A teleportation sensation washed over Su Xiao. When his vision returned, he found himself sitting behind a desk. The wooden desk was faintly marked with scorch rings, while the all-metal ashtray on top showed that the office's owner had a smoking habit.
There were many things on the desk: a fountain pen, a golden button, a folding knife that was obviously no ordinary item, a pocket watch making faint mechanical noises, and... a potted root carving?
Upon closer inspection, it wasn't a root carving at all, but the claw of some creature. It had been dried, leaving the claw pitch-black, its skin and muscles long since dehydrated. Even so, Su Xiao could still sense a faint viciousness from it.
The office carried a fresh, grassy scent and was decorated extravagantly. If the Zul Empire wasn't exceedingly wealthy, then the deputy commander of the Execution Organization whom Su Xiao had replaced must have been lining his own pockets. But displaying one's ill-gotten wealth where outsiders could see it was obviously brain-dead behavior. This showed just how wealthy the Zul Empire was.
Just then, Su Xiao's mind buzzed, and a flood of unfamiliar memories surged in.
This empire called Zul had no dangerous neighboring countries, and its citizens were united as one. Although it was impossible for everyone to be wealthy, they had at least escaped the threat of starving to death. Its transportation was decent as well, with railways connecting all the major cities—old-fashioned trains fueled by coal.
Even so, the Zul Empire was still in danger of being destroyed because of the existence of wraiths, demons, and other monsters. They would not completely exterminate humanity. Both wraiths and demons had a habit of eating humans—or rather, humans were their staple food. Humans were one of the few intelligent species in