Chapter 32: Pursuit
Even with his speed, Feitan didn't gain the upper hand in close combat. Instead, he was wounded twice by Su Xiao's blade. Forced into a corner, he had no choice but to unleash a big move and flee.
If not for those gang members opening fire, Feitan would have been the one to die in the end. This was a fact proven through battle—useless teammates truly are a liability.
Based on Su Xiao's estimation, aside from the Troupe's leader, none of the other main combatants were a match for him in a 1v1 fight. He had an 80% chance of victory. In a 1v2 scenario, as long as he wasn't simultaneously facing top-tier members like Feitan or Nobunaga, Su Xiao had over a 50% chance of winning.
The only thing Su Xiao worried about was the Troupe launching a full-scale assault on the Ten Dons' forces. If that happened, he wouldn't be able to stop them.
Leaving the basement, Su Xiao emerged above ground, where waves of heat rolled in.
"Bubu."
Su Xiao called out loudly. Before long, a soot-covered, goofy-looking creature came running over. Seeing Bubu Wang's current state, even Su Xiao couldn't help but chuckle.
Bubu Wang hadn't been scorched by the miniature sun. It had fallen into a pile of ash while traveling, resulting in its current appearance. If not for Su Xiao's sharp eyesight, he wouldn't have spotted Bubu Wang in the darkness at all.
Bubu Wang's big eyes looked even more watery. It shook its body in annoyance, sending a plume of black smoke rising.
"Can you smell that guy's scent?"
Bubu Wang made a show of sniffing but ultimately shook its head. The surrounding burnt smell was too pungent; there was no way to detect Feitan's scent.
"Looks like there's no hope—"
Suddenly, Su Xiao thought of an ability he hadn't used in a long time: tracking enemies using the Azure Steel Shadow energy inside their bodies as a coordinate. Back then, Akame had been hunted to the point of despair by this very technique.
Azure Steel Shadow energy surged in his palm, eventually forming an energy sphere.
If it were the old Azure Steel Shadow, tracking Feitan after he had already fled far away would have been impossible. But now, Azure Steel Shadow was at Level 26.
The pale blue energy sphere floated, and Su Xiao focused his perception. Feitan had been wounded by him within the last ten minutes, so some Azure Steel Shadow energy would inevitably remain in his body.
After more than ten seconds, Su Xiao opened his eyes, a smile forming on his face.
"Found you."
With a stomp on the ground, Su Xiao vanished from the spot.
...
Southeast corner of Yorknew City, inside a residential house.
The house was filled with a pungent smell of blood. One corpse lay slumped on the sofa, while three others lay on the floor.
On the sofa was the body of a young man. On the ground were two twin little girls of similar age and a young woman. The twin girls had fair skin and were very endearing.
Unfortunately, they were now corpses, their throats mercilessly slit. Before that, they had experienced something even more despairing—witnessing their parents' brutal deaths.
The man on the sofa, as the head of the family, had tried desperately to protect his family, but he lacked the strength and ultimately died. The young woman had also fought to protect the twin sisters, but she too failed, her head severed.
Feitan sat on a chair, blood dripping from his fingertips. He could no longer tell whose blood it was.
"Not good. I'm too badly injured. That guy should be dead even if he was hiding underground, right? Damn it, his close-combat ability surpasses mine?"
Feitan tore open his bullet-riddled clothes. His body was covered in bloody holes, with several bullets lodged inside. But he didn't dare remove them now—that would cause him to bleed to death.
"The guy the leader ordered me to deal with is already dead, but the body should be charred. Headache."
Seeming to recall that contractor, Feitan let out a cold laugh. Their leader had long arranged for him to find an opportunity at the auction to kill that guy, leave the body at the scene, and frame someone else to divert attention.
The Troupe's leader was highly intelligent, so he had arranged all the follow-up matters. Unfortunately, Su Xiao's sudden appearance disrupted the leader's plan.
After resting a moment, Feitan regained some strength. Killing this family might have seemed easy, but every swing of his blade aggravated his wounds.
Feitan picked up the blood-soaked phone nearby, ready to call for reinforcements, when a familiar aura entered his perception range.
"This... how is this possible!"
Suddenly, Feitan's jaw muscles bulged, his face full of disbelief.
"Chased me here? Hehe..."
For some reason, Feitan burst into laughter, crushing the phone in his grip with a cracking sound.
Bang!
The front door of the house shattered, wood splinters flying. A "black dog" walked into the house. This "black dog" seemed very angry, staring at Feitan with a menacing glare as soon as it entered.
"Tracking by scent, huh."
Seeing Bubu Wang, Feitan guessed that possibility. But when a pale blue energy sphere floated into the room, he understood exactly what was happening.
"So... it has a tracking function."
Su Xiao entered the room and looked at Feitan sitting on the chair. Without a word, he walked toward Feitan, blade in hand.
"Haven't had dinner yet. What did I eat for lunch today?"
Feitan assumed a thoughtful pose as a long blade swung toward his face. He didn't defend himself, didn't even try to stand up.
At this point, Feitan was at the end of his rope. Forget counterattacking—even standing up was a struggle. Rather than beg for mercy or struggle pathetically, he chose to die with dignity.
Pfft. Blood sprayed out as Feitan's head flew into the air. There was no fear on his face; he seemed genuinely pondering what he had eaten for lunch—after all, that was his last meal.
"Finally got you."
A smile appeared on Su Xiao's face. This was his consistent style: never wasting words before killing an enemy. If he had something to say, he said it to the corpse. If he let an enemy escape because of idle chatter, that would be too stupid—something he couldn't accept.
With a thud, Feitan's head hit the ground.
[You have killed Feitan.]
[Feitan is a member of the Phantom Troupe. Obtained World Source 7.6%. Total World Source obtained: 22.3%.]
[Your talent 'Soul Devourer' has activated. Permanently increased Mana by 14 points (originally 15 points, but due to reaching this world's maximum of 100 points, only 14 points can be added). Current Mana: 1683 points.]
[You have obtained a Treasure Chest (Dark Purple).]
[Due to killing a Troupe member, Phantom Troupe Reputation +100. Eligibility to join the Troupe obtained.]
...
Killing Feitan and obtaining World Source, Mana, and a Treasure Chest didn't surprise Su Xiao. But the +100 Troupe Reputation and the eligibility to join the Troupe were truly baffling.
Su Xiao had looked into the Phantom Troupe's information. The conditions for joining were bizarre: kill one of its members and take their place, or be recruited by the Troupe's leader when the Troupe was short-handed.
If Su Xiao wanted to join the Troupe, he could take Feitan's head to them. If the rumors were true, the Troupe's leader, Chrollo Lucilfer, might accept him.
As for whether other members would accept him, that wasn't a concern. Internal fighting was forbidden in the Troupe—if there was a conflict, they flipped a coin to decide.
Kill one to take their place. Thinking about this, Su Xiao shook his head. He didn't understand Chrollo Lucilfer's way of thinking, but in his personal opinion, this was an extremely idiotic rule. So he wouldn't take the head to the Troupe. Only a fool would try something like that.
There was no concrete evidence that this was true. The notification from Reincarnation Paradise only said he had obtained eligibility to join, not that he was guaranteed entry.
What if this was a trap set by Chrollo Lucilfer? Given that guy's intelligence and cunning, it wasn't impossible.
Su Xiao picked up Feitan's head, wrapped it in a rag, and peeled off the skin with the Troupe's number from the headless corpse. He then turned and left the room. These two items would be very useful.
With the daily reward of 5 Soul Crystals (Medium), he had no intention of joining the Troupe.