Chapter 25: Kaiser's Operation
The streets were eerily silent. The inner city of Dead Silence City was completely different from the outer city. In the outer city, walking openly on the streets like this was suicide.
Conversely, in the inner city, approaching those seemingly quiet buildings was actually more dangerous, because you could never be sure if they were half-alive.
Just 10 minutes ago, Su Xiao was nearly bitten by a residential building. The building's fluctuations clearly indicated it was a dead object, but when he passed nearby, it suddenly "bloomed," transforming into thousands of rough, black-gray tentacles that lunged at him.
If not for Su Xiao using his Dragon Shadow Flash ability to enter a space-penetrating state and evade the attack, the situation would have been troublesome. Instant death was unlikely, but he would have suffered considerable injury.
After raising his Dragon Shadow Flash ability to X, Su Xiao increasingly appreciated its usefulness. Not only could it achieve ultra-high-speed movement, but it could also maintain a space-penetrating state for 0.2 to 3 seconds, enough to evade most attacks.
The inner city area was vast. Su Xiao had been traveling for over an hour but still hadn't reached the territory governed by the Sacred Choir, which was the jurisdiction centered around the "Holy Ten Cathedral."
The Sacred Choir didn't represent a single person; it was more like a faction plus a force. If asked which branch of the Holy Healing Church was the most formidable, it certainly wasn't the Archbishop or the High Priest branches. The branches represented by Snake Lady and the Old Monster didn't even rank.
In the past, the Holy Healing Church had two recognized branches as the most capable fighters: 1. Sacred Choir, 2. Sword Wolf Squad.
The former was the core defensive force of the Holy Healing Church. Most Church Knights were commanded by the Sacred Choir, while the Sword Wolf Squad was the old church's sharpest blade of slaughter.
A cold wind blew, and cotton-like substances drifted along the street. Su Xiao walked on the silent street, accompanied by Baha, who had transformed into a running chicken. Bubu Wang blended into the environment, scouting ahead.
Before going far, Su Xiao stopped. He took a pebble from the cloth bag in his hand. The pebble had a fishy smell and felt slippery, stained with doe amniotic fluid and afterbirth.
Su Xiao tossed the pebble into a building with decayed doors and windows. After waiting a few seconds and confirming the building had no abnormalities, he entered.
These pebbles were prepared by Hughsy before Su Xiao entered Dead Silence City. The reason was that these pebbles brought from the outside world were inherently somewhat repulsive to this place. After being stained with doe amniotic fluid and afterbirth, they were a tremendous stimulus to the Death People or buildings mutated by Dead Silence Force.
The Death People or buildings mutated by Dead Silence Force all possessed strong death characteristics. If life was their opposite, then new life and birth were like red-hot charcoal to them.
After all, Su Xiao had been to the branch Dead Silence City before. Some of his experiences were incomparable to those of his opponents who came to Dead Silence City this time.
Su Xiao wasn't too concerned about the contractors who entered the outer perimeter of Dead Silence City. Those people bought semi-finished [Sanctuary Stones]; as long as they didn't want to die, they wouldn't cross the high wall.
But there were a few enemies to watch out for. First was Dragon God Dean. This guy had definitely come to Dead Silence City too, and he was here for revenge.
Previously, Dragon God Dean claimed Su Xiao killed his brother Flame Ghost, but even now, Su Xiao couldn't recall who this Flame Ghost was.
Su Xiao suspected that during one of his entries into an Apocalypse Paradise world, he killed Dragon God's brother. In that situation, all Apocalypse Paradise contractors within that entire world were hostile to Su Xiao, not only hunting him but often ganging up on him.
Once, he was even certified as an Overlord-level boss, fighting a boss battle with over a hundred Apocalypse Paradise contractors. Except that time, Su Xiao was the boss.
Under those circumstances, who knew who the killed enemies were. If someone sought revenge for that, Su Xiao could certainly accept it. Both sides were hostile; he killed others, and others or their relatives naturally had reason to kill him. Everyone relied on their strength to speak.
Someone like Dragon God Dean, who was both capable and incredibly wealthy, could penetrate deep into the inner city. That wasn't surprising.
Besides Dragon God, Duke couldn't be let off guard either. This guy was the leader of the Steam God Cult, now going all-in, pursuing something in Dead Silence City. If they encountered each other, they would most likely be hostile.
Putting these aside for now, Su Xiao confirmed the abandoned building ahead had no abnormalities before stepping inside. He had sensed supernatural fluctuations here earlier, so of course he had to check it out.
The furnishings inside the room had weathered to dust, but it was clear the person who once lived here had high status. Su Xiao looked up at a skeleton hanging from the chandelier. Judging by the clothing, it was a lady who might have been elegant and charming in life.
Su Xiao placed one hand on the end of his knife handle but didn't draw the blade.
Zheng~
A light blue slash flashed briefly, cutting the rope. As the skeleton fell, Su Xiao caught it, laid it flat on the ground, and removed a gemstone pendant from its neck.
[You have obtained Pure White Sacred Heart (Immortal Rank · Pendant).]
[Pure White Sacred Heart]
Origin: Gloomy Continent · Holy Healing Church · Dead Silence City.
Quality: Immortal Rank
Category: Accessory · Pendant
Durability: 15/72 (Needs repair as soon as possible. When durability drops below 10 points, irreversible damage will occur, reducing equipment bonuses.)
Equipment Requirements: True Intelligence 247 points, Charm 120 points, Willpower 70 points.
Base Bonus: Healing intensity increased by 16.7%, adaptive body energy increased by 1200 points (Mana/Holy Energy, etc.).
Note: Healing intensity will affect healing effects, healing priority, etc.
Note: This base bonus is unique to Immortal Rank or higher healing-type accessories.
Equipment Effect: Pure White (Core · Passive): When you heal an allied target, there is a chance to activate this equipment's Pure White energy, with a 70% probability of double healing effect, a 20% probability of triple healing effect, and a 5% probability of quintuple healing effect.
Note: Triggering a multi-healing effect will not consume the wearer's body energy but will consume the Pure White energy stored within this equipment. This energy can be naturally replenished or quickly replenished with Pure White Stones, Soul Crystals, etc.
Rating: 1499 points (Immortal Rank equipment rating is 1000-1500 points).
Introduction: If holy light cannot bring salvation to people, then I wish to turn into light and save those suffering in hardship — Fifth Generation Saintess.
Price: 2092 Soul Coins.
...
Su Xiao looked at the pendant in his hand. This was Dead Silence City. Everything here seemed eager to crush and devour intruders in the next second, yet there were also many opportunities. For example, now, passing by this unremarkable residence, he had picked up an Immortal Rank pendant with nearly maximum rating.
In the past, even the treasure chests obtained from fierce battles with powerful enemies might not yield such equipment. With the attributes of [Pure White Sacred Heart], any healing-type user who met the equipment prerequisites couldn't refuse this item.
Or rather, not only did big healers like this, but poison healers also loved it. For poison healers, healing amount equaled damage intensity. In the hands of a poison healer, this thing would unleash terrifying power.
If he could successfully advance to Ninth Rank and gain access to the "Great Gathering Place," selling this to a Holy Light Paradise healing-type contractor there, the price...
One by one, Spirit Shadow Threads extended from Su Xiao's sleeve, wrapping around broken stones. After a dozen seconds, the pendant's original owner was buried.
Leaving the abandoned building, he continued walking down the street. Before going far, he slipped into a shop with intact windows and doors.
Soon, six Death People in tattered clothes, carrying greatswords, curved knives, or battle axes, passed by this side street.
Inside the building, Bubu Wang and Baha both pressed their backs against the wall, holding their breath. Previously, they hadn't been so afraid of the inner city's Death People, until Baha turned a corner and met love head-on, encountering two inner city Death People. After that, Bubu Wang and Baha knew these Dead Silence City Sword Saints were not to be trifled with.
Those two Death People were definitely hunters or Church Knights in life—one was a Battle Axe Master, the other a Sword Grandmaster. Seeing this detection data, Baha immediately cursed.
Actually, this was normal. As a powerful world that could rival Doom Star, Gloomy Continent naturally had many strong individuals. Plus, after the Dead Silence descended, the residents here weren't wiped out in a short time; they resisted for a long time.
With this foundation, under the high pressure of subsequent Dead Silence invasion, there were naturally many hunters and Church Knights, and every one of them was elite. Pick any one at random, and their life story could be a spectacle—that's how magnificent it was.
Several Death People walked past the street. Su Xiao was about to exit the shop when he suddenly heard:
"My dear friend..."
Zheng!
The blade reached Kaiser's face. This guy appeared too suddenly; there was no trace of aura or fluctuation in perception, then he suddenly spoke from behind. If not for recognizing the familiar voice, Su Xiao's blade would have already struck.
Turning his head, he saw Kaiser in a human-jar fusion state. This guy had the Abyssal Jar on his head, temporarily hiding his lecherous and cunning expression. He wore tattered clothes matching the Death People's style, truly blending in with the locals.
Su Xiao glanced at the Death People walking away, then sheathed his long blade. Baha beside him breathed a long sigh of relief and said, "Damn it, Kaiser, where did you pop out from? You scared me so much I almost launched into the air."
"Hehehe, this place is pretty dangerous. I'm just being cautious."
Hearing this, Baha was speechless. Only Kaiser could run around freely in Dead Silence City.
"Kaiser, have you been near the Supreme Sanctuary?"
Su Xiao asked. Hearing this, Kaiser's voice turned serious: "My dear friend, unless necessary, you'd better... not go there."
Hearing this, Su Xiao knew that Kaiser, this life-cherishing guy, hadn't approached the Supreme Sanctuary. He had probably just taken a distant look.
"What do you want from me?"
Su Xiao didn't believe Kaiser would come looking for him without reason, especially in Dead Silence City, which held many secret treasures.
"My dear friend, killing Death People has high rewards, especially in terms of Soul Coins. How about we cooperate and clear out the Death People here?"
Kaiser's proposal made Bubu Wang and Baha's expressions extremely serious. Even if the inner city's Death People weren't numerous, there were at least several hundred, all elite units.
Moreover, besides Death People, there were even harder-to-deal-with existences like Dark Mediums and Tree Erosion.
Many signs indicated that Death People, Dark Mediums, and Tree Erosion could cooperate to some extent.
Even without considering Dark Mediums and Tree Erosion, challenging the Dead Silence City Sword Saint Group with the inner city Death People's combat power was truly suicidal.
Su Xiao would rather fight the Sacred Choir alone or the last Wolf Knight than provoke the Dead Silence City Sword Saint Group.
Kaiser began explaining his plan. This matter started this morning. Kaiser arrived at the inner city yesterday, and around 7 AM today, he discovered a strange place east of "Gray Rock Square" and south of "Wolf Tomb."
This place had a different style from other parts of Dead Silence City. Elsewhere, gray-white cotton-like substances floated everywhere, buildings were weathered, and everything was mainly gray-white.
But in this area, black ash kept falling like a black snowstorm. The buildings' colors were all pitch black, the ground was as black as ink, and it wasn't rocky ground but soil so black it had a rotten smell.
All buildings here were pitch black inside—not darkness, but semi-fluid black existences hidden within these buildings. Darkness, dampness, and eeriness were the main themes there.
Anyone else would have turned and left immediately, but Kaiser was no ordinary person. This guy reached into his pants, scratched his butt, then headed into this dark area.
After some investigation, Kaiser discovered that this place was entirely occupied by Abyss Spawn. Although suppressed by Dead Silence City's environment, they were equally powerful.
Currently, these Abyss Spawn and the Death People were in a "well water doesn't mix with river water" situation, but at the edge of the dark area, many corpses of Death People, Tree Erosion, and Abyss Spawn could be seen.
This showed that the Death People faction and this group of Abyss Spawn were hostile, just in a ceasefire now.
"Oh, I see. Kaiser, you want the inner city Death People and these Abyss Spawn to fight each other, then when they're both weakened, we come out and pick up the scraps?"
Baha spoke with an expression of "I've seen through everything."
"Of course not. That's too dangerous."
Kaiser's words made Baha cough awkwardly and ask, "Then what's your plan?"
"It's like this..."
Kaiser subconsciously rubbed his hands. Although his face inside the Abyssal Jar couldn't be seen, his sly smile could be fully imagined.
Kaiser's meaning was that waiting for enemies to weaken each other and then picking up scraps was too luck-dependent. His proposal was to first join the Abyss Spawn's faction, then provoke conflict between the inner city Death People and the Abyss Spawn. After they started fighting, he would act as a commander to obtain kill rewards.
Simply put, let these Abyss Spawn and inner city Death People fight each other. When the Abyss Spawn killed Death People, Su Xiao and Kaiser, as battlefield commanders, would receive part of the kill rewards—20% to 30% of the kill rewards.
If this idea was realized, watching the Abyss Spawn and inner city Death People fight chaotically would continuously yield Soul Coins corresponding to kill rewards, without even needing to personally participate.
Or rather, they couldn't participate either. Whether Abyss Spawn or Death People, once they saw Su Xiao, they would attack indiscriminately.
Theoretically, achieving this was almost impossible. First, how to join the Abyss Spawn's faction was an insurmountable threshold.
Normally, that would be the case. But don't forget, Kaiser was in a human-jar fusion state, wearing the Abyssal Jar on his head. Plus, after entering the world, he would passively trigger his quartermaster identity.
At this moment, this guy had joined that group of Abyss Spawn's faction in a nearly miraculous way. The reason he didn't carry out the plan himself was that his method of entering this world prevented him from obtaining kill rewards, as shown when killing the Sin God earlier.
Unable to obtain kill rewards, Kaiser's plan naturally couldn't be realized. But as a Hunter conducting rank advancement assessment in this world, Su Xiao could not only obtain kill rewards but also had his kill rewards under bonus.
Kaiser could join the Abyss Spawn's faction, and Su Xiao could obtain kill rewards with additional bonuses. If they cooperated, everything would be fine.
Moreover, Kaiser also took on the task of inciting the relationship between the inner city Death People and the Abyss Spawn, as well as various subsequent troubles. Most incredibly, Kaiser proposed a fifty-fifty split.
"However, my dear friend, doing this will cost a tiny little bit."
Kaiser's sly smile grew more cunning. He took on so many tasks and still proposed a fifty-fifty split; there must be a reason.
"Doing this will deduct reputation."
Hearing this, Su Xiao frowned. As a Hunter, having his Reincarnation Paradise reputation deducted would make some things difficult.
As if worried Su Xiao would refuse, Kaiser immediately added: "It deducts Void Tree reputation."
Hearing this, Su Xiao's furrowed brow gradually relaxed. "Alright, but this has to happen after I visit the Holy Ten Cathedral."
"Deal."
After speaking, Kaiser took out the shit-yellow [Deceiver's Headwrap], put it on, began muttering in Goblin language, and finally took out a badge bearing the Reincarnation Paradise mark and used it.
[Prompt: You have been invited by ??? Faction Quartermaster · Nicholas Kaiser. Do you wish to join ??? Faction?]
What the hell was ??? Faction? Heaven knows how Kaiser operated this. Su Xiao chose to join, and subsequent prompts appeared.
[Nicholas Kaiser has activated his unique ability · Impersonation (X) and shared it with you.]
[You have temporarily become the temporary commander of ??? Faction. This position has no actual command authority.]
[Nicholas Kaiser has activated his unique ability · Faction Bully (X).]
...
After a series of operations, Kaiser had sweat on his forehead and wiped it inside the jar.
Kaiser's operations were mind-blowing. This guy first invited Su Xiao to join the Abyss Spawn faction, then used the Impersonation (X) ability to make Su Xiao impersonate his position, becoming the commander of the Abyss Spawn faction.
Then Kaiser used the Faction Bully ability to "intercept" Su Xiao's benefits in the Abyss Spawn faction.
This achieved the result that Kaiser, who originally couldn't obtain kill rewards, could now obtain kill rewards in the specific faction, i.e., the Abyss Spawn faction, using Su Xiao as cover.
[Warning (Void Tree): The Hunter is conducting an unconventional substitution. Your reputation will be significantly reduced as a result.]
[Your reputation -170 points.]
Seeing it was deducting Void Tree reputation, Su Xiao felt relieved. He was about to leave for the "Holy Ten Cathedral" when Kaiser behind him said:
"My dear friend, Dean has a grudge against you?"
"Yeah."
"He's already in the inner city. I saw him this morning. He's very interested in the Black Maple Tree at Gray Rock Square."
Hearing this, Su Xiao stopped. If he could eliminate Dean, he would certainly do so. But this guy was too wealthy, even having precious antidotes for soul poison.
However, fighting Dean head-on seemed unwise. He had almost been killed by the ability of an Origin-level equipment before. The power of that equipment was impressive.
Compared to others, Dean always gave Su Xiao a sense of incongruity. As for where this incongruity came from, Su Xiao had never figured out.
Now, in Dead Silence City, using terrain to kill this Eighth Rank's richest contractor was the best choice. The problem was that Dean had fought his way to Eighth Rank; ordinary traps wouldn't work.
The dark area was a decent venue but not good enough. Just then, Kaiser spoke: "If you want to settle things, I know a good place."
While speaking, Kaiser took out over a dozen recovery potions, ready to sell them to Su Xiao. Su Xiao naturally didn't buy.
Before arranging Dragon God Dean, Su Xiao had something to handle first: summoning Gulu back. Gulu had the trump card given by Tuanzhang. If Dean used his wealth to pull out terrifyingly lethal items, having Gulu present would provide an additional countermeasure.
Moreover, he couldn't keep leaving Gulu with Fish Sister forever, although the probability of Fish Sister killing Gulu was very low.
Two hours later, under the high wall, in a damp and dark passage.
Su Xiao stopped at the end of the passage. He raised the lantern in his hand. As he injected mental energy into the lantern, the dim yellow light became dazzling, illuminating the entire underground palace.
A figure stood in the undispersed darkness. Her hair curled and writhed like seaweed. Her hands exposed to the light were covered in dark purple fine scales.
With a well-proportioned figure but an actual height of over 3.2 meters, Fish Sister crouched on the ground, one hand holding Gulu's chin, the other covering Gulu's eyes, her expression full of affection.
"Release her."
Su Xiao spoke expressionlessly. Hearing this, Fish Sister across from him gently stroked Gulu's cheek with her fingertips. With a mouth full of sharp teeth, she smiled and said in a halting tone: "Don't even think about taking my child away."
"..."
Su Xiao said nothing more. His hand gripped the knife handle, and the long blade gradually unsheathed. Blood aura spread outward from him as the center point.
Crack! Crack!
The surrounding walls cracked and peeled. The next moment, blood aura and dark purple semi-transparent liquid collided with a bang.
After a loud noise, the blood aura immediately invaded the dark purple semi-transparent liquid, corroding it with a hissing sound. The next instant, a wound appeared on Fish Sister's face, blood trickling down the wound.
Fish Sister's teeth ground together with a cracking sound. She grabbed Gulu's torso with one hand and, venting her anger, slammed Gulu against the wall several times before finally throwing Gulu in front of Su Xiao.
"F*** you, I'll f*** you..."
Gulu spoke with difficulty. Fish Sister had clearly held back, so Gulu wasn't seriously injured. But being grabbed and slammed against the wall in anger made Gulu furious.
Only able to move her head, Gulu looked at Su Xiao and, temporarily discarding her dignity, said, "My father, beat her."
"..."
Su Xiao picked up Gulu, hoisted her over his shoulder, and walked out of the underground palace. Killing Fish Sister here was too difficult. To kill her, he would need to lure her outside the underground palace.
A sound of breaking wind came. Su Xiao raised his hand and caught a potion bottle thrown from behind.
[Prompt: You have obtained Healing Secret Medicine (Holy Spirit Rank).]
The potion was thrown by Fish Sister. Regarding Fish Sister, Su Xiao had learned some information from Kaiser. Overall, Fish Sister was a pitiful person. In the past, Fish Sister wouldn't harm others, but after being eroded by Dead Silence Force for too long, she had recently become increasingly violent and chaotic.
This secret medicine was Fish Sister's gift to Gulu. The earlier venting by grabbing Gulu and slamming her against the wall was probably Fish Sister entering a brief state of confusion.
Leaving the underground palace and arriving near Gray Rock Square, Su Xiao took out an injection gun and gave Gulu two shots—one to relieve body paralysis, the other for treatment.
"Thank you for saving me, my father. You're so kind."
Gulu, lying on the ground, spoke with honeyed words. Seeing this, Su Xiao took another potion from his storage space and loaded it into the injection gun.
Given Gulu's personality, saying nice things now only meant one thing: once she regained mobility, she would immediately slip away. She had clearly suffered too much in Dead Silence City and was ready to escape.
To deal with Gulu who wanted to escape, Su Xiao took out a bottle of liquid vitamins. Seeing Su Xiao take out another potion, Gulu said, "You're really going to all this trouble."
"No trouble. I've prepared quite a bit of this chronic poison, and the cost isn't high."
"Wait, wait, this is poison?" Gulu, still paralyzed, swallowed her saliva and shouted, "Don't come near me! I ***, sorry, I shouldn't have cursed you. Dad, I was wrong. Go away, I ******, ah!! Sorry, I shouldn't have cursed you again..."
Amid Gulu's "joyful" shouts, the chronic poison injection was completed.
"Damn it, when I get back, I'll tell Tuanzhang you poisoned me."
"Oh."
Su Xiao took out another potion. Seeing this, Gulu was about to speak when Sacred Poem gloated: "Yes, give this little Gothic dress another shot."
Sacred Poem had barely finished speaking when the potion was injected. Gulu asked fiercely, "Do you have any slow-acting soul poison? Give me a shot."
Gulu was desperate, ready for a mutual destruction.
"This is it."
Su Xiao dropped the injection gun. Hearing this, the gloating Sacred Poem suddenly fell silent.
Four hours later, near the "Treatment Center" area, a several-hundred-meter-long giant skeleton lay here. The creature's ribs were like a corridor pressed against the ground.
Dragon God Dean sat on top of this giant skeleton's head. This time in Dead Silence City, besides seeking revenge, he was also here for secret treasures. It could be said that his gains were substantial. Even someone as wealthy as Dean couldn't help but show a hint of a smile.
Light footsteps came. Dean was about to spread his dragon wings and fly but immediately suppressed this thought. After being taught a lesson by the Pale Hunters, he no longer flew in Dead Silence City.
Following Dean's gaze, a figure in a Gothic dress walked past a hundred meters away. This stunned Dean for a moment, then he narrowed his eyes. He couldn't find them, and now they happened to encounter each other.
What surprised Dean even more was that Gulu, appearing a hundred meters away, raised both hands and gave him two middle fingers.