Chapter 19

In an old warehouse, Klick and Jin were waiting somewhat anxiously.

"Click."

The warehouse door, which had not been opened for a long time, made a creaking sound.

Klick and Jin both became alert at the same time. They were pirates, people who lived on the edge of life and death.

Xiao stood at the warehouse door and did not go in directly.

"Wait for me here."

After saying that, Xiao walked into the warehouse. Hank opened his mouth but ultimately did not say anything, only guarding outside the warehouse.

Walking into the warehouse, what met his eyes were some randomly placed wooden crates. The floor was covered in dust, indicating that the warehouse had been abandoned for a long time.

"You're too slow. Is this the attitude of the Goah Kingdom?"

Klick spoke first, his tone somewhat unfriendly.

Xiao chuckled and sized up Klick in front of him.

Tall and imposing, Klick's face was hidden under a hood. Although they were a few meters apart, Xiao could smell a strange odor.

It was the smell of a powerful poison. Xiao sometimes coated his blades with poison, so he was familiar with this smell.

"I'll leave it to you. After the job is done, the kingdom will confer you a noble title."

Xiao got straight to the point; he didn't want to waste words with these pirates.

"Is that it? I thought there were three groups competing..."

Klick's words were cut off by Xiao.

"No, the other two groups are just a bunch of riffraff. I have the decision-making power. You only need to answer yes or no."

Klick was clearly dissatisfied at being interrupted, but being in the territory of the Goah Kingdom, the pirate did not dare to be too arrogant.

Xiao wasn't alone when he met Klick. Near the warehouse, over a hundred guards were lying in wait.

Klick hesitated, seemingly not trusting Xiao, or rather, not trusting the Goah Kingdom.

"First, explain what exactly needs to be done."

The burning of the waste disposal site was only known to those inside the capital; people outside the city were unaware.

Klick was an outsider, so he didn't know the specifics. These people were lured by the promise of a noble title.

"Set fire to the waste disposal site at 6 PM tomorrow. The timing must be precise..."

As Xiao began to explain the details, Klick and Jin's expressions grew increasingly serious.

"Burn everything? That's quite a challenge. The waste disposal site is quite large."

"Do you not know what explosives are?"

Xiao stared at Klick, always on guard against any sudden change in the pirate's attitude. The negotiation had reached its most critical moment.

"What a joke. That amount of explosives? Unless you provide them, I choose to quit."

Xiao had already anticipated Klick's attitude.

"Is that so? What a pity."

After saying that, Xiao prepared to turn and leave, not even trying to negotiate with Klick.

"Wait."

Jin called out to Xiao, then whispered to Klick.

"Boss, if we bring all the explosives from the ship, the quantity will be sufficient."

Klick glared at Xiao with anger. He knew the explosives on the ship were enough, but he was reluctant to part with them.

"Do you really think that just by setting fire to the waste disposal site, you'll get a noble title? The explosives must be provided by you, or there's no deal."

Half an hour later, Xiao walked out of the warehouse, leaving Klick and Jin with pained expressions.

As a token of the promised reward, Xiao left a voucher, which was the document for conferring a noble title by the kingdom.

As long as Klick signed the document and had it notarized by the kingdom, he would become a noble.

Moreover, the document could not be unilaterally nullified, as it had the seal of the World Government.

Pirates were not easy to fool. Without offering real bait, they would never risk their lives.

"Lord Baiye, has everything been settled?"

Hank tentatively asked. Xiao's steps suddenly stopped.

"Do you really want to know?"

Xiao's cold gaze made Hank instinctively step back.

"I dare not."

At that moment, Hank deeply regretted not killing Xiao when he had the chance to choose a weapon.

"Hank, there's something I need you to do. This matter is 'very important.'"

After saying that, Xiao signaled the guards lying in wait to reveal themselves. Over a hundred guards gathered behind him, and he led them back to the guard headquarters.

---

Night fell, and Xiao sat alone in the office of the guard headquarters, the room pitch black.

The sudden appearance of Klick's pirate group did not disrupt Xiao's plan; instead, it made his plan run more smoothly.

Elbows on the desk, Xiao lightly pressed his forehead.

Although he was relatively smart, he knew that his current plan was not perfect and might have unknown loopholes.

But this was inevitable. He was too weak now and could only achieve his goals through careful planning.

Xiao preferred to solve problems with the blade in his hand.

"It won't be long. As soon as I leave this high-risk world."

Although the first world he experienced was the high-risk world of One Piece, he believed that the Cycle Paradise would not keep throwing him into worlds five levels higher than him.

His entry into the pirate world might be a test by the Cycle Paradise, a test of his Hunter identity.

Or rather, before completing the main mission, he was not truly a Hunter, just someone with the title, without the function.

Xiao spent the night in the office.

The next morning, he woke up early and began preparing for the night's action.

This was the last day of the main mission's deadline. At midnight tonight, his mission would reach its maximum limit.

Tonight, he would assassinate the king of the Goah Kingdom. Success or failure would be decided tonight.

All day, Xiao was busy. As the main person in charge of burning the waste disposal site, he received 'concessions' from every department he dealt with.

The left minister was completely incapacitated. Xiao saw him once, and the lifeless eyes made him shiver.

He was busy until 4 PM, completing everything. Then he entered the office of the guard headquarters and disappeared from everyone's sight.

Now he only needed to wait, waiting for the pirates outside the city to set fire to the waste disposal site.

As for the Goah Kingdom's purpose in burning the waste disposal site, it was laughable.

In a few days, the World Nobles, the Celestial Dragons, would come to inspect. To prevent the Celestial Dragons from seeing the large garbage mountains outside the city, the Goah Kingdom chose to burn the waste disposal site, along with the homeless people outside the city.

There were at least several thousand homeless people outside the city.

This was the ruling class of the pirate world, willing to burn thousands of people to prevent the upper echelons from seeing the blemish.

At 5 PM, the sky gradually darkened, and a gentle night breeze blew. In an hour, it would be time to burn the waste disposal site, and the city was unusually quiet.

In the dark office, only Xiao sat behind the desk. Suddenly, a green treasure chest appeared in his hand.

This treasure chest was obtained after killing the owner of Kolpo Mountain. He had been too busy recently to open it.

The green treasure chest filled Xiao with anticipation, and a smile appeared on his tired face.

[Treasure Chest (Green), Open/Not Open]

Choosing to open, several items appeared in Xiao's hand.

[You have opened the Treasure Chest (Green) and obtained the following items]

[Obtained 1000 Paradise Coins]

[Obtained Soul Crystal (Small)]

[Obtained Tiger Claw]

...

No equipment was obtained, but this was expected.

Xiao had opened several treasure chests and had some understanding of their rules.

The quality of the items obtained from opening a treasure chest is related to the color of the chest. The qualities he knew were White < Green < Blue.

As for the equipment or items obtained from the treasure chest, they are related to the person or animal that dropped the chest.

For example, if Xiao killed a tiger, the treasure chest dropped by the tiger would not contain a sword or a shield.

Killing a tiger would most likely yield the tiger's claws or skin, and the same applied to humans.

Killing a black market merchant, Xiao obtained a letter of recommendation left by the merchant.

Killing Oka, Xiao obtained the pendant Oka was wearing.

...

Xiao examined the items in his hand.

The Paradise Coins were directly stored in the Brand, which, despite being called Paradise Coins, was a formless currency.

[Tiger Claw]

Quality: Green

Type: Material

Rating: 16 (Note: Green materials have a rating of 10 to 30, with higher ratings indicating more valuable materials.)

Description: The claw of an elite creature, can be used to forge equipment in the Cycle Paradise or as an enhancement material.

[Soul Crystal (Small)]

Quality: None

Type: Concentrated Essence of Soul

Rating: None

Description: Soul Crystals are rare items with multiple uses... (Insufficient permissions to view the following content.)

...

Playing with the [Soul Crystal] in his hand, Xiao was completely puzzled by the two new items he had obtained.

But he had a feeling that this small, translucent crystal, no larger than a fingernail, might be the most valuable item he had ever obtained.

Everything would become clear once he returned to the Cycle Paradise. For now, his primary goal was to complete the mission.

Unbeknownst to him, it was already 6 PM.

Xiao left the office and disappeared into the night. Tonight, he would either complete the mission or die in the palace, with no third option.