completely different from when they last met. Back then, Su Xiao was imprisoned in a wall cage. Now that Su Xiao had escaped, he could attack the main control room on the third floor at any time.
"Let's negotiate a truce between our two sides."
Su Xiao changed the subject, as if nothing had happened before.
"A truce? This..." Li Xiniwei couldn't accept such a sudden turn. He pondered for a moment and decided to play along, answering, "Of course we can negotiate a truce. Name a time."
In the main control room, Li Xiniwei, standing before a screen, adjusted his collar, stared ahead, and waited for Su Xiao's response.
"As for the specific time of the truce negotiations, after I kill my way to the main control room, I'll find you to negotiate."
Bang!
With a dull thud, the screen in front of Li Xiniwei went black. His expression was stunned. If the truce negotiation time was after Su Xiao killed his way to the main control room, that meant the Vassals in the fortress would be almost all dead by then, and he would be trapped in the main control room. Under those circumstances, was this still a truce negotiation?
Li Xiniwei was extremely frustrated. His thoughts were: who had he offended? He was just a T5-level fortress leader with a bit of a fierce reputation, had done some shady things, and had killed over a hundred pig-headed people. But suddenly, one day, his mobile fortress was about to be taken.
Thinking of this, Li Xiniwei's face twitched. In the past, even when hunters found an opportunity to fleece him, they only asked for Living Ore. This time, someone was directly coming to take his mobile fortress. Was this something a human could do?
I'm screwed!! Power outage