Chapter 50: Arrest Him
Walking out of the warehouse, Su Xiao brought Bubu Wang, Amu, and several dozen Awakeners as they rushed toward the Execution Agency headquarters. Among the four locations, he had only found one Eye Room, which was already a decent gain.
By the time Su Xiao returned to his office at the Execution Agency, Madam Nancy's body had long been removed, the bloodstains on the floor cleaned up, leaving only the bullet holes on the desk.
Not long after Su Xiao returned to the Execution Agency, news came from Hank's side: no results. Not a single Eye Room, not even a single Wraith found.
Half an hour later, Reinhardt sent word that he had found an Eye Room beneath the hospital's basement and asked Su Xiao whether he should notify the Parliament Palace directly.
The follow-up handling of the Eye Rooms was always left to that red-haired man. Su Xiao didn't know how he dealt with them, and Harold hadn't said. Su Xiao wasn't interested either. Based on his speculation, this was likely a side quest, or even a hidden quest.
With the current Ghost Ring organization, Sin, Mr. J, and the others, Su Xiao already had his hands full. If he got involved in side quests or hidden quests, the situation would only worsen, especially since his injuries hadn't healed yet.
"Pass this to Reinhardt: notify the Parliament Palace of that Eye Room's location, but it must be Harold's directly subordinate unit."
"Understood."
The Awakener who had come to deliver the message hurriedly left. A few minutes later, Su Xiao received two messages from the Reincarnation Paradise.
[The Hunter has informed Monarch Harold of the locations of Eye Rooms (Ten, Fourteen). You have gained 6% World Source.]
[Promotion Quest: Sixteen Eye Rooms, completed (7/16). The Hunter may complete this quest with a Medium evaluation. Yes/No.]
Closing the Reincarnation Paradise notifications, Su Xiao waited in the office for news from Ges.
The office was quiet in the dead of night. As time passed, about half an hour later, Su Xiao stood up from the sofa.
There was still no news from Ges. Hank and Reinhardt hadn't returned to the Execution Agency headquarters either. After working together for a while, the three had developed a mutual understanding and would likely reinforce each other.
Thump, thump, thump.
A knock came at the door. Hank pushed it open and walked in, his expression grim.
"Sir, Ges is missing."
"Missing?"
Su Xiao's eyes showed confusion. Even if Ges had died in battle, he wouldn't be too surprised—the Execution Agency was that kind of place, a department that fought against Wraiths.
"Yes, sir. No body was found. There were signs of a fight at the scene. According to Ges's subordinates, they encountered a small squad of Wraiths. The battle went smoothly, and nothing seemed unusual when they cleaned up the battlefield. But when they were about to return, Ges's herald discovered he was missing."
Hank's expression remained unchanged. In his years of service, he had witnessed countless colleagues die or go missing.
"Search. If he's dead, find the body. And we must find the Spore Gate. If it goes too long without a host, it will transform into a plant-like state and assimilate nearby civilians."
"Understood."
Old Hank was about to leave the office when Reinhardt walked in.
"Sir, we found Ges."
"Where?"
"At his home. The situation is... somewhat unusual."
"Let's go. Bring 300 Awakeners. No, 500."
Su Xiao threw on his long leather coat and strode out of the office. The Awakeners waiting in the courtyard below had been ready for a while. They weren't as orderly as a military unit, since most Awakeners fought in small squads.
Su Xiao led the group out of the Execution Agency. Fortunately, it was midnight, or else they would have alarmed the civilians in the nearby streets—most Awakeners didn't exactly look like upstanding citizens.
Half a kilometer from the Execution Agency headquarters, Gulu sat atop a bell tower, her legs dangling and swinging as she held a telescope.
"Damn, does he really need that many underlings? Just because he's a Legion Commander, he thinks he's so great?"
Gulu, who had originally come to extort a favor, was a bit frustrated. Su Xiao's mission was about the Eye Rooms, and most Contractors in Zuer City knew that. They weren't blind—the Awakeners searching for Eye Rooms every day were far too conspicuous.
"Forget it, I'll sell the Eye Room to the other side. Their offer isn't bad either."
With a few leaps, Gulu disappeared into the night.
...
Su Xiao led the group through over a dozen blocks before reaching Ges's home. It was almost at the edge of the city. Although Ges was an Awakener, he had no habit of saving money—a typical spendthrift—so he still lived in his old family home in the old district.
Ges's home was a standalone two-story civilian house, allocated after serving the Execution Agency for a year. Behind it was a civilian cemetery, to the left a river, and to the right a large livestock farming area. The environment wasn't great, but it was far from civilian residences, a precaution to prevent Ges from going berserk if his Awakening level got too high.
In front of Ges's house, Old Hank stepped up to knock. He had the best personal relationship with Ges.
Thump! Thump! Thump!
The door frame trembled. If Hank used any more force, he would shatter the wooden door.
"Ges, stop playing dead. I know you're in there. Abandoning your post..."
Hank stopped mid-sentence, perhaps realizing that saying that wasn't quite appropriate.
"Break the door."
Su Xiao's voice came through. Hank stepped back two paces, ready to kick it in.
Inside the living room of the civilian house, it was pitch black. Ges, sitting on the floor, shuddered.
"Sir is here? Huh? Who's sir? Ku, ku, lin? Who's that?"
Ges fell silent in the darkness for a moment before suddenly speaking.
Outside the door, just as Hank was about to kick it in, Ges's voice came from inside.
"Hank, I'm tired. I ran into enemies earlier and got badly injured. I already sent someone to inform Reinhardt. Didn't he pass it on to you?"
Ges's voice sounded weak from behind the door. Hank, who was about to kick, stopped and looked at Su Xiao with a questioning gaze.
Su Xiao didn't speak. He just made a gesture. The Awakeners behind him spread out, gradually surrounding the two-story house.
"You all go back first. I should be fine after a good sleep. The Spore Gate can speed up injury recovery. Besides, I'm not in a good state right now—I might get triggered easily. You know the consequences. So let me have a quiet night. Tomorrow morning, I'll definitely report to headquarters. Once I have 10,000 Gold Le, I'm going to get ten, no, fifty women, hahaha."
Ges's voice was very close; he was right at the door. Old Hank sneered at Ges's words. From what he knew, Ges, with his face full of scars, had never even touched a woman's hand.
"Come out."
Su Xiao spoke with half-lidded eyes. Hearing his voice, Ges inside the door lowered his head.
"Sir, I... I'll recover soon. I definitely will. Mm, definitely. Believe me. Don't you trust me? I'm Ges. The Ges you personally selected. Give me ten hours, no, five hours."
As soon as Ges finished speaking, Su Xiao stepped forward and kicked the door with a crack. Ges inside leaped back with a whoosh.
Through the doorway, Su Xiao saw Ges in the darkness. He still retained a human form, but his body was covered in fine, dense black scales, and a lizard-like tail trailed behind him.
"Sir, I... accidentally ended up like this."
Ges grinned in the darkness, revealing a mouthful of sharp fangs.
"How many fingers is this?"
Su Xiao held up two fingers.
"Huh?"
Ges stared blankly at Su Xiao and took two steps back.
"Answer within three seconds, or today will be your death anniversary."
"Two. It's two."
Ges's hands trembled slightly, as if he was fighting something.
Hearing Ges's answer, Su Xiao reached over and took a set of keys from the wall beside the doorway.
"These are keys."
Ges answered preemptively, his desperate gaze seeming to say, "Sir, I may have turned into a monster, but I'm not an idiot."
"Woof."
Bubu Wang barked, looking at Ges in surprise, as if to say, "This kid is so scared he's answering before being asked."
"He hasn't lost his self-awareness, but he has indeed demonized."
Su Xiao frowned. From what he knew, after an Awakener demonized, they should lose their self-awareness, giving birth to a new demon personality.
Ges's situation was clearly somewhat special. He seemed to be half-demonized, because demons were all half-energy beings, half-physical entities.
"Arrest him."
The moment Su Xiao finished speaking, the wall behind him shattered as a horde of ferocious Awakeners charged into the house.
"I don't want to be dissected for research!!"
Ges roared, then was surrounded.
The house was quickly leveled. 316 Awakeners vs. Ges. In less than 20 seconds, Ges was bound with over a dozen loops of arm-thick iron chains, his gaping maw stuffed with sweaters, socks, and the like.
"Mmph! Mmph!"
A 'desperate' Ges was carried away. Su Xiao glanced at him. Clearly, this poor kid needed treatment. As for whether it would succeed, that was up to fate. There was a 50% chance or more of failure. Even if successful, Ges would at most retain his mental clarity. Returning to human form was utterly impossible.
If Ges were given a choice between accepting Su Xiao's treatment and dying here, he might choose the latter.