Chapter 32: Orphan, Abyss
Seven Soul Crystals (Complete) + Soul Shackles. Without a doubt, these 450 Codex Merits were well spent. The value of Soul Crystals goes without saying. As for Soul Shackles, this item is perfect for dealing with powerful enemies.
Less than five minutes after Su Xiao exchanged for the Ghost's Treasure, he noticed that [Greed] on the Codex had disappeared.
Greed: Requires 420 Codex Merits. Basic Reward: Random Epic Equipment. Upper Limit Reward: ???
...
Who exchanged it, Su Xiao vaguely guessed: the National Football Team, Gulu, or that healer who blended holiness and sin. Of course, these few were just the most suspicious.
He had only missed Ghost's Treasure by a step. Clearly, Su Xiao's decision to abandon the Immortal King Codex Card was a wise one.
Having rested enough, Su Xiao stood up and walked out of the villa. The rain was still drizzling, and the weather was quite cold.
Su Xiao had dispatched at least 80% of the Awakened from the Execution Agency, leaving only a small portion at headquarters to avoid any unexpected incidents, as there were still very dangerous things underground in the headquarters.
...
Early the next morning, the city, washed by the rain all night, was clean. The air was filled with the scent of soil, and the streets and alleys gradually became lively.
"So cold."
Bonnie tightened her clothes and sneezed.
"This kind of searching isn't a good method. You should know that."
Bonnie, who had been frozen all night in the rain, was full of resentment. Coupled with her experience of falling into the river in the middle of the night, she was even more depressed.
"Do you have a way?"
Su Xiao spoke.
"Uh... no..."
"Then think of a way, or I'll transfer you to Hank's team."
"Absolutely not! I feel like that old man wants to eat me. Actually, well... it's not like there's no way at all..."
"Speak."
Su Xiao's gaze turned to Bonnie. He was currently in the southeastern corner of Zul City. Conservatively estimated, the city's population was over six million. Searching house by house would take too long, and the Eye Chambers weren't necessarily set up in civilian residences.
"It's like this. Since the Eye Chamber's ultimate goal is to absorb 'life energy,' uh, no, biological energy, then you can compare it to a water pump. Biological energy is the water. Zul City has millions of people. Those so-called sixteen Eye Chambers can't possibly absorb all the biological energy, right? So..."
Bonnie was halfway through her explanation when Su Xiao suddenly raised his hand to interrupt her and took the map from her hand.
Bonnie was smart, no doubt, but her thinking wasn't broad enough, or rather, her understanding wasn't ruthless enough. In Su Xiao's view, if he were Sin, he would definitely make the Eye Chambers affect the entire Zul City. Even if he couldn't affect the entire city, he would include the Parliament Palace. Once the Empire's power system collapsed, the Nether Ghosts might very well become the masters of this continent. Similar changes had happened twice before.
Based on his memory, Su Xiao found Yur's residence on the map. Yur was Monarch Harold's sister-in-law.
After drawing a circle on the map, a smile appeared on Su Xiao's face. This place wasn't far from the Parliament Palace. If his deduction was correct, as long as he found the locations of three Eye Chambers, the others would no longer be difficult to find.
Just then, Ges hurried over, whispered a few words to Su Xiao, and quickly left.
"Found an Eye Chamber?"
Bonnie crossed her arms and rubbed her shoulders. She had an instinctive fear of the Eye Chambers. The feeling they gave was too disgusting, not physically, but mentally. The countless eyeballs of various sizes, slimy and rotating—the specific scene was easy to imagine.
"Didn't find one, but I found solid evidence of the Joshua Family colluding with the Ghost Ring."
Su Xiao grabbed Bonnie's sneaky little hand that was reaching into his pocket to pull out gold coins.
"Oh? Really? No! Wait... the Joshua Family? Sir Eddie's family?"
Bonnie snatched the map and started pulling at her hair again.
"The Joshua Family funded the construction of hospitals, orphanages, and the Aberrant Beast Auction House."
Su Xiao spoke first. Bonnie's expression twisted. This was her discovery, but Su Xiao said it first, which made her very uncomfortable.
Su Xiao had been wondering before. Sir Eddie, a big drug lord, suddenly had a change of heart? Building so many charitable institutions and public facilities? Now it seemed it wasn't due to a change of heart.
17 hospitals, 35 orphanages, 3 Aberrant Beast Auction Houses—these places all had other purposes.
The Aberrant Beast Auction Houses were used to collect the eyeballs of Aberrant Beasts. Over 90% of the eyeballs in the Eye Chambers came from various Aberrant Beasts, with the rest being human, Nether Ghost, etc.
The hospitals were used to store eyeballs. After all, relying on those Nether Ghosts to preserve eyeballs was too unreliable. Moreover, hospitals could collect human eyeballs with low risk.
As for the orphanages, did they even need to be thought about? Of course, they were used to hide the Eye Chambers. The orphanages built by Sir Eddie were distributed throughout the city, with the beautiful slogan: "Let all wandering children have a place to belong."
Although children are curious, their judgment is weaker than adults. Besides, even if those children discovered the existence of the Eye Chambers, they could be easily silenced. No one would pay too much attention to the life or death of these orphans.
An even more brutal speculation was that the 35 orphanages had been providing fresh meat to the high-ranking Nether Ghosts for a long time. Everyone in the Execution Agency knew that Nether Ghosts preferred the flesh of children.
Thinking of this, Su Xiao glanced at Bonnie. A little loli with delicate skin and tender flesh like her could fetch a high price among the Nether Ghosts.
"I feel like you're thinking about something bad. The malice is so strong."
Bonnie handed the map back to Su Xiao. She had already marked all the orphanages, hospitals, etc., under Sir Eddie's name.
"As long as Sin's brain hasn't been knocked out of whack by me, the Ghost Ring has probably already moved the Eye Chambers. The new locations shouldn't be too far. Use these orphanages as 'radiation points' for the search."
Soon, Ges, Hank, and Reinhardt were recalled. The status of these three within the Execution Agency was now different from before. Under Lady Nancy, these were the three. All three were Su Xiao's adjutants.
An hour later, each of the three led several hundred people to search those 35 areas. That afternoon, the first Eye Chamber was found.
...
This was an Eye Chamber located in a civilian residence. As soon as Su Xiao entered the hallway, a pungent smell of blood hit him. Bonnie beside him completed the three actions of bending over, covering her mouth, and turning to run, then began dry heaving on the lawn outside the house.
The hallway was filled with broken limbs and minced flesh. The blood splattered on the walls hadn't cooled yet. This was the risk of becoming an Awakened.
Su Xiao pushed open the slightly ajar door, and that nauseating, filthy energy surged out.
This was a thirty-square-meter living room. The furniture had been cleared away. On the floor was a dark red magic circle. The surrounding walls were covered with eyeballs, all rotating irregularly, sending chills down one's spine.
[Tip: The Hunter has located Eye Chamber (Seven).]
[If you notify Monarch Harold of this Eye Chamber's location, you will receive 3% World Source.]
[If you notify Councilman Jones of this Eye Chamber's location, you will receive the Codex: Eye of Death (1/16), and the promotion mission will be altered.]
After some observation, Su Xiao noticed that the eyeballs on the walls were half-open, which was different from what he had seen last time. Recalling that the Eye Chamber would automatically relocate after being attacked, he couldn't help but speculate that this Eye Chamber had likely been moved once recently. Did the half-open state mean this Eye Chamber couldn't be moved for the time being?
After a moment of hesitation, the crystal layer climbed up Su Xiao's right arm, and he punched the eyeball on the wall.
Bang!
Energy ripples spread. An eyeball the size of a fist was blown up. All the eyeballs in the room turned to look at Su Xiao, staring fixedly.
At that moment, Su Xiao felt a chill run down his spine. His instinct told him that he couldn't continue to destroy this Eye Chamber, or the consequences would be very serious. Even if he didn't die, he would suffer a very strong backlash or erosion.
Although this punch was very risky, it also allowed Su Xiao to obtain a very important piece of information: the Eye Chambers could not be continuously relocated in a short period of time, and before mastering the correct method, one could not rashly destroy an Eye Chamber. This was very dangerous.