Indeed, his thoughts were correct.
Director-General Shen did have a problem.
A big problem, at that.
Mentally noting this down, Bai Xiaodu voiced his question.
“Director-General Shen's rank should be quite high. Does her ascension ritual really need someone at Rank 0.3 like me?”
Xin Hai'an shook her head, looking at him with a hint of sympathy.
“It seems you really don't know much about this.”
“An ascension ritual doesn't necessarily have to be used for leveling up. That's just one of its uses.”
“In fact, if you want to obtain powerful spells clearly recorded in history, or legendary weapons belonging to famous figures, you can acquire them through a meticulously designed ritual.”
“Most of these rituals are reverse-engineered from famous battles or historical events. Those who specialize in the 【Knowledge】 Pathway are obsessed with this; they love collecting and investigating historical ruins. Of course, when you get your hands on a ritual, you must first verify if it came from a legitimate source. If you run into those bastards from the 【Trickery】 Pathway, you'll be lucky to even come back alive after doing all the work.”
Bai Xiaodu quietly committed this to memory once again.
He had absolutely no avenue to acquire transcendent knowledge, so he had to pry it out of others piece by piece.
This was why every time Director-General Shen spoke, Bai Xiaodu listened with absolute focus.
Xin Hai'an massaged her temples.
The matter involved the machine civilization.
While it was supposedly just a subordinate's doing, some things might seem trivial on the surface, but once they were exposed, the consequences would be catastrophic.
Xin Hai'an lost all interest in continuing.
She stood up from Bai Xiaodu, taking the suit jacket her bodyguard handed over and wrapping it tightly around herself.
“When we train next will depend on my mood. Also... there's no benefit in hanging around Director-General Shen.”
The door opened.
The sword-carrying bodyguard's expression was grim.
“Lady Xin Hai'an, if the problem really lies with Jedoli, I'm afraid we won't be able to find him anytime soon.”
Xin Hai'an stopped in her tracks.
She frowned, her expression turning displeased. “What do you mean?”
The bodyguard lowered her voice. “My last contact with him was yesterday evening. Weren't we originally planning to head straight to the vampire company in the city? But you were too exhausted from your workout, so we delayed it by a day.”
“He said he wanted to host a welcome banquet for you, so he went out to buy ingredients and prepare the venue. He's probably not at the company right now... He might have even run off with the funds.”
Rubbing her temples in irritation, Xin Hai'an realized that in order to avoid tipping him off, she hadn't told anyone about auditing the accounts.
However, it wasn't a major issue. She had naturally anticipated the possibility of him fleeing to avoid an audit.
Xin Hai'an crossed her arms.
“No rush. I locked his identity card in advance, so he can't board any spaceships or trains. He can't run far. He should still be within Pingshan District. Have the police... tsk, no.”
Xin Hai'an shook her head instinctively.
Even the police in Pingshan District were standard official Federation forces.
Xin Hai'an wasn't afraid of these minor issues, but she couldn't guarantee that someone wouldn't use this incident to blow things out of proportion.
The vampire clan didn't hold a monopoly on the potion industry; various factions were secretly competing with one another.
Colluding with heretics—if the story was embellished, she would never be able to clear her name.
This was getting troublesome.
“Um, maybe I have a way.”
Bai Xiaodu quietly stood up, patting the dust off his back.
The others all turned to look at him.
Bai Xiaodu scratched his head. “The potion business is your main industry, right?”
Xin Hai'an nodded. “Pretty much. It accounts for a very significant portion.”
Bai Xiaodu said, “The cash flow has issues because he cooked the books. But the siphoned potions have to be sold to the market eventually. He wouldn't be stupid enough to sell them openly, so he must have found someone to help distribute them. I live in Pingshan District, and as far as I know, there are only two factions capable of handling transportation and greasing the wheels. One is the Pingshan District official authorities, and the other is the local gang, the Jackal Gang.”
Bai Xiaodu spread his hands. “Investigating the Federation officials is naturally beyond my power, but as for the Jackal Gang, I'd be happy to oblige.”
Xin Hai'an stroked her chin and instinctively asked, “But isn't he colluding with the machine civilization? How do we handle that part? The goods are a minor issue, but that is the real problem.”
Bai Xiaodu signaled the bodyguard to close the door and lowered his voice.
“The so-called collusion is nothing more than trading with the machine civilization. But what use do those machines have for potions meant for carbon-based lifeforms? Therefore, they must be trading goods for money, or using the money from reselling the potions to buy things from the machine civilization.”
Xin Hai'an couldn't help but nod.
“You mean we can first audit the books of the gang capable of large-scale transport. If we confirm they assisted him, we can find Jedoli through them. If they refuse to cooperate, we can just slaughter those scum; someone who fears death will surely talk. Once we find Jedoli, we can bring him back to take the fall or kill him, and that will put an end to this matter.”
Her eyes sparkled with admiration.
“If they didn't help, then we trigger the backup plan. It must be someone in the Federation Transportation Bureau who has a problem, directly involving the bureaucrats of Pingshan District. By then, they'll be too terrified of the fire burning their own seats—or even their heads—to publicize this. I'll also gain leverage over them.”
Xin Hai'an couldn't help but clap her hands.
“This shifts the problem directly from me to them! A vampire subordinate colluding with the machine civilization vs. official Federation forces colluding with the machine civilization are completely different matters.”
The former would likely result in inspections and fines, while the latter would trigger a thorough military purge from top to bottom!
Bai Xiaodu blinked.
I didn't say any of that. You came up with that yourself.
I've always been a kind and friendly youth who simply believes gangs are a menace that needs to be eradicated.
Seeing Bai Xiaodu's innocent expression, Xin Hai'an shook her head with a laugh and patted his shoulder.
“Then I'll leave this matter to you. I'm not a stingy person. Help me resolve this annoying issue, and you won't be short of rewards.”
Xin Hai'an thought for a moment, then took out her key ring from her coat.
The dangling real estate keys made Bai Xiaodu's eyes light up, but she casually detached a miniature decorative knife instead.
It was beautifully crafted, inlaid with tiny rubies, though its shape was peculiar, resembling a small bat with outstretched wings.
“This is a throwing knife forged with the help of a Wonder. Once you bind it with your blood, it can be released once a day. There's no need to retrieve it; it will automatically reappear on you after the cooldown ends. Without a Wonder of the same rank protecting them, anyone below the transcendent realm will be heavily injured at the very least. Take it, but remember to use it from a distance, or it might hurt you. Once the task is complete, it's yours forever.”
Bai Xiaodu happily accepted it. It felt cool to the touch and was sharp enough to slice his finger.
Xin Hai'an is loaded.
Just then, the system popped up an information box.
【Blood Bat】
【Quality: Green】
【Type: Weapon】
【Effect: Throw at enemies to cause Level 1 Blindness and Level 1 Laceration damage within a 0.5-meter radius.】
【Description: Flying through the night, throwing bat-shaped darts... What is your name again?】
It was small, exquisite, and very pleasing to the eye. Bai Xiaodu hid it up his sleeve.
With that, Xin Hai'an signaled her sword-carrying bodyguard.
“Liya, go with Bai Xiaodu. If things go south, don't let him suffer at the hands of the gang.”
Liya's expression stiffened as she watched Bai Xiaodu flash her a friendly smile.
She felt her vision go dark.
Swallowing hard, Liya reluctantly agreed.
“O-Okay.”
Who the hell could make this guy suffer?!
Rate on N.U.
