Chapter 63: Cunning

Cold sweat trickled down Su Xiao’s temple; the notification he’d just received was truly chilling.

In the Cycle Paradise, there exists a perverted skill called "Slayer."

The girl named Ye Zi had hidden at a distance not only because of her healer role, but also to deliver this strike.

After the cross radiating holy light crashed down, the blinding golden light caused everyone to instinctively shut their eyes.

Three seconds later, the golden glow dimmed slightly; Bai He watched through his sniper scope from the high ground, his expression tense.

Ye Zi collapsed onto the ground, her face pale, lips trembling.

“H-how come there was no kill notification?”

Ye Zi sat slumped on the ground, her eyes filled with disbelief.

The light faded; Su Xiao struggled to stand where he was. A wisp of blue smoke rose from his body.

A fist-sized wound gaped on his lower abdomen—if you leaned close, you could see straight through to the other side.

His upper body was drenched in blood, dripping from his chin, yet Su Xiao was smiling.

In his hand, he held a woman—Queen, by her long hair, held up as a shield before him.

Undeniably, the Queen was beautiful, but in Su Xiao’s eyes, that meant nothing.

The Queen and her two teammates ambushed him—without reason, they ambushed him.

Since they were enemies, eradicating them completely was the only prudent choice.

Su Xiao pulled out a vial: [XT-12 Life Vitality Potion], restoring 15% of life and rapidly healing wounds.

He bit off the wooden stopper and drained it in one gulp.

The potion was bitter, astringent, and carried a pungent, stinging odor.

Two seconds after Su Xiao drank the [XT-12 Life Vitality Potion], his body reacted—the horrific wound on his abdomen began faintly to heal.

The [XT-12 Life Vitality Potion] was expensive not just for restoring 15% life, but because it rapidly healed wounds—any injury short of limb loss could be restored by it.

Su Xiao dragged the Queen like a ragdoll; her armor was shattered in multiple places, her body limp—had he not held her, she would have collapsed.

“Now that I have one of your people, let’s talk.”

Su Xiao shouted, eyes glinting with cold light.

“Talk like this—what do you want? I’ll trade equipment and Paradise Coins for the Queen’s life.”

Bai He called out from a rooftop far away.

Su Xiao lowered his eyelids, raised his blade, and severed the Queen’s last remaining arm.

“Say one more word, and I’ll remove another part—until she’s dead.”

Su Xiao’s voice carried no emotion.

“Bai He, what do we do?”

Ye Zi barely stood, torn by indecision.

Bai He hesitated, then said:

“The Queen saved my life—I must save her.”

With that, Bai He vanished at the rooftop’s edge—she would arrive at Su Xiao’s position soon.

Soon, Bai He and Ye Zi stood side by side before Su Xiao.

“So she’s important to both of you?”

Bai He opened her mouth to speak, then saw the smile curling on Su Xiao’s lips.

“You—”

Before Bai He could finish, Su Xiao released the Queen’s hair, gripped his blade with both hands, and severed her neck.

A beautiful head flew upward; Ye Zi stared blankly at the floating head.

“You bastard! I’ll kill you!”

Bai He let out a hoarse roar, aiming her sniper rifle at Su Xiao—but she was too close.

Negotiation? Never existed. Su Xiao’s original goal was to use the Queen to lure Bai He and Ye Zi nearby.

He was severely wounded—only close combat gave him a chance to win.

Su Xiao lunged two steps forward, his long blade flickering with pale blue electricity.

“Ding.”

Su Xiao struck Bai He’s sniper rifle; as a sniper, she excelled in both strength and agility—strength to counter recoil, agility enhancing ranged weapon accuracy and neural reflex speed.

A deep gash appeared on the rifle—this blow struck a critical component; the weapon was now useless.

Su Xiao did this intentionally—a sniper without her rifle lost at least half her combat effectiveness.

Bai He snorted, abandoned the rifle, and drew two pistols from behind her back.

The two pistols were black and white, their barrels long—about thirty centimeters each.

“Bang, bang, bang…”

Bai He fired both pistols at submachine gun speed.

A hail of bullets slammed toward Su Xiao—if hit, he’d be dead or critically wounded.

Sniper rounds were impossible to dodge once fired—but pistol rounds were different.

Su Xiao’s pupils shrank to their limit, his vision pushed to maximum.

His right arm muscles bulged; the Zhan Long Flash sliced through air in a streak of white light.

“Ding!”

Su Xiao slashed two bullets aside, carving a path through the bullet curtain.

“Puh, puh.”

Bullets struck flesh—three rounds hit Su Xiao’s left arm and right chest.

But it was worth it—he was now in close range with Bai He.

Su Xiao struck without mercy, severing Bai He’s right forearm—the one holding the white pistol.

Pale blue arcs—the special energy of “Qing Gang Ying”—flooded into Bai He’s body.

Intense pain made her grit her silver teeth.

“Puch.”

Another slash—Bai He’s other arm was severed.

“Puch.”

The Zhan Long Flash pierced Bai He’s full chest, sinking deep into her heart; her health bar emptied instantly.

After a fatal wound, health points became meaningless—the Cycle Paradise only offered semi-digitization; once fatally wounded, one died regardless of remaining health.

“The Lotus Flower Adventurer Team won’t let you go!”

With that, Bai He’s head drooped, life extinguished.

Lotus Flower Adventurer Team? Never heard of it—even if I had, I wouldn’t hesitate.

Shaking his head, Su Xiao turned to the last surviving enemy—the healer named Ye Zi.

A healer with depleted mana was utterly defenseless against Su Xiao.

“N-no, don’t come closer.”

Seeing Su Xiao approaching, Ye Zi stumbled backward and fell to the ground.

“Heh~.”

Su Xiao sneered, stepping slowly toward Ye Zi.

When the three ambushed him, Ye Zi healed the Queen like a demon—now begging for mercy? Useless.

Enemies must die.

Even if the enemy was beautiful and female, Su Xiao would kill without mercy.

Anyone who shows mercy to women cannot survive in the Cycle Paradise—and won’t survive it.

Women who survive in the Cycle Paradise are never ornaments—each one is more dangerous than the last.

Only dead enemies are good enemies.

Su Xiao fought for his life—he had his goals, and anyone blocking his path was cut down.

Su Xiao stood silently before Ye Zi; beyond necessary taunts in battle, he rarely spoke.

Ye Zi was drenched in tears.

Humans are like this—cruel when harming others, weak when harmed themselves.

“I’ll give you everything I have—spare me.”

The long blade cut through flesh; Ye Zi fell—this healer was surprisingly fragile.

After killing all enemies, Su Xiao collapsed onto the ground with a thud.

He could’ve extorted Ye Zi before killing her—but the Cycle Paradise had many strange skills; the “Slayer” skill she used earlier made him wary—what if she was faking weakness, waiting for her mana to recover to deliver a fatal strike?

Su Xiao considered himself greedy—but he chose the right moment to be greedy.

Lying on the cold pavement, Su Xiao laughed.

This battle could only be described as brutal—a powerful ranged, main tank, and healer working together nearly cost him his life.

Yet in the end, he emerged victorious.

(A new week begins—drop your recommendation votes on the mosquito’s face.)