Someday

At dawn the next day, Su Xiao woke up early.

After washing up and putting on the Guard Corps uniform, Su Xiao arrived at the headquarters of the Guard Corps.

Before he even entered the headquarters, he saw a large group of guards moving in and out, looking hurried.

"Hurry! Ogre has been murdered. This matter has alarmed the Minister of the Left, and that lord has ordered a city-wide search for the culprit."

Hank was directing the large group of guards with a "grieved" expression, but his eyes betrayed something called ambition, looking every bit like a man who believed he would be the boss now that Ogre was dead.

Su Xiao noticed two guards standing at the entrance of the headquarters, watching everything with cold eyes. Those two were the guards who had been following behind Ogre last night; needless to say, they were definitely Ogre's confidants.

Hank's actions might have already made those two suspicious, but this was indeed an opportunity. If he played his cards right, Hank might be able to take over Ogre's position.

The Guard Corps was not a very large department. Aside from Ogre, everyone else was just a regular guard; Ogre was actually just a role like a captain.

As for the position of sub-captain, the Guard Corps had never had one. Not only would it consume extra funds, but Ogre would never allow the power in his hands to be divided. Su Xiao had already experienced Ogre's arrogant personality yesterday.

The reason Su Xiao killed Ogre was not because the man had put on airs of being the boss in front of him.

He currently needed to raise his status quickly, and there would be no suitable position available if Ogre didn't die.

As for the interior of the Royal Palace, Su Xiao didn't understand it, nor did he want to get involved.

The simpler the plan, the fewer the loopholes. He only needed a position that could get him in contact with the King and allow him to climb up quickly.

Tomorrow was the day the Terminal Station would be burned down. Of course, the Royal Palace wouldn't personally intervene in such a disgraceful matter; they would only send subordinates to do it.

Su Xiao had investigated, and there were two guard forces in the Royal Capital: one was the Guard Corps responsible for the security of the Royal Capital, and the other was the Gate Guard Corps responsible for guarding the city gates.

Generally speaking, such matters should be handled by the Gate Guard Corps, but when he was choosing weapons in the warehouse before, Su Xiao had seen a large amount of explosives.

Based on the clues in the warehouse, Su Xiao judged that those explosives had only been stored in the warehouse recently. As for the purpose of the explosives, it went without saying.

To ignite a Terminal Station of that scale, relying on arson alone clearly wouldn't work.

Therefore, Su Xiao needed the position of guard leader. As for whether he could see the King, that would depend on his own actions.

"Hank, what happened?"

Hank, who was busy directing the crowd, turned his head to look at Su Xiao.

"The boss was assassinated just last night. These guys actually only discovered it this morning. You came at the right time; come with me to see the Minister of the Left immediately."

A chill went through Su Xiao's heart. See the Minister of the Left? This Hank might not have good intentions. He had only become a guard yesterday, which was undoubtedly a handle to hold against him. Could he be trying to make him a scapegoat? That seemed unlikely.

Already starting to think about how to take care of Hank, Su Xiao put on a smile.

"The Minister of the Left? A big shot like that wants to summon me?"

Su Xiao feigned confusion, but his eyes remained fixed on Hank.

"Yes, the Minister of the Left wants to see you. As for the specific reason, I don't know either."

Hank showed an envious expression, even a bit of jealousy.

This sudden good news surprised Su Xiao. He had no relationship with the high-level officials of the Royal Palace. The only thing that could have created a connection was... that letter of recommendation? It seemed that letter of recommendation was far more important than he had imagined.

Following Hank through several blocks, Su Xiao arrived in front of a courtyard, and a luxurious villa appeared in his line of sight.

Hank was a bit nervous and walked forward cautiously. Two guards at the gate stopped him.

"Is this the person the lord wants to see?"

Hank nodded hurriedly, and the two guards confiscated his weapons. As for Su Xiao, all his weapons were in his storage space, so the guards couldn't possibly discover them.

The guards led the way, and Su Xiao arrived in a large hall.

Inside the hall, a family was eating breakfast. An elderly man with white hair and a stern face sat at the head of the table.

Upon seeing Hank, the old man tossed aside the meal in his hand and signaled for the others to withdraw, leaving only a sturdy man standing behind him.

That sturdy man gave Su Xiao an exceptionally dangerous feeling. Although the man was unarmed, Su Xiao noticed the thick calluses on his knuckles and the way his knuckles were flattened.

This was a master of physical arts, the old man's personal bodyguard.

"Your name is Hank, right? And this is the new guard?"

The old man spoke with a slow pace and a calm demeanor; he was the type of person who held great power.

"Ye-yes, my lord."

Hank was struggling to speak, looking very constrained.

"You may go."

The old man might have been dissatisfied with Hank's nervousness and didn't even look at him directly.

Hank kept his head down and retreated to the door, disappearing from Su Xiao's sight.

"I am the Minister of the Left of the Kingdom. Carlos used to offer me many interesting collectibles. As his nephew, I should have looked after you."

"Unfortunately, Carlos had a rough time leaving the city yesterday, and my collection fell through. I can't find him, so naturally, I have to find his nephew—which is you."

Su Xiao guessed the gist of the matter.

Carlos was the Black Market Merchant he had killed yesterday. After Carlos died, this Minister of the Left's "tribute" fell through. Unable to find Carlos, this Minister of the Left had come to find Su Xiao to take his place.

That Black Market Merchant was truly unlucky; not only did he have to be exploited by the Gate Guard Corps, but he also had to pay tribute to this Minister of the Left.

Judging by the current situation, the other party wanted him to take Carlos's place in procuring the goods.

Su Xiao did not understand the details of their transaction, and if it weren't for the protection behind the man, Su Xiao would have already taken control of the Minister of the Left.

However, such an opportunity to make contact with the upper echelons of the kingdom was quite rare.

"The collection is no problem; I am fully aware of my uncle's channels. He was severely injured yesterday and is currently recuperating, but..."

The Minister of the Left raised an eyebrow, looked Su Xiao in the eye, and said:

"If you can obtain the collection I need, you may name your own terms. I heard your captain died yesterday; get this done, and I will make you the captain of the Guard Corps."

Half an hour later, Su Xiao left the courtyard of the Minister of the Left and strolled down the street.

Things were progressing quite smoothly, but the conditions proposed by the Minister of the Left gave Su Xiao a bit of a headache.

Not only that, but after the Minister of the Left proposed the conditions, Reincarnation Paradise issued a new mission.

[Triggered side mission: The Collection of the Minister of the Left]

The Collection of the Minister of the Left

Difficulty level: LV.2.

Mission brief: The collection of the Minister of the Left is extremely vast; every valuable item is coveted by this greedy old man.

Mission information: Kill the Master of Mt. Colubo and obtain its tooth. (Master of Mt. Colubo: A ferocious beast in the One Piece World, a feline animal of massive size.)

Mission duration: Within 10 hours.

Mission reward: Status as captain of the Guard Corps.

Failure penalty: Expulsion from the Guard Corps and being wanted under trumped-up charges.

Su Xiao knew what the Master of Mt. Colubo was; it was a giant tiger that had nearly killed a young Luffy.

He let out a long sigh. Since entering the One Piece World, the opponents he had encountered were all too strong, which left Su Xiao feeling somewhat helpless.

One day, he would carry his long blade and slaughter his way through everything, never having to be as cautious and timid as he was now.

But the One Piece World was too dangerous; he didn't even have the qualifications to risk his life yet.

He was still too weak; before becoming powerful, he had to learn to endure appropriately.

The Master of Mt. Colubo was very strong, at least not someone Su Xiao could confront head-on right now, but no matter how strong it was, it was still just a beast.

Being unable to confront it head-on did not mean Su Xiao couldn't kill that tiger.

Many thanks to Teacher Xie (Mo Tianxing) and Qinglou for the rewards; you are both old acquaintances, so I won't stand on ceremony with you two. Let's play together sometime—Fei Wen seems to have returned to his "random update method" again, covering my face, feeling shy~~.