The next morning, Su Xiao woke up early.
After washing up and putting on his guard uniform, he headed to the guard headquarters.
Before he even entered, he saw a large group of guards rushing in and out, looking anxious.
"Quick, Lord Oka has been assassinated! This has alarmed Minister Zuo. That lord has ordered a citywide manhunt for the criminals."
Hank, with a look of 'grief', was directing a lot of guards, but there was a glint of ambition in his eyes, as if he believed that with Oka dead, he would be the new boss.
Su Xiao noticed two guards standing at the entrance of the headquarters, watching everything coldly. These two were the ones who had followed Oka last night, and it was clear they were his trusted aides.
Hank's actions might have raised their suspicions, but this was indeed an opportunity. If things went well, Hank could replace Oka.
The guard team wasn't very large. Aside from Oka, the others were just ordinary guards. Oka was really just a team leader.
As for the position of sub-team leader, it had never existed in the guard team. Not only would it cost extra funds, but Oka wouldn’t allow his power to be divided. Su Xiao had already seen Oka's arrogant personality yesterday.
Su Xiao killed Oka not just because he acted like the boss in front of him.
He needed to quickly raise his status, and without Oka dead, there was no suitable position for him.
As for what was happening inside the palace, Su Xiao didn’t understand and didn’t want to get involved.
The simpler the plan, the fewer the flaws. He just needed a position that could get him close to the king and allow him to climb up quickly.
Tomorrow was the day to burn the scrap yard. Such a disgraceful act wouldn’t be personally handled by the palace; they would send someone below to do it.
Su Xiao had investigated and found that there were two groups of guards in the capital. One was the guard team responsible for maintaining order, while the other was the gatekeeping team.
Generally speaking, this kind of task should be handled by the gatekeeping team, but when Su Xiao was choosing weapons in the warehouse, he saw a lot of explosives.
From the clues in the warehouse, Su Xiao judged that those explosives had just been stored there not long ago, and their purpose was obvious.
To ignite a large scrap yard, just setting a fire clearly wouldn’t be enough.
So, Su Xiao needed the position of the guard leader, and whether he could meet the king would depend on his own actions.
"Hank, what happened?"
Hank, who was directing everyone, turned to look at Su Xiao.
"The boss was assassinated last night. These guys only found out this morning. You came at the right time; come with me to meet Minister Zuo."
Su Xiao felt a chill in his heart. Meet Minister Zuo? Hank might not have good intentions. He had just become a guard yesterday, which was undoubtedly a weak point. Did Hank want to make him a scapegoat? The possibility seemed low.
As he started thinking about how to deal with Hank, a smile appeared on Su Xiao's face.
"Minister Zuo? That kind of big shot wants to see me?"
Su Xiao pretended to be confused, but his eyes were fixed on Hank.
"Yes, Minister Zuo wants to see you. I don’t know the specific reason."
Hank showed an envious expression, even a bit jealous.
This sudden good news surprised Su Xiao. He had no connections with the palace’s higher-ups, and the only possible link was… that recommendation letter? It seemed that letter was more important than he thought.
Following Hank through several blocks, Su Xiao arrived in front of a courtyard, where a luxurious villa came into view.
Hank seemed a bit nervous as he cautiously approached. Two guards stopped him.
"Is this the person the lord wants to see?"
Hank quickly nodded. The two guards took Hank's weapons, while Su Xiao had all his weapons in a storage space, so the guards wouldn’t discover anything.
The guards led the way, and Su Xiao entered a hall.
Inside, a family was having breakfast, and an elderly man with white hair and a serious expression sat at the head of the table.
Upon seeing Hank, the old man casually dropped his food and signaled for everyone else to leave, leaving only a strong man standing behind him.
The strong man gave Su Xiao a very dangerous feeling. Although he was unarmed, Su Xiao noticed the thick calluses on his knuckles and how flattened they were.
This was a master of physical combat, the old man's personal guard.
"You are Hank, right? This is the new guard?"
The old man spoke slowly and calmly, like someone in a high position.
"Yes, yes, my lord."
Hank was struggling to speak, looking very cramped.
"You can leave now."
The old man seemed a bit displeased with Hank’s nervousness and didn’t even look at him.
Hank kept his head down and retreated to the door, disappearing from Su Xiao's sight.
"I am the Left Minister of the kingdom. Carlos has given me many interesting collectibles. As his nephew, I should take care of you.
Unfortunately, Carlos had a rough time leaving the city yesterday, and I lost my collectibles. Since I can’t find him, I have to look for his nephew, which is you."
Su Xiao figured out the general situation.
Carlos was the black market merchant he had killed yesterday. After Carlos's death, this Left Minister's 'supply' was cut off. Since he couldn’t find Carlos, he came to Su Xiao as a substitute.
That black market merchant really had bad luck; not only was he exploited by the gatekeeping team, but he also had to provide for this Left Minister.
From the current situation, it seemed the minister wanted him to take Carlos's place in acquiring goods.
Su Xiao didn’t understand the details of their deal, and if it weren’t for the protection behind the minister, he would have already controlled him.
But such an opportunity to contact the kingdom's higher-ups was rare.
"The collectibles are no problem. I know all of my uncle's channels. He was seriously injured yesterday and is resting, but…"
The Left Minister raised an eyebrow and looked directly at Su Xiao, saying:
"If you can get me the collectibles I need, you can name your conditions. I heard your team leader died yesterday. If you do this well, I will make you the leader of the guard team."
Half an hour later, Su Xiao left the Left Minister's courtyard, strolling down the street.
Things were progressing smoothly, but the conditions the Left Minister proposed gave Su Xiao a headache.
Not only that, but a new task from the Reincarnation Paradise also appeared after the Left Minister's proposal.
[Trigger Side Quest: Left Minister's Collectibles]
Left Minister's Collectibles
Difficulty Level: LV.2.
Task Description: The Left Minister has a wealth of collectibles, and everything of value will catch this greedy old man's eye.
Task Information: Kill the owner of Kolbo Mountain and obtain its teeth. (Owner of Kolbo Mountain: A fierce beast from the pirate world, a giant feline creature.)
Task Deadline: Within 10 hours.
Task Reward: Position of guard leader.
Failure Penalty: Expulsion from the guard team and being wanted for unfounded charges.
Su Xiao understood what the owner of Kolbo Mountain was—a huge tiger that almost killed young Luffy.
He sighed. After entering the pirate world, the opponents he encountered were too strong, which left Su Xiao feeling helpless.
One day, he would wield his long knife and kill his way through, definitely not like now, being so timid.
But the pirate world was too dangerous; he didn’t even have the qualification to fight desperately.
He was still too weak. Before becoming strong, he had to learn to endure properly.
The owner of Kolbo Mountain was strong, at least not something Su Xiao could confront head-on right now. But no matter how strong it was, it was just a beast.
Not being able to confront it head-on didn’t mean Su Xiao couldn’t kill that tiger.
(End of Chapter)