Chapter 33

Along with the Roundabout Paradise’s prompt, Su Xiao noticed many other contractors changing expression.

It seemed contractors entered derivative worlds at roughly the same time, all en masse simultaneously.

“What the hell? How did I end up in the Hunter x Hunter world? I’m done, completely done—this is it, I’m dead. Anyone want to form a temporary adventuring party? I’ll give you everything I’ve got—2000 Paradise Coins.”

A female contractor’s wail came from afar; Su Xiao turned toward it.

After the female contractor screamed, the contractors nearby all wore mocking glances.

Roundabout Paradise had several high-risk derivative worlds: One Piece, Bleach, Hunter x Hunter, and others.

Most contractors who entered these derivative worlds died without exception.

Rumor had it that thirty contractors once entered the Pirate World at the moment Luffy fought Colonel Mōka; only two survived, the rest perished.

“Please, anyone help me.”

The female contractor’s face showed utter despair as she helplessly scanned the surrounding contractors.

The surrounding contractors showed no pity; some even sneered. Roundabout Paradise was this cruel—rely on no one but yourself, unless you had a stable adventuring party.

Su Xiao had no saintly aura and didn’t care whether she lived or died.

But in her cry, he caught one word: adventuring party—this must be a way contractors teamed up.

He quietly inquired Roundabout Paradise, which gave him a prompt.

There were two types of adventuring parties: temporary and permanent.

As the name implied, a temporary adventuring party was formed by unfamiliar contractors before entering a derivative world.

In the trading plaza, many contractors had posted recruitment notices; if they were entering the same derivative world, they could form a temporary party.

A permanent adventuring party was different—it required registering at Roundabout Paradise’s Adventuring Hall, after which the Paradise would issue a task.

After completing the task, the contractor would gain a permanent adventuring party, become its leader, and invite others to join.

Once in a permanent adventuring party, contractors of similar levels would enter the same derivative world, significantly increasing survival odds.

As a Hunter, Su Xiao would never join any adventuring party—if his target was a teammate, it would be excruciatingly awkward.

But from Roundabout Paradise’s prompt, the permanent party had special bonuses, which intrigued Su Xiao.

Perhaps he could form a permanent adventuring party—of just himself.

Whether he had teammates didn’t matter to him, but the permanent party’s bonus did.

It was still too early to consider this—he could only establish a permanent party after reaching Lv.10.

Three minutes remained before entering the derivative world; Su Xiao took a deep breath and prepared for Roundabout Paradise’s teleportation.

At that moment, a familiar voice came.

“Employee seeking escort—obedient, won’t cause trouble, has support abilities.”

Su Xiao turned his head and saw the speaker was the little girl who resembled Connor—Xi Luoluo.

In Xi Luoluo’s posted info, Su Xiao clearly saw the characters [Tokyo Ghoul]—she was entering the same world as him.

She was an employee, entering a derivative world every two months, coincidentally the same one as him—what a strange coincidence.

Su Xiao didn’t approach; he had a hunting mission in the Ghoul World, so he wouldn’t accept her offer.

Su Xiao was only skilled at killing—he had no interest in escorting others.

【Time’s up. Derivative World: Tokyo Ghoul activated. Derivative World resetting. Timeline refreshing. Refresh complete. Consumed 0.03 ounces of spacetime energy.】

【Due to consumption of 0.03 ounces of spacetime energy, contractors’ minimum comprehensive score in this world must reach C-rank.】

A sudden commotion erupted in Roundabout Paradise; several contractors looked especially pale.

The little girl Xi Luoluo turned deathly white, fists clenched, eyes filled with despair.

An old man holding a golden staff suddenly roared.

“Who the hell disrupted the Ghoul World’s balance? The Fate Child must’ve died before the plot began—Jin Muyan was trash in the early game…”

Before the old man finished his roar, Su Xiao felt Roundabout Paradise’s teleportation.

The familiar sensation of teleportation came—similar to when he returned from the Pirate World.

In his hazy consciousness, Su Xiao wondered silently: Would he encounter another Void Swordmaster again?

This was pure overthinking—the chance of encountering a Void Swordmaster was one in a billion.

When his awareness returned, Su Xiao stood inside a building.

It appeared to be a corporate building, Japanese-style decor; on one wall stood a massive aquarium with ornamental fish swimming inside.

The time was night; the building was brightly lit, yet no one was visible.

As Su Xiao prepared to move away, he suddenly noticed a ring of light membrane surrounding him, gently pushing him back to his spot—a countdown appeared before him: 5 minutes 30 seconds.

The situation was clear—he couldn’t leave until five minutes passed.

He wasn’t alone; ten or so others stood nearby, their attire revealing them as contractors. Xi Luoluo was among them, sharing a light membrane with several others—she had already found protection and formed a temporary adventuring party.

Temporary adventuring parties were somewhat reliable—at least contractors couldn’t attack each other inside the derivative world—but one flaw existed: a contractor could forcibly exit by paying only 10,000 Paradise Coins as a breach fee.

Including Su Xiao, there were eighteen people total: two parties—one of five, one of seven—the rest fought alone, as shown by their individual light membranes.

“Everyone be careful. The situation is timeline reset—the plot has reverted to its initial state. I’m Han Yu. Has anyone heard of me?”

The old man with the staff, whom Su Xiao had seen earlier, spoke first—his intent was obvious: to win favor. As leader of the seven-member temporary party, Han Yu’s move was normal.

Han Yu’s party was the largest group present—and also Xi Luoluo’s party.

The five-member party’s faces changed slightly; they’d heard of Han Yu. The lone contractors all turned to look at the old man.

Su Xiao ignored Han Yu—he sensed someone approaching rapidly. His Intelligence stat’s rise had sharpened his senses.

There—behind the left wall of the lobby.

“Crash.”

As Han Yu opened his mouth to speak, a thunderous crash echoed—the left wall shattered. Several figures flew out and collapsed on the floor, unconscious or dead.

A purple-haired beauty stepped from the hole in the wall. She had an excellent figure and a faint, elusive smile on her face.

“Why run? Isn’t it better to be eaten by me?”

The purple-haired beauty walked toward the fallen, seemingly unaware of Su Xiao and the others.

“S-save me.”

A middle-aged white-collar worker struggled to lift his arm, as if begging for help from anyone.

The purple woman stepped forward, grabbed the man’s arm with one hand, stomped on his back, and yanked hard.

“Squelch.”

Blood sprayed out with a scream—the man’s arm was ripped clean off by the woman’s raw strength. Unimaginable—this slender beauty possessed such monstrous power.

Something chilling happened: the purple-haired beauty brought the severed arm to her mouth and bit down.

A horrifying chewing sound followed, then a soft sigh.

“Delicious~. More. Give me more.”

This scene struck every contractor’s sight. Han Yu, once calm, now turned ashen—clearly terrified of the purple-haired beauty.

“What’s going on? What difficulty is this Ghoul World? Why start with Shinonome Risette, an S-rank ghoul? No—this thing is between S and SS.”

Other contractors stared at Shinonome Risette in dread—if not for the light membrane, they’d be her next meal.

Su Xiao studied Shinonome Risette curiously, eyes filled with confusion.

He suddenly felt something strange.

He could… probably crush Shinonome Risette…