Su Xiao stepped out of the auction house. It was daytime, and ghouls usually emerged at night.
"Mr. White Night, hello~."
A lazy voice called out from a distance. Su Xiao looked over and saw Juuzou Suzuya, the young white-haired investigator.
"Here's your badge."
Juuzou handed Su Xiao his badge, smiling blankly at Su Xiao.
As soon as Su Xiao received the credentials, the Reincarnation Paradise issued a notification.
[You have been promoted to First-Class Investigator. Contribution points: 525/2000.]
Seeing the contribution points required for a Senior Investigator, Su Xiao frowned.
There didn't seem to be a consistent pattern in the contribution points required to rise in rank. Sometimes it required ten times the points, sometimes only five.
But these 2000 contribution points meant he'd likely need to hunt hundreds, maybe even thousands, of ghouls.
"Mr. White Night~ what are you thinking about?" Juuzou asked curiously, watching Su Xiao.
"Nothing..."
Just as Su Xiao was about to respond, he suddenly felt a sharp sense of danger, like someone was watching him. It was the same feeling he had earlier in the bathroom with that little hamster.
His eyes sharpened as he discreetly scanned the surroundings.
"Chomp, chomp, chomp~."
The faint sound of something being gnawed mixed in with the noise of traffic and pedestrians. Su Xiao's eyes locked onto a pile of trash. On the lid of a trash can, a small hamster was perched, nibbling on something.
This familiar scene made Su Xiao's pupils contract.
This hamster was definitely suspicious.
The moment Su Xiao's gaze fixed on the hamster, it stopped chewing and extended a small piece of apple toward him.
Su Xiao instinctively wanted to look away but stopped himself, realizing something was wrong.
Earlier, when the hamster had offered him food, he had walked away from the bathroom, no longer suspicious. But why?
Su Xiao refocused his attention on the hamster. It abruptly stopped chewing, dropped the piece of apple it was holding, and bolted.
This thing was spying on him.
Su Xiao sprinted across the street, not caring about the passing cars. The hamster ran fast, heading for a nearby alley, but Su Xiao was faster, quickly closing the distance.
In a house 500 meters away, a green-haired girl lying on a bed suddenly opened her eyes.
"You're kidding me. How is Lv.3 Deception not working?"
The lazy expression vanished from her face, replaced by panic. The hamster was her symbiotic companion, endowed with three passive abilities and incredibly valuable.
"What's wrong, Yoko?" asked the armored woman, the "Queen" looking puzzled at the green-haired girl, whose name was Yoko.
"Kaka's been spotted by that man. It's running for its life. Queen, please save Kaka!" Yoko pleaded.
"How can that be?" The Queen couldn't believe it. That hamster was their most important source of information.
"I'm going now..."
The Queen hurried toward the door, her heavy armor clanging with each step.
...
Su Xiao chased the hamster down the alley. In 200 meters, there would be a sewer. If the hamster got in, catching it would be nearly impossible.
Su Xiao pulled out Dragon Slayer, spinning it twice in his hand to adjust his grip. He then hurled the sword with all his strength.
Clang!
The blade struck the hamster dead-on, pinning it to the ground. The blade sunk deep into the earth, but the handle remained unmoving, a testament to the blade's sharpness.
Su Xiao quickly approached and pulled out the sword. He stomped on the hamster, crushing it into a bloody pulp. The feeling of being watched vanished instantly.
The reason Su Xiao had sensed the surveillance was due to his intelligence stat, which had reached 12 points. Intelligence affected perception, and coupled with his sword training, his senses were even sharper.
This hamster wasn't easy to notice. Its Lv.3 Deception should have been enough to fool most people's vision. Otherwise, Yoko wouldn't have let the hamster operate so openly.
In the house 500 meters away, the Queen hadn't even made it to the door when a heart-wrenching scream echoed through the room.
"Kaka~!"
Yoko was devastated, tears streaming down her face. Blood dripped from her nose, and she collapsed weakly to the floor.
"Yoko, what's wrong?" The Queen rushed to help her, clearly concerned for her teammate.
"Kaka is dead. That man stomped on him. I saw it through the shared vision... Waaaah!" Yoko sobbed uncontrollably.
The Queen's expression darkened. The death of Kaka was a huge loss to their team.
"Kaka had Lv.3 Deception. How did it get spotted? Even as its ally, I sometimes overlooked that little creature." the Queen said, puzzled.
Yoko, still crying, replied with a trembling voice, "Increased intelligence also boosts perception. That bastard has 12 intelligence points. His perception shouldn't be that sharp, though!"
Normally, 12 intelligence wouldn't result in Su Xiao's level of awareness, but his sword training had heightened his senses even further.
The meditation technique passed down to him by Koushirou also helped sharpen his perception, making meditation a daily habit for Su Xiao.
"I won't let this slide. I'm going to kill that bastard right now!" Yoko declared, rising to her feet, her face full of rage.
"If you want to die, don't drag Black and me down with you." a cold voice came out of Queen's mouth. Yoko flinched.
Though the Queen was usually easygoing, when she was serious, Yoko couldn't help but fear her. After all, the Queen was their leader.
Yoko's adventurer team had strict rules. Disobeying the leader came with serious consequences.
"Calm down. We'll move tonight. Black is already scouting for a vantage point. She needs to be careful as well. If Kaka was discovered, Black won't escape that man's notice either," the Queen said, taking out an earpiece to communicate with Black.
...
In the alley, Su Xiao stood silently, gripping Dragon Slayer.
He had almost overlooked the surveillance earlier. Fortunately, he had realized in time.
This was a valuable lesson. Su Xiao had been smooth sailing in the Ghoul world, and it had made him a bit careless.
Now, he was more alert. In a derivative world, you couldn't relax—not for a moment.
That hamster was no ordinary creature. Every time it had tried to befriend him, offering food, his hostility would suddenly fade, and he would instinctively ignore the little creature.
It reminded him of the skills he'd encountered in the Reincarnation Paradise.
He had experienced something similar in the real world once, and he had managed to resist it only because of his keen senses.
Su Xiao pondered for a moment and then asked the Reincarnation Paradise.
"Reincarnation Paradise, is there a way to inspect an enemy's information?"
A notification quickly appeared.
[1. Detection-type equipment. 2. Apostle-type summons. 3. Scout-type skills... Access denied for further details.]
The answer pleased Su Xiao. He decided that once this mission was over, he would immediately seek out one of these methods.
Knowing your enemy was key to winning any battle, as the saying went.
At the very least, he needed to understand his opponent's attributes. By gauging their stats, he could better estimate their strength.
Just as Su Xiao was about to leave the alley, a sudden notification from Reincarnation Paradise appeared.
[Hunter's level detected as Lv.2, lower than the current derivative world level. Temporary skill now unlocked.]
[Temporary skill: Basic Detection. Cost: 800 Paradise Coins. Activate: Yes/No.]
[Note: The temporary skill will disappear after leaving this world.]
Seeing the Basic Detection skill made Su Xiao happy, but when he saw the cost, he cursed inwardly. That was a steep price!
Still, as much as it felt like Reincarnation Paradise was taking advantage, Su Xiao needed this ability right now.
He was sure that the hamster he crushed had been connected to another Contractor.
The dangers in a derivative world didn't just come from missions or storyline characters. Other Contractors couldn't be overlooked either.
"Heh, the little mouse is dead. Its owner can't be far behind."
Su Xiao couldn't help but look forward to it. He had yet to cross paths with another contractor in battle.
(End of Chapter)
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Translator's Note :- I am Not that familiar with a lot of the fictional worlds mentioned in the story. So if I make a mistake naming something please correct me by writing a paragraph comment on the mistake. Thank you.