Chapter 3: Dangerous Object·S-002
After a hearty lunch or perhaps dinner, Su Xiao turned his gaze to the thin man, whose name was Sili. He was one of Su Xiao’s two most capable deputies within the “Organization.”
The other had already been dealt with. The reason was that, when Su Xiao was on the verge of “falling from power,” that guy’s ambition had surfaced, and he intended to ally with Dean Victor to replace Su Xiao.
When Dean Victor heard about this, he thought, “Is that so?” He immediately “agreed,” and that very night, he had the guy disposed of, sending people to chop him up and feed him to A-252. A-252 had to devour an intelligent being every three years, or else it would relocate. The quota for the recent three years had just been filled.
Su Xiao lit a cigarette. No matter what, he had to get out of here as soon as possible. But given the current situation, if he just walked out like this, it would be like stomping the Alliance’s face into the ground. Not to mention anything else, the Alliance allocated a large amount of funds every year, even more than what Finance Chief Xiulin allocated over there.
The Alliance was not to be trifled with. A few or even a dozen officials were nothing, but thoroughly provoking the behemoth that was the Alliance was a very unwise decision.
The Containment Institution wasn’t the only power; there was also the Eclipse Organization. Their influence was similar to the Containment Institution’s. The leader of the Eclipse Organization, Kingsley, was a remarkable figure.
Don’t forget, both the Containment Institution and the Eclipse Organization split off from the “Holy Knight Order” several hundred years ago. The two major forces shared the same origin, but their ideologies were somewhat antagonistic.
Currently, the Alliance was more inclined to support the Containment Institution. If they offended the Alliance to the point where it leaned toward the Eclipse Organization, the Containment Institution’s situation would become increasingly difficult. Dealing with dangerous objects required a massive amount of funds, personnel, individuals with supernatural potential, and even more field agents.
Once the Alliance sided with the Eclipse Organization, within a few months at most, the Eclipse Organization would rise completely. They were more extreme, willing to use dangerous objects at a terrible cost.
“Sili, go find Dean Victor. In two hours, I’m leaving this place.”
“Yes.”
Sili lowered his head and quickly left.
“Hey, you.”
Su Xiao looked toward the corner of the ceiling, where there had always been a feeling of being watched.
“I’m not ‘hey, you.’ I’m your temporary supervisor, Vice Legion Commander.”
“Oh, go get the files on the dangerous objects.”
“Fine.”
The feeling of being watched from the ceiling corner disappeared. A few minutes later, a huge pile of documents suddenly appeared in front of Su Xiao. A [pencil] dropped to the ground with a snap. Clearly, the temporary supervisor had quite a temper but didn’t dare to show it.
There were a lot of documents. These were the files on all the dangerous objects currently contained and discovered over the years.
Dangerous objects were divided into four levels: S, A, B, and C. As for those with lower danger levels, they did exist, but those things were more like items with side effects. The “Organization” didn’t have time to deal with that kind of stuff.
First was C-level. Dangerous objects at this level could cause multiple deaths but had no growth potential. It took 2 to 3 “Organization” members to handle them together. If there was no contact with headquarters within 10 hours, those members were presumed dead, and ten times the number of members would be dispatched.
Next was B-level. These dangerous objects had some growth potential. They could be lethal from the start, and if left unchecked, they would cause panic and chaos over a large area, resulting in numerous civilian casualties.
A-level dangerous objects had well-developed growth and concealment capabilities. They could cause the death of beings in an entire city or even a larger area. These dangerous objects began to exhibit “inevitability of death.” They required careful probing first, meaning using lives to fill the gap, figuring out their patterns before they could be killed or contained.
The most dangerous were S-level dangerous objects. These had rapid growth potential or were at their strongest from the start. Such dangerous objects were inevitably accompanied by “inevitability of death.” Brute force alone couldn’t solve them.
Even high intelligence would be useless. Facing an S-level dangerous object required both sufficient strength and strong on-the-spot adaptability. You absolutely couldn’t trigger the “inevitability of death,” or you’d be done for immediately.
When dealing with dangerous objects, in over 95% of cases, intelligence agents were the first to discover them. They collected information on supernatural and paranormal events from various places, then handed it over to clerical staff for analysis and elimination. Eventually, from a pile of supernatural and paranormal events, they would identify events that might involve dangerous objects.
After that, field agents from the “Organization” would go to investigate. Once the existence of a dangerous object was confirmed, they would immediately report it, and it would be handed over to the supernatural members of the “Organization” to handle.
The subsequent process was simple and brutal. If the supernatural members died, more personnel would be sent. If that didn’t work, the stronger Fierce Dog Squad would be dispatched. If the Fierce Dog Squad couldn’t solve it, the Vice Legion Commander would go personally.
Su Xiao’s position as Vice Legion Commander wasn’t about giving orders from behind. Although this position came with many privileges, it was also a high-risk one. The “Organization” had once gone through three Vice Legion Commanders in a single month. As for the official Legion Commander, that old man was retired at home. Recently, when Su Xiao was imprisoned, that old man was dragged out to save face. His main function was just that.
Su Xiao put down the documents in his hand and instead picked up a confidential file with a black cover. As soon as he opened it, his eyes narrowed. This recorded S-002, the second most dangerous object.
Dangerous Object·S-002 (Death Grail)
Origin: Unknown.
Characteristics: Based on compiled rumors, S-002’s appearance is an ancient metal cup, inlaid with 3 circles of rubies (some intelligence suggests 4 circles of rubies). This dangerous object has existed for a long time and has not been observed to have fixed behavior (suspected to be an inanimate object, without intelligence).
Current Status: Not contained. No trace of it has been found.
Dangerous Object Effect: S-002 (Death Grail) secretes a watery liquid. Drinking this liquid temporarily awakens the innate supernatural power of the drinker (suspected to awaken innate talent and bring it to its strongest state). No side effects have been found so far, and this is judged to be a beneficial enhancement. After 10 to 15 days, the effect of drinking the liquid dissipates. There is no addictiveness or other side effects, and it even extends lifespan (all civilians who have drunk the liquid secreted by S-002 have lifespans of 150 to 200 years or more).
Dangerous Tendency: Within 10 meters of S-002 (Death Grail) is a death domain. Except for a very few individuals, civilians or supernatural beings who approach S-002 die instantly.
Whenever a being dies within S-002’s death domain, the death domain absorbs soul power, causing its area to expand (817 years ago, the death domain once covered a quarter of the continent. Within its range, only a very few intelligent beings survived by chance, with a probability lower than 0.0001%). Only when someone drinks the liquid inside S-002 does the death domain shrink back to a 10-meter range. After the cup is filled with liquid again, the above process repeats.
Statistics: A total of 17 attempts have been made to destroy S-002 (Death Grail), all of which failed. The pattern of its appearance has not been determined. S-002’s death domain is suspected to be able to affect the entire continent.
Containment Method: Cannot be contained. S-002 disappears and moves for unknown reasons every 30 to 50 days (even if the liquid inside is drained, S-002 still disappears and moves). Its movement cannot be restricted, and multiple containment attempts have failed.
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After seeing the information on S-002, a thought arose in Su Xiao’s mind. Drinking the liquid inside S-002 could temporarily awaken the body’s talent. Although it was temporary, if combined with an item in his storage space, it would likely allow him to permanently acquire a talent ability.