Chapter 6: World Hunter + World Eye Effect Combination
The former kills the world's enemies to obtain World Force, while the latter uses World Force to bring about a comprehensive boost in strength when emotions fluctuate strongly.
At first glance, Klenk, who basically has no expression every day, wouldn't have the strong emotional fluctuations needed to trigger the World Eye. But that's not the case—don't forget the [Betrayer's Will].
With the Betrayer's Will, when he betrays others, he experiences an unimaginable sense of pleasure.
In simple terms, as long as Klenk's equipped [World Hunter] contains World Force, after he backstabs someone, his emotional fluctuations will be extremely intense, thereby triggering the passive effect of the [World Eye]. That is, every time Klenk successfully backstabs someone, he becomes significantly stronger.
What's even more ingenious is that the storage limit of World Force in the [World Hunter] increases correspondingly with the wearer's own strength improvement, and it's a permanent increase. Currently, the storage limit is about 1.5 to 2 ounces. Beyond this limit, even if there's more World Force, there's no way to preserve it.
Su Xiao's goal this time is to have Klenk increase the storage capacity of the [World Hunter] to around 50 ounces and fill it with 50 ounces of World Force.
Su Xiao estimates that if this succeeds, it might be his biggest gain in this world, rather than the Origin-level treasure chest that has a chance of being obtained but is 99% unlikely to yield an Origin-level item.
Overall, with Klenk's personal abilities and the six layers of "enhancement buffs" on him, his strength will increase at a rate that is absolutely astonishing.
In the next room, Klenk, wearing a hospital gown, is still confronting Hoss. Both appear calm, but inwardly, neither is very composed.
As a space-type, Hoss's abilities are still somewhat mysterious. He comes from a refugee background, so it's normal for his abilities to be strange. No one will delve into this. As long as the academy confirms that Hoss's character is fine, the threat posed by his abilities won't easily be included in a risk assessment.
After all, the two old immortals at the top of the Healing Church are both quite aged and mysterious.
Note that "quite aged" here doesn't mean over 100 years old, but at least over 400 years old.
The atmosphere is so quiet it's suffocating. Sweat seeps from Hoss's palm inside his sleeve. He has already calculated in his mind that if the noble young master Klenk makes a move, he will immediately crash into the wall beside him and rush into the vice dean's study. He feels he might not be able to beat Klenk, but breaking through the wall is no problem. Asking his own vice dean for help isn't shameful.
On the other side, Klenk is also filled with mixed emotions. For the first time since he became conscious, he feels like a living person. Emotions he couldn't feel before are now slightly perceptible. What he doesn't know is that this is a hidden debuff brought about by his symbiosis with Black A.
Previously, Black A amplified the desires and aggression of the chosen ones. Now, encountering the cold and indifferent Klenk, it just balances him out, bringing his emotions to a level slightly more indifferent than ordinary people.
During their standoff, Klenk suddenly grabs the bedsheet beside him and throws it at Hoss, but Hoss has already crashed into the wall before Klenk makes his move.
Seeing this from the alternate space where he's watching, Baha is so angry he almost pinches his own philtrum—no, it should be his bird's philtrum. He wants to scold Hoss: "You react so fast, why don't you just charge up and punch him?"
Crackle~
Bang!
The sound of the window being broken and the wall being smashed through comes simultaneously. Klenk crashes out the window, while Hoss smashes through the wall into the study. Both are stunned. The difference is that Hoss now feels very safe, while Klenk turns and runs.
"Hoss, why the hell are you running?"
Baha flies out of the alternate space. Hearing this, Hoss lowers his head, hiding the lower half of his face in his collar. He takes out a small notebook and scribbles a few words: 'I'm afraid I can't beat him and would embarrass Lord Bai Ye.'
Seeing this, Baha laughs and says, "Hahahaha, you're pretty good at making excuses."
'I'm very weak, can't even beat Lis.'
Seeing Hoss write this line, Baha nods. The new dean, Lis, isn't really that strong; she's more like a secretary.
The reason Su Xiao chose Hoss isn't for his combat power, but for his space-type ability, which is convenient for travel. This will save him a lot of time, allowing him to do more.
"Woof."
Bubu Wang jumps into the room through the broken window, meaning that Klenk has already fled far away.
Su Xiao doesn't plan to cover up tonight's events; that would be suspicious instead. He already has a reason ready for catching Klenk.
Picking up the old-fashioned rotary phone on the desk beside him, he dials. After about half a minute, someone picks up. The man's voice on the other end is deep and thick, faintly revealing a hint of electronic synthesis—it's the Duke.
"Who is it?"
"It's me."
"Want to drink? Or is it about the ancient gold coins? If you're pressing for the ancient gold coins, then wait a bit. I'm..."
The Duke starts to stall, clearly trying to welch on the debt. This guy has a reputation for being as good as his word in public, but when facing someone of the same level, he's the most unscrupulous. That's the Duke's temper. He disdains bullying the weak, and even when welching, he only does it to those of the same status or strength.
Hearing the Duke start to change the subject, Su Xiao lights a cigarette and says, "Your son is with me."
"Which son?"
The Duke's tone actually carries a hint of amusement.
"Klenk."
As soon as Su Xiao says this, the other end of the line suddenly falls silent—completely silent, with even the flow of air and the summer night's insect sounds all disappearing.
After a few seconds, sounds gradually return. The Duke says in a deep voice, "Bai Ye, grudges don't involve family. Aren't you afraid that one day, I'll also strike at your family..."
"Feel free."
Hearing Su Xiao's words, the Duke chokes back his retort. He recalls in his mind the person closest to the vice dean on the other end of the line. It seems... probably... maybe... it's himself.
The Duke even considers the absurd and laughable idea of kidnapping himself. Thinking of this, his face darkens.
"Name a place. 400 ancient gold coins, I'll send them now."
Just as the Duke says this, there's a knock on the door on the other end of the line. It seems one of the Duke's subordinates enters the room and whispers something to him.
"Talk next time."
Leaving these words, the Duke hangs up, clearly having learned that his eldest son, Klenk, has already escaped.
Su Xiao is in the southeastern district. The entire eastern district is the territory of the Steam God Church, and the speed of intelligence transmission is exceptionally fast.
The current situation is clearly that the Duke, knowing his eldest son has escaped, doesn't intend to pay the remaining 400 ancient gold coins.
Su Xiao expected this. The purpose of making that call was more to give tonight's events a plausible explanation. Otherwise, if he arbitrarily kidnapped the Duke's eldest son, Klenk, the Duke would inevitably be suspicious.
As for the enhancements or implants done to Klenk, if the research department of the Steam God Church can detect any clues, then Su Xiao's long development in alchemy would be wasted.
At most, they might detect the existence of the Devourer, Black A. As for removal, let's talk about symbiosis. Before Klenk's strength reaches a certain limit, even Su Xiao himself cannot strip away Black A while ensuring survival.
Su Xiao has roughly completed the initial preparations. As for the day after tomorrow's Divine Festival, although the assassination by Dragon God Dean has, to some extent, provided intelligence support to his side, it's still unrealistic to determine from this alone which of the three major forces—the Steam God Church, the Wadi Family, or the High Wall Council—is causing trouble.
Both the promotion mission and the main mission push the intelligence about the Divine Festival's upheaval to the forefront. But to uncover everything, for Su Xiao, who has only been in this world for two days, the difficulty is too high.
Su Xiao takes out the [Sacred Oak]. This equipment has only 4 durability left. He activates it at the cost of reducing his charm attribute.
[You have gained 1 Golden Skill Point.]
Seeing this prompt, Su Xiao is very satisfied. Although gambling with the evil god carries risks, the rewards are hard to refuse.
Su Xiao feels that the evil gods are actually a rather loose force, like the last arrangement with the "Initial Temple." If he has time in the future, he can investigate this aspect, and then cooperate with the Abyssal Jar or the Necronomicon to eliminate the evil gods together.
Thinking of this, Su Xiao suddenly feels that he seems to be on the side of the friendly camp this time. But after thinking about matters related to the evil gods for a moment, he gets hungry.
"Let's go back to the treatment center for a midnight snack."
Hearing Su Xiao say this, Hoss makes a handshake gesture toward the air in front of him. A bluish ghost hand gradually appears and shakes his hand. He uses this ghost hand like a doorknob, and with a creak, pulls open a wooden door in the air.
The door frame is covered with crowded eyeballs or vengeful spirits, writhing and panting, slimy and cold. It can be said that Hoss's space ghost door is very eerie.
One of Bubu Wang's hind legs starts trembling uncontrollably. Hearing that they're going back to eat, he was all smiles earlier—what's more worth being happy about than eating? But now, the expression on his dog face gradually turns serious.
Seeing Bubu Wang trying to slip away, Su Xiao grabs the scruff of Bubu's neck, and the group walks into the space ghost door. Bubu is so "happy" that he keeps kicking his hind legs.
Treatment Center Building, Vice Dean's Office. Beside the office desk being used as a dining table, the aggrieved Bubu Wang eats his chicken leg rice. The look in his eyes at Hoss almost says, "This kid is a menace."
After dinner, Su Xiao sits cross-legged on the main building's rooftop, meditating as usual in the evening breeze. Both the promotion mission and the main mission won't truly begin until the Divine Festival starts. That is to say, doing nothing now is actually the best strategy.
Meanwhile, outside the High Wall City, in a gray rock valley dozens of kilometers away.
Here, various semi-rotted timbers are used to build messy triangular wooden tents. From the scale, this is a refugee tribe of about a hundred people.
In the past, such a refugee tribe of a hundred people was already quite formidable. After all, surviving on this wasteland is itself an impressive feat.
But now, this refugee tribe is nearly engulfed in flames, with limbs and broken bodies scattered everywhere.
Under the glow of the fire, figures appear, roughly humanoid, nearly three meters tall, with sparse hair all over their bodies. Their hair is wild, and fangs protrude from their lower jaws. Their rough features carry a hint of dull stupidity.
This is a branch of the wild beast species, officially called Punaki, translated as man-eating giants or man-eating species. Folk names include wasteland trolls or half-beasts, but most call them man-eaters or ogres, because this type of wild beast eats anything, whether city residents or wasteland refugees, all within their hunting range.
The gray valley is ablaze with fire. A total of 30 ogres are raiding this place. Summer is the best time for them to stockpile food. By autumn and winter, there's basically no food production on the wasteland. If possible, the ogres don't really want to eat refugees. Refugees are mutated monsters, and eating them carries a certain risk of sudden death.
The leader of this group of ogres is named Broken Fang, because one of his tusks is broken. His nearly 4-meter height and strong build ensure that no other ogre in the tribe dares to oppose him.
In front of the group of ogres, Broken Fang's gaze sweeps around. The other ogres immediately lower themselves and gather the looted spoils into a pile in front of Broken Fang.
Seeing this, a slightly cruel smile appears on Broken Fang's large face. He looks at the dozens of refugees huddled together nearby, ready to kill all these enemies.
"Kill, them."
Broken Fang speaks in the unique language of the ogre tribe. Hearing this, several ogres holding weapons are about to act, but at this moment, an ogre with much more lively eyes speaks up.
"Chief, we... should, keep them."
This speaking ogre is somewhat nervous. His name is Popolo.
Hearing Popolo's words, the smile on Broken Fang's face gradually fades. He asks in a somewhat low voice, "Why not kill them?"
"It's like this, Chief. We..."
Popolo kneels on one knee, lowering his head to narrate his thoughts. In his view, raiding refugee tribes like this is a very unwise method. Killing all the refugees every time they raid means there will be fewer and fewer refugees in this hunting ground.
Instead, why not only take food and valuables each time, without killing the refugees, and even leave them some food so they can rebuild. Then, after a while, come raid again.
This way, they can continuously raid for food and valuables, while the refugees can survive. On the wasteland, as long as they can still survive, refugee tribes won't easily leave the territory they're familiar with.
Hearing this speech, the ogres are shocked. They whisper among themselves, and some even nod repeatedly.
"Your name is... Popolo."
Broken Fang speaks, looking down at Popolo.
"Yes, Chief."
"Come forward."
Broken Fang says, making Popolo even more nervous, but more excited inside.
Popolo stands in front of Broken Fang, only reaching up to Broken Fang's chest, but in the eyes of some ogres, Popolo is a wise man.
Broken Fang looks down at Popolo. Suddenly, he raises his massive hand and delivers a powerful slap to Popolo's face.
Slap!!
A burst of air explodes. Popolo is sent spinning into the nearby flames, leaving behind a few circles of falling nosebleed in midair.
Broken Fang roars angrily in Popolo's direction: "We don't need fools among us!"
Leaving these words, Broken Fang strides out of the gray valley. In his simple mind, not looting everything clean during a raid—isn't that stupid?
Above the valley, three figures stand here, having witnessed everything below. One woman speaks:
"The day after tomorrow is the Divine Festival. Isn't it too late to choose now?"
Hearing this, the man beside her shakes his head and explains: "We can't catch them too early. The treatment center is too troublesome. Even though we've already wiped them out the day before yesterday, Kukulin Bai Ye isn't dead yet. Catching ogres early and keeping them in the city is too risky."
"What are those higher-ups thinking? Preparing for so long, just to release some ogres to cause chaos during the Divine Festival? This is also..."
The speaking woman actually wants to say, this is too cheap.
"It's more about symbolism. Ogres can feed on us. Their appearance in High Wall City will have a huge psychological impact on the commoners. High Wall City is also where we live; we can't go too far."
"I see. Then let's start. Try to finish this hunt before dawn."
"Alright."
With that, the three leap into the gray valley. A few seconds later, roars and crashes come one after another, but soon subside.
Interestingly, in the minds of the commoners inside High Wall City, the refugees, beasts, and wild creatures outside the wall are all monsters. But in the minds of the refugees, beasts, and wild creatures outside the wall, people like Su Xiao, the Duke, the Archbishop, the Holy Priest, and Wadi Lifak are the real monsters—terrifying monsters that make them afraid to approach the vicinity of the High Wall.
...
The first rays of dawn rise. In the bedroom, Su Xiao sits up from the bed. Just as he leaves the bedroom to prepare for breakfast, the new dean, Lis, hurries over.
"Dean, the Archbishop wants to see you."
The new dean, Lis, addresses him as "Dean," clearly forgetting that she herself is the actual dean, even if only in name.
"The Archbishop is looking for me?"
Su Xiao puts down the glass of milk he just picked up, checks the time, and only brings Bubu Wang out.
Under Lis's guidance, Su Xiao doesn't head toward the Grand Cathedral but instead goes to a deserted area in the southern part of the city, where many uninhabited abandoned buildings stand.
In front of a two-story small building covered in vines, Lis knocks on the door. After a moment, a servant wearing a black hood and hunting clothes opens the door. His sharp, blade-like gaze sweeps over Su Xiao and Lis, then he slightly bows to Su Xiao and makes a gesture of invitation.
Entering the two-story building, the room is somewhat dim, with a faint smell of dust. The furnishings are simple. The most eye-catching item is a large wooden chair against the wall, on which sits a withered, dried-up old man. He is covered with a blanket, only his head exposed. His lips are covered in vertical cracks, his face full of age spots, his eye sockets deeply sunken, and his eyes are cloudy.
Seeing Su Xiao arrive, the old man shows a rare hint of a smile. He slowly raises his arm from under the blanket, gesturing for Su Xiao to come and sit.
This person is one of the highest authorities of the Healing Church, the Archbishop. His name seems to be unknown to anyone.
"Don't leave today. Stay here and chat with this old thing. First, eat an apple."
The Archbishop hands over an apple and then stops talking, closing his eyes as if to rest.
At this moment, in the surrounding area, hundreds of prying eyes reluctantly withdraw. Some of these people are carrying enough explosives to level this abandoned area. This is clearly a long-planned assassination, aiming to eliminate Su Xiao at any cost before the Divine Festival begins.
But now, with Su Xiao together with the Archbishop, the hidden force, unless they've completely lost their minds, wouldn't dare to strike at the Archbishop.
Inside the two-story building, Su Xiao naturally senses the retreating auras around him and naturally understands why the Archbishop brought him here.
"It'll be fine by tomorrow morning. You have more important things to do. There's no need to fight these death warriors to a finish."
After saying this, the Archbishop becomes even weaker and can only continue to rest and recuperate.
Su Xiao looks at the apple in his hand. Of course, he doesn't plan to fight those death warriors to a finish. Even if he wins, the gains don't match the risks.
With nothing to do, Su Xiao closes his eyes and meditates. He has nothing to do today anyway. All preparations are complete. He just needs to wait for tomorrow's Divine Festival celebration to begin.
After meditating for a while, Su Xiao opens his eyes and looks at the Archbishop. After a moment of hesitation, he asks, "How long have you lived?"
"I've already forgotten. Young man, don't pursue immortality. What accompanies immortality is dead silence."
After saying this, the Archbishop truly falls asleep.
Immortality and dead silence. Su Xiao feels this sentence carries a huge amount of information. But without more intelligence, everything is still speculation.
In meditation, time passes quickly. Night falls quietly. The city is brightly lit. Tomorrow is the most grand day of the year.
When the first rays of dawn rise over the High Wall, the streets in the central district are already nearly full of people. Commoners from the four surrounding districts—east, west, south, and north—have almost all gathered here. Local residents can't even squeeze onto the streets and can only watch from rooftops in the distance.
The central square is empty, but outside the iron gates at the six entrances, people are packed tightly. Everyone holds various flower bouquets. Originally, the ritual involved offering candles, but because candles often piled up to cover the deity statue, flower bouquets were adopted a few hundred years ago.
As the gates at the six directions around the central square open, many commoners enter the square. A miraculous scene occurs: as soon as they step inside, the petals of their flower bouquets begin to separate and float upward.
Getting into the central square is a challenge, but getting out after the ritual is an even bigger challenge. Every year, there are people injured by the crush.
As batches of commoners come to worship and then leave, the sky is filled with colorful petals. The floral scent adds a festive atmosphere to the central square.
A dozen-meter-tall deity statue stands at the very center of the square. This is the statue of the Eternal God. But to be honest, the Eternal God doesn't look benevolent; instead, it resembles a half-human, half-beast creature standing upright.
The square is bustling with noise. After the initial crowd passes, it becomes less crowded, and the sounds of children playing and couples leaning on each other can be heard.
On the south side of the central square, this area is semi-blocked. In previous years, this was the jurisdiction of the treatment center. This year, due to special circumstances, this area is taken over by the Hammer Institution.
The Duke stands in front of a group of Steam God Church members. Slightly behind him is his eldest son, Klenk.
"Bai Ye, it seems our worries were unnecessary."
The Duke speaks, a faint smile on his face. Hearing him speak, among the Steam God Church members behind him, a masked man quietly withdraws. He is about to order the release of the ogres. This opportunity to completely replace the treatment center is one the Hammer Institution won't miss.
"The Divine Festival has only just begun."
Su Xiao looks at the petals floating in the sky. A sense of foreboding draws closer.
Hearing this, the Duke beside him shakes his head with a smile. The attack during the Divine Festival was his plan, so he's naturally confident.
Drip, drip, drip~
Raindrops fall, causing the Duke to frown. Rain is not good. After releasing the ogres, heavy rain might hinder the commoners' escape, causing unnecessary trouble.
A smell of blood spreads. At this moment, everyone realizes that what's falling from the sky isn't rain—it's blood rain.
Crack!
A thunderclap in the clear sky. The next moment, the sky is covered with dark clouds, and the blood rain grows heavier.
"How was this done?"
Su Xiao turns to look at the Duke. The Duke is momentarily speechless. How the hell would he know how this was done?
The blood rain falls, causing panic among the commoners in the central square. People trying to escape have already caused a stampede.
Crack, crack~
A crisp sound comes. The statue of the Eternal God in the center of the square cracks and finally explodes with a bang. This thing is actually a stone shell, and trapped inside is the Eternal God himself.
"Roar!!!"
In the blood rain, the Eternal God roars to the sky, layers of sound waves spreading outward.
After witnessing all this, Su Xiao looks at the Duke beside him again. The Duke's cheek twitches violently. He wants to say that this really wasn't his doing.