Chapter 16: Encounter and Fate
Faint voices drifted in from the street outside the window. This was the charm of York City—peaceful and serene during the day, but at night, after people finished their work and returned home for dinner, families would come out to the streets, enjoying the cool summer night and the street-side delicacies. It was also the perfect time for young couples to date.
York City’s current stability was not solely due to the existence of the Southern Alliance.
The Containment Institution and the Eclipse Organization had held back dangers from the darkness, securing the peace that existed now. How much blood had both sides shed over the years, how much suffering, parting between life and death, and even despair their members had endured, was something outsiders could never know.
These people were not entirely noble. Among them were those with deranged minds, lechers, alcoholics, and the stubborn. In this world, where could perfect people be found?
Inside the office, a cool breeze slowly drifted in through the window. Su Xiao leaned back in his leather chair, his feet propped up on the desk before him. One of the organizations under the ‘Agency,’ known as ‘Ears,’ had run into trouble again. Its leader, Buqi, had relapsed into her old habits.
Buqi was a pitiful woman. She had given birth to three children, none of whom lived past the age of two. The successive blows, coupled with her husband’s death, had driven her increasingly unstable. By chance, she joined ‘Ears,’ and thanks to her abilities, she climbed all the way to the position of leader.
Normally, Buqi was fine, but at certain times, she would ‘take’ children she happened to meet, play with them, bake them cookies, and prepare all sorts of exquisite food. After taking meticulous care of them for a day, she would return the children to their homes and give their parents a large sum of Talons as compensation for the emotional distress.
Don’t think this was nothing. When a child goes missing, the parents feel helpless, even desperate. Even though Buqi took good care of the children and offered compensation, in 99.9% of cases, she was never forgiven.
The day before yesterday, Buqi did it again. The parents of the five children went to the Alliance Security Office. Since Buqi was under the ‘Agency,’ the Security Office forwarded the matter to the Alliance Court. The court then contacted the Containment Institution and notified Dean Victor.
Just now, Dean Victor had called to tell Su Xiao that Buqi was being held at his place, and it was up to Su Xiao to decide how to handle it, since she was his person.
Su Xiao rubbed his forehead. For these kinds of troublesome matters, he planned to find a dedicated person to handle them, but he hadn’t found a suitable candidate yet. He had already asked Dean Victor and Ms. Xiulin to recommend a few people.
The entire Containment Institution had no true leader. The organization could be divided into three parts: the Containment Home, the Finance Department, and the Agency.
Dean Victor was the highest administrator of the Containment Home. That side focused on talent development and served as the public face of the entire containment organization. It rarely dealt with the supernatural, instead interacting more with Alliance officials or attending various charity galas and fundraising events. Overall, it was a place many young people aspired to work.
The leader of the Finance Department was Ms. Xiulin, the benefactor of everyone. Because it handled finances, this side was heavily bureaucratic, and not without those driven by greed.
There was no helping it. These people were indeed capable. If the finances were made completely transparent, the entire containment organization would go broke.
On the Agency side, Su Xiao was the absolute boss. This side was the most complex, primarily responsible for handling dangerous objects, followed by intelligence gathering, assassinating hostile faction leaders, protecting key personnel, investigating dangerous organizations within their jurisdiction, demolition, and cleanup.
All bloody, violent, and dangerous tasks were handled by the Agency. Anyone who knew of the ‘Agency’ understood that the word was stained with indelible blood.
For this reason, Su Xiao’s subordinates were a mixed bag. The Agency headquarters was fine, but the organizations under it were chaotic. ‘Iron Ring’ had all sorts of people, ‘Ears’ was mostly made up of criminals, and the other two subordinate organizations weren’t much better.
This made Su Xiao badly need a deputy to handle these matters for him. He had one before, but due to ambition being exposed while Su Xiao was imprisoned, Dean Victor had him chopped up and fed to dangerous objects.
Once he chose a deputy, Su Xiao could wash his hands of these trivial matters and focus on dealing with Dangerous Object S-006 (Mermaid). The Mermaid had to be secured; it was crucial to obtaining 5 Golden Skill Points through the first part of the main quest and finding Dangerous Object S-002 (Death Grail).
Knock, knock, knock.
A knock came at the door. A man in gold-rimmed glasses and a sharp suit walked into the office. His brows and eyes exuded confidence, but not arrogance.
“Greetings, Lord Legion Commander. I am Belok.”
The person recommended by Dean Victor had arrived. The reason for choosing this man named Belok was, first, that he was in York City, and second, that he was a former member of the Agency.
Later, while handling a dangerous object, he had lost half his liver and lungs, one leg, one arm, one left eye, and over 30% of his skin had been torn off. If Belok weren’t a Life-type transcendent, he would have died. Even so, he now relied on prosthetics and a fake eye.
Belok stood before the desk, took off his glasses and hat, placed his cane aside, and stood still with his head slightly lowered.
Su Xiao examined Belok and was fairly satisfied.
“You’re not bad.”
“Thank you for the praise, Lord Legion Commander.”
“Take tonight’s train back to Gama City. Go to headquarters and find Mehmet. He’ll tell you what to do next. From now on, you are appointed as the Legion Commander’s Deputy. Here is the authorization.”
Su Xiao opened a drawer, took out a piece of paper, casually drafted an authorization, and then began looking for the Legion Commander’s seal. After searching for a while, he couldn’t find it in the drawer.
“Bubu.”
A few seconds after Su Xiao called out, Bubu Wang ran down the stairs.
“Where’s the seal?”
“Woof?”
“……”
Su Xiao’s gaze swept across the desk, looking for something handy. Seeing this, Bubu Wang quickly ran to the wall, pulled a half-chewed seal from a crack in the cabinet.
Bang~
The seal stamped onto the authorization, leaving a small tooth mark on the emblem.
A few seconds later, Belok held the authorization in both hands, staring at the emblem with the small tooth mark, frozen in place. The scene was amusing; Belok wanted to laugh, but he knew he couldn’t—he had to hold it in.
“Lord Legion Commander, as your deputy, may I select three assistants? My work will be very busy.”
Belok was secretly nervous. The busy work was a pretext. He had two old friends, both combat personnel who had retired from the Agency. Even though their current lives were comfortable and pleasant, they very much wanted to return to work at the Agency. Only there did they feel a sense of belonging.
“Granted.”
“My lord, here are the files on those three. Please take a look.”
Belok pulled three documents from his chest. After reviewing two of them, Su Xiao understood Belok’s intention—to bring his old friends back to the Agency for clerical work.
When he flipped to the third file, Su Xiao frowned. The photo in the file was of a young girl, smiling innocently, her eyes clear and pure.
The girl’s name was Goya. She had been an orphan from the Containment Home, meaning she was from Dean Victor’s line. These kinds of people were the most welcome in the Agency—clean backgrounds, low probability of betrayal.
“What’s her recommendation reason?”
“She’s very capable and comes from the Containment Home. Her parents were once members of the Agency. Do you remember the Hesoxi couple, my lord? Both sacrificed for the Agency. She is their daughter.”
At this, Belok’s eyes showed sadness. He knew all about what had happened back then. The statues of the Hesoxi couple still stood in the Hall of Heroes beneath the headquarters.
“Approved.”
“Thank you, my lord.”
Belok smiled as he took the three documents, bowed respectfully, and inadvertently revealed a train ticket in his chest pocket—from York City to Gama City, departure time 11:30. It was exactly the time needed to end this conversation and for Belok to catch the train. Belok was subtly demonstrating his ability to handle trivial matters.
Belok left the office. Two men and one woman were already waiting on the street. Among them, the young girl, Goya, held a skewer of meatballs, chewing with her cheeks puffed out.
Seeing Belok come out, the three on the street stepped forward. One of the men, his face covered in scars and missing part of his nose, asked, “Belok, what did the Legion Commander say?”
“Sigh.”
Belok sighed, his eyes showing apology. Seeing this, the two men in suits both smiled bitterly, their expressions dejected. After all, they were cripples now, only able to live out the rest of their days in peace.
“Look at this.”
Belok took the authorization from his chest. The two men leaned in, saw their names on it, and the seal at the bottom. Both clenched their fists.
“You’ve got it, Belok.”
“Finally, we can go back to the Agency.”
“You two, have you bought your tickets?”
Belok put away the authorization. To him, this was more important than his life—it was his future.
“Bought them.”
“Go exchange them for VIP carriages.”
“This…”
The two men hesitated. Though they weren’t short on money, they weren’t used to being extravagant.
“The ticket costs can be reimbursed by the Agency. Do you realize who you’re standing behind now?”
Belok pulled the ticket from his pocket and crumpled it into a ball.
“Right, right, the Agency reimburses.”
The three laughed. Beside them, Goya also smiled. Infiltration… successful. She looked at the night sky. Her parents were indeed the Hesoxi couple. All the information about her was 100% real. Only one thing was wrong: she was loyal to Kingsley.
Goya wanted to see what kind of place the ‘Agency’ that had caused her parents’ tragic deaths really was, and how ugly the ‘Agency’ leaders who had used her parents truly were.
……
Gama City, outskirts.
A mechanical giant bird landed. A white-haired youth jumped off its back, looking at Gama City lit up by colorful lights in the distance. He scratched his messy hair.
“So this is Gama City. Really prosperous. A052, let’s go.”
The white-haired youth raised his hand. Dangerous Object A-052 (Mechanical Giant Bird) folded in, turning into a right arm guard that wrapped around his right hand and forearm.
A-052 was a very special dangerous object. Its nature was fundamentally different from other dangerous objects. It was more like a black technology of this world, or perhaps a technological product from another world.
Leaving behind streaks of white afterimages, the white-haired youth arrived at one of the most prosperous streets in Gama City. He looked around like a country bumpkin entering a city, stunned by the scene before him.
“Th-th-that outfit! So shameless!”
Seeing a glamorous woman’s attire, the white-haired youth’s face turned red.
“You came to Gama City not to look at women’s bellies. Whether you can find your mother depends on this. The Thorn Flower News Agency was bombed, revealing many irregularities. It’s very likely related to ‘that thing.’ Investigate all this thoroughly, and you might find your mother.”
The voice of Dangerous Object A-052 reached the white-haired youth’s ears.
“So annoying~”
The white-haired youth walked through the crowd, looking around as he moved. At that moment, a boy with short, dark brown hair, not tall, looking somewhat timid but hiding a beast-like aura, walked toward him. This boy was named Aichi, the one coexisting with the Devourer.
The white-haired youth and Aichi brushed past each other. In that instant, the white-haired youth’s heart beat heavily. He stopped, and Aichi, who had his back to him, also halted. Aichi was puzzled; just now, the Devourer inside him had stirred.
In the flowing crowd, the white-haired youth and Aichi stood back to back, silent for a few seconds, then both took a step.
“You…”
“You…”
They spoke almost simultaneously, turning their heads to look at each other.
“I have a feeling we’re definitely going to be friends.”
The white-haired youth was cheerful and outgoing, while Aichi was more reserved, seemingly timid but capable of erupting with ferocity at any moment.
“Have you had dinner yet?”
The white-haired youth pointed to a late-night snack shop nearby. Aichi hesitated, instinctively wary of strangers.
Seeing this, the white-haired youth patted Aichi’s shoulder and, smiling, pulled him into the snack shop. Fate was truly a strange thing.