Chapter 19: Never Mining and the Sweet Scent of Truth
Regarding the [Cataclysmic Solution · Type 5], Kaiser's suggestion was simple and crude. Since this item only circulated within a small circle, and outsiders could never buy it, then simply don't buy it—have Bubu Wang steal it instead.
What if it can't be stolen? In a place like Free City, anything can happen. That group trying to sell [Cataclysmic Solution · Type 5] for 60,000 kilograms of Living Ore was actually a hunter group fishing for prey. They were the best choice.
There were many reasons for choosing them. First, they were all outlaws. Even if they had some backdoor connection to the Watchtower, on the surface, the Watchtower wouldn't give them any assistance whatsoever.
Second, since they were using [Cataclysmic Solution · Type 5] as bait, they needed bait that was tempting.
Before any transaction, there had to be a goods inspection process. No one would just bring 60,000 kilograms of Living Ore to a deal—that would require a donkey-kicked head.
In other words, that hunter group definitely had [Cataclysmic Solution · Type 5] in their possession. To make the bait look better, the quality of their [Cataclysmic Solution · Type 5] wouldn't be poor. It might even be the top-tier product of its grade.
They were using [Cataclysmic Solution · Type 5] to fish. The bait couldn't stay on the hook forever. Plus, those people were desperadoes. If they dared to fish, it meant they were confident in their strength.
Thus, the vault where they stored [Cataclysmic Solution · Type 5] wouldn't be as exaggerated as other [Cataclysmic Solution] merchants.
More importantly, when that hunter group's [Cataclysmic Solution · Type 5] was stolen, their first suspects would be those who had recently shown interest in buying it.
Under Su Xiao and Kaiser's deliberate arrangement, there was over a ninety percent chance that the hunter group would trace back to Li Xiniwei having previously inquired about the price of [Cataclysmic Solution · Type 5].
At that point, the hunter group would inevitably retaliate against Li Xiniwei. But by then, Li Xiniwei would already be at the Tribunal, possibly even holding a mid-level position there.
When that happened, the hunter group could only swallow their bitterness and accept their bad luck. They wouldn't dare provoke the Tribunal.
Thus, Su Xiao would obtain high-quality [Cataclysmic Solution · Type 5], avoid the hunter group's subsequent retaliation, and create an enemy for Li Xiniwei that wasn't bound by Vassal laws, keeping Li Xiniwei more obedient.
Inside the restaurant, Su Xiao watched the girl wolfing down food across from him. This was Li Xiniwei's daughter, Dorothy.
After learning that Li Xiniwei had a daughter, Su Xiao had Baha handle the matter. Spending some Living Ore and using intelligence provided by the Scavengers, it didn't take long to find Dorothy, who worked in Free City.
Dorothy worked at a bar, mainly mixing drinks and dealing with troublesome customers. She refused any help from her father Li Xiniwei, whether money or connections.
Dorothy stubbornly believed that her mother was killed because of her father. Actually, she was right.
Li Xiniwei had once served as an official in the Aurora Council's Fortress City, where he got involved with a wild little lover.
At first, Li Xiniwei was utterly infatuated with that leopard-like lover, until she learned that Li Xiniwei had a wife and daughter.
At the time, that little lover lay in Li Xiniwei's arms and told him, "It's okay, everything will be fine."
A week later, the little lover brought a gift box to Li Xiniwei. Inside the box was his wife's head.
Li Xiniwei was both shocked and furious. Then he "delightfully" discovered that his little lover was a core member of a certain hunter group called the Clan, more commonly known as the Xin Clan.
Because of this, Li Xiniwei nearly became "eunuch Xiniwei" at the hands of the hunters. It was his superior at the time who saved him.
Since this was a scandal, Li Xiniwei lost his official position in the Aurora Council. Later, he borrowed some money and used his connections to lease a T5-level Fortress City for mining.
Don't underestimate hunter groups. Powerful hunter groups commanded respect even from the three major Vassal forces.
Hunters and Scavengers were fundamentally different, yet sometimes interchangeable. Crudely put, hunters were like disciplined mafia, while Scavengers were street thugs. When street thugs became influential, they naturally moved up a level.
The chain of contempt on this continent was:
Vassals and Humans despised each other, both thinking the other was an idiot. However, both sides simultaneously looked down on Aberrant Beasts, Hunters, and Scavengers.
High-intelligence Aberrant Beasts and Hunters despised each other, then both looked down on Scavengers.
Scavengers looked down on Pig-Headed Men, who silently endured the abuse.
Li Xiniwei's life experience was quite colorful. Because he took a little lover, his wife died tragically. His wife had been living with their daughter in Kevab Ring City, dying unjustly.
Kevab Ring City was a city more expansive than Fortress City, with extremely tight Vassal defense forces. The entire city was surrounded by ring-shaped walls, with numerous heavy cannon-level weapons on the walls.
With mobile fortresses as a foundation, the various Vassal and Human forces rose simultaneously, all developing toward settled living. Ring cities represented this trend.
Dorothy had grown up in Kevab Ring City. She had seen her father only a limited number of times. Due to subsequent events, Dorothy felt nothing but hatred for her father.
Even so, she wouldn't commit patricide or anything like that. What she hated more was the person who killed her mother—her father's former little lover. For that little bitch, Dorothy hated her to the bone every second of every minute.
These matters weren't hard to investigate. This incident had been a hot gossip topic for a long time. So things were simple. When Baha approached Dorothy, he only asked her one question: "Want revenge?"
After that, everything fell into place. Dorothy became the host of the Second Generation Devourer · Crimson, tricked by Su Xiao... ahem, recruited under his command.
Su Xiao looked at Dorothy across the table. The girl wasn't particularly pretty. She had some freckles on her face, a slightly red nose, and long hair braided into a plait that nearly reached her calves. The tips of her braid were tied with small metal rings. Even while eating, she wore black cloth gloves on her hands. If she removed her clothes, one would see tattoos covering the scars on her back.
Now that the Second Generation Devourer · Boiling Crimson had a host, it was time to release the Third Generation Devourer · Dark Sun.
Su Xiao's reason for this was simple: let the hosts of Boiling Crimson and Dark Sun compete. Su Xiao could collect data from this and continuously optimize and improve the next generation of Devourers. He had two ultimate goals, and achieving either one would suffice.
First was the external auxiliary enhancement-type Devourer. Regarding whether this goal could be achieved, Su Xiao felt that, given the current situation, the healer-type Devourer was drifting further and further away.
Although one goal was getting farther away, Su Xiao had another objective: to create a Devourer that could both follow commands and act independently.
This type of Devourer wouldn't need a host. It would possess powerful combat capabilities on its own. Moreover, it would become a permanent summon that didn't occupy a summon slot.
This Devourer must have powerful combat abilities, adaptability to various extreme environments, exceptional independent survival and combat capabilities, and the ability to recover its own damage by absorbing life force.
If he could create such a Devourer, he'd be rich. If this Devourer could become a permanent summon, then when it killed enemies, Su Xiao would receive kill rewards under Reincarnation Paradise's judgment. There would also be a chance for enemies to drop treasure chests after death.
In other words, after entering a mission world, Su Xiao could choose a desolate area, release the perfect Devourer, and let it hunt powerful supernatural beasts in the wild. During this time, Su Xiao would continuously receive kill rewards.
Actually, Amu and Baha could barely do this, but they couldn't fight continuously. Amu was a tank-type, Baha was an assassination-type. In a team, each specialized in one area to maximize their power.
Therefore, sending them to desolate areas to fight and kill enemies alone would be fine for a few days, but over time, they would eventually die in battle.
For this reason, Su Xiao needed to continuously improve the Devourers generation after generation. The day he created the perfect body would be the day he could lie back and collect profits.
Actually, Su Xiao had an even bolder plan. Gray Gentleman turned other Contractors into "puppets" to gain high profits each world progress without bearing much risk.
Gray Gentleman had a method to strip a Contractor's brand. Su Xiao didn't need this method—it was the reason Gray Gentleman became a Violator. What Su Xiao needed was the Paradise brand.
If a perfect Devourer had a Paradise brand, could it independently enter a world? Go to that world and gather resources.
Devourers were never limited to just one. Suppose he created a Devourer squad and released them into a mission world. Even without the comprehensive evaluation at the end of the world, the resources gained from fighting through a world would be very profitable. All these resources would belong to Su Xiao.
This was just one of Su Xiao's ideas. He had an even better plan. Through the Alchemy Codex, he had unlocked a new life blueprint [Silent Servant].
Silent Servant could detect various rare underground mineral veins. The life blueprint Su Xiao hadn't yet mastered, [Tunnel Digging Servant], was for mining. These two simple-minded brothers combined would form a mining squad.
Mining was an especially profitable business. Were Alchemists rich? They never tired of it, which shows how lucrative it was.
Su Xiao's ideal resource collection squad would be: one Silent Servant (detection), one Tunnel Digging Servant (mining), and 3-5 perfect Devourers (super bodyguards).
Mining was such a profitable endeavor that it attracted envy. Having a perfect Devourer squad protect the two simple-minded brothers was much more profitable than having the Devourers kill enemies.
If they encountered powerful supernatural creatures during this time, the Devourer squad might even surround and kill them, which would be extra income.
In this way, the mining squad would ensure output and avoid being looted by Contractors of the same rank. Each world progress would bring back a large amount of ore. Su Xiao could then sell it for Soul Coins. Saying he'd laugh in his sleep would be an exaggeration, but it would definitely be astonishing.
Regarding the two simple-minded mining brothers, Su Xiao had already obtained the life blueprint for [Silent Servant]. He believed that the back of the sixth page of the Alchemy Codex recorded the life blueprint for [Tunnel Digging Servant].
Since the Alchemists of the Second Era: Alchemical Civilization chose to record and pass down knowledge, it really wouldn't make sense to only record [Silent Servant] without [Tunnel Digging Servant]. That would be too infuriating. Those Alchemy Grandmasters wouldn't do something so despicable.
This behavior would be like writing a novel and suddenly stopping at the most exciting part.
There was no need to worry about the life blueprints for the two simple-minded mining brothers. The current problem was that the Devourers weren't perfect enough.
Su Xiao took out the glass pillar containing the Third Generation Devourer · Dark Sun and placed it on the dining table.
Dorothy, who was eating across from him, immediately stopped moving. Her pupils instantly turned crimson. She sensed that the dark gold semi-fluid inside the glass pillar was her archenemy, or rather, the common enemy of her and Boiling Crimson.
"Let me kill it."
Dorothy lightly leaped, her feet landing on the top of the chair back. Her long braid hung down, the small metal rings tied to its tips clinking against each other.
"..."
Su Xiao ignored Dorothy. He was considering which area to release the Third Generation Devourer.
"Mr. White Night, let me kill it."
Dorothy emphasized again. Hearing this, Su Xiao glanced at her.
"Sit there obediently."
"I won't."
Dorothy showed her rebellious side. As soon as she spoke, she found Amu and Baha both looking at her.
"Moo?"
Amu made a move to pull out his Dragonheart Axe, but Baha stopped him. Baha removed a meter-long chair leg and handed it to Amu, indicating that using this wouldn't easily kill her.
A few minutes later, Dorothy had a bruised left eye socket, and her right cheek looked like she had a walnut in her mouth. She clasped her hands behind her back, sniffed back bloody snot, and said extremely sincerely, "Mr. White Night, I know I was wrong. Please forgive me."
Hearing this, Baha lifted the sharp eagle claw pressed on her head, and Amu withdrew the Dragonheart Axe from her neck. After being taught a lesson, the rebellious girl Dorothy became much more obedient.