A loud bang echoed from the rooftop.
Su Xiao struggled to stand, using his Dragon Slashing Flash to support himself. He was barely holding on.
In the distance, a metal water tank had a large dent in it, stained with glaring blood. Jin Mu Yan was lying under the tank.
At that moment, Jin Mu Yan looked quite pitiful, covered in cuts, his legs twisted as if Su Xiao had broken them.
He had taken too many hits, leading to his exhaustion, and in the end, Su Xiao emerged victorious.
Su Xiao slowly walked toward Jin Mu Yan, ready to finish off this plot's main character.
But just as he took a couple of steps, he felt a tug on his pants. Looking down, he saw Dong Xiang holding onto his pant leg.
"I won’t let you get away with this."
Dong Xiang was lying on the ground, her face partially covered by a mask that Jin Mu Yan had put on her. She glared at Su Xiao with hatred.
"You wasted three seconds of my time, but you seem to have some value."
Su Xiao suddenly remembered that Dong Xiang could be considered half a main character, with the other half being Rize.
In Dong Xiang's desperate gaze, Su Xiao raised his weapon.
But in the next moment, he suddenly leaped to the side, rolling and crouching down.
Clang, clang, clang...
Dozens of sharp, red crystal-like objects were embedded in the spot where he had just stood.
If Su Xiao hadn't moved in time, he would have been pierced like a hedgehog.
A man wearing a black rabbit mask appeared not far away. It was Wudao Xuandu.
At that moment, Wudao Xuandu's red eyes were filled with rage, and there was a hint of fear in them.
He quickly rushed to Dong Xiang, silently lifting her up.
Dong Xiang clutched his clothes, her pale hands trembling.
"Let’s settle old and new scores together. Last time, you almost killed me, but you don’t seem to be in great shape now."
Wudao Xuandu spoke through gritted teeth, his hatred stemming from nearly being killed and from his sister almost being killed.
Most of all, it was the anger over his sister that fueled Wudao Xuandu's fury toward Su Xiao. He had joined the Bronze Tree to train his abilities to protect her.
Su Xiao stood up, smiling at Wudao Xuandu.
"You can give it a try."
Wudao Xuandu's sudden appearance allowed Dong Xiang to escape a crisis.
However, it was foolish for Wudao Xuandu to think he could kill Su Xiao. Even though he was in a bad state, he still had the ability to fight back.
The ring he had found in the lizard’s treasure chest, called "Wrath of the Evil Spirit," came with a special ability.
Roar (active): When activated, it allows the user to ignore pain for 20 seconds. During this time, every time they are attacked, their attack speed increases by 5%. (The maximum increase in attack speed is 50%, and this bonus disappears when the effect ends.)
As long as Su Xiao activated the ability from Wrath of the Evil Spirit, he could fight without feeling pain for 20 seconds.
When he was at his peak, he could almost take out Wudao Xuandu in one hit.
Although he had lost a lot of blood and felt weak, he might not be able to kill Wudao Xuandu, but he could definitely take a few parts from him.
Su Xiao's calm demeanor made Wudao Xuandu hesitate.
But he couldn’t just retreat without doing anything, so he began shooting a barrage of red crystal-like feathers at Su Xiao.
With swift slashes of his long knife, Su Xiao cut through the feathers, turning them into a cloud of debris.
He pressed a finger to his Bluetooth earpiece and casually said, "Maru, this is Bai Ye. We need support on the rooftop."
It was a simple statement, but it made Wudao Xuandu’s expression change dramatically.
"Tch."
Wudao Xuandu glanced at Su Xiao with reluctance before choosing to retreat.
Jin Mu Yan was far away from Wudao Xuandu, with Su Xiao in between them, so Wudao Xuandu decided to abandon Jin Mu Yan and escape with his sister.
"Support will arrive in one minute. Hold on, Bai Ye."
Su Xiao's sudden call for help startled Maru Zai.
"The enemy has retreated. Danger averted."
In dangerous situations, Su Xiao wouldn’t stubbornly hold on. He hadn’t called for help earlier because it hadn’t been necessary.
He was also worried that if other investigators killed Jin Mu Yan, he wouldn’t drop a treasure chest.
This wasn’t just a guess; it was a painful lesson.
In Area 24, due to Yuna and Arima's actions, Su Xiao hadn’t seen a single treasure chest.
This made him think of a possibility: if plot characters intervened in a fight, it would affect the drop rate of treasure chests.
It didn’t mean treasure chests wouldn’t drop at all, but the drop rate would be significantly lower. Combined with Su Xiao’s "Soul of the Great Chief," the drop rate would be even worse.
Earlier, Su Xiao had a chance to take down Wudao Xuandu and his sister. If he had activated the Roar ability, he might have been able to keep them.
But the Bronze Tree's higher-ups were nearby. After the Roar effect ended, he would have been an easy target.
It wasn’t worth risking his life for the treasure chests from Wudao Xuandu and his sister.
Su Xiao covered his abdomen with one hand and walked slowly to Jin Mu Yan.
"I won't be defeated here."
Jin Mu Yan struggled to prop himself up, but what awaited him was a sharp blade, without hesitation.
"Thud."
A spray of blood erupted as a shocked head flew off.
With Jin Mu Yan dead, numerous notifications appeared in the Reincarnation Paradise.
[You have killed the plot's main character: Jin Mu Yan (Growth 20%)]
[Jin Mu Yan is a plot main character (1/3), you have gained 10% of the World Source, totaling 24.3% now.]
[You have received a treasure chest (blue)]
[You have activated the achievement task: Sky Snatch]
[Achievement Task: Sky Snatch (10% completed)]
Difficulty Level: Lv.4—Lv.?
Task Description: A plot main character? Just a mere soul under my blade. Even if you are the beloved child of a derivative world, Sky Snatch will break all fate.
Task Information: Each time you kill a plot main character, you will gain a corresponding amount of task completion. (Based on the main character's luck, strength, background, etc.)
Task Deadline: None.
Task Rewards: Calculated based on final completion level (minimum reward: blue quality equipment or item, maximum reward: ???).
After killing Jin Mu Yan, Su Xiao realized that he wasn’t the type of main character who was the "child of the world." The Reincarnation Paradise had hinted at this from the start.
To be precise, Jin Mu Yan was only a nominal plot main character.
He couldn’t be killed before becoming a ghoul.
On the other hand, once he became a ghoul, his life or death didn’t matter anymore.
Jin Mu Yan was also unfortunate; as a main character, he could be killed at will after the plot began, unlike characters like Naruto or Luffy, who were clearly the darlings of the derivative world.
On the rooftop, only Su Xiao remained, the crisis lifted.
He glanced at Jin Mu Yan's corpse. There was no deep enmity between them; they were just enemies now. Whether the other was the main character of the ghoul world wasn’t the main issue. Given Jin Mu Yan's state of mind earlier, if Su Xiao didn’t kill him, it would lead to endless troubles.
Su Xiao had killed Nishio Nishiki, and he still needed to stay in the ghoul world for a while. He wouldn’t give Jin Mu Yan a chance to grow and seek revenge; that would be the most foolish choice.
To cut the grass, one must remove the roots. If the risk hadn’t been too high, Dong Xiang wouldn’t have escaped.
As Su Xiao prepared to leave the rooftop, another notification from Reincarnation Paradise appeared.
[Detected that Jin Mu Yan is dead, the power of fate is redistributed.]
[The power of fate has been redistributed. The current plot main characters are Wudao Dong Xiang (1/2) and Kamishiro Rize (1/2).]
This time it was a group announcement, and other contractors received it too.
The already-retreating Han Yu and others changed their expressions but quickly returned to normal.
In Reincarnation Paradise, it wasn’t uncommon for plot main characters to die. The stronger the main character's luck, the higher their death rate, because the treasure chests they dropped would be above their own strength level, even by one or two levels.
Su Xiao raised an eyebrow at the notification. As expected, Jin Mu Yan wasn’t a true main character in the traditional sense. After his death, someone immediately took his place.
"Team One has finished clearing the area, and the designated ghouls have been expelled."
"Team Two is clearing..."
Reports continued to come through the earpiece. The opening of the public channel indicated one thing: the operation was over, and they had achieved a great victory.
"We won."
Maru Zai's tone was calm, but Su Xiao could sense the suppressed excitement.
The CCG didn’t win often against ghouls; after all, humans were at a disadvantage compared to ghouls in terms of physical abilities.
After Maru Zai announced victory, Su Xiao received a task completion notification.
[Faction Task: Cover Operation. (Completed)]
Difficulty Level: Lv.4.
Task Description: Assist the "Special Measures Team" in fighting against the Bronze Tree to ensure victory for our side.
Task Information: CCG faction tasks will not be counted in the clearance evaluation.
Task Deadline: Until the operation in District 11 is over.
Task Rewards: 10,000 faction contribution points.
Failure Penalty: None.
Was the task completed? After completing the task, he would receive 10,000 faction contribution points.
Su Xiao chose to complete it, and his CCG contribution points became: [Upper-level Investigator, Contribution Points 17,723/10,000. Do you want to promote your rank?]
Of course, he chose to promote. He wanted to exchange for that blue-quality potion, which required the rank of Assistant Special Investigator as a prerequisite.
Based on past experience, he would quickly be promoted to Assistant Special Investigator, but Su Xiao noticed something.
Although he was rising through the ranks quickly, he had no real power.
This was normal; he had joined the CCG too recently. His rapid promotion was due to the influence of Reincarnation Paradise.
Su Xiao didn’t care about having power. He just wanted to return to the temporary base in District 24 to exchange for that blue-quality [Human Gene Enhancement Liquid].
With strength +2 and stamina +4, Su Xiao's combat power would increase significantly. When he faced the store manager again, it would not end like this.
PS: (To avoid a cliffhanger, I specially wrote a 3,000-word chapter. Quite sincere, right? So please support with recommendations.)
(End of Chapter)