Burn

The shadow of the cat appeared. This was Xi's last chance to revive. If she died after this revival, she would genuinely perish and disappear forever.

"Xi, Xi, can you hear me?"

The voice of the beautiful cat, Besny, echoed in Xi's ears.

Xi's consciousness was already somewhat scattered. Dying multiple times in a short period, she was finding it hard to adapt.

"Besny?"

Xi's mind was clear, but she realized her dire situation. She was trapped in a "forbidden zone," with formidable enemies blocking her path. After each revival in this zone, she wouldn't survive more than 2 seconds. The various adverse status effects not only caused terrifying damage but also suppressed her abilities.

Even Flame Chen's fire abilities could overpower Xi, not to mention the high-temperature environment after Apollo's explosion. To be safe, Su Xiao generously provided Xi with two pineapples.

"Yeah, it's me, Xi. Are we about to die?"

Benny could share her revival ability with Xi, so they were symbiotic.

"Probably, yes."

Xi was calm, accepting the impending fate of her demise. For some reason, she suddenly remembered a scene from before entering this world at the 'Starry Transfer Station.'

At that time, Xi stood before many contractees from the Paradise of Dawn and said something to the Cycle Paradise.

"Lucky me, encountering a bunch of incompetents."

Thinking of these words she had spoken, Xi couldn't help but smile wryly. She assimilated into the cat's shadow, surveying the 'forbidden zone' around her. Was this considered lucky?

"Unlucky, encountering a bunch of lunatics."

The cat's shadow formed an energy cocoon, forcibly triggering the final chance of revival.

The scorching temperature roasted the energy cocoon. Xi, with her bare body, remained calm.

"If I hold my breath, I can survive for 1.7 seconds under the burning damage. I've died eight times already. The crystal source has been activated to over 80%. I can take a risk. If I use the Crystal Source, my survival time can reach over 6.7 seconds, giving me a chance to use recovery items and survive for at least 8 seconds."

Xi placed her hand on her chest. Her chest began to crystallize, activating her ultimate ability: Crystal Source Lv.10, Effect: Temporarily lock body state, immune to all damage except for actual damage; the effect lasts 5 seconds.

Crack.

The energy cocoon shattered, and Xi, covered in shimmering crystal light, took out a small glass vial and swallowed its contents. After doing all this, she charged out of the energy cocoon.

Xi's feet sank into the magma, but it didn't harm her. Powerful energy protected her.

In the scorching heat, Xi hurried forward, heading for the staircase from the fourth to the fifth floor. She counted silently in her mind and activated the crystal energy in her body, preparing to use her repelling skill. According to Xi's speculation, Su Xiao was likely blocking the entrance to the fifth floor, so reaching it would give her a glimmer of hope.

Xi rushed up the stairs. The beautiful naked woman amidst the fiery surroundings looked somewhat poignant.

As Xi was about to reach the fifth floor, the scene before her made her pupils shrink. At the entrance to the fifth floor, a shield wall made of small energy shields appeared, and Su Xiao stood behind it, smiling at Xi.

Even until now, Xi hadn't given up. Her hand emitted a white light as she pressed it against the energy shield wall.

"Assimilate."

Crack, crack, crack...

The crystals adhered to the surface of the counterattack shield, as Xi anticipated. However, the counterattack shield was made of Qinggang Energy, an energy killer. How could other energies assimilate it?

The crystals attached to the energy shield, making it slightly thicker, but that was all.

Seeing this scene, Xi crushed the vial in her mouth and swallowed the glass shards.

"Crystal Queen..."

Xi's eyes turned sky blue. At that moment, Su Xiao, behind the energy shield, suddenly bent down and kicked the shield wall. Given Su Xiao's strength, the result of this kick was apparent. Moreover, Xi needed to be more robust; her strength attribute was only 32 points.

Boom!

The energy shield wall was kicked away by Su Xiao, who moved toward Xi.

Bang!

The energy shield wall fiercely collided with Xi, causing her to stagger back a dozen steps.

With a sizzle, a blue smoke rose under Xi's feet. The duration of the crystal source had passed, and the high temperature began to erode Xi's body.

Su Xiao stood at the entrance to the fifth floor, facing the incoming heat wave with his left arm raised.

"You can try if you can kill me within a few seconds."

Su Xiao spoke, but Xi remained silent. Her feet in the magma had regained sensation.

Xi staggered backwards a few steps; her chin lifted slightly.

Seeing this scene, the smile faded from Su Xiao's face.

"If it weren't for a group of incompetent teammates, perhaps you'd have a chance of winning. After all, my side lacks unity."

Su Xiao took out a cigarette and lit it on the nearby wall. The cigarette ignited.

Xi's intention to step back was evident. Even if she burned to death, she wouldn't die under Su Xiao's blade.

The high temperature set Xi on fire, but she didn't scream. Kneeling in the magma, a spatial fluctuation appeared when Xi was about to be burned to ashes.

"This is... a spatial fluctuation from the Cycle Paradise? No, it's just similar."

As the spatial fluctuation emerged, more than half of Xi's burnt body disappeared, and at the same time, Su Xiao gained 5 points of merit.

Given the current situation, Xi is undoubtedly dead. Su Xiao had gained merit, but that spatial fluctuation left him perplexed.

"The Paradise of Dawn..."

Su Xiao pondered momentarily, immediately inquiring about the situation in Cycle Paradise.

[Prompt: Received feedback from the hunter.]. [Detection in progress]

Another fluctuation appeared, one that Su Xiao was familiar with; it was a unique fluctuation from the Cycle Paradise. Such a fluctuation would occur each time he was transported.

[Detection is complete; enemy park space fluctuation is discovered.]

[Space blockade command issued.]

[The Void Tree notarization begins.]

detected unauthorized space fluctuation. Space fluctuation tracking]

[Space fluctuation identification]

[Comparison between the Cycle Paradise space fluctuation and the Paradise of Dawn space fluctuation]

[Comparison complete, this space fluctuation differs by more than 98.73% from the Paradise of Dawn space fluctuation.]

[Detection result: Invasion by unknown space force.]

[Exclusion ongoing: 10%... 50%... 70%... 100%.]

[As this space fluctuation has caused war obstructions for the Cycle Paradise, the Void Tree initiates judgment.]

[Judgement result: Reduce the time required to form a 'large space fixed point coordinate' for the Cycle Paradise side by 50%.]

...

Seeing these prompts, Su Xiao was quite surprised. He had previously thought that the Paradise of Dawn was cheating and favouring Xi, so he promptly reported it to Cycle Paradise.

The Cycle Paradise was efficient, directly locking onto that spatial fluctuation and reporting it to the Void Tree responsible for arbitrating wars.

The result of the investigation was clear: it wasn't favouritism toward the Paradise of Dawn. When Su Xiao killed Lanjue earlier, the Paradise of Dawn hadn't provided any protection measures, let alone for the contractee, Xi.

The identification result was that the space fluctuation was unknown, and the Paradise of Dawn was now caught in the crossfire. The Void Tree reduced the time required for the 'large space fixed point coordinate' to form by 50%. This meant that the 'large space fixed point coordinate' would start in just over four days, and the Cycle Paradise would succeed in plundering this world.

However, did they need four more days? Xi's life or death was unknown. Even if there was a one-in-a-million chance she survived, she was no longer in this world. Both the Cycle Paradise and the Paradise of Dawn were searching for her, making her feel abandoned.

Xi had always wanted to rush to the fifth floor and openly confront Su Xiao, but he never gave her the opportunity.

Suppose Xi had made it to the fifth floor. She wouldn't just have faced Su Xiao and dozens of lunatics on the fifth floor. Even if she made it up, she'd die, and it would be even more gruesome.

"I thought I could revive eight times; I only had four chances."

Looking at the magma on the fourth floor, Su Xiao suddenly remembered. Flame Chen was still on the third floor! Just as water flowed downward, so did magma. Wouldn't that guy get burned by the magma?