Heroes' Prison

Chapter 750 - 715: The Heir

Huang Yi stared at the crack in the door for a long time, as if he were gazing at the entrance to another world. What scene would he see when he pushed the door open?

Finally, he reached for the doorknob and gently pushed the door open, looking inside.

Almost instantly, he saw a pair of eyes!

They belonged to a child, the whites of the eyes were very clean, devoid of any blood veins, and the pupils were as clear as crystal diamonds, standing right in front of him, looking up at him.

The person standing before Huang Yi was a scrupulously clean boy around twelve or thirteen years old. The boy was only as tall as Huang Yi’s waist, but he appeared spirited, like a vigorously growing sapling.

It was now around seven or eight in the morning when the sun was rising. The warm sunlight slanted in from the outside window, bringing with it a soft gleam that shone on his body, imbued with a sense of new strength.

Just by looking at this child, Huang Yi could feel a sense of hope, as well as a faintly familiar sensation.

"Brother Yi, you’re back," the little boy said timidly, somewhat restrained.

"Hm? Who are you?" Huang Yi felt a jolt in his heart, aware that he was one of the top members of the organization, but the boy was someone he had never seen before.

The little boy pursed his lips and said, "I am your successor, the future Number One."

"What?" Huang Yi was momentarily stunned, staring blankly at the little boy, frozen on the spot.

He finally understood why the little boy gave him a sense of familiarity—it was because he had been the same way years ago, inheriting the position of the previous Number One. This little boy was just like his younger self.

The organization was evolving generation after generation. The old either sacrificed themselves or retired behind the scenes, while new members rapidly grew, becoming the backbone of various departments. As time went on, batches of people in the organization were gradually replaced.

The most important core members of the organization were Numbers One to Ten, each with a successor. Should any unfortunate death occur, the successor would become the new member of that number, continuing the mission tied to it.

In the past, Huang Yi had never thought about his successor. Although a successor represented hope, it also signified an end.

The existence of a successor reminded him that he was not Number One forever. He could face death at any time; the mortality rate within the organization was so high, dangerous missions so abundant, that everyone’s life hung by a thread. Even if he continued to survive, he could not stop the passage of time. One day he would grow old and gradually become unfit for those tasks, eventually having to step back and hand over his position to someone new.

A younger person would become Number One, upholding the responsibility passed down through generations, fighting for the ultimate dream of the organization. Huang Yi was just a link in this process.

"Normally, a successor should live with their predecessor and receive face-to-face guidance. But since you were imprisoned, the organization arranged for me to live with you in The Second World and receive your guidance," the little boy explained, his gaze still timid.

The reputation of Number One was deeply intimidating. Throughout the years of subconscious indoctrination, Number One was like a demon, seemingly difficult to deal with. Deep down, the little boy viewed Huang Yi as a cold-blooded killer.

"Don’t be afraid." Huang Yi collected himself, smiled faintly, crouched down, and reached out to pat the little boy’s head, speaking softly, "What’s your name?"

"In The Second World, I’m called Zu Zaiyu, and in the real world, my name is Zheng Nan," the little boy obediently replied, handing Huang Yi a business card.

"Zu Zaiyu, then I’ll call you Little Fish! From now on, you’ll follow me," Huang Yi said as they exchanged business cards, patting the boy’s small shoulder and slowly standing up.

Huang Yi looked around the room and noticed that there were a lot of documents on the desk. Some of the documents were neatly opened and placed in front of the chair as if someone had just been reviewing them.

"Are you going through these documents?" Huang Yi strolled over, asking as he walked.

"Yes! Sister Xiao Yu temporarily transferred the position of Deputy Chairman to me. I didn’t have much to do, so I started looking through the guild’s documents, checking the accounts, defining future plans, and approving reports that were submitted, among other things." Despite his young age, the boy spoke like a true leader.

Children of his age would normally be frolicking about, but heirs raised by the organization were different—they were adept in both the pen and the sword, handling multifaceted tasks with ease. The complexity and tedium of these account documents would stump many adults, but for Zu Zaiyu, they posed no challenge.

"By the way, Sister Xiao Yu wrote you a letter, it’s over there on the desk." At this moment, Zu Zaiyu stretched out his small hand and pointed to a corner of the desk.

Huang Yi turned to look, and immediately sighted a brownish-yellow envelope. With Qin Shiyu on his mind, he stepped forward, tore open the envelope, and drew out the letter.

He took a deep breath, unfolded the letter, and began to read—

"Brother Yi, I assume you have already met Little Fish! This kid is outstanding. In the newest round of member assessments within the organization, his performance was top-notch across the board, scoring an S grade. In the organization’s history, only the second Number One and you have reached S grade. The organization places high hopes in him, aspiring for him to take your place. Now I’ve tasked him to be by your side; you should nurture him well."

"I have now handed the Deputy Chairman duties over to him, so I can finally take a breather. I used to be so caught up in guild affairs that I had no time for level grinding to enhance my strength, always causing you trouble and even getting kidnapped several times, which was awful. I could never find the right person to take over this role, but now that Little Fish is here, I can rest easy."

"Not too long ago, Number Four’s subordinates unearthed some important intelligence. Miyamoto Musashi’s Martial Arts Guild is in fact one of the World Federation’s forces within The Second World. Musashi’s family is intricately connected with the World Federation. When you almost destroyed the Martial Arts Guild recently, it caught the World Federation’s attention—they had already discovered your and Thunder God’s true identities. The World Federation didn’t pay much attention to The Second World before, but after this incident, they started to take note of us."

"The World Federation has become aware that the combined market value of the Hero Guild and the Sun Guild has reached their threshold, capable of influencing the real-world economy. Certain actions by the Hero Guild and the Sun Guild have intervened in the real world to an extent that they pose a threat to the security of the World Federation. Some hardline officials within the World Federation are advocating for more substantial interference with you and Thunder God."

"But as you know, Rose Prison has a unique status; it’s the only prison in the world with life sentencing. All those sentenced to life imprisonment are confined there together. This prison is entangled in a complex web of powers from not only the World Federation but also major nations such as China-America-Russia that have important political criminals incarcerated there. The prison is under a joint administrative committee formed collectively by these nations and the World Federation—a committee not controlled by any single nation or the World Federation. The World Federation would face significant obstacles if they tried to bypass this committee to intervene directly with you guys."

"Nevertheless, the World Federation has devised some plans targeting us. The invasions of the United Hero Continent by individuals like Miyamoto Musashi, the Pope, and T.N.T have been aided from behind by the World Federation. We can now confirm that both T.N.T and Miyamoto Musashi are affiliated with the World Federation, and so is the Pope. Additionally, our investigations revealed that Unbeaten from China has also been secretly in close contact with the World Federation. The World Federation has too many pawns in The Second World; we’ve only uncovered a fraction so far, yet it’s already astonishing."

"Currently, Rosiv, the Deputy Chairman of the World Federation, is considering launching a direct assassination attempt on you. Our organization has hastily devised a mission to assassinate these federal officers. It’s an extremely difficult mission, initially assigned to Number Two, but since he’s engaged in an important mission in The Second World, the decision was later made to assign it to Number Six. As this mission is directly related to your life, I didn’t trust anyone else to undertake it and requested the organization let me do it, which they approved."

"The mission will last for an extended period, and for safety reasons, I won’t be able to enter The Second World during this time; I won’t be able to see you for such a long time. Brother Yi, don’t worry about me. You’ve always looked after me, but this time, I hope to do something for you. I will always remember the words you said to me in the Land of Dongying; you promised to marry me, you can’t go back on your promise! My wedding gown is all prepared, and once we topple the World Federation, I’ll be dressed up beautifully, waiting at the gates of Rose Prison to welcome your release. —Forever loving you, Xiao Yu."

After reading the letter, Huang Yi stood motionless, holding the letter in his hand, his mind in a complete blank.

He had not expected Qin Shiyu to volunteer for the mission to assassinate the Deputy Chairman of the World Federation, Rosiv! Even for him, the chances of success on such a mission were less than half, and failure would likely mean certain death!

And even if the mission were successful, the World Federation would inevitably hunt her down relentlessly, just as they had once pursued Huang Yi. Escaping such a fervent manhunt would be incredibly difficult for Qin Shiyu! If captured, she would likely be locked up in Rose Prison for life!

Men and women were segregated in Rose Prison; Huang Yi’s influence was limited to the male section, with the female section located on another side of the island. Even the Prison Overlord, Thunder God, couldn’t extend his reach to the female prison.

This assassination mission could mean he and Qin Shiyu might never see each other again!

All he could do now was pray to heaven that Qin Shiyu wouldn’t fail her mission, for even retrieving her body would be a luxury to wish for!

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