Early the next morning, Su Xiao woke up at dawn.
He washed up and put on his guard uniform, then headed to the headquarters of the Guard Team.
Before entering the headquarters, he saw a large number of guards bustling in and out, looking urgent.
"Hurry, Sir Ou Ka was assassinated, this matter disturbed the Left Minister, and that lord ordered a city-wide hunt for the culprit."
Hank was 'grief-stricken' as he commanded the large number of guards, but his eyes revealed something called ambition, as if he would be the boss after Ou Ka's death.
Su Xiao noticed two guards standing at the entrance of the headquarters, watching everything coldly. These two were the guards who had been following Ou Ka the previous night. Needless to say, they were definitely Ou Ka's trusted aides.
This move by Hank might have already aroused suspicion in the two men, but it was indeed an opportunity. If operated properly, Hank might replace Ou Ka's position.
The Guard Team wasn't too large of a department; aside from Ou Ka, everyone else was just ordinary guards, and in fact, Ou Ka was just a captain-type figure.
As for the position of deputy captain, the Guard Team had never had one. Not only was it an additional expenditure, but Ou Ka also wouldn't allow his power to be divided. Su Xiao already experienced Ou Ka's arrogant character yesterday.
The reason Su Xiao killed Ou Ka was not that the other party acted like a boss in front of him.
He now needed a rapid promotion, and with Ou Ka alive, there was no suitable position.
As for the interior of the Royal Palace, Su Xiao had no understanding and didn't want to get involved.
The simpler the plan, the fewer the loopholes. He just needed a position that could get him in contact with the King and allow him to climb quickly.
Tomorrow was the day to burn down the Scrap End Station. The Royal Palace wouldn't get involved in such disgraceful matters; they would only send people down the line to do it.
Su Xiao had investigated that there were two forces of guards in the Royal Capital: one was the Guard Team responsible for the Royal Capital's security, and the other was the Gatekeeper Team responsible for guarding the city gates.
Generally speaking, this kind of thing should be handed over to the Gatekeeper Team to handle. But when selecting weapons in the warehouse before, Su Xiao saw a large amount of explosives.
From the traces in the warehouse, Su Xiao judged that those explosives had just been stored there recently, and their purpose was obvious.
Setting fire was clearly not enough to ignite the fairly large Scrap End Station.
Therefore, Su Xiao needed the position of Leader of the Guards; whether he could meet the King would depend on his actions.
"Hank, what happened?"
Hank, who was directing the crowd, turned his head toward Su Xiao.
"The boss was assassinated, just last night. These guys just found out this morning. You're here just in time, come with me to see the Left Minister immediately."
Su Xiao felt a chill in his heart; see the Left Minister? This Hank might have bad intentions. He had just become a guard yesterday, which was undoubtedly a weakness. Did he want him to become a scapegoat? Unlikely.
While already contemplating how to deal with Hank, Su Xiao put on a smile.
"The Left Minister? That kind of big shot wants to see me?"
Su Xiao pretended to be puzzled but kept his eyes fixed on Hank.
"Yeah, the Left Minister wants to see you. As for the specific reason, I don't know either."
Hank showed a look of envy, even some jealousy.
This sudden good news left Su Xiao a bit surprised; he had no connection with the Royal Palace's high-level officials. The only possible link was... that letter of introduction? It seemed that the letter of introduction was far more important than he imagined.
Following Hank through several neighborhoods, Su Xiao arrived in front of a courtyard, where a luxurious villa appeared in his sight.
Hank was a bit nervous, and timidly stepped forward. Two guards stopped Hank.
"Is this the person Lord wants to see?"
Hank quickly nodded, and the guards confiscated Hank's weapon. As for Su Xiao, all his weapons were in his storage space, which the guards couldn't discover.
The guards led the way at the front, and Su Xiao entered a hall.
Inside the hall, a family was having breakfast, with an elderly man full of white hair and a stern face sitting at the head.
Upon seeing Hank, the old man casually put down the food in his hand and gestured for the others to leave, leaving only a brawny man standing behind the old man.
The brawny man gave Su Xiao an extremely dangerous feeling. Although he was unarmed, Su Xiao noticed the thick calluses on his knuckles and the flat bones of those knuckles.
This was a taijutsu expert, the personal guard of the elderly man.
"You're called Hank, right? Is this the new guard?"
The old man's speech was slow and composed, a person of high position and authority.
"Yes, yes, sir."
Hank was struggling to speak, very constrained.
"You may leave."
The old man seemed somewhat dissatisfied with Hank's nervousness, not even looking directly at him.
Hank kept his head down as he retreated to the door, then disappeared from Su Xiao's sight.
"I am the Kingdom's Left Minister. Karlo has offered me many interesting collections, and as his nephew, I should have looked out for you.
Unfortunately, Karlo had trouble leaving the city yesterday, and my collection fell through. I can't find him, so naturally, I turn to his nephew, which is you."
Su Xiao deduced the general situation.
Karlo was the black market merchant he killed yesterday. After Karlo's death, this Left Minister's 'patronage' fell through. Unable to find Karlo, the Left Minister sought Su Xiao as a substitute.
That black market merchant was truly unlucky, exploited by both the Gatekeeper Team and having to serve this Left Minister.
In the current scenario, the other party wanted him to replace Karlo in acquiring goods.
Su Xiao didn't understand the transaction between the two parties. If it weren't for the protection behind the other party, Su Xiao would have long since controlled this Left Minister.
But such a chance to connect with Kingdom's top levels was rare.
"The collection is no problem; I fully understand Uncle's channels. He was heavily injured yesterday and is recuperating, but…."
The Left Minister raised an eyebrow and said to Su Xiao:
"If you can get me the collections I need, you can state your conditions. I heard your captain died yesterday, accomplish this, and I'll make you Guard Captain."
Half an hour later, Su Xiao left the Left Minister's courtyard, strolling down the street.
Things were progressing smoothly, but the conditions proposed by the Left Minister gave Su Xiao a headache.
Moreover, after the Left Minister proposed the conditions, a new task appeared in Reincarnation Paradise at the same time.
[Triggered side quest: Left Minister's Collection]
Left Minister's Collection
Difficulty Level: LV.2.
Quest Description: The Left Minister's collection is very rich, and any valuable collections will catch this greedy old man's eye
Quest Information: Kill the owner of Mount Corvo and obtain its tooth. (Owner of Mount Corvo: Pirate World's fierce wild beast, a large-sized feline animal.)
Quest Deadline: Within 10 hours.
Quest Reward: Leader of the Guards' identity.
Failure Penalty: Expulsion from the Guard Team and falsified charges leading to a warrant for arrest.
...
Su Xiao understood what the owner of Mount Corvo was; a huge tiger that almost killed the young Luffy.
He sighed deeply; after entering the Pirate World, his opponents were all too strong, leaving Su Xiao feeling somewhat powerless.
Someday, he wanted to carry his long knife and battle his way through, never being so timid again.
But the Pirate World was too dangerous; he didn't even have the right to risk his life.
Still too weak; he must learn to be appropriately patient until he's strong.
The owner of Mount Corvo was strong, at least not someone Su Xiao could confront head-on right now. But no matter how strong, it was just a beast.
Not being able to contend directly didn't mean Su Xiao couldn't kill that tiger.