Chapter 4: Bystander Hit
On the bustling pedestrian street, Gulu raised her left hand in an awkward posture, as if her entire left arm no longer belonged to her.
“Are you out of your mind?”
A mouth on Gulu’s left palm spoke again—this was a unique ability of Sacred Hymn when attached to someone else.
At this moment, Sacred Hymn thought Gulu was trying to take them both down together. Based on her understanding, when contractors or hunters from Reincarnation Paradise met, most of the time they fought to the death, and the best outcome was pretending not to see each other.
In Sacred Hymn’s spiritual perception, Su Xiao’s soul was so strong that it was nearly forming a soul magnetic field around him, even a soul electrostatic field.
Sacred Hymn’s ability to invade another’s consciousness space after self-destruction was somewhat unstoppable, but nothing in this world was absolutely so. Sacred Hymn herself was a soul-type, and she feared those stronger in soul power than herself, as well as those who countered her with mind-type abilities.
Against other systems, Sacred Hymn was merely cautious, handling them without fear. When she possessed Gulu, it wasn’t like a ghost clinging externally; she compressed and condensed her own soul body to its smallest, turning it into a spirit state and hiding within Gulu’s consciousness space.
In layman’s terms, even if Gulu’s body and soul were completely destroyed, it wouldn’t harm Sacred Hymn hiding in the consciousness space. At worst, when the consciousness space collapsed, Sacred Hymn would be ejected—this was her unstoppable aspect.
Normally, after invading an enemy’s consciousness space, Sacred Hymn would begin to deal with them, like what happened to Gulu last time: constant drowsiness, drowning once asleep, waking up, getting drowsy again, drowning again, and so on in an endless cycle of torment until the victim’s spirit broke. Then Sacred Hymn would control one of their arms to kill them.
This time was different. Sacred Hymn’s purpose in entering this world wasn’t to seek the Black Maple Tree seed; she was just here to grab benefits opportunistically. Encountering Gulu, and knowing she had a powerful backer to follow for easy gains, Sacred Hymn made her choice on the spot.
Gulu naturally understood Sacred Hymn’s intentions. After all, in the Treeborn World before, the two had played the role of surface-level sisters for about half a month.
Gulu saw through Sacred Hymn’s thoughts clearly, but why should she share the benefits she deserved with this guy? Gulu was furious inside, which was why she came early to meet up with Su Xiao.
At an open-air cold drink shop by the street, Su Xiao and Gulu sat across from each other. The technology within High Wall City wasn’t advanced, but not too backward either—somewhere between the steam age and the electrical age.
Most transcendent civilizations didn’t develop toward a technological era, not because they couldn’t, but due to various factors stalling progress. When mystery ceased to be mysterious, disaster followed.
Gulu, with a hateful expression, tried to shove her straw into Sacred Hymn’s mouth, while Sacred Hymn gritted her teeth and said, “Don’t go too far,” since no one wanted to drink black pepper tomato juice.
“White Night, help me get rid of her.”
Gulu spoke while pulling out a short knife and pinning her left arm to the table. The waiter serving Bubu Wang juice froze at the sight, looking bewildered.
“I can’t do anything about her.”
Su Xiao took a small sip of lemon water. Honestly, he had some ways to help Gulu get rid of Sacred Hymn, but the cost of removing Sacred Hymn without costing Gulu her life was enormous. At this point, Sacred Hymn’s soul threads were connected to various parts of Gulu’s consciousness space.
But why remove Sacred Hymn? Sacred Hymn had latched onto Gulu because she saw Gulu’s strong survival ability as a pay-to-win assassination-type. In other words, if Gulu died, Sacred Hymn couldn’t find another host quickly and would be in trouble herself.
Except for freaks like Kain, a soul body exposed to air for long periods was like a peeled orange—it would start to shrivel, harden, and eventually undergo a qualitative change, from a living soul to a dead wandering spirit. This process was irreversible.
In other words, Sacred Hymn wouldn’t let Gulu die. From another angle, Sacred Hymn’s actions actually strengthened Gulu, turning her from a pay-to-win assassination-type into an assassination-type with high soul damage and multiple soul abilities—of course, only if Sacred Hymn was willing to assist Gulu in battle.
Don’t forget, Sacred Hymn also had the title of Eighth Rank strongest healing-type. Who knew if she could use buff abilities on allies in her soul state? Even if not widely applicable, just buffing Gulu alone would be a huge boost to her combat power.
No matter how you looked at it, Gulu being hit by Sacred Hymn was a blessing in disguise. The reason Gulu resisted so much was mainly due to an information gap.
In Gulu’s current understanding, the Gloomy Continent and Dead Silence City here were dangerous, but she had come with a trump card and could handle the danger.
The reality was that the backup arranged by Tuanzhang was to help Su Xiao survive a Ninth Rank assessment of Origin-level danger, not to deal with Dead Silence City.
So the truth was, even if Gulu took her trump card to Dead Silence City, she’d still face a near-certain death. She’d probably realize this after encountering the first minor enemy there.
Thus, Gulu wasn’t being entangled by Sacred Hymn; she’d met a benefactor!
Baha had been with Su Xiao for so long that his ability to read people had grown greatly. After inquiring through the team channel, Baha began to embellish—no, explain the pros and cons to Gulu in detail.
By the end, not only Gulu but even Sacred Hymn was a bit stunned. She really hadn’t expected her “Soul Symbiosis” ability to be whitewashed so thoroughly.
Gulu looked at Baha as if to say, “I have no grudge against you, sir, so why are you treating me like a fool?”
“Actually, if you just think it through and do your own mental work, this isn’t a big deal. Isn’t it just one world progress? Think about it, before you were alone, how lonely. Now there’s someone to chat with you—isn’t that good?”
Baha finished speaking, took a sip of juice, and let out a contented sigh.
“So, I came to you for nothing?”
“Not for nothing.”
Baha raised a wing as if pushing something, speaking with emotion. It looked to Su Xiao for confirmation.
Su Xiao didn’t speak. Baha was handling the negotiation, so Baha had the decision-making power.
Seeing this, Baha took out a soul candy from the team storage space and said, “How could we let you come for nothing? My boss is treating you to candy.”
“This…”
Gulu’s expression was complicated. In the past, she would have turned and left, but after eating a soul candy last time, she had been longing for that sweet taste.
“See you later.”
Gulu took the candy and turned to leave. As she walked away, Su Xiao heard Sacred Hymn’s teasing voice, clearly tinged with delight. He wondered what Sacred Hymn would think if she knew Gulu was heading deep into Dead Silence City.
Su Xiao had seen people forced onto a pirate ship, but Sacred Hymn actively jumping on board was a first. Even more considerate, she didn’t need protection items to enter Dead Silence City. With such an ally, why would Su Xiao get rid of her? He couldn’t find one if he tried.
Gulu didn’t stay long before leaving. This time, the two weren’t cooperating fully. Gulu wasn’t Su Xiao’s subordinate; at most, she was an assistant, and only after finding Dead Silence City. Before that, Gulu could do whatever she wanted.
Su Xiao had come out this morning not to deal with Gulu’s issue, but to find noble son Crank and make him the world child. This “big opportunity” was best delivered early.
As Su Xiao thought this, he noticed Amu sending a message in the team channel. Two people had gone to the treatment institute headquarters, claiming to be Ona’s subordinates, wanting to take Ilia away.
The pedestrian street wasn’t close to the treatment institute headquarters, but he still needed to go back. Su Xiao did things either without promising or, once promised, followed through—but only for allies. For others, he had no qualms about deception.
He rushed back to the treatment institute. As soon as he entered the courtyard, he saw a group of treatment institute members on edge, led by Mrs. Marina. As one of the two surviving old members, Marina had recovered significantly. She stood with arms crossed in front of the new members, giving them courage.
As for Old Chaman, he was watching the show from behind. He was in disguise 24/7, pretending to be slow with age, even wearing a mask when working outside. He had a family and feared his work would implicate them.
Perhaps only when on leave at home did Old Chaman show the vigor of a younger man.
Undoubtedly, Mrs. Marina and Old Chaman were the capable subordinates Su Xiao needed. Among over a hundred combat experts, the two who survived were impeccable in adaptability, independent action, reconnaissance, and overall combat strength.
More importantly, both had long benefited from Su Xiao’s identity and, without extreme circumstances, wouldn’t betray. As for absolute loyalty, Su Xiao never considered it.
The treatment institute members were so tense because of two visitors. One tall, one short, they wore gray robes, their heads and hands wrapped in black cloth, with many old metal nails piercing their shoulders, chest, and abdomen.
They looked like bad news at first glance, as if black tentacles might burst out at any moment.
More crucially, their aura was key. One of the treatment institute’s most important training was distinguishing ancient god systems, due to the healing church’s strong hostility toward them.
If not for the tall messenger mentioning they were looking for Su Xiao, the courtyard would already be stained with blood.
“Disperse.”
Su Xiao spoke. Hearing this, Marina and Old Chaman turned and left for the apartment building. The other new members, though a beat slower, knew the vice director’s reputation. They weren’t flattering him but rather in awe—the previous six directors had all died miserably.
“Mr. White Night, sorry for the intrusion.”
The tall messenger took something from his chest—a meat lump beating like a heart. He crushed it, and a mark appeared.
“Ilia, do you know them?”
Baha spoke. Beside Bubu Wang, Ilia, holding Bubu’s soft fur, shook her head, a bit scared, hiding deeper into Bubu’s coat.
“Please don’t be fooled by our young lady. She’s actually quite playful.”
The tall messenger sighed helplessly. Clearly, the real Ilia wasn’t as obedient as she seemed. Children always try to act good in front of adults, but over time, they usually show their true colors.
Seeming to know she couldn’t hide it, Ilia nodded, meaning these were indeed the people coming for her.
“Thank you, Mr. White Night, for taking care of our young lady. If you ever have time to visit Doom Star, we’ll host you warmly.”
The tall messenger finished speaking, and a dark hole formed from twisted black tentacles. The two messengers held Ilia’s small hands and walked in, careful not to let her bump into anything. Finally, the space passage closed.
Ona had decided to take her daughter back so urgently, not because she feared Ilia would get into trouble with Su Xiao, but because she worried about Baha’s influence.
As it turned out, Ona was right to worry. Just last night, after chatting with others for a while and having dinner, Ilia had inadvertently learned from Baha to speak sweetly. But after a few seconds of Su Xiao’s gaze, she was corrected.
Su Xiao estimated that the bastard Zuiyasi had an 80% or higher chance of already entering this world, probably enjoying himself somewhere, waiting for the upheaval to begin before showing up.
Since he was back, Su Xiao planned to select usable talents from the over 100 new members.
“You two, come with me.”
Su Xiao spoke toward the apartment building. Hearing this, Marina and Old Chaman, who had been hiding behind pillars, came out.
A moment later, in the director’s office, Su Xiao sat behind the desk. Bubu Wang and Amu weren’t there. Bubu was monitoring noble son Crank’s movements, while Amu had gone deep underground to find the “Silent Servant” and “Tunnel Servant.”
These two dumb brothers were currently under the southern district, which was mainly for farming and grazing. It was the largest of High Wall City’s four districts, bigger than the other three combined.
With this world’s mining technology, they couldn’t reach deposits thousands of meters underground. In just one night, the dumb brothers had found good stuff—a vein of “Starflow Ore.” Su Xiao had seen this sold by Apocalypse Paradise contractors on the auction platform before, at 700 Soul Coins per piece.
Selling ore was that profitable. Though mining “Starflow Ore” wasn’t easy, digging up 10 pieces meant 7,000 Soul Coins, 100 pieces 70,000, and 1,000 pieces would cover the “Technique Soul” needed for the three grandmasters.
Of course, mining over a thousand pieces from one vein was unrealistic, but aside from the cost of creating the dumb brothers and mining consumption, it was pure profit.
The Silent Servant’s exploration ability was stronger than expected. Now it depended on the Tunnel Servant’s mining capability. To be safe, Su Xiao temporarily had Amu protect them, to avoid collisions with Apocalypse miners entering the world.
At the start of a world, those Apocalypse miners were everywhere looking for veins, and collisions weren’t uncommon. The development of the Devourer escort team needed to speed up; mining was indeed more profitable than imagined.
Amu’s task this time was especially heavy. Whether they could get rich for a while depended on his protection.
With only Baha left as a helper, Su Xiao naturally called in Marina and Old Chaman. Marina was now guarding the door, while Old Chaman, holding cleaning tools, carefully wiped the various art pieces on the shelves, showing a particular fondness for them.
Su Xiao picked up several documents on the desk. Baha was also reviewing them—these were the new treatment institute members.
Going through the files, there were plenty of fighters. The problem was, Su Xiao didn’t lack fighters now. No matter how strong these new members were, they couldn’t compare to Marina and Old Chaman, who had worked as church hunters for decades.
When he flipped to one file, Su Xiao paused. This was one of the 172 new members, named Lis, 22 years old, unmarried, living in the eastern district on 17th Street. Her mother was a healing church believer, her father too, and her brother worked as a tax officer in the High Wall Guild.
Further details covered Lis’s performance in the academy and field departments. With this background and experience, if her age were tripled and her combat power sufficient, she could barely qualify as a treatment institute vice director.
Such talent was wasted as a vice director. Promoted beyond rank, she could even be a director.
Su Xiao thought that the treatment institute’s daily trivial matters were a waste of his time. Appointing a director to handle these was a great choice. At critical moments, if he did something big outside, the director could take the blame—perfect.
Even if blamed, places like the treatment institute handled things internally, and how they handled it was up to Su Xiao.
Choosing a new member like this as director not only let them handle trivial matters but also avoided power struggles.
On the other hand, picking old healing church members would bring endless trouble. The upcoming divine festival day was already stressful enough; Su Xiao didn’t want more trouble.
“Baha, go find this new member.”
“No problem.”
Baha flew out the window. A few minutes later, the door was knocked, and a slender woman entered the office—Lis. She wore formal attire, her expression extremely serious, or rather, stiff from nervousness.
The young, attractive new member had just entered when Old Chaman, who had been a bit drowsy, perked up. Men remained boys forever.
“You’re quite good. You can be entrusted with important tasks.”
Su Xiao put down the file. Hearing this, Lis, whose expression management was already numb, felt her heart race. Though she had always been outstanding like a heaven’s favored daughter, after becoming a candidate for the treatment institute, she was shocked to find over 170 others equally excellent, or even more talented in combat. This had depressed her for days.
Now, hearing her direct superior, the treatment institute’s strongest director ever—no, vice director—say this, her heart pounded. A feeling that her life was about to change completely emerged.
Su Xiao naturally didn’t know Lis had such an inner monologue. He looked at Lis, whose face had already broken into a smile and whose eyes had entered a world of fantasy, and frowned. Aside from anything else, this person’s imagination was strong.
“Cough!”
Baha coughed heavily. Lis’s eyes cleared, and she quickly said, “Thank you, sir, for the praise.”
“I see you’re talented. From now on, you’ll serve as the treatment institute’s director.”
“Yes, sir.”
Lis agreed instinctively, but after savoring the words, her gaze gradually became confused.
“Cough! Pfft~! Cough, cough, cough!”
Old Chaman, who had been drinking tea directly from the pot, spurted tea out his nose in excitement, then coughed repeatedly, looking like he’d seen a ghost.
With a thud, perhaps unable to bear the sudden shock, Lis knelt on the floor. Her barely recovered expression management nearly collapsed.
Actually, Lis’s reaction wasn’t exaggerated. Imagine going for a job interview, and after one meeting, the interviewer announces you’re now the company’s chairman.
“Huh?”
Lis let out a delayed “huh?” and looked up at Su Xiao behind the desk with a dazed expression, thinking this must be her superior’s sick joke, and today might be her last day alive.
“Don’t add drama in your head. Go find your big sister Marina and have her take you to the logistics department to order several sets of director attire for various occasions. Also, this is the appointment order. Keep it safe yourself.”
Baha placed the appointment order on the floor in front of Lis. Lis looked at the appointer’s name, which had been crossed out with a pen and replaced with “Keluoyi·Lis.” The alteration was so blatant and crude.
Seeing Lis’s brain about to crash, lost in confusion, Baha said:
“The treatment institute’s future depends on you now. See that pile of documents? As director, you should learn how to handle treatment institute affairs. No time like the present. Now then, Director, you’ll review these documents. This desk was specially moved for you, your exclusive director’s 360-degree swivel throne—commonly called a swivel chair—your exclusive pen, and your custom water cup. Come on, start your director career!”
Baha’s final shout snapped Lis back to reality. She hesitantly walked to the desk in the corner, sat down, and was confused again. Her thoughts were: Who am I? Where am I? What am I doing?
Seeing Lis seated, Su Xiao nodded in satisfaction. The treatment institute indeed had many talents. Besides Lis, he found another capable youth.
This youth was named Xiusi. He came from outside the wall, a descendant of a refugee tribe. During a healing church exploration team’s return to the city, they found this abandoned male infant and brought him back to raise.
The file specially noted that though Xiusi was from a refugee tribe, he had a stable personality. Though young, his judgment, execution, and adaptability were all rated A+.
Xiusi’s only flaw was that he couldn’t speak. That refugee tribe cut out infants’ entire tongues. In that tribe, speech was disrespect to the gods, and taste was a demon tempting people to fall.
“Let him in.”
As Su Xiao spoke, the door was pushed open by Marina outside. A clean-faced youth in a high-collared coat, the collar reaching his nose, entered the room. He held a small notebook with common phrases.
‘Sir, hello.’
Xiusi expressed this with the notebook and bowed slightly.
“Use sign language. I understand.”
Su Xiao lit a cigarette. Hearing this, Xiusi nodded and put away the notebook.
“I can use your ability. I’ll give you a choice. You can work at the workshop—here’s a recommendation letter—or work with me for a while, with a daily salary of 3,000 gold pounds.”
Su Xiao’s offer wasn’t low. A new treatment institute member’s annual salary was only 4,560 gold pounds.
Xiusi didn’t answer immediately but asked with sign language if it was very dangerous.
“Starting the day after tomorrow, it’s very dangerous.”
Hearing this, Xiusi hesitated. He lowered his head and thought for a moment before finally nodding in agreement.
Su Xiao never thought he had strong personal charisma—his -13 charm attribute was proof. So when recruiting, he never painted rosy pictures. He provided what the other needed. For example, this youth Xiusi had no family in the city. Since he started earning money, he donated it all to the orphanages and nursing homes in the northern district.
“You may go.”
Hearing this, Xiusi left the office and waited outside with Marina.
“Sir, about my salary, could it also…”
Old Chaman said with a fawning smile.
“Get lost.”
“Right away.”
Old Chaman picked up his cleaning tools and left the office.
Su Xiao kept Xiusi by his side because the youth’s ability could save him a lot of time. Forget combat; Xiusi could open spatial arrays to places he had been. Though not a do-as-you-please spatial ability, it was stable.
Preliminary talent selection complete, Su Xiao contacted Bubu Wang and learned that Bubu had reached the predetermined position and was monitoring noble son Crank. Expected to have a chance to release the Devourer·Black A by this afternoon or evening.
This was good news. Though Su Xiao wasn’t fully confident about going deep into Dead Silence City, the initial situation in the Gloomy Continent was a dream start. First, two “good teammates” might have already arrived, meaning exploring Dead Silence City together would increase Su Xiao’s survival rate by at least 66.666%.
Why? Because when three people betray each other simultaneously, the chance of one being chased by danger is 33.333%, but for some reason, when this happened, Zuiyasi was usually the unlucky one. Su Xiao and Wood hadn’t figured out why.
Besides this, the dumb mining duo had found a high-value vein, and the treatment institute talent selection went smoothly. The healing church had completely delegated authority.
Now only noble son Crank needed to be dealt with. Just as Su Xiao thought this, a whoosh of wind came.
Bang!!
A figure crashed through the window, slamming into the opposite wall. Blood splattered as large cracks appeared on the wall.
With a bang, the door was kicked to pieces. Marina rushed in, followed by Xiusi, the youth agile.
The new director, Lis, wasn’t idle. She rolled over the desk and, with Xiusi, crouched in front of Su Xiao.
These two newcomers lacked experience. Old members like Marina knew their vice director didn’t need protection—he was the strongest here.
Su Xiao looked at the intruder. The figure got up from the ground, knelt, and vomited a mouthful of blood. It was Gulu.
“I ran into your enemy. What bad luck!”
Gulu wiped the blood from her chin, her face pale.
“Who?”
“Dragon God·Dean.”
Gulu said a name Su Xiao had heard but never met—known as the strongest Eighth Rank in Apocalypse Paradise.
“You killed Dragon God·Dean’s brother, Flame Ghost, remember?”
Gulu’s breathing steadied. Hearing this, Su Xiao frowned. He really had forgotten who Flame Ghost was. After so many world wars and invasions of Apocalypse Paradise worlds, he had killed nearly a thousand Apocalypse contractors. Names like Nameless Saint or Heavenly Judgment he remembered, but this sudden Flame Ghost? No recollection.
Boom!
A sonic boom came. A figure flew in, and in the next instant, a man with dragon wings stood on a rock sculpture in the center of the courtyard. His height exceeded the third-floor office where Su Xiao and the others were.
The newcomer had a single horn, his dragon wings covered in dense golden-red scales. He was shirtless, revealing a robust upper body, standing proudly atop the rock sculpture.
“The rumors are true. This is your daughter. She indeed fled to you. White Night, hello. I’m Dean.”
Dragon God·Dean spoke calmly, but his dark golden vertical pupils showed undisguised killing intent.
“White Night, I was just one step away from making you feel the pain of losing a loved one too.”
Dragon God·Dean glanced at Gulu. Hearing this, Gulu’s face grew even paler, her raised hand trembling. This time, she was a bystander hit.
“Remember the words my brother shouted before dying under your blade?”
Dragon God·Dean had come for revenge, but overall, his tone was still polite. Or rather, with his pride, he wouldn’t resort to cursing.
“…”
Su Xiao frowned deeper. He couldn’t recall who Flame Ghost was at all. He even suspected Dragon God·Dean had the wrong enemy, or that he had taken benefits from Arcane Eternal Star and found an excuse to fight.
This wasn’t impossible. If Su Xiao did this, he’d find a reason too. As the saying goes, having reason gives you more confidence.
“Flame Ghost? Who’s that.”
“Uh… seems like, no idea.”
Baha was also confused. Hearing Su Xiao and Baha’s brief exchange, Dragon God·Dean’s expression turned colder, veins bulging on his neck, his composure slightly cracking.
Su Xiao looked at Dean across from him. Regardless of why he came, daring to break into the treatment institute meant he had some backing. Probably a bunch of life-saving items and strong flight ability—the sonic booms earlier proved his speed.
Su Xiao leaped out through the large hole in the window. He stood in the courtyard, about ten meters from the sculpture. Baha on his shoulder said:
“Dean, since you’re here for revenge, we won’t bully you. You and my boss fight one-on-one to the death. Dare you?”
Baha made a claw gesture with its middle finger toward Dean. Seeing this, Dean jumped down from the sculpture.
“You have some backbone. In that case…”
Dean started to speak, but Baha interrupted: “Minions, kill him!!!”
With Baha’s shout, treatment institute members poured out from the surrounding buildings.