Tape #① · A Recording About Wood Plack

[A·Side--New Era]

All the noise and commotion subsided, and peace returned.

On August 1, 2025, Victor, carrying a heavy pouch, entered the bustling Council of Five Kings.

He looked at the gleaming new general affairs counter. After a successful harvest season, the place was bustling with activity, passengers were back in their new clothes, and the tellers were extremely busy.

Professor Victor went deeper into the cabinet through the small archway, wanting to speak with the boss alone.

He liked to get straight to the point, sweeping through the reporting team and walking straight ahead. Amidst the astonished gazes of the managers and onlookers, this newly appointed "Detective King" strode confidently through the forty-meter-long crowd towards the cabinet.

A cacophony of voices could be heard coming from inside the porch.

Victor waited there for a short while, just a very short time.

It seems that the BOSS, the Hunter King, and Wood Plark are discussing something.

Victor stood by the fireplace, listening curiously to their conversation, not wanting to disturb them—even if he didn't give the BOSS face, he still had to give Professor Plark face; that guy was petty, and if he displeased him, it would cause a lot of unnecessary trouble.

BOSS: "Sir Plark, you mean my dear Cat Tree Lady can't retire yet?"

The Hunter King: "Why? I'm already very old. I wanted to retire and find a job—but seeing it every day reminds me of my fallen comrades."

Mr. Wood said calmly, "Regarding personnel allocation and administration, I recommend that you, Ming De, think twice before acting."

The BOSS perched on the Cat Tree Lady's shoulder, and almost without a command, the Hunter King brought the BOSS to Professor Wood.

It grabbed Wood by the collar, wanting to hear the blond boy's advice.

"Boss, we've made it through this harvest season without any major incidents—but don't let your guard down. Five new kings were born during this ceremony, but I suspect none of them would want to be your servants."

Teacher Victor raised an eyebrow, realizing that was indeed what he was thinking. He wasn't interested in spending his life with the BOSS; even his servants couldn't catch him, let alone Little Kitty.

He has other careers, books to write, and many more things to do; he will never stay by the boss's side.

Professor Wood continued.

"I believe that letting Hunter King continue as your executive assistant is the best choice. She has been in this position for decades, from a young girl to now."

The Hunter King glared fiercely at Professor Wood.

Wood immediately changed his tune. "From a young girl to a young girl, there's practically no change at all. Isn't that amazing?"

BOSS: "Go on."

The Hunter King handed him a coffee. "Drink it if you're thirsty."

"There are a few other things I need to explain to you slowly." Wood Plark accepted the Hunter King's offer, and despite the coffee in his cup being like scalding mud, he remained as carefree as ever. He came to Victor's side, pretending not to see the stunningly beautiful blue-eyed, blond man, and simply sat down next to Victor. He casually patted the great writer on the lower back, indicating that he should sit down together. "Want to hear my opinion?"

The Hunter King was skeptical, wondering what Professor Wood was up to, and sat down with the BOSS on the small sofa in front of the fireplace.

"Do you remember the last time we safely passed through the harvest season and simultaneously celebrated the ascension of five kings to the throne?"

The Hunter King shook his head. "I don't know, I'm still too young."

The boss has a bad memory. "The Franco-Prussian War?"

Without hesitation, Victor replied, "World War I."

Professor Wood rolled his eyes and gently patted the BOSS's cheek.

"Every harvest season is like formatting your brain's hard drive; it's normal not to remember—I'm your cabinet member, and it's my responsibility to provide you with a more reliable decision-making plan. My reason for asking you to do so is very simple."

"The changing of the guard between old and new kings has a huge impact on all settlements and cities in the underworld. With five new kings appearing all at once, the faction to which the king belongs becomes extremely important in the eyes of the Senate. This can directly affect passengers' employment, influence various industries in the job market, and determine where people go and for whom they work."

"Before 2025, our railway line traversed the entire Eurasian continent, divided into four different mantle regions. It was a vast and sparsely populated area, yet only one Hunter King served as your assistant to handle numerous affairs."

"In the tragedy of the last harvest season, we lost four VIPs—they were important and experienced representatives from various senators. Let's put it this way, if these four people had died elsewhere, whether from illness, a crime of passion, natural or unnatural deaths, it would at least be none of your concern. But they died during the harvest season rituals."

"This result directly led to the emergence of over four hundred Zero Platform in half of the Nordic region over the past few decades. The Madness Butterfly Sect boarded the high-speed train of modern technology, and the mediums of information dissemination were updated accordingly. Various telephones, computers, the Internet, or even New Age flesh and blood clay have become efficient missionary media."

"And we could only swallow our anger and keep quiet until today."

BOSS: "Sir Plark, what do you mean?"

"Times have changed, Boss," Wood Plark said calmly. "Starting August 1, 2025, the story of the old era has come to an end and is about to turn a new page. I want you to keep the Hunter King in this position of assistant, and at the same time, to weaken the political influence of the new Five Kings."

"Including you, David Victor."

At this point, Professor Wood's bright blue eyes turned to Professor Victor, who was also a blonde bombshell, beside him.

"You're indifferent to worldly affairs, only thinking about writing while traveling. If one day you suddenly gained real power, and a senator extended an olive branch to you, wanting you to be an opinion leader, it would probably be a useless worry for you."

"That's true," David Victor replied truthfully. "Boss, I'm not interested in empty fame."

Wood Plark: "I am Red Stone People, yet I'm colleagues with the crew of the White Stone District. At the same time, I'm a teacher at the Galahad Magic Academy and also your cabinet minister. If I ascend the throne, at least four districts and six cities' governors will come knocking on my door—Boss, you need to understand these things. Human society is incredibly complex. The underground resources are limited. Besides the brave pioneers, there are countless others who could transform into [carnivores] at any moment to fight for this precious land."

Boss: "Go on, I'll make the judgment."

"I know Professor Lupin from Blue Stone or Captain Jesse from White Stone very well. One is a veteran of the Arcane Library, and the other is an outstanding employee who just became a full-fledged employee on the express line from the Nine Realms to the Arcane Library. The only person I don't trust is Ouyang Yan."

Professor Wood hugged his knees, his eyes like two deep, beautiful opals.

"This Yellowstone People was a scapegoat pushed out by the Sunflower and Golden Spoon Senates. He survived this Harvest Season and will definitely be caught in the power struggle between the surface world and the underworld. The miracles created by FE204863 also included saving his life. Judging from the Harvest Season's combat records, without Sixty-Three, this guy would have been dead for sure."

"His current situation is very awkward. Based on my connections in the underworld, my understanding of Ouyang Yan is limited to 'a lucky kid who suddenly rose from obscurity to wealth.' The logistics system and the issuing bank will definitely engage in more competition for his prestigious reputation. If the Hunter King continues to serve as your assistant, it would be a good form of protection for this young man, indirectly reducing the burden on the shoulders of the new Five Kings."

"Let's put those things aside for now and talk about Jiang Xueming."

"Over the past seventy years, we have merged White Stone and Black Stone into [Anonymous] and removed three seats from the Twelve Elders Council. The reason is that Black Stone has too few VIPs, while the talents of White Stone members are inseparable from the railway system. They have almost no chance to break away from the station's supervision and establish a relatively independent local Senate. You know what organizations that leave the station and run their own platforms are called. They are called Zero Platform."

"But things are different now, Boss--"

"--Just as [JoeRank] reunited, a new [JoeStar] emerged. I hope you can immediately reorganize the system, re-separating Blackrock and White Stone into different departments. This measure will alleviate a lot of the pressure on the Hunter King. Jiang Xueming will be the head of [The Nameless], while the train captains of the railway engineering department will be directly reorganized into [First Transportation Department]. Captain Jesse Hartman will be promoted to make him an important representative of the train crew, thus weakening his kingly status."

"The four VIPs at Blackstone are your old friends. Each of them is very close to you. Send them to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Internal Affairs to reshape a secret agent department, independent of the special operations team of Guangling Zhixi."

[B·Side--Quick Knife]

Boss: "Only four people? We still have to do this?"

"I've always been curious," Wood Plark said with a beaming smile. "The world's Soul Power abilities are incredibly diverse. Victor can read and write memories, while I can create explosions. So, what special abilities does Wen Bucai possess?"

Without hesitation, the BOSS said, "He's invincible."

"That's right." Professor Plark finished drawing the last blueprint. "I hope the Blackstone Senate can be re-established, Boss. Our Six-Color Shining Stone have different titles and functions in different eras, but only Blackstone, White Stone, and even a corundum colorless gemstone like Jiang Xueming can't find their place—that's why the Madness Butterfly followers at Zero Platform are so rampant, even in a large city like Mimir Hot Spring Market with hundreds of thousands of people, they have tens of thousands of followers."

"Let Wen Bucai, the new king, become the opinion leader of Blackstone. The Senate will be divided into the External Affairs Group [Quick Blade] and the Internal Affairs Group [Gate of Wonders]—they are the quick blades in your hands to cut through the mess, and the discerning eyes to distinguish friend from foe. One is for recognizing people, and the other is for getting things done."

"Jiang Xueming's [Anonymous] is a special operations team that is subject to flexible deployment. You know how destructive this kid is. If you're still worried, I happen to have a hot case here waiting for him to handle—consider it his VIP trial mission."

"Can he handle it?" The boss frowned. "He's too young."

Wood Plark casually pressed the red-glowing record button on Professor Victor's Walkman, telling it to stop working because this part of the conversation could no longer be entered into the station's database.

"Look further ahead, Boss. Anyone in the world can betray you, but Jiang Xueming will not. The new five kings are a terrifying sign for the Madness Butterfly Sect. Once people begin to fear, they are easily driven to madness. The security problems will only increase—great chaos requires great order. Jiang Xueming is an invincible blade sent to you by heaven."

BOSS: "Sir Plark. If we let him handle this matter, there would be significant security risks. His vital energy is abundant; if, like before with Sixty-Three, his family or friends were harmed because of the station incident, it could lead to another..."

"No, I've already arranged everything." After saying this, Wood slowly stood up. "Boss, from now on, don't call him Jiang Xueming. He has a new code name: [Gunsmith]."

"Then there should be someone publicly known as the [anonymous]," the BOSS began, then paused, "Oh... wow!"

Wood Plark pursed his lips, his eyes becoming very mischievous.

"The four steel maces that Wen Bucai forged for Jiang Xueming only appeared once at the Sky Station. Judging from the Little Brotherhood's divination abilities, they know Jiang Xueming's true identity. But to others, the true leaders of the [Nameless] are two women: Xiao Qi and a female warrior with thunderous methods who annihilated the Rose Vampire within three days."

"As long as Jiang Xueming is willing to step down from the front lines, complete his wedding with Xiao Qi, and return to his role as a quiet, unassuming gun-making craftsman—a down-to-earth man who earns money to support his family and spend time with his wife—leaving all affairs to their think tank and Meteor to handle, then the leader of the [Nameless] will never die, and no one will ever know how to defeat this [non-existent person]—she will become a terrifying legend of the new era, a [War King] who terrifies the people of the Madness Butterfly Sect."

"This structure will have an 'Anonymous' as the front man, with 'Hunter King' Wen Bucai, who has a master-disciple relationship with 'Anonymous' and has received the favor of bone forging, or 'Detective King' Victor, and Jiang Xueming's wife, who is a student of the Black Stone Elder. In this couple's network of relationships, these people can all become 'Anonymous' backers, providing intelligence and contact persons in various cities. All the key personnel are directly under your command—my Ming De. The goal is only one: to slowly, one by one, eliminate the harmful viruses that have bred in the railway system over the past few decades, and the Zero Platform established by the Madness Butterfly."

Having said all that--

Wood Plark rubbed his cheek, a bright smile on his face.

"I'm going back to be with my wife now! See you later, Boss!"

The professor had barely left when he immediately turned back.

"Sorry, I forgot to get to the point." Wood pulled out a packet of hallucinogens, the very same contraband found in Billy the Kid's stomach. "It comes from a satellite town near Huge Mountain Station. The raw material is PDT, which undergoes two chemical treatments to become a highly concentrated H16T hallucinogen. It's the 'happiness elixir' that many Madness Butterfly Sect sell to people, used in conjunction with their cult rituals to recruit new followers—this drug production line runs through District 48, where the raw materials and chemical production lines are located. I want Jiang Xueming to investigate this matter as his VIP trial mission. He has the ability. Give him a break to adapt to his soul power, and if possible, have him come to Galahad. I will personally teach him how to control his spirit."

After saying that, Plark finally left.

The Black Cat, clutching the stolen goods, sat down next to Teacher Victor.

Do you know?

David Victor tilted his head and looked at the solemn and imposing BOSS.

"Um?"

The Black Cat said this with great seriousness.

"I love you blonde sluts to death."