Following Su Mo, Kashu came to understand one truth: having muscles alone isn’t enough—you also need brains. And sometimes, brains work better than brawn.
Twilight had just fallen, right at the start of the three-hour safe window. Although the doubled gravity was still in effect, the stone golems had entered their non-aggressive state.
Su Mo took advantage of this gap to go on a killing spree, carving out a one-kilometer safe circular zone completely free of stone golems.
He did this for two reasons: first, to test whether his hypothesis was correct; and second, if it worked, it would serve to protect Kashu. This rich second-generation heir was already mediocre in combat, and now with the doubled gravity on top of that, if the stone golems came for him, he’d be done for. So measures had to be taken.
When the stone golems stirred back to life, Su Mo knew he had guessed right.
Kashu, safe at the center of the circular zone, was indeed unharmed.
At night, the stone golems weren’t any stronger than usual, but they stood taller than Su Mo, and under the influence of gravity, each punch packed far more power than before. After figuring out their patterns, Su Mo also retreated to the center of the zone.
He figured he might as well treat this hour as a rest break.
Their journey continued the same way from there: three hours of travel during the safe window, and when the riot phase was approaching, he’d clear out a safe circular zone in advance and rest inside for an hour.
The reason he was braving the night under five times gravity wasn’t just because they were in a hurry—the most important factor was that there seemed to be some kind of subtle call in the air. His intuition told him that the place this call was guiding him toward was very likely where the realm core existed.
Over the next few days, Su Mo followed the direction of that mysterious call, walking steadily forward. Eventually, he came across two people in the middle of a fight.
One was Uesugi Okayi—oh wait, no, Uesugi Okayi.
The other he didn’t recognize, but judging by the attire, he was most likely from the Brahma Kingdom.
Su Mo initially planned to pretend he hadn’t seen them and take a detour. But Uesugi Okayi spotted him first and started shouting from a distance: “Miss Chiba! Lend me a hand!”
Su Mo raised an eyebrow, thinking: Weren’t you just giving me the side-eye the other day? And now you’re begging for help?
Besides, Uesugi Okayi was from the Uesugi clan. Ever since the incident with Chiba Keiko, they’d held a grudge against him. So Su Mo wasn’t exactly eager to help.
But… he glanced at Kashu and suddenly smirked.
“Come on, let’s go check it out.”
Kashu followed close behind.
“Miss Chiba, help me!” Uesugi Okayi called out in surprise when he saw Su Mo approaching.
The Brahma Kingdom fighter, who had been dominating the exchange, now felt the urge to flee. But Uesugi Okayi began clinging to him, refusing to let him escape.
Seeing that Su Mo was no pushover, the other man quickly made an offer: “Miss, this man attacked me while I was weakened and tried to steal my belongings—I was only defending myself. If you stay out of this, I’ll share some of the yellow sand fruits I’ve gathered with you.”
Su Mo’s eyes lit up. “What are yellow sand fruits?”
“They’re a rare treasure found here. Eating them enhances physical strength, and for supernaturals with earth-related affinities, they have additional special effects.”
Su Mo was immediately intrigued. “How many is ‘some’?”
Uesugi Okayi flew into a rage. “Chiba Masaka! You’d actually team up with an outsider against me?!”
Su Mo ignored him and looked at the Brahma man instead. The latter hesitated briefly. “Three?”
Uesugi Okayi jumped in immediately: “You have over a hundred of them yourself, and you’re only giving her three?”
“You—what are you talking about?!”
Uesugi seized the opportunity. “Chiba Masaka, if you help me take him down, I’ll split the yellow sand fruits with you—half each.”
Su Mo curled his lip. “I can take him down by myself. Why would I share my yellow sand fruits with you?”
“You—you’re shameless!” Uesugi Okayi ground his teeth in fury. He never expected that such a pretty young woman could be so utterly brazen.
The Brahma man, meanwhile, stared at Su Mo in disbelief, his mouth hanging open: Those are MY yellow sand fruits… since when are they YOURS…
Su Mo didn’t blush, didn’t even flinch, and said to both of them: “Anyone who knows me well will tell you—I, Chiba Masaka, am not exactly a good person. If you want to resolve this situation right now, I suggest both of you show some sincerity. Otherwise… well, I didn’t exactly ask to be here. You two are the ones who insisted I come over.”
Kashu stood off to the side, looking utterly frustrated, and chimed in: “Just bring out something good, alright? Pay the protection fee, and she’ll keep you safe the rest of the way.”
The Brahma man spoke up first: “Miss, my name is Wang Shenba, from Brahma. My mother is from the Xia Kingdom, so I have a Chinese name. If I remember correctly, you used to be part of the Celestial Pride Camp…”
He tried the emotional appeal first, then added: “If you choose not to interfere, I’m willing to give you half of the yellow sand fruits I’ve collected, and I’ll also teach you how to gather them and where they’re most likely to appear.”
“I know the gathering method too…” Uesugi Okayi argued, while slowly opening his right hand behind his back. In his palm was a red poisoned needle.
Suddenly, he hurled the needle at Su Mo, bolted in the opposite direction, and didn’t forget to hurl a threat: “Chiba Masaka! How dare you mess with the Uesugi clan?! This Exploding Spirit Needle—what?!”
Su Mo had already anticipated the move. The needle whizzed past his cheek—just barely missing.
“Wang Shenba, was it? I’ll help you!” Su Mo tossed out the words and shot forward, grabbing Uesugi Okayi by the neck in an instant.
“You—you wouldn’t dare kill me! The Uesugi clan will never—never forgive the Chiba family!”
Su Mo let out a cold laugh and whispered in a voice only Uesugi could hear: “Who told you I’m from the Chiba family?”
The words barely left his mouth when—crack—Uesugi Okayi’s head drooped, and he went completely still.
Wang Shenba was horrified: She snapped a C-class’s neck like it was nothing… Could she have already broken through to B-class?
Without a second thought, he pulled out a huge pile of yellow sand fruits and promised to teach her the gathering method anytime, terrified of drawing her wrath.
After confiscating the spoils, Su Mo’s expression instantly softened, and she smiled warmly. “No need for all this. Like you said, just three will do. Then tell me the gathering method.”
Wang Shenba was taken aback. “But… why?”
“I only want the method. The three are just a bonus. Taking more than that—what’s the difference between that and robbery?”
Wang Shenba was silent for a moment, then still insisted on giving her half. “No—half was my offer. So please, take it. It’s a matter of personal principle. Even if you refuse, I won’t take them back.”
Seeing how determined he was, Su Mo didn’t argue and simply nodded. “Fine.”
“Thank you.” Wang Shenba expressed his gratitude and fled as fast as he could.
“Why’s he running so fast?” Kashu asked, confused.
Su Mo replied calmly: “Afraid I’d silence him.”
“Silence…” Kashu’s face went pale, and he immediately pulled out a handful of gold bars. “I didn’t see anything! Nothing at all!”
Su Mo was caught between laughter and exasperation. “Would you stop throwing gold bars at people all the time? I mean… it’s not a bad habit, but… just tone it down a bit…”
“I was scared you’d silence me!”
“Relax, I won’t. Once we leave this place, I won’t be the same person anymore.” Su Mo stared at the clouds above, lost in thought.
Kashu: (ﾟ⊿ﾟ)ﾂ
