Chapter 96: Plundering Heaven

“Thud.”

A loud crash echoed from the rooftop.

Su Xiao stood barely upright, leaning on Zhan Long Shan, his strength nearly spent.

On a distant iron water tank, a large dent marred its surface, stained with vivid blood; Jin Muyan lay beneath it.

Jin Muyan was in a pitiful state—his body covered in slashes, both legs twisted and broken, clearly shattered by Su Xiao.

By passively enduring attacks, Jin Muyan exhausted himself first, and ultimately, Su Xiao emerged victorious.

Su Xiao walked slowly toward Jin Muyan, preparing to kill the story’s protagonist.

But after only two steps, he felt his pant leg tugged—he looked down to see Dong Xiang gripping it.

“I won’t… let you… succeed.”

Dong Xiang lay sprawled on the ground, her face half-covered by the mask Jin Muyan had worn, her eyes filled with hatred as she glared at Su Xiao.

“You wasted me three seconds—but you seem to have some value too.”

Su Xiao suddenly remembered: Dong Xiang could be considered a half-lead heroine, while the other half was Reise.

Under Dong Xiang’s despairing gaze, Su Xiao raised his blade.

But in the next instant, Su Xiao suddenly sidestepped, rolled once, and crouched low to the ground.

“Ting, ting, ting…”

Dozens of crimson crystal-like spines pierced the spot where he had just stood.

Had Su Xiao not dodged in time, he would have been skewered like a hedgehog.

A man wearing a black rabbit mask appeared nearby—it was Wu Dao.

His crimson eyes blazed with fury, faintly tinged with lingering fear.

Wudao Xuan Du rushed to Dong Xiang’s side, silently lifting her onto his shoulder.

Dong Xiang clutched his clothes, her pale fingers trembling.

“Let’s settle old and new debts together. Last time, you nearly killed me—but your current condition is quite poor, isn’t it~?”

Wudao Xuan Du spoke through gritted teeth; the hatred for nearly being killed himself, and for his sister nearly being killed, drove him to absolute fury toward Su Xiao.

Mostly, it was the hatred over his sister nearly being killed—he joined the Bronze Tree specifically to strengthen himself and protect his sister.

Su Xiao stood up, smiling at Wudao Xuan Du.

“Come try.”

Wudao Xuan Du’s sudden appearance saved Dong Xiang from death.

But for him to kill Su Xiao was pure fantasy—even weakened, Su Xiao still had the power to turn the tables.

The ring [Soul’s Roar] obtained from the gecko’s loot box granted a special ability.

Roar (Active): Upon activation, this effect grants 20 seconds of pain immunity. During this time, each attack received increases attack speed by 5%. (Maximum increase: 50%. This bonus vanishes when the frenzy effect ends.)

…

As long as Su Xiao activated the [Roar] ability, he could fight for 20 seconds without feeling pain.

Even in his prime, Su Xiao had nearly one-shot Wudao Xuan Du.

Though heavy blood loss left him weak, he might not kill Wudao Xuan Du—but taking off a few limbs from him was certainly possible.

Su Xiao’s calm demeanor made Wudao Xuan Du hesitate.

But retreating in shame was unacceptable—he began firing torrents of crimson, crystal-like Feather Flames at Su Xiao.

Su Xiao slashed repeatedly with his long blade, reducing the Feather Flames to a storm of shreds.

Su Xiao pressed his finger to his Bluetooth earpiece and spoke casually.

“Wan Shou, this is Baiye. Rooftop needs backup.”

A simple sentence—yet it turned Wudao Xuan Du’s face pale.

“Tch.”

Wudao Xuan Du shot Su Xiao one last resentful glance, then chose to withdraw.

Jin Muyan was far away, and Su Xiao stood between them—so Wudao Xuan Du abandoned Jin Muyan and fled with his sister.

“Support arriving in one minute. Hold on, Baiye.”

Su Xiao’s sudden call for help startled Wan Shou Zhai.

“Enemy driven off. Threat neutralized.”

Under dangerous conditions, Su Xiao wouldn’t stubbornly hold out—he hadn’t called for help earlier because he didn’t need to.

Besides, he feared other investigators might kill Jin Muyan, causing him to drop no loot box.

This wasn’t speculation—it was a painful lesson.

In District 24’s underground, due to You Na and Ma Guijiang, Su Xiao saw not a single loot box.

It made him suspect: if story characters intervened in battle, loot box drop rates might be affected.

Not that boxes wouldn’t drop at all—but the drop rate became painfully low, and combined with Su Xiao’s [Great Chief’s Soul], it became even worse.

Just now, Su Xiao had a chance to trap Wudao Xuan Du and his sister—he could have held them back after activating [Roar].

But Bronze Tree officers were nearby; once [Roar] ended, he’d be a helpless fish on the chopping block.

Risking his life for the loot boxes of Wudao Xuan Du and his sister was not worth it.

Su Xiao pressed one hand to his lower abdomen and walked slowly toward Jin Muyan.

“I won’t… lose here.”

Jin Muyan struggled to rise—only to meet a flash of brilliant blade light, without hesitation.

“Splat.”

A spray of blood droplets shot upward as a head, eyes wide with shock, flew into the air.

The moment Jin Muyan died, the Lunhuileyuan flooded Su Xiao with notifications.

【You killed the story protagonist: Jin Muyan (Growth 20%)】

【Jin Muyan is a story protagonist (1/3). You gained 10% World Source. Total World Source now: 24.3%.】

【You obtained a loot box (Blue Quality）】

【You have activated the achievement quest: Plundering Heaven’s Surge】

【Achievement Quest: Plundering Heaven’s Surge】 (10% completed)

Difficulty Level: Lv.4—Lv.?

Quest Description: Story protagonist? Pathetic. Become another soul beneath my blade—even if you’re the darling of your derivative world, Plundering Heaven’s Surge shall shatter all fate.

Quest Info: Each story protagonist killed grants corresponding quest progress. (Determined by the protagonist’s fate, strength, background, and other factors.)

Quest Deadline: None.

Quest Reward: Calculated based on final completion level. (Minimum reward: Blue-quality equipment or item. Maximum reward: ???)

…

After killing Jin Muyan, Su Xiao realized Jin Muyan wasn’t the “child of fate” type of protagonist—the Lunhuileyuan had warned him from the start.

More precisely, Jin Muyan was merely a nominal story protagonist.

Jin Muyan could not be killed before becoming a ghoul.

But once he became a ghoul, his survival or death no longer mattered.

Jin Muyan was pitiful—a protagonist whose fate after the story’s start was left to chance. Compare him to Naruto or Luffy—true darlings of their derivative worlds.

Only Su Xiao remained on the rooftop. Threat neutralized.

Su Xiao glanced at Jin Muyan’s corpse. They bore no personal grudge—only enemies by circumstance. Whether Jin Muyan was the ghoul world’s protagonist wasn’t the core conflict; given Jin Muyan’s mental state just now, if Su Xiao hadn’t killed him, the consequences would have been endless.

Su Xiao had already killed Xiwei Jin, and he’d remain in the ghoul world for some time—he wouldn’t give Jin Muyan a chance to grow strong and seek revenge. That would be the stupidest choice imaginable.

Cut the grass, remove the roots. Had the risk not been too high, Dong Xiang wouldn’t have escaped either.

As Su Xiao prepared to leave the rooftop, the Lunhuileyuan ’s notification appeared again.

【Detected: Jin Muyan is dead. Fate energy redistributed.】

【Fate energy redistributed. Current story protagonists: Wudao Dong Xiang (1/2), Shendai Reise (1/2).】

This was a group announcement—other contractors received it too.

Han Yu and others, already retreating, paled—but quickly recovered.

In the Lunhuileyuan , story protagonists dying wasn’t rare. The stronger the protagonist’s fate, the higher their death rate—because their loot boxes dropped at a level higher than their actual power, sometimes two or three levels higher.

…

In a dark residential house, sobs and gasps echoed. A naked man wearing a black mask was raping a high school girl on the sofa; around them lay several corpses—apparently her family.

The man’s thrusting body suddenly froze.

“Jin Muyan’s dead? Shit. I watched him so long, waiting for him to grow stronger before killing him—who the hell did it? WHO?!”

The masked man roared in hysterical rage, his cold eyes seeming ready to devour flesh.

He suddenly looked down at the high school girl beneath him—her eyes dull, her family murdered, her body and soul violated, teetering on the edge of collapse.

Seeing she had become a hollow shell, the man’s withered hand closed around her slender neck.

“Crack…”

Contractors in derivative worlds acted with utter impunity.

…

On the Bronze Tree outpost rooftop in District 11, Su Xiao raised an eyebrow upon receiving the notification. Indeed—Jin Muyan wasn’t a true protagonist; someone immediately replaced him upon his death.

“Team One cleared. Ghoul population expelled from designated zone.”

“Team Two clearing…”

Reports came in one after another through the headset; the activation of the public channel’s permission signaled only one thing—the operation was over, and our side had won decisively.

“We’ve won.”

Marute Sai’s tone was calm, but Su Xiao detected the suppressed excitement beneath it.

In confrontations with ghouls, the CCG rarely emerged victorious; after all, human physical capabilities were vastly inferior to those of ghouls.

After Marute Sai announced the victory, Su Xiao received a notification that the mission was complete.

【Faction Mission: Cover Operation. (Completed)】

Difficulty Level: Lv.4.

Mission Brief: Assist the “Special Countermeasures Unit” in combating the Bronze Tree and ensure our side’s victory.

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

Mission Duration: Until the Operation in District 11 concludes.

Mission Reward: 10,000 Faction Contribution Points.

Failure Penalty: None.

……

Yes/No: Complete mission? Upon completion, you will receive 10,000 Faction Contribution Points.

Su Xiao chose to complete it; his CCG contribution points became: 【Senior Investigator, Contribution Points 17723/10000, Yes/No: Promote Rank?】

Of course he chose promotion—access to that blue-quality potion required the prerequisite of Provisional Special-Class Investigator status.

Based on past experience, he knew he’d reach Provisional Special-Class Investigator soon, but Su Xiao noticed something.

Though he rose quickly, he held no real authority.

That was normal; he’d joined the CCG too recently, and his rapid promotion was due to the influence of the Lunhuileyuan .

Su Xiao didn’t care about authority—he only wanted to return to the temporary branch in District 24 to exchange for that blue-quality 【Human Gene Enhancement Serum】.

After Strength +2 and Stamina +4, Su Xiao’s combat power would surge dramatically; then, when he faced the Store Owner again, it wouldn’t end like this.

PS (To avoid chapter breaks, I wrote a 3000-word chapter—plenty of effort, right? So please vote for recommendations.)