Chapter 59: Disappear Before My Eyes
The armored vehicle stopped beside a small stream, the red smoke finally dissipating.
Su Xiao jumped off the armored vehicle, retracted the Realm Severing Thread, and moved the airdrop crate from the roof to the ground.
Clang!
The airdrop crate landed, with a red button on top. Pressing it, the crate opened like a blooming flower, several items neatly arranged inside.
Bubu Wang leaned in, drawn by the scent.
As the airdrop crate opened, Su Xiao received a series of notifications.
[You have obtained: Delicious Roast Turkey.]
[You have obtained: Soul Crystal (Medium) ×5.]
[You have obtained: Marching Rations ×10.]
[You have obtained: Fresh Water (6L per barrel) ×5.]
[You have obtained: Adrenaline.]
[You have obtained: Tactical Boots (Purple).]
…
Unlike opening treasure chests, if the thrill of opening a chest was a 5, then opening an airdrop was a 7.
Su Xiao inspected the items one by one.
[Delicious Roast Turkey]
Origin: Devouring Island
Quality: Blue
Type: Recovery Food.
Effect: After consumption, restores 90% Health Points and 30% Mana Points within one hour, and removes abnormal status effects.
Rating: 70
Description: A unique roast turkey from Devouring Island.
…
[Adrenaline]
Origin: Reincarnation Paradise
Quality: Purple
Type: Functional Medicine.
Effect: After use, reduces pain by 70%, increases attack and movement speed by 20%, and the accompanying euphoria effect can relieve exhaustion. Lasts 10 minutes.
Rating: 127
Description: A natural stimulant. Don't underestimate it; when utterly exhausted, it's your last hope.
…
[Tactical Boots]
Origin: Reincarnation Paradise, Fifth Workshop
Quality: Purple
Category: Shoes (Black)
Durability: 59～59
Equipment Requirements: Strength 15, Agility 17, Endurance 5
Equipment Effect 1: Cross Mountains and Rivers (Passive), ignores 30% of movement speed reduction caused by terrain obstacles (e.g., deserts, swamps, etc.).
Equipment Effect 2: Jump Amplification (Passive), enhances jumping power by 25% and reduces landing stiffness after a jump.
Rating: 130
Description: Excellent quality, passed all layers of inspection.
Price: 31,000 Paradise Coins
…
After inspecting the items, Su Xiao was quite satisfied.
Food and fresh water were more abundant. He directly stored the five Soul Crystals (Medium), which could be used to upgrade Azure Steel Shadow or Blade Master.
[Adrenaline] and [Delicious Roast Turkey] were both good consumables, especially the Adrenaline.
As for the last item, [Tactical Boots], Su Xiao took off his current shoes and put them on directly.
After wearing them, Su Xiao found that these boots were lighter than expected, and he could clearly feel an increase in jumping power.
He leaped onto the roof of the armored vehicle and nodded in satisfaction.
These items were practically freebies, and Su Xiao became interested in the airdrops.
Unfortunately, the Common Area was too large. Although airdrops appeared daily, only contractors in a small area could compete for them. Traveling was a major problem, even with a vehicle.
After eating some food by the stream and washing up, Su Xiao got into the driver's seat and continued the journey.
Driving wasn't easy; it required focus. A collision was a minor issue, but driving into a swamp or other harsh terrain would be disastrous.
With ample food and fresh water, Su Xiao and the others began traveling at full speed.
The Common Area was different from the Red Soil Region. Although wild beasts frequently appeared here, survival wasn't difficult as long as one was careful. With Su Xiao's strength, he didn't need to worry about survival in the Common Area at all.
Following the direction Old Baer had indicated, Su Xiao drove the armored vehicle straight ahead.
Along the way, they encountered many wild beasts or contractors. Some contractors chose not to provoke Su Xiao, while others chose to block the way. His method of dealing with them was to simply draw his blade and slash. If they didn't run away from the slashing, he killed them. If they didn't submit after being killed, he killed them all.
And so, after two days of travel, the number of Reincarnation Marks in Su Xiao's backpack increased from seven to ten. Not only did his food and fresh water not decrease, but they had actually increased.
"Are those two nearby?"
Su Xiao stopped the armored vehicle and turned to look at Old Baer.
Old Baer held a blood-red vine, closed his eyes, and sensed for a moment.
"That's right, they're nearby. Unless they're dead, I can definitely find them."
Su Xiao jumped onto the roof of the armored vehicle and looked around. Today was the seventh day of the survival trial. He didn't know how other contractors were doing, but at least he felt much more relaxed than before.
"How close exactly?"
Su Xiao carefully observed the surroundings.
"Very close, probably…"
Before Old Baer could finish, Su Xiao heard the roar of wild beasts, followed by a series of rumbling sounds.
"Hurry up and use your ultimate move!"
A crisp female voice came through.
"Stop talking nonsense, run! How could I possibly fight off hundreds of lions? Why don't you try?"
This time, the shout came from a male voice.
"Can you bear to let a twelve-year-old little milkmaid engage in melee combat with these lions? Won't your conscience hurt? Even though your conscience must be very flat, you still need to speak with your hand on your heart."
"Stop being a smartass. If you don't want to die, run."
"Useless trash! I gave you a bunch of buffs for nothing. Wait for me, my legs are short, I can't run fast…"
The conversation between a man and a woman came through, accompanied by continuous beastly roars.
"We've found them."
A smile appeared on Old Baer's face.
"Much weaker than I imagined. It seems the Sun Maiden is desperate."
Su Xiao sat on the roof of the armored vehicle, watching the two people fleeing for their lives in the distance. These were exactly the people he was looking for. The vines clinging to their necks were the best proof; they were a kind of shackle. Otherwise, these two wouldn't have obeyed the Sun Maiden's orders to enter the Black Forest.
"She summoned me before too, but I refused."
Old Baer sneered. Although he outwardly groveled before the Sun Maiden, he had actually been looking for an opportunity all along.
Su Xiao could be sure that if he found any weakness in the Sun Maiden, Old Baer would be the first to act.
The two fleeing contractors spotted Su Xiao. What was chasing them was a pride of lions, numbering over two hundred.
The size of the lion pride was normal, after all, the Common Area was also part of Devouring Island. If the population wasn't large enough, extinction was only a matter of time.
The male contractor running in front had a face covered in blood, followed by a little girl. The little girl looked about twelve or thirteen years old, not injured, but running out of breath.
"Brother, help!"
The male contractor shouted loudly. He didn't run directly towards the armored vehicle; doing so would likely provoke an attack from Su Xiao.
Su Xiao jumped down from the armored vehicle and drew the Dragon-Slaying Flash at his waist.
"This guy…"
The male contractor's pupils contracted sharply, but he quickly thought of something and ran quickly towards Su Xiao.
"Hey, are we really going over there? That person's aura is a bit off. I got goosebumps when he drew his blade."
The little girl slowed her pace a bit.
"It's fine. He should be the one the Sun Maiden told us to find. I just didn't expect to meet him so soon."
Hearing the male contractor's words, the little girl quickened her pace.
"Help!"
Whoosh.
The wind rushed past her, blowing her long black hair. Su Xiao had already charged into the lion pride.
Puchi, puchi.
Blood splattered, and screams rang out continuously from the lion pride. Ten seconds later, the charging lions stopped. The ground around Su Xiao was littered with large pieces of shattered lion remains.
"Disappear before my eyes."
Su Xiao's aura erupted—an aura born from killing thousands of creatures.
The lion pride instinctively retreated. Finally, under the roar of a massive male lion, the pride fled in disgrace.