Chapter 53: Miscalculation
Execution Agency Headquarters, Main Entrance.
Four Awakened stood guard on both sides of the gate. After the incident in Zur City, over 90% of the Awakened within the Execution Agency had rushed to the scene, leaving only the necessary personnel to guard the headquarters.
"I really wish I could go over there with the commander."
A heavily bearded Awakened looked up at the distant sky, where a black pillar of light shot straight into the heavens.
"Don't even think about it. We just need to hold down the 'home front'."
Another Awakened, a skinny young man with a cigarette dangling from his mouth, spoke in a somewhat lazy tone.
"Huh, isn't that... the Legion Commander?"
"Impossible. The Legion Commander must be at the black pillar right now. Huh, actually, it really does look like him. Hey, everyone, stand at attention."
The four Awakened snapped to attention. Some stomped out their cigarettes, others straightened their collars.
'Su Xiao' strode quickly to the main entrance of the Execution Agency. Just as he was about to enter, the skinny Awakened blocked his path.
"Sir, what is this?"
The skinny Awakened looked puzzled. Out of caution, he didn't immediately let him pass, even if it might offend his direct superior.
"You want to know?"
'Su Xiao' habitually placed his hand on the hilt of the blade at his waist. Seeing this habitual gesture, the skinny Awakened quickly gave an awkward smile and shook his head.
"No, no, sir. If there's an emergency, should we..."
"You hold the headquarters. Don't leave this place under any circumstances."
"Understood!"
'Su Xiao' stepped into the Execution Agency headquarters. After entering the lobby on the first floor, he took the staircase straight ahead up to the fifth floor. As soon as he reached the corner, he stopped and leaned against the wall.
The corridor beyond the corner was guarded by at least several dozen Awakened. Seeing this, 'Su Xiao' pulled a playing card from his pocket. It was the Joker from a standard 54-card deck, commonly known as the Little Joker.
The light and shadow on 'Su Xiao''s face twisted, as if affected by signal interference. A few seconds later, his appearance changed. This wasn't Su Xiao at all, but Zui'e, wearing clothes identical to Su Xiao's.
Zui'e tossed the playing card from his hand, his movements not very skilled, far from Mr. J's effortless grace.
Bang!
Like a flashbang exploding, white light rapidly spread through the fifth-floor corridor. Wherever it passed, the colors of everything dimmed slightly.
The white light swept over Zui'e as well. He tried to move forward, but the surrounding air felt thick and sticky, as if he were trapped in amber.
Zui'e knew he had less than 30 seconds. If the enemy was too strong, the time would be even shorter.
Stepping into the corridor packed with Awakened, a white-green energy spear formed in Zui'e's hand. It was Execution: Twilight. Green spear light flickered, and blood slowly splattered through the air. In less than 10 seconds, several dozen Awakened lay dead at Zui'e's hands, their bodies filling the corridor. These Awakened weren't completely immobile, but their movements had been slowed by dozens of times.
Zui'e pushed open the door to Nancy's office and headed straight for a wall. He triggered a mechanism behind a bookshelf, and the wall slowly opened, revealing a metal lift.
Zui'e searched the lift for a moment before finding the activation lever in the upper right corner.
Click-clack...
The lift slowly descended. Zui'e let out a long breath. His plan was about to succeed, but a hint of guilt lingered in his heart.
Meanwhile, at the main entrance of the Execution Agency headquarters, a sharp sound of wind cutting through the air was followed by a figure diving down from a distance.
Boom!
Debris flew everywhere. The four Awakened by the gate quickly lined up, unconcerned about the stone chips flying toward them.
"S-Sir?"
The skinny Awakened stared in surprise at Su Xiao. Seeing his expression, Su Xiao stepped forward.
"Speak."
"Yes, sir. Didn't you return to headquarters two minutes ago?"
"Is that so."
Su Xiao looked up at the fifth floor of the Execution Agency headquarters, where Nancy's office was located. The contingency plan he and Harold had set up seemed about to activate. It wasn't premeditated, but a temporary measure born of caution.
...
In front of the metal door in the headquarters' basement, Zui'e had just stepped out of the lift when he pulled three metal keys from his pocket. Time was running out; he had to hurry.
He inserted the three keys into the keyholes of the metal door.
Click~
The metal door slowly opened. Zui'e was visibly stunned for a moment. He hadn't even turned the three keys, yet the door in front of him had already opened.
After a moment's hesitation, Zui'e grabbed each of the two metal doors with his hands. With a harsh grinding sound, a gap just wide enough for a person to pass through appeared in the doorway. Beyond the gap was pitch black.
Snap!
The lights in the basement suddenly flicked on. Seeing the scene before him, Zui'e's pupils rapidly constricted.
The entire basement had metal walls. It was long and narrow, with shelves lining both sides, displaying various 'artifacts' or weapons of unknown purpose. At the far end of the basement stood several metal pillars as thick as barrels.
Now, between the two rows of shelves, a dozen or so old men stood or sat. They looked lifeless, holding various weapons or 'artifacts'—these were the relics stored in the basement.
Their eyes met. Zui'e grinned, brandishing his energy spear and charging straight at the dozen old men. These were Awakened, but not from the Execution Agency. Their department was called the Imperial Madhouse.
On the fifth floor of the Execution Agency, Su Xiao entered Nancy's office. Seeing the secret door in the wall already open, he realized Zui'e's ultimate goal: the basement of the Execution Agency. Nancy's office was the only entrance to the basement. Forcibly breaking through from the first floor to reach it was nearly impossible.
Seeing the severed steel cable, Su Xiao leaped into the shaft. With a rumble, the floor shook beneath him as he landed on the lift.
Drawing his blade, he cut open the top of the lift and peered down. The metal door to the basement was already open, with splattered blood visible on it.
Jumping down from the top of the lift, Su Xiao entered the basement. The floor was littered with dozens of body parts, and two energy spears were embedded in the ceiling.
A balding old man leaned against a metal shelf, clearly near death. He pointed toward the metal pillars at the far end of the basement. Two of the barrel-thick pillars had been corroded through in the middle.
Su Xiao scanned the room. Not many relics in the basement had been lost, and there wasn't much damage. Clearly, Zui'e had come to rescue someone—no, to rescue a certain Nether.
Passing through the damaged pillars into the deeper part of the basement, a strange odor filled the air. On both sides were rows of pitch-black cells. Some cells still held faint signs of life; others contained only a few incomplete white bones.
"Kill me..."
A weak voice came from one of the cells. Su Xiao ignored it and continued deeper.
In front of the two deepest cells, one had its metal bars heavily corroded, while the other was intact.
"So his target wasn't you, Case Lecocq."
Su Xiao tapped the metal bars. In the dark cell, fifteen eyes opened simultaneously. Inside was a fifteen-eyed Nether.
"I... don't have... Fadil's... luck."
The fifteen-eyed Nether in the cell spoke, its voice very weak. After eating its neighbor in the next cell, it had been starving for over a decade. If not for the fact that a fifteen-eyed Nether was too powerful and could even consume parts of itself, it would have starved to death long ago.
The Execution Agency's basement didn't just store relics; it also imprisoned many powerful Nether. Even so, Su Xiao had never imagined anyone would come here to break someone out.
Even if a Nether imprisoned here got out, it couldn't recover its former strength. Take Case Lecocq, the fifteen-eyed Nether, for example. Even if it escaped and rested for a while, recovering to the level of a six- or seven-eyed Nether would be a stroke of luck.
Compared to the danger level, the classified documents stored deeper inside were actually more important. The purpose of these cells was to let the most heinous Nether die slowly.
As for the Fadil that Zui'e had rescued, that was a Nether that had received 'special attention.' Even after resting for a few years, being able to walk normally would indicate a good recovery.
Zui'e's plan had indeed caught Su Xiao and Harold off guard. The target was too simple, and the damage caused was too minimal. The two had originally thought Zui'e aimed to overthrow the Empire's power structure. After capturing Nancy, Su Xiao believed Zui'e intended to use the Eye Room to eliminate Harold and cause at least hundreds of thousands of deaths in Zur City.
But now, Zui'e had only rescued a Nether—a dying one at that. He hadn't summoned a dark god or targeted Harold. Even destroying a large number of relics would have made sense, but Zui'e had done none of that.
"What the hell kind of plan is this?"
Su Xiao couldn't help but curse. In his understanding, if Zui'e were compared to a violent criminal, his target should be a bank or a vault. But the result was that Zui'e had charged into an antique shop, grabbed a spittoon, and run off without looking back. Against such an opponent, both Su Xiao and Harold had miscalculated.
D·Assassination appeared in Su Xiao's hand, its muzzle aimed at the fifteen-eyed Nether in the cell. This was an unexpected gain. Even a 'tiger' on the verge of starving to death could still have its 'hide' stripped after being killed.
PS: (Two chapters today. I originally wrote three, but my state wasn't good while writing the third. I was very sleepy, wasn't satisfied with it, so I deleted it and didn't post.)