Chapter 110: The Perks of Battle

Pressing the detonator button, the metal pipes on the manhole cover rapidly turned red, like glowing iron rods.

Boom. Boom…

A series of explosions followed; the unknown explosives were devastatingly powerful, and Su Xiao’s position was also affected.

A shattered manhole cover whistled past above Su Xiao’s head; he immediately ducked.

A wave of heat surged forward, spreading a pungent acidic odor; as the flames receded, Su Xiao turned toward the blast site.

The sealed manhole cover had vanished; the shaft had been blown into a funnel shape, littered with charred corpses all around.

These primordials were not weak—even if Su Xiao and Ma Gui had teamed up, they still couldn’t match this many primordials.

But now they were all charred corpses, because they lacked intelligence.

The two jumped down from the rooftop and arrived before the blasted-open shaft.

As soon as they stepped into the blast zone, Su Xiao felt searing heat through his soles; he looked down and saw his shoes partially melted, the soil beneath fused into glass by extreme heat.

“Blow up this shaft entrance—something will surface soon.”

At Ma Gui’s urging, Su Xiao pulled out two metal pipes and threw them into the shaft.

“One, two, three.”

After silently counting to three, Su Xiao pressed the detonator.

Thud.

A muffled boom echoed underground; the ground trembled beneath their feet; the shaft was utterly destroyed.

Something unexpected happened—Circus Paradise issued a prompt.

【You have destroyed the exit of the ‘Diayekeman’ tribe. Reward: 5% World Source. Total World Source acquired: 29.3%.】

Destroying this shaft had granted him 5% World Source? Su Xiao was stunned.

There must be a secret beneath—was the ‘Diayekeman’ tribe the primordial tribe?

Too few clues; still unclear for now.

After destroying this so-called ‘Diayekeman’ tribe exit, Su Xiao completed his faction mission.

【Faction Mission: Reinforcement.】（Completed）

Difficulty Level: Lv.5.

Mission Brief: Infiltrate Zone 24 to reinforce Class-1 Investigator Ma Gui, and assist Ma Gui in driving off the primordials.

Mission Info: CCG faction mission; will not count toward Tongguan evaluation.

Mission Duration: 2 calendar days.

Mission Reward: 15,000 Faction Contribution Points.

Failure Penalty: CCG rank reduced by one level, demoted to Senior Investigator.

…

Yes/No complete 【Faction Mission: Reinforcement.】

Choosing “Complete,” Su Xiao received 15,000 Faction Contribution Points and checked his current contribution total.

【Provisional Class-1 Investigator: Contribution 21,370/130,000.】

After exchanging for the 【Human Gene Enhancement Serum】, he still had some contribution points left; added to this mission’s reward and the thousands of primordials he’d blown up.

Blowing up primordials granted CCG contribution points, but the bombs weren’t Su Xiao’s, so the amount gained was minimal.

Seeing over twenty thousand contribution points, Su Xiao felt secretly pleased.

This twenty-thousand-plus contribution was enough to exchange for items at the Zone 24 branch.

Having completed Main Quest (2) and acquired sufficient contribution, Su Xiao suddenly realized he could soon break free from CCG’s constraints.

After exchanging for the two items at the Zone 24 branch, he would consider completing Main Quest (2), then see what Main Quest (3) entailed—whether it still tied closely to CCG.

Su Xiao’s situation was growing increasingly dangerous; CCG kept assigning him perilous missions, making him wary—it was time to consider leaving CCG; this “human” organization was becoming more and more suspect.

All primordials were dead, the shaft collapsed, the central city’s crisis resolved—it was time to return to the surface; Su Xiao needed to get to the Zone 24 temporary branch as soon as possible to exchange items.

He called out Zhen Hu Xiao and Shizao from their hiding spot; the four regrouped and headed toward the central city’s exit. No one wanted to linger in this poorly ventilated underground city.

No one spoke along the way; Zhen Hu Xiao’s expression was uneasy—she felt she’d learned things she shouldn’t have; the primordials and the underground city had shattered her worldview.

Just as Su Xiao’s group was about to enter the underground passage, several figures approached from the opposite direction.

Su Xiao’s group was returning to the surface; the others were entering the central city—the two groups collided head-on.

The group emerging from the passage were ghouls—and they were strong.

Kouta Tsukiyama, Tachibana, Noro, Kirishima Aki.

Members of the Bronze Tree—also four of them.

All present halted, facing off across a distance of ten meters.

“Shizao, you handle the guy with the red mask.”

Su Xiao assigned Shizao the Angel to fight Tachibana; though Shizao was only a Class-2 Investigator, after donning the “New,” he could handle Tachibana easily—even if he couldn’t kill him, holding him off was no problem.

“Ma Gui, I’ll take the guy wrapped in bandages; you handle the rest, alright?”

Su Xiao targeted Kouta Tsukiyama; she’d wounded him in their last fight and fled—basically ran after boasting. This time, he wouldn’t let her escape again.

“I’ll take that guy; you handle the rest.”

Ma Gui walked straight toward Kouta Tsukiyama.

“I’m not good at group fights—you know that.”

Saying this, Su Xiao sprinted toward Kouta Tsukiyama.

Ma Gui frowned tightly, as if wanting to stop Su Xiao—but Su Xiao had already reached Kouta Tsukiyama; he couldn’t stop him now.

Helplessly, Ma Gui turned toward Noro and Kirishima Aki.

Zhen Hu Xiao stood frozen, her gaze toward Su Xiao’s back tinged with resentment—he hadn’t told her who to fight.

The battlefield’s beauty is entrusted to you, Miss Zhen Hu Xiao~.

Scanning the entire battlefield, Zhen Hu Xiao first eliminated Tachibana and Noro—both were documented powerful ghouls; she wasn’t their match.

Finally, Zhen Hu Xiao fixed her gaze on Kirishima Aki.

Kirishima Aki paid no attention to Zhen Hu Xiao’s stare; the CCG’s famed White Reaper was charging toward him—even with Noro beside him, Kirishima Aki still felt uncertain.

Upon meeting, ghouls and investigators had no chance of negotiation—life or death, let’s fight!

Leaving other battles aside, as Su Xiao charged toward Kouta Tsukiyama, she looked slightly exasperated.

Kirishima Aki was still nearby; she hesitated whether to reveal her true identity.

Watching Su Xiao rush at her with his blade, Kouta Tsukiyama sighed, then turned and fled into the passage behind her.

The timing wasn’t right—she couldn’t expose her identity yet.

Su Xiao followed close behind; the two dashed into the passage, one ahead, one behind.

In her human form, Kouta Tsukiyama moved surprisingly fast; even with Su Xiao’s Agility stat of 13, he couldn’t catch up immediately.

The two chased each other through the passage; after several minutes, Kouta Tsukiyama stopped. They faced off in a wide open space—her chosen battlefield, where the open area better suited her Hézhě form.

Kouta Tsukiyama had grown up in Zone 24; she knew it inside out.

“Not running anymore?”

Su Xiao advanced slowly toward Kouta Tsukiyama; Qinggangyingsuo activated; the blade’s surface crackled with electric arcs, emitting a faint blue glow.

“What bad luck—why did I have to run into you?”

Kouta Tsukiyama’s voice was ethereal; she loosened some of her bandages, revealing glimpses of pale skin, even two pink patches on her chest.

Kouta Tsukiyama wasn’t seducing Su Xiao—she was preparing to transform into her Hézhě form; these bandages were getting in the way.

She pushed off the ground; Su Xiao closed the distance in a few steps, his blade slicing through the air toward Kouta Tsukiyama’s neck.

Her Hézi surged beneath the bandages; before the blade could strike, Kouta Tsukiyama was fully encased in her Hézhě shell.

The battle erupted instantly.