Chapter 42: Chapter 38: Destined Enemies

After the battle ended, Su Mo scavenged through Ghost Hand and the others.

Apart from some regular weapons and ammunition, he didn’t find anything particularly useful.

These weapons were common on the black market and wouldn’t fetch a high price, but they were better than nothing, so he carried them on his back.

After searching through the items, he checked the clip of his Handicapped Treasure.

The Handicapped Treasure didn’t use normal bullets but rather smart tracking bullets made with old era technology, with no existing templates in the current military system.

This meant that until they could be mass-produced, these bullets would be used up one by one.

Including the spare clip, there were still 47 bullets left for the Handicapped Treasure, not too few, but also not many.

Su Mo thought to himself: Looks like I need to use them sparingly.

Of course, conserving too much is not a solution either.

If possible, he wanted to meet a reliable tech expert to study the Handicapped Treasure and achieve mass production of these bullets.

Su Mo, loaded with guns, left the factory.

He rode his motorcycle back to Haywood’s place and was met with surprised looks as soon as he walked in.

Haywood came out from the courtyard, looking Su Mo up and down, “How did you end up like this?” he asked, eyes wide open.

Su Mo’s appearance was indeed rather sorry.

His tactical goggles were smashed, his armor was full of knife and bullet scars, covered in bloodstains and dents, he had been shot at least dozens of times all over his body.

Su Mo placed the weapons scavenged from Ghost Hand on the ground, took off his armor, and exhaled deeply: “Ran into some scumbags trying to scav a bargain, I wiped them all out.”

Haywood murmured, “Good thing you have the Mad Corpse Blood Code, your bones are hard enough, an ordinary person would be dead even with armor on if hit that many times.”

He crouched down, touching the armor with a pained expression: “Oh, to fix it up after this will take a month.”

Su Mo, feeling a little awkward, laughed apologetically: “How about we settle this clearly? I’ll cover the repair and rental fees. Anyway, my bounty has come in; I can pay now.”

Haywood waved his hand: “Like I said, just remember that I’ve looked out for you. There’ll surely be times when I need your help.”

Su Mo wasn’t pretentious: “Alright, I’ll remember that. You can keep these weapons; I can’t take them anyway. Although they’re not high-quality, it’s never wrong to have more weapons in places like this borderlands.”

Haywood nodded, signaling Tank to collect the weapons.

“I have to go now, got other matters to attend to.” Su Mo said his farewells and left.

…

Su Mo rode his motorcycle to the Inner City, conveniently through the same Rusted Wall Level as before, with the same sentinel guarding, entering the city smoothly.

Arriving at the public commission center, as soon as he parked his bike, a group of people surrounded him.

“Are you Mr. Su Mo? Hello, I’m an intermediary with good cooperative relations with the authorities and large corporations. Here’s my card, please take it!”

“Sir, do you have time to chat? I have a private commission. We can find a quiet place to discuss the details.”

“Brother, interested in teaming up? Our Mercenary Corps has over a dozen people, and we’re in need of someone like you.”

“I’m straightforward — hey, darling!”

“…”

Facing the business cards being handed over, Su Mo took them one by one: “No rush, no rush, one at a time.”

In the public commission center, whenever a commission was taken or completed, the system would notify.

Su Mo had already drawn a lot of attention when he accepted the commission earlier.

Now having completed it in just one day, his exposure rose significantly.

This is how the mercenary business is; build a name and eventually you’ll have everything.

Su Mo spent the afternoon at the public commission center, amassing a thick stack of at least 200 business cards.

By evening, he found a café to sit down and carefully looked through those cards.

There was good news and bad news.

The good news was that the commission had a good response; over 200 business cards meant that he had initially made connections with over 200 people, including intermediaries, fellow mercenaries, and employer bosses.

The bad news was, there were no “big shots” among them.

All the 200 plus names were unfamiliar, never seen in the storyline, meaning they were like nameless NPCs in the game “Dawn Realm.”

No matter how they boast in their introductions.

Anyone could brag, an intermediary would always say — I have good relations with various forces.

In reality, he might have just shaken hands with the person in charge at a public event once.

Su Mo put away these business cards, sighing.

It seems big shots aren’t that easy to connect with.

Completing a commission excellently might just make them hear your name, just a little familiar.

As to when they would reach out, or when cooperation could begin, it really depended on their mood.

Su Mo pondered, a trace of worry emerging in his eyes.

This won’t work.

To ascend in the Dawn Realm, there’s a barrier that can’t be avoided — the original Main Protagonist.

“Dawn Realm” is an action RPG where players play as a fixed protagonist.

Currently, from the looks of it, there aren’t any players in this crossing of his; the protagonist, like Nuobai, should be an individual with a complete personality and independent actions.

Of course, the various settings will not change.

In the subsequent main storyline, the protagonist will awaken to sense the exclusive abilities of 7 key items and will find ways to claim them.

And he, as the Ancestral Blood Code Carrier, is a must-kill existence for the protagonist.

So, to preserve his life, he must kill the original Main Protagonist first and eliminate any possible risks.

Even disregarding this conflict, to grow stronger himself, he must actively seek out the 7 key items.

Because they are the key to breaking the power limit.

Just like the Ancestral Blood Code inside him.

Without it, an ordinary carrier can only have one blood code, their limit being “High Tier Black King.”

Theoretically, an Ancestral Blood Code Carrier can possess countless blood codes, leveling them all to “High Tier Black King,” surpassing conventional power limits.

And the remaining 6 key items each have power comparable to the Ancestral Blood Code!

If he doesn’t take them, the Main Protagonist will acquire them in later plots, gaining overwhelming power against him.

Su Mo cannot allow that to happen.

Therefore, there’s an irreconcilable natural conflict between him and the protagonist; it’s a matter of life and death.

In this destined confrontation, the original Main Protagonist’s advantages lie in his extremely formidable talent and luck, as a “chosen one.”

The Main Protagonist’s growth speed is terrifying, inherently triggering fortuitous encounters and constantly surviving deadly situations.

This guy, even having his heart crushed in the storyline, was picked up by a passing cybernetic doctor and brought back with an artificial heart replacement… how can any foe get justice with that?

Against such a person, dealing with him when equally matched is akin to gifting him experience points, purely the behavior of a foolish villain.

To fight, one must suppress the protagonist before he grows, directly overpowering beyond levels to kill.

In this regard, Su Mo has a unique advantage.

Now it’s August, and his crossing happened a month before the game’s “start” point.

During this month, he will go all out according to the “game strategy” in his memory, to improve his hard strength.

Moreover, he must build good relations with the big shots, leveraging their power for his use.

By the time he traces any sign of the original protagonist, calling those big shots to send top-notch experts to overpower and kill, will eliminate this significant hidden threat once and for all.

Therefore, time must not be wasted; every moment counts, as Su Mo has no time to slowly wait.

The earlier he has connections, the more assurance he will have of defeating the original protagonist.

Thinking of this, Su Mo left the café, mounted his motorcycle.

Since there’s no movement from the big shots now…

He has to be a little more “proactive.”

…

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