Chapter 270

Su Xiao originally wore a white uniform, the attire of a free cultivator, but it was now rapidly changing.

The white uniform's color began to shift, gradually turning black, the hem elongating into a black trench coat.

A mask covering his entire face appeared, half-black and half-white; on the left white side was a black scythe motif, on the right black side a white balance scale. Black contained white, white contained black.

The black scythe symbolized judgment; the white balance symbolized justice.

The spatial battlefield activated; the Hunter's true role was now revealed.

【Neutral Class Role Activated: The Hunter shall assume the role of Ruler!】

【Uzui Perspective Activated—this feature is exclusive to this world.】

A semi-transparent screen floated beside Su Xiao, divided neatly into four sections, each showing the situation in one direction of the ship; Su Xiao could zoom in on these images.

【Detected: Hunter carries a Biological Artifact—eligible for use as transportation. Proceed with disguise? This function is free.】

Su Xiao paused, then immediately selected disguise.

Bubutni was summoned, its form shifting: from its original black-and-white pattern, it turned entirely black, and two additional heads sprouted from either side of its neck.

Cerberus!

Bubutni's appearance was merely a disguise; its actual abilities remained unchanged. In Su Xiao's view, Bubutni still looked as it always had—only in the Contractee's perspective did it appear as Cerberus. It was an illusion.

Su Xiao's attire was the same: not the free cultivator's garb, but his original clothing; yet to the Contractees' eyes, he was a Ruler clad in a black trench coat, wearing a mask.

Su Xiao rode atop Bubutni—the Ruler astride Cerberus appeared.

Su Xiao raised an eyebrow; it was all show, no added abilities—he still fought with his own original powers.

Hss~.

The ship's rear door opened; Su Xiao rode Bubutni out of the vessel.

Beneath his feet lay charred wasteland; for miles around, not a blade of grass grew—only burnt vegetation littered the ground, a sight only possible from repeated nuclear bombardment.

Su Xiao felt a flicker of unease—would a nuclear missile suddenly descend from above?

A malice from the derivative world emerged; as he looked around, everything within his sight suddenly felt painfully "blinding."

The charred branches of plants on the ground seemed to point at him; the entire derivative world rejected him.

Get out! Get out! Outsider, get out!

This was the collective will of the derivative world—Su Xiao had become an outsider, an unwelcome one.

Had it not been for the Reincarnation Paradise's suppression, a real-life version of "The Reaper" would already be unfolding—everything here would seek to kill him.

Su Xiao vaguely understood his purpose here: to establish a "World Coordinate" and seize ownership of this derivative world—this was also Reincarnation Paradise's goal: invasion.

He checked the task list; two tasks appeared.

War Task: World Coordinate (0/2)

Difficulty Level: Lv. 10.

Task Description: Establish two World Coordinates; Contractees shall protect each coordinate for 12 hours.

Task Details: Three World Coordinates exist in total. The ship already contains one. The Hunter must deploy the remaining two to designated locations.

Task Duration: 5 natural days.

Task Reward: 8 Attribute Points.

Task Penalty: If a World Coordinate is destroyed, the Hunter shall remain permanently in the "Parasite" derivative world and suffer its expulsion.

……

Hunter Task (Special): Suppress Rebellion.

Difficulty Level: Lv. 9

Task Description: Prevent Contractees from adopting passive combat behavior. After warnings prove ineffective, the Hunter may pass judgment upon Contractees.

Task Details: Judgment is a high-tier ability in this world. Establish a barrier to trap the judged; no one else may interfere in the battle.

Task Duration: 5 natural days.

Task Reward: 30% of the World's Source.

Task Penalty: If over 50% of Contractees flee, the Hunter loses 10 points from all attributes.

……

Su Xiao began organizing his mission: first, establish coordinates—once set, he need not intervene further; Contractees would protect them, as they had their own tasks.

Second, oversee the war to prevent desertion.

Though these tasks seemed easy, they were in fact perilous.

Consider establishing coordinates: the first is already placed; the second is thirty kilometers away; the third farther still.

The condition of this wasteland is unknown, the world's difficulty is Lv. 10—danger could strike at any moment. He was alone, with no backup; everything depended on him.

As for the Ruler's role, Su Xiao understood roughly: he must be cautious when judging his own Contractees—they are needed to guard the World Coordinates. Too many deaths would be problematic.

As for enemy violations—what need was there to ask? Just go kill them. He wouldn't even issue a warning. His ultimate goal was victory in war.

As the battlefield's Ruler and the Contractees' overseer, this was surely Reincarnation Paradise's doing—to ensure victory.

Reincarnation Paradise operates within its rules, and all current arrangements abide by them—this may be one reason Reincarnation Paradise cultivates Hunters.

Bubutni trotted slowly across the wasteland; the surrounding radiation made it uncomfortable.

Su Xiao's Stamina stat was 14 points, allowing him to remain in the radiation zone for extended periods.

The air carried a pungent, acrid odor—formaldehyde. The Karans had released massive amounts of it to engineer an atmosphere suitable for their survival.

The appearance of the Karans puzzled Su Xiao—there were no Karans in the original Parasite novel, and Reincarnation Paradise would not allow a derivative world to evolve to this extent.

Perhaps the enemy here were the Karans—but were they native to this derivative world, or Void beings? Hard to tell.

Su Xiao was more curious about what a derivative world truly was—he had always assumed they were created by Reincarnation Paradise.

But now it seemed otherwise: derivative worlds were likely seized by Reincarnation Paradise. They existed independently, with no timeline resets—timeline reset was Reincarnation Paradise's ability, not the world's.

Seizing this derivative world and claiming its reward—Su Xiao's goal had become simple.

The task window was too short; establishing the World Coordinates would barely leave enough time. He'd be occupied nonstop—sleep might be impossible, let alone uncovering the world's secrets.

Su Xiao was not discouraged. If this mission proceeded smoothly, his strength would surge significantly, and he'd likely enter mid-tier combat derivative worlds next.

Having organized his thoughts, Su Xiao turned to the floating screen beside him—the four directional views of the ship.

He was currently at the battlefield's edge. The battlefield was small: ten kilometers long, half a kilometer wide, rectangular in shape. The ship was anchored at one end.

Contractees were forbidden to leave this area, but Su Xiao could—he would precede them to deploy the World Coordinates.

Around the ship, Contractees were grouped into four factions defending it: the God-King, the Brotherhood, and Shining Gold each guarded one side; dozens of free cultivators guarded the rear, where attacks were weakest.