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Just after Russell and the other two left, a sneaky figure in the messy ruins patted his chest with lingering fear. "I was scared to death."
"I didn't expect Simon to die like this."
It was Sebastian Sterling.
He'd secretly witnessed the entire process of the Society's assassination of Simon.
The reason he hadn't acted to rescue the other party was simple—if he had, Simon would probably have died faster.
After all, as a prisoner who'd just attempted to assassinate Vice President Russell yesterday, suddenly running out to support Simon? Even a fool could tell the President of the East-Haven Cardmaker Association wasn't clean.
Moreover, he suspected that even if he'd acted, he might not have been able to save Simon.
The monster from the Society was so scary. If it were him, he'd probably not last more than a few rounds before dying.
Thinking of this, Sebastian ate an orange to calm himself down, then disappeared into the shadows.
He had to go back quickly to report to the head of the family.
Russell and the other two returned to headquarters. This time, Victor Hale didn't find an excuse to slack off.
After all, there were only two or three people left in East-Haven now. If he ran away again, there'd be no one to work.
"Where on earth is Zayne? Why can't we find him now?"
However, despite saying this, Victor couldn't help but mutter.
Hearing this, Russell calmly changed the subject. "Maybe Director Zayne has something important going on."
"Let's not talk about him for now. Think about how to write this report tonight."
Seeing that Russell had no intention of pursuing Zayne's whereabouts, Luther and Victor looked at each other and tacitly didn't mention the Director of the Public Security Office any further.
They could understand the young man's thoughts. East-Haven was currently in a precarious situation, so it would be better to try to avoid any further conflicts.
But even so, in the minds of the two, Zayne would probably still suffer consequences this time. His subsequent promotion and other matters would most likely be affected.
The three of them came to Russell's office in silence and gathered together to figure out how to report what happened tonight.
Since the incident happened suddenly, the East-Haven Association was unable to react in time. They believed the higher-ups could understand that.
The key point was that President Simon had died, and his death involved many aspects.
The first question was who would take over as President. Would Russell be promoted first, or would someone else be parachuted in?
Secondly, since the Society had dared to attack the Association President in public, would they do something even more daring in the future?
There was also the Unification Sect. From what they'd seen just now, their power in East-Haven City was growing stronger. And if it weren't for the Society's assassination of Simon, this group of turtles might still be hiding.
So we should thank those lunatics.
Luther and Victor felt a little strange at the thought.
And these were the messes left behind by Simon.
As for the Spirit Begging Society, Russell didn't have any special thoughts. For a period of time afterward, he would restrain his subordinates and ask them not to cause trouble.
If the Eastland Cardmaker Association asked them to clear out illegal organizations in the city, then he'd throw out some heinous antisocial elements.
Anyway, they were bound by contract. Those people couldn't cause any trouble.
So after thinking for a moment, Russell said in a deep voice to the two middle-aged men beside him. "There's no need to embellish anything. Just tell the truth."
The young man even wanted to make the matter sound more serious—to see if he could get more support from the Eastland Cardmaker Association.
Hearing this, Luther and Victor had no objection.
The most powerful person in East-Haven now was Russell, so naturally, whatever the young man said went.
The matter was of great importance, so the three quickly prepared the report and submitted it.
"Thank you both for your hard work tonight. We still need to maintain order in the city."
"I'll stay at headquarters. Please inform me if there's any situation."
Because it involved a change in the President position, Russell felt the Eastland Association's response wouldn't come so soon.
But forget about taking a break.
After all, a President was dead. There would definitely be martial law in East-Haven City tonight.
They couldn't all just pat their butts and go home, right?
The city under the Association's control wasn't some ridiculous country that took less than half a day from announcing martial law to lifting it.
"Yes."
Luther and Victor's faces tensed and they quickly agreed.
However, both of them felt the young man's second sentence sounded familiar—as if President Simon who had just lost his life usually behaved the same way.
However, compared to Simon, they believed Russell's words were sincere.
This was the reputation Russell had always built.
As the two left the Vice President's office, the room fell silent again.
Seeing that he was alone again, Russell couldn't help but stretch his muscles.
Finally dead.
Although it had taken some effort, seeing Simon—who had been throwing punches at him since arriving in East-Haven—die under Zoro's sword... even Russell couldn't help but feel a little happy.
I'm so tired.
Figuring he'd have nothing to do for a while, he planned to take a short rest on the sofa in the reception room.
Calling out Unohana Retsu—who was wearing her braid—Russell unceremoniously rested his head on her plump thighs.
"Sister Retsu, thank you for your help."
Unohana Retsu didn't say much. She just placed her soft fingers on Russell's temples.
Russell looked at the ceiling, which he could only see half of, and his eyelids began to droop unconsciously.
Seeing that the young man on her lap had gradually closed his eyes, the gentle beauty took off her haori and draped it over him.
The morning sun shone through the window of the Vice President's office. Unknown wild birds were chirping outside.
Russell opened his eyes slowly, somewhat confused. "...I fell asleep?"
Standing up, the young man noticed the haori with the number "four" on it slipping off his body.
Turning his head, he saw Unohana Retsu looking at him as tenderly as she had yesterday when he'd fallen asleep.
"Thank you, Sister Retsu."
Russell didn't ask questions like whether her legs were numb after being used as a pillow all night.
What a joke. This great killer who could cut her way through Soul Society's southern 80th district to the northern 80th district without getting tired—you ask her if her legs feel numb?
But it must be said that as the captain of the Fourth Division medical team, Unohana Retsu's massage skills were definitely the best among all Russell's cards.
Although she was the only one who could do it.
Russell couldn't ask Mikoto Misaka and the others to have this skill, right?
Speaking of Mikoto Misaka, the brown-haired girl could cosplay as a certain Dr. Yang giving Russell electrotherapy.
As if she'd sensed the impolite thoughts in the man before her, Unohana Retsu's eyes narrowed.
Seeing this, Russell shrank his neck, smiled awkwardly, and handed the haori back.
Knock knock knock.
Just then, there was a knock on the door.
After dismissing Unohana Retsu, Russell stood up, stretched his stiff body, and said casually. "Come in."
The person who pushed open the door wasn't Luther or Victor, but Zayne—who hadn't been seen all night.
"Sorry, Vice President."
"I'm late."
Some anxious words were heard in the room—but you should ignore the fact that the speaker had an expressionless face.
But even though Zayne still had a dead look on his face, he felt a little uneasy inside.
After all, he'd also been one of the parties involved in Simon's assassination last night—but on the Society's side.
And he hadn't shown up for another night after everything ended, which was indeed a bit unreasonable.
Looking at the middle-aged man before him, Russell asked without comment. "Tell me—what did you do last night?"
Although he knew where Zayne had gone last night, he still had to ask.
After all, he was now Russell of the Association, not Russell of the Spirit Begging Society.
Zayne's heart trembled. Then he said with some difficulty. "I went to visit a good friend last night."
"The communication equipment was out of power, so I didn't receive any messages."
The reason was ridiculous. If Luther was there, he definitely wouldn't believe it—but Russell believed it.
He just waved his hand and said in a disapproving tone. "Remember to report in advance next time."
"The specific punishment will be decided after we get a reply from above."
Hearing this, Zayne couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. He hadn't expected this matter would be resolved so easily.
As for the possible penalties...
Unless the Eastland Cardmaker Association was willing to parachute multiple Gold-rank cardmakers to East-Haven, under the current circumstances, he was confident he could still be of some use to the Association.
The most that would happen was a salary deduction.
"Yes."
Shaking his head, Russell turned on the computer screen, wanting to see if the Eastland Cardmaker Association had responded.
"This is..."
As he'd expected, just over half an hour ago, a reply had indeed come—but there were two documents.
One was a response to the assassination of the President that happened last night. And the other was...
"Documents on Personnel Transfers of the East-Haven Cardmaker Association."
The first reply didn't contain any important information. It mainly asked Russell and others to clear out illegal organizations in the city and prevent such things from happening again.
What was important was the second personnel transfer document.
Russell...
He was promoted directly on the spot to fill Simon's vacancy.
Is there such a good thing?!
This was somewhat beyond his expectations.
Originally, he'd thought it was likely he would temporarily take over the President position, and the Eastland Association would send someone later.
Unexpectedly, he'd suddenly become President.
Now Russell could be said to be all-powerful in East-Haven.
What about the Vice President?
He continued reading.
The person replacing Russell was Luther, the Director of the Secret Realm Office.
This could only be said to be unexpected but reasonable.
After all, if Russell hadn't been parachuted in, this square-faced middle-aged man should have been the one to take over as Vice President.
As for the next candidate for Director of the Secret Realm Office, Russell was also stunned.
"Lucas Young?!"
That's right—it was his former teammate in the Southridge University Fighting Club.
He's already at Gold rank?
Russell was a little confused at first, but then he realized he was the special one.
In terms of time, Lucas was now a junior and had stayed at Silver rank for a long time. It wasn't particularly strange that he'd been promoted to Gold rank now.
However, although the newcomer was an acquaintance, Russell didn't feel happy. He just sighed silently.
He'd already seen some clues from these two documents.
The situation in the north is probably not optimistic.
Because under normal circumstances, the Eastland Cardmaker Association should send an experienced and powerful Gold-rank cardmaker to replace the President.
Instead of the young Russell taking over.
Apart from that, the Eastland Association hadn't shown any intention of providing support at all. It seemed as if they were leaving the East-Haven Association to fend for themselves.
All of this showed that the Eastland Cardmaker Association really couldn't spare any extra manpower at the moment.
Therefore, seeing that East-Haven could still barely hold on, they'd left them to fend for themselves.
After understanding the key points, Russell immediately informed Luther and Victor.
At this moment, in Zayne's eyes, the expression of the young man behind the desk changed rapidly. Then he sighed heavily and took out his phone to send a few messages.
Soon, Luther and Victor arrived at the Vice President's office.
The two were stunned when they saw Zayne, but they didn't say much. They just asked Russell. "Vice President, you were looking for us?"
Russell nodded, resting his right hand on the back of the chair to support his head. "I just sent the documents. Take a look."
The three of them took out their phones and checked.
As time passed, the expressions of the three gradually became strange.
First was Victor. He had no objection to the fact that he wasn't mentioned in the two documents. After all, he'd never thought about getting promoted.
What surprised him was that the young man Russell had risen from Vice President to President in just a few months.
You have to know—this was the President of a city's Cardmaker Association. If he was promoted to Emerald rank in the future, he'd have the opportunity to serve as Vice President in a major city.
Although it seemed like a demotion from President to Vice President, the resources available between large and small cities were vastly different.
Next was Zayne. He was surprised that the Eastland Association hadn't imposed any punishment on him—not even a salary deduction—as if what happened last night had never occurred.
As for the job changes of Russell and Luther, he wasn't particularly surprised.
Well, actually he was also surprised.
I need to report to the lord.
Zayne lowered his eyes slightly, making it impossible to see his expression.
This time, the East-Haven Association had undoubtedly experienced an earthquake. Such important information should be told to that lord as soon as possible.
Although after last night's battle, he felt that even if Russell faced his lord, he'd probably have little chance of winning.
Unless that method that could destroy Emerald-rank monsters could be used again.
The last one was Luther, who had the most complicated emotions among them.
"When you're surrounded by mountains and rivers, you may think there's no way out, but when you look up, you'll find another village."
The square-faced middle-aged man remembered that he'd initially targeted Russell because of the Vice President position. He didn't know what to say for a moment.
The main thing was that the Vice President position was only vacant because Russell had taken over after Simon's death—which made him laugh and cry.
After all, it was Simon who had put forward the proposal against Russell.
He thought maybe this was the reward for his choice last night.
Glancing at the young man behind the desk, Luther breathed a sigh of relief. That's good.
Just when the three were thinking different things, Russell spoke up to attract their attention. "I'm afraid I'll have to trouble you all in the near future."
"As for Director Lucas who's coming to take up the position later..."
"I'll make contact."
Given East-Haven's current situation, it definitely wasn't appropriate to hold a welcoming banquet like they had for Russell. Lucas happened to be an acquaintance of his, so it was naturally the best choice for him to welcome him.
However, Luther and the other two didn't know the details. They just thought Russell was warning them not to form cliques, so they quickly lowered their heads and replied. "Yes."
Then the three stepped back to deal with their own duties.
Seeing the Vice President's office falling into silence again, Russell stood up and went to the President's office next door.
From this moment on, the position of President of the East-Haven Cardmaker Association officially changed hands.