The old man was now dangling from Mo Xuan's hand, held by the neck. The sight made Roland's heart sink. This was the very same New Eridu official who had given him the order. He was supposed to be in a secure safe house miles away, yet in the blink of an eye, Mo Xuan had him. All that security had been a complete joke.
"Mr. Nanba!" Roland cried out in alarm.
"What did you say his name was?" Mo Xuan asked, stunned, turning to look at Roland.
"Nanba," Roland repeated, also confused. He didn't know why Mo Xuan was suddenly asking this. Were they related? No, given the situation, it seemed more like a personal grudge.
"Nanba?" Mo Xuan asked again.
"No, it's 'Nan' as in 'south'."
"...Interesting." Mo Xuan felt as if he had stumbled upon a strange bonus stage. He dropped Mr. Nanba to the ground. The pristine white suit was instantly covered in yellow dust as he rolled over several times.
"Young man, let's talk this out. Violence solves nothing," Mr. Nanba said, struggling to his feet. He was panicking internally but maintained a calm facade, trying to placate Mo Xuan.
"Old man, I'd like to know, if I had cooperated with you today, what were your plans for me?" Mo Xuan asked, looking at Mr. Nanba. He knew this old man was just one of the people targeting him, and there was a larger group behind him. How to use this man to make an example of them was something he needed to consider.
"We would have given you the best treatment, of course. Made you one of the Hollow Hunters, and let you enjoy a life of luxury and wealth," Mr. Nanba said, straightening his collar. The lies rolled off his tongue effortlessly. After all, words were cheap. Humanity's greatest skill was dragging a powerful enemy into a position where they would listen to their rhetoric, then slowly draining them of their value using their complex power structures.
"Is that so? Then perhaps I should be grateful and accept your invitation," Mo Xuan said, stroking his chin as if genuinely considering the possibility.
"It would be for the best if you could see reason," Mr. Nanba said with a smile, though he was slowly backing away, trying to find some security behind Roland. He wasn't a fool; he didn't believe for a second that Mo Xuan had changed his mind.
As everyone watched the situation unfold, the seemingly friendly Mo Xuan suddenly raised his right index finger. A small black hole appeared and shot towards Mr. Nanba with blinding speed. The moment the black hole touched him, his white suit disintegrated into nothingness. Then, his entire body was sucked into the swirling vortex, disappearing without a sound.
"Mr. Nanba!!" Roland cried out in despair. He had watched Mr. Nanba vanish before his eyes, powerless to do anything. When he came to his senses, he glared at Mo Xuan and drew a pistol from his waist, aiming it at the invincible enemy before him.
"Is this really a good idea? You're pointing a gun at me. Have you not been paying attention to what's happening in New Eridu?" Mo Xuan said in a light, airy tone. It wasn't because he was immune to weapons, but because he was completely and utterly confident.
Roland's expression went blank for a moment. He immediately called over a subordinate with a laptop and opened the New Eridu news channel.
New Eridu was in chaos. A massive black hole had appeared a kilometer above the city and was slowly expanding. Its gravitational pull was already starting to lift light objects off the ground. Scraps of paper and leaves were defying gravity, floating up towards the black hole in the sky.
"You did this? What... what do you want?" Roland's eyes were now clear. Mo Xuan's image was now synonymous with black holes. Every attack he made started with one, and his power was indescribable.
"If I wanted to, I could destroy New Eridu in three minutes," Mo Xuan stated calmly.
"We were wrong. Please, have mercy," Roland's expression had turned to pure terror. He slowly knelt to the ground. In hindsight, he realized that if Mr. Nanba hadn't given that order, things would never have escalated to this point. If New Eridu was destroyed today, they would be eternal sinners. He couldn't bear that responsibility.
"Hmm, I can sense immense hatred in your emotions. You want to kill me right now, yet you're willing to beg for the safety of others," Mo Xuan said, nodding, his tone still light and airy.
Roland was in agony, but he couldn't suppress the hatred in his heart. Mr. Nanba had been his benefactor, and now a surge of uncontrollable resentment was welling up inside him.
"I'll give you a chance. A chance to save New Eridu. In three minutes, that black hole will devour everything in the city," Mo Xuan's voice grew cheerful. He reached into a suddenly appearing black hole and pulled out a white cane, hooking the curved handle over his arm and playing with it.
Everyone present swallowed hard. The three-minute countdown to New Eridu's fate had begun.
"Me? I?" Roland was stunned. He never expected to be entrusted with such a heavy responsibility, and by the enemy no less. His mind went blank. He didn't know who he was or what he was supposed to do.
"I can see you cared a lot about that Mr. Nanba. Take this." Mo Xuan tossed the white cane he was holding to the kneeling Roland.
Roland numbly picked up the cane. The color scheme looked familiar. It seemed to be the same cane that Mr. Nanba often used. Mr. Nanba was old and his legs weren't always steady, so he occasionally used it for support.
"You have two choices now. One, sever all ties and pledge your allegiance to me. Two, watch New Eridu be destroyed."
"But I think you have a third option in mind: gather all your forces and kill me here." Mo Xuan leaned back, his body floating in a sitting position, held up by precise gravity control. He looked down at the kneeling Roland, waiting for his decision.
"Well, choose. Your time is running out," Mo Xuan urged.
Roland's mind was in turmoil. As a soldier, he could never surrender. But his choice now determined the fate of New Eridu. No one doubted that Mo Xuan had the power to destroy the city. The black hole above was growing larger, and Roland's breathing grew more and more ragged.
"Then, there is only one answer!" Roland stood up, holding the cane with both hands, one at each end, and forcefully snapped it in two.
Crack!
The crisp sound of splintering wood echoed. Roland threw the two pieces of the cane to the ground, a pained smile on his face. He was clearly under immense psychological pressure.
"I pledge my allegiance to you!" Roland roared, his voice hoarse. Everyone heard his vow. Some of the more stoic soldiers couldn't help but shed tears. Roland had done so much, sacrificed so much, to save New Eridu.
Mo Xuan's posture changed from sitting to standing. The scene was so iconic that he couldn't help but stand up to watch.
"Hahaha, hahahaha! This is why humanity is so interesting! I've decided not to destroy New Eridu after all." Mo Xuan laughed, clutching his head. He laughed so hard he bent over backward, then spread his arms and retracted his power. The black hole over New Eridu vanished instantly, leaving nothing behind but streets littered with debris.
Mo Xuan suddenly felt something warm in his hand. He looked down and saw a brand-new driver. This brought about a subtle change in his state of mind. It was a replica of the Evol Driver, identical in color scheme to the original—the Evol Driver (Mad Rogue).
This development left Mo Xuan scratching his head. He had just been getting into character and pursuing a bit of fun, and he had unexpectedly unlocked an achievement reward. Logically, this driver should have been a reward for Roland. But he wasn't stupid. Why would he give this "traitor's driver" to an internal affairs agent and cause himself problems?
Mo Xuan glanced at Zhu Yuan. If he had something good, of course he wanted to give it to his girlfriend. But he quickly looked away. The policewoman was also stunned. For a moment, she had a strange thought that the Mysterious Rider wanted to give her the strange object that had just appeared. She didn't know why, but the thought had just popped into her head.
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