Chapter 42: Negotiation
Blood aura spread, and footsteps came from outside the door. The undead Yuyuer curled up in a sitting position, minimizing his own volume to reduce the chance of being noticed. From over ten minutes ago, he had sensed a person in the corridor. He could perceive that this person was on an entirely different dimensional level from him. The almost tangible malice made him feel cold.
In the blood aura, Amiya, sitting against the wall, went completely stiff. Her eyes rolled back, and she fainted.
"A troublesome one has arrived."
Big Mouth Gitte spat out the bone in his mouth, pulled a dining knife from his collar, and stabbed it into the dining table. He didn't want to be killed by mistake. Though his mouth was foul, this guy was a very clever criminal.
Drip, drip~
Blood dripped down as Su Xiao walked into the meeting room, carrying a head in his hand. This head seemed to be stitched together, identical in appearance to the Stitched Man Womori in the room. From a moment ago, the Stitched Man Womori had been motionless, as if turned into a statue.
"When did he escape?"
Fragrant Lady noticed the head in Su Xiao's hand. Her gaze shifted to the Stitched Man Womori and immediately detected his abnormality.
Crack~
Cracks appeared on the face of the Stitched Man Womori, his body rapidly shattered, and eventually scattered. One criminal was dead, leaving six.
Su Xiao stopped mid-stride, glanced at the food on the table, then at the head in his hand. He handed the head of the Stitched Man Womori to Fragrant Lady and washed the blood off his hands.
"It's so nice to be alive, yet he had to run."
Fragrant Lady took the head, took a drag from the ladies' cigarette between her fingers, and blew the smoke toward the head in her hand. The head immediately decomposed. Don't underestimate Fragrant Lady just because she's an ordinary person; she was the one who raised the Beak Doctor.
Su Xiao sat at the head of the dining table, picked up several documents, found one among them, and tossed it to the undead Yuyuer.
"Complete a certain task, and you'll regain your freedom."
Su Xiao tapped the documents on the table, a smile appearing on his face.
"Freedom?"
Big Mouth Gitte let out a few dry laughs. He absolutely didn't believe in the claim of regaining freedom, given the things he had done—dying a hundred or a thousand times wouldn't be enough.
"The Watch Guild and the Rhine Kingdom have agreed that after completing a certain task, you can regain your freedom. But according to the agreement, once you're free, I'm responsible for killing you."
Su Xiao didn't say anything threatening. Of the seven who came, he only needed three or four. Bringing seven was just a safety measure, since not every criminal would be willing to cooperate.
"That's too blunt, isn't it? At least give some psychological comfort. Saying it so directly, how can you trick me into working for you?"
Ape Rockchi rubbed the fur on his fingertips. This was exactly what he expected. In his view, whether he helped the Watch Guild or not, the outcome was the same—just dying early or late.
"After it's done, you'll be locked up in the Watch Guild headquarters. Start showing your stance. You have ten seconds."
Su Xiao took out a timer and pressed the start button.
"I'm in. That damn place where I was locked up before was too damp."
Big Mouth Gitte had the foulest mouth, but he was the first to show his stance. After locking eyes with Su Xiao, he knew one thing: he only had two choices—die now, or die after some time. Choosing the latter gave him a certain chance to live, and live fairly well.
"Count me in. My warden always looks at me with lecherous eyes. Disgusting~"
Button Sunny raised his hand. Two of the six had agreed.
Five seconds later, the undead Yuyuer raised his hand and nodded at Su Xiao, meaning count him in.
Eight seconds later, the Silent One Salisbury raised his hand. At some point, his muscular body had partially fused with metal—the missing tableware and shackles.
Click~
Su Xiao pressed the timer. Ten seconds were up. Ape Rockchi and Giant Mountain Liekof exchanged glances, smiles in their eyes—a tacit understanding.
They planned to negotiate further with Su Xiao, trying to raise the stakes. The chance to encounter such a situation was too low, and they intended to seize it. Being needed meant having value. They were certain that before being used, the Watch Guild wouldn't easily touch them; otherwise, that woman wouldn't have been tolerating them all along.
"Hunter sir, I say, we..."
Ape Rockchi's words were cut off as Su Xiao raised his hand to stop him.
"They're useless now. Dispose of them."
"You—"
Giant Mountain Liekof suddenly stood up. His physique was inhumanly strong, and he glared down at Su Xiao with fury.
Bang.
A dull thud rang out. To Giant Mountain Liekof's utter shock, he was already pinned to the ground by a thin, gaunt old hunter. The two were complete opposites in build.
"Don't kill them here. The smell of blood will ruin this dinner. For my breakfast tomorrow, let this chef cook them."
Su Xiao tucked a napkin into his collar, picked up a piece of steak from the empty plate, poured sauce over it, and then picked up the knife and fork. Today's dinner was indeed excellent, especially the sauce.
"Understood, Lord Kukulin."
The black-clad hunter bowed to Su Xiao. His thumb pressed against the back of Giant Mountain Liekof's neck, and the latter instantly fell unconscious.
"Wait... wait! I was just negotiating the price! Don't you understand that?!"
Ape Rockchi panicked. Though he wasn't afraid of death, he didn't want to die like this either.
Bang!
Another dull thud. Another old hunter appeared behind Ape Rockchi and knocked him unconscious with a bare hand.
"Sigh~ It would've been better to negotiate with me. Why bother?"
Fragrant Lady sighed, sitting down beside Su Xiao. She had been busy all this time and was also hungry.
"Four of you, I wish you success tomorrow."
Fragrant Lady raised her glass. However, the four criminals at the table remained expressionless. Clearly, the routine of one playing the good cop and the other the bad cop was ineffective on them.
Under the table, Fragrant Lady lightly kicked Su Xiao. She needed face too. The four at the table ignored her, and Amiya was also present, making Fragrant Lady lose face.
Su Xiao paused with the knife in his hand, looked up, and swept his gaze over the four criminals. Noticing Su Xiao's look, including the undead Yuyuer, all four raised their glasses. Big Mouth Gitte even squeezed out an ugly smile.
From start to finish, Su Xiao never threatened them. His method was simple: either agree or die. He wouldn't negotiate with these criminals. Facing such people, even a small step back would make them push further.
Dinner proceeded in a peaceful atmosphere. Amiya also joined the meal. She had just woken up not long ago, and since she was sitting next to Su Xiao, she looked like she might faint again at any moment.
After dinner, the four criminals were taken to the seventh floor. Each received "special treatment." A total of twenty old hunters kept a close watch on them. These guys had too strong an escape ability; a moment of carelessness could let them slip away.
The next morning, at exactly 7 o'clock, the four criminals were gathered in the hall on the first floor. Under the ceiling, over ten meters high, chandeliers lit up one by one.
The entire Watch Guild headquarters was completely sealed off. All windows and the main door were covered by alloy walls dozens of centimeters thick. This was done because the Dark Prison Gate was directly beneath the Watch Guild headquarters.
The location of the Watch Guild headquarters wasn't chosen randomly. It was both a refuge for hunters and a seal over an eerie, strange land.
Ge, Viper, Commons, and Fragrant Lady—four high-ranking members of the Watch Guild—all arrived. They knelt on one knee at the center of the first-floor hall. At the edges of the hall, several hundred hunters stood or sat.
In the silence, the four high-ranking members spoke simultaneously.
"We are all guardians in the night. As long as the fire in our hearts does not go out, dawn will surely come."
After saying this, Ge broke off a silver tooth from his mouth. Viper removed the ring from his finger. Commons took off his prosthetic finger. Fragrant Lady took off her earrings and produced a strand of golden hair—this strand was the token of the deceased Watch Guild high-ranking member, Goldser.
The five items floated up simultaneously and quickly merged. On the inner side of the hall, a large section of the floor slowly shifted, and space seemed to warp.
Soon, a staircase leading downward appeared. This staircase was over ten meters wide, leading into pitch-black darkness. And the Dark Prison Gate lay at the end of this passage.