Chapter 33: Undying
As the sensation of teleportation faded, Su Xiao had arrived at the transit rest area. This place resembled a private bar, with a two-story duplex structure. The center of the first floor featured a large circular sofa, where many participants were gathered.
The arrival of Su Xiao’s team caused the rest area to suddenly fall silent. Su Xiao paid this no mind, but as he took a few steps, he felt a gaze so resentful it affected his perception. Following the gaze, he saw a girl with excessively pale skin, dark eye sockets, and blue-green pupils. This was the Necromancer Girl from the Death Paradise·Kane Team.
Speaking of which, Undead-type contractors tend to be quite casual with their codenames, much like the Undead Girl from Su Xiao’s own Paradise faction.
To say the Necromancer Girl and the Undead Girl had no connection at all would be untrue. In the later stages, relationships among Undead-type contractors were generally poor. The reason was that at the Absolute Strength level, permanently powerful summons were rare, and once a contract was signed, it was a permanent bond. This led to Undead-types competing fiercely for the rights to contract powerful summons.
Thus, the relationship between the Necromancer Girl and the Undead Girl was quite "intimate." Both had considered killing the other to avenge being outmaneuvered. Currently, the Necromancer Girl’s strongest summon, the Bone Creator, had been snatched from the Undead Girl, who had been on the verge of signing a contract with it.
Speaking of which, among the eight teams this time, three had their own Undead-types: the Kane Team had the Necromancer Girl, the Demon Scythe Team had Ruingard, and the Haoji Team had the Bandage Man.
The reason for this was the matching mechanism’s tilt toward the second round’s Lord’s Continent battle. Originally, the second round was supposed to be a showcase for several powerful Undead-types. In reality, these three particularly capable Undead-types spent most of the second round pondering, "What should I eat next?"
The situation in the second round had already left a deep impression on the Necromancer Girl regarding Su Xiao. By the third round, after confirming who had set the soul traps, she likely would never forget this Hunter.
Being suspended near Smile Town for several days and eventually dying from the erosion of the Nether Curse wasn’t what broke the Necromancer Girl’s spirit. The real horror was that during this time, the Zeli Team had arrived nearby, and among them was Glasses Girl·Shuifu, who had a hobby: she was an editor for the "Apocalypse Paradise Annual Sand Sculpture Rankings." That was the most terrifying part.
Actually, it wasn’t that big a deal. Shuifu was just casually recording things. The incident was dramatic but not sand-sculpture-worthy, lacking even the potential to make the top 1000 of the "Apocalypse Paradise Annual Sand Sculpture Rankings."
The problem was the Necromancer Girl’s fear. Whenever she recalled the joy she’d felt reading those rankings in the past, her heart raced, because this time she might end up on the list herself. If that happened, she’d lose face all the way to the "Dead Domain." Even after grabbing Shuifu by the collar and repeatedly confirming that this incident wouldn’t make the list, she still couldn’t feel at ease.
Now, seeing the culprit, her gaze was naturally very resentful. But after a moment, she sighed.
"Sorry about that. I was unlucky enough to step into your trap and occupy one of your trap spots for several days."
"Cough~!"
Yingqin, who was sipping her sweet wine, nearly choked. She had expected the Necromancer Girl to say something harsh. Her charming, smiling eyes studied the Necromancer Girl, and she grew more wary of this temporary teammate. Those who talked tough were usually weak on the inside, while those who could laugh at themselves after suffering a loss were truly troublesome.
"..."
Su Xiao said nothing, heading up the stairs to the second floor. Halfway up, he paused, looked back at the Necromancer Girl’s face, fully memorized her features, then continued upward.
After Su Xiao went upstairs, Water Brother spoke up. "Looks like you’re going to go all out against Reincarnation Paradise’s Bai Ye?"
"That’s right. He has 15 pieces of Shattered Origin. Going all out against him is one way to win. And Water Brother, you don’t seriously think I’m doing this because I was hung up for an entire world, drained of stamina by the soul net, and ended up so weak I wet myself, do you?"
"Isn’t that the case?"
Water Brother opened his dull eyes.
"Of course… not."
The Necromancer Girl enunciated each word, her small, shark-like teeth grinding audibly. Combined with her dark pupils and blue-green irises, she looked like an enraged demon. Though her good looks made the expression somewhat cute, she was indeed quite furious.
"Anger will devour your reason~"
Yingqin, locked in a passionate kiss with her lover Guangyan, spoke. These two were basically showing off their affection all day. Among the five members of the Kane Team, tough characters like Kane and Water Brother naturally didn’t eat any of this dog food. The Necromancer Girl, who usually had plenty of tricks and was quite lively, was forced to swallow it all. More than once, she’d considered finding a way to kill this pair of lovebirds, but given their strength and reliability as teammates, she had to drop the idea.
...
In a dim rest room, an old projector labored on. Many of its parts were made of black tentacles, giving it an Ancient God civilization style. As it operated, viscous flesh oozed from various gaps, indicating this bizarre projector wouldn’t last much longer.
Shenfu sat before the projection. The image flickered for a moment before stabilizing, revealing an abandoned theater. Various mechanical puppets served as the audience. At the center of the stage stood a woman with an elegant posture, her eyes seeming to hold endless stars. Yet she was motionless. Closer inspection revealed she was a statue, though incredibly lifelike.
The projection’s other side was the next round’s battle zone, the "Undying Nation."
"Without the constraints of Dawn Paradise, you batch of Violators dare to act so recklessly?"
A slightly hoarse, steady voice came through. The projection slowly panned to a man sitting in the audience. He had graying hair, a destroyed left eye, and scars extending to below his ear.
"If she hadn’t received the recruitment from Dawn Paradise, she would have become a highly accomplished musician. Thinking back, I really had no emotional intelligence back then. I had a woman whose eyes were full of me, yet I spent every day staring at that Tuanzhang, the Cycle Hunter, plotting how to kill him."
The man named Xiketo stared absentmindedly at the figure on stage. Shenfu didn’t interrupt his story, though the time left for communication was limited.
In the past, during the Reincarnation Paradise VS Dawn Paradise "Paradise War," if Reincarnation Paradise’s representative was Tuanzhang, then Dawn Paradise’s representative was undoubtedly Xiketo.
As for the woman on stage, the old Skill Upgrade Pod Su Xiao had obtained once belonged to her. That was why inside the pod, it was inscribed:
"Xiketo, my love, we will surely win, even if our opponent is Tuanzhang. Dawn will guide our way."
It was clear that at that time, Dawn Paradise was on the verge of losing, even retreating into its interior. The Skill Upgrade Pod had been used as a safe haven. Before leaving it, knowing defeat was inevitable, she left that message.
After sizing up Shenfu, Xiketo said, "You should be grateful. In our era, a greedy bastard like you, who swallowed the 'Primordial Death' like a snake swallowing an egg, would have been exiled to my Undying Nation. That’s the final destination for all Violators who dare to covet immortality."
Hearing this, Shenfu nodded thoughtfully. "It’s precisely because I don’t want to be exiled to your place in the near future that I’m participating in this battle. This time, I wasn’t summoned; I joined voluntarily."
"Enough with the nonsense. What do you want? Oh, right, what about that kid who was with you last time? I liked him. He was favored by Dawn."
Xiketo picked up a bottle and drank, though he had been dead so long he could barely taste the alcohol.
"Huishershi? He’s currently trapped in a Scarlet Card."
"Oh?"
Xiketo looked at Shenfu with slight surprise, swallowed the liquor, and shook his head with a laugh, as if marveling at how twisted the current Violators had become.
"Alright, spit it out. What do you want?"
"I’m entrusting you to eliminate someone."
"Payment?"
"Helping you leave the Undying Nation."
"Hahahaha!"
Xiketo burst out laughing. After a moment, he pointed the bottle’s mouth at Shenfu and said, "Do you think Tuanzhang has been at ease all these years because I’m not completely dead? He shattered my soul and crushed my Fate. My death now looms outside the Undying Nation, growing so vast it has completely enveloped this place. If not for the absence of death rules here, I would have turned to dust long ago. And you tell me you can help me leave?"
Xiketo leaned back in his chair, resting one arm on the back of the adjacent seat, smirking at Shenfu.
"Souls can be stitched together. Fate… can be taken from others."
Hearing this, Xiketo narrowed his eyes slightly, then nearly roared with laughter:
"You want me to take someone else’s Fate and drag out a miserable existence? Ahahahaha!"
Suddenly, Xiketo’s expression turned cold. He stared at Shenfu and shook his head. "What kind of monsters are today’s Violators? Even 'Fate' can be taken."
With that, Xiketo manipulated a golden-red liquid metal with embers, ready to engulf the projection. But Shenfu suddenly spoke:
"In this battle, the representative of Reincarnation Paradise is the Chosen One. Though not yet the sole one."
Hearing this, Xiketo’s raised hand paused. But then he shook his head with a slightly disdainful smile. "So what if he’s the Chosen One? I was one too back in the day. If you can’t become the sole Chosen One, it’s meaningless."
The golden-red liquid metal resumed devouring the projection. Just as Shenfu’s image was about to be completely swallowed, he said:
"What if… it’s a Chosen One who possesses the Origin Stone: World?"
At these words, the golden-red liquid metal Xiketo controlled halted. He furrowed his brow in thought for a few seconds before asking:
"Is this the person you want me to kill?"
"Yes."
"I accept this commission. As for the payment…"
Xiketo didn’t finish. He tapped his finger against the bottle. Shenfu’s heart sank. Compared to Xiketo demanding an exorbitant price, he feared another outcome.
"No payment needed. I’m willing to deal with this Chosen One because I’m interested, not because of your damn commission. Or rather, what does a half-dead bastard like me need payment for? The most terrifying thing in this world isn’t torture, loneliness, or death—it’s nothingness. Feeling nothing, touching nothing."
Sparks appeared on the bottle in Xiketo’s hand. It began to melt, turning into crystalline ash that fell to the ground. The projection vanished.
Xiketo looked at a nearby seat, where a puppet sat. The puppet’s posture didn’t matter. What mattered was the cracked, pieced-together metal mask on its face.
"Old friend, sometimes I wonder if you miss the era when Dawn and Reincarnation clashed. Back then, we Violators weren’t this absurd. After Dawn fell silent, the current Violators have become so ridiculous that I feel ashamed of myself. If my brothers and I had been this absurd, you might not have won."
Xiketo smiled. But after a moment, he said with a sigh, "Though it’s ridiculous, it’s not surprising. After all, the Dark Age of the Void’s myriad realms is approaching. It’s normal for some absurd characters to appear. Last time, you managed a draw, which bought us time until now. This time, no one can extend it further. I can’t change Dawn’s defeat, and you can’t change the Void’s outcome. That’s fair, old friend."
...
Beep~
After the identification device confirmed, the door ahead opened. Entering the rest room, Su Xiao found the environment pleasant—full of technological flair but lacking the cold, metallic feel.
After showering, Su Xiao lay comfortably on the bed. This round in the Cursed Land, though devoid of combat, had been more exhausting than battle. The intense acquisition of sealing knowledge left him wanting nothing more than to sleep.
Earlier, Su Xiao had seen many familiar faces in the first-floor bar area. When he went to the restaurant, he even encountered the two teammates matched with him this round. They were two Battle Angels from Apocalypse Paradise, brothers.
These two brothers had a different vibe from other Battle Angels. Besides their bald heads and extreme body-tech modifications, they were expressionless throughout. However, the negotiation went smoothly. Unlike the previous rounds’ teammates who just wanted to slack off, these two stated they would do their best to obtain "Shattered Origin" but would operate independently.
Su Xiao was satisfied with this result. Though it meant losing the potential 600,000 Soul Coins in profit, that was unstable income. Having two temporary teammates willing to take risks was quite good, especially since these brothers were skilled at finding things.
Interestingly, the Bai Ye Team had five members but split into three factions:
Su Xiao + Fenni.
Sacred Fate·Luosha.
The two brothers.
Among them, Sacred Fate·Luosha had been very quiet, making Su Xiao feel it was time to swap teammates and let Luosha rest back in Apocalypse Paradise. After all, from the first to the third round, Luosha hadn’t accomplished much.
If Sacred Fate·Luosha knew Su Xiao’s thoughts, she would definitely clench her fists—whether she could win or not, she’d still throw a punch and demand, "Do you have any idea what I’ve done these rounds? In the first round, you were at least somewhat human. The second round’s beast tide and the third round’s spread of Scarlet, Blazing Sun, and Nether—who caused all that? Is that something a human does?"
Su Xiao didn’t understand the extent of Sacred Fate·Luosha’s psychological trauma. But he could feel that the Necromancer Girl, though seemingly indifferent, had maxed out her "grudge meter." Next round, he’d kill this Undead-type.
Speaking of which, Su Xiao was now practically a nemesis to army-style tactics. When facing Undead-types, his "Azure Shadow King" ability would instantly max out. Claiming he could kill all the Undead-type’s summons would be arrogant, but cutting down the Undead-type commanding the army was within his reach.
Just as Su Xiao felt drowsy lying in bed, a notification appeared.
[Notification: The corresponding rewards for the "Cursed Land Authority" have been settled. This reward will be provided by Reincarnation Paradise and Apocalypse Paradise. As the task was notarized by the Void Tree, the rewards have been consolidated by the Void Tree.]
[You have received the following rewards.]