Chapter 47: Please Don’t Misunderstand
After closing the prompt from Apocalypse Paradise, Su Xiao accepted the reward. As for the matter itself, he truly couldn’t handle it.
Help Apocalypse Paradise win this World War? Impossible. As an invader, Su Xiao knew it was only a matter of time before he was exposed.
The coordinate point had now been determined, located within the Sun Fortress. This location provided a defensive advantage, but it wasn’t without drawbacks. Before the World Coordinates were generated, the Sun Fortress would remain immobile. Only after the World Coordinates formed could the fortress regain its mobility.
The defensive battle wouldn’t begin for another 27 hours. This time was left for the contractors from Holy Light Paradise and Watchful Paradise to travel.
After 27 hours, the half World Core Su Xiao possessed would become immobile, forcibly fixed at the World Coordinate formation point inside the main control room at the top of the fortress.
Gazing at the half World Core in his hand, Su Xiao weighed his subsequent plans.
First, he needed to acquire a large batch of melee heavy weapons in a short time. Priority would be given to long-bladed weapons, war hammers, and the like. Such weapons required no training and had strong killing power right off the bat.
The 140,000 various cold weapons bought earlier from Brigadier General Rez had already been distributed, but that wasn’t enough.
With 27 hours of development time, it wouldn’t be difficult to increase the number of Boar Warriors to 200,000. Among them, nearly 60,000 Boar Warriors had no weapons—this was the biggest problem.
Letting them use mining picks would give them some combat power, but the standard cold weapons forged by the Vassal Clan’s arsenal provided a huge boost.
Assume a Boar Warrior’s base combat power was 10. With a mining pick, their combat power would be around 16–20. With standard Vassal Clan weapons, it would be at least 150–160.
Over the past two days, Kaiser and Li Xiniwei had been trying to buy second-hand cold weapons retired by the Vassal Alliance. Unfortunately, either the weapons were too old, or the officers weren’t greedy for money.
The war between the Vassal Clan and the Human Race had only subsided in recent years. Both soldiers and officers of the Vassal Clan were highly disciplined. Officers like Brigadier General Rez, who had been sidelined, were rare.
Aside from the Vassal Clan, the only forces capable of supplying such a batch of weapons were the Human Race and numerous small nations.
According to Beini’s exploration, this continent had three major dominant forces: the Human Race, the Vassal Clan, and the Aberrant Beasts.
Su Xiao had already made contact with the first two. As for the Aberrant Beasts, the high-intelligence ones lived in the Eastern Great Forest, separated from the borderlands by a vast plain. The Boar Warriors hunted low-intelligence Aberrant Beasts on this plain.
The Beast Clan was not to be contacted for now. They didn’t develop technology but instead researched methods to transcend physique and soul.
They rejected technological creations, believing technology was an evil that made beings lazy and would confuse young beasts with incomplete minds. This felt like parents not letting their kids play video games.
The Beast Clan was ruled out. Their forging was at two extremes: quality and quantity. For quality, visiting the Beast Clan was the way to go. For quantity, a single Beast craftsman would take years to forge one weapon, and it would be for Beast Clan use.
According to Beini’s observations, the surrounding islands of this continent were scattered like stars, numbering at least several hundred.
These islands ranged from large ones housing hundreds of thousands of people to small ones only a few square meters. This terrain resulted in a total of 106 small nations in the surrounding area.
Ordering weapons from those small nations was feasible, but don’t expect quality or efficiency.
After ruling out options, Su Xiao realized there was no choice but to buy this batch of weapons from the Human Race. The relationship with them seemed friendly for now, but how long it would last was unclear to both sides.
Su Xiao took out a communicator resembling a satellite phone from a drawer. After dialing, a hoarse voice came through the earpiece. Judging by the voice, it was the black-robed person he had met when selling the [Cataclysmic Solution] last time.
The black-robed person in the communicator asked, “What’s the matter?”
“I want to buy a batch of standard Vassal Clan weapons from your side.”
Su Xiao wanted the Vassal Clan’s standard weapons because the Human Race soldiers mostly used [Metal Substitutes] to form weapons and armor. In terms of standard weapons, the Vassal Clan was superior.
During the many years of war between the Human Race and the Vassal Clan, the Humans must have captured plenty of Vassal cold weapons. Old and damaged ones would be melted down into premium steel, while well-maintained ones were kept. The value of Vassal standard weapons lay in their forging technique and premium steel. Melting them greatly reduced their value.
“When did you become interested in this? We’re friends, so I’ll give you a friendly price: 5 kilograms of Living Ore per weapon. How many do you want?”
The black-robed person’s quote was high. Last time at Brigadier General Rez’s, it was only 1.3 kilograms of Living Ore per weapon.
Buying 60,000 Vassal cold weapons would require 3,000 units of Living Ore. With heavy bargaining and some Living Ore borrowed from Kaiser, it could be done.
Su Xiao couldn’t produce weapons himself and needed them urgently. Without the ability to “forcibly allocate resources,” he had to buy at a high price. Thinking this, he said, “I need 60,000.”
“60,000? Which small nation are you planning to sell them to?”
“For my own use.”
“Your own use?”
After saying this, the black-robed person fell silent, carefully considering Su Xiao’s words.
“White Night, our friendship is fragile.”
The black-robed person’s words were somewhat puzzling.
“Oh.”
“So, don’t let this fragile friendship break. Are you sure this batch of weapons is for your own use, not for resale? If you resell them, my situation will become very awkward.”
“Sell to whom? Can those small nations’ finances survive the winter after buying this batch?”
Hearing this, the black-robed person was silent for another moment. After over ten seconds, he said, “Alright, I’ll sell this batch to you at a ‘friendly price’: 1 kilogram of Living Ore per weapon. White Night, remember, our friendship is fragile.”
After saying this, the other party hung up.
Why did the black-robed person, as a high-ranking member of the Human Race, suddenly lower the price? The reason was simple. Given this world’s technology, when Su Xiao received this communicator in Freedom City and brought it back to his base in the borderlands, the Human Race could pinpoint his location.
Su Xiao didn’t care about this. The hatred between the Human Race and the Vassal Clan wouldn’t be resolved in decades. In this era, the Human Race was very willing to see the Vassal Clan suffer.
The black-robed person knew Su Xiao was in the borderlands but didn’t know what he was doing. After learning Su Xiao wanted to buy weapons for his own use, he tested him multiple times, clearly stating that if Su Xiao sold the weapons, they would immediately turn hostile. This was a test.
After the test, the black-robed person immediately dropped the price from 5 kilograms of Living Ore per weapon to 1 kilogram.
The logic was simple. Being in the borderlands and capable of using tens of thousands of Vassal cold weapons, Su Xiao at least controlled a medium or small force.
Under this premise, selling Su Xiao a large batch of weapons cheaply was a good choice. Given Su Xiao’s location, unless his forces could fly, they couldn’t cross Vassal territory to attack the Human Race.
In other words, by selling weapons cheaply, the black-robed person allowed a force to grow at the edge of Vassal territory.
The other party initially quoted 5 kilograms of Living Ore per weapon, but Su Xiao would at most offer 2 or 1.5 kilograms. Using future sales of [Cataclysmic Solution] as leverage, he could definitely bargain down to 1.5 kilograms.
Overall, the black-robed person, by earning 300 fewer units of Living Ore, created a huge hidden danger at the Vassal Clan’s border.
It could be said that those who climbed to high positions were never stupid. They either had extensive connections or were old schemers.
With the most pressing issue resolved, Su Xiao felt much lighter. He sent the newly awakened Beini and Kaiser to the Human Race side to get this done quickly.
The channel previously used to cover up the Boar People’s whereabouts—a fake plan to sell Boar People to the Human Race—was now put to use. That was why Kaiser was willing to spend heavily to set up a teleportation array in Freedom City connecting to the Human Race territory’s “Luser City.” That scoundrel had long anticipated Su Xiao would trade with the Human Race and took the risk to set this up.
Kaiser did nothing else in this world but earn a massive intermediary fee through the connections he built. He was making a killing.
Su Xiao didn’t mind this. Kaiser brought him convenience. On this basis, it was only right for the other party to profit. If you want a donkey to pull a millstone, you have to feed it, let alone Kaiser, who would pluck a goose as it flew by.
With the weapon issue resolved, Su Xiao lit a cigarette, stood up, and walked to the curved window, gazing at the scenery outside. He was thinking about the contractors from Apocalypse Paradise.
Once the defensive battle began, the contractors from Apocalypse Paradise would inevitably come to help defend the World Core. This was a powerful force, given their numbers.
But there was a problem. If he cooperated with Apocalypse Paradise’s contractors, they would surely use the Sun Fortress as a stronghold to hold out.
If during this time, Su Xiao’s disguise reached its limit and was detected by Apocalypse Paradise, the contractors inside the Sun Fortress would immediately receive a prompt, learning they were inside an enemy fortress.
Imagine being inside an enemy fortress with 200,000 Boar Warriors. Contractors who hadn’t bought life-saving items would immediately despair. Although Apocalypse Paradise’s contractors seemed timid compared to Reincarnation Paradise’s madmen, they were still contractors.
In despair, some would choose mutual destruction. Given the wealth of Apocalypse Paradise’s contractors, Su Xiao wouldn’t be surprised if they pulled out powerful mutual-destruction items.
At that point, even if he survived, the Sun Fortress would be lost. Su Xiao couldn’t replicate a second Sun Fortress. Its creation involved both coincidence and a bit of luck.
If the fortress was destroyed, all previous efforts would be in vain.
Additionally, Apocalypse Paradise’s contractors generally relied on teammates. If they knew Su Xiao could command 200,000 Boar Warriors, they would hole up inside the fortress and not fight until the Boar Warriors were wiped out.
As for not revealing the Boar Warriors, that was even worse. The contractors from Holy Light Paradise and Watchful Paradise weren’t decorations. Without the Boar Warriors forming a defensive line to hold the Sun Fortress, even if they ultimately won, the fortress would likely suffer severe damage, impairing multiple functions. If the Evolution Nest was damaged, the loss would be catastrophic.
Thinking this way, cooperating with Apocalypse Paradise’s contractors, aside from strong individuals like Golden Earl, would only bring useless teammates.
How did Xi die? Wasn’t Queen Xi strong in the World War? Besides Xi, how did the Black Bee, who carried a team of dead weight, die? They were all killed by useless teammates.
The deaths of many strong Apocalypse Paradise contractors flashed through Su Xiao’s mind. He immediately decided not to cooperate with Apocalypse Paradise’s contractors in this world for joint defense.
“White Night, it’s finally starting.”
The door was pushed open, and Molei pulled Yueshitu into the room. Yueshitu, wearing bunny-eared pajamas, looked half-asleep. She had been sleeping soundly when Molei dragged her out of bed and hastily dressed her. Now, one of her socks was stuck in her collar, looking quite unique.
Su Xiao glanced at Molei but said nothing. He was considering how to prevent Apocalypse Paradise’s contractors from coming to defend. Directly blocking them with Boar Warriors might trigger a warning from Apocalypse Paradise.
As an invader, with the fortress in its development phase, it was better to avoid trouble.
He turned his gaze to Baha and Bubu Wang. After so long working together, no verbal communication was needed. Baha and Bubu Wang understood.
Bubu Wang trotted over to the sofa, looking like he was ready for a good show. Baha landed on the armrest of the sofa next to Bubu Wang.
Seeing this, Su Xiao sat down on a single sofa. Baha beside him looked serious.
“Keyboard, come!”
As Baha spoke, since Su Xiao had transferred the speaking rights in the World Contact Platform to him, a virtual keyboard appeared in front of Baha.
Seeing this, Molei and Yueshitu both thought Baha was about to speak in the World Contact Platform. They activated the platform to watch the show. Molei’s expression was a bit complicated, after all, Baha’s speaking ID was “Molei’s Old Father.”
The offensive-defensive battle would start in over 20 hours, making the contact platform especially lively. Hundreds of people were speaking, causing messages to scroll continuously. In this situation, Baha posted:
Molei’s Old Father (Rogue): “I’ve obtained the World Core. The offensive-defensive battle will begin in 26 hours and 45 minutes.”
Crab (6th Miner Squad): “The defending side has the advantage, but they have to deal with contractors from both Holy Light Paradise and Watchful Paradise. So…”
Hao Mei (Fengtian Guild): “You’re a miner, you don’t have to fight. Why are you analyzing this? Also, Molei’s dad, strong, strong, strong~”
Molei (Battle Angel): “I’ll beat you up one day.”
Molei’s Old Father (Rogue): “For the upcoming defensive battle, I hope everyone will refrain from participating, to avoid chaos disrupting my defensive arrangements.”
Rain Guide (Rogue): “What?”
Lu Di (Rogue): “Big shot, do you mean we don’t need to help? You’ll defend alone? We’ll be a hindrance?”
Molei’s Old Father (Rogue): “Though I don’t want to hurt your pride, literally speaking, yes. I alone am enough to defend.”
Lu Di (Rogue): “???”
Red Cage Fish (Ghost Soul Adventure Group): “??”
Woya (Rogue): “????”
Hao Mei (Fengtian Guild): “???????”
Sea Crow (Crownless Guild): “Is this human language?”
Shan Tashan (Rogue): “Too arrogant. No one’s going to stop him?”
Crab (6th Miner Squad): “If I were a contractor, I wouldn’t be able to take this.”
…
Seeing these messages, Baha looked smug. He was deliberately provoking anger among Apocalypse Paradise’s contractors.
The current situation was: whoever obtained the World Core first would be besieged by the other two factions’ contractors. In earlier posts, many Apocalypse Paradise contractors had suggested abandoning the World Core first, becoming the “2” in a 2-vs-1 rather than the current “1.”
In this context, if Baha, using the identity “Molei’s Old Father,” was too arrogant, it would likely anger all Apocalypse Paradise’s contractors. Many would choose to watch, waiting for Su Xiao and Baha to get beaten, since they didn’t want to be the first to defend the World Core anyway.
Baha knew the current level wasn’t arrogant enough. He continued monitoring the contact platform. The posts read:
Golden Earl (War Leader): “Molei’s Old Father, do you mean we’re no help in this war?”
Molei’s Old Father (Rogue): “From the current situation, yes.”
Golden Earl (War Leader): “So you think all the preparations I’ve made are meaningless?”
Molei’s Old Father (Rogue): “Don’t misunderstand. I’m not targeting you. I’m saying everyone here is trash.”