Chapter 17: Initial Success
After returning to the royal capital, Su Xiao went directly to the Left Minister's residence.
Inside the study, the Left Minister was examining the few tiger fangs.
"Mm, correct, very good." The Left Minister put away the tiger fangs and looked at Su Xiao meaningfully.
"I didn't expect you to actually pull it off. That tiger wasn't too strong, but hiding in the Colpo Mountains made it very hard to hunt. You're more capable than your uncle, so from now on, you'll take his place."
In just a few words, Su Xiao had replaced the black market merchant's position. This showed how fickle the Left Minister was—the black market merchant's previous tributes were already forgotten.
"The mission is complete. I plan to take over the position of Guard Captain today. What do you think, Left Minister~?"
Su Xiao looked at the Left Minister. Given this old bastard's cold nature, going back on his word wasn't out of the question.
"Guard Captain? What are you talking about? I never said—"
The Left Minister's words cut off abruptly. His cunning old eyes suddenly began to dim.
[The Left Minister has violated the Reincarnation Paradise regulations. Reincarnation Paradise is forcibly correcting...]
A cold voice appeared in Su Xiao's ear. This was the first time he heard the voice of Reincarnation Paradise.
It was a mechanical sound, utterly devoid of emotional fluctuation, cold and revealing cruelty.
After a very brief silence, the Left Minister continued, "Since you've completed the mission, the position of Guard Captain is yours. I'll go to the royal palace shortly to arrange it. In an hour, you'll be the current Guard Captain."
The Left Minister's tone was stiff and contradictory, which puzzled the guards behind him.
Su Xiao carefully observed the Left Minister. The other's abnormality was definitely related to Reincarnation Paradise.
Su Xiao had already guessed that the Left Minister wouldn't keep his promise. The reason he hunted the master of Colpo Mountain was entirely because Reincarnation Paradise had issued the mission.
So far, although Reincarnation Paradise appeared very cold and emotionless, it had never broken its word.
Cold and cruel, but fair—that was Su Xiao's impression of Reincarnation Paradise.
So Su Xiao also wanted to test what would happen if the Left Minister defaulted.
After all, the reward for his side mission was the [Guard Captain] identity.
From the current situation, Reincarnation Paradise chose to directly control the Left Minister, forcibly granting the mission reward.
As for what would happen to the Left Minister afterward, that was hard to say. Maybe he'd recover later, or maybe he'd become an idiot?
Not only that, Su Xiao had been puzzled about one thing before: was the One Piece world he was in a real world, or a world fabricated by Reincarnation Paradise?
If it was a world fabricated by Reincarnation Paradise, the Left Minister would be equivalent to an NPC role and would never break a promise.
From the current situation, this was very likely a real world. At least everything Su Xiao encountered felt very real.
So-called [Derivative Worlds] might originate from people's imaginations and eventually become real worlds.
Leaving the Left Minister's residence, Su Xiao began to think about how to assassinate the king.
Although he was now the Guard Captain, this identity wouldn't help him meet the king. Even if he did, he couldn't assassinate him directly.
The king must be heavily guarded. Even if Su Xiao succeeded in assassinating him with a one-in-ten-thousand chance, he would die in the process.
Earlier, Reincarnation Paradise had warned that if he died in the One Piece world, he would die permanently, with no second chance.
It seemed Su Xiao was in a deadlock, but that wasn't the case. He already had the capital to assassinate the king.
To successfully assassinate the king, two points were most critical. First, infiltrating the royal palace—Su Xiao had never worried about that.
Second, luring away the king's guards—that was the most critical point.
The king's personal guards must be very strong. Under what circumstances could those close guards be lured away?
That would be when a powerful enemy appeared in the royal palace, and that enemy might threaten the king's safety. The guards would have no choice but to take the initiative.
That would be Su Xiao's moment to act.
As for the king's own strength, Su Xiao wasn't worried. If the king were very strong, the possibility of completing the mission would be too low. The main mission's difficulty couldn't be only LV.3.
As for where to find a powerful enemy that could threaten the king, that depended on the burning of the Waste Disposal Terminal.
That was why he worked hard to obtain the Guard Captain identity—simply to gain decision-making power over the burning of the Waste Disposal Terminal.
Although the nobles of the Goa Kingdom didn't treat the refugees outside the city as human, they wouldn't entrust the burning of the Waste Disposal Terminal to a kingdom department either.
The reason was simple: that would tarnish the kingdom's image.
Therefore, the burning of the Waste Disposal Terminal would only be entrusted to some black forces. In the One Piece world, black forces were nothing more than pirates from nearby seas.
Some large pirate groups in the nearby seas had already received news that the Goa Kingdom had a big deal. If done well, they could obtain noble status.
Noble status had a fatal allure to those desperados. Most people became pirates out of necessity.
So several pirate groups had already arrived in the seas near the Goa Kingdom, waiting for this opportunity.
Tonight, the Goa Kingdom would choose one of these pirate groups to burn the Waste Disposal Terminal tomorrow night.
As the armed force within the royal capital, Su Xiao's current identity was responsible for contacting and negotiating with those pirates.
If he used his current identity well, he would definitely have a chance to successfully assassinate the king.
According to the original plot, the king never intended to grant noble status to those pirates; he was just using them.
While Su Xiao was thinking, he had already returned to the Guard Headquarters.
Compared to a day ago, the Guard Headquarters was now in chaos.
The guards standing at the door had disappeared. After entering the Guard Headquarters, Su Xiao saw over a dozen guards gambling in the main hall, and even a few gathered together drinking.
The smell of cheap tobacco, alcohol, and sweat filled the hall.
There was no boss here anymore. Although Su Xiao was now the boss here, he wouldn't bother managing those guards.
He just needed his current identity. What happened to the Guard Headquarters had nothing to do with him.
Arriving at Oka's former office, Su Xiao pushed the door open.
There were three people in the office: Hank and Oka's two trusted subordinates.
Hank was sitting on the sofa, while Oka's two trusted subordinates stood on either side of Oka's chair. The three were in a standoff, but no one dared to sit in that chair.
Su Xiao's entry into the office surprised the three.
Hank didn't speak, but Oka's two trusted subordinates spoke up.
"Is this the place for you? Get out!"
Su Xiao lowered his eyelids, not even looking at them. He walked to Oka's seat and sat down directly.
"You bastard, is this seat for you? Who do you think you are—"
One of Oka's trusted subordinates walked toward Su Xiao with a furious expression.
"Scram. You're no longer a guard. You have one minute to disappear."
Su Xiao still didn't look at him. He was thinking about his next move. Trash like this wasn't worth his time.
That trusted subordinate first stood in shock, then looked at Su Xiao with a cold smile.
Just then, the office door was pushed open, and a messenger walked in, holding some documents.
"Mr. White Night, this is your appointment notice as Guard Captain, along with your identification."
The Left Minister's efficiency was faster than expected.
That trusted subordinate froze, staring blankly at Su Xiao.
"You two don't need to leave. Stay here forever."
Su Xiao looked at Oka's two subordinates. Hank, standing nearby, had a rapid change of mind and shouted.
"Everyone downstairs, come up! Congratulate our new boss!"
Hank was very unwilling but had no choice. He didn't dare openly defy the kingdom's orders.
(Plea for recommendation tickets, collections. Yesterday's recommendation tickets were too few, sad (ㄒoㄒ)~~)