Chapter 56: The Sin That Was Beaten All the Way and Madam Nancy
That afternoon, order was restored within Zul City, and all the Eye Chambers within the city had been dealt with. Even so, the Security Forces and the Execution Agency remained on high alert.
On the fourth floor of the Parliament Palace, inside a study.
"That's basically it. Sin's only goal was to rescue Fadil."
Su Xiao was sitting opposite Harold. After hearing his account, Harold behind the desk remained silent for a long time.
"Just that?"
Harold gently rubbed his forehead. He had even dispatched the Empire's Madhouse to prevent a large-scale civilian massacre in Zul City that might allow other Ghost forces to take advantage of the situation. Yet, this felt like using a cannon to kill a mosquito. Sin's move had indeed impressed both Su Xiao and Harold. Bubu Wang still occasionally laughed out loud about it.
"That's it. The losses within the city were far less than imagined."
"..."
"..."
Su Xiao and Harold sat in silence. Through Harold, Su Xiao learned that someone had revealed the locations of two Eye Chambers by selling the information. However, there was still one thing Su Xiao couldn't figure out: where had the last four Eye Chambers gone?
Based on the Eye Chamber intelligence Su Xiao obtained from the second ring mission, four Eye Chambers were the minimum requirement to form a summoning array. Multiple signs indicated that Sin was cooperating with Mr. J; otherwise, Mr. J couldn't have created those light pillars that resembled activated Eye Chambers.
Sin had already achieved his goal. As for Mr. J, Su Xiao couldn't help but associate him with the other four Eye Chambers.
"Pursue Fadil's whereabouts as much as possible. After all, he is..."
Before Harold could finish, the door pushed open, and the red-haired man hurried over to Harold, leaning down to whisper something. After a moment, Harold gestured for the red-haired man to withdraw.
"Four Eye Chambers were moved to Badansha Town and activated. Fewer than ten thousand people survived there."
Hearing this, all the known clues in Su Xiao's mind connected.
First, under the cooperation of Sin, the Eclipse, and the Joshua Family, the materials needed to set up the Eye Chambers were gathered. During this process, they reached an agreement with Madam Nancy. As for Joshua Eddy, he was Sin's close friend; both were half-bloods.
Sin saw Madam Nancy's ambition. After several negotiations, he decided to set up the Eye Chambers in Zul City, ostensibly to help Madam Nancy eliminate Harold and make her queen.
As for the purpose of setting up the Eye Chambers, Sin claimed he wanted to devour the Undying King, take his place, and gain immense power. In reality, from the start, Sin knew the Eye Chambers couldn't be successfully activated—at least not in Zul City. He knew how formidable Harold was.
Once all the Eye Chambers were moved to Zul City, the plan was announced to begin. It was after this that Sin witnessed just how terrifying the Execution Agency was.
After the plan began, Madam Nancy knew the Execution Agency was the biggest obstacle to success. She herself was the Legion Commander of the Execution Agency, so she intended to frame the Vice Commander. This way, she could take control of the Execution Agency in a short time. Even if a trusted Vice Commander was appointed, she could sideline them.
Unfortunately, Su Xiao entered the Ghost World at this time and became the Vice Commander. Madam Nancy's plan failed. That very night, she sent assassins through secret channels to kill Su Xiao. The result was obvious: the assassin was killed on the spot and, before dying, revealed the existence of the Ghost Ring Organization.
On the second day of the plan, the Ghost Ring's stronghold, the Wild Boar Manor, was wiped out by Su Xiao. Sin was severely injured, prompting Madam Nancy to approach Su Xiao and establish a "cooperation."
Just as the cooperation began, Su Xiao shot Joshua Eddy with one bullet, cutting off the Ghost Ring's funding. Sin was furious and even suspected Madam Nancy was a mole.
No sooner had Joshua Eddy died than the Ghost Ring's main base exploded, killing the second-in-command, Eclipse. At that time, both Sin and Madam Nancy were dumbfounded. They secretly met and even considered temporarily abandoning the Eye Chamber plan, as they had been beaten too badly. But after much deliberation, they chose to act recklessly, assassinating councilors with Madam Nancy's cooperation.
Fortunately, Mr. J appeared at this point, helping Sin and Madam Nancy through the crisis. The assassination of the councilor went smoothly. Yet even so, the Eye Chambers in Zul City were being rooted out one by one. The expressions on Sin and Madam Nancy's faces at that moment were beyond words. Their shared thought was: in such a vast city, how did the other party find the Eye Chambers? And after some Eye Chambers were moved, Sin himself didn't know their locations for a while.
The misfortune didn't stop. Sin, hiding in Harold's ancestral tomb, was inexplicably dug out. He encountered three hammer-wielding men, took a few hits, but managed to drive them off and escape.
Just as Sin was being beaten, Madam Nancy was exposed. Under the combined deception of Su Xiao and Harold, she was driven to doubt her own existence. Before her death, she even suspected that if Harold hadn't been hiding behind the mirror, she might have been toyed with by Su Xiao for two hours, making her death even more humiliating. He had said she wouldn't live past 60, and he was right—she died that very night.
Just as Sin was disheartened and ready to give up, he was surprised to find that his two terrifying enemies seemed unaware of his ultimate goal. They seemed to think he had some grand plan. This made Sin both happy and secretly embarrassed. Eventually, with Mr. J's support, Sin attempted to infiltrate the Execution Agency's headquarters.
Before using the space scroll to escape the Execution Agency's basement, Sin was still on edge. The series of painful experiences had nearly given him paranoid delusions. He had been beaten too badly; anyone who cooperated with him ended up dead.
As for Mr. J, he only did three things from start to finish, rarely appearing in person.
First, he fought with Gus, using some kind of item to steal part of Gus's memories. This was how Sin knew how to enter the Execution Agency's basement. Fortunately, Mr. J had this legendary-grade item; otherwise, Sin couldn't have completed his subsequent plan. Without Mr. J, Sin's plan would have failed, and he might have died in Zul City.
Second, he helped Sin infiltrate the Execution Agency's headquarters.
Third, he took away the four Eye Chambers and activated them in Badansha Town.
Su Xiao didn't know if his deductions were entirely correct, but they should be close to the truth. Although Sin's plan succeeded, Su Xiao's gains were substantial. In fact, if he had crushed Sin completely midway, he wouldn't have reaped such rewards.
"I'll handle the situation in Badansha Town."
Su Xiao still needed to continue mobilizing the Execution Agency. He couldn't ignore a bloody truth: once the birds are gone, the bow is put away. Sin had fled in disgrace. If there were no major incidents, Harold would reclaim some authority. As for the position of Legion Commander, even if Su Xiao voluntarily resigned, Harold wouldn't agree.
The Empire's golden triangle had already formed. After the Eye Chamber incident, Harold's most trusted people were only two: Su Xiao and Gask (Minister of the Seventh Division).
"Mm, I'm more at ease with you handling this. By the way, the vacancies left by Jones and Leopold are also a problem. Gask has agreed to take Jones's place. As for Leopold's side..."
Harold picked up a bottle of red wine from the bookshelf, leaned over, and poured a glass for Su Xiao. The Eye Chamber incident was mostly resolved; it was time to reward contributions.
"Me as a councilor?"
Su Xiao smiled and downed the wine in one gulp.
Harold was silent for a moment, then let out a wry laugh.
"Harold, I'm an Awakener. An Awakener who won't live long. One day, I'll demonize and need to be dealt with. That day shouldn't be too far off."
Su Xiao had no intention of becoming a councilor; it would waste too much time.
"I almost forgot about that. But..."
"I'm leaving. The matter in Badansha Town needs to be handled quickly. After all, over a hundred thousand people died. Blood for blood."
"..."
Harold said nothing, just raised the glass on the table. After Su Xiao pushed open the door and left the study, only Harold remained, holding his glass.
"With two more Legion Commanders like you, I, Harold, could wipe out every last Ghost. Sigh~"
Harold downed the wine in one gulp and let out a long breath. After a moment of melancholy, his eyes narrowed as he considered something. He had witnessed Su Xiao's strength firsthand. If Su Xiao demonized, how powerful would the resulting demon be?
Old Yinbi Harold was still thinking comprehensively, but he was worrying for nothing. Su Xiao was not an Awakener at all.