Chapter 44: The Problem
In Su Xiao’s current state, he still had combat capability, but because his mana was completely depleted, his fighting power had dropped significantly.
Azure Steel Shadow couldn’t be used, the Energy Shield couldn’t be used, and equipment-attached abilities couldn’t be used. However, this didn’t mean Su Xiao had completely lost his combat ability; most of his abilities were passive skills.
Walking down into the valley, the battle inside had already ceased.
“Already fled, huh.”
Su Xiao entered the valley. The Shadow Beast Porcupine was lying on its back on the ground, its throat slit by Machi’s Nen threads.
“Save… save me.”
Porcupine’s pupils trembled. His will to live made him try to get up.
“Which direction did the enemy flee? This thing can save your life.”
Su Xiao crouched in front of Porcupine, holding a bottle of intermediate Alchemy Potion in his hand.
“Wes… West.”
“You’re lying. You’re useless now.”
Su Xiao stood up and ignored Porcupine. The latter didn’t actually know which direction Shizuku and Machi had fled; he was just lying to survive. Lies of this degree were easily exposed.
“Don’t abandon me. I… I can still be saved. We’re comrades.”
“Comrades?”
Su Xiao, who was walking out of the valley, stopped and turned his head to look at Porcupine.
“Yes, comrades. You’re also a subordinate of the Ten Dons, so…”
“Who told you I’m a subordinate of the Ten Dons?”
Su Xiao walked out of the valley. Porcupine was fatally wounded by Machi. Killing him now wouldn’t yield much reward.
Cooperating with a plot character to kill another plot character would reduce the quality of the dropped treasure chest, or even cause no chest to drop at all, and the amount of World Source gained would be minimal.
Given Porcupine’s current injuries, killing him would only yield a small amount of World Source, and it would also leave evidence.
Refusing to save someone was one thing; killing them was another. Besides, no one else knew Su Xiao had a potion that could save Porcupine’s life.
Watching Su Xiao walk away, Porcupine weakly collapsed to the ground.
“So that’s how it is. I understand now.”
Porcupine seemed to realize something. Dying, he even showed a smile.
“Ten Dons, you’ll all come down to accompany me. You will, for sure.”
The light in Porcupine’s pupils gradually dimmed.
……
Su Xiao returned to the car he had arrived in. He didn’t plan to pursue Machi and Shizuku. His condition was too poor. If other members of the Brigade reinforced the two, it would be disastrous.
The two were just support personnel in the Brigade, ranking near the bottom in terms of combat power.
The Brigade had thirteen members in total, one of whom was a traitor and a double agent. If combat power was calculated, it could be considered twelve people.
Among these twelve, there were four support personnel and eight combatants.
Su Xiao had already killed four of the eight combatants. That meant the remaining combat power of the Brigade was: Chrollo Lucilfer (Leader), Feitan, Franklin, and Bonolenov.
Among these four, Chrollo Lucilfer was the hardest to deal with, followed by Feitan, then Franklin, and finally Bonolenov.
The situation was becoming clearer. Only eight members of the Brigade remained. As for the traitor Hisoka, Su Xiao never considered him a member of the Brigade.
Hisoka’s strength was not weak, but his personality was fickle. He liked to cultivate strong opponents before killing them, often referring to weak enemies as “unripe little apples.”
This behavior of cultivating enemies and then killing them when they became strong was, in Su Xiao’s view, an extremely idiotic and arrogant display.
Su Xiao never made enemies without reason. Once a hostile relationship was confirmed, regardless of whether the enemy was as beautiful as a celestial being or full of growth potential, he would just cut them down first.
Thinking this, Su Xiao shook his head. His battle with the Brigade had relied on an advantage in intelligence. By catching Brigade members when they were isolated, he had eliminated nearly half of their combat power. With the intelligence of the Brigade Leader, such an opportunity would not appear again.
The current situation was to get the auction to resume and safely conclude by September 10th. Only then could the main mission be completed.
Su Xiao opened the passenger door.
“Drive.”
“……”
Even breathing came from the seat. Su Xiao turned his head to look. Black Mary was sleeping, slumped over the steering wheel. He then remembered that she had exhausted herself treating him.
Su Xiao got out of the car, walked to the driver’s seat, moved Black Mary to the passenger seat, and then sat in the driver’s seat to start the car.
Just as the car was about to leave the valley, Su Xiao glanced at the bodyguards of the Nostrade Family. As expected, Kurapika had disappeared, probably to chase after Machi and Shizuku.
The car slowly drove out of the valley and onto the highway leading to Yorknew City. Su Xiao lit a cigarette and rolled down the driver’s window.
Holding the steering wheel with one hand, he rested the other hand holding the cigarette on the window frame. The strong wind blew the ash away, the tip of the cigarette glowing red.
“My whole body aches, but that was a damn good fight.”
Su Xiao was long accustomed to this life of constant battle. In fact, this kind of life suited him better. If life wasn’t lived with enough passion, then living lost its meaning—it was just going through the motions. Constantly risking his life was undoubtedly thrilling. In return, he gained powerful strength, strength that had already begun to transcend the ordinary.
Half an hour later, Su Xiao drove to the vicinity of Yorknew City. Just then, the phone in Black Mary’s arms suddenly rang.
Fumbling through the soft sensation to find the phone, Su Xiao answered.
“This is Bai Ye.”
The person on the other end was startled for a moment, then quickly said:
“Something’s happened.”
It was Bique. His voice was very low.
“Did your hideout get raided?”
“Huh? No, but… the Shadow Beasts have suffered heavy casualties.”
Su Xiao frowned. What the other party said might not refer to the five Shadow Beasts that died in the valley.
“How many died?”
“Three.”
“Is Owl dead?”
“Owl is still alive. You said earlier to keep Owl with us. It looks like that was the right choice.”
Su Xiao calculated the remaining number of Shadow Beasts. Leech had been killed by him, then all five Shadow Beasts in the valley had died, and now three more were dead. That meant only Owl was left among the Shadow Beasts.
Owl’s ability was very special, called “Funny Cloth.” It could wrap up an enemy and shrink them, making capture easy. A captured enemy couldn’t break free from the “Funny Cloth.”
The “Funny Cloth” could not only wrap enemies but also objects. Currently, all the auction items were wrapped in Owl’s ability, turned into a small cloth bag.
If Owl was captured by the Brigade, the auction items would also fall into their hands. Given the current situation, the auction might end without a conclusion.
“As long as Owl is still with us, there’s no problem.”
Just as Su Xiao was about to hang up, Bique urgently asked:
“How’s your situation over there?”
“The Brigade was driven back by me.”
“That’s great…”
Before Bique could breathe a sigh of relief, Su Xiao’s next words left him stunned.
“The Shadow Beasts are dead.”
“Dead? How many?”
“Five.”
Silence fell over the phone. Bique’s gaze was vacant. The Shadow Beasts were Nen users loyal to them. The death of all five in the valley was a nightmare for the Ten Dons.
“The Brigade won’t let this go. Gather all the forces you can. Hire assassins, recruit mercenaries, whatever it takes. This isn’t just about money anymore between us and the Brigade.”
Su Xiao finished speaking and hung up the phone. Things had developed to this point; it was indeed no longer about money.