Chapter 46: Keep It Up
Inside the Mother Nest, within a spacious corridor.
Old Bal and Carlo were locked in a standoff, waves of heat rolling off both of them. They had just fought a life-or-death battle, leaving large patches of charred black on the surrounding fleshy walls, with a pungent, acrid smell spreading through the corridor.
"Companion, revenge, paradise, die."
Carlo's mental state was even more unstable. If he had been merely rigid before, he had now deteriorated into a dazed stupor.
"Failed product."
Old Bal tore off his already charred arm. As the limb slowly regenerated, he stared coldly at Carlo.
"Carlo, no, Contractor No. 12963, I'll give you one last chance to answer. Is my son's consciousness still there?"
Old Bal's eyes showed a look of grief, as if he were gazing at someone familiar yet strange.
"Heh, heh heh."
Carlo let out a stiff laugh, plant roots writhing beneath his withered cheeks.
"Your brat... was devoured by me long ago. Paradise... is not something a native like you can defy."
Hearing the clear answer, Old Bal closed his eyes in pain. The tears in his aged eyes evaporated before they could fall. That was his future heir, his most beloved son.
Old Bal was indeed ruthless, but that son was special—born from him and the woman he loved most.
"You pig!"
Old Bal roared, ignoring his skyrocketing body temperature as he charged at Carlo at full speed.
Crack, crack, crack.
The plant roots on Carlo's face writhed, and his eyes transformed into two miniature suns.
"Wrath of the Sun!"
Whoosh!
A wave of heat spread outward. Carlo spat out an egg-sized seed from his mouth. The seed floated in midair, radiating a terrifying temperature.
Old Bal halted his forward charge, extending both hands in front of him. A vine shield formed, blocking the heatwave.
"What a lively scene."
Su Xiao poked his head out from behind a corridor, with Bubu Wang squeezed in beside him. Both man and dog revealed only their heads.
"Woof."
Bubu Wang instinctively tried to open its storage space for popcorn and cola, but its small storage space had already been sealed.
Su Xiao had no intention of intervening in the fight between Old Bal and Carlo for now. From the current situation, Carlo seemed to have the upper hand, but that wasn't the case. If Old Bal were so easily defeated, he wouldn't be worthy of being the leader of the Yasman Tribe.
The hidden quest [Sun Tribe] still required Old Bal's guidance, so Old Bal couldn't die yet.
On the other side of the corridor, two small heads also peeked out.
"Ada, they're having a falling out."
The Insect Queen let out a sly laugh, as if watching dogs fight among themselves.
"Good, let them fight. Once one of them is dead, we'll make our entrance."
Although Ada hadn't died, her body was still in the recovery phase.
"No can do. That guy with the blade is on the opposite side."
The Insect Queen pointed a slender finger across the way.
Ada looked in the direction the Insect Queen indicated and instinctively pulled her head back. It seemed she was still terrified of having her head chopped off by Su Xiao.
"That pervert who loves cutting off heads. How about we retreat? The Mother Nest is huge; he can't do anything to us."
Although Ada had fought Su Xiao before, the two were enemies, not sworn foes.
There was a fundamental difference between an enemy and a sworn foe. A sworn foe was someone you had to find and kill no matter what, while an enemy was someone you wouldn't actively seek out but would fight if you crossed paths.
Ada had a decent demeanor, but if they met again, Su Xiao wouldn't show any mercy. The Reincarnation Paradise wasn't a place for romance. You were either a friend or an enemy. Finding a partner in the Reincarnation Paradise was the stupidest choice.
Moreover, given Su Xiao's personality, his first reaction upon seeing a female contractor wasn't whether he could charm her, but whether he could cut her down. He didn't think with his lower half—those who did usually died horribly.
"Should we retreat?"
The Insect Queen looked at Ada, and the two had become close friends who shared everything.
"Good idea. Let these stinking men kill each other. We'll hide in the lower levels of the nest."
As they spoke, Ada instinctively pulled her head back and dragged the Insect Queen behind cover.
Su Xiao lowered the Spider Queen sniper rifle in his hands. The distance was too close to block their perception easily.
The Insect Queen and Ada prepared for a strategic retreat. As long as Su Xiao and his group didn't cause large-scale destruction in the nest, they wouldn't show up again.
"These annoying guys. That old native stole one of my regeneration eggs. I was careless."
The Insect Queen was a bit unwilling, but she knew Ada's strength, so she also understood how strong Su Xiao was. Ada and the Insect Queen had sparred before, and the result was the Insect Queen getting pinned to the ground—though that was without summoning her subordinates.
It turned out the Insect Queen had excellent command skills and astonishingly high charm attributes, but her individual combat ability was mediocre.
"Don't dwell on useless things. Let's retreat first. The nest produces one regeneration egg every 50 years. For your lifespan, one egg is nothing."
Despite Ada's words, the Insect Queen still felt a bit reluctant.
"Wouldn't that be too cowardly?"
"Next time, you go fight the melee guy, and I'll be responsible for saving you at the critical moment."
The Insect Queen gave an awkward smile and changed the subject.
"My subordinates found a nice fruit. I'll let you try it later."
...
In the spacious corridor, Old Bal and Carlo were locked in a heated battle. 'Heated' wasn't a metaphor—it was genuinely hot.
Su Xiao lit a cigarette. The two fighters had long noticed him, but he was hiding there because their battlefield was too hot.
"Ally, aid me."
Old Bal, struggling in the fight, shouted for Su Xiao's help.
"Keep it up."
Su Xiao called back and continued smoking calmly.
"What?"
Old Bal glanced at Su Xiao while blocking Carlo's attack.
"Vocal support is still support."
"Huh?"
Bang! In his moment of distraction, Old Bal took a heavy punch, seeing stars.
Su Xiao had no intention of interfering in the fight between Old Bal and Carlo for now. The reason was that it was too dangerous. Those two were like bombs, ready to self-destruct at any moment.
Bubu Wang nudged Su Xiao with its mouth, its gaze seeming to say, 'Master, I bet a pack of spicy strips that old guy will win.'
Su Xiao, a master of Bubu-speak, nodded. Of course, Old Bal would win. This old man gave Su Xiao a sense of threat.
But there was something Su Xiao couldn't figure out. If Carlo was a contractor, he had mentioned terms like 'paradise' earlier, which was something the Reincarnation Paradise didn't allow.
The Reincarnation Paradise had a rule: it was forbidden to reveal anything related to the paradise to plot characters.
Although Old Bal was a native of Devouring Island, according to the Reincarnation Paradise's rules, he would be classified as a plot character.
There might be some secret about Carlo, or perhaps the current Carlo was no longer a contractor.
After watching the fight between Old Bal and Carlo for a while, Su Xiao lost interest. He had experienced too many battles to find much enjoyment in spectating.
Bubu Wang, however, watched intently, occasionally putting its paw in front of its mouth, as if imagining virtual popcorn.
Su Xiao ducked behind the corridor and took out [Barry's Diary]. As Old Bal's younger brother, Barry's diary might contain some secrets.
The origin of the paper and ink was suspicious. Su Xiao guessed that Barry had obtained them after capturing a contractor.
Flipping through the diary, the expected Yasman Tribe script didn't appear. Instead, it was a language Su Xiao could understand.
Every time Su Xiao entered a derivative world, the Reincarnation Paradise charged him 100 Paradise Coins. In return, he mastered the languages of many worlds. So far, he had learned 7.8 languages.