Chapter 985

“Just say what it is.”

The Damascus knife spun in Su Xiao’s hands, gleaming with cold light.

An old Ink stood up, his back to Su Xiao, pulling up the fabric at his waist; there were bandage marks on his lower back. The old Ink tore away the blood-stained gauze, revealing the wound beneath.

Seeing the wound, Su Xiao’s pupils contracted sharply—he knew this wound too well. It was inflicted by the “Scorpion’s Maw.” Only one person used that unique weapon: Hai Dong.

Judging by the wound’s condition, it had been inflicted recently. But Hai Dong was dead. Su Xiao had buried him himself.

Su Xiao stepped forward quickly and used his Damascus knife to pry open a small section of the circular wound caused by the “Scorpion’s Maw.” The old Ink’s facial expression didn’t change.

After a preliminary inspection, Su Xiao realized this wasn’t a wound from the “Scorpion’s Maw.” Externally, it looked similar, but internally there were subtle differences. A true “Scorpion’s Maw” wound was nothing but rotting flesh inside—but this one wasn’t.

Su Xiao immediately thought: someone was imitating Hai Dong’s killing method and forging a fake “Scorpion’s Maw.” Such things weren’t rare in the assassin world—just dirty tricks to frame each other. Besides, Hai Dong had OCD; he’d never use such a shoddy imitation, let alone use it to attack an old Ink. Hai Dong was already gone. Perhaps only Su Xiao remembered a man named Hai Dong.

“This wasn’t done by Hai Dong, so it has nothing to do with me.”

Su Xiao made his stance clear. The two bald old Inks were slightly surprised, then their gazes turned icy.

They had come to Su Xiao specifically to avoid dragging his faction into their revenge. Though Su Xiao’s faction consisted of only himself, his current personality made it clear: when he was an assassin, he wasn’t someone to provoke. He was the type who’d retaliate immediately if crossed.

The faction these two bald old Inks belonged to wasn’t afraid of Su Xiao—they simply didn’t want to escalate the situation. Every industry had its unspoken rules. No one wanted to end up in a fight to the death unless absolutely necessary.

Now that Su Xiao confirmed the wound wasn’t from the “Scorpion’s Maw,” the two old Inks’ anger surged. They’d been fooled—by a fake. And they’d paid dearly for it.

Both old Inks stared at the Damascus knife in Su Xiao’s hand.

“Bubu, show them out. And tell the people over there: I, Su Xiao, am no longer an assassin. Don’t come to me with this kind of trash again. Assassin business has nothing to do with me.”

Could you return something you’d already taken? Of course not.

The two bald old Inks left with grim faces. Throughout the entire encounter, they’d only spoken two words: “gift.” Their thinking defied all logic.

Inside the jewelry shop, Su Xiao was puzzled by the incident, but he had no intention of getting involved in assassin affairs anymore. With his current combat power, he could easily overpower these assassins with one hand. He had no interest in becoming a leader among assassins—that was the act of a fool seeking trouble.

This incident was like a pebble dropped into a lake—the ripples gradually faded. Su Xiao was among the beneficiaries: he gained a valuable Damascus knife and publicly declared he was no longer an assassin—anyone who came to him again would be killed.

After returning to the small town, Su Xiao had expected someone to come looking for him. He hadn’t expected it to be two “mute” men.

In truth, since Hai Dong’s death, Su Xiao had already decided to stay out of assassin affairs. He became an assassin back then for two reasons: to hone his combat ability, and because circumstances left him no choice.

Now Su Xiao was strong enough. He had the right to choose. Anyone who interfered with his choice would pay the price.

Only by being strong enough could one live freely—this truth was perfectly illustrated in this incident.

A quiet, ordinary life began. The business at Su Xiao’s jewelry shop couldn’t be described as poor—it was nonexistent. Since his return to the town, the shop had never opened. Or rather, since its opening, it had barely sold anything at all.

…

In the evening, Su Xiao sat in front of the jewelry shop, a gentle breeze blowing. Beside him, Wang Wang was playing a mobile game, occasionally bristling in rage—his teammates were insulting him.

Su Xiao clearly heard the desperate curses coming from the phone’s voice. Wang Wang retaliated by typing with his dog paws, but the innocent dog couldn’t match the opponents’ venom. Worse, Wang Wang’s way of “insulting” was bizarre—for example:

“You’re stupid, you’re stupid, you’re stupid…”

“You’re really stupid…”

“Reflect, reflect, reflect back the words that insult me…”

In a fit of rage, Wang Wang shoved the phone into Su Xiao’s hands, his little eyes pleading: “Master, please insult these four idiots for me.”

Su Xiao was skilled at killing people. Insulting? No thanks.

Su Xiao took the phone. Five minutes later, he tossed it back to Wang Wang. The four teammates’ curses had vanished.

“Impressive.”

“Someone definitely switched players.”

The teammates’ murmurs echoed through the game. If Su Xiao’s puzzle game was nightmare difficulty, Wang Wang’s mobile game was barely beginner level.

The quiet, ordinary life passed quickly. Su Xiao had fought through two worlds in succession; now, his tense nerves finally relaxed. It was clear: relaxing in the real world was an essential process. The Paradise of Reincarnation never created useless rules.

【Prompt: A new derivative world is about to open. The Hunter will return to the Paradise of Reincarnation. Ensure no witnesses are nearby.】

【Transferring… Transfer complete.】

When Su Xiao came to his senses, he was inside his personal room.

Amu sat on the floor. Before leaving, Su Xiao had ordered it to stay put in the personal room.

Amu was exceptionally obedient. Not only did it stay in the room, it sat motionless on the floor. Since Su Xiao’s departure, Amu hadn’t taken a single drop of water.

Grrr~

Amu’s stomach growled loudly. The large amount of food Wang Wang had prepared for it remained untouched.

Su Xiao and Wang Wang were both puzzled. This glutton was fasting? On closer inspection, it wasn’t that at all. Amu was staring fixedly at the food, its ox-like eyes nearly green with hunger.

“Eat.”

The moment Su Xiao gave the order, Amu lunged at the food, shoveling in steak, seafood, vegetable salad—all into its mouth.

“I was starving.”

Amu ate so greedily that even Wang Wang beside it grew hungry.

【Prompt: The Hunter will enter the derivative world in fifty minutes.】

The Paradise of Reincarnation’s prompt appeared. This time, Su Xiao was entering a standard derivative world—he hadn’t received a main quest in a long time. The Demon Castle world had no main quest. The Magic Restrictions world had none. The World Conquest War had none. The Holy Grail world had one, but it had been ruined by Blood Gate’s people.

Quests had tiers. The highest reward came from War Quests, followed by Main Quests, then Hidden Quests, then Side Quests. Kill Quests and others were harder to categorize.

As the second-highest reward tier, Main Quests were naturally popular among Contracted Ones. Though Main Quest penalties usually involved attribute deductions or forced execution, they were tightly woven into the derivative world’s plot, granting access to numerous plot characters and events—meaning far more opportunities for gains.

Su Xiao waited silently as the new derivative world descended. He now had only 500 Paradise Coins left. After creating Amu, he had 24,500 Paradise Coins remaining. Twenty thousand were used to manufacture Potion No. 1; the remaining 4,500 were spent on Mechanical Street to commission a special type of ammunition.

【Prompt: As the Hunter has advanced to Tier Three, a forced experience in a Large Open World (once) is required.】