Chapter 35: The Scripts of Two 'Great Directors'
Inside the underground research institute, a young man with long white hair was immersed in the solution within a glass column. The faint light shining through made his eyes appear very clear—or rather, it was impossible for them not to be clear. Having his memories altered every three days would leave anyone with a vacant gaze. The fact that he wasn't babbling incoherently already showed considerable mental fortitude.
"This young man is the Lightning-Conducting Secret Art. He is one favored by the world, able to fully control the golden lightning."
As Kingsley spoke, he took out a golden button from his pocket. Upon closer inspection, faint blood veins could be seen on the front of this golden button.
"Kingsley, saying this in front of the young man, no problem?"
"No problem."
Kingsley tapped the glass column with his finger. The faint light inside shifted to a warm yellow, enveloping the young man. His eyes began to lose focus, and after a moment, he closed his eyes and fell asleep.
In principle, Kingsley hadn't actually mastered the golden lightning either. He was merely conducting it. The medium for conducting the lightning was the young man's blood—a type of golden blood located at the center of the young man's heart that did not participate in blood circulation.
Kingsley walked deeper into the institute. Along the corridor on both sides stood rows of glass columns, each containing a figure aged between 17 and 20, both male and female. Their features were similar, all with white hair.
"Damn, this is mass production now."
Baha tried to sense the aura of one experimental subject. The life aura of this subject was very faint, as if in a state of hibernation. These were all failures.
"It's Hazard S-012. Using its characteristics, achieving this isn't difficult."
Kingsley walked ahead. Strangely, no researchers were visible here.
As Baha passed a glass column, he glanced sideways. The bottom of this column was marked with the number 5, and it was empty. Near the lower part, faint golden tendrils drifted.
Baha approached the column to examine it. The golden tendrils inside coiled and fused together, forming the outline of a woman. Her hair was made of hair-like white tendrils, and there were stitching marks on her abdomen.
"Have you... seen my child?"
The woman inside the glass column spoke. Baha seemed to think of something and didn't answer her.
Kingsley stopped in front of a large refrigerated tank. An eye opened on the tank, stared at Kingsley for a moment, and then the tank slowly opened, releasing cold mist.
Kingsley took out a sealed glass tube about ten centimeters long, containing more than half a tube of golden liquid.
"After years of accumulation, this is all that was produced."
Kingsley held the sealed tube between two fingers, the implication clear: the residual ashes of the mermaid alone weren't enough to exchange for this golden blood.
"Bai Ye, you know there are fated individuals in this world, otherwise you wouldn't have cultivated Aichi."
Kingsley paused for a moment, then tossed the sealed tube in his hand. Su Xiao raised his hand to catch it.
"Aichi has more combat potential than my No. 5. I'll face many unknown situations on this trip to the 'Tayatu Continent.' I'll take No. 0 with me. As for No. 5 and Aichi..."
Kingsley didn't continue. The No. 0 he mentioned was the genuine World Child. This trip to the Tayatu Continent, Kingsley was being very cautious, putting on an appearance of heading to his death.
But that wasn't the case. Kingsley's real purpose this time was more to scout out the situation there. His current attitude was deliberate—he was worried that after he left, someone would stab the Eclipse Organization in the back.
The two strongest supernatural organizations on the Southern Continent were indeed the Containment Institution and the Eclipse Organization, but they weren't the only ones. The next tier included: The Chosen, Secret Guilds, Pleasure Houses, Ascetic Monasteries, and others.
These forces were either suppressed by the Containment Institution or intimidated by the Eclipse Organization. Once either side showed weakness, these lower-tier forces would jump out, join hands to devour one, and then take its place.
The reason Kingsley put on an appearance of heading to his death was actually a subtle way of saying that if the Eclipse Organization fell, the Containment Institution would also suffer. Therefore, during his absence, the Containment Institution needed to firmly support the Eclipse Organization.
Given Kingsley's strength and his ability to deal with various hazards and powerful enemies, if he died on the Tayatu Continent, that would be truly surprising.
Even the Alliance Council could establish trade relations with the Tayatu Continent, let alone Kingsley. This guy wasn't planning to attack the Tayatu Continent head-on. He had prepared three full warships' worth of various daily necessities, treasures, and jewelry.
With Kingsley's methods, it wouldn't be surprising if, a few days later, he became the new chief of some primitive tribe.
"Go ahead, tell me what you want me to do."
Su Xiao lit a cigarette, his wariness toward Kingsley never fading.
"Play the villain, the mastermind, the antagonist—a lonely antagonist who has lost his lifelong rival."
Kingsley smiled, the gleam in his eyes captivating.
"Oh?"
Su Xiao understood Kingsley's meaning. He put away the sealed glass tube. Inside was Fate Blood, which only genuine World Children possessed. It was absolutely impossible to obtain this through killing.
Kingsley's Lightning-Conducting Secret Art wasn't actually complicated. He had used Fate Blood to develop a seal called 'Holy Father.' Using Fate Blood as the base material, after engraving the 'Holy Father' seal onto a specific item, that item could be used as a lightning-conducting tool.
"I've perfected this seal for seven years. From my personal perspective, it can already be used as a combat method."
Kingsley handed over a piece of animal skin the size of a palm. The skin still had traces of blood and residual warmth, appearing fresh, but it had actually been peeled off at least half a year ago.
"..."
Su Xiao silently took the animal skin. The inspiration for the 'Holy Father' seal's composition was commendable. As for the structure, from the perspective of an Alchemy Master, this seal was very crude. Each had their expertise, and Kingsley wasn't focused on this area.
Su Xiao could perfect the 'Holy Father' seal. What concerned him was whether, with the 'Holy Father' seal formed from this Fate Blood in hand, he could draw down golden lightning in other Primordial Worlds.
If possible, this Fate Blood was very valuable. If not, then every time he entered a new world, he would need to find that world's genuine World Child, seize the scarce Fate Blood from their body, and then re-engrave the 'Holy Father' seal before he could conduct lightning in the new Primordial World. For just one sword technique, this was too troublesome and unstable.
Everything needed to be verified through actual testing. Moreover, as an Alchemist, Su Xiao could improve the 'Holy Father' seal. Not only that, but the carrier he chose for the seal would definitely be equipment certified by Reincarnation Paradise.
Certified equipment wouldn't be weakened in any derivative world, Primordial World, or even the Void and the Real World. Using this as the carrier for the 'Holy Father' seal, there was a decent probability that it could also draw down golden lightning in other worlds.
This matter had great potential. Su Xiao was in a good mood as he looked toward the deepest corridor of the research institute. Kingsley had already written the 'script.'
Just the residual ashes of the mermaid weren't worth as much as the Fate Blood Su Xiao had obtained. Therefore, Su Xiao needed to do one thing for Kingsley—something very simple for him, but only he could do it.
Su Xiao had Baha lift the No. 5 glass column and move it to a spacious hall deeper in the corridor. That was the place Kingsley had prepared long ago. Originally, due to changes in the situation, Kingsley himself was supposed to sit there waiting for a few people to arrive. Now, Su Xiao would sit on the iron chair in the hall, waiting for those people to come.
Kingsley was going to the Tayatu Continent. What would happen there, no one could determine. Therefore, Kingsley planned to make the protagonist team useful.
Ever since the protagonist team, with their astonishing luck, took away the mermaid from that primitive tribe, both Su Xiao and Kingsley had discovered that the protagonist team was really useful.
This time, for the sake of caution, Kingsley would become the protagonist team's 'great benefactor.'
After Su Xiao and Kingsley discussed it, the script was as follows: First, Su Xiao's identity would be the mastermind villain, who had imprisoned the genuine World Child, No. 0, and through Hazard S-012, cultivated the white-haired young man, the World Child (Fake).
Not only the white-haired young man, but Aichi was also recently cultivated by Su Xiao (this was fact). His purpose in cultivating these two was to have them fight each other, ultimately selecting a vessel to carry Hazard S-001, and through the vessel carrying S-001, overthrow the rule of the Southern Alliance, becoming the dictator of the Southern Continent.
This story was indeed cliché, but the protagonist team were all good-aligned companions. They would fall for it. Upon learning that Su Xiao wanted to overthrow the Southern Alliance and become a brutal, iron-fisted dictator, the five members of the protagonist team would definitely not stand idly by.
Would the protagonist team come to punish Su Xiao? Of course not. How could the script plotted by Su Xiao and Kingsley be so cliché?
As the protagonist team discovered this secret, the exciting part arrived. The Tayatu Civilization surfaced. The great emperor from thousands of years ago still existed to this day—an even more dangerous enemy.
Su Xiao and Kingsley, who had been hostile to each other, temporarily set aside their grudges. Su Xiao would guard the Southern Continent, while Kingsley would embark on an expedition to the Tayatu Continent.
At this point in the script, it entered its climax. Kingsley's second identity would be exposed—he was the one who secretly formed the protagonist team and had been secretly helping these five. The five members of the protagonist team had survived to this day because of Kingsley's secret protection. With this, Kingsley successfully redeemed himself.
The protagonist team, seeking the truth, would come to the underground laboratory and learn all of this. Ask yourself, with the personalities of those five, would they watch the tragic hero Kingsley, who had secretly protected and helped them all along, go to his death on the Tayatu Continent? The answer was, absolutely not.
The protagonist team would find Kingsley before his departure and, as assistants, go with him to the Tayatu Continent.
As for Su Xiao's identity as the mastermind villain, that didn't matter. If Kingsley wanted to use the protagonist team to deal with Su Xiao, the later script still had a shocking reversal—Kingsley would be revealed as the mastermind behind everything, the origin of all evil.
After finalizing the plan, Su Xiao sat on the iron chair at the center of the hall. A few meters behind him was the No. 5 glass column.
"Playing the villain, do I need to change clothes?"
Su Xiao looked at Kingsley. Upon hearing this, Kingsley smiled and replied, "No need. Just tone it down a bit. Don't release too much blood aura."
With a rumble, the metal door at the front of the corridor closed. They only needed the protagonist team to arrive.