Chapter 19: Chapter Nineteen: The Night Before

In a dilapidated warehouse, Krik and Akin waited anxiously.

*Click.*

The warehouse door, long unused, creaked open with a grating sound.

Krik and Akin both tensed—they were pirates, men who lived by the edge of the blade.

Su Xiao stood at the warehouse entrance, not stepping inside.

“Wait here for me.”

With that, Su Xiao entered the warehouse. Behind him, Hank’s lips moved but no sound came out; he could only guard the entrance.

Inside, the warehouse revealed scattered wooden crates and a floor thick with dust—clearly abandoned for years.

“Too slow. Is this the attitude of the Goya Kingdom?”

Krik spoke first, his tone sharp.

Su Xiao chuckled softly, studying Krik before him.

Tall and broad, his face hidden beneath a hood, Krik was several meters away—but Su Xiao caught a strange odor.

A deadly poison. Su Xiao sometimes coated his blades with poison, so he recognized the scent well.

“The task is yours. When completed, the Kingdom will grant you noble status.”

Su Xiao cut to the point—he had no patience for pirates.

“That’s it? But I was told three factions were competing…”

Krik’s words were cut off mid-sentence by Su Xiao.

“No. The other two are rabble. I hold final authority. You only need to say yes or no.”

Interrupted mid-speech, Krik clearly bristled—but he was within the borders of Goya’s capital, and dared not be too bold.

Su Xiao had not come alone. Hundreds of guards lay hidden nearby.

Krik hesitated—he didn’t trust Su Xiao, or perhaps he didn’t trust the Goya Kingdom at all.

“First, tell me exactly what we’re supposed to do.”

The burning of the Waste End Station was known only to those inside the capital; outsiders knew nothing.

Krik was an outsider, a roaming force—he didn’t know the details. These men had been lured by the promise of noble status.

“At six tomorrow night, ignite the Waste End Station. The timing must be precise…”

Su Xiao began detailing the plan. As he spoke, Krik and Akin’s expressions grew graver.

“Burn it all? That’s difficult—the Waste End Station is huge.”

“You’ve never heard of explosives?”

Su Xiao fixed Krik with a steady gaze, ready for any sudden betrayal—the negotiation had reached its critical point.

“Are you joking? That much explosive? Unless you provide it, I walk away.”

Krik’s reaction was exactly what Su Xiao had anticipated.

“Is that so? A pity.”

Su Xiao turned to leave without another word—no bargaining, no negotiation.

“Wait.”

Akin called out, then leaned close to Krik and whispered:

“Boss, if we bring all the explosives from the ship, we have enough.”

Krik glared at Su Xiao with fury—he knew the ship’s explosives were sufficient, but he hated to part with them.

“Do you truly believe lighting the Waste End Station alone will earn you noble status? The explosives must come from you. Otherwise, forget it.”

Half an hour later, Su Xiao stepped out of the warehouse, leaving Krik and Akin with faces twisted in pain.

As agreed, Su Xiao left behind a certificate—the Kingdom’s noble status confirmation document.

Once Krik signed it and had it notarized by the Kingdom, he would become a noble.

And this document could not be unilaterally voided—it bore the seal of the World Government.

Pirates weren’t fools. Without a real bait, they wouldn’t risk their lives.

“Lord Baiye, is the deal settled?”

Hank ventured cautiously. Su Xiao suddenly stopped walking.

“Are you certain you want to know?”

Su Xiao’s icy gaze made Hank instinctively step back.

“I dare not.”

In that moment, Hank deeply regretted—regretting he hadn’t killed Su Xiao when he first chose weapons.

“Hank, there’s something I need you to do. This task is ‘critical.’”

With that, Su Xiao signaled the hidden guards to emerge. Hundreds gathered behind him as he led them back to the Guard Headquarters.

Night fell. Su Xiao sat alone in his office at the Guard Headquarters, the room pitch black.

The sudden appearance of Krik’s pirate crew hadn’t disrupted Su Xiao’s plan—it had made it smoother.

Elbow resting on the desk, Su Xiao pressed his forehead lightly.

He was clever enough, but he knew his plan wasn’t perfect. Hidden flaws might still exist.

But there was no choice—he was too weak. He could only achieve his goals through strategy.

In Su Xiao’s nature, he preferred to solve problems with the blade in his hand.

“Soon. Once I leave this high-risk world.”

Though his first world had been the One Piece world—a high-risk realm—he believed the Lunhuileyuan would never keep dumping him into worlds five levels above his own.

His entry into the One Piece world might have been a trial—a test of his Hunter identity.

Or perhaps, until he completed the main quest, he wasn’t truly a Hunter at all—just a man bearing the title, without the function.

Su Xiao slept in the office that night.

The next morning, he woke early and began preparing for tonight’s operation.

Today was the final day of the main quest’s deadline. At midnight, it would be his absolute limit.

Tonight, he would assassinate the King of Goya; success or failure hinges on this one attempt.

All day, Su Xiao worked nonstop. As the lead organizer of the Waste End Station burning, every department gave him clearance.

The Left Minister had been utterly broken. Su Xiao had seen him once—those lifeless eyes sent a chill down his spine.

He finished everything by four in the afternoon, then entered his office at the Guard Headquarters and vanished from all sight.

Now he only waited—for the pirates outside to ignite the Waste End Station.

As for the Goya Kingdom’s reason for burning the Waste End Station—it was laughable.

In just over a week, the Celestial Dragons would arrive for their inspection. To prevent them from seeing the vast garbage mountains outside the city, the Kingdom chose to burn the Waste End Station—and with it, the thousands of homeless refugees living nearby.

At least several thousand refugees lived outside the city.

This was how the rulers of the pirate world operated: to hide a stain from the elite, they burned thousands alive.

At five in the evening, the sky darkened. A gentle night breeze blew. One hour remained until the burning. The city was unnaturally quiet.

In the pitch-black office, Su Xiao sat alone behind his desk. Suddenly, a green treasure chest appeared in his hand.

This chest had been looted after killing the owner of Coleboshan, but he’d been too busy to open it until now.

The green chest filled Su Xiao with anticipation—a faint smile appeared on his tired face.

【Treasure Chest (Green). Open?】

He chose to open it. Several items appeared in his hands.

【You opened the Treasure Chest (Green) and obtained the following items】

【Obtained 1000 Paradise Coins】

【Obtained Small Soul Crystal】

【Obtained Tiger Claw】

……

No equipment dropped. But that was expected.

Su Xiao had opened several chests already and understood their rules.

The item quality obtained from a chest correlated with its color. So far, he knew only: White < Green < Blue.

The items or equipment inside a chest depended on the creature or person who dropped it.

For example, if Su Xiao killed a tiger, its chest would never yield a sword or shield.

Killing a tiger would most likely yield its claws or hide. Killing a human was the same.

After killing the black market merchant, Su Xiao obtained the merchant’s letter of recommendation.

After killing Oka, he obtained Oka’s pendant.

……

Su Xiao examined the items in his hand.

The Paradise Coins were automatically deposited into his imprint—though called “Paradise Coins,” they had no physical form.

【Tiger Claw】

Quality: Green.

Type: Material.

Rating: 16. (Note: Green materials range from 10 to 30; higher ratings indicate rarer materials.)

Description: The claw of an elite creature. Can be forged into equipment or used as an enhancement enhancer within the Lunhuileyuan .

[Soul Crystal (Small)]

Quality: None.

Type: Concentrated Soul Essence.

Rating: None.

Description: Soul Crystals are rare items with multiple uses... (Insufficient permissions, cannot access further details.)

Playing with the [Soul Crystal] in his hand, Su Xiao was completely baffled by the two new items he had acquired.

Yet he had a feeling that this tiny, translucent crystal—no larger than a fingernail—might be the most valuable item he had ever obtained.

Everything would become clear once he returned to the Lunhuileyuan ; his immediate priority was to complete the mission.

Time had quietly reached six in the evening.

Su Xiao left the office and vanished into the night—either he would complete the mission tonight, or die in the royal palace; there was no third option.