Chapter 51: J
Execution Agency Headquarters, Second Floor, Medical Room.
As the medical room of a special department, the equipment here was no less than that of a hospital, after all, awakened individuals were a high-risk profession; if rescue wasn't timely, they might die from severe injuries.
On a reinforced operating table—no, this was originally a workshop processing table, temporarily moved here an hour ago—Gess was currently lying on the table, looking drowsy.
"Sir, I feel like I can... return to normal on my own."
Gess made a final struggle.
"No, you can't."
As he spoke, Su Xiao administered another injection to Gess.
Whirr~
The quantum cutting saw spun at high speed. As surgical assistants, Bubu Wang and Amu were huddled in the corner, trembling.
"Bubu, continue injecting Gess with anesthetic."
"Brrr brrr brrr..."
Bubu Wang's teeth chattered, almost hugging Amu, as if to say: "Master, this dog is scared."
The surgery proceeded methodically, but before long, Gess regained consciousness again.
"S-s-s-s-sir, is that... my stomach?"
"No, you're seeing things."
With another injection from Su Xiao, Gess's eyes rolled back, and he fell asleep.
...
Eight in the morning. A slightly weary Su Xiao leaned on the sofa in his office. At the center of the office stood a two-meter-tall metal cage made of lead-zinc alloy, extremely sturdy.
Reinhardt and Hank were both in the office. Hank was crouching in front of the metal cage, looking at Gess, who was snoring loudly inside. Gess was still covered in black scales, his long tail poking out of the cage. In Bubu Wang's words, it felt like Gess now resembled Venom.
"Sir, what is Gess now?"
Hank spoke. He had the best personal relationship with Gess and was the most worried about him.
"I don't know why, but he only half-demonized. The demon's consciousness has already emerged, but it hasn't reached the point where Gess loses his rationality."
Su Xiao glanced at Gess. No one knew when he might continue demonizing. This situation wasn't unprecedented. According to Execution Agency records, demonization was an irreversible process. Cases where demonization stopped halfway while retaining self-awareness weren't unique, but without exception, all these individuals completed full demonization within one day to two years.
"Gess."
Su Xiao called out. Gess inside the metal cage suddenly woke up, opened his gaping maw, and yawned. Clearly, the average appearance of the No-Eye Squad had drastically decreased. This wasn't just a group of villains anymore; there was also a monster.
"Hmm? Is it time to eat..."
Seeing the cage around him, Gess sighed.
"I'll give you two choices. One, be imprisoned in the Imperial Madhouse. Two..."
"I choose two."
Gess's answer was exceptionally firm.
"Two is to continue serving in the Execution Agency. You and Hank will be a team. Whether to release you in battle will be his judgment."
With that, Su Xiao leaned back on the sofa, waiting for Gess's response.
"What if I suddenly demonize? Is there a way that, even if I suddenly demonize, Hank can easily kill me in a short time?"
"Don't worry, it's already implanted inside you."
"Uh..."
Gess was speechless. This was very much in line with the Execution Agency's style.
Gess's half-demonization wasn't a good thing. In terms of combat power, Gess wasn't much stronger than before.
As for the process of Gess's attack, Su Xiao had already heard from him. It was Mr. J. After discovering Gess's half-demonization, he left without killing him. This puzzled Su Xiao, so he implanted Hashirama cells into Gess—ultra-high-concentration Hashirama cells, tightly sealed. At that concentration, even if implanted into Hashirama himself, the recipient might undergo mutation.
Su Xiao wanted to know what Mr. J was planning. If the other party wanted to create a monster, then he would create something even more terrifying. Knowledge was power, especially alchemical knowledge.
Seven eye chambers had been found. The remaining nine had almost no leads. After so much time, the eye chambers had become mobile. Unless he had incredible luck, finding the other eye chambers would be very difficult.
Su Xiao glanced at the mission deadline. There were 46 hours and 28 minutes left, less than two days. The time seemed ample, but it wasn't.
The Joshua family and Madam Nancy had all been dragged out by Su Xiao. This meant the leads for finding the eye chambers were cut off. Everything that could be found had been found. The method of finding the eye chambers had returned to the starting point: casting a wide net. In that case, two days weren't much.
Just as Su Xiao was about to close the mission prompt, the mission deadline time suddenly jumped.
Remaining mission deadline: 45 hours 27 minutes.
Su Xiao clearly saw that the deadline had decreased by one hour. He picked up the pocket watch on the desk.
Click. The minute hand jumped. One minute passed.
Remaining mission deadline: 44 hours 23 minutes.
Su Xiao confirmed that the mission deadline was decreasing at a rate of one hour per minute. This situation could only be caused by Sin or some plan set by Mr. J.
That plan had succeeded, causing the remaining nine eye chambers to activate rapidly. At this rate, within an hour, the remaining eye chambers would be fully activated.
After a moment of hesitation, Su Xiao decided to complete the mission. Every hour the deadline decreased would reduce his mission evaluation.
[Hunter has completed the promotion mission: Sixteen Eye Chambers (Second Ring).]
[Mission completion rate under review...]
[Review complete. Hunter receives 'Legendary Chest: Speed × 1'.]
[The final phase of the promotion mission will commence in 43 minutes.]
...
Just as Su Xiao completed the second ring of the promotion mission, a loud crash came from outside the window. He quickly walked to the window and saw a pitch-black pillar of light shooting up from the east side of the city through the glass.
"Bring him."
Su Xiao quickly ran out of the office. Old Hank opened his mouth, while Gess inside the metal cage wore a mischievous grin. His greatest strength was his optimism.
"Sir told you to bring me."
"Yeah, I know."
Hank lifted the metal cage.
"Hey, hey, hey, Hank, what are you... wait!"
With a crash, glass shards and concrete fragments flew. Hank threw the metal cage directly out the window, smashing a large hole in the office wall.
Su Xiao, Bubu Wang, and Amu had just rushed downstairs when they saw Gess sitting inside the metal cage, looking utterly bewildered.
"Sir, what a coincidence. Fancy meeting you again."
"Amu, carry him on your back."
"Um, I could actually drag the cage myself... wait, I..."
...
Over ten minutes later, Su Xiao arrived near the pitch-black pillar of light. The pillar was at least five meters thick, yet it didn't give Su Xiao a very dangerous feeling.
Jumping into a hole in the ground, Su Xiao found the source of the black light pillar in a basement. It was an energy emission device, with a Soul Crystal (Small) installed below.
The moment he saw this, Su Xiao prepared to use his Dragon Shadow Flash ability. This was also why he dared to enter here rashly.
"Old friend, we're in the same world again."
A voice that was hard to distinguish as male or female came through. The energy emission device on the ground projected an image on the wall—a recording of Mr. J.
In the recording, Mr. J sat on a wooden chair, wearing a metal mask, with his hands crossed in front of him.
"You're still the same as before. You're used to finding a faction and quickly rising through force."
Mr. J's voice was calm, with a tone like that of an "old friend" not seen for a long time—except it was the kind where one of them would die.
.。m.