# Chapter 2: Is This a Crime of Duty?
The sensation of teleportation washed over Su Xiao. When his vision cleared, he found himself sitting behind an office desk. The natural wood-colored desk still bore faint burn marks, and the all-metal ashtray on top indicated that the office's owner had a smoking habit.
There were many things on the desk: a pocket watch, gold buttons, a folding knife that was clearly no ordinary item, a pocket watch emitting faint mechanical sounds, and... a root carving?
Looking closer, he realized this wasn't a root carving, but the claw of some creature. Having been dried and treated, the claw was pitch black throughout, its skin and muscles long dehydrated. Yet even so, Su Xiao could still sense a faint aura of ferocity from this claw.
The office had a faint scent of grass and wood, and the decor was luxurious. If the Zuer Empire wasn't extremely wealthy, then the Deputy Legion Commander of the Execution Agency whom Su Xiao had replaced was embezzling funds. But displaying ill-gotten wealth in a place visible to others was clearly idiotic behavior, suggesting the Zuer Empire's level of prosperity.
Just then, Su Xiao's head buzzed, and some unfamiliar memories surged forth.
This empire called Zuer had no dangerous neighboring countries. Its citizens were united in purpose. While not everyone could be wealthy, they had escaped the threat of starvation. Transportation was also decent, with trains connecting major cities—old-style trains fueled by coal.
Even so, the Zuer Empire still faced the danger of national collapse, because of the existence of specters, demons, and other malevolent entities. They wouldn't completely exterminate humanity. Both specters and demons had a habit of eating humans—or rather, humans were their main meal. Humans were one of the few intelligent beings in this world (comprising humans, specters, demons, and some aberrant beasts).
The specters and demons didn't eat humans simply for nutritional sustenance. The souls of intelligent beings were what they needed to consume. This was like how humans need vitamins—no problem going without for a short time, but over a long period, death was the only outcome.
So the specters' goal was to overthrow the Zuer Empire, then become the rulers, raising humans like livestock for consumption—not driving humanity to complete extinction.
Though specters seemed terrifying, their situation wasn't good. While they could hide within human society, the Awakened weren't pushovers either, often able to expose them. Suffice to say, being captured alive by an Awakened was a terrifying thing.
Specters could extend their lifespan by eating humans. Humans who ate specters had a chance of becoming Awakened, for reasons unknown. This likely involved the soul level, beyond what this world's technology could research.
**Deputy Legion Commander of the Execution Agency: Li Klaser (replaced via disguise mechanism as Kukulin Bai Ye), suspected of duty crimes, actual power holder of the Execution Agency.**
**Legion Commander: Lady Nancy, royal descendant, primarily responsible for communicating financial issues with other royal descendants—that is, securing "additional" funding for the Execution Agency. Lady Nancy was essentially the Execution Agency's god of wealth. Given her status as a royal descendant, serving as the nominal Legion Commander was perfectly legitimate.**
**Execution Agency: A legion established during wartime. After the war ended, its four subordinate legions were split. Due to situational needs, the Execution Agency's numbers were drastically reduced. In reality, the Execution Agency's combat strength had been replaced with Awakened, responsible for cleaning up or capturing specters and demons within various cities (only responsible for cleanup and capture; investigation of traces was handled by other departments).**
The memories in his mind gradually faded. Su Xiao gently rubbed his forehead. These memories hadn't been forcibly injected into his mind but were viewed in a browsing format. It felt like watching a movie, just a very long and somewhat fragmented one.
"I see... This is asking for death."
Su Xiao picked up the gold button from the desk. The identity he had replaced this time was different from the Iron Hand in the Shia World. Back then, he had no prior understanding of the Iron Hand. This time, he had relevant memories of "Li Klaser"—the Deputy Legion Commander he had replaced. Moreover, due to the disguise mechanism, even the name had been replaced.
The Execution Agency seemed to wield considerable power, but this had to operate within the rules. Three departments oversaw the Execution Agency. Understandably, for a violent institution like the Execution Agency, if the leash wasn't properly secured, the loss wouldn't just be financial.
The problem Su Xiao now needed to solve was clearing himself of the "duty crime" suspicion. Once this was resolved, he could receive significant help in both combat strength and intelligence—especially intelligence, which would be virtually unrestricted.
The content of the duty crime was simple: Not long ago, a royal descendant had gone missing, with many clues pointing to this Deputy Legion Commander.
So-called royal descendants were the offspring of the seventeen former kings who had founded the Zuer Empire. Their descendants naturally received certain privileges, though nothing too exaggerated.
In truth, there was no need to give these royal descendants special privileges. Most of them were extremely wealthy due to special circumstances, and their assets were clean. Thus, they held no low status within the Zuer Empire.
Not to mention killing a royal descendant—even if a commoner died, and without a special mission, this Legion Commander would be dismissed for duty crimes and ultimately imprisoned. After all, this was a world with a complete legal system.
For now, everyone only suspected without clear evidence. But Su Xiao knew the Deputy Legion Commander had indeed done it. He had witnessed the entire process in those memories. The crime scene was this very office, triggered by drunken lust—no, that description wasn't quite accurate.
The Deputy Legion Commander Su Xiao had replaced might have already been teleported out of the Specter World, currently sleeping in some space. This fellow was highly capable, iron-fisted toward enemies, ruthless, cunning, and treated his subordinates well—evident from the Execution Agency's benefits that made other departments drool with envy.
However, this old brother had a flaw: lust. This was a common weakness among men, and Su Xiao didn't claim to be immune. But this old brother was too damn lustful. He had brought the fiancée of that royal descendant into his office. A Deputy Legion Commander capable of slaughtering specters, alone in a room with a twenty-year-old young woman on a dark, windy night—the outcome was predictable.
What was even more bizarre was that the young woman had Stockholm syndrome. She was hopelessly infatuated with this "real man" who had brought her to his office and forcefully had his way with her. The situation gradually became twisted, but that was the truth.
The Deputy Legion Commander actually regretted it deeply. After sobering up, he even considered permanent surgical solutions but ultimately couldn't bear to part with it—after all, it was a symbol of manhood.
Initially, that royal descendant hadn't realized he'd been cuckolded. But his fiancée gradually grew disgusted with his weakness, arousing his suspicion. Then came the tailing.
One night, that royal descendant followed his fiancée to this office—and that was his death sentence. The Deputy Legion Commander was the boss of the Awakened. That royal descendant's tailing skills couldn't fool him at all. In the end, he passed quite peacefully, though the burial site was somewhat remote.
"The body was... disposed of cleanly. But that woman."
The gold button fell from Su Xiao's hand. That Deputy Legion Commander hadn't disposed of the woman. From the emotions in those memories, the Deputy Legion Commander was somewhat reluctant to part with her. Or rather, this Deputy Legion Commander's awakening degree was as high as 86% (corruption degree), making him easily emotional—a secret he absolutely couldn't reveal.
Su Xiao wouldn't be affected by those memories. So the first thing he needed to do was dispose of that young woman with Stockholm syndrome, and quickly. For now, he didn't even have time to carefully examine his promotion mission's content. If he didn't resolve this matter, he might even lose his life.
The Zuer Empire's military power was no joke. Moreover, Su Xiao was located in the capital, Zuer City. Trying to fight his way out of here... was simply impossible.