Chapter Nine: Indeed, a Substitute Messenger

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By the time Selris and Xing returned to the tavern, it was already past midnight, yet the ground floor was still bustling with people. Although it was only the first day of opening, the promotion of 30% off all drinks plus buy-one-get-one-free had attracted a large crowd of temporary workers and vagrants.

Despite having only Selris as the sole staff member, the kitchen operated with an automatic synthesizer, and the front desk did not offer bartending services. This made Selris appear quite at ease.

Xing, who had changed into a gray-and-white trench coat before leaving, immediately leaned over the bar, tilting her head to observe the noisy crowd.

Selris smiled and leaned against the opposite side of the bar, chuckling as he spoke, “What would you like to drink, beautiful lady?”

Xing pointed to a bottle of Enmat beer on the shelf behind Selris. “That one.”

Without looking back, Selris cheerfully grabbed a glass from beneath the bar and poured watermelon juice into it.

“We don’t serve alcohol to minors here. Come back in fifteen years, then we’ll talk,” he said, pushing the glass toward Xing with a finger.

Xing took the glass with a hint of regret. Back on the train, Uncle Yang and Jizi never let her and March Seven drink alcohol. Danheng could drink a bit, but he himself didn’t particularly like it.

Holding the glass, Xing surveyed the tavern and suddenly her eyes lit up. Excitedly, she dashed toward a table.

Selris, carrying a bowl of fried rice from the kitchen, witnessed the scene: Xing sitting at a table, holding up her apple juice, animatedly recounting adventurous tales she had heard from the Sea Ranger Potio and the rogue Luanpo. The surrounding patrons listened raucously, occasionally howling like a pack of curly-haired baboons.

Blinking, Selris chose not to disturb her and found a spot to eat his late-night meal. He felt no concern for Xing’s safety—if the child wanted to play, let her play; nothing harmful would come of it.

He also wasn’t worried about anyone drugging Xing. With her physical resilience, ordinary sedatives or even tranquilizer darts used for hunting large animals would be nothing more than mild calmants to her.

A glance at Ding Zhen, and a judgment that he was no match for Jizi’s coffee.

...

As the sun rose, Xing, who had been boasting all night, remained lively. The audience below had long since left—the tavern closed at two in the morning.

“Xing, want to go out for a walk during the day?” Selris suddenly appeared behind her, patting her shoulder.

Xing sprang up, full of vigor. “Perfect! The trash bins of this world have yet to receive the honor of the Trash Bin King!”

Silence. Five full seconds of silence.

Suddenly, powerful music echoed from nowhere. Selris’s demeanor shifted oddly. His shoulders broadened, features hardened, and several sharp lines appeared on his face, making it look more rugged and three-dimensional.

“Oh? The Trash Bin King? I can’t just pretend I didn’t hear that.” Selris lowered the brim of his hat slightly, his body tilting sideways. Shadows cast over half his face made his features appear even more chiseled. “What’s this? Are you plotting a rebellion?”

Xing placed her hands firmly on the table, leaning slightly forward. Light shone from behind her right side. Her face also became more angular and stern, and in a low voice, she replied with a question, “Do you know, Selris?”

She raised her head slightly, shadows veiling her amber eyes. “There is a limit to being a pioneer.”

Standing upright, she circled the table and stood behind Selris, looking up at the ceiling.

“In my brief career as a pioneer, I have realized one thing.”

Raising her hand toward the chandelier above, as if to grasp the light itself, she said, “The more one clings to the praise of noble morality, the easier it is to lose the meaning of the journey.”

She clenched her fist sharply. “Unless you transcend ‘pioneering.’”

“Heh, so?” Selris adjusted his hat with one hand, pocketed the other, and tilted his head slightly, casting a sideways glance at Xing behind him. His body leaned back.

Behind the bar, Selris clicked his tongue and snapped his fingers. A mysterious energy enveloped the entire tavern hall, weaving an illusion to add some special effects.

Xing spun around abruptly. “I’m not going to be the Star Core Spirit anymore! Selris!”

She spread her arms wide and shouted, “Timekeeper Kid!”

A figure appeared behind Xing—a clock-themed boy with a cane, long beard, stooped posture, yet about 1.8 meters tall. No, he was the Timekeeper Kid.

With wave-like special effects radiating outward from Xing as the center, Selris manipulated the illusion to a grayscale world. In this colorless realm, everything was frozen, utterly still.

Indeed, this was Xing’s stand ability—the Timekeeper Kid—who could “pause time.” Only Xing and her stand retained color and could move freely within this paused domain.

The Timekeeper Kid suddenly burst forward at an incredible speed, his cane striking at the unmoving back of Selris.

Clang!

The sound of iron meeting iron rang out.

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A golden trash bin appeared behind Selris, crowned, draped in a quilt, about two meters tall, with limbs and a stubborn golden tuft sprouting from its crown. It held a splendidly patterned golden “King’s Trash Bin Sword,” effortlessly blocking the Timekeeper Kid’s attack.

The absolute ruler of the “Great Trash” empire! The trash bin among trash bins! The king of kings! The great Trash Bin King!

The Crowned Stand: [King Terse].

[So thrilling, so thrilling! Witnessing a battle between such powerful beings is worth dying for!]

King Terse lightly waved the King’s Trash Bin Sword, shattering the frozen air like glass. With a sharp crack, the Timekeeper Kid’s time-stopping domain was broken, and the world regained its natural colors.

“What!” Xing was shocked. Within the Timekeeper Kid’s time-stop, Selris’s stand could still act! She stepped back, her gaze growing serious.

“Cowardice before battle—that’s your grand ambition? With such weak resolve, you dare claim to be the Trash Bin King?” Selris finally turned around, his tone filled with disdain.

Xing was about to retort when Selris suddenly pointed at her and shouted, “There’s a flaw!”

She staggered backward as if struck, falling into a chair. The Timekeeper Kid was also thrown back by an unseen force.

In the next moment, King Terse appeared where the Timekeeper Kid had been. Tilting its body, it raised its elbow with the swordless left hand.

Cross-Time Elbow Strike: Reverse-Time Elbow!

“This is my stand ability. Any traitor who seeks to usurp my throne as Trash Bin King or harm me will face my cross-time hunt. Sometimes, the elbow strike exists even before the Timekeeper Kid,” Selris explained.

“When you covet the throne of the Trash Bin King, your fate is already sealed.” Selris spread his arms, bent his knees, and leaned back, balancing strangely as if embracing the sun.

He stood upright, eyes full of contempt. “You only dared to challenge me because you gained some power from the ‘Next King’s Bin.’ Admirable courage, but that’s the best I can praise you.”

From a shadowed corner beside Selris, a silver trash bin suddenly appeared, flying a kick toward Selris’s head.

This was the Next King’s Bin, once the Trash Bin King’s most trusted lieutenant, now a defector aligned with the Trash King. The difference between Trash King and Trash Bin King was slight in name but vast in reality.

Unfortunately, the airborne Next King’s Bin was instantly shattered into pieces and fell to the ground. The “elbow strike existing before the Timekeeper Kid” had already triggered. King Terse raised the King’s Trash Bin Sword high, ready to strike down.

“Don’t underestimate the bond between us, bastard!”

Golden light descended from above onto King Terse. In the next instant, the crown, quilt, sword, even the tuft shattered in the radiance.

Xing, having somehow produced a golden scale, held it aloft. In its center was a muscular man giving a thumbs-up.

In this colorful, all-encompassing universe, morality had taken form and given her a thumbs-up. This was the [Praise of Noble Morality], a rare artifact capable of sealing stand abilities, granted only to those of sufficiently noble character.

As King Terse’s power was sealed, the sword poised to strike was nullified. The Next King’s Bin’s body returned to normal. It rose and attacked Selris once more.

“Heh, with my physical strength alone, even without a stand, you…”

Selris was slammed backward, crashing into the wall, coughing up blood.

“Didn’t expect that, did you? I’ve been passively stacking buffs for an hour before coming here,” Next King’s Bin sneered.

[Wait? You got kicked in the hand and you’re coughing blood?]

Selris rolled onto his side, clutching his chest, glancing complexly at Xing and Next King’s Bin.

[He kicked the hand! Why are you clutching your chest? That’s a giveaway! Clutch your hand!]

“Praise of Noble Morality—you actually managed to earn recognition from this world. Unexpected…”

Xing stepped forward swiftly, looking down on Selris with authority.

“Trash Bin King… no, Selris, you treasure your bins like precious artifacts, locking them away from others, forbidding exploration. But you don’t realize that pioneering means traveling paths untaken, going further than those before. Your actions are a regression, against the natural order. Defeating you is my will and that of the bin people! A rule detached from the masses cannot endure.”

“Farewell, Selris. I hope you enjoyed the role you’ve had these past years.” The Timekeeper Kid’s cane struck again toward Selris, but as before, the attack was ineffective.

Golden light shone on the Timekeeper Kid; the cane shattered, and Xing’s stand was sealed.

“What!” Selris, shocked, produced his own [Praise of Noble Morality].

“How… could you?”

“What’s impossible about that?” Selris struggled to stand. “You say I’m hoarding? No, I’m protecting them! Don’t think I don’t know that every time you play with the trash bins, you never take responsibility! The bins you abandon die alone, forgotten. I just want to give every trash bin a home. What’s wrong with that?”

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Golden flames burned on him and King Terse. He raised the [Praise of Noble Morality] high, roaring, “I cannot fall here, for behind me are countless lights in the night!”

With the aid of the [Praise of Noble Morality] and Selris’s own conviction, King Terse broke free from its seal, regained strength, and evolved.

Now it was King Terse: Transcending Heaven!

“Want to fight? You two mutts come at me,” Selris understood his heart, realized his ambition, and grasped his path. “Selfishness, shamelessness, and stupidity will all perish at my hands.”

“Come at me with everything you’ve got. Don’t give me a chance to kill you one by one.” Selris’s stance alone radiated terrifying strength.

[Long live the Trash Bin King! We adore you!]

King Terse: Transcending Heaven raised the King’s Trash Bin Sword high. A pillar of radiant gold burst forth from the blade, soaring into the sky.

Assembly of Bins, Thirteen Bonds Released!

“This battle is a fight for survival—Bin Kai, acknowledged.”

“This battle is a fight not against the weak—Bin Deville, acknowledged.”

“This battle is a fight of one against many—Bin Lemitide, acknowledged.”

“This battle is a fight not against humanity—Bin Helis, acknowledged.”

“This battle is a fight for pursuing truth—Bin Gregwen, acknowledged.”

“This battle is a fight not against the elves—Bin Slot, acknowledged.”

“This battle is a fight against evil—Bin Dread, acknowledged.”

“This battle is a fight not for selfish desires—Bin Rahad, acknowledged.”

“This battle is a fight for honor—Bin S, acknowledged.”

“This battle is a fight of the brave—Bin Stan, acknowledged.”

“This battle is a fight not wielded for the good—Bin Res, acknowledged.”

“This battle is a fight willed by the Trash Bin King—Bin Wen, acknowledged.”

“This battle is a fight to save the trash bins—Bin Terse, acknowledged.”

“Breath of the assembled bins, shining torrent of bins, receive this…”

“[Contract: Trash Bin: Sword of Victory (EX·TRASH CAN·CALIBUR)]”

Watching the towering beam of light, Xing sighed, “Sorry, Lord Selris, that I couldn’t give you a proper show.”

She tapped her temples twice. “So beautiful. I’ll screenshot this as a wallpaper.”

The light pillar descended, sweeping everything away, turning all to nothing, to dust.

In this desolate ruin, on this burnt-out earth, Selris made a vow to it, to the world: “No matter the cost, the trash bins will conquer the pioneers. He will drive all pioneers away, heart pounding, Hakimi sassa given. Because beyond the sea lies the Pori Seaweed!”

[So passionate! A moving moment even for a ready-made meal seller. From now on, rotten meat only sold to university students.]

“Cough.”

With a light cough, all special effects vanished—no stands, no flames, no Next King’s Bin, no light cannon, no ruins. Xing and Selris stared at each other, wide-eyed, blinking.

After a moment, both turned toward Selris, who shrugged. “Out of mana.”

After staring blankly for several seconds, Selris added, “Boss’s special effects are too costly.”