Chapter 11: The Search
Inside the third-floor office of the Twilight Madhouse.
After the meteorite struck, the image of dust and smoke billowing froze on the wall. Baha patted the projection device and said, "What kind of crappy network is this? Why is it lagging?"
"Woof! Awoo!"
Bubu Wang, seeing Baha pat the projection device, was so anxious he almost spoke human words, because this projection device was worth over 3,000 Soul Coins, a high-tech product integrating functions like a signal base station.
After confirming his beloved hive device was fine, Bubu Wang's expression relaxed considerably. Beside him, Baha whistled guiltily; it had no idea this thing was so valuable, and in its repair knowledge, the only way to fix a broken electronic device was to pat it.
As for why Bubu Wang was so wealthy, after each mission world ended, Su Xiao gave the four of them a considerable allowance. Bubu saved and saved, accumulating quite a bit, then gradually purchased technological equipment he liked, etc. No need for practicality; Bubu Wang bought whatever he wanted.
The [Doom Stone Statue] had been successfully delivered to Vice Dean Yesinger. Su Xiao truly hadn't expected the doom from this thing to be so fierce.
[Prompt: You have triggered the enhancement effect of the Doom Stone Statue.]
[Because this item has not yet been notarized by Reincarnation Paradise, this enhancement can only take effect for the Hunter after notarization is complete.]
[Notarization of the Doom Stone Statue complete.]
[You are affected by the judgment effect of 'Vague Fortune'.]
[Judgment passed. Your Luck Attribute is permanently increased by +2 points.]
[Prompt: Your Luck Attribute has reached 50 points without equipment. The corresponding attribute reward requires you to return to Reincarnation Paradise and go to the Attribute Enhancement Hall for auxiliary acquisition.]
...
After accumulating for so long, Su Xiao's unmodified Luck Attribute finally reached 50 points. Although this unmodified 50-point Luck Attribute sometimes wasn't very useful, the passive abilities derived from the Luck Attribute were quite effective. For example, the passive derived from 20 unmodified Luck Attribute points:
'Forced Fortune (Passive): When undertaking matters such as crafting items or mixing potions, you will be blessed by fortune, the process will go more smoothly, and you may even reach your peak state (e.g., when mixing potions, there is a higher chance of mixing a potion of Perfect grade).'
This passive ability derived from the Luck Attribute gave Su Xiao a qualitative improvement in Alchemy. The subsequent acquisition of the Seven-Star Title 'Miracle Maker' amplified this improvement even further.
In the past, the potions Su Xiao mixed could at most reach 'High Grade', which was above average quality. To advance further, he had to invest a massive amount of time into a single potion formula to mix a Perfect grade potion, and even then, it was limited to that one formula. To mix other potions to Perfect quality required a lot more time.
In truth, the 'Forced Fortune' ability wasn't exceptionally strong elsewhere, especially in forging and manufacturing. But in mixing potions, this not-so-strong ability was an absolute divine skill.
What truly elevated Su Xiao's potion mixing to another level was 'Miracle Maker'. This title allowed him to break through to a higher level based on mixing 'Perfect Grade', which was mixing 'Miracle Grade' potions.
A potion goes from Qualified Grade → High Grade → Perfect Grade → Miracle Grade. It must be improved step by step, not directly mixed to Miracle Grade. That means the Miracle Grade potions Su Xiao mixed were equivalent to potions whose effects had been enhanced three times. This was why the old alchemists in the Void had absolutely no desire to compete with Su Xiao in Alchemy.
Therefore, Su Xiao had some expectations for the passive ability brought by this Luck Attribute increase. If it still improved potion mixing, that would be best. If not, an ability to increase fortune would be acceptable. Such abilities were somewhat ineffective for him.
Closing his personal information list, Su Xiao began considering a problem: the enemies he currently had to deal with were truly too many. Among all the enemies, he had only managed to deal with the Deceiver for now.
Besides that, the Usurper was killed by the Betrayer many years ago. To obtain the corresponding bounty on the Hunt List for the Usurper, Su Xiao needed to find their burial site to obtain their soul fragments, thereby crossing the name off the Hunt List.
Even without considering the Usurper for now, the enemies Su Xiao had to deal with included the Informer in the nightmare, the Black Rose of the Saint Lan Kingdom (the Mysterious One), the Sand King of the Desert Kingdom (the Defector), and finally, the whereabouts-unknown Betrayer.
Besides these four traitors, Su Xiao's current enemies also included Vice Dean Yesinger, five priests and one high priest of the Dawn God Cult, and their deity, the Radiance God.
Counting on his fingers, the number of enemies reached twelve, and these were all people with status and position. High-ranking members of the Dawn Church and some middle and lower-level members weren't even counted.
It wasn't that Su Xiao was making enemies everywhere after entering this world. These enemies arose either from opposing stances or from his identity as the Dean.
At this stage, the hostility with Vice Dean Yesinger + the Dawn God Cult was somewhat like secretly tripping each other up. This was within the Alliance's territory. Neither Su Xiao's side, the Dawn God Cult, nor the Sun God Cult would directly clash here.
In other words, the subsequent confrontation with Vice Dean Yesinger would mainly revolve around strategy and assassination, etc. This would be a relatively long cycle. Or rather, this was the result the Council wanted to see.
But this wasn't what Su Xiao wanted to do. He didn't have that much time to engage in open and covert struggles with Vice Dean Yesinger. Furthermore, he always felt that if they continued scheming against each other, he might not be Vice Dean Yesinger's match.
At the start, he had schemed against the other party once, which involved elements of accident and luck, such as the appearance of the [Doom Stone Statue]. But Vice Dean Yesinger, without personal combat power, had reached his current position. His strategic strength was definitely not what it seemed on the surface. If they really let that side deploy its plans, their own side would be in constant trouble.
Su Xiao checked the time and said to Baha, "You go find the Sun Bishop now. Meeting in half an hour."
Su Xiao was going to make some changes to the plan. No, he should accelerate the plan. In his view, continuing to waste time in this round of confrontation wouldn't yield any practical results.
Take the Dawn God Cult side first. Even if Su Xiao won this confrontation, at most, he would make the Dawn God Cult lose some benefits. This was equivalent to making the enemy hate him more without being able to kill them.
Instead of this, it was better to wait until he went to the Saint Lan Kingdom to deal with the Black Rose, and deal with the Dawn God Cult at the same time. Su Xiao always suspected one thing: the Black Rose's forces were deeply entrenched in the Saint Lan Kingdom. How could they have no connection with the Dawn God Cult? It was very possible they were in cahoots.
In that case, when he went to the Saint Lan Kingdom, dealing with the Dawn God Cult and the Black Rose together would be the first choice, rather than having a war of words with the Dawn God Cult within the Alliance's territory now. Su Xiao's consistent style was: if you can kill the enemy, don't waste words with them.
Furthermore, regarding the Sun God Cult, even if they had reached a cooperation now, it was only preliminary. The Sun God Cult's main base was in the Desert Kingdom. Deep cooperation could only be achieved after going there.
Just as Su Xiao was thinking, the door was knocked. He checked the time; Baha had only been out for over twenty minutes.
Bubu opened the door. The first to walk in was a figure wearing a large red robe and a platinum mask.
Behind him followed two figures. One was nearly four meters tall, tall and strong, holding a scepter over four meters long. This metal scepter was as thick as an egg, and the thickest part at the top was as thick as a bucket.
The scepters of other sects might represent divine authority, but this scepter was very characteristic of the Sun God Cult. When facing heinous criminals, using this thing for physical proselytizing was highly effective. Most thugs, upon seeing this scepter and the tall man holding it, would instinctively feel guilty and admit that they had indeed spoken a bit too loudly just now.
Among the three, the bishop in the large red robe was called the Platinum Bishop, because he had worn a mask ever since joining the Sun God Cult.
As the representative of the Sun God Cult within the Alliance's territory, the Platinum Bishop had done many ridiculous things. For example, he once stood on top of the lightning rod of the Council building in the Holy Capital to praise the sun.
As a result, while he was maintaining the posture of praising the sun, dark clouds obscured the sun, and it started raining heavily. At the time, the Platinum Bishop didn't mind. But in the next second, a huge bolt of lightning struck down. Standing on top of a lightning rod in the rain, who else would it strike?
Don't think this middle-aged bishop was a goofball. Back when they besieged an Abyss Spawn with an indestructible nature, he was one of the main combatants. He thrust his hand into the Abyss Spawn's body and detonated highly compressed solar energy, temporarily exhausting the Abyss Spawn.
As a price, the Platinum Bishop was bedridden for half a year. After that, he had been accompanied by his two colleagues, cleaning up members of the Dark God Cult across the Alliance.
Although there were ranks within the Sun God Cult, there was no difference in status. This was probably one of the characteristics of the Sun Sect. Bishops were respected, but they had no authority to order lower-level members to do anything.
The two who came with the Platinum Bishop this time were a man and a woman. The woman was about 1.65 meters tall, with short hair reaching her neck, wearing a gorgeous black long dress and black cloth gloves on her hands.
What attracted the most attention was her pair of crimson pupils. She was called Red-Eyed Girl. Hearing this name, Su Xiao suddenly remembered that on the Demon Spirit Star before, there was also a girl called Red-Eyed Girl, but their temperaments were different.
At this moment, Red-Eyed Girl was staring at Baha, which made Baha smile politely. But who would have thought, Red-Eyed Girl immediately said to the Platinum Bishop in a tone devoid of emotion, "Platinum, I want to eat stewed chicken for dinner. The kind with blue feathers that runs super fast on the ground."
"What the hell."
Baha's smile froze. This wasn't about wanting to eat stewed chicken; it was clearly hinting at whether they could stew it.
"Baha is our friend. You can't eat him."
The Platinum Bishop spoke with a smile. Behind him and Red-Eyed Girl stood the Beast Knight, nearly four meters tall, who remained silent throughout. He was a man both powerful and taciturn.
The Platinum Bishop sat opposite the desk, his fingers tapping the armrest of the chair one after another, producing a somewhat rapid 'da da da' sound.
"Bai Ye, looks like you've run into trouble. You called us here so urgently, so don't beat around the bush. We're all friends. Spit it out. As long as the other guy isn't a good person, and my conscience is clear, the three of us will help you go kill... ahem, eliminate his evil."
The Platinum Bishop's words showed he was a straightforward person. It was clear he felt uneasy about receiving three bottles of [Sun Holy Medicine] for nothing.
[Sun Holy Medicine (Perfect)]
Type: Permanent Enhancement Potion
Effect 1: Within 30 minutes of drinking, permanently increases Solar Power by 5200 points, Solar Power Adaptability +19 points.
Perfect Grade Bonus: After drinking, permanently and significantly increases the vitality of all internal organs.
Hint: Repeated use of this potion is ineffective.
...
Su Xiao looked at the Platinum Bishop opposite him. After a moment, he said, "There is indeed something I need to trouble you with."
As Su Xiao spoke, the [Sun Ring] appeared floating a few centimeters above his upturned palm. Seeing the [Sun Ring], the Platinum Bishop stood up with a 'whoosh'.
"This thing... can't exist in this world. There isn't such pure and vast solar faith power here. You..."
The Platinum Bishop stared at Su Xiao for a few seconds, then suddenly understood: "Oh, you're from the Paradise faction. Strange, why would someone from the Paradise faction become the Dean of the Twilight Madhouse? But that's not important. Where did you get this ring?"
"I made it."
"Haha, stop joking, Bai Ye. This thing..."
The Platinum Bishop stopped mid-sentence, finding that Su Xiao across from him had an aura that startled him.
"For a time, I was the Sun Lord."
Hearing this, for some reason, the Platinum Bishop had no doubt in his heart. Other things could be faked, but the aura just now could not be disguised.
"I heard from an old bishop that besides the world we know, there are countless other worlds. In other worlds, do people also believe in the sun?"
"Yes. The most glorious solar civilization came from the Sun God Clan."
Su Xiao took out an embryonic egg of a Demon Flame Dragon. The several-meter-tall embryonic egg stood beside the desk. Through the outer white hard shell, the dragon creature inside could faintly be seen.
"Find a place that can gather a massive amount of solar power to hatch it. Let it have a sufficiently strong solar characteristic."
Su Xiao spoke. Hearing this, the Platinum Bishop showed a troubled expression: "This matter..."
Before the Platinum Bishop could finish, Su Xiao had already taken out a long, exquisite wooden box. Opening it revealed ten neatly arranged bottles of [Sun Holy Medicine].
"Even if it's difficult, I'll find a way to handle it for you. Oh, by the way, are you interested in becoming a bishop here? I feel you're quite suitable. How about it, you were a Sun Lord before."
"No interest."
"Don't refuse so quickly. Let me tell you, if you join us, you'll definitely be... Hey, Baha, don't pull me. Let me tell you, Bai Ye, being a dean here has no future. Damn bird, if you pull me again, I'll fall out with you. I'm joking, wait a moment..."
Escorted by Baha and Amu, the Platinum Bishop reluctantly left, so reluctantly that he tore off a piece of the door frame. The reason was, firstly, because Su Xiao had been a Sun Lord, which made the Platinum Bishop feel especially fond of him upon meeting. Secondly, the potions Su Xiao mixed surprised the Platinum Bishop; the effects of several years of his cultivation might not match drinking one bottle of this potion. Finally, Su Xiao's generous gesture made the Platinum Bishop even more eager to recruit Su Xiao.
This meeting with the Platinum Bishop was not only to establish cooperation between the Madhouse and the Sun God Cult but also to have them help gather a massive amount of solar power to cultivate the Demon Flame Dragon.
After the Demon Flame Dragon was successfully cultivated, Su Xiao would enhance it and change its characteristics, making it convenient for subsequent battles in the Saint Lan Kingdom and against the Sand King, etc. When needed, he could fight in a dragon-riding state.
Su Xiao stood by the window, watching the Platinum Bishop and the Beast Knight leave. After a moment, he turned his gaze to Red-Eyed Girl, who was sitting on a chair a few meters away.
"Why aren't you leaving?"
"It's almost dinner time. I'll have a quick meal here and then go."
"..."
Su Xiao glanced at the floor-standing antique clock that Amu had just repaired. It was only a little past one in the afternoon. Considering the atmosphere of the Sun Church and the Platinum Bishop's personal style, the branch maintained by these three people was probably quite poor. The stronger the person, the higher the expenses. Besides, these three didn't have many sources of income.
"Is your branch very poor?"
"Of course not."
Red-Eyed Girl rested with her eyes closed, as she too saw it was only a little past one. Trying to mooch dinner at this time required a certain amount of perseverance.
"..."
Su Xiao went behind the desk, opened a drawer, and took out a stack of Gulang, about 7,000 Gulang.
"What do you mean by this?"
Red-Eyed Girl seemed tough, but her eyes were fixed on the Gulang in Su Xiao's hand.
"Lending it to you."
"No... no way. We definitely can't pay it back. Thank you for your kindness."
Having said that, Red-Eyed Girl stood up, slightly lifted her gorgeous black dress, and gave a small bow.
"Then it's a gift."
Su Xiao placed the Gulang on the table. He clearly heard the sound of swallowing.
"Thank you, but we can't accept your money for nothing. Do you have any commissions?"
"Then forget it."
Su Xiao reached out to take the stack of Gulang on the table. The moment he touched the Gulang, two slightly cool little hands pressed down on his hand. She had moved from her previous position to the front of the desk at a speed almost matching Baha's full-speed spatial teleportation.
"Thank you."
Red-Eyed Girl, clutching the Gulang in both hands, had already forgotten about mooching dinner. As soon as she walked out of the main gate of the Madhouse, she saw the Platinum Bishop and the Beast Knight sitting on the steps across the street.
"Red Eye, did Bai Ye give you Gulang? He's a high-ranking member of the Alliance; he must be very rich."
"No, he didn't."
Red-Eyed Girl's hand instinctively pressed against the small pouch at her waist. Seeing this, the Platinum Bishop's smile began to brighten.
...
Inside the office, Su Xiao looked at the resignation letter on the table and the utterly dejected Dray standing opposite him. After losing the key to the Merchant Alliance Bank's storage locker, Dray was quite remorseful. Thinking about the high salary the Dean gave him, his conscience tormented him. He kept asking himself, with this kind of efficiency, was he worthy of Dean Bai Ye's trust and the treatment provided?
"Dray, this matter isn't actually your fault."
As Su Xiao spoke, he lightly pressed his forehead with one hand. He had a bit of a headache. He couldn't just tell Dray directly, 'I'm counting on your jinx talent.' If he said that, not only might Dray's mentality collapse, but some causal connections, once revealed, lose their effect.
Sometimes, causality is so wonderful. It can be known, even used, but it must never be spoken aloud. The moment it's spoken, this powerful causality might dissipate like smoke.
In Su Xiao's view, Dray's jinx constitution was most likely the result of a curse he suffered in the past, which then mutated into something resembling both a curse and a touch of causality.
"No, Dean Bai Ye, the fault is entirely mine. That key at the time..."
Saying this, Dray lowered his head, feeling ashamed to face Dean Bai Ye, who trusted him so much.
At this moment, Bubu Wang, Baha, and Veronica were all in the office. Bubu and Baha naturally understood the situation. With Veronica's intelligence, she had also figured out that Su Xiao was using Dray's reverse fortune to achieve his goals.
Knowing this, hearing Su Xiao and Dray's conversation, and Su Xiao's obviously gloomy yet suppressed comforting tone, the three of them were almost laughing to death inside, but they dared not laugh. Especially Veronica, who could only face the wall.
"Don't blame yourself."
Su Xiao spoke.
"No, I should blame myself."
Dray's tone was extremely firm. Hearing this, Bubu was so stifled he was almost rolling his eyes. Veronica, facing the wall, was trembling slightly. The current situation was like a cross-server conversation, yet they could still communicate.
"You..."
For a moment, Su Xiao's eyes flashed with a fierce glint. He lightly pressed his forehead again and comforted: "Everyone fails sometimes. Just win it back next time. Even if you didn't succeed this time, you still worked hard. I'm promoting you to Captain of the Madhouse."
Hearing this, Dray looked up at Su Xiao in surprise. Over the years, he had heard too many angry scoldings or sarcastic remarks after failures. Hearing this now, plus getting a promotion, he was deeply moved.
"Dean, thank you for your trust."
With that, Dray strode out of the office.
Su Xiao lit a cigarette. Dray's fortune could indeed accomplish many things, but this guy was quite stubborn. Coupled with that bizarre causal curse, he couldn't be told directly: 'Don't feel guilty. Failing at everything is your job.'
Knock, knock, knock.
The office door was knocked. It was Silver Face. He entered the office, put down a large handbag, and said, "Sir, I've brought the person. This person knows about the old Dean's kidnapping. Besides this person, all other insiders have been silenced."
"Mm."
Su Xiao gestured for Silver Face to open the large handbag. As the handbag was opened, a female ghost clan member with her mouth sealed by special tape and her hands bound behind her back came into view. There were two black streaks down her face, and her makeup was ruined from crying.
Seeing this ghost clan member, Su Xiao frowned. He walked over to her, crouched down, and looked into her eyes.
"Mmph."
The ghost clan member was teary-eyed, but that wasn't what Su Xiao focused on. He was more concerned about why this beautiful ghost clan face looked somewhat familiar.
Su Xiao recalled for a few seconds, stood up, and went to the record player. After searching through the records, he picked up one with a ghost clan songstress on the cover. He then returned to the ghost clan member Silver Face had caught. Su Xiao held the record next to her face for comparison. After comparing, he confirmed, yes, exactly the same.
"Silver Face, when you caught her, was her security strong?"
"Decent."
Silver Face spoke calmly. Please don't misunderstand; this world's top assassin Silver Face's 'decent' was quite substantial.
"Mm, very good. You've brought me one of the most famous ghost clan songstresses in the Holy Capital."
Su Xiao looked at Silver Face. Silver Face said nothing, as if nothing had happened.
The three members of the assassination team were all geniuses in their own right. One was constantly thinking about resigning due to guilt, another was facing the wall in the corner, and the third didn't care who it was, just brought them back first.
Just then, the phone on the desk rang. Su Xiao glanced at it; it was Tessa calling. He picked up and heard the other side ask:
"Bai Ye, Silver Face is your man, right?"
"Yes."
"What is he doing catching a ghost clan songstress? Someone from the Holy Capital has already contacted me."
"It's not catching. I asked Silver Face to invite this ghost clan member as a guest for our Madhouse's celebration."
"Your way of inviting guests is really special."
The other side hung up after speaking.
"..."
Su Xiao looked at Silver Face again. Silver Face still stood there silently.
"Madam, the reason we invited you here this time is to commission you to help us identify some criminals. We are..."
Su Xiao casually picked up a folder from the table, took out one of the many IDs inside, and showed it to the ghost clan songstress. "We are a legitimate department of the Alliance."
"Oh~, mm."
The unbound ghost clan songstress hadn't come to her senses yet and just responded instinctively.
"For this accident, this is our compensation."
As Su Xiao spoke, Baha took out a wooden box and opened it, revealing a complete set of gemstone jewelry. This item was obtained at the Fifth Rank, had no attributes, but was notarized. He had always wanted to sell it, but no contractor bought it. There was a pile of similar items in the team storage space.
Seeing this exquisite, otherworldly set of jewelry, the ghost clan songstress's mood calmed down a bit, having seen something she liked.
"Silver Face, apologize."
Baha spoke. Hearing this, Silver Face stepped forward, which made tears well up in the ghost clan songstress's eyes again. Anyone who had all their bodyguards defeated, was pulled from their sleep in their pajamas, and stuffed into a handbag would be scared.
"Don't be afraid. We're not bad people."
Veronica squeezed onto the same chair as the ghost clan songstress. Strangely, although it was a bit cramped, the ghost clan songstress felt a little reassured.
"Have you seen this person?"
Veronica showed the ghost clan songstress a photo of the old Dean. After a few seconds, the ghost clan songstress shook her head.
"What about these people?"
Veronica showed photos of the old Dean's family. Upon seeing the photo of the old Dean's wife, the ghost clan songstress's pupils contracted slightly, almost imperceptibly. She shook her head, indicating she hadn't seen these people.
"Liar."
Veronica's right arm draped over the ghost clan songstress's shoulder, and her aura began to change. This made the ghost clan songstress flinch. She had never experienced anything like this. A little scare from Veronica, and she couldn't hold it together.
"I... I think I saw a few people taking this old lady away in an alley."
"Oh? Go on."
Veronica's attitude immediately became affectionate, which relaxed the ghost clan songstress a bit.
From the ghost clan songstress's description, Su Xiao understood the general situation. Several people with spiral tattoos had kidnapped the old Dean's wife. The rest was simple. Veronica had received sculpting training and, based on the ghost clan songstress's description, quickly sketched the general appearance of the few people.
Su Xiao looked at the spiral tattoo on the paper. He took all the sketches and went to the third level of the dungeon.
Ten minutes later.
Knock, knock, knock.
Su Xiao knocked on the cell door where the Lion King was. The Lion King got up from the bed and said, "Dean Bai Ye, something?"
"..."
Su Xiao didn't speak. He just pressed the paper with the spiral tattoo against the gravity crystal layer in front of him. Seeing the tattoo pattern inside the cell, the Lion King winced in discomfort. What a 'coincidence'; he had a bigger one on his back. To be precise, this was a tattoo unique to the Ghost Gang.
"No way, Dean Bai Ye. I'm already here. The Ghost Gang is destroyed. Are you still pinning bad things on me?"
"..."
Su Xiao still didn't speak. He pressed the sketches of the few people against the gravity crystal layer.
"That's Black Snake, a former capable subordinate of mine."
Hearing this, Su Xiao left a remark, "You get an extra meal tonight," and left the third level of the dungeon.
At 4 PM, Silver Face investigated Black Snake's location and his current situation. After the Ghost Gang boss, the Lion King, fell, Black Snake, as the third-in-command, wasn't doing well either. He had taken a punch from Rosa back then, which nearly shattered his heart and other organs, drastically reducing his strength.
It didn't take a genius to figure out that Vice Dean Yesinger had created an opportunity for Black Snake and a few other former Ghost Gang members to capture the old Dean's family. This way, even if things went wrong, it could be blamed on the Ghost Gang, even though the Ghost Gang was now defunct in name.
If no one interfered, the old Dean's family wouldn't have survived. Moreover, this matter would be completely untraceable to Vice Dean Yesinger.
Su Xiao had Bubu Wang drive the ghost clan songstress back and compensate her with a substantial amount for emotional distress.
Su Xiao sent Baha, Amu, Silver Face, Veronica, and the Platinum Bishop, Red-Eyed Girl, and Beast Knight, who had just received the Sun potions and felt quite embarrassed, all to find Black Snake and his men.
At 7 PM, while Su Xiao was having dinner in the office, Baha flew in through the window. After grabbing a piece of soft, braised meat and wolfing it down, Baha said, "Boss, it's arranged. In the warehouse two blocks away."
Hearing this, Su Xiao put down his chopsticks, picked up the wine glass beside him, and drained it in one gulp.
The streetlights flickered once. A large number of flying insects danced under the lights. A car stopped. The door opened, and Su Xiao got out, walking into the warehouse across the street.
When everyone was inside, the warehouse door clattered down. The lights inside the warehouse came on. Six gang members, covered in tattoos, were kneeling on the ground with their hands tied behind their backs.
Su Xiao looked down at Black Snake, whose face was covered in blood, drops of blood dripping down his chin. He asked, "Where is the old Dean's family?"
"Finally, someone who can make a decision. To be honest, this matter..."
Before Black Snake could finish his nonsense, Su Xiao had already drawn the sidearm matching the Blood Iron Sniper Cannon from Veronica's waist, aimed it at Black Snake's head, and pulled the trigger.
Bang!
Bone fragments and blood splattered. Black Snake's headless body fell backward. Su Xiao looked at the gang member beside Black Snake, raising the gun barrel.
"They're in a remote winery in Sotuo City."
The gang member, terrified, blurted out the information.
Su Xiao contacted Bubu Wang. Bubu Wang, already on standby, headed to the designated location. Half an hour later, a message came back: they had found the old Dean's family. There were guards, so he didn't dare act rashly.
"Thank you for your cooperation."
Su Xiao thanked the gang member who had just spoken.
"Then... can you let me go?"
"Unfortunately, no."
Su Xiao tossed the gun back to Veronica and walked out of the warehouse.
An hour later, Sotuo City. Veronica slowed the car, stopping in front of the winery's wine cellar. The wheel hubs were scorching hot.
Su Xiao got out and found Silver Face standing in front of the wine cellar. On the ground beside him were the bodies of two gang members, obviously dealt with by Silver Face.
With a bang, Veronica tore the wooden door open with her bare hands. Su Xiao walked into the wine cellar. The first thing he saw was the old Dean sitting on a wine barrel, along with several of his close relatives behind him: his wife, daughter, son-in-law, grandson, and granddaughter were all there.
"Old Dean, I heard you were in trouble and immediately started investigating your whereabouts. I finally found you today."
Su Xiao sat on a wine barrel opposite the old Dean. Seeing this, the old Dean hesitated and said, "Bai Ye, I actually... didn't deposit that much wealth in the Golden Bank."
As soon as the old Dean said this, the light in the wine cellar suddenly dimmed. Faint blood energy, cold mist, and black smoke dispersed, making the atmosphere instantly gloomy.
"But, I deposited a lot of wealth in an underground bank."
As soon as the old Dean said this, the light in the wine cellar brightened again. The blood energy, cold mist, and black smoke seemed like an illusion. Seeing this, the old Dean wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.