Chapter 14: A Harmonious Little Group?
This little group wasn’t open to just anyone. To join, one had to meet two out of three conditions: a single attribute above 50 points, a skill exceeding LV.20, or possession of a purple-quality weapon.
Don’t think purple weapons were commonplace. Most second-rank contractors had equipment that was blue or purple, and purple weapons weren’t that numerous.
As for dark-purple weapons, only a small number of elites among second-rank contractors possessed them. Light-gold weapons were even rarer, typically held only by large adventure groups.
In Su Xiao’s understanding, a second-rank contractor should at least have one dark-purple weapon. But he was wrong, very wrong.
When a contractor pulled out a purple-quality +5 weapon, Su Xiao frowned. This thing wasn’t impressive, yet the envious glances from other contractors made him wonder if it had some special property.
This misunderstanding stemmed from his comprehensive evaluation scores at the end of derivative worlds. He always delved deep into those worlds, earning high scores, which increased his chances of obtaining high-quality equipment.
Few contractors in Reincarnation Paradise were as fearless as Su Xiao. Most had families, so they acted cautiously to avoid dying in derivative worlds and never seeing their loved ones again.
Take this instance: if Su Xiao had obtained the detailed intel on the Cyclops, he wouldn’t have recruited anyone. He’d have just taken Bubu Wang and charged in.
Ordinary contractors were different. They’d first form small groups to reduce risk.
Suppose a light-gold chest dropped this time. After deducting Mr. A’s and Stone’s 30%, the other 12 contractors would split the remaining 70%. Each would get the equivalent of a purple chest at most.
Mr. A began inspecting the partial weapon data, skills, and attributes that each contractor had disclosed. Knowing the Cyclops had 70 points of strength, anyone who dared to gather here wasn’t too weak.
The old man was the strongest. He wielded a dark-purple staff. Though its rating was only 160, making it junk among dark-purple items, it was still dark-purple equipment. The fiery looks from the other contractors couldn’t be faked.
“Old sir, your strength is beyond doubt.”
“You’re not bad either. You’ve got a hidden card up your sleeve. Don’t call me old sir; just call me Old Wolf.”
Old Wolf was still a bit displeased but didn’t raise further objections.
“Here’s to a successful cooperation.”
Mr. A extended his hand. Old Wolf hesitated for a moment, then shook it.
“By the way, take a look at this skill too. It’ll help with battlefield command.”
Old Wolf displayed a skill publicly. Seeing its level, the contractors gasped.
[Twisted Laser (Active Skill)]
“I see. You’ll be at the core of the team during battle.”
Mr. A seemed very satisfied, showing no trace of the earlier friction with Old Wolf.
“And you, friend, you’re the only one left. Meet two out of three conditions.”
Mr. A sat across from Su Xiao. Su Xiao was deliberating what identity to use to join the group: melee fighter, main tank, or long-range sniper?
Melee was clearly out. If Mr. A saw his Blade Master skill, he’d never let him in. As for showing him Azure Steel Shadow? Forget it; he might as well show Blade Master.
Melee was a no-go. As for tank…
Su Xiao’s Energy Shield was impressive. He’d once used it to block one of Might Guy’s Seven Gates kicks, and that was at 300 points of intensity. Now his shield’s limit was 400 points. But without revealing the shield, he didn’t qualify as a main tank, so that identity was out too.
As for long-range sniping, his maxed-out Gun Proficiency, Spider Empress, might just pass muster without drawing too much attention.
Revealing his sniping ability was definitely safer than exposing his melee skills. Though his sniping was strong, it was barely within the acceptable range for ordinary contractors.
“Friend?”
Mr. A spoke again.
“Hmm? Sorry, I was thinking about something.”
Su Xiao showed Mr. A part of his Gun Proficiency LV.30 attributes. It wasn’t his core ability, so exposing it didn’t matter.
Mr. A was startled and looked Su Xiao up and down.
“How should I address you, friend?”
“Bai Ye.”
“Uh… Bai Ye, what’s your development direction for guns? Don’t misunderstand; it determines your position in the team.”
“Sniper.”
“A sniper, huh…”
Mr. A fell into thought.
“For a sniper, the attribute requirements can be relaxed a bit, but the quality of the sniper rifle must be disclosed. Please consider it, Mr. Bai Ye.”
Though Mr. A’s expression was calm, his heartbeat quickened noticeably. Having a wandering main tank was already a stroke of luck, and now there was the mage Old Wolf.
And now, a sniper with Gun Proficiency LV.30 was about to join the team. What did that mean? Some mid-sized teams didn’t even have such a core setup.
After a moment’s hesitation, Su Xiao revealed some of Spider Empress’s attributes.
[Spider Empress]
Origin: Reincarnation Paradise
Quality: Dark Purple
Category: Heavy Sniper Rifle
Caliber/Magazine Capacity: 10
Durability: ???
Attack Power: ???
Equipment Requirements: ???
Equipment Effect 1: ???
Equipment Effect 2: Precision Trajectory (Passive) – Corrects shooting accuracy by 17%.
Equipment Effect 3: ???
Rating: ???
This barrage of question marks made Mr. A’s mouth twitch. But after spotting a few key words, he took a deep breath.
Dark purple, caliber, Equipment Effect 3.
These details indicated it was a large-caliber heavy sniper rifle with a rating of at least 200 or more.
“Welcome aboard, Mr. Bai Ye.”
Mr. A’s face lit up with joy. With a tank, mid-to-long-range firepower, and everything in place, taking down the Cyclops was a sure thing.
Once everyone had joined the temporary team, Mr. A released the detailed intel on the Cyclops.
After reading it, Su Xiao finally understood why Mr. A dared to target the Cyclops despite its 70 points of strength. The reason was simple: the Cyclops had low agility, only 34 points, and 59 points of stamina. While that wasn’t low, a dozen people ganging up on it would be no problem.
As long as they could withstand its frontal attacks, the contractors could do as they pleased.
“Mr. A, why is the team leader position empty?”
A sharp-eyed contractor noticed this.
“Good question. I’m not fit to be the leader. I’m a melee fighter, which is bad for overall command. I recommend Old Wolf as the leader. He’s a mage, so he can see the whole battlefield after the fight starts. That’s good for commanding and will reduce casualties.”
Hearing this, Old Wolf was stunned. All the contractors were stunned.
A young mother, a healer, had a flicker in her eyes and looked at Mr. A with noticeably more warmth.
“Mr. A’s magnanimity… Old Wolf can’t match it.”
Old Wolf gave a wry smile, as if apologizing for his earlier faction-forming behavior.
“It’s nothing. Everyone has selfish motives, but our opponent is too strong. Folks, our enemy isn’t just the Cyclops. You should understand that. We’ve gathered for profit, but we must unite, or we’ll be a rabble!”
“Mr. A speaks wisely.”
The young mother healer showed strong support, and the other contractors chimed in.
Su Xiao scanned the room. Mr. A (melee), Old Wolf (mage), Stone (main tank), the young mother healer, and himself—these were the core members of the little group.
“Is this team composition a coincidence…”
Su Xiao murmured. This little group seemed harmonious, with Mr. A and Old Wolf setting aside their differences. But was that really the case?
Beside him, Bubu Wang was excited, as if discovering a new continent. It had only just realized today that contractors, whom its master usually cut down in a few slashes, were actually this interesting.