In the pitch-black corridor, Su Xiao leaned against the cement wall, leaving a large bloodstain on it.
Ten minutes had passed since the Little Man in the Bottle obtained the Power of God, and Su Xiao was clearing out the contractors beneath the Presidential Palace.
These contractors weren’t pushovers; some weren’t very strong, but others were quite formidable.
Even among contractors of the same level, there was a significant gap, with some being very strong and others relatively weak.
One particularly troublesome type of contractor was those who focused on an extreme univariate development.
For instance, some contractors who solely developed their Power Attribute would maintain their Stamina just enough to support their Power Attribute, thus rapidly enhancing their strength.
The corpse by Su Xiao’s foot was one such example. He roughly estimated that this contractor’s Power Attribute was at least 45 points, boasting strong attack power, but equally fragile.
Su Xiao pulled an iron rod from his left arm, leaving a gruesome wound.
Su Xiao had already driven away at least a dozen contractors and had killed two.
The drop rate for Scarlet Cards in the Steel Refinement World was low; at least Su Xiao had never seen one, which he believed was related to the relatively few contractors he had killed. Latest content publıshed on 𝕟𝕠𝕧𝕖𝕝⟡𝕗𝗂𝗋𝖾⟡𝕟𝕖𝕥
While Su Xiao was resting, hurried footsteps came from ahead.
Three contractors ran down the corridor toward him, stopping when they saw Su Xiao.
"Friend, there’s a madman down below, hunting down other contractors. Do you know where that guy is?"
A woman spoke, and in the dark corridor and from a distance, she couldn’t clearly see Su Xiao’s appearance.
"A madman? Not sure."
Su Xiao tightened his grip on Dragon Slash.
"Sis, there’s something off about this guy, black windbreaker, uses knife type weapons—that’s the madman! Run!"
The girl with big eyes turned and ran, but hadn’t taken a few steps before noticing her companions hadn’t moved.
"Don’t be afraid, this guy is severely injured."
The woman assessed Su Xiao, but didn’t dare to approach.
A faint smell of blood wafted as the woman glanced behind Su Xiao, where a blood-soaked corpse lay.
The woman suddenly felt an urge to retreat, giving a signal to the two beside her.
"Did I kill your teammate?"
Su Xiao detected a different implication in the words of the three contractors.
Hearing the woman’s reply, Su Xiao furrowed his brow.
"Then how do you know I’m hunting other contractors?"
Su Xiao was quite curious about this point.
The woman turned to leave, and Su Xiao kicked off the ground and rushed forward.
Five minutes later, Su Xiao spat out a mouthful of blood, with arrows embedded in his abdomen and chest.
The three contractors lay on the ground, two unconscious, with only the woman still crawling.
The woman’s lips trembled, her pale cheeks stained with blood, and one leg severed.
"Answer my question."
Su Xiao glanced at his Life Value, which was down to 26%.
The contractors of the Steel Refinement World were different from the ordinary ones he had encountered before. These contractors couldn’t be killed in seconds by him, even with his significantly enhanced strength.
Not only couldn’t he kill them instantly, but they also managed to engage him in several rounds. If his attack ability wasn’t strong enough, the outcome against the trio would be uncertain.
It was precisely his terrifying attack ability that led to their defeat after wearing down 20% of Su Xiao’s Life Value.
At that moment, the woman’s vision blurred, and she struggled to lift her head to look at Su Xiao.
The woman had never encountered such a strong ’contractor’ like Su Xiao, not surprising, as Su Xiao is a Hunter. If his ability against contractors weren’t strong enough, he’d have perished long ago.
Su Xiao squatted in front of the woman, his Dragon Slash still dripping blood.
"If you’re going to kill me, just do it. I won’t surrender my equipment or Paradise coin."
The woman placed a dagger to her throat, fearing violation by Su Xiao.
"I’m not interested in your broken equipment, just one question for you."
The woman looked slightly surprised.
"How are you aware of my presence? No, that’s a bit vaguer. How do you know I’m clearing out other contractors?"
The woman lowered her head, a gleam in her eyes.
"You don’t have the Derived World Contact Platform?"
Su Xiao had never heard of a Derived World Contact Platform.
Not only was Su Xiao puzzled, but the woman was even more so.
"The Derived World Contact Platform is a basic function. Wait, First Tier contractors don’t have this ability, could it be..."
Su Xiao nodded, realizing what was going on—it seemed to be a Second Tier contractor’s ability.
"I get it, you’re executing a promotion mission. How could a First Tier contractor be this strong."
The woman looked at Su Xiao intently.
"Who knows, maybe I’m just not afraid of dying, daring to take on dangerous missions for high risk and high reward."
The woman nodded, wiping the blood off her face.
"You’re very strong; we’re not your match. However, the drop rate for Scarlet Cards in the Steel Refinement World is very low, so killing us doesn’t benefit you."
The woman produced two healing items.
One was a Blue quality potion, capable of restoring 60% Life Value and moderately repairing limb damage, while the other was a green quality recovery food, restoring 80% Life Value over 5 minutes.
"Take these, and we won’t seek revenge. We’re returning immediately; our main mission is complete, and we’re here just chancing it."
The woman drafted a temporary contract, which Su Xiao glanced over.
He indeed needed both healing items, but the woman’s two teammates had already been cut down by him, though not dead, their bodies were scattered in the corridor.
Would anyone’s heart remain untouched by hatred after being hacked ?
Is freeing an enemy for two healing items really worth it? The answer is no. If you form enmity, it must be eradicated, otherwise, don’t create enmity at all.
"Hey... don’t look at me that way, you just asked if I wanted to live, and my answer now is yes."
"No one truly wishes to die, but I merely asked if you wanted to live. Did I ever say I’d spare your life?"
The blade swept across, leaving a red mark on the woman’s neck.
The woman’s pupils dimmed as blood gushed from the wound in her throat. Even if she pressed the wound and used healing items, it was futile.
After dealing with the woman’s two teammates, Su Xiao took out several rolls of bandages to hastily treat his wounds.
This was the last contractor group in the vicinity. The area beneath the Presidential Palace was extensive, and Su Xiao hadn’t cleared areas too far away.
The sound of roaring came from underground, and Su Xiao surmised that the five Human Pillars had started fighting the Little Man in the Bottle.
Beneath the Presidential Palace.
The Little Man in the Bottle was engaged in battle with the five Human Pillars, and Edward and others somehow managed to restore their alchemical abilities.
The battle among the alchemists was exceptionally fierce, especially since the five Human Pillars could initiate alchemy without the need for a Formation Diagram, requiring just a clap of their hands.
The Little Man in the Bottle, capable of using the Power of God, was nearly invincible in the Steel Refinement World, yet now, despite his divine power, he could not wield it.