Chapter 1: ???
Exchange Prerequisites: ???
Exchange Price: ???
Stock Quantity: ???
...
A long list of question marks appeared before Su Xiao. Whether due to his identity or other reasons, every single one of the several hundred items in the reputation shop showed as ???.
Su Xiao looked at Kaisa. Though Kaisa remained silent, he immediately pulled out paper and pen from his pocket and scribbled a few words.
Su Xiao frowned and studied it for a good while before he could make out the writing: 'Don't worry about what they are, they're already arranged in order. Exchange from top to bottom.'
After reading these words on the napkin, Su Xiao began exchanging.
[You have obtained Metal · Power Origin (Bloodline/Class item. Using this item allows inheritance of the 'Metal Controller' class template).]
[Metal Controller · Class Potential: A+ (Bloodline/Class inheritance item, potential ranges from E to S+).]
...
[You have obtained Living Crystal ×27.]
[You have obtained Living Ore ×21953 units.]
[You have obtained Soul Crystal (Complete) ×175.]
[You have obtained Soul Crystal Core ×8.]
[You have obtained Overlord Essence ×1.]
[You have obtained Gem Monster Chest (Upon opening, 50% chance to obtain Immortal Rank Gem ×1, 45% chance to release a Gem Monster, 5% chance of no gain).]
[Tip: If opened within Reincarnation Paradise, this Gem Monster Chest will 100% yield Immortal Rank Gem ×1, with no possibility of releasing a Gem Monster.]
[Tip: Gem Monsters possess multiple instant-death abilities and are extremely dangerous, but defeating them yields a unique gem produced by the monster.]
...
[You have obtained Metal Stormer (Holy Spirit Rank Set 7/7).]
[Tip: Only 'Metal Controller' can activate this set's set effects.]
[You have obtained Metal Activation Fluid (Immortal Rank · Metal Stormer Set exclusive enhancement item).]
[You have obtained Holy Spirit Rank Gems ×6.]
[You have obtained Epic Rank Gems ×37.]
...
The exchange stopped there. Not to mention anything else, over 20,000 units of Living Ore alone was a massive windfall that could greatly boost their forces.
Aside from that, the Soul Crystal gains seemed less than what they got from the Sun God Cult, but the quality was higher this time, netting 8 Soul Crystal Cores.
Su Xiao needed these badly. Both Blade Grandmaster and Melee Grandmaster required Soul Crystal Cores to improve.
Additionally, there was the A+ potential class inheritance item, the Holy Spirit Rank set matching 'Metal Controller', and the enhancement items for that set, forming a complete one-stop service for the 'Metal Controller' class.
Both Su Xiao and Kaisa's wallets were bulging. Hao Mei's psychological shadow area was particularly large. The various warnings she received had flooded her screen, and her mark reputation was leaking like a sieve, sliding all the way down.
Just as Hao Mei's anger surged and she prepared to fight, her mark reputation quickly recovered. Scrolling up through the notifications, she learned that all the blame had been shifted to a quartermaster named Qiu Teli. Hao Mei never figured out who that was.
"Kaisa."
"My dear friend, see you at Sun Fortress."
Leaving these words, Kaisa slipped into the utility room in a few steps. A flash of teleportation array light, and he had already gone to Warehouse No. 2 at the base camp fortress.
Kaisa had fled, but Su Xiao couldn't leave. He had come for two things. Having accomplished one, he immediately needed to handle the other. His gaze turned to Hao Mei as he said:
"Do two more things for me, and then you can leave."
"No way."
Hao Mei answered very decisively. Her sixth sense told her that fleeing immediately was the best choice.
"..."
Su Xiao looked at Hao Mei. After a few seconds, Hao Mei snorted lightly and turned her head away.
"At most two things, and you can't send me to my death."
"Of course."
As he spoke, Su Xiao began setting up mechanisms in the room, forming strands of Spirit Shadow Thread and wrapping them around the window and door handles, pulling them taut.
After a moment, Su Xiao pressed a mechanism on the counter. The floor descended, revealing steps leading downward.
Following the steps into a tunnel, Su Xiao passed through an underground passage and then went up another set of steps into a civilian residence.
Su Xiao looked around the living room of the residence, then lifted the coffee table and tapped a colored floor tile. The tile flipped over, revealing a box stuck underneath.
Opening the box, inside was a gorgeous dress and a blood collection vial filled with blood. Further below were an 'Inner City Entry Permit', car keys, and other items.
Su Xiao tossed the gorgeous dress from the box to Hao Mei. Seeing the dress, Hao Mei froze in place.
"You... planned this long ago."
Hao Mei held the dress. This was one she had bought before, worn once, and left in the hotel where she was temporarily staying.
The last time she wore this dress was because of her outstanding battle merits. A high-ranking official from the inner city had summoned her, intending to put her in the newspapers to boost morale.
In fact, Hao Mei really did make the newspapers. Not to mention anything else, the fact that she had repeatedly stolen enemy intelligence meant she was destined to gain a decent status.
"Change."
"Right here? I'll be shy. At least let me go to..."
"Run, and I'll cut off your head."
"I'll go to the bedroom~"
Hao Mei walked weakly into the bedroom. Su Xiao took the blood collection vial from the box, retrieved the [Primordial Mask], and poured all the blood from the vial onto the mask.
The mask absorbed all the blood. Su Xiao put it on, and his appearance and aura rapidly changed, turning him into a steady middle-aged man. This was the driver who had driven for Hao Mei two days ago, working under a high-ranking official in the inner city.
The driver wasn't dead, but was sound asleep on a nearby sofa. Kaisa had helped with this, and it seemed flawless for now.
After a while, Hao Mei changed into the gorgeous evening gown. Her light white, slightly grayish wavy hair cascaded down. She wore a gemstone bracelet on her right hand. As a Sword Grandmaster, her temperament was impeccable.
After looking her over, Su Xiao was fairly satisfied with Hao Mei's appearance. Hao Mei's mood, however, grew more anxious. She asked:
"What are we going to do in the inner city?"
Hao Mei finally couldn't help asking. This was 'Kravborg Ring City', where many high-ranking figures of the Vassal Alliance resided. Calling 'Kravborg Ring City' the alliance's capital wouldn't be wrong.
"To see someone."
"Really?"
Hao Mei instinctively pulled out a bottle of wine, but remembering her evening gown, she put it away.
"..."
Su Xiao ignored Hao Mei. Leaving the residence, he got into a luxury car in the courtyard. Baha, Beini, and Amu, who had been following him, were nowhere to be seen.
Starting the vehicle, Su Xiao drove with Hao Mei in the back seat onto the main street. Half an hour later, they arrived at the gate of the inner ring wall.
The steel giant gate was open. Various detection devices were set up on both sides and above. Usually, only a dozen or so military police guarded here, but now it had increased to over a hundred.
Knock, knock, knock.
The window was tapped. Su Xiao lowered the window and handed over an 'Inner City Entry Permit'. The military police officer in charge compared it multiple times, had an old Perception-type expert confirm that Su Xiao, Hao Mei, and the vehicle were all fine, and then conducted high-energy detection and weapon energy magnetic field scanning.
After several military police officers found nothing wrong, they reluctantly let them through. In the current situation, they would rather not let anyone into the inner city, using various excuses to delay and avoid the risk and responsibility of letting people in.
Being able to enter the inner city so smoothly was partly due to the 'Inner City Entry Permit', but mainly because of Hao Mei's face.
The front lines of the Vassal side were being hammered so badly they were losing control. In this environment, they desperately needed a representative figure to boost morale. With Su Xiao and Kaisa's deliberate efforts, Hao Mei became that figure. She had even once defeated the Wild Beast Leader · Hausman, but due to the chaotic battlefield, she couldn't kill him.
Hao Mei's rise to fame came from her pursuit of the infamous Wild Boar Five Brothers. Her heroic posture on the battlefield was published on the front pages of major Vassal newspapers the same day.
Hao Mei became so famous because the Wild Boar Five Brothers were notoriously infamous. They had another nickname: Officer Killers.
A person's reputation is like a tree's shadow. The military police at these checkpoints couldn't help but recognize Hao Mei. Kaisa had even sold the copyright to Hao Mei's portrait advertisements. In a few days, Hao Mei's endorsement image would appear on soda cans.
The streetlights on both sides were bright. Su Xiao checked the time: 10:12. He needed to hurry. He had to reach the designated location before 10:50.
Time passed minute by minute. The vehicle Su Xiao was driving sped through a narrow alley. The distance between the walls on both sides and the car body was less than 10 centimeters.
With a screech, the car stopped inside a warehouse. Su Xiao got out, opened a freezer in the warehouse, pulled out several metal rods from a large amount of ice, and tossed them to Hao Mei.
"What's this?"
"Vector Vibration Dampener."
"Huh? What's that? Never heard of it."
"..."
Su Xiao walked to an old elevator, opened the circuit box below, connected a titanium-lithium battery as a power source, and started the elevator.
Pressing the 4th-floor button, the elevator rose with a harsh grinding sound. Su Xiao took off the Primordial Mask from his face, and his appearance and clothes quickly returned to their original state.
Ding~
The old elevator door opened. Su Xiao walked forward, passing through several walls with holes, and entered a spacious room with a broken ceiling.
Not only was the ceiling of Su Xiao's room broken, but the ceiling of the floor above was also broken. Ahead was a concrete wall with no windows.
Although land was precious in the inner city, there were still buildings like this that had been sealed up, leading to ambiguous ownership and difficulty in resale.
Su Xiao signaled Hao Mei to hand over the 'Vector Vibration Dampeners'. He attached these metal rods to the wall ahead, causing them to transform into suction-cup-like shapes.
"My part is done. I need to pee, I'm leaving first."
"20 seconds, then you're free."
"No way, I'll explode in 20 seconds."
Hao Mei's expression was helpless. Claiming she needed to relieve herself was a lie; running away was the truth.
Ignoring Hao Mei, Su Xiao raised his hand. Baha partially emerged from the alternate space and gradually pulled Su Xiao into it.
The colors of everything around faded slightly. Su Xiao successfully entered the alternate space. His blood energy surged, first exploding outward, then suddenly retracting, forming a phantom around him that was both human and beast.
This blood energy phantom was about 10 meters tall, shaped like the fierce beast · Fei. Its upper body was human-like, its left hand a ferocious beast claw, with bone spurs at the elbow of its left arm and scales on the arm. Its right arm was human, but the hand only had three fingers: thumb, index, and middle.
After the blood energy phantom was formed, Su Xiao took out a test tube. With a mental energy shockwave, the tube shattered. The golden liquid inside floated in mid-air, radiating heat outward.
What was this? A long time ago, Su Xiao had begun researching the liquefaction of Apollo. This was the result of liquefying ordinary Apollo, a concentrated version that reduced the explosion range but greatly increased the real fire damage after the explosion.
The liquid Apollo formed a straight, slender cone nearly 2 meters long, with the thickest part no thicker than a pinky finger.
After forming this part, a blood spear slowly took shape in Su Xiao's hand, wrapping the Apollo cone at its center.
Consuming 15% of his blood energy, Su Xiao formed a blood spear. This was the blood spear with the highest strength and penetration.
He tossed the nearly 4-meter-long blood spear into the air, and it landed in the hand of the blood energy phantom.
The blood energy phantom held a strong bow in its left hand and the 4-meter blood spear in its right, using the spear like an arrow. It drew the bowstring.
Crack, crack, crack...
The bow was fully drawn. In the next instant, a golden fire line appeared at the center of the blood spear, and Apollo began to activate.
This liquid Apollo had an activation time of 30 seconds. It seemed wasteful, but it wasn't. This liquid Apollo wouldn't self-detonate.
After 30 seconds, it would be in an activated state. Before the blood spear exploded, unless the entire spear was shattered or hit an impenetrable defense, this liquid Apollo wouldn't self-detonate.
When the blood spear exploded, the liquid Apollo inside would also explode simultaneously, with no delay. This was the result of Su Xiao's careful preparation.
Su Xiao took a ring from his storage space and put it on his finger. This item was called [Ancient Ring of Slaughter].
[Ancient Ring of Slaughter (Holy Spirit Rank): When attacking an enemy at range, triggers Hillis's soul power to enhance the ranged attack... If the ranged attack hits an enemy's vital point, the resulting vital damage is increased by 4.72 to 6.32 times.]
As Su Xiao put on the [Ancient Ring of Slaughter], silver-white patterns climbed up his hand, past his arm, and finally stopped at his neck.
Su Xiao's target this time was Alliance Leader · Tuoyin. He had been planning this since he learned that Kaisa had become the quartermaster of the Vassal Alliance.
Inside the alternate space, time passed minute by minute. The location Su Xiao chose was about 2 kilometers from Alliance Leader · Tuoyin. With the blood spear's strength, this distance wasn't far. Ensuring a straight, non-descending flight trajectory was absolutely no problem.
Su Xiao was poised in the alternate space, not alarming the guards around the target. Fast, accurate, and ruthless—this was the essence of assassination.
Meanwhile, 2 kilometers away, in a study on the third floor of a mansion.
The lights were bright. A man in a rolled-sleeve shirt and overcoat sat at the inner side of a desk. Across from him were his OL-dressed secretary and several alliance officials. Not to mention anything else, the secretary was a real beauty. Most men would secretly think, 'If only she were my little secretary.'
"Lord Tuoyin, it's already 11 o'clock. You should rest."
The OL secretary adjusted her glasses. Alliance Leader · Tuoyin ignored her, quietly listening to an official's report.
Contrary to people's imagination, Alliance Leader · Tuoyin, though obsessed with power and a politician who would stop at nothing, wasn't addicted to pleasure.
On the other side, Su Xiao emerged from the alternate space. The 'Vector Vibration Dampeners' on the wall ahead performed multi-frequency resonance, emitting sound waves.
These sound waves, after reaching Su Xiao, who wore a 'Sound Perception Capture Device', converged into a line connecting to a distant point. On the other side of the line was the positioning set up by Beini.
Determining the target's location, Su Xiao controlled the blood energy phantom to release the end of the blood spear between its three fingers. With a sonic boom, the blood energy shot out.
Inside the study on the third floor of the mansion, the OL secretary spoke again, urging Alliance Leader · Tuoyin to rest early. It was already the latest daily bedtime of 11 o'clock.
Alliance Leader · Tuoyin ignored the little secretary. After listening to a plump official's report, he gently rubbed his temples and said:
"The front line situation isn't optimistic. We need to organize a general attack as soon as possible. We can't give Sun Fortress a chance to catch its breath..."
Before Alliance Leader · Tuoyin could finish, a blast sound came. A blood spear was less than 3 meters away from him.
Whoosh!
A figure appeared out of thin air in front of Alliance Leader · Tuoyin. His whole body seemed forged from steel, expressionless as he met the blood spear.
Boom!
The steel man's hands and head were pierced. This blood spear's attack power was too strong. After penetrating the steel man's head, it broke through six layers of passive energy shields and struck Alliance Leader · Tuoyin.
Amid the furious shouts of the Vassal guards, the blood spear pierced through Alliance Leader · Tuoyin's chest and was stopped by the shell-shaped energy shield behind him.
Seeing this, everyone present breathed a sigh of relief. In their view, even if Lord Tuoyin's vital point was pierced, he could still be saved. As long as he didn't die on the spot, it would be fine.
Boom!
Blood energy and fire exploded simultaneously. Sun Flame instantly engulfed the mansion. In the blazing Sun Flame, concrete was burned into gas, and metal melted into molten iron.
Alliance Leader · Tuoyin died at 11:07 today in the mansion of 'Kravborg Ring City'. Around him were a total of 76 guards, 473 hidden sentries, and 760 military police on outer perimeter alert.
Su Xiao looked at the hole in the wall ahead. After confirming the kill notification was correct, he dispelled the blood energy phantom and put away the oversized strong bow falling from above.
"Who did you just... shoot?"
Hao Mei couldn't bother maintaining her lady-like demeanor. In her gorgeous evening gown, she pulled out a bottle of wine and chugged several big gulps.
"Alliance Leader · Tuoyin."
"Pfft~, cough! Cough, cough, cough! I..."
Hao Mei's heart was almost going crazy, both shocked and angry. She finally understood. Su Xiao had brought her here to divert attention.
After completing the assassination, two people fleeing separately had a higher success rate than one person fleeing alone. The inner city wasn't like the outer city. Setting up spatial arrays or the like here would be detected within half an hour. The inner city had professionals in this area.
Holding onto a last shred of hope, Hao Mei asked, "So what do we do now?"
"Good luck to you."
As he spoke, Su Xiao took out a vial of blood and poured it onto the Primordial Mask. He would soon disguise himself as an inner city military police officer and join the search. Only by doing so could he escape this place amidst the chaos.
Hao Mei listened to the urgent alarms and the shouts in the distance. Her psychological shadow area grew larger and larger. That was Alliance Leader · Tuoyin, one of the four most powerful people in this world.
"Take me with you."
"..."
Su Xiao didn't respond and continued forward. Seeing this, Hao Mei gritted her teeth in frustration and had to use her ultimate trump card. She said:
"10,000 Soul Coins! Get me out of here."
Hearing this, Su Xiao paused in his steps. After considering for a moment, he said, "The risk is high. I can't guarantee you'll leave alive."
"15,000!"
"Stay close to me."
With that, Su Xiao led Hao Mei toward the rooftop.
PS: (Continuing with one chapter to preserve my life. My health has slightly recovered, but I still dare not overexert myself. However, this chapter isn't short.)