What is he doing?
What are they doing?
No matter how you look at it, this doesn’t seem like anything proper or legitimate.
The commentator frowned. “At the moment, we don’t know what’s going on inside the treehouse, but I imagine we’ll have an answer soon.”
Once a contestant forfeits, they’re picked up by a battleship—and someone will surely question them then.
Cyril furrowed his brow slightly, unintentionally. Rong Shao, standing slightly behind him, noticed and muttered under his breath, “The king of Fog Star is probably thinking, ‘Please let the Empire folks not corrupt Su Cha.’”
Everything that happened before was done secretly inside the treehouse. Since both Di Yuansi and Liu Xiqin had been in there, it was impossible to determine exactly who pulled this “dirty trick.”
But Rong Shao was confident—it had to be Su Cha.
Liu Xiqin had stepped out briefly, and Di Yuansi didn’t seem like the type to torture others with poison.
Their former comrade Wu Zhi also chimed in: “If it’s later revealed to be related to Su Cha…”
Rong Shao mimicked the serious demeanor of someone from Fog Star: “‘D*mn Galan Empire! What have they been teaching our young lord?’”
The imitation got all three of them laughing.
But the mood quickly turned serious again. Through the large screen, they saw trouble rapidly approaching Su Cha and the others.
—
In the rainforest.
It had been less than fifteen minutes since Di Yuansi left. His figure flashed like lightning—not to capture anyone, but to race back the way he came.
“Retreat,” Di Yuansi shouted under the treehouse.
Without any hesitation, Su Cha stopped what he was doing. Liu Xiqin immediately grabbed the neck of the contestant inside the treehouse. With just a bit of pressure, she triggered the contestant’s emergency protection mechanism. Once the points were secured, she didn’t even spare him a glance.
The contestant felt like discarded trash, eyes full of resentment.
Compared to the last person, his post-defeat “treatment” was far worse.
A red dot appeared on the terminal—someone had been eliminated. This time, a Federation battleship had been dispatched. They sent personnel into the treehouse at almost record speed.
Before loading the injured onto the ship, the medics asked urgently, “What happened?”
The contestant’s throat bobbed.
“Do you need a physical exam?”
“…Su Cha,” the contestant rasped. “Can extract… spirit power…”
This one line was just loud enough for the team arriving behind them to hear. They exchanged glances—this confirmed their earlier suspicions: Su Cha was trouble.
The rain kept pouring. Su Cha and the others were sprinting through the rainforest. Di Yuansi explained while running, “Two teams have joined forces.”
The Pritt star people, who previously ambushed them, had returned—and this time they’d found allies: contestants from Planet Z804.
This was absolutely a powerhouse alliance.
All of them had previously witnessed the energy storm firsthand. They now understood that Su Cha’s power had transformed. Once he recovered—and with the Galan Empire backing him—he’d be a strong contender for the championship.
On top of that, they’d encountered a team in the woods that was searching for their own members, and had tracked Su Cha’s group based on their directions.
Su Cha sighed, “Looks like the whole rainforest will soon know I can extract Spiritual energy.”
Di Yuansi: “It’s not that bad…”
Su Cha chuckled. “If the rescue team just so happens to be from the Federation, if they happen to ask the contestant in front of others what happened, and if the pursuing team just so happens to hear it, then my theory holds.”
A string of “ifs,” but they all basically confirmed the same reality.
Di Yuansi was sure the Federation folks watching the live stream must be feeling awkward right now.
Su Cha tilted his head to look at Ji Tianjin and asked after a pause, “If we run into them head-on, what are our chances?”
“Fifty-fifty,” Ji Tianjin replied without losing breath. “None of those six are easy to deal with.”
He had watched previous matches involving the Pritt star people. Their strength and tactics were top-tier.
And with only four of their own now, they didn’t have the numbers for a direct clash.
Su Cha sighed. “Then they’re probably hiding something up their sleeves.”
Otherwise, they’d suffer heavy losses even if they won.
No one disagreed. Di Yuansi had considered this too—worried that a third team might be lying in wait, which is why he had urged the team to withdraw immediately.
“I suspect Jialu Star. Their people specialize in poison. I saw them talking back on the battleship.”
Meanwhile, having failed to catch Su Cha’s group, the allied teams swiftly changed their approach.
“Do we pick a new target?” one teammate asked.
The Pritt leader shook his head. “Let’s check the path ahead—if we see a weak team, take them out. If they’re strong, don’t engage. Just spread the rumor that Su Cha can extract Spiritual energy.”
Fighting in the rain while avoiding poison was too exhausting—they couldn’t keep up constant combat.
Instead, they’d turn Fog Star and the Galan Empire into the targets. Once stronger teams were eliminated, they’d be that much closer to the championship.
They had even recorded video of the injured contestant mumbling on the battleship, which made for fairly convincing evidence. And honestly, even without proof, simply pairing “Su Cha” with the word “extract” had an oddly convincing ring to it.
“Got it,” the team agreed.
Everything progressed in an orderly, methodical way. Soon, several other teams caught wind of the rumor. Whether they fully believed it or not was unclear, but they too began spreading the word through various channels.
After all, having someone else draw fire was something no one would object to.
Overhead, a dozen avian-type Spiritual energy projections circled the rainforest, scanning for Su Cha’s group—but so far, they’d come up empty.
“Where did they go?”
The trackers stared into the distance, curious about their target’s destination.
In reality, Su Cha and the others had returned near the treehouse. It was the same strategy Luan Zheng had once used: the most dangerous place is also the safest.
They narrowly avoided the spirit forms’ search. Su Cha shook his head, aware the situation was looking grim.
He was absolutely certain those projections were out searching specifically for him.
“Oh well. We’ll take it slow.”
In a drawn-out war of attrition, they definitely wouldn’t be the ones suffering. These allied teams couldn’t hold together forever. Just keep the rhythm: grab a person every now and then, and lay low the rest of the time.
The plan was solid—but right as Su Cha said this, an announcement echoed from the sky, projected through spirit amplification. The sound blanketed the entire rainforest.
“All contestants, please note: At twelve noon, the first batch of emergency supply kits will be deployed. Each kit contains two guns, five vials of energy liquid, and one gas mask.”
“The drop zones have been marked. A total of twenty kits will be deployed.”
Su Cha immediately looked at his smart wristband—several zones were already glowing dark red.
A major problem had just arrived.
The gas masks would weaken their poison-based advantage—and the guns posed an even greater threat. Not to mention, energy liquid was extremely valuable, able to rapidly restore injuries. The Federation was truly loaded.
Whoever got the kits would gain a huge edge.
“What do we do?” Di Yuansi asked.
Ji Tianjin answered calmly, “We have to go.”
If they wanted to win, this wasn’t a matter of choice.
His long fingers tapped the map, zooming in on one of the red zones. “The northern area—we can try that one.”
From his observations, the direction Su Cha awakened in last time was also where the beast had flown in from.
Su Cha clearly had the same thought. He pulled out the tiger-pelt grass he hadn’t used in a while and said sincerely, “Beast—our friend, our strong backup.”
–As soon as he emphasized the word friend, everyone else winced slightly.
Whether or not the beast was still in that area had yet to be confirmed. Di Yuansi, who was good at moving through the dark, took the risk and scouted the place.
By the time he returned, it was already 11:30.
Time was tight. As they prepared to depart, he reported what he found: “Northeast, near the mountain—there’s a beast den. Lots of them. If we really lure them out, we might not make it out intact.”
Su Cha thought for a moment. “Nothing ventured, nothing gained.”
“Alright. I’ll go lure them. You cause a distraction, and Xiqin will cover.”
Ji Tianjin, being the fastest, was naturally in charge of grabbing the emergency supply kits.
The plan was solid. As Ji Tianjin nodded, he glanced at Su Cha, likely gauging his recovery. He reminded him softly, “If something happens—don’t push yourself.”
Su Cha nodded. “I’m mentally prepared.”
Tonight, there was bound to be a fierce battle.
In the final five minutes, the rain let up slightly. Aside from the patter of rain, the entire rainforest was eerily quiet.
The committee’s warship had already descended to a lower altitude to make the final delivery confirmation.
Though the area appeared calm on the surface, every concealed corner hid contestants ready to fight for the emergency supply packs.
At exactly midnight, twenty emergency packs were released right on schedule.
Without the slightest hesitation, even before the packs hit the ground, a battle among spirit forms broke out in the sky.
The players who had been hiding on the ground no longer held back, immediately dashing toward where the packs were falling. Several teams collided in an instant.
It was a full-on melee—teams that had formed alliances not only had to deal with enemies but also guard against their allies.
Avoiding the center of the battle, Su Cha carefully held his flower and quietly stimulated the scent of tiger pelt grass.
Di Yuansi, who was attracting strange beasts, accelerated as fast as he could upon hearing the strange growls coming from the beasts’ throats, afraid that even a moment’s delay would get him killed.
The sounds naturally alarmed the players battling below.
Su Cha calmly controlled the direction of the tiger pelt grass scent’s flow, then suddenly dodged to the side.
His speed was fast enough, but a blade still grazed his back.
The assassin let out a regretful sigh—just a little more and it would’ve been a clean kill.
Two more figures emerged from the shadows.
Their faces were unfamiliar. Surrounded, Su Cha narrowed his eyes slightly and made a guess: “You’re working with the Pritts too?”
They only smiled in silence.
Thinking of a counter-strategy, Su Cha said, “If you all gang up on me, aren’t you just handing the advantage to someone else?”
There was no reply. The captain simply made a throat-slitting gesture, and the three attacked from different directions.
Su Cha threw out his spirit form and used vines to restrain two of them head-on.
Elsewhere, Ji Tianjin was surrounded by contestants from the Pritt and Z804 planets, unable to spare himself from the fight.
It was clear they viewed the alliance between the Galan Empire and Fog Star as a real threat—so much so that they gave up competing for the emergency packs just to take the two out.
Ji Tianjin’s deep voice rang out: “Su Cha.”
“I know.”
Su Cha stopped regulating the tiger pelt grass’s scent and instead released it in full force around himself. The frenzied strange beasts immediately swarmed in his direction.
“Madman,” someone attacking him muttered with a frown.
A beast in heat dove down from the sky, the gusts from its wings painful enough to sting eyes. The ambush was interrupted. Seizing the opportunity, Su Cha retreated a dozen meters, luring the beasts toward the emergency pack area.
“If I can’t get it, then no one will.”
Enduring the burning pain on his back, Su Cha grinned.
If he couldn’t have an emergency pack, then nobody else should either.
The clouds covered the last bit of moonlight, and the battlefield became even more chaotic after the beasts arrived. Already irritable from the toxins, the beasts were now driven mad by mating urges—beyond imagination.
Frankly, even Su Cha had never seen beasts this insane before.
“Find an exit route—fast!” someone shouted.
“D*mn it! Who the h*ll just slapped me?!”
“Eliminate Su Cha and the Galan folks—those beasts were drawn in by them!”
Su Cha’s sharp eyes spotted a struggling team and immediately called out, “Friends, want to team up and fight our way out?”
Di Yuansi, with his blade raised, agreed: “Yeah, let’s work together. I’ll carve a path for you.”
“Screw your mother!” someone cursed after nearly getting their head taken off by a beast charging through. “Can’t get the packs so now you’re trying to steal us, huh?!”
Su Cha guiltily rubbed his nose. Well, they had to get something out of this.
The attacking beasts showed no distinction between friend or foe, and their powerful tails lashed around wildly.
A contestant from Z804 noticed the tiger pelt grass in Su Cha’s arms and connected it to the rampaging beasts—none of them were fools. Even though they didn’t know how Su Cha triggered the scent, it was obvious he was the root of the chaos.
In an instant, Su Cha became everyone’s target.
If they didn’t also have to guard against the beasts, the attackers could have killed him ten times over.
Suddenly, Su Cha’s ears twitched, and he quickly retreated. A few emergency packs had been destroyed, but one had already been picked up.
A string of bullets was fired straight at him.
“ROAR—!”
A tiger’s roar startled the shooter into pausing. Taking advantage of the moment, Su Cha leapt onto the white tiger’s back and whispered something into its ear before the next wave of attackers arrived.
One ambusher cursed, “F*ck,” and backed off.
Why? Because the white tiger was carrying Su Cha straight toward a beast’s gaping mouth.
Su Cha wasn’t throwing himself to the wolves—he fully activated the scent of the Overlord Flower to forcibly calm the beast. Riding the white tiger, Su Cha used tricky maneuvers to gradually break out of the encirclement.
“There. Go there.”
His sharp eyes locked on the Pritt team. The Z804 players had just rushed to snatch the emergency pack from the gunman. Now was the best time to strike back.
He activated the tiger pelt grass again, luring the beasts after him while the white tiger charged toward the Pritt group.
In a flash, Su Cha reunited with Ji Tianjin—meaning they were now trapped together with the Pritts in the beast circle.
When Ji Tianjin noticed the blood on his back, his expression darkened.
Su Cha said, “It’s no big deal.”
The number of beasts kept growing—there was no way to deal with them all at once.
But Su Cha remained calm. His spirit entity floated above, releasing a calming scent alongside the Overlord Flower.
When the beasts began to weaken, the Pritts briefly lost focus. In that instant, Su Cha slapped one of them hard across the face.
“Snap out of it.”
The one hit was the Pritt captain. He glared at Su Cha.
Su Cha smiled: “Just trying to help you stay focused.”
How could anyone let that slide? Just as the captain was about to retaliate, Ji Tianjin spoke casually: “Hurt him, and we all get eliminated.”
It wasn’t an empty threat. Their only protection from the beasts was the scent from Su Cha’s flowers.
Ji Tianjin took out a med kit and started treating Su Cha’s back. The cut ran deep from shoulder to spine. With Su Cha’s pale skin, the bloody gash looked terrifying.
“Hiss—” Su Cha hissed and tilted his head, letting out a mocking snort toward the Pritts.
Seeing him drenched in cold sweat, Ji Tianjin frowned. “The blade was poisoned. Hang in there.”
Even the Pritts stopped caring about that slap.
Extreme pain could cause unconsciousness, and if Su Cha passed out, the increasingly numerous beasts could rip them apart in seconds—no warship would get there in time.
The beasts were also starting to fight each other. Watching them frenziedly seek mates, the Pritts realized there were fates worse than death. “Don’t you dare pass out.”
Ji Tianjin said gently, “Hold on.”
Su Cha leaned his head on his shoulder. “Kinda sleepy.”
Seeing one of his eyelids droop, a Pritt panicked and blurted, “Don’t you wanna slap me?!”
“……”
“That injury? We set it up with the assassin. Don’t you wanna hit me for it?”
Su Cha gave a complex look. “I already slapped you. Don’t you want to kill me?”
“Ridiculous! If someone hits your left cheek, you should offer them the right!”
The Pritt captain swallowed his pride. “Just hang on—I’ll let you slap me three more times afterward.”
“……”
Friend, how generous of you.
Ji Tianjin caught Su Cha’s subtle expression, recognizing that he still had strength left. He swiftly finished bandaging the wound and gave a nod.
The battle had drained their spirit power—it was time to replenish.
Su Cha moved his fingers—no trace of earlier weakness remained. Up above, the lotus magnolia suddenly swelled to dozens of times its original size, even halting the mating beasts in their tracks.
A cry for help rang out.
A Pritt’s ankle had been caught in vines. With beasts on all sides, only the area near Su Cha was relatively safe, so he dared not move.
Su Cha waved to his two companions. “Let’s go—picked someone up, so this trip wasn’t a total loss.”
“……”
Everyone fell silent.
Hard to believe that line came from a human being.
