Chapter 11: One Day
The next morning, Su Xiao woke up early.
After washing up and putting on his guard uniform, Su Xiao arrived at the guard headquarters.
Before he even entered, he saw a large group of guards coming and going inside the headquarters, their expressions hurried.
"Hurry, Lord Oka has been murdered. This incident has alarmed the Left Minister. That noble has ordered a city-wide search for the culprit."
Hanke directed the mass of guards with a 'grieved' expression, but his eyes revealed something called ambition, giving off the impression that with Oka dead, he was now the boss.
Su Xiao noticed two guards standing at the entrance of the headquarters, coldly observing everything. These two were the ones who had followed behind Oka last night. Needless to say, they were Oka's trusted confidants.
Hanke's actions might have already aroused their suspicion, but this was indeed an opportunity. If handled properly, Hanke might also be able to replace Oka's position.
The guard team wasn't a very large department. Apart from Oka, everyone else was just an ordinary guard. Oka himself was essentially just a captain-level figure.
As for the position of squad leader, the guard team had never had one. Not only would it consume extra funds, but Oka also wouldn't allow his authority to be divided. Yesterday, Su Xiao had already witnessed Oka's arrogant personality.
The reason Su Xiao killed Oka wasn't because the latter had put on a bossy attitude in front of him.
He urgently needed to improve his status quickly. With Oka alive, there simply wasn't a suitable position available.
As for the interior of the royal palace, Su Xiao didn't understand it, and he didn't want to get involved.
The simpler the plan, the fewer loopholes there were. He only needed a position that would allow him to contact the king and climb up quickly.
Tomorrow was the day the waste terminal was to be burned down. The royal palace naturally wouldn't get its hands dirty with such an unsavory task; it would only send lower-level people to do it.
Su Xiao had investigated. There were two factions of guard forces within the royal capital: one was the guard team responsible for the capital's public security, and the other was the gate guard team responsible for guarding the city gates.
Generally speaking, this kind of task should be handled by the gate guard team. However, when choosing weapons in the warehouse earlier, Su Xiao had seen a large amount of explosives.
Based on the clues in the warehouse, Su Xiao judged that those explosives had been stored there not long ago. As for their purpose, it went without saying.
To ignite a waste terminal of considerable size, simply setting fires wouldn't be enough.
Therefore, Su Xiao needed the position of guard captain. As for whether he could meet the king, that depended on his own actions.
"Hanke, what happened?"
Hanke, who was directing the crowd, turned his head 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 see the Left Minister immediately."
A chill ran down Su Xiao's spine. See the Left Minister? This Hanke might not have good intentions. He had only become a guard yesterday, which was undoubtedly a weakness. Was he trying to make him a scapegoat? Unlikely.
Already beginning to think about how to deal with Hanke, Su Xiao put on a smile.
"The Left Minister? That kind of big shot wants to see me?"
Su Xiao pretended to be puzzled, but his eyes were fixed on Hanke.
"Yes, the Left Minister wants to see you. As for the specific reason, I don't know either."
Hanke showed an envious expression, even a hint of jealousy.
This sudden good news surprised Su Xiao. He had no connection with the high-ranking officials of the royal palace. The only thing that might create a link was... that letter of recommendation? It seemed that letter was far more important than he had imagined.
Following Hanke through several blocks, Su Xiao arrived in front of a courtyard. A luxurious villa came into his view.
Hanke looked a bit nervous and walked forward cautiously. Two guards at the entrance stopped him.
"Is this the person the noble wants to see?"
Hanke quickly nodded. The two guards confiscated Hanke's weapons. As for Su Xiao, all his weapons were in his storage space; the guards couldn't possibly find them.
A guard led the way, and Su Xiao entered a large hall.
Inside the hall, a family was having breakfast. An old man with white hair and a stern expression sat at the head of the table.
Upon seeing Hanke, the old man casually put down his food, gestured for the others to leave, leaving only a robust man standing behind him.
That robust man gave Su Xiao an extremely dangerous feeling. Although the man was unarmed, Su Xiao noticed the thick calluses on his knuckles and the flattened bones of his fists.
This was a master of physical combat, the personal bodyguard of that old man.
"You're called Hanke, right? Is this the new guard?"
The old man spoke at a slow pace, his demeanor calm, the mark of someone in a position of great power.
"Yes, yes, sir."
Hanke was already struggling to speak, very nervous.
"You may leave."
The old man might have been somewhat dissatisfied with Hanke's nervousness, not even looking at him directly.
Hanke kept his head down, retreating all the way to the door before disappearing from Su Xiao's sight.
"I am the Left Minister of the kingdom. Carlos presented me with many interesting collectibles. As his nephew, I should have looked after you.
Unfortunately, Carlos's trip out of the city yesterday was very unsuccessful, and my collectibles fell through. I can't find him, so of course, I look for his nephew, which is you."
Su Xiao guessed the gist of the matter.
Carlos was the black market merchant he had killed yesterday. After Carlos's death, this Left Minister's 'tribute' fell through. Unable to find Carlos, the Left Minister came to Su Xiao to fill the gap.
That black market merchant was really unlucky. Not only did he have to be exploited by the gate guard team, but he also had to pay tribute to this Left Minister.
Judging by the current situation, the other party wanted him to take Carlos's place in acquiring goods.
Su Xiao didn't understand the details of their transaction. If it weren't for the protection behind the other party, Su Xiao would have already subdued this Left Minister.
But this opportunity to get close to the kingdom's high-ranking officials was rare.
"The collectibles are no problem. I know all of my uncle's channels. He was seriously injured yesterday and is recuperating, but..."
The Left Minister raised an eyebrow, looked directly at Su Xiao, and said:
"If you can get me the collectibles I need, you can name your conditions. I heard your captain died yesterday. Get this done, and I'll make you the guard captain."
Half an hour later, Su Xiao left the Left Minister's courtyard and strolled through the streets.
Things were progressing fairly smoothly, but the conditions the Left Minister had set gave Su Xiao a bit of a headache.
Not only that, but after the Left Minister stated his conditions, Reincarnation Paradise also issued a new mission.
[Triggered Side Mission: The Left Minister's Collection]
The Left Minister's Collection
Difficulty Level: LV.2.
Mission Brief: The Left Minister's collection is very rich. All valuable collectibles will be coveted by this greedy old man.
Mission Information: Kill the master of Mount Colpo and obtain its tooth. (Master of Mount Colpo: A ferocious beast of the pirate world, a large feline creature.)
Mission Time Limit: 10 hours.
Mission Reward: Guard Captain identity.
Failure Penalty: Expelled from the guard team and wanted on trumped-up charges.
....
Su Xiao knew what the master of Mount Colpo was. It was a massive tiger that had nearly killed a young Luffy.
Letting out a long sigh, after entering the pirate world, the opponents he had encountered were all too strong. This left Su Xiao feeling somewhat helpless.
One day, he would charge through with his long blade, never having to be as cautious and restrained as he was now.
But the pirate world was too dangerous. He didn't even have the qualification to fight for his life.
He was still too weak. Before becoming strong, he had to learn to endure appropriately.
The master of Mount Colpo was strong, at least not something Su Xiao could face head-on right now. But no matter how strong, it was still just a beast.
Being unable to face it head-on didn't mean Su Xiao couldn't kill that tiger.
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