Chapter 37: Ferocious Beast
A tray was placed before Su Xiao, covered with soul crystals. This sight could ignite the greed of any contractor.
In Reincarnation Paradise, soul crystals have many functions. They are used to upgrade core skills, are a necessary material for crafting equipment (Soul Crystal Fragments), serve as currency for trading with beings from higher planes, such as Abyss Demons, and can even substitute for materials needed to upgrade equipment. This shows their strong adaptability and functionality.
If one urgently needed Paradise Coins, they could also sell the soul crystals. As long as the price wasn't too outrageous, they would sell quickly.
In Reincarnation Paradise, it's only impossible to buy soul crystals; there are never any that can't be sold. As for hoarding them, no one does that. How can you hoard something that's in short supply? Any contractor can use this item.
A full thirty Soul Crystals (Medium) were laid out before him. Even Su Xiao had never seen such a quantity of soul crystals. With a calm expression, he collected them and stood up.
"Where are you going?"
Su Xiao's movement made the Ten Dons nervous. These people now actually hoped he would stay here and act as a bodyguard.
"To collect the corpses of the Shadow Beasts."
Su Xiao left the meeting room. The Ten Dons exchanged glances. Some looked worried, while others wore cold sneers, as if they had seen through Su Xiao's 'lie.'
"We were intimidated before, huh."
"I suspect that bastard caused the mess at the auction. As for the reason, you all should be able to guess."
One of the Ten Dons gestured with his chin towards the tray on the table.
Beek wore a contemplative expression. He had a vague feeling of unease. Perhaps the Phantom Troupe really was that strong.
"Maybe... we should recall the Shadow Beasts?"
"Hey, Beek, are you really that scared of him? You're Beek the Blood Axe, who carved out your current position with a short axe. Testing them with the Shadow Beasts is necessary. Don't forget, he's also a jinx. In my opinion, he's no different from the Phantom Troupe. They're both extorting us. Tch, I can't believe I'm being extorted. It pisses me off."
The opinions of the Ten Dons diverged again. This was the reason for their deaths in the original story: they couldn't unify their views. Some Ten Dons were autocratic. Although Beek was a smart man, he couldn't command the others.
...
Night. A valley outside Yorknew City.
This valley was not unfamiliar; it was the valley where the giant cyclops had appeared.
Now, a dozen cars were parked at the entrance of the valley, and a large group of mafia members had gathered inside.
At a high point deep in the valley, several Troupe members were looking down at the mafia members with considerable interest. Shalnark, Shizuku, Uvogin, Machi, Nobunaga, and the others were all there. Because of the small sun that had appeared earlier, Franklin had gone to look for Feitan.
Bang. Bang.
Gunfire echoed from within the valley. The hundred or so mafia members below stared at the five people on the high ground.
"Get down here right now, you small fry."
"Choose: drown or be buried alive."
A mafia member fired a warning shot into the air. They had already killed two 'Troupe' members earlier. Although their own losses were heavy, their morale was high.
"Another big group has arrived. Those temporary members aren't much good."
The blonde-haired Shalnark put his hands on his hips, seemingly unconcerned about the mafia members.
"As expected, those guys are unreliable. They all ran away after taking casualties."
Machi yawned and shook her loose braid. She didn't plan to fight.
"What should we do? Retreat or kill them all?"
Shizuku was feeling sleepy. These mafia members didn't excite her.
"Hey, don't any of you interfere. I'll take care of them now."
The burly man beside them, Uvogin, suddenly spoke. He leaped down from the steep cliff wall and strode towards the group of mafia members. A large number of gun barrels were aimed at him.
"Wait."
A leader raised his hand, signaling the mafia members to hold their fire.
The mafia leader stepped forward, confronting Uvogin at close range. It was unclear where he found the courage. His triangular eyes scanned Uvogin up and down. After spitting, he said, "You guys did that thing at the auction, right?"
"Yeah."
Uvogin grinned, showing his white teeth, completely unbothered by the guns pointed at him.
"You guys have guts. Tell me, who's your boss?"
The mafia leader's pistol was aimed at Uvogin's head. Uvogin bared his teeth in a mock expression of terror.
"Ehh~"
Uvogin's grimace formed a very funny expression. Seeing this, the mafia leader grew angry.
He pulled the trigger. Bang! The smell of gunpowder spread. A bullet flew towards Uvogin's head.
After the gunshot, Uvogin's head tilted back. The mafia leader grinned sinisterly. But when Uvogin's face turned back to him, the leader's expression gradually turned to horror.
Uvogin was now biting a bullet, which had clear teeth marks on it.
"Ah, hahaha, interesting."
Uvogin raised his hand and delivered a heavy slap to the mafia leader's face.
Crack! Under Uvogin's monstrous strength, the mafia leader's head twisted to the side at an exaggerated angle, his cervical spine bent at a 90-degree angle.
"The boss... is dead?"
"Fire! Turn him into a sieve!"
The mafia members erupted into chaos. A dense hail of gunfire rang out.
Uvogin crossed his arms in front of his face. The bullets struck his body, which was as tough as steel, and were deflected. He stomped the ground with his large feet and charged into the crowd like a tiger among sheep.
Screams and the sounds of limbs breaking followed one after another. In an instant, the mafia members began to rout.
Uvogin grabbed two mafia members by their legs and swung them. Their brains were shaken into a pulp. The two men spun like a windmill in his hands. These usually vicious mafia members were like dolls in his grasp, toyed with at will.
The gunfire continued, but the mafia members' will was gradually crumbling.
At the other end of the valley, several bodyguards of the Nostrade Family were watching the battle. Kurapika was among them.
Kurapika, male, 17 years old, mature and steady in character, with androgynous features. He is a member of the Kurta Clan, also known as the Scarlet Eyes Clan. When members of this clan experience strong emotions, their eyes turn crimson red. The Hunter world has many perverse collectors of human body parts, so this clan could only hide deep in the mountains, rarely contacting the outside world. Later, they were annihilated by the Phantom Troupe, precisely because of the Scarlet Eyes.
Kurapika's hatred for the Phantom Troupe is irreconcilable. His life's goal is to find his people's eyes and kill every last member of the Troupe.
Kurapika was currently watching the battle through binoculars. He didn't yet know Uvogin's identity. He was a temporary bodyguard for the Nostrade Family, not part of the Ten Dons' forces.
"The other side is also a Nen user, and unbelievably strong. The people who arrived before us are all dead. Guns and rockets had no effect."
Kurapika's words shocked his companions behind him. Even for a Nen user, being immune to rockets was too exaggerated.
"How is that possible?"
"See for yourself. It's easier to understand."
Kurapika handed the binoculars to Dalzollene. Dalzollene was the captain of the Nostrade Family's guard, essentially Kurapika's superior.
Dalzollene took the binoculars. After watching for a moment, the corner of his mouth began to twitch.
"If that kind of monster stole the goods, then we need to be careful."
Their original purpose was to help the Nostrade Family's young lady, Neon, buy the auction items. But before they could even reach the auction house, it was destroyed. Their itinerary was to arrive at the auction house at 6:00 PM sharp for the second auction. The battle had occurred at 5:40 PM. The 20-minute difference had saved their lives.
After the auction house was destroyed, they received news that the items seemed to be in trouble, suspected to have been stolen by a group. So, they followed the mafia members in pursuit. In short, they were just along for the ride.