49 Apocalypse Rules

Chapter 320: Chapter 297: Trust and Exposure

"Princess, today we need to go..."

Sikokun walked into the study and saw Yelena holding her phone, sitting lost in thought at the desk.

"Princess?"

"Hmm?" Yelena snapped out of it. "Oh, Sikokun, you’re here."

"I’m here to escort you to the pre-inauguration council meeting. You seem preoccupied. Is something on your mind?"

In response to Sikokun’s question, Yelena glanced at her phone and answered frankly.

"I was just thinking about whether I should call my teacher."

"...I imagine that after your father’s announcement yesterday, if he follows the news, he must already know."

"You misunderstand, Sikokun." Yelena shook her head. "I don’t want to talk to him about succeeding as Governor. I just want to thank him. Without his training at the academy, Rijeka’s plot might have succeeded."

Hearing this, Sikokun’s expression turned serious. "Princess, you may not like what I’m about to say, but I must say it."

Yelena had a vague idea of what was coming and frowned slightly.

"Your status is different now. It was fine when you were a student with a hidden identity, addressing that Guan Tong as your teacher. But on January first of next year, you will become the new Governor of Sisiya. I think—"

"Are you saying that once I become Governor, I should start acting like an arrogant bastard?" Yelena interrupted, raising her voice.

Sikokun was taken aback, not expecting such a strong reaction from Yelena.

"I don’t want to talk about this anymore. Let’s go."

With that, Yelena stood up and walked out of the room. Sikokun turned to follow in silence, but a glimpse of something on the desk caught her eye.

It was a picture frame, lying face down on the desk.

Sikokun remembered that frame held a family portrait of the Konia Clan.

Only then did she begin to understand.

In the car.

After they had been driving for ten minutes, Yelena broke the silence. "I’m sorry. I wasn’t in a good mood earlier."

Sikokun shook her head. "It was my fault, Princess."

She had overlooked how much damage the betrayal by her own family had done to Yelena.

One’s own grandmother and brother conspiring to have you killed... An experience like that would undoubtedly cause immense psychological trauma to anyone.

Even if Yelena hadn’t shown much outward grief or devastation afterward, it didn’t mean she was calm on the inside.

Sikokun thought to herself, ’Perhaps it’s precisely because of her family’s betrayal that the Princess has developed a sort of psychological dependence on Guan Tong, a teacher she’s only known for a few months.’

’No wonder she got so angry earlier.’

"I don’t want to become a different person just because I’m the Governor," Yelena said then, her purple eyes gazing at her own reflection in the window. "That would make me hate myself."

"You’re right. Someone who can be changed by status and power is unfit to govern a country," Sikokun said. "I was being too narrow-minded."

"No. I know you mean well and don’t want people to criticize me. But I’m not willing to go against my own principles just to manage others’ opinions."

With that, Yelena didn’t press the matter further and changed the subject.

"This pre-inauguration council meeting will discuss what to do with Rijeka. My father will likely ask for my opinion. Sikokun, what do you think I should do?"

"What are your own thoughts, Princess?"

"My idea is to exile him to Sennantata."

"That’s where those who lose the competition normally go." Sikokun looked at Yelena in the rearview mirror. The cold expression on the princess’s face made it clear things weren’t that simple.

"Yes," Yelena said calmly. "His attempt to murder you and me, along with his secret collusion with military commanders—these are all enough to warrant a death sentence. But if I demand his execution, his supporters might be driven to desperate measures, leading to a fight to the bitter end."

"So, I plan to exile him first. I’ll slowly replace and deal with his supporters. Once his remaining influence has been completely rooted out, I will eliminate the problem for good."

Sikokun was somewhat surprised by Yelena’s rational judgment.

She had originally thought Yelena would be angry and eager to dispose of Rijeka, and was even prepared to advise caution. It seemed she had underestimated the princess’s maturity.

"I agree with your plan, Princess. It is indeed the most prudent approach. It just means you may have to endure some grievances in the short term," Sikokun said.

"What’s a little grievance?"

What Yelena didn’t tell Sikokun was that she hadn’t forgotten what Guan Tong had said before she left North Star—about getting revenge.

’Keeping Rijeka alive, perhaps... ’

...

Guan Tong had four debts to collect in total.

Two had already been settled. Two remained.

One was Lucifer, the other was Rijeka.

He would not let these two go, no matter what. Just as he’d told Shangyuan Zi, he would retaliate against anyone who tried to kill him and acted on it.

And both of them met that condition.

As for who to go after first, Guan Tong hadn’t decided yet.

At the moment, he still hadn’t left the territory of Sakura Prayer.

After bidding farewell to Shangyuan Zi, he had returned to the forest where he had lived for a while, summoning the Book Page Sanctuary to stay in.

There were two reasons he hadn’t left.

First was Shangyuan Zi’s doubt about the Divine Son’s death. That, coupled with his own unsettling feeling when facing the Ninja with Invisibility, made him wonder if the Divine Son was really dead after all.

So, he planned to lie low in Sakura Prayer for a while longer to observe in secret. He would leave after the "spore" rule ended, provided his investigation turned up nothing unusual.

Second, he needed to rest and reorganize.

He wasn’t some robot manufactured by the Soloma Empire, able to work tirelessly without fear of wear and tear.

He hadn’t had a proper rest since arriving in Sakura Prayer. First, he’d had to deal with the demolition maniac Wu Wang, followed immediately by the whole affair with Shangyuan Zi and the Divine Son.

If he continued on relentlessly to hunt down Rijeka and Lucifer, his efficiency would plummet from physical and mental exhaustion, and he might even risk a disastrous failure.

After all, one was a suspected high-ranking noble of Sisiya, and the other was a homicidal maniac of extraordinary power. Neither would be an easy target.

Besides...

Guan Tong sat at the entrance, gazing out at the forest—lush with flowers and plants even in winter in this tropical region—and at Coal Ball playing among the trees.

He thought about Shangyuan Zi’s refusal of his offer. It was, in fact, within his expectations.

Asking someone with nihilistic tendencies to pursue a distant truth was, indeed, asking too much.

He had made the offer knowing she would refuse; he just wanted to clarify his own thoughts by speaking them aloud.

Yes, he was indeed interested in forming a small team.

The goal of this team wouldn’t be to conquer or dominate, but to uncover the truth.

There weren’t many people who met his recruitment criteria at the moment. In fact, to be precise, there were none at all.

Among the people he knew and trusted, Xu Xiaotian was currently working for the official materials supply department. Why would he give up a cushy government job with free meals in the cafeteria?

Although Guan Tong wouldn’t require team members to travel with him, he was still reluctant to pull Xu Xiaotian into this, as it was a rather dangerous undertaking.

The same went for the mother-daughter pair, Wang Yan and Chen Na.

Both of them were currently affiliated with official organizations. They had good living conditions and guaranteed safety; there was no need to make them take such a risk.

As for Shi Jingyi, the person Guan Tong trusted most, she was now a lecturer at the academy with an excellent position, status, and benefits, and was deeply loved by her students.

She knew about Guan Tong’s goal, but she had never expressed any desire to seek the truth herself.

His habit of always going it alone meant Guan Tong didn’t have many people he could trust. Fortunately, he wasn’t in a hurry. If a suitable person came along, they could work together. If not, he would continue on his own.

Finished with his thoughts, he got up, returned to his computer, and turned it on. He found that besides the news of his assassination, the headlines also featured an acquaintance of his.

"Yelena Konia to become the new Governor of Sisiya... Looks like she won the competition."

Although the news report didn’t include a photo, he was certain this Yelena Konia was his former student, Yelena Stasia.

Dean Zhou Qinfeng had already guessed that "Stasia" was a fake surname. He had even correctly deduced that her real surname was "Konia."

A seventeen-year-old girl becoming the Governor of a country was certainly eye-catching enough.

However, in the era of the Apocalypse Rules, it was no longer anything new for young people to take center stage.

After all, the very first rule had eliminated the vast majority of older people.

Even for those who survived thanks to Sober Mint Candies, the younger generation gradually surpassed them as subsequent rules unlocked new potential.

This had led to a trend in all countries where power was now held by the young and middle-aged. Compared to the old guard, these people used to be called the "young Turks," but now...

’Should I contact her to say congratulations... Nah, forget it.’

Yelena had left her contact information before she left, but they had only known each other for a few short months. Besides, the fact that she’d hidden her real surname meant she didn’t want her identity exposed.

Even if everyone at the academy now knew that the new Governor of Sisiya was their former elegant Sisiya classmate, they would probably just treat it as a piece of gossip. Few, if any, would actually try to contact her.

He then checked the news related to himself.

The official statements from the various nations of the Human Federation, and the public’s attitude toward the incident, were mostly within his expectations.

Never mind that the Human Federation showed no signs of issuing a collective warrant for his arrest; even if they did, he wouldn’t regret it.

What must be done, must be done, regardless of the consequences.

Even if it came to a global manhunt, his conscience would be clear, and he would be unafraid.

Opening Ascender’s Home, he logged into his Shadow account to see if Shangyuan Zi had sent him a message.

She hadn’t, but the official account that he had communicated with before had sent him a private message.

And the content of that message made Guan Tong stare for a long moment.

"Shadow, we already know your true identity. You are Guan Tong, the man who previously served as a substitute lecturer at the academy."

’...A little faster than I thought.’

Guan Tong looked at the private message. He knew that after giving that final lecture at the academy—the one about his theories on Psychic Power and the Fire Thief—he was bound to be suspected of being Shadow.

This was because the only known person to have ever suppressed a rule from a higher level was Shadow, who had concentrated the Psychic Power of a large number of Ascenders during the earthquake rule.

From that point alone, a connection to his identity could be made.

This was also why Shi Jingyi had asked him, "Aren’t you worried?" She had believed he would fall under suspicion after giving that lecture.

At the time, Guan Tong had figured he was leaving anyway and wouldn’t be back anytime soon. He preferred to leave behind something real, to give the students some inspiration, even if it meant being suspected. He didn’t care.

Now, seeing this private message from the official account, it must mean they had obtained definitive evidence proving that Guan Tong and Shadow were one and the same.

’...But so what?’

He didn’t reply to the message. He closed the web page.

Even if the whole world knew who he was, it wouldn’t stop him from doing what he had to do.

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