The sound of gunfire gradually faded, replaced by the cries of the injured.
Su Xiao, who had been watching from the shadows, felt the time was right. The muscular man, Toby, had already pushed back the enemy's refugees. The refugees fought without any strategy; after a chaotic round of shooting, they began to chase wildly.
Su Xiao jumped down from a building, landing smoothly, but immediately crouched low. What he saw was a never-ending pile of garbage, with smoke rising from it, and a foul smell hitting his nose.
He ignored the stench and focused on a gun lying on the ground in the distance. It was a short-barreled flintlock pistol. Though a bit worn, it was still a deadly weapon. The owner of the pistol was dead, his throat shattered by a stray bullet, a gruesome sight.
Perhaps because the body was hidden well, Toby's group hadn’t noticed the gun. Otherwise, in a place where weapons were scarce, they would never leave a flintlock pistol behind.
Su Xiao lowered his body and started to creep toward the gun. Just then, a thin refugee rushed to the flintlock pistol, his dirty hand reaching for it.
Su Xiao frowned, not because the refugee was about to take the gun, but because he feared this would attract the attention of the two factions. He quickly picked up a fist-sized rock and threw it with all his strength.
The rock hit the refugee’s arm with a loud thud.
“Bang.”
The refugee stumbled back, letting out a pained scream. Su Xiao rushed up behind him, turned sideways, and drove his knee hard into the refugee's spine.
The refugee bent forward, spitting out bile, but despite the blow, he only staggered two steps forward and didn’t fall.
Su Xiao's pupils contracted. The physical strength of humans in this pirate world was astonishing, and this was just a refugee, the weakest among them.
But there was no time to dwell on that. Su Xiao noticed the refugee’s eyes were filled with rage, like a cornered beast, his yellowed teeth bared, muscles tensed.
In this terrifying moment, an ordinary person would instinctively step back, but Su Xiao was different. He had combat experience and knew that if he tried to escape now, he would get shot in the back.
Clenching his fists, Su Xiao struck the refugee's jaw before he could recover.
The jaw has many blood vessels, and a sudden heavy blow can lead to insufficient blood flow to the brain, causing a short-term blackout.
“Bang.” A few bloodied yellow teeth flew out.
After taking Su Xiao's full-force punch, the refugee fell backward like a toppled stick.
Ordinary people would faint for several seconds after being hit on the jaw, but the natives of the pirate world were incredibly strong. So, Su Xiao flipped the refugee over and aimed for the back of his neck, delivering another punch.
With a dull thud, the refugee was knocked out cold.
Su Xiao grabbed the short-barreled flintlock pistol from the ground, and a line of text appeared before his eyes.
Before he could read it, he noticed a large group of people approaching in the distance. It was Toby's group, returning after a failed chase.
A chill ran down Su Xiao's spine. If he was discovered now, he wouldn’t even get a chance to speak; he would be shot to pieces, as these people were already bloodthirsty.
Looking around, Su Xiao's expression darkened. He was surrounded by towering piles of garbage, forming a circular barrier around him.
He couldn’t risk climbing the unstable garbage mountains; they could collapse at any moment, hiding who knows what beneath them. If he got unlucky and was pierced by something sharp, in this harsh environment, he might die from blood loss or infection.
So, he had no choice but to slip into a dilapidated building. The girl named Mia was looking at him with fear on her face.
This time, Mia spoke without needing Su Xiao to prompt her.
“I won’t say anything.”
Realizing she had spoken, Mia quickly covered her mouth with her hands, her eyes darting to the flintlock pistol in Su Xiao's grip.
Not long after Su Xiao entered the building, loud noises came from outside.
After a round of angry shouting, the outside gradually quieted down. It seemed those people had returned to scavenge for supplies, but from the furious voices, their haul was clearly not great.
Su Xiao sighed in relief and started to check the prompt that had appeared earlier.
[Acquired: Worn Flintlock Pistol (White)]
Worn Flintlock Pistol (White)
Origin: Pirate King, Leopold Workshop
Durability: 6/30
Ammo Count: 4/6 (Rapid-fire flintlock is a unique technology of the Pirate King world)
Attack Power: 2~13 (calculated by distance)
Equipment Requirement: 1 point of strength to use, 3 points of strength for flexible use.
Rating: 3 (Note: White equipment ratings range from 1 to 10; a rating of 10 will be marked as ‘Rare’ with additional special attributes.)
Description: This is a poorly maintained flintlock pistol, which has caused its rating to drop from 9 points to 3 points. Use it with caution; the next shot may be its last, and yours too.
Price: 150 Paradise Coins (This item is a chance drop and cannot be taken out of the Pirate King world).
...
[The hunter has acquired equipment for the first time; beginning equipment rating introduction]
[Equipment is divided into white, green, blue...; insufficient tier prevents access to further information. Hunters must explore on their own.]
[The hunter is introduced to Paradise Coins for the first time; beginning explanation of Paradise Coins.]
[Using Paradise Coins allows trading with the Reincarnation Paradise or other contractors; this is the only universal currency in Reincarnation Paradise.]
[Warning: Please use each Paradise Coin carefully, as it is your capital for survival or becoming stronger.]
...
Su Xiao nodded thoughtfully. It seemed the Reincarnation Paradise had strict rules, not only labeling the performance of various weapons but also having a complete currency system.
Though he knew he would face many dangers ahead, he felt a bit hopeful, eager for the Reincarnation Paradise to help him grow stronger.
While he wasn’t yet clear on how to become stronger, he was sure there was a way in the ‘Reincarnation Paradise’; otherwise, he wouldn’t be able to complete the more difficult tasks that lay ahead.
After carefully examining the [Worn Flintlock Pistol] in his hand, a smile appeared on Su Xiao's face.
He finally had a weapon. Without it, he would find it hard to feel secure in this dangerous world.
But compared to firearms, Su Xiao preferred cold weapons, like a knife—those long, narrow, and extremely sharp blades.
If he had his trusty knife with him, his combat effectiveness would increase by at least fifty percent.
He had a basic understanding of the situation; now he needed to prepare to complete his task, which had a time limit of just seventy-two hours.
Su Xiao didn’t want to find out what would happen if he failed the task, so he had to devote himself fully to completing it.
However, assassinating a king was definitely not a simple matter. It would require some other methods, at least a way to get close to the king.
He had never considered secretly infiltrating the palace, because in the pirate world, there was something called Observation Haki.
From Su Xiao's memory, this king was likely connected to the world aristocrats, the Celestial Dragons. It wouldn’t be impossible for a master of Observation Haki to appear around him.
Otherwise, given Su Xiao's assassination skills, the difficulty of killing a king would not be rated as LV.3.
In a reality filled with surveillance equipment, Su Xiao could execute his revenge plan. How much easier would it be in a technologically backward pirate world?
But it was still too early to think about that. The priority now was to understand his surroundings. The Reincarnation Paradise didn’t have a map function; he had to explore on his own.
Su Xiao’s gaze turned to the girl hiding in the corner. She lived in the ‘Scrap Yard’ and must know this place well.
Noticing Su Xiao's gaze, Mia curled up.
“What do you want?”
Her voice trembled, tinged with tears. She had been hiding her gender because being a woman in the Scrap Yard was very dangerous.
“Are you hungry?”
Su Xiao squatted in front of the girl, a gentle smile on his face, but his eyes were cold.
He was not a kind person; hatred had long erased any kindness in his heart.
The chapter ends here.