"This National Fortune Game… Sakura Country is unbeatable!" Yamagaki rasped. "I can tell you who the strongest are—but after I speak, you must kill me."
Chen Xiao's voice was colder than the theater's drafts. "You don't get to set terms. Speak."
Yamagaki Kirihara shed a bitter, trembling tear. "Why did I ever come to Huaxia…" he muttered.
Chen Xiao tightened his grip on Yamagaki's hair. "Say it. The strongest ones."
Yamagaki gulped and rattled off names. "Top of the Sakura rankings is Kitazawa—a samurai heir. He's like your martial arts, but far stronger. Second is Aoki Seiya, a double SSS-rank awakened. Third is Kawashima Akane, an SSS-ranked speed talent—no one in Huaxia can touch her."
Chen Xiao only snorted. In his last life, Huaxia's ancient martial artists dominated the global rankings; Sakura's inheritors never ranked that high. Yamagaki's boasting was either ignorance or propaganda. He didn't waste time arguing. The spy was on the verge of collapse.
An Xinning watched quietly, and Chen Xiao, impatient, cut the interrogation short. "How many locations does Sakura Country use for the National Fortune Game?"
An Xinning answered for him: "Only one entry point: the An Shrine in North Railway."
"You investigated?" Chen Xiao asked.
"Of course," she said.
"Good," Chen Xiao nodded. He shoved Yamagaki back into the iron-sheet oven—his screams a fading echo. The chamber was soaked in blood; the iron plate glowed a scorched crimson. No one inside was left alive. Yamagaki's end would be slow and hot; he'd begged for quick death and been refused.
Chen Xiao washed his hands with a slick of water and turned to An Xinning. "Does the capital have a route to North Railway?"
An Xinning hesitated. "There are private channels, but during this period, applications are required."
Chen Xiao's eyes narrowed. "Tell Pei Tianyuan to handle it. I'm going to An Shrine in North Railway—send me there as soon as possible."
He had a contingency. The Blood Moon was tomorrow night; if something unexpected happened at North Railway, he still had time to return and join the National Fortune Game from the old city district, which was the proper entry point. He wanted to clear threats ahead of time—any rival, any ambush—so he wouldn't be ganged up on inside the game. He intended to seize the second-animal awakening for himself; that meant eliminating risks beforehand.
An Xinning blinked. "Why not enter from the old city district like everyone else?"
Chen Xiao smiled faintly. "To collect a debt."
Those two words made An Xinning's pulse quicken. Debt—decades old, or recent? She could hardly guess his target, but the intent was clear: he would storm their base camp to collect blood and honor if necessary.
"Are you sure?" she asked.
Chen Xiao nodded. "Use your talent to get us back to the capital. I need to reach North Railway quickly."
An Xinning's expression shifted; she respected resolve. She manifested her black vortex. Chen Xiao stepped in and, after a blur, they were back in the capital.
"Wait here. I'll contact Chief Pei," she said as she dialed a satellite phone. Chen Xiao wandered, idly fingering a CD player and plucking a pair of owl feathers from a specimen display.
Soon Pei Tianyuan arrived, flanked by Chen Mo—Wolf King Chen Mo—shadowing him like a wolf to a hunter.
"Chen Xiao, long time no see," Pei said, greeting him briskly.
Chen Xiao got straight to the point. "What were the rules of the last National Fortune Game?"
Pei listed curtly: "Arena battles, animal matches, point contests. Why?"
Chen Xiao cut him off. "What happens if I kill all of Sakura Country's National Fortune Envoys?"
Pei blinked, surprised by the bluntness. "Not much immediate geopolitical effect… I think."
"Can Chen Mo go?" Chen Xiao asked.
"No—each person participates only once," Pei answered.
Chen Xiao then asked about territory ownership: "It's determined by animal numbers, right?"
Pei sighed. "That's right. But listen—don't be reckless. The game is complicated. You must enter from the old city district; only then will the national fortune fall to Huaxia."
Chen Xiao digested that. His plan to smash North Railway in advance—destroy the enemy's base and reduce their power before the game—was complicated by this rule. If he bypassed the old city district, the national fortune wouldn't accrue to Huaxia; the rules enforced the official entry method, and enemies could be waiting. Surprise attacks could backfire.
Pei shook his head wryly. "You're cautious to an extreme—probably will be the longest-lived person I know in this apocalypse. But you don't need to worry about people teaming up to stop you—only one winner matters in the end. Even if you wreck Sakura Country's North Railway, other countries' awakened will still be threats. We've kept your involvement secret—you're a hidden card. We can field others for this opportunity if you decide not to act."
Chen Xiao paused. The rules mattered. The National Fortune Game favored the official entry, and if he wanted the reward counted for Huaxia—or just to ensure the opportunity fell into his hands—he'd have to play by those constraints. Still, he'd prepare for both paths: the game itself, and the preemptive settling of scores if needed.
He looked at Pei with a steady, cold smile. "Then help me arrange travel to North Railway. I'll be ready."