Qi Suian paid Harrington’s threat no mind.
For no other reason than it was complete bullshit.
If he kept his promise, the Eternal United States would just give up on hunting him?
Their situation was already a fight to the death. It was simply a matter of whether or not something aligned with Qi Suian’s interests.
From Harrington, Qi Suian learned the location of another Sacred Relic from the Eternal Love series.
To say "location" wasn’t entirely accurate. It was in someone’s possession.
In the hands of Kong Xiang, a Guerrilla General of the Xuan Empire.
When he first heard this intelligence, Qi Suian nearly crushed Harrington to death. A Guerrilla General of the Xuan Empire would only be found in two places.
One was within the Xuan Empire itself, and the other was on the battlefield.
No matter which it was, it would be incredibly difficult for Qi Suian to find him.
Fortunately, Harrington provided more precise information. This "Guerrilla General" wasn’t an official title, but a miscellaneous one.
He was actually a spy hidden within the Eternal United States, preparing to transmit intelligence in three days.
Harrington’s original mission was to close the net on him. He only broke away to deal with Qi Suian because something went wrong and he received news of his subordinates’ deaths.
He never expected to get caught in the trap himself.
This, however, piqued Qi Suian’s interest. The combination of a spy and the title of a miscellaneous general seemed a bit strange.
After further questioning, he learned that Kong Xiang came from a distinguished background within the Xuan Empire. His father had been a great general, but his reckless pursuit of glory led to a disastrous defeat.
His father died on the battlefield, and without this pillar of support, the scion of a military family was forced to become a spy.
But the man was also a dandy. After becoming a spy, he disguised himself as a wandering minstrel and opened up many channels by seducing noblewomen.
By selling his looks and using his high emotional intelligence, he performed many meritorious deeds for the Xuan Empire.
If he hadn’t been accidentally exposed, perhaps no one would have suspected that a pretty boy could be a spy.
Besides the Eternal Love series Sacred Relic inherited from his dead father, he didn’t have a second one, but he possessed exquisite disguise techniques.
However, according to the intel, the Xuan Empire would be giving Kong Xiang a Sacred Relic during this intelligence transfer to assist him.
According to Harrington’s speculation, his success in climbing into the beds of numerous noblewomen as a minstrel was related to that Eternal Love series Sacred Relic.
What Sacred Relic the Xuan Empire was giving him was currently unknown, but it was certain to be something that would allow Kong Xiang to further cultivate his network.
As for why they didn’t plan to arrest Kong Xiang immediately after finding out?
That was, of course, to uproot the entire network along with him.
Catching a single spy was nothing. What was truly important was to uproot the entire spy network, which was the only way to eliminate the hidden threat.
But it was unrealistic to think they could completely clean out the spies within the Eternal United Empire.
Just like the spies they had planted in the Xuan Empire, after so many years of conflict, the networks were already deeply and intricately rooted.
It was already a great accomplishment to expose any of them; most were simply impossible to uncover.
After getting the information he needed, Qi Suian shoved Harrington directly into the Melting Furnace.
Ever since he started getting percentage-based evolution energy from Sacred Relics, the evolution energy provided by other fuels was pathetically low in comparison.
The only shame was that standard-issue Sacred Relics provided too low a percentage. Only original Sacred Relics could earn Qi Suian’s favor.
’If all goes according to plan, the Sacred Relic the Xuan Empire is preparing to give Kong Xiang will be the perfect match for the Cursed Poem and the Devoted Holy Orchestra,’ Qi Suian thought shamelessly.
Plus, the man also had the Eternal Love series Sacred Relic he needed. It was a chance to kill two birds with one stone.
But there was a problem. Qi Suian would likely have to pull chestnuts out of the fire.
To eliminate the threat of this spy network, the operation was being led by one senior colonel, with three colonels, five lieutenant colonels, and ten majors.
The number of lower-ranked personnel was even greater. And to ensure nothing went wrong, Sacred Relics with abilities like blockades and teleportation were also being prepared.
Harrington was only one of the five lieutenant colonels.
In terms of strength, however, he was the strongest of the five.
But compared to the four highest-ranking officers on the team, there was little comparison.
And Qi Suian had only defeated Harrington thanks to his protagonist halo. Forget the others; the remaining four lieutenant colonels alone would be more than enough to give him a hard time.
’My protagonist halo can, at best, ensure I get out in one piece. If I want to maximize my gains, I’m afraid I’ll have to rely on myself.’
Qi Suian could choose to forgo maximizing his gains by first bombarding the area with the Floating Cannons before making a move.
But doing so would mean losing out on the Sacred Relic resources from the Eternal United States School Officers participating in the encirclement.
To say nothing of the quantity, all of them combined would be enough for the Tai Sui God to complete one evolution.
Giving up was not an option.
Once he made a move, he would infuriate the Eternal United States no matter what. He would then face an even more star-studded pursuit team.
So, he had to get stronger.
But not going was also impossible. If Kong Xiang’s Sacred Relic fell into the hands of the Eternal United States, he would have to either steal it, snatch it, or use threats to get it.
If he did that, he’d be hunted all the same.
As for intercepting him beforehand? Did he really think the people watching were useless?
The moment Qi Suian made a move, pursuers would be on his tail.
His Concealment and Shielding modules could, at best, resist the tracking of original Sacred Relics. However, by the Non-commissioned Officer level, they were already using Jigsaw Sacred Relics.
It was just that the number and compatibility of the Sacred Relics obtained differed according to military rank—general, school officer, captain, and non-commissioned officer.
’Either let it go, or wipe them all out...’ Qi Suian and his AI Brain continuously calculated, finally arriving at a conclusion.
It was unrealistic to get everything.
The gap in strength was something that no amount of plotting or scheming could overcome.
[Therefore, you could intercept the Sacred Relic from the Xuan Empire’s contact first, and then seize the Eternal Love series Sacred Relic from Kong Xiang’s hands.]
[Completing this before the enemy’s encirclement begins will not only guarantee your safety to the greatest extent but also buy you time to react.]
The AI Brain gave Qi Suian its suggestion.
"Alright, I’ll intercept it first."
As for who the contact was and where they were? Qi Suian had no idea.
But that was fine. When in doubt, rely on the protagonist halo.
With his luck, the probability of finding the person wasn’t low.
"Wait, there’s actually another way..." A thought suddenly struck Qi Suian. "I kill the contact, disguise myself as him, and then..."
[Are you preparing to separate from the Tai Sui God?]
The AI Brain’s single sentence left Qi Suian speechless.
His features were far too distinct; there was simply no way to disguise them.
"I need to find a way to get the Disguise and Mimicry modules. Do you have any leads?" Qi Suian changed the subject.
With those two modules, combined with the Transformation module and support from other modules, Qi Suian could become a master of disguise.
[Apologies, there is no solution. You could try obtaining them from the Survivors.]
[The fourth wave of Survivors is powerful. You might be able to obtain more rewards, and among them may be the resources you need.]
[Alternatively, finding a similar Sacred Relic to use as a module could also compensate.]
Qi Suian directly ignored the option of snatching them from the Survivors and narrowed his eyes.
"A Sacred Relic with similar abilities... that part isn’t hard."
"The hard part is finding one that is compatible with the Cursed Poem and the Holy Orchestra while also having the right function," Qi Suian said. "Let’s shelve it for now. I don’t have enough module slots anyway."
"The remaining module slots are already reserved. I’ll have to deal with this later."
"Being sneaky is less convenient than just killing everyone outright."
Qi Suian had no desire to be a rat skulking in the gutter. He just wanted to blast the entire world apart with overwhelming power.
Only if he truly couldn’t win would Qi Suian consider hiding.
Besides, a single Disguise or Mimicry module wouldn’t be enough to meet Qi Suian’s needs.
He had to have both modules to achieve the desired effect.
That’s why he was worried that using an incompatible Sacred Relic as a module would affect the strength of his Plague and Pestilence set.
"I’d rather go all-in on power than sacrifice a module from the Plague and Pestilence set."
"When it’s time to be reckless, be reckless. No use being indecisive!"
"I’ll kill the contact first, then Kong Xiang. Then I’ll use the time lag to catch this group of Eternal United States School Officers completely off guard."
"I’ll kill as many as I can."
Qi Suian quickly decided on his plan. There was nothing fancy about it, just a simple, unadorned three-step kill.
Either he would kill all his enemies, or he would flee in disgrace. There was no third possibility.
Even if there was, Qi Suian couldn’t be bothered to think about such troublesome matters.
Bombard them with the Floating Cannons, and let the protagonist halo be his safety net. There was nothing to fear.
As for overusing or over-relying on his protagonist halo? He knew he had one, so why not exploit it to the fullest? It’s not like he could save it up and expect it to have kids.
It was precisely because he had a protagonist halo that he dared to be so audacious.
***
Kong Xiang’s legs felt a little weak as he got out of a noblewoman’s bed. After pocketing a hefty "sponsorship," he got dressed, poured himself a glass of wine, and downed it in one gulp.
"Three days left. I hope you all die a painful death." A hint of mockery appeared on Kong Xiang’s face.
Then, his hand went to the necklace on his chest.
The necklace was a Sacred Relic. His father had told him it was called the Eternal Love Necklace.
He had been using the Sacred Relic’s power all this time, which was why he could operate with such ease.
The price was that each use increased his own desire, and this increase was irreversible.
As for its ability, it was actually very simple. It made the holder’s image in the eyes of an opposite-sex target appear more like their "white moonlight"—an idealized, unforgettable past love—touching the softest spot in their heart.
If the target had no such person in their past, it would instead trigger an illusion akin to love at first sight.
Of course, he knew he had been exposed. But this exposure was intentional.
Even the contact was just cannon fodder.
The Sacred Relic being delivered wasn’t for him to continue cultivating his network at all. It was for him to burn brightly one last time.
Because he had used the Eternal Love Necklace so many times, his desires could no longer be quelled, making him unfit to be a spy.
For the sake of the Xuan Empire, he had orchestrated this so-called spy exposure. The Sacred Relic the contact was bringing was, in fact, a superweapon.
At a glance, it looked like the Eternal United Empire was closing its net. In reality, it was a suicide mission for him to take numerous School Officers down with him.