Chapter 79: Incineration
The phantom of a cat appeared. This was Xi's last chance to revive. If she died after this resurrection, she would truly perish, vanishing forever.
"Xi, Xi, can you hear me?"
The voice of the beautiful cat Bessie came to Xi's ears.
Xi's consciousness was somewhat scattered. Having died multiple times in a short period, she found it difficult to adapt for a moment.
"Bessie?"
Xi's mind cleared as she simultaneously considered the current situation. She was trapped within a 'Forbidden Zone of Life,' with powerful enemies blocking her from both front and back. Within this 'Forbidden Zone of Life,' her survival time after each resurrection did not exceed two seconds. Various negative states not only inflicted terrifying damage but also suppressed her abilities.
Yanchen's fire-based abilities could counter Xi, let alone the high-temperature environment produced by Apollo's explosion. To be thorough, Su Xiao had generously treated Xi to two big pineapples, offering a very 'thoughtful' reception.
"Mm, it's me. Xi, are we going to die?"
Bessie could share her resurrection ability with Xi, so the two were in a symbiotic state.
"Probably, yes."
Xi was very calm, accepting her impending death with equanimity. For some reason, Xi suddenly recalled a scene from before entering this world, at the 'Star Transit Station.'
At that time, Xi stood at the forefront of the many contractors from the Apocalypse Paradise side and had said a sentence to the Reincarnation Paradise side.
"Lucky, running into a bunch of rabble."
Xi now remembered her own words and smiled helplessly. She merged into the cat's phantom and looked around at the 'Forbidden Zone of Life.' Was this... really lucky?
"Unlucky, running into a bunch of madmen."
The cat phantom formed an energy cocoon, and the resurrection ability was forcibly activated. This was the last chance to revive.
High temperatures scorched the energy cocoon. Inside, Xi was naked, but she remained very calm.
"If I hold my breath, I can survive 1.7 seconds under the burn damage. Already died eight times. The Crystal Source has been activated to over 80%. I can risk using it. If I use the Crystal Source, my survival time can reach over 6.7 seconds. That gives me a chance to use a recovery item, extending survival time to at least 8 seconds."
Xi pressed her hand to her chest. Her chest began to crystallize. Her ultimate ability activated, Crystal Source Lv.10. Effect: Locks the body's state for a short time, immune to all damage except true damage. Effect lasts 5 seconds.
Crack.
Part of the energy cocoon shattered. Xi, her whole body shimmering with crystal light, took out a small glass vial and tossed it into her mouth. After doing this, she rushed out of the energy cocoon.
Xi's foot sank into the magma, but it caused her no damage. An extremely powerful energy was protecting her.
Xi sprinted forward through the scorching heat, heading for the stairs from the fourth floor to the fifth. She climbed the stairs in a few steps.
"1, 2..."
Xi silently counted in her mind while simultaneously mobilizing the crystal energy within her, ready to use a knockback skill at any moment. According to Xi's guess, Su Xiao would likely be blocking the entrance to the fifth floor. If she could just reach the fifth floor, she would have a sliver of a chance.
Xi rushed up the stairs in a few steps. The naked beauty against the fiery red backdrop appeared somewhat tragic and beautiful.
Just as Xi was about to charge into the fifth floor, the scene before her made her pupils contract sharply. At the entrance to the fifth floor, a shield wall composed of small energy shields had appeared. Su Xiao stood behind the shield wall, looking at Xi with a smile on his face.
Even now, Xi did not give up. White light flickered in her hand as she pressed one hand against the energy shield wall.
"Assimilation."
Crack, crack, crack...
Crystal attached itself to the surface of the shield wall formed by the Counter Shield. According to Xi's expectation, the crystal would quickly assimilate the energy shield wall.
However, the Counter Shield was formed by Cyan Steel Shadow Energy. As an energy killer, how could Cyan Steel Shadow Energy be assimilated by other energies?
The crystal attached to the energy shield, merely thickening the energy shield wall. That was all.
Seeing this, Xi bit open the medicine bottle in her mouth and swallowed it along with the glass shards.
"Crystal Queen..."
Xi's pupils turned sky blue. Just then, Su Xiao behind the energy shield wall suddenly crouched and kicked the energy shield wall hard. Given Su Xiao's strength attribute, the result of this kick was predictable. More importantly, Xi was not a strength type; her strength attribute was only 32 points.
Boom!
The energy shield wall was kicked flying by Su Xiao, moving horizontally towards Xi.
Bang!
The energy shield wall slammed heavily into Xi, causing her to stagger back over a dozen steps.
With a sizzling sound, a wisp of green smoke rose beneath Xi's feet. The duration of the Crystal Source had passed, and the high temperature began to erode Xi's body.
Su Xiao stood at the entrance to the fifth floor, the heat wave hitting his face causing him to shield his left arm in front of him.
"You can try to see if you can kill me within a few seconds."
Su Xiao spoke. Xi remained silent. Her feet in the magma had regained sensation.
Xi staggered back a few steps, lifting her chin slightly.
Seeing this, the smile on Su Xiao's face disappeared.
"If you weren't leading a bunch of useless teammates, you might have had a chance to win. After all, my side isn't very united."
Su Xiao took out a cigarette and lit the tip against the wall beside him. The cigarette was lit.
Xi's intention in retreating was clear. It meant that even if she were burned to death, she would not die by Su Xiao's blade.
The high temperature caused flames to ignite on Xi's body. Xi did not scream. She knelt on one knee in the magma. Just as Xi was about to be burned to ashes, a spatial fluctuation appeared.
"This is... Reincarnation Paradise's spatial fluctuation? No, just similar."
With the appearance of the spatial fluctuation, Xi's half-burned body disappeared. At the same time, Su Xiao gained 5 Merit Points.
According to the current situation, Xi was definitely dead. Su Xiao had already obtained the Merit Points, but that spatial fluctuation puzzled him somewhat.
"Apocalypse Paradise..."
Su Xiao thought for a moment, then immediately inquired about the situation from Reincarnation Paradise.
[Tip: Received feedback from the Hunter. Detecting...]
Another fluctuation appeared. This time, Su Xiao was very familiar with it. It was the unique fluctuation of Reincarnation Paradise, the same one that appeared every time he was teleported.
[Detection complete. Hostile Paradise spatial fluctuation discovered.]
[Spatial blockade command issued.]
[Void Tree notarization begins.]
[Unauthorized spatial fluctuation detected. Tracing spatial fluctuation...]
[Spatial fluctuation identification in progress...]
[Comparing with Apocalypse Paradise spatial fluctuation...]
[Comparison complete. This spatial fluctuation differs from Apocalypse Paradise spatial fluctuation by over 98.73%.]
[Detection result: Unknown spatial force intrusion.]
[Eliminating... 10%... 50%... 70%... 100%.]
[Due to this spatial fluctuation causing war obstruction to the Reincarnation Paradise side, Void Tree initiates adjudication.]
[Ruling result: Time required for Reincarnation Paradise side's 'Large-Scale Spatial Fixed Coordinate' formation -50%.]
...
Seeing these prompts, Su Xiao was quite surprised. He had previously thought that Apocalypse Paradise was cheating by forcibly saving Xi's life, so he immediately reported it to Reincarnation Paradise.
Reincarnation Paradise was also very effective, directly locking onto that spatial fluctuation and 'reporting' it to the Void Tree, which was responsible for adjudicating the war.
The result of the report was clear. It was not a case of Apocalypse Paradise showing favoritism. When Su Xiao killed Lan Jue earlier, Apocalypse Paradise had not provided any protective measures, let alone for Contractor Xi.
The identification result was that the spatial fluctuation was unknown, and Apocalypse Paradise had been caught in the crossfire. The Void Tree reduced the time required for the 'Large-Scale Spatial Fixed Coordinate' formation by 50%. This meant that in just over four more days, the 'Large-Scale Spatial Fixed Coordinate' could be formed. Then the Reincarnation Paradise side would win, successfully plundering this world.
However, did it really need four more days? Xi's fate was unknown. Even if there was a one-in-ten-thousand chance she survived, she had already left this world. Now, Xi was wanted by both Reincarnation Paradise and Apocalypse Paradise. She was truly unloved by everyone.
Xi had previously wanted to charge up to the fifth floor and fight Su Xiao fair and square. However, Su Xiao never gave her that chance.
Assuming Xi could have charged up to the fifth floor, she would have faced not only Su Xiao but also the dozens of madmen inside the fifth floor. Even if Xi had made it up, she would have died, and died even more miserably.
"I thought she could revive eight times. Turns out it was only four."
Su Xiao looked at the magma on the fourth floor. He suddenly remembered that Yanchen was still on the third floor! Water flows to lower places, and magma seemed to do the same. Would that guy be burned to death by the magma?