Hunter 94: Snatching a Healer

"Stop running! We'll hold him off; you guys use your skills to kill him! If you have any control abilities, use them!"

Doran desperately shouted, barely managing to rally the contractors, who were just a hastily assembled group.

Seeing the ranged contractors turn back, bolstered by having a tank in front of them, they each raised their weapons again. Lin Jiu, without hesitation, kicked away the warrior lunging at him, pulled out the [Flame Sun], and fired a burst of bullets without even aiming.

"It looks like he's just compensating for the mid-range gap of a solo contractor, with no relevant skills!" someone in the backline noticed Lin Jiu's random shooting and sighed in relief.

Half of the bullets missed, and the ones that didn't were blocked by the Shielder. But before Doran and the others could breathe a sigh of relief, a series of explosions erupted, catching even Lin Jiu in the blast and sending him flying to the side.

"That was intense!"

Lin Jiu suddenly remembered that the [Flame Sun]'s bullets had light-based damage, amplified by the Aja Red Stone Necklace. The burst of bullets exploded, flattening most of the alley.

The terrain had now changed, but it was too late. Only Doran, Cort and Bell, two tanks with high stamina and defense, and two other melee fighters remained alive.

This is the importance of choosing the right terrain. In the original story, Su Xiao and the only Female Adventurer team fought on open ground, killing many but also sustaining significant injuries himself.

In this confined terrain where only a few contractors could launch effective attacks, Lin Jiu managed to kill many contractors, only sustaining minor injuries, mostly from his explosions.

...

"How far away are they?"

Jojo and his group were tracking Lin Jiu with Gentle Youth and others.

Along the way, Lisa Lisa explained her and Lin Jiu's plan to the group to avoid any unnecessary fighting when they met.

"If nothing goes wrong, not far!"

Gentle Youth was only tracking a general location, and a minute had already passed. However, the third location update was about to appear. They certainly couldn't catch up within ten minutes.

"Hurry up!"

Lisa Lisa urged. She knew this was a trap to lure out the enemy, and if they were late, there could be fatal consequences.

Doran: Who's in danger???

Just as the next location update was about to appear in a few seconds, a series of loud explosions drew everyone's attention.

Jojo's eyes lit up, "I remember that sound—it's from Red's firearm explosion. It must be over there!"

The group rushed in that direction, just in time to encounter Doran and his few remaining men retreating.

Seeing the alley blown to ruins and the ground littered with contractors, Gentle Youth couldn't help but take two steps back, and Linda cowered behind Summer Flame, trembling. These were seventeen contractors, and more than half of them had died just like that.

Jojo, seeing the scene, couldn't help but feel a kinship with Lin Jiu.

Lin Jiu picked up three scarlet cards from the ground and asked, "What should we do with the remaining ones?"

"Hey, we're human too!"

The main tank, Cort, immediately asserted his humanity, not wanting to be slaughtered like the others.

Doran's eyes shifted as he quickly spoke up, "We can help you fight Kars! Gentle Youth and his group didn't want more competition, but this wasn't the time to speak up. Fortunately, Lin Jiu didn't disappoint them.

"People like you, I seriously doubt your commitment to any contract."

Lin Jiu said calmly from the side. Since they had already started fighting, it was better to eliminate them completely.

"You…"

The contracts of Reincarnation Paradise are inviolable, something all contractors know. But Jojo and Lisa Lisa, who didn't know this, naturally didn't believe that a piece of paper could bind anyone.

"Killing them like this might be a bit too much!"

Caesar suggested to the group. The people in front of them weren't vampires or anything, so he thought there was no need for such extreme measures.

However, Jojo and Lisa Lisa didn't share his view. One was shrewd and intelligent, and the other was experienced and perceptive. Given the pile of corpses, the enmity between the two sides was already irreconcilable. The safest option was to kill them, as they weren't ordinary people incapable of fighting back.

Including some scattered early casualties, there were over twenty contractors. With six having already returned and five still in the group, there were over thirty contractors in this derivative world.

Gentle Youth and his group were unsure if their plan would succeed. After all, nearly half of the contractors in this world had been killed by the man in front of them. It was terrifying!

...

Switzerland.

"Yo, JoJo, long time no see!"

When JoJo and his group entered Switzerland, they found a small German squad led by Stroheim waiting for them.

"Stroheim, what are you doing here?"

Jojo frowned. The German army was a problem; although he thought Stroheim was okay, he didn't want to deal with the German military.

"We've been keeping a close eye on your movements. The Pillar Men, the Super Aja Red Stone—we know everything," Stroheim said, pointing at Jojo with his gloved mechanical finger.

"So what do you want…?"

Lisa Lisa asked in a serious tone.

Stroheim smiled, "Of course, we want to study the Super Aja Red Stone! We hope it can be secured by our German military to prevent it from falling into Kars' hands!"

To the surprise of Jojo and the others, Lisa Lisa nodded and replied, "I have no objections."

"That's great!"

"But the Super Aja Red Stone is currently in Red's possession. You'll have to negotiate with him."

Before Stroheim could celebrate, Lisa Lisa bluntly stated.

Stroheim's smile froze as he turned his gaze to Lin Jiu, who looked like he had nothing to do with any of this.

"OH NO!"

Stroheim exclaimed dramatically. Of all people, the stone had to be with this guy—that was going to be a problem.

Lin Jiu and Lisa Lisa had already discussed the matter of the Aja Red Stone Necklace when they were planning to lure out the enemy. After explaining the possibility of German military involvement, Lisa Lisa agreed to let Lin Jiu hold onto the necklace.

As long as it didn't fall into Kars' hands, Lisa Lisa could accept it. Since Lin Jiu was working with them, it was much easier to accept him holding onto it than letting the Germans have it.

Seeing Stroheim and his German squad, Lisa Lisa felt not just calm but even a bit amused. Any issues could be directed to Red; it had nothing to do with her.

Stroheim still led the group to a temporary resting place.

"This place is unlucky."

Lin Jiu commented when he saw the resting spot, which was the same place where Kars had appeared in the original story, causing havoc. He couldn't help but remark to Stroheim.

"Running into you is what's unlucky!"

Stroheim replied, clearly displeased.

While JoJo and the others were making coffee, Gentle Youth and his group approached Lin Jiu.

"Boss, can we discuss something with you?"

Gentle Youth asked, even more cautiously than before.

"The Super Aja Red Stone? Sure, but I have some conditions."

Lin Jiu thought it best to send these contractors away as soon as possible.

Don't be fooled by this guy's careful demeanor. If he had a chance to trick Lin Jiu for some benefit, he probably wouldn't hesitate. Now that they were on the same side, he couldn't kill them like the previous contractors.

The best plan was to let them complete the Aja Red Stone's main mission and get them out of here before they could cause any trouble during the final battle.

Oh, but one of them would need to stay.

Lin Jiu drafted a contract and handed it to Gentle Youth and his group. He didn't do anything sneaky with this contract—there was no need.

When Linda saw the contents of the contract, her face went pale. The main condition was that they could borrow the Aja Red Stone Necklace for 24 hours to complete their mission, but the healer would have to stay behind to assist in battle.

There were also some minor details, like returning the necklace after use.

Essentially, they would trade their team's healer's assistance for 24 hours of holding the Aja Red Stone Necklace.