Chapter 4: The Vice Dean's Assist

Chapter 4: The Vice Dean's Assist

The early morning sun slanted in through the gap in the curtains. Su Xiao rose from the bed, disoriented for a moment, before gradually realizing this was the bedroom connected to the dean's office. He had only gone to sleep in the latter half of the night, and it was now nearly nine o'clock.

Although Su Xiao had always possessed a human constitution—cough, a relatively strong human constitution—going without sleep for extended periods wasn't a problem. However, there was a risk: the longer he went without rest, the harder it became to maintain peak combat power. Conversely, if he took some time to rest each day, even for a short while, he could remain at his absolute peak.

After washing up, Su Xiao walked out of the bathroom. He had just taken a seat behind the desk when a knock came at the door. It was Eleanor.

"Something wrong?"

Su Xiao was reviewing a document concerning the Sun Church and didn't look up at Eleanor's arrival.

"Dean, how did you deal with that old fox? He actually agreed to recommend these people to you."

Eleanor sat across from the desk with a ladylike demeanor, maintaining a gentle smile.

"Eleanor, from now on, we're all on the same side. There's no need to put on that act in front of me."

Su Xiao glanced up at Eleanor across from him.

"Tch."

Eleanor let out a light scoff, took out a lady's cigarette, and lit it. She hooked her slender index finger, using her nail to pull Su Xiao's ashtray closer to her.

"Should I call you Eleanor? Or Eleanor?"

"Eleanor will do. I'm in control 24 hours a day, basically. She only comes out when we see our mother."

"Oh? Is that your other personality?"

"No, that's my sister. We were supposed to be twins, but her body died in our mother's womb. To put it simply, my sister is temporarily staying with me. It's been a long stay, but I don't mind."

Eleanor didn't go into too much detail, but in a world where people had a chance to gain supernatural powers from birth, Eleanor and her sister's situation was plausible.

"So, the pervert is you, not your sister Eleanor?"

Baha spoke up from the side. Hearing this, a meaningful smile appeared on Eleanor's face as she said, "Couldn't it be that my sister and I share the same hobby?"

"Damn."

Baha had nothing to say. It now understood why Eleanor was such a super sadist. It had originally thought the two sisters were one good and one evil. Now it seemed that was the case, but whether it was the kind-hearted sister or the evil-aligned sister, both had a personality that found pleasure in seeing others suffer.

This was also why, if Eleanor wanted to find pleasure in others' pain, that pain couldn't be caused by her. She had to be an observer. Her sister's kindness wouldn't allow Eleanor to become the perpetrator herself.

Su Xiao had essentially gauged the situation. If he needed to go out, he could entrust the authority of the asylum to Eleanor. Because Eleanor, bound by her sister, was someone with both principles and the ability to be ruthless when necessary. Moreover, Eleanor was strong enough.

"Eleanor, later on, go to the Hunter unit and sound them out. We'll be working closely with them soon."

"This... isn't appropriate."

Eleanor furrowed her slender brows. In her view, the asylum had just changed deans. It would be wise to avoid contact with the Hunter unit for now.

"I need their intelligence channels."

"Oh~, I understand. I'll take care of it later. But before that, you need to make your selection. The five of them are waiting downstairs on the first floor. That old fox's intention is that these five were originally promised to be recommended to the Hunter unit. As you know, although that old fox is our predecessor's predecessor as dean, he also has close ties with the Hunter unit. So, there are five in total. We pick three, and the remaining two go to the Hunter unit. Honestly, if it were up to me, I wouldn't want to choose. I'd rather take all five."

With that, Eleanor picked up the five resumes beside her and handed them to Su Xiao.

Su Xiao took the resumes. Last night, he had spoken with the old fox, the predecessor's predecessor, who had agreed to help recommend talent. He hadn't expected such efficiency, with the people arriving today.

The first file described a man named Harvilit Dre, 49 years old. In the photo, Dre was unshaven and looked disheveled.

It was no wonder Dre was so downcast. Before the age of 40, he had been a renowned gold-level bodyguard in the Alliance. One of the four Grand Councilors had Harvilit Dre as one of his personal bodyguards.

Everything fell apart for Dre after he turned 40. That day, he was protecting a high-ranking Alliance official when the official suddenly suffered a heart attack. From onset to death, it took less than half a minute. The emergency measures Dre took had no effect whatsoever.

From then on, Dre's misfortune began. He protected a wealthy merchant, who died from excessive drinking. He protected a rich young lady, who, troubled by love, secretly drank poisoned wine. He protected an official, who was attacked.

It was a stormy night. Dre and that Alliance official were ambushed. In the chaos, Dre not only kept his employer unharmed but also broke out of the ambush zone. Just as he was nearing exhaustion but about to escape with his employer, a crack of thunder struck, and his employer was killed by lightning.

The assassins who had been chasing them were stunned. They actually admired Dre's skill and professionalism, and they also hated this bodyguard who had killed so many of their comrades. Yet, for some reason, at that moment, those assassins really wanted to laugh.

After Dre turned 40, it was as if he had been targeted by the God of Misfortune. In the following years, his protection mission completion rate dropped from the original 99.7% all the way down to 49.2%. This was still supported by his previous completion rate. If you only looked at his completion rate after 40, it was less than 10%. What was even more bizarre was that these mission failures had nothing to do with Dre's personal ability. They were all due to various accidents.

Seeing Dre's information, Su Xiao was secretly astonished. He hadn't expected there to be someone so unlucky.

Baha seemed to want to make a comment, but fearing it might need 'major repairs' later, it swallowed the sarcastic remark it had in mind.

Su Xiao naturally didn't need a bodyguard to protect him, but he was very interested in Dre. The reason was that among his current enemies, there were likely those in high positions. Such people would definitely have powerful bodyguards around them.

As a former gold-level bodyguard, Dre would naturally be very familiar with his peers—no, he should know them inside out. If Dre were given two skilled assassins to command as the leader of an assassination operation, there would be few targets that this three-person team couldn't handle.

Su Xiao continued flipping through the files and quickly found suitable personnel. To be precise, the remaining four were all suitable, but it was a matter of refinement.

Among these four, Su Xiao chose a melee-type assassin named Silver Mask and a long-range assassin named Veronica.

"Have them come in."

Su Xiao tossed the three files onto the desk in front of Eleanor. Eleanor picked them up and nodded. The choices were similar to what she had guessed. The deviation was regarding Dre. Eleanor's ideal three-person team would have consisted entirely of assassins.

A moment later, Dre, Silver Mask, and Veronica stood in a row from right to left according to height.

Dre looked even more disheveled than in the photo. His stubble was turning white. A man under 50 shouldn't look so weathered, but at this moment, his weathered face was etched with stories.

"Hello, I'm Dre."

Dre's voice was steady, his eyes unconsciously scanning the surroundings. Compared to him, Silver Mask and Veronica beside him remained silent. Such silence was fitting for their backgrounds.

"Dean White Night, can I know in advance who I'm supposed to protect this time? If it's to protect your personal safety, I can't take on this commission."

From the moment he entered this office, Dre had felt uneasy. It was as if a massive blood beast was lurking behind the desk ahead, staring at him with an icy, fierce gaze, making him feel like needles were pricking his back.

"You don't need to protect anyone. From today on, you are the captain of this three-person assassination team."

Su Xiao put down the materials about the Sun Church he was reading, glanced at Dre, and then continued reviewing other documents about the Sun Church.

"Assassination team? Dean White Night, you must be mistaken. I would never..."

"Interesting taste. You married a woman from the Northern Border's Fluff-Ear Clan and have a son and a daughter. The Northern Border is harsh. Have your family move to Kus City to settle down."

As Su Xiao spoke, he placed a special amnesty document for the Northern Border's alien races on the table. Dre stepped forward, his hand trembling slightly as he picked up the amnesty document, veins bulging.

"Any other questions?"

Su Xiao looked up at Dre again while reviewing the Sun Church materials.

"No... none."

"..."

Su Xiao dropped the documents in his hand. After reading these files, he had a preliminary impression of the Sun Church in this world. These sun-crazed fanatics.

Having dealt with Dre, Su Xiao turned his gaze to Silver Mask and Veronica. Silver Mask was from the Alliance's Holy Capital. Back when the Antler Organization collapsed, as a member of that organization's assassination department, Silver Mask should have been purged.

It was clear that the old fox of the asylum valued talent and didn't want a top-tier assassin like Silver Mask to die in factional struggles.

Speaking of the Antler Organization, it was both an institution within the Alliance and a special cult. They worshipped the Deer God, though the Deer God was no longer in this world.

This Deer God from the Void was a deity of the friendly faction, but his temper wasn't great. Calling him the honey badger of the divine system wouldn't be wrong. He was either fighting to the death with ancient gods or evil gods, or tempering himself. He was already very strong, but he always felt he wasn't strong enough.

The controversial aspect of the Deer God's alignment was that he held grudges very fiercely.

This was why Silver Mask, an assassin from the Antler faction, had such extreme abilities. It was precisely because of this that he could become a top-tier assassin in this world.

Su Xiao's gaze shifted to the last person, Veronica. She was 20 years old, 1.55 meters tall, with some freckles on her face and nose. Her eyes were bright and spirited, giving her a youthful and energetic look. However, what drew more attention was the sniper cannon she carried on her back. This sniper cannon was over 1.8 meters long and weighed over 960 kilograms. It was powered by soul energy as its core driving force and was one of the main members of this world's iron-blooded weapon family.

The reason the old fox could transfer talent like Veronica from her original unit was largely due to this sniper cannon on her back. The cost of using and maintaining this thing was too high. Moreover, the Alliance and the Northern Empire hadn't been at war for centuries. Using Veronica and her sniper cannon in peacetime was basically like a demolition crew.

At this moment, Veronica's gaze was drifting toward the clock on the wall. Being transferred to the asylum, she only had two thoughts: what the salary and benefits were like here, and how the food was.

"Dre, I'm giving you your first mission now."

Hearing Su Xiao's words, Dre's expression turned serious. Silver Mask beside him showed no reaction, while Veronica instinctively straightened her posture.

"Deliver this to the Archbishop of the Sun Church."

Su Xiao took out an exquisite wooden box and placed it on the table. Inside were three bottles of [Sun Holy Medicine]. He didn't believe the people of the Sun Church could refuse this.

The risk of dealing with the six traitors was very high, so it was wise to ally with as many forces as possible.

Seeing that it wasn't a protection mission, Dre breathed a silent sigh of relief. He picked up the wooden box and left with Silver Mask and Veronica.

Su Xiao picked up the phone and dialed the former dean. He had some things to confirm with him. But the phone rang and rang on the other end, with no one answering.

Just as Su Xiao put down the phone, it rang. He picked it up and found it was from the old dean's place, but a woman was speaking. Her first words were:

"The old man has already run off."

"Who are you?"

"Tessa."

"..."

Hearing the person on the other end identify herself, Su Xiao was silent for a moment. Why was Tessa, the leader of the Hunter unit, at the old dean's house? And she was so certain that the old dean had already fled.

"Good luck. Don't underestimate your opponent. He has gained the support of the Dawn Church this time."

After saying this, the other party hung up.

The information in these few words from Tessa, the leader of the Hunter unit, was immense. First, the old dean had fled. Mentioning this brought up the old dean's long-time rival, Vice Dean Gusworth.

The relationship between these two could be traced back to the previous dean, the old fox.

First, the old fox had won the dean position among several competitors. Then, he trained two people as his successors to avoid a repeat of the tragedy that occurred when the position was contested. Don't underestimate this position. If it fell into the hands of a major Alliance family, a lot could be done. It could even be a stepping stone to becoming a Grand Councilor, and the four Grand Councilor seats were the pinnacle of Alliance power.

The two people the old fox trained were the current old dean and Vice Dean Gusworth. Initially, they were rivals. Losing to others, Vice Dean Gusworth, who had a vulture-like style, would certainly not give up. But losing to the old dean, he endured it. He endured it for decades.

The old dean's health was deteriorating. Logically, this position should have been handed over to Vice Dean Gusworth. But unexpectedly, the old dean didn't do that. Instead, he gave the position to someone in the Alliance who had no power but was very strong.

The identity Su Xiao had taken over this time was this powerful individual. The deceptive fact that White Night had become the new dean was due to the intervention of Reincarnation Paradise.

The current situation was that no one knew why the old dean had done this, including Vice Dean Gusworth. But this didn't stop Vice Dean Gusworth, who had endured for decades, from venting his anger.

At first glance, Vice Dean Gusworth had gone to the Holy Capital to complain to the Grand Councilor. But that wasn't the case. Vice Dean Gusworth had allied with the Dawn Church.

Back when the Alliance and the Northern Empire recognized the Four Churches, they had clearly established an iron law: churches were not to interfere in politics, meaning they were not to secretly fund high-ranking officials of the Alliance or the Northern Empire to help them rise to power.

The Twilight Asylum was a special department, and the Dawn Church's headquarters was in the Saint Lan Kingdom, which led to the current situation.

Undoubtedly, the old dean was a capable and resourceful person. But now, even the old dean had fled overnight, which meant Vice Dean Gusworth was extremely difficult to deal with.

Su Xiao picked up the group photo of the asylum on the desk and looked at the old man with sunken eyes and a hooked nose standing next to the old dean. The more he looked at this old man's solemn expression, the more he liked it. He had racked his brains trying to find a legitimate way to ally with the Sun Church, and this old man had just handed him the reason.

Vice Dean Gusworth's purpose in allying with the Dawn Church was certainly to deal with Su Xiao. Anyone could see that. So Su Xiao, 'with no other choice,' was 'forced' to ally with the Sun Church, 'passively' and 'reluctantly' dealing with Vice Dean Gusworth.

To put it this way, in terms of numbers, the Dawn Church was hundreds of times larger than the Sun Church. But in terms of overall combat power, if the Dawn Church was 500, the Sun Church would be at least 1800 to 3000.

Back during the war between the Alliance and the Northern Empire, one of the Alliance's most elite legions was called the Sun Legion. The warriors under this legion had repeatedly clashed head-on with the Northern Border's Winter Cavalry, with both sides having their victories and defeats.

Under normal circumstances, as soon as Su Xiao allied with the Sun Church, the Council would impeach him and remove him from his position. But this time was different. He was 'forced to retaliate.'

Su Xiao wouldn't stop until he cracked open the Dawn Church's skull. He estimated that among the Dawn Church's high-ranking members, there might be the traitor he was looking for.

As for whether the Sun Church would agree to his alliance, that wasn't Su Xiao's concern. What he should be more careful about was how much force to hold back during the subsequent alliance with the Sun Church. He didn't want to accidentally become one of the Sun Church's archbishops, which would make things difficult later.

Su Xiao's plan was becoming clearer. He didn't need to worry about the Devourer battle for now. The five Devourers were all in their developmental stage.

The immediate priority was to ally with the Sun Church and confront the combined forces of Vice Dean Gusworth and the Dawn Church. Defeating this side meant Su Xiao had firmly established himself in this world and gained significant influence in the Alliance. Only then could he engage the six traitors.

But before that, Su Xiao had something else to do. He sheathed the Dragon-Slaying Flash and tucked it into his belt, then walked out of the office.

Going down to the first floor, Su Xiao found the atmosphere at the Twilight Asylum to be quite harmonious. Some supernaturals who had mostly recovered from their mental illnesses were either sitting on benches in the corridor contemplating life or strolling on the lawn in the courtyard. A few patients who weren't responding well to treatment were currently swimming on the lawn of the main courtyard. Nearby stood Eleanor, looking helpless, along with a few other doctors. He could vaguely hear conversations about increasing the dosage.

The usual atmosphere at the Twilight Asylum was pretty good. Of course, when it came time for the weekly exercise period for the prisoners in the underground prison, the atmosphere would suddenly change. The security personnel's eyes would become exceptionally sharp, and the facility would go into lockdown.

Su Xiao took the central elevator. When it stopped, he was on the first level of the underground prison. Following the stairs, he reached the third level.

There were ten cells here. The front of each cell was made of gravity crystals, which looked like a 10-centimeter-thick pane of glass. In reality, these gravity crystals were extremely sturdy, and the air valves were one-way structures.

The lights illuminated all the cells brightly. The lowest level held five prisoners and one Abyss Spawn. The five prisoners were: Lion King, Furious Shark, Hatred, Mind Master, and finally, the Siren.

Recently, Mind Master and Hatred had been relatively well-behaved. Lion King and Furious Shark were planning an escape, but for some reason, they had called it off. Su Xiao found this a bit regrettable. If those two had dared to try to escape, he would have had a chance to use them.

As Su Xiao passed the cells of Lion King and Furious Shark, he stopped. He first looked at Lion King, who was at least five meters tall with hair like a lion's mane, and then at Furious Shark next door, who had a shark-like face.

"I heard you two were planning an escape?"

As soon as Su Xiao said this, the expressions on Lion King and Furious Shark's faces remained unchanged, but their hearts skipped a beat.

"Rumor, absolutely a rumor."

Lion King immediately denied it. He was very sure that this new dean was looking for an excuse to kill him, and if he got the chance, the other party wouldn't hesitate for a moment.

In the cell diagonally across, the Siren watched everything with a smile on her face. Compared to Lion King and Furious Shark, who had sentences of several thousand years, the Siren was slightly weaker, but her abilities were very dangerous. This had led to the tribunal sentencing her to over 13,000 years.

Among the five criminals, the one with the longest sentence was Hatred. The tribunal had sentenced him to over a million years. As Baha put it, this guy must have violated the laws of heaven.

Su Xiao stopped in front of the cell containing the Abyss Spawn. Inside the cell, the pitch-black Abyss Spawn was like a semi-fluid mass of iron sand, sometimes transforming into hair-thin black tentacles. If this thing attached itself to a living being and burrowed into their flesh, the pain would be unimaginable.

When it sensed Su Xiao's arrival, the Abyss Spawn in the cell initially ignored him. But soon, it seemed to sense something and became agitated, more aggressive. It sensed that the one who could kill it had arrived.

Su Xiao wanted to test what kind of enhancement the Blade Demon Spirit would gain after devouring the indestructible properties of the Abyss Spawn.

PS: Recommending a friend's book, titled "Chief Life Experience Officer."