Chapter 46: Memorial Service
Su Xiao rarely summoned the Demon Insect Race into the Alliance World, both because it might provoke a warning from the Void Tree and because this place wasn’t suitable for their development. Given the Demon Insect Race’s ‘appetite,’ even if they devoured every deity in this world, they couldn’t grow too strong. Forming a Demon Beast Legion would be decent, but having Demon Flame Dragons flying everywhere was absolutely impossible.
Today was the fifth day after Su Xiao activated his main quest. The time limit for the second ring of the main quest was ten days. Calculating this, forming a temporary alliance to attack the continent where the Taiyatu Civilization resided—the Western Continent—was clearly too late.
Currently, three known continents existed in the Alliance World: the Southern Continent, the Eastern Continent, and the newly discovered Western Continent. The Southern and Eastern Continents were very close. According to geologists’ surveys, they were originally one landmass, later ‘split’ by something—yes, split—because the bay at the division was too neat, unlikely caused by long-term crustal movement.
The newly discovered Western Continent was far from Su Xiao’s Southern Continent. Even on the shortest sea route, a steel warship would take three days to reach it. With just over five days left on the quest, subtracting the three days needed for sailing, the remaining time might not be enough to form a temporary alliance, gather forces, and attack the Western Continent.
Sitting behind his desk, Su Xiao’s eyes showed hesitation. As an Eighth Rank Contractor, he was no longer as helpless about insufficient main quest time as he was at lower ranks. But extending the main quest time limit came at a cost that even he found painful.
As an Eighth Rank Hunter, Su Xiao did have a way to extend the main quest time limit—an advantage he’d accumulated—but the price was too high. The known method to increase the main quest time limit was to submit Space-Time Power to Reincarnation Paradise.
Paradises traded Space-Time Power among themselves. Last world, Su Xiao had even acted as a robber in such trades… cough, as a third party. Through the Reincarnation Mark, submitting 10 ounces of Space-Time Power to Reincarnation Paradise extended the main quest by one day. In principle, this was a terrible deal. Space-Time Power had many uses and was extremely hard to obtain. Moreover, this extension had a limit: at most three extra days.
But Su Xiao felt he might not lose this time. If he really formed a temporary alliance to attack a continent, the gains would far exceed imagination. The Western Continent was tough. Not only was Emperor Taiyatu there, but the sub-bodies of those threadworms—almost evolved into aberrant beings—still remained on the Western Continent.
Even without their core main body, these threadworms were still terrifying. Don’t forget, the Abyss Gate was on the Western Continent, releasing Abyss Force. Those threadworm sub-bodies had likely absorbed Abyss Force and transformed into independent entities.
Su Xiao currently had 217 ounces of Space-Time Power. He planned to use some. Though he wasn’t sure how to gain massive benefits from it, keeping more was always wise. All this Space-Time Power came from opening world-class treasure chests.
Time was precious. With a plan in mind, Su Xiao summoned Bubu Wang and Baha, then walked out of the office.
Descending to the fifth floor, Vice Officer Belok was already waiting. Su Xiao had him meet with Kingsley’s nephew, who was now the representative of the Alliance Council. Belok’s chosen deputy, the pure-looking young girl Goya, had red-rimmed eyes, looking indifferent to everything, as if life had lost all meaning.
In the corridor, Baha saw her expression and almost laughed. When cooperating with Kingsley earlier, Kingsley had made it clear that Goya was his planted spy and had negotiated with Su Xiao: Su Xiao wouldn’t kill Goya, and Kingsley would ensure the Fate Blood in Aichi and the white-haired youth wasn’t lost.
Kingsley always took care of his people. After ceasing to be fully hostile to Su Xiao, Goya’s position became awkward. She couldn’t be easily recalled, nor could she continue as a spy. Her last order was to stand by, do what her current identity required, stop all intelligence gathering, and destroy collected intel.
This order left Goya bewildered. What bewildered her more was that she got promoted, becoming the Legion Commander’s assistant—the Legion Commander’s little secretary. Goya’s heart ached. She just wanted to know when her infiltration mission would end. If she got promoted again, she’d be the Legion Commander’s vice officer! The top official in the second echelon of the Containment Institution. Another promotion would make her the Legion Commander candidate or the Legion Commander herself!
Soon, something that made Goya question her entire life happened. She received a message from her direct superior in the Eclipse Organization, Ring 8·Wadsworth. He told her that all her identity documents and positions in the Eclipse Organization had been erased. In other words, she was no longer a spy. From any angle, she was just the Legion Commander’s assistant.
The most soul-crushing thing happened half an hour ago. She heard from her superior Belok that Eclipse Organization leader Kingsley was dead. Hearing this, Goya felt thunderstruck. She’d been a spy, hadn’t sent back a single piece of intel, worked tirelessly, turned enemies into friends, and now her original leader was dead. If Goya’s mental resilience wasn’t strong enough, she’d be crying snot. Life… was just too hard, too damn hard.
“Goya, Kingsley’s dead. Are you sad?”
“No, I broke up with my boyfriend yesterday.”
Goya sniffled. She no longer cared whether she was exposed. Her idol was dead, her organization had abandoned her, and she had no feelings left.
Su Xiao reached the first-floor hall. Amu and Tide Hunter were both there. The Death Chalice had been moved to the headquarters of the organization. Extracting the Death Chalice’s liquid no longer needed to happen in Yoke City. At this critical juncture, no one cared about that.
Su Xiao drove to the Parliament Hall. Just as he arrived at the square in front of the main entrance, he saw several trucks loaded with white flowers.
“Mr. White Night, you’re here.”
Kingsley’s nephew approached, dressed in a black formal suit with a white flower pinned to his chest. He looked calm, but his eyes were bloodshot.
“Everything arranged?”
“Yeah.”
Kingsley’s nephew nodded silently and walked into the Parliament Hall. As soon as Su Xiao entered the main door, he saw a portrait about 1 meter in diameter and 1.2 meters tall.
“The portrait’s too small. Get a bigger one.”
“Mr. White Night…”
Kingsley’s nephew finally broke down, his eyes reddening. To him, this was seeing true friendship in adversity. Those who used to flatter Kingsley were now jumping out, almost declaring themselves kings, while Kingsley’s former enemy came personally to organize his memorial service.
An hour later, the Parliament Hall was fully arranged. Flower baskets lined the walls. Aside from a four-meter-wide aisle in the middle, both sides were filled with seats. At the front stood Kingsley’s floor-standing portrait. Placing it on the ground was unavoidable—it was huge, over four meters wide and eight meters tall. In front of it was an empty coffin. Below the portrait, several meters of white flowers were spread.
A woman in plain white clothes stood before the portrait, holding a baby in her arms. This was Kingsley’s wife and child. Few knew Kingsley wasn’t dead: Ring 8·Wadsworth, one imprisoned intelligence officer, Su Xiao, Bubu Wang, Amu, Baha, and Tide Hunter. Even Kingsley’s wife didn’t know he was still alive, so the memorial service was especially sorrowful.
This memorial service was necessary. Su Xiao would use it to form a temporary alliance. Given Kingsley’s status, all major figures from the Southern and Eastern Continents would attend his memorial service. Sure enough, before it started, the Containment Institution’s Finance Chief, Lady Xulin, arrived.
Lady Xulin wore a black dress, looking elegant and noble. She wasn’t strikingly beautiful at first glance, but the more you looked, the more captivating she became. Soon, Dean Victor also arrived, dressed in a black formal suit. He nodded to Su Xiao and found a seat.
Besides these two, all members of the Eclipse Organization’s monasteries and merchant alliances had arrived. Those with status entered the Parliament Hall to sit or stood by the walls. Lower-ranking members gathered outside in the open space. The rulers of the Southern and Eastern Alliances also came—four old men representing two major financial groups. The true controllers of the two alliances weren’t individuals but two vast interest chains. Each side’s twelve council members were agents of these interest teams, not representatives.
The memorial service officially began at noon. Su Xiao stood a few meters in front of the portrait, a white flower pinned to his chest. The venue was quiet, with only occasional low murmurs. People frequently walked past Su Xiao to lay flowers before the portrait.
Goya knelt at the side front of the portrait, crying so hard she could barely breathe. Bubu Wang, Amu, Baha, and Tide Hunter stood alongside Su Xiao, all expressionless. The atmosphere was mournful and solemn.
Buzz, buzz.
A vibration came from Su Xiao’s chest. He pulled out a communicator, saw the signal frequency displayed, and his expression stiffened. He cut off the call. Yes, the caller was none other than Kingsley. Su Xiao had no time—he was hosting the man’s memorial service.
Buzz, buzz.
The vibration came again. Su Xiao’s eye twitched almost imperceptibly. He took out a metal sheet, tossed it into his mouth, and bit down with his molars. Kingsley’s voice came through bone conduction into Su Xiao’s ear.
“White Night, over here… sss (unstable signal), the Emperor… sss~”
“……”
Su Xiao hung up. Dead men should talk less.
Baha: ‘Boss, who was that?’
Baha sent a message through the team channel. Tide Hunter, a temporary member, saw it too and looked at Su Xiao.
In the team channel:
Su Xiao: ‘Kingsley.’
Bubu Wang: ‘Hahahaha woof~’
Baha: ‘Kingsley’s corpse is rising from the grave.’
Baha: ‘Amu, your expression needs to be sadder, more somber.’
The team channel got lively. Not far away, Goya was crying so hard she seemed about to go into shock. Many people kept glancing at her, especially the Eclipse Organization’s high-ranking members, who didn’t know her true identity. They were all puzzled: Who the hell is this? Why is she more heartbroken than any of them?
Sadness alone wasn’t enough. Something needed to touch everyone’s nerves. Three hours ago, Su Xiao had discussed the plan with Kingsley. It was Kingsley’s idea: put a small, not-too-powerful bomb in his own coffin. This added internal strife to external threats, making it look like someone from the Southern Alliance was provoking right after his death.
Su Xiao calculated the time, feeling the small bomb should explode soon. He accepted this assist from his divine teammate.
Buzz, buzz.
Another vibration came from Su Xiao’s chest. This hit Tide Hunter’s funny bone, but she couldn’t laugh. Her expression twisted. She knew Kingsley wasn’t dead, so the whole memorial service felt absurdly comedic.
Seeing this, Baha kicked Tide Hunter with his eagle claw and whispered, “Be more somber.”
Just as Baha spoke, a bang came from the front. Kingsley’s coffin exploded, sending wood chips flying, some spiraling upward. With a slap, the huge portrait not far from the coffin fell flat, pinning Goya underneath. A few seconds later, the venue was deathly silent.
“Who did this!”
A man with wild hair strode forward. He was one of Kingsley’s trusted aides, named Hao Huo. He hadn’t followed Kingsley to the Western Continent because he was tasked with protecting Kingsley’s wife and child. Hao Huo’s body erupted with black-gold demonic flames, looking ready to devour someone. His expression showed he was determined to find the real culprit behind the coffin explosion and tear them apart. In reality, this was very difficult—the idea came from Kingsley himself.