Chapter 100: Tempting Idea
The top student was a Contractor after all, so Bagu and his group were no match for him. After a brief exchange, Bagu and the others were beaten half to death. However, having just experienced his first derivative world, the top student, who had always lived in a peaceful world, couldn't understand how terrifying it was to not finish off a snake. In his view, breaking Bagu's limbs and having him kneel and beg for mercy was enough to neutralize the threat, since he had already defeated him.
Clearly, this top student had read too many hot-blooded stories. Just three days later, Bagu's revenge came.
Bagu indeed couldn't deal with the top student himself, but the top student's family were all ordinary people—that was the breakthrough point.
When Bagu delivered the top student's father's severed limbs to him, the top student broke down. What happened next was predictable. The top student, enduring warnings from Reincarnation Paradise, created the information in Su Xiao's hands in the real world.
Using the chemical formulas in the data, a potion called "Muscle Explosive Growth" could be concocted. Anyone could use it, gaining extraordinary physical attributes, roughly between 7 to 10 points. The side effects were severe, as the forcibly grown physical attributes came at the cost of overdrawing life force.
Su Xiao could understand the data in his hands for two reasons: first, he had some knowledge of chemistry, and second, alchemy and chemistry shared many similarities.
Following the content in the data, Su Xiao could even modify it to create a more refined potion, significantly reducing the side effects.
Of course, he wouldn't do this in the real world—excessive interference with the real world was dangerous. However, while this potion couldn't be made in the real world, it could be produced within Reincarnation Paradise.
The severe side effects didn't matter because Su Xiao had no intention of using it on humans. He had long had an idea: to unlock the third layer of Alchemy.
The third layer of Alchemy was the creation of Alchemical Creatures. Initially, Su Xiao hadn't unlocked it because he was used to fighting alone. During combat, he had no mental capacity to control summons.
However, after summoning Xiusi, Su Xiao was surprised to find that having an Alchemical Creature as a meat shield was a great choice, for one simple reason: he could transfer control to Bubu Wang, something he hadn't thought of before.
He didn't need the Alchemical Creature to have strong combat power; it just needed to tank in front. During battle, Su Xiao wouldn't need to control the Alchemical Creature at all—Bubu Wang would handle it. With Bubu Wang's hiding skills, it would become an amateur healer + top-tier scout + invisible summoner. The last role, the invisible summoner, was nearly unbeatable.
This way, Su Xiao could focus on fighting while having a meat shield to block in critical moments. Moreover, with Su Xiao's 79-point Intelligence attribute, if the Alchemical Creature was defense-oriented, its health and survivability would be extremely high. Most summoners developed both Intelligence and Charm attributes simultaneously—Charm ensured summon loyalty, while Intelligence boosted summon stats. As a result, most second-rank summoners had lower Intelligence than Su Xiao.
Su Xiao was different; he didn't need to ensure the Alchemical Creature's loyalty—he was its creator.
Absolute loyalty + Physical Potion boost + 79-point Intelligence boost + Bubu Wang's control = a fearless main tank that was a renewable resource.
Thinking of this, Su Xiao's eyes grew fervent. This time, when he returned to Reincarnation Paradise, he absolutely had to unlock Alchemical Creature Creation.
...
Two days later, inside Su Xiao's accessory shop.
"So, you returned here from Reincarnation Paradise two days ago?"
Su Xiao leaned against the counter, a thick bandage around his neck supporting his left arm. Although the injury to his left arm had mostly healed, the severe bone fractures required a few days of rest. This showed how terrifying the recovery power derived from 80 points of Stamina was—what would take ordinary people months to heal, Su Xiao could recover from in just 3 to 4 days. If combat demanded it, his left arm wouldn't hinder him even the day after injury.
Su Xiao didn't have any active recovery skills, but with Bubu Wang around, the bone fractures healed even faster.
"Woof."
Bubu Wang lay lazily on the sofa, occasionally wagging its tail.
"You stayed in the shop alone for two days..."
Su Xiao thought about this and glanced around. Judging by the current situation, the furniture seemed unharmed.
Bang.
The shop door suddenly burst open, and the trembling Ma Pangzi rushed in.
"S-S-Su..."
Ma Pangzi couldn't speak clearly, which puzzled Su Xiao.
"I-I-I found, in the tire gap, no, the wheel rim, not that, anyway, I found this..."
Ma Pangzi handed over a black plastic bag. His personality was amusing—when nervous, he stuttered.
Su Xiao took the bag. Inside was a severed finger. It was likely that during the fight at the scrapyard, the shockwave from his attack had blown this limb away.
"I'll handle this."
Su Xiao turned and went upstairs, soon followed by the sound of flushing water.
After a moment, Su Xiao came back down carrying a travel bag, which he handed to Ma Pangzi. Ma Pangzi unzipped it to find stacks of crisp hundred-yuan bills.
"Is this... hush money?"
Ma Pangzi's expression darkened.
"Hush money? No, consider this payment for buying your car. It's also the deposit for a new car."
Su Xiao's meaning was clear. Finding a finger inside an aluminum alloy wheel rim, even if it had no practical impact, was bad luck for a car. This was a result of Su Xiao's earlier incomplete cleanup. Since he also needed a car, he decided to buy this one and let Ma Pangzi get a new one.
"Alright, to be honest, finding a finger in the tire was pretty unsettling."
Ma Pangzi chuckled. If this were hush money, he would never accept it. But as a car payment, it was different. The travel bag contained at least 800,000 or more.
"Had lunch yet?"
Ma Pangzi zipped the bag shut, already thinking about what new car to get.
"Already ate."
"I'll head out then. My brother called me for a drink. Want to join?"
"Got other things to do. Another time."
As he spoke, Su Xiao took a bracelet from a nearby shelf and tossed it to Ma Pangzi.
"Is this amber?"
Ma Pangzi examined the yellow, transparent bracelet.
"Natural amber, high transparency."
"Expensive?"
"Very expensive."
"Then thanks."
Ma Pangzi didn't know the meaning of politeness. He left the car keys, held the travel bag in his left hand, and fiddled with the amber bracelet in his right, humming a tune as he walked out of the shop.
Shortly after Ma Pangzi left, Su Xiao received a notification from Reincarnation Paradise. He locked the shop door.
[Notification: A new derivative world is about to open. The Hunter will return to Reincarnation Paradise. Ensure there are no witnesses nearby.]
[Teleporting... Teleportation complete.]
When Su Xiao's vision cleared, he was in his Exclusive Room.
[Notification: The Hunter has successfully broken through their physical limits. You will receive clues related to the 'Proof of the Strong'.]