In the afternoon, Su Xiao woke up from a deep sleep. After a good rest, he felt full of energy. Sitting up on the sofa in the living room, he caught a whiff of delicious food.
On the coffee table beside him, there were several exquisite dishes. A bowl of rice, a grilled fish, and a bowl of fragrant soup were laid out. Next to the food was a note.
"Second Class Bai Ye, I've gone to the branch to handle the aftermath of the extermination of the ghouls - Shinobu Akira."
Su Xiao stretched lazily. Although Shinobu Akira wasn't very strong, she was a good assistant.
After finishing the food in front of him, Su Xiao took out five white treasure chests and opened them one by one.
These five white treasure chests were all dropped by ordinary ghouls, so Su Xiao didn't have high hopes. He received the following items:
[Obtained 1100 Paradise Coins] (Total from five chests)
[Obtained Ghoul Pack (A Grade)] ×2
[Obtained Ghoul Pack (B Grade)] ×1
...
Out of the five chests, two only yielded Paradise Coins, while the remaining three contained Ghoul Packs. For now, these Ghoul Packs had no use since Su Xiao needed contribution points to upgrade his rank and couldn't create any weapons yet.
Fortunately, upgrading his rank only required reaching a certain amount of contribution points and didn't consume them. Once he became a First Class Investigator, he could use the accumulated contribution points to craft weapons.
Even if he didn't craft any weapons, he could sell these Ghoul Packs in the Paradise for a decent profit. Overall, gaining 1100 Paradise Coins was not bad.
Leaning back on the sofa, Su Xiao began to plan his future actions. First, he needed to complete the main quest (2). The penalty for failing this quest was severe, with a deduction of 3 points from all attributes.
The loss in strength, agility, and intelligence would be significant, but manageable. However, if his stamina dropped by 3 points, going from 6 to 3, the consequences would be dire.
As for charm and luck, losing 3 points in charm would drop it to zero, which was alarming. Su Xiao suspected that charm wasn't just about looks but related to personal aura. Some people naturally have a high charm due to their likability, like celebrities in the real world.
Su Xiao's fierce demeanor certainly didn't help his charm. However, this intimidating aura could be beneficial if he joined a villainous faction, as he would be highly regarded.
If luck dropped to a negative number, it would be like a scene from a horror movie, where danger lurks everywhere. Thus, completing the main quest (2) was a must. Not only would he gain 1 attribute point and 1500 Paradise Coins, but it was also a significant reward.
The next task was to complete the hunting mission. The Paradise didn't specify the rewards for this mission, but Su Xiao felt that it would be generous since he was helping to eliminate threats.
"Alright, let's continue searching for the gathering spots of ghouls."
The benefits of last night's large-scale hunt made Su Xiao eager to find more ghouls. He wouldn't waste time searching for them one by one anymore; it was more efficient to look for large gathering spots.
Finding a large gathering of ghouls wasn't easy. The obvious spots were terrifying, with hundreds or even thousands of ghouls. Even Su Xiao wouldn't dare to go to such massive gatherings. If a thousand ghouls charged at him, even if they were all B-grade, he would be overwhelmed.
Ideally, he wanted to keep the number of ghouls he faced under 100. Any more than that would be too much for him to handle. Last night, he managed to hunt dozens of ghouls without injury mainly because they didn't swarm him all at once.
Fighting one person is different from fighting a hundred. As the saying goes, two fists can't fight four hands. Su Xiao was still human; he could get hurt, and injuries could lead to death.
Thinking this way, he decided he needed to visit the 'Helter Skelter' bar again. Yi Niao should have some information.
This time, he didn't plan to threaten Yi Niao for information; that wasn't a long-term solution. Even a cornered rabbit can bite, and Yi Niao was an SS-grade ghoul.
He picked up the phone from the coffee table and dialed Shinobu Akira's number.
"Second Class Bai Ye, you're awake."
Shinobu Akira's voice was clear and cheerful.
"How did the situation go?"
"It's all handled. The headquarters accepted the bodies of those ghouls. If all goes well, I should receive a new weapon."
Shinobu Akira's laughter came through the phone.
"Second Class Bai Ye, what about the Ghoul Packs? Since you exorcised those ghouls, you have the right to handle them."
Su Xiao thought for a moment. His current contribution points were [Second Class Investigator, Contribution 390/400]. He needed just 10 more points to be promoted to First Class Investigator.
"I'll hand over two-thirds to the headquarters. As for the remaining third, help me exchange it for something at the headquarters."
Su Xiao traded two-thirds of the Ghoul Packs for contribution points. When Shinobu Akira heard what Su Xiao wanted, she was taken aback.
"You want that? Alright, I'll report it to the higher-ups, but that item is in limited supply at the headquarters. It's only used when crafting weapons."
Now, Shinobu Akira was eager to help Su Xiao. Partnering with him not only increased her achievements but also helped her grow her combat skills quickly.
After hanging up, an hour later, Shinobu Akira returned home.
"I got the item. The branch just happened to have one left. But Second Class Bai Ye, I'm curious, what do you need it for? It's very dangerous for humans; it's highly toxic."
Shinobu Akira held a small metal box carefully, as if it contained something fragile.
"Some things are better left unknown."
Taking the metal box, Su Xiao opened it.
"Be careful."
As the metal box opened, Shinobu Akira instinctively took two steps back. After confirming that the contents were fine, Su Xiao closed the box and placed it in his storage space.
He didn't hide anything from Shinobu Akira, and she wasn't surprised when the item suddenly disappeared, as if it was all normal.
This was the disguise mechanism of the Paradise, allowing various abilities to blend into the world of ghouls.
"Let’s go. We need to visit that bar again."
Shinobu Akira was full of questions but didn't voice them. As Su Xiao said, sometimes it's better not to know certain things.
While Su Xiao could trade with ghouls, Shinobu Akira could never do that; it was a matter of perspective.
Twenty minutes later, the two arrived at the 'Helter Skelter' bar.
As usual, he left Shinobu Akira waiting in the car while he entered the bar.
"Welcome to...”
Yi Niao started to speak as usual, but stopped when she saw Su Xiao.
In Yi Niao's eyes, Su Xiao was like a plague, having wiped out a large number of ghouls in the West District last night, making her even more wary of him.
"Don't be nervous. I'm just here to make a trade."
Taking out the metal box, Su Xiao pulled out a test tube from inside.
The test tube was elegantly shaped, about ten centimeters long and as thick as a thumb, filled with a light red semi-transparent liquid that bubbled gently.
Upon seeing the test tube, Yi Niao swallowed hard, unable to take her eyes off it.
Ghouls rarely got their hands on something like what Su Xiao held, but almost all ghouls craved it.
Meow~~~?
(End of Chapter)