Chapter 408 - 371: Absolute Power Over Military, Government, Finance, and Intelligence

Chapter 408: Chapter 371: Absolute Power Over Military, Government, Finance, and Intelligence

A silver electronic door opened. The hearty voice was Valery’s.

He dismissed the two attendants, a man and a woman, and beamed at Guan Tong. "Come in, my friend."

Guan Tong stepped through the door and found himself in a grand hall with an intricate layout.

Spiral staircases on either side of the hall wound up to a second floor. A dance floor occupied the center, where handsome men and beautiful women with fine figures swayed to the music. An assortment of expensive entertainment machines, many of which Guan Tong had never seen before, surrounded the stage.

Male and female attendants in tailcoats and masks weaved between the machines, carrying trays of red wine. They served the scions of the rich and powerful, who were all dressed in light, silken garments.

Amidst the gentle, continuous music and a faint, elusive fragrance, bathed in the dim, warm light, anyone stepping inside would inevitably feel a pleasant sense of intoxication.

"What do you think, my friend? Is the atmosphere to your liking? Quite pleasant and relaxing, isn’t it?" Valery said with a wide smile.

Like the other guests, he was dressed in light, silken attire. However, the fabric was hardly flattering on his bloated frame.

"You asked for this meeting, Valery. What is it about?"

To be honest, Guan Tong didn’t find the place pleasant or relaxing at all. On the contrary, he felt sick to his stomach, filled with disgust.

He’d rather be on the barren slopes of Mingdao Mountain than in a place of such wanton decadence. At least the air there was fresh, unlike the nauseating stench of perfume here.

"Heh, my friend seems a little impatient."

Seeing that Guan Tong was getting straight to the point and had no intention of exchanging pleasantries, Valery gestured toward the second floor.

"Then let’s talk in the VIP room upstairs."

"Let’s go."

The two of them crossed the hall and ascended the spiral staircase. As they did, eyes occasionally turned toward Guan Tong. Most of these gazes were filled with malice; only a few held curiosity or scrutiny.

Valery led Guan Tong into a second-floor VIP room. It was unassuming from the outside, but the interior was enormous, rivaling the presidential suite of a five-star hotel.

After they were seated, Valery called an attendant to bring wine. Guan Tong refused and asked him to state the purpose of their meeting directly.

"My friend, the night is long. Why the rush? Wouldn’t it be better to talk over a glass of wine?"

Guan Tong remained silent.

Valery chuckled helplessly. "Heh, very well. Let’s get down to business."

He took out a tablet, tapped the screen a few times, and placed it in front of Guan Tong.

The screen displayed a long list of signatures.

He vaguely recognized a few of them; he’d heard Yelena mention them over the last few days. They were all high-ranking officials in Sisiya.

"The signatories comprise nearly the entirety of Sisiya’s military, political, and financial sectors. And the new Governor they all supported was Rijeka."

Valery was surprisingly blunt. Guan Tong glanced at the list. "Rijeka is dead."

"Correct. And it was you who did it."

"..."

"Don’t misunderstand, my friend." Valery waved a dismissive hand. "I didn’t invite you here today to dredge up the past, but to talk about a new beginning."

"What do you mean?"

"Yelena is unpopular. The key figures in the government don’t like her. Even if she assumes the position, she won’t be able to hold onto it. She knows this herself, which is why she hired you to be her bodyguard and ensure her safety, isn’t that right?"

Valery leaned back against the sofa’s soft cushions, a confident smile on his face. "But ’Shadow’ can’t stay by her side forever. When she can no longer meet your price, you’ll leave. What we want is to... accelerate that outcome."

Guan Tong said, "Stop beating around the bush. State your terms."

"Haha, excellent! I like a man who gets straight to the point!" Valery boomed with laughter. "Whatever amount of Sublimation Coins Yelena is paying you, we’ll triple it. Of course, our Governor is quite beautiful. Perhaps you’re taken with her looks. But in Sisiya, beautiful women are hardly a rarity."

Valery clapped his hands, and three beautiful Sisiya women entered the room. Guan Tong found one of them rather familiar; he vaguely recalled her being a Sisiya actress from before the time of the Apocalypse Rules.

"How about it? If you’re not satisfied, you can take your pick later." Valery lit a cigar, stuck it in his mouth, and watched Guan Tong’s reaction through the smoke with a crafty gaze.

To his dissatisfaction, Guan Tong showed little reaction, his expression a calm that bordered on indifference.

Seeing this, Valery changed his tack. "If you’re not satisfied with the terms, we can negotiate. But I believe you’re a smart man, and smart men know how to assess a situation."

"Assess the situation?"

"That’s right. Yelena is like one of your ancient North Star emperors with no subjects. She may sit on high with a lofty title, but her decrees are either ignored or deliberately misinterpreted and poorly executed. An emperor who cannot wield any real power is nothing more than a palace mascot."

Valery’s tone was exceptionally contemptuous when he spoke of Governor Yelena, as if he held her in no regard whatsoever.

Guan Tong retorted, "Then who is the real emperor? You?"

"To be precise, it’s ’us’," Valery admitted readily. "The others control the military, the government, and the finances. My security bureau holds the evidence of their crimes—we control the intelligence.

Together, we are the ones who truly make Sisiya run, not some naive young woman who thinks killing Rijeka means she can sleep soundly at night."

"..."

Seeing that Guan Tong seemed to be considering it, Valery immediately pressed his advantage.

"If you’re not satisfied with those terms, we can offer something better—we’ll make you one of us."

"Oh?"

"’Shadow’ is formidable, I’ll grant you that. But as far as I know, you aren’t affiliated with any official North Star department. A lone Ascender, no matter how powerful, has limitations. Join us, and you’ll have the protection of a powerful nation and priority access to its rare and precious resources.

And what do you get for being Yelena’s bodyguard? A pittance of Sublimation Coins... Even if you’re in it for her, is she really worth all this trouble?"

Guan Tong was silent for a moment. "Aren’t you worried I’ll tell her everything you’ve just said?"

"I trust a smart man to make the smart choice." Valery blew a smoke ring and grinned nonchalantly. "Besides, even if you tell her, there’s nothing she can do to us."

"So, what do you want me to do?"

Valery smiled. "It’s simple. Do one thing for us, and you’ll earn our trust. Then you can join us and share in the resources."

"What is it?"

"Kill someone."

"You want me to kill Yelena?"

"No. A mascot may be useless, but her death would be troublesome... We want you to kill the only sword she wields."

Guan Tong understood. "You want me to kill Sikokun."

"Exactly!" A cold glint flashed in Valery’s eyes. "That foolishly loyal woman is a nuisance. We would be very grateful if you would eliminate her for us."

"I don’t understand," Guan Tong said. "You claim to control the military, government, finances, and intelligence—that your power is absolute. Why do you need me to kill her? Why not do it yourselves?"

Valery shook his head. "It’s not the same... We certainly have the means to kill her, but doing so could stir up a lot of trouble. Besides, when it comes to the art of assassination, who is better than you?"

With that, Valery initiated a transaction request.

"As a show of good faith, we’ll pay a deposit first."

Guan Tong accepted, then watched as Valery entered the amount: 1,000,000 Sublimation Coins.

’That’s a bit high for a deposit.’ Guan Tong didn’t refuse, however, and accepted the transaction.

"That one million is just the deposit," Valery said. "I’ll pay another four million after the job is done. I think that figure is enough to show how highly we regard you."

A fee of five million Sublimation Coins was enough to make any mercenary group go wild. Valery had counted on this when he dared to offer one million as a deposit.

He believed that even ’Shadow’ couldn’t resist the incredible temptation of five million Sublimation Coins.

"If there’s nothing else, I’ll be going."

"Not staying to enjoy the rest of the night?" Valery pressed. "You can have all the fun you want. It’s on me."

"That won’t be necessary."

"Very well. I’ll be waiting for your good news, then."

Not long after Guan Tong left, several men pushed the door open, their expressions grim as they sat down beside Valery.

"Are you sure he’ll cooperate?"

"If that kid takes the money and doesn’t do the job, that’s a million coins down the drain!"

"I still say the deposit was too high."

"Heh heh. If you want a wild dog to work for you, you have to be willing to toss it some meat." A cruel glint flashed in Valery’s smile. "But if he takes the money and doesn’t do the job, that other four million will become the bounty on his head... I imagine many people would be happy to collect it."

The men exchanged glances, vaguely understanding Valery’s meaning.

"Don’t forget, we have the recording," one of them mentioned. "If he dares to cross us, we’ll release an edited version... Heh heh, all of Sisiya will be after him."

The men failed to notice that their every word and deed was being heard by the shadow hiding in the corner.

Walking down the street, Guan Tong listened in on the plotters via his shared senses. He wasn’t surprised by Valery and his cronies’ scheming.

’Cooperating with people like this, getting double-crossed is a certainty.’ His goal from the start had been to make a quick buck, then find the right time to get rid of them.

’If it were up to him, he would have made his move the instant the transaction was complete, starting by taking control of Valery.’

’But he had to consider Yelena’s situation. He couldn’t just do whatever he wanted.’

Guan Tong returned to the estate. It was already the early hours of the morning, but the light in the study was still on. Yelena and Shangyuan Zi were both waiting for him.

Guan Tong pushed the door open. As the two women watched, he recounted everything that had happened.

Yelena’s face was frosty after she heard his report, but she wasn’t furious. She had likely prepared herself for something like this.

"I’ve memorized the signatures on the list. Do you need them?" Guan Tong asked.

"No... Not everyone on that list is necessarily with them. I can’t make a judgment without proof."

"Mm, true enough."

"But to think they want to kill Sikokun... Unforgivable!"

Guan Tong and Shangyuan Zi exchanged a look. Guan Tong asked, "What’s your plan?"

Yelena thought for a moment. "You said earlier that your conversation with Valery was recorded by a hidden camera. If we can get that recording and release it, I can use it to move against the security bureau."

"The recording also shows Guan Tong accepting the deposit," Shangyuan Zi said. "If you release it, won’t the people of Sisiya turn against him?"

Yelena paused, not having considered that. She looked at Guan Tong.

Guan Tong, however, looked unconcerned. "We can just explain afterward that I was feigning compliance. As for whether the public believes it... I’ve done what’s right. My reputation is for others to decide. Why worry so much about it?"