Reincarnation Paradise Park-Chapter 953 - 41: Su the Great Trickster Makes Another Appearance
Su Xiao and the Wolf steward stared at each other. In the past, the Wolf steward wouldn’t have feared Su Xiao; instead, he’d often seek any opportunity to eliminate Su Xiao.
But now, Su Xiao’s gaze brimmed with the intent to dismantle the Wolf steward and study his construct, inducing a primal fear in the Wolf steward—an inevitability for all Alchemical Creatures, regardless of their strength.
"Intriguing."
Su Xiao retracted that gaze, and the Wolf steward’s tense body relaxed.
"Still not planning to take me to the treasure house? Since you’re Alice’s Alchemical Creature, my reward for this time..."
Su Xiao’s meaning was clear.
"Relax, I won’t make you my subordinate. I’ll just dismantle you and use your parts to create other Alchemical Creatures."
Su Xiao’s words sent a chill down the Wolf steward’s heart; after all, to a certain extent, he was Alice’s property.
"Follow me."
The Wolf steward turned and headed into the wooden cabin, with Su Xiao close behind. His previous remarks were merely a warning to the Wolf steward, whose hostility was glaringly apparent—enough to exploit loopholes in the rules to hinder Su Xiao.
Faced with such a situation, Su Xiao naturally wouldn’t ignore it. He had already noticed that the Wolf steward’s aura resembled that of an Alchemical Creature. While he guessed whether the Wolf steward was one, Su Xiao’s suspicion turned out to be correct—the previously arrogant Wolf steward was now significantly subdued.
Since establishing a friendly relationship with the Wolf steward was off the table, Su Xiao decided to find another way to exploit his weaknesses.
The saying ’local power surpasses remote authority’ holds true. Alice may be the False God of the Ancient Castle, but the Wolf steward serves as the game’s judge and host. His hostility toward Su Xiao was already affecting Su Xiao’s fair acquisition of rewards.
If Su Xiao hadn’t made those remarks, the Wolf steward might have stood there indefinitely. Although Su Xiao won the fourth game, no rule specified when the rewards should be given—whether at the end of the game, or perhaps several hundred years later?
That was the Wolf steward’s intention: to delay and make Su Xiao leave after the fifth game concluded. The rewards would remain in place; however, Su Xiao simply ’wouldn’t have time’ to fetch them.
The Wolf steward and Su Xiao entered the wooden cabin. The Wolf steward twisted the lamp holder on the cabin wall, causing the cabin to tremble and begin slowly descending, akin to an elevator.
The cabin’s descent speed increased steadily, and Su Xiao exhaled, feeling assured he could claim the reward.
"You’re quite knowledgeable about Alchemy?"
The Wolf steward suddenly spoke, unexpectedly devoid of the hostility from earlier.
"Hmm?"
Su Xiao glanced sideways at the Wolf steward; the question held deeper significance.
"This place isn’t under Alice’s surveillance?"
"..."
The Wolf steward remained silent, which was essentially a tacit agreement. Detecting this, Su Xiao’s eyes gleamed.
"Indeed, providing Alchemical Creatures with too much Wisdom isn’t wise—no sentient being would willingly remain a puppet, especially not an Alchemical Creature."
In Su Xiao’s understanding, Bubu Wang isn’t a servant; Bubu Wang is a teammate, which is why he always fights alongside him.
"..."
The Wolf steward maintained his silence.
"Give up. If my Perception isn’t mistaken, at least ten thousand restrictive Alchemy Array Diagrams are within you. The hope for freedom is an absolute impossibility."
"There’s no sliver of hope? I’ve long forgotten how many years I’ve served as the steward within this Ancient Castle, receiving batch after batch of Gamers. You gamers experience this game for the first time and find it unwearied; whereas I’ve grown weary long ago."
The Wolf steward placed his hand over his chest, where his core was.
"You want to betray Alice."
"Absolutely not! Queen Alice is my creator; I would never betray her, under any circumstance."
Su Xiao looked into the Wolf steward’s eyes; he probably wasn’t lying. This made Su Xiao contemplate, since the Wolf steward wasn’t seeking to betray Alice or tired of the game. Based on his prior demeanor, he actually quite enjoyed it.
Eliminating these two possibilities and considering how the Wolf steward wished to shed his identity as an Alchemical Creature without betraying Alice, there was only one answer: the Wolf steward’s time was running short.
Regardless of how advanced an Alchemical Creature may be, each has a ’shelf life’. Take the Alchemy Raven Su Xiao creates, for instance; its ’shelf life’ lasts only half a month. When that half-month passes, the Alchemy Raven becomes discarded; even if a new one is created, it’s a different life entity—the previous Alchemy Raven ceases to exist.
The Wolf steward’s situation was likely similar. Although Su Xiao’s Alchemy isn’t superior to Alice’s, no Alchemist, regardless of skill, can extend an Alchemical Creature’s lifespan—an unbreakable rule unaffected by sophisticated Alchemy.
Realizing the Wolf steward’s time was limited, Su Xiao felt a chill; he pondered whether the Wolf steward might choose to go down with him in mutual destruction before being discarded.
Due to the Wolf steward’s fanatical Loyalty to Alice, the possibility was quite high—not just plausible but probable.
Suddenly, the cabin was filled with a lethal atmosphere, yet Su Xiao showed no signs of tension. Instead, he lit a cigarette.
As smoke dispersed, the Wolf steward, with a cleanliness obsession characteristic of Alchemical Creatures, frowned.
"Your chances of breaking free from Alice’s restraint are slim, but there is a possibility for Alchemical Creatures to evolve to a higher level. Specifically, it involves a highly risky mutation, transforming from an Alchemical Creature into a biological entity—an irreversible process."
"Impossible! Queen Alice has attempted many times."
The Wolf steward dismissed it outright.
"What Alice can’t achieve doesn’t mean the existence backing me can’t. What do you think I hail from?"
"..."
The Wolf steward nodded thoughtfully, and, upon noticing this, Su Xiao exhaled in relief.
Mutation? Utter nonsense—it’s something Su Xiao came up with five seconds ago, completely fictitious. His goal was to stabilize the Wolf steward and offer hope, dispelling thoughts of mutual destruction.
If Alice and the Wolf steward truly pursued it, Su Xiao would wish them well—for venturing into a domain that can’t exist.
"Mutation is rare due to its high risk; for a creature of your Level, failure could lead to unknown consequences."
"What’s the exact process?"
The Wolf steward showed interest, although the hostility persisted; yet, in his view, Su Xiao held utilitarian value.
"Mutation consists of three processes: decomposition, coagulation, and mutation. I don’t know the specific steps; other intel depends on my mood."
Su Xiao’s mind whirled rapidly but he struggled to continue fabricating. With Alice’s insight, he couldn’t over-exaggerate without being exposed. Su Xiao’s advantage was the Reincarnation Paradise’s mystique.
Su Xiao gambled that Alice wasn’t familiar with Reincarnation Paradise.
With events unfolding as they did, Su Xiao breathed a quiet sigh of relief—it was fortunate he proactively clarified the Wolf steward’s identity. If things had continued with the prior tension, the Wolf steward might have opted for mutual destruction before Su Xiao completed the fifth game, given his time constraints.
PS: (Recommending a friend’s book titled "Ascending the Demon Tide.")
