Chapter 16: Heading Out
On the pedestrian street, Dragon God Dean, once hailed as the strongest Eighth Rank contractor in Apocalypse Paradise, appeared calm and composed on the surface, but inside, he was already starting to panic. He was certain that if the grudge between him, Su Xiao, and Gray Gentleman became known to outsiders, it would definitely make this year's "Top Ten Brain Clot Incidents of Apocalypse Paradise Annual Rankings," and might even take the top spot.
More critically, in this world, Dragon God Dean, who had been solo since the Fifth Rank, had unexpectedly run into three teammates he had fought side-by-side with during his Third Rank days. Originally, they were a team of over a dozen, and now only four of them had survived to the Ninth Rank. Although his three teammates were far weaker than him, this reunion after so long was naturally a joyful occasion.
This was only possible because of the survival rate of Apocalypse Paradise contractors. If it were Reincarnation Paradise or Death Paradise, such a thing would be virtually impossible.
Dragon God Dean was a sentimental man. To avenge his brother, he had traveled across multiple world progressions and ventured deep into the Land of the Dead. Although his mistake of targeting the wrong enemy was baffling, upon discovering the truth, Dean didn't fly into a rage out of humiliation. Instead, he, already poisoned, coughed up blood uncontrollably from sheer anger.
Now, unexpectedly encountering his "enemy" Su Xiao, Dragon God Dean's aura involuntarily weakened by three points. It was clear he felt he was in the wrong.
"Oh, isn't this Dean? Last time you..."
Baha started to speak. The hidden sentries around the pedestrian street hadn't been fully withdrawn yet, and Dragon God Dean's arrival was perfectly timed.
"Shut up!"
Dragon God Dean suddenly roared. The look in his eyes, a mix of fury and slight guilt, made Baha pause for a moment. Then, seeing the expressions on the faces of the three people behind Dean, Baha understood. The smile on its bird face was already impossible to suppress.
"You three withdraw first. It'll be easier for me to escape alone."
Dragon God Dean spoke.
"Alright."
"Take care."
"See you later."
Dean's three teammates immediately took out their life-saving items without hesitation. They had already vaguely sensed the hidden sentries around the pedestrian street.
To be fair, these four were just unlucky. With the old man's perception among them, if the sentries hadn't been withdrawn, he would have sensed them. But unfortunately, by the time they arrived, most of the sentries had already left, though they hadn't gone far.
With a bang, Dragon God Dean's three teammates vanished, leaving behind a cloud of sparkling dust particles. Life-saving items were essential for Apocalypse Paradise contractors. As long as they weren't caught in a Ninth Rank spatial lockdown, a life-saving item costing three to four thousand Soul Coins was quite reliable.
"See..."
Just as Dragon God Dean was about to say "see you never," Baha suddenly interjected:
"We seem to have quite a connection. How about I share our story on this world's global communication platform?"
"Are you... threatening me?"
Dragon God Dean's eyes narrowed slightly. He wasn't stupid. Surrounded by enemies, he had no intention of fighting head-on.
"Bullshit. I'm threatening you. No need to be so polite."
"You!"
Dean barely got the word out before Baha started a friendly greeting to Dean. This made Dean, who already felt he was in the wrong, silently fume, his anger steadily rising at a rate of 3 to 5 points per second.
"What's the matter? Can't argue, so you want to fight? This is the legendary strongest Eighth Rank of Apocalypse Paradise, the loyal and righteous Dean."
Hearing this, Dean's anger instantly dropped by 50 points. Seeing this, Baha resumed its verbal assault, causing Dragon God Dean's anger to rise again. It could only be said that Baha's mastery of verbal sparring had reached a profound level, even capable of controlling the enemy's anger gauge.
"I won't waste any more words with you. You have life-saving items, so the cost of ganging up on you is too high."
Hearing this, Dean nearly spat out a mouthful of old blood in rage. This bastard had been verbally abusing him for over ten minutes, only to end with "I won't waste any more words." This jerk was going too far!
"Not happy? Let's fight one-on-one!"
Baha suddenly changed its tone. Dean was stunned for a moment, then gritted his teeth and said, "Fine, one-on-one."
"You're so shameless! If I'm not mistaken, you're not even a contractor. You're a Battle Angel of Apocalypse Paradise. The former strongest Eighth Rank of Apocalypse Paradise couldn't possibly not be a Battle Angel. A Ninth Rank Battle Angel wants to fight one-on-one with a follower? Heh, spit! Shameless! I'm embarrassed for you."
Baha, perched on Amu's shoulder, kept up the barrage. Across from it, Dean was silently grinding his teeth, unknowingly donning a mask of pain.
"But come to think of it, we two sides aren't exactly enemies. We were both set up by Gray Gentleman."
Baha's sudden sharp turn in topic left Dean, who had just been preparing his counterattack, completely stifled. He was so frustrated he almost suffered internal injuries.
"Yes."
Dean actually agreed with Baha's words. From start to finish, their hostility had been caused by Gray Gentleman's scheming.
"As the saying goes, 'Better to resolve grievances than to keep them.' How about we talk?"
Baha made its stance clear. If they could surround and kill Dean, who had been their enemy before, they wouldn't hesitate. The problem was, given how wealthy this guy was, his life-saving items were undoubtedly formidable.
Su Xiao had learned from Molei that in Apocalypse Paradise, someone like Dean, who was always the MVP in world wars, had a decent chance of receiving a rare life-saving item as the final reward after completing the main quest.
Reincarnation Paradise was different, leaning more towards growth. Su Xiao had previously received rewards like [Skill Upgrade Pod Free Usage Permission (One Time)], which Apocalypse Paradise contractors found unbelievable.
The current situation was that although the street was surrounded, to actually kill Dean, Baha would have to use [Demon Hawk Domain] to seal the space. The problem was, [Demon Hawk Domain] had a cooldown of 8 to 9 natural days, depending on how long Baha kept it active. If it was active for the full 10 minutes, the cooldown would be 9 natural days.
They still had to hunt down four traitors and the Radiance God. Using [Demon Hawk Domain] on Dean under these circumstances wasn't cost-effective.
A short while later, in a small restaurant on the street. The business was good; it was a family-run shop. The other dishes were average, but the meat dishes were impeccable, almost reaching Xia's level.
Amu was already eating happily. Bubu Wang and Baha were also eating with greasy mouths. Across the table, Dragon God Dean had only ordered a glass of ice water, which he hadn't touched. He had experienced Su Xiao's soul poison before and would never forget it.
"Not bad, Dean. You got rid of the soul poison."
Baha spoke. This rascal was trying to mess with Dean's mind again to facilitate the upcoming negotiation.
"I was lucky in the Gloomy Continent. I met a famous doctor who could cure soul poison."
"Oh, did he call himself Father Wo?"
Hearing this, Dean's expression remained unchanged, but his mental state shattered with a crack.
"Poisoning me in battle, then sending a doctor to save me? Such a meaningless act..."
Dean was cut off mid-sentence by Baha: "Who said it was meaningless? You spent 100,000 Soul Coins on that secret medicine back then. We split it fifty-fifty. That means you gave us 50,000 Soul Coins. How is that meaningless?"
"..."
Dean fell silent. Seeing the timing was right, Baha cleared its throat: "But all of this happened after you attacked us first. You can't deny that."
"Hmm."
"Dean, ask yourself honestly. What did we do to offend you so much that you chased us all the way to the Gloomy Continent and even into Dead Silence City?"
Baha finished, putting on an indignant expression.
"Well..."
Dean pressed his hand to his forehead. He vaguely felt that if he admitted to being tricked by Gray Gentleman now, he would fall right into the trap these guys had dug for him.
"You have nothing to say."
Baha suddenly spoke, making Dean think, "Damn, I'm done for."
"You chased us for no reason for so long. What are you going to do about it?"
"Well... how about I compensate you with 5,000 Soul Coins for combat losses and mental anguish?"
Dean still felt he was in the wrong, but he tried to keep the price low. If Baha knew what Dean was thinking, it would have exclaimed, "Holy crap, 5,000 Soul Coins is a low price?"
"Deal."
Baha agreed without hesitation, surprising Dean. This grudge was settled for 5,000 Soul Coins? It was so simple that it made him uneasy.
"Let's trade."
Baha urged. Seeing this, Dean frowned. He felt something was off.
"If you're not comfortable, we can sign a contract?"
Baha suggested. No matter how you listened, its tone was cheerful. Across the table, Dean said nothing. He would rather use a life-saving item worth 40,000 Soul Coins than sign any contract with Su Xiao.
"Honestly, we don't want to stay enemies with you either. This whole thing started because of Gray Gentleman. He's our enemy too. So this is a meaningless enmity. As long as we get enough compensation, we'll pretend nothing happened."
Baha's words made Dean silent for a moment.
[You have received a trade request from Battle Angel Dean.]
[You have received 5,000 Soul Coins.]
...
After the trade was completed, Dean stood up to leave.
"Don't rush. Now that the misunderstanding is resolved, let's talk about other things. This whole thing was caused by Gray Gentleman. You agree with that, right?"
Hearing this, Dean felt a sense of dread.
"Congratulations, Mr. Dean. Your enemy was killed by us in the Treeborn World. Hahaha, surprised?"
At this point, Baha changed the subject. It borrowed a calculator from the counter and started pressing buttons frantically.
"Mr. Dean, we helped you eliminate Gray Gentleman. If you don't show your appreciation, that would be a bit unreasonable."
"How much?"
"15,000 Soul Coins."
"..."
Dean was silent for a few seconds, then let out a small laugh. He had long suspected things wouldn't be so simple. Paying another 15,000 Soul Coins now actually seemed normal.
[You have received a trade request from Battle Angel Dean.]
[You have received 15,000 Soul Coins.]
...
Dean stood up to leave. Baha quickly said, "Wait."
"You..."
Dean was furious. He had already paid 20,000 Soul Coins and wouldn't give another single coin. Although he himself felt that being chased like that and only paying 20,000 Soul Coins was a bit of a loss.
"Our old scores are settled. Now let's talk about today. You ran into us today. Look, you're now in our ambush circle. Right?"
"Right."
"If we really ganged up on you, even if you escaped, you'd have to use a life-saving item. To be honest, I'm a space-type. You know that. So, to get out of this situation, you'd have to use an expensive life-saving item worth 40,000 to 50,000 Soul Coins. But to save time for both of us, let's skip that process and simplify everything. Just give us 30,000 Soul Coins directly, and we'll let you leave. See? That saves you 20,000 Soul Coins!"
Baha finished with an excited slap on the table, completely ignoring Dean's pained expression across from him.
"According to you, you've saved me 20,000 Soul Coins?"
When Dean said this, his eyes had turned into dragon-like vertical pupils. He was clearly about to attack.
"Dean, calm down. Think about it. If you attack now, the 20,000 Soul Coins you already paid will be wasted. Plus, you'll have to use a life-saving item worth 50,000 Soul Coins. That's a total loss of 70,000 Soul Coins."
Hearing this, Dean's eye twitched. He suddenly understood why the past grievances could be resolved for 5,000 Soul Coins. This was the trap. It was simple: to pretend the chase never happened, pay 50,000 Soul Coins, and Su Xiao's team would selectively forget the whole thing.
The problem was, if Dean had to pay 50,000 Soul Coins in one go, he wouldn't agree. He would rather use his life-saving item worth over 40,000 Soul Coins than accept that outcome.
But if they started with a low price, making Dean feel the matter was acceptable, then brought up the second issue, the price, though not low, wasn't too high either. Since he had already paid 5,000 Soul Coins, what was another 15,000?
However, compared to all this, Dean was now considering another question: why were these guys so skilled and practiced at this? Molei, Yueshitu, and Hao Mei had no comment.
"Fine. You're ruthless. I'll accept it this time."
With that, Dean traded 30,000 Soul Coins to Su Xiao and left.
"Leaving already, bro? Let's cooperate sometime."
Baha called out. Hearing this, Dean quickened his pace to prevent his blood pressure from rising further.
Su Xiao checked his Reincarnation Imprint and saw the new addition of 50,000 Soul Coins in his Soul Coin account. He decided to let the matter rest. The reason was simple: judging from Dean's actions, someone who knew they were in the wrong and was willing to pay Soul Coins as compensation wouldn't seek revenge later. Someone who would seek revenge would have used a life-saving item to escape the moment they met.
In other words, now that Su Xiao had accepted the Soul Coins, if he then tried to kill Dean, it would become an irreconcilable blood feud. Before, it was just hostility, albeit in a rather bizarre way.
This time, he had to thank Dean for helping him build the Hunt List. If Dean hadn't "given" him over 500 ounces of Space-Time Power last time, Su Xiao wouldn't have had enough to create a Blood Pact-level Hunt List.
Come to think of it, every time he met Dean, Su Xiao made a fortune. Last time, it was 75,000 Soul Coins plus over 500 ounces of Space-Time Power. This time, it was 50,000 Soul Coins.
When Su Xiao returned to the asylum, it was already 3 PM. He sat behind his desk, picked up the information about the Nightmare King, and read it. He found that this Nightmare King was different from what he had imagined.
According to the records, the Nightmare King was an existence from ancient times. That wasn't too important. Considering the traitors had been in this world for a thousand years, it was common for a thousand-year-old existence to be exaggerated as being from ancient times.
The inconsistency was that the records stated the Nightmare King was incredibly powerful, even stronger than Abyss Leader Silvis and the Radiance God.
This didn't match the informant's information. The informant on the Hunt List had a bounty of 400 ounces of Space-Time Power. Based on that, the informant couldn't be that strong.
Of course, this information wasn't entirely reliable. The end of the document noted that the Nightmare King rarely left Nightmare Island, and all information about him had a legendary quality.
Su Xiao put the information in the drawer, stood up, and went into the bedroom to rest. He probably wouldn't have time to rest in the coming days.
When Su Xiao woke up, it was 2:50 AM. He turned off the timer set for 3 AM, washed up, and waited for the others to gather at the asylum. By the time everyone arrived, it was around 4 AM.
When Drey, Silver Mask, Veronica, Platinum Bishop, Red-Eyed Woman, and Beast Knight had all arrived, to avoid attracting attention, they took a modified vehicle. Given Amu and Beast Knight's size, the back was a bit cramped, but it was lively, especially with the talkative Platinum Bishop and Veronica, who liked to mutter to herself.
Soon, Platinum Bishop and Baha started chatting. Veronica, sitting next to Su Xiao, began muttering, even mentioning a cousin who had stolen candy from her when she was a child. Her muttering range was truly vast.
Across from them, Red-Eyed Woman was praising the sun, but since they were in a vehicle, she couldn't stretch out properly. Bubu Wang and Amu, on either side of her, had to lean away to avoid her arms.
When the vehicle stopped, they were at the port's container area. The stacked containers made a cargo ship at the dock less conspicuous.
After Su Xiao and the others boarded the ship, the bearded captain ordered the crew to set sail.
On the deck, a slightly salty sea breeze blew. The ship had been at sea for half an hour, surrounded by an endless ocean. Su Xiao sat on the railing, gazing at the distant horizon. The captain had obviously been instructed beforehand not to let the crew talk to Su Xiao and his group, which was exactly what Su Xiao wanted.
Unbeknownst to them, the sun rose over the horizon. Su Xiao, who had been meditating cross-legged on the deck, suddenly spoke:
"Still haven't decided where to jump into the sea?"
This sudden question made Rage Shark, who had only been unchained for a few hours, freeze. He quickly explained, "Dean White Night, you gave me this chance. Why would I try to escape halfway? That would be suicide."
As he spoke, Rage Shark quietly released a small iron ring in his hand. If given the chance, he could use it to escape.
"Mm, I believe you."
Su Xiao temporarily stopped meditating, opened his eyes, and looked at Rage Shark, who could only smile awkwardly.
"Veronica, help him understand the situation."
"Understood."
Veronica stepped forward, kicked Rage Shark, who was wearing a sealing neck ring, to the ground, put on gloves, and gave him a flurry of punches. Finally, she dragged over a large metal box, stuffed Rage Shark inside, closed the lid, sat on it, put on her earphones, and began swaying slightly to the rhythm.
At noon that day, the bearded captain personally brought food. As he approached the deck, he heard a thumping sound from inside the metal box. His eyes narrowed slightly, and he asked casually, "What's in there?"
"We caught a shark earlier. A very nasty one."
Hearing this, the bearded captain said nothing more, only muttering that he didn't want trouble before quickly leaving.
By evening, the sky suddenly became overcast. The sudden sea breeze made people instinctively uneasy. A crack of thunder sounded. The setting sun and the horizon had just been in harmony moments ago, but now the sky was filled with dark clouds. Angry waves slammed against the ship's side. The powerful impact and torque made the metal hull emit a terrifying creaking sound. This was the climate of the Dark Sea.
The bearded captain pressed down his hat brim and shouted against the wind, "Skull Island is coming up! That's the beacon light over there!"
He pointed into the distance. Under the dark sky, a faint light could be seen. That was Pirate Island, or rather Skull Island, located at the edge of the Dark Sea.
Su Xiao jumped onto the railing and shone a high-intensity light down at the sea surface. As expected, the seawater had a faint black tint. The Abyss aura was negligible, but Su Xiao wouldn't mistake that feeling.
When the cargo ship docked at Skull Island's port, Su Xiao finally understood why it was called that. The entire perimeter of the island was fixed with various interconnected bones. Some were the skulls of giant sea beasts, some were human bones, and some had human upper bodies and fish lower bodies. The smooth transition of the spine from top to bottom suggested that there might be mermaids in the Dark Sea.
The edges of the entire island were covered in bones. Located at the edge of the Dark Sea, this place was susceptible to sea beast attacks. Over time, this defensive strategy had developed. It wasn't surprising.
When Su Xiao took a small boat to the dock, he saw many people dressed as pirates, but most were merchants or laborers. It seemed that as long as the profit was sufficient, merchants would flock even to deal with fierce pirates.
Su Xiao had brought 6,500 Pirate Gold Coins this time. The first thing to do after landing was to buy the best bone ship. As the saying goes, if your sailing luck isn't good, make up for it with hard power.
But just as Su Xiao stepped off the small boat and set foot on Skull Island, a notification appeared.
[Notification: You have entered the Dark Sea region. This area is occupied by the Nightmare Lord (Informant).]
[The constant authority of the Hunt List: Blood Pact has been triggered. Due to the special circumstances of the Nightmare Lord (Informant), his bounty is a base of 400 ounces of Space-Time Power. You can complete this hunt under the following conditions.]