Sainantata, where due to the extreme cold, over niy percent of the area is uninhabited ice fields.
Those living here are only a small number of Sisiya people who have resided here for generations and long adapted to the cold, as well as some people engaged in ice and snow-related industries.
After the appearance of the Doomsday Rules, life here became even more difficult, forcing many to leave and head to big cities to band together for survival.
Up to now, aside from a few large prisons and some special buildings established here that are still operational, there are no other industries, and the population is pitifully small.
Therefore, when Guan Tong and Uenoshi set foot in this region, their immediate feeling was one of bitter cold and desolate emptiness.
"The information says that after Lijeka's assassination attempt against Yelanka failed, he was sent to a prison here to be imprisoned."
Guan Tong's voice came from beneath a thick scarf. He was currently bundled up in a heavy coat, wearing snow goggles and a scarf, the standard attire for people living in this area.
Uenoshi's attire was similar to his. Although with their physical constitution, this level of cold had little impact, they didn't want to attract too much attention, so following local customs was the best choice.
"Our current location is about ten kilometers from that prison," Guan Tong said. "We'll use Shadow to scout first. If the intelligence is accurate, I'll resolve it quickly."
Uenoshi nodded, then suddenly said, "We need to be careful. This place also doesn't seem far from that alien creature."
"Correct, that's definitely something to note."
The alien intelligence landed on the ice field, and during the earliest live streaming, people online had already calculated the specific coordinates.
If the alien entity has remained near that location during this period, and the Human Consortium hasn't attempted to move it, then there must be extremely tight security within a certain radius of that location, prohibiting any individuals or organizations from approaching.
Since Guan Tong came to Sisiya to settle scores with Lijeka, he naturally didn't want to alert the forces guarding the alien entity.
He and Uenoshi proceeded along the planned route and soon arrived at the designated stopping point, a small town with the same name as the ice field.
This town still had a bit of life. Those living here were some locals unwilling to leave and people working in facilities like those prisons.
Moreover, due to the alien entity's landing, those groups from around the world most interested in alien intelligent life had all swarmed here in the past two days, gathering in this town.
In the town's largest tavern, as soon as Guan Tong and Uenoshi entered, they heard the people inside discussing the matter.
"It's so infuriating! I came all the way from so far just to see that alien lifeform with my own eyes. But those Sisiya soldiers, they block the way several kilometers from the coordinate point, not letting anyone get close."
"Same here. I've tried several times these past two days, and been turned back every time."
"What about taking a detour?"
"Useless! Do you think satellite surveillance is for nothing? Besides, with so many soldiers forming multiple layers of security, it's impossible to get in."
Guan Tong and Uenoshi found an empty table and sat down.
Listening to the crowd's chatter, Guan Tong said, "These people all came just to see that black sludge with their own eyes. That's quite something."
Those willing to come to this icy, desolate, godforsaken place were probably no one but die-hard enthusiasts of the alien entity.
"Parasitized forms might be mixed in among these people," Uenoshi said. "They probably also want to obtain intelligence."
"Hmm, that's certainly possible." Guan Tong glanced around the bar crowd. He couldn't distinguish the presence of parasitized forms. Withdrawing his gaze, he said, "Having these people here is good for us."
Uenoshi nodded.
With many outsiders present, the two of them could also pretend to be part of the "alien enthusiast" group.
Conversely, if the town were full of locals, their sudden arrival would definitely attract a lot of unnecessary attention.
Now, with so many outsiders, all wearing thick coats, felt hats, and snow goggles, no one would attract particular notice.
"You two are also from another country, here to see the alien creature, right?"
At that moment, someone from the next table proactively struck up a conversation with Guan Tong and the other.
"You've come for nothing. Whether it's Sisiya or the entire Human Consortium's rule, there are heavy military checkpoints set up around the coordinate location. They simply don't let unrelated personnel get close."
Guan Tong replied, "That's truly a pity."
"Exactly! Sigh. The people in this town are happy, though. They can earn Ascension Coins from folks like us."
As the man spoke, he raised his cup. "A cup of hot milk like this sells for 20 Ascension Coins. They really know how to do business!"
"Living off the land, that's normal," Guan Tong said, then couldn't help but ask curiously, "Since you can't see it, why isn't everyone going back?"
"It's because the rule period lasts half a month! Only two or three days have passed now. There's still plenty of time. Everyone wants to wait until the end and try their luck, in case they open up access then."
"I see."
Guan Tong said this, but in his heart, he knew opening up was unlikely. Probably until the rules ended and the Fire Thief retrieved that puddle of alien black sludge, the Human Consortium wouldn't allow unrelated personnel to make contact.
That would be too dangerous. Not for the alien entity, but for these enthusiasts. Who knows what they might do?
Guan Tong then went to the bar counter and also bought two large cups of hot milk, one for him and one for Uenoshi to warm up.
As the chatty person said, the shop owner was grinning from ear to ear. A cup of hot milk sold for twenty coins, strong liquor and the like were even more expensive. Relying on these outsiders, he could make quite a bit of money.
After learning some information from the crowd's conversations, Guan Tong and Uenoshi spent Ascension Coins to rent a room in the town to settle in.
As with every previous investigation, Guan Tong's approach was "troops move, supplies first." This "supplies" naturally referred to Shadow.
Following the intelligence data, he manipulated Shadow to head to the prison, quickly reaching the destination.
To his surprise, through the vision shared by Shadow, what he saw resembled a fortress more than a prison. The sturdy, high walls and the mounted large-caliber autocannons didn't seem designed for internal control, but more for defense against external threats.
It seemed this prison was originally a fortress prepared for war...
This kind of heavily defended fortress was utterly defenseless against Shadow's infiltration.
Shadow easily entered, then split into several shadow lines, beginning to drift in different directions, probing the interior situation.
According to the information mentioned, Lijeka was exiled to this prison. As for which specific cell, that wasn't so precise.
Shadow searched cell by cell, very quickly, because the vast majority of cells were empty and unmanned. But Guan Tong could notice that some cells had traces of recent human habitation.
Then, Shadow discovered the key.
In the prison guard's dormitory level, he found his target: Lijeka Konia.
In the image transmitted by Shadow, Lijeka was talking with a person wearing a prison guard uniform.
Seeing Lijeka's clean, gorgeous clothes and his neatly combed, pomaded blond hair, it was clear he certainly wasn't receiving prisoner treatment in this prison.
Guan Tong didn't act rashly. First, he had Shadow hide in the room's shadows, eavesdropping on their conversation.
Lijeka seemed to be in a bad mood at the moment, with an impatient expression.
The prison official sitting opposite him wore a fawning smile, his tone full of flattery. "I know you're anxious, but for now, we can only endure."
"Endure?" Lijeka suppressed his anger. "Endure until Yelanka solidly secures the Administrator position? Endure until she gets rid of all the people who sided with me?"
"Although she acts ruthlessly, she doesn't know everything. For example, she doesn't know about my relationship with you as the warden, does she? Otherwise, she wouldn't have sent you here."
"Hmph... that's true." Hearing this, Lijeka's expression eased slightly, and he sneered, "She must have thought throwing me into this worst prison would make me suffer, but instead, she dropped a rock on her own foot."
Listening, Guan Tong thought it seemed this warden was probably Lijeka's secret trusted subordinate or something.
But Yelanka was completely unaware of this?
Guan Tong found it strange. He felt that although Yelanka was young, she was very smart.
Moreover, if even one guard leaked the fact that Lijeka was living in luxury here, it would be big trouble. Unless this warden could bribe and control all the guards.
"Exactly. So you don't need to worry. Especially since you currently hold evidence of her crimes..."
Evidence of crimes?
Guan Tong listened carefully.
Lijeka raised the corner of his mouth. "Correct. She secretly ordered Sigaochin to transfer death row and major criminals from the prison. They were definitely taken to feed that alien monster. If the Sisiya people found out, let's see what she does!"
...So that was the evidence.
Hearing Lijeka's words, Guan Tong immediately understood why the cells were almost empty.
Several prisons here in Sainantata held many major criminals and death row inmates. After the alien intelligence landed on the ice field, to ask it questions, they had to provide food... The best food was definitely parasitized forms, but what if existing parasitized forms weren't enough?
Or if some major situation occurred on-site, these major and death row inmates transferred from prison would serve as an extra layer of insurance.
This method... Guan Tong didn't know whether it was right or wrong.
But he felt that if Lijeka wanted to rely on publicly revealing this to overthrow Yelanka, it was almost impossible.
"To be safe, I think you should still prepare two plans."
"Two plans? What do you mean?"
The warden said, "For example, next time Sigaochin comes to take people, we could act and detain her."
"Detain Sigaochin?" Lijeka frowned and shook his head. "No, she's the most powerful Ascendant under Yelanka. How many people do you have in this prison? Can you detain her?"
The warden said, "You might not know. This place was originally built as a fortress for war. Although later converted into a prison, many heavy firepower defensive weapons weren't removed. I've been the warden here for so many years and have long figured out how to activate them."
Lijeka's heart stirred. He stared at the warden and asked, "You're willing to take this risk with me? Why?"
The warden said, "To be honest, if you succeed, I think I can leave this place. I've really had enough of this ice field prison."
Lijeka stood up and patted the warden's shoulder. "Good! I promise you, if this succeeds and I reclaim the Administrator position, I will definitely... What's wrong with you?"
Before he could finish his promise of wealth and status, he saw the warden's expression change from excitement to fear.
"Careful! Behind you—!"
Behind?!
Before Lijeka could turn around, he felt a sharp, stabbing pain in his back!
"Ugh!"
He looked down and saw a blade tip protruding from his chest.
Someone had stabbed a knife through his chest from behind.
How was this possible?!
Under immense panic and adrenaline, Lijeka even forgot the pain, his mind racing frantically.
Behind me is a wall with no entrances or exits. Why is someone stabbing me? Who?!
My automatic defensive item? Why didn't it activate?
"This is a man-made knife. It's normal for your Mind Power defensive item to be ineffective."
The voice from behind answered the question in Lijeka's mind. His heart jolted, and pain and weakness rapidly swept through his body.
"Guar—"
The warden, reacting, wanted to shout for help loudly, but as soon as he opened his mouth, several black blades pierced multiple vital points of his body, killing him instantly.
Then, those blades dissolved into shadows and dispersed, as if they had never appeared.
Witnessing this scene, Lijeka's eyes widened. A name leaped into his mind.
"Sha...dow?"
Unable to withstand the pain, he knelt on the ground. Struggling, he turned his head to look back.
What met his eyes was a young face. He vaguely had some impression but couldn't remember when he had seen it before.
But he saw those shadow blades that killed the warden very clearly. That was Shadow's signature ability!
"You are Shadow... I have no scores with you... Why... cough..."
"No scores? Are you sure?"
"Did Ye...lanka hire you... to kill me...?"
"To hire me to kill someone, no one can afford the price yet."
Guan Tong pulled out the dagger Silver Fox had given him from Lijeka's chest.
This stab pierced through front and back, hitting a vital point. Now that the knife was pulled out, with massive blood loss, Lijeka's vision immediately blurred.
But in that moment of blurriness, Lijeka finally remembered where he had seen this face before.
It was when he learned Yelanka went to Beixing to study at the academy. He ordered someone to kill that academy teacher who didn't heed the threat. He had seen a photo of that teacher once...
"You, you are... that academy's..."
"Remember now? Good, then you won't die with your eyes open."
Lijeka coughed up a mouthful of blood, already powerless to move.
He couldn't believe it. One moment he was excited about having a chance to counterattack Yelanka, a sliver of hope to reclaim the Administrator position. The next moment, he abruptly faced his own death.
And the cause of his death was actually that academy assassination attempt he had almost forgotten... How could he have imagined that the world-famous Ascendant Shadow was actually that teacher.
"I... you killed me... my father... the Konia Family... won't let you go..."
"You started this feud. Your death settles it on my end," Guan Tong said expressionlessly. "If your family continues, they will start a new feud."
"I..."
Lijeka couldn't speak further. His body tilted, and he completely lost his breath.
Guan Tong flicked the blood off the dagger and stored it back into his storage ring.
Even he hadn't expected Silver Fox's gift to come in handy so quickly. From the practical effect, it worked quite well.
Looking at the corpses of Lijeka and the warden, he didn't linger. He used Body Swap to leave.
A few minutes later, a guard coming to report discovered the scene. Subsequently, Sigaochin at the Landing Site, Yelanka in the capital, and Sisiya's entire decision-making group learned of Lijeka's death in the first instance.
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