Hundreds of meters away, the Moon Goddess's figure coalesced in the moonlight, her complexion slightly pale.
This body was, after all, merely a clone formed by a hairpin. The silver crescent moon contained a portion of this clone's power, and after giving it away, her strength had diminished somewhat.
However, she didn't care. Her本体 (běntǐ - true form/本体) and this clone were connected by a shared consciousness; anything the clone could perceive, the main body could also feel.
To her true form, the clone was expendable. If she could figure out the origin of the strange feeling between herself and Wen Wen, the loss of this clone would not be significant to the Moon Goddess.
...
The bald assassin, 'Barcode,' walked through the night streets expressionlessly.
Within his organization, every assassin was assigned only a numerical code, with no names. Hence, his organization was called 'Encoding.'
Barcode's codename was Two-Five-Zero. He didn't particularly like this number. So, after striving to become upper management within the organization, he changed his codename to Barcode.
Now that the old inn was no longer safe after the attack by the Absurd Words, he needed to find a new place to hide.
But there was a problem: the strange resident from room 315 had been following him relentlessly since the old inn.
This peculiar resident's strength far exceeded Barcode's estimation. No matter how he tried to escape, this person could still keep pace with him.
In Barcode's opinion, this fellow might be comparable in strength to the Teng Qin. But why was such an unknown powerhouse targeting him?
Suddenly, the Faceless Demon stopped. Beside him, a black portal appeared, and Wen Wen, clad in a black robe, stepped out from the portal.
"Welcome back, my esteemed master," the Faceless Demon said, kneeling on one knee.
Aside from the Magic Mirror, Jidro, the Faceless Demon and a few other demons were the most overtly fawning towards Wen Wen. They held no real loyalty, but they also had no shame.
Upon seeing Wen Wen, Barcode was greatly alarmed. The Faceless Demon's strength was already beyond his ability to resist. How powerful would this person, whom the demon called his esteemed master, be?
"You've done well. You may return."
Wen Wen waved his hand, and the Faceless Demon vanished into the air. Simultaneously, Wen Wen's black robe disappeared, reverting to the guise the Faceless Demon had been impersonating.
Then, Wen Wen walked over to Barcode, revealing a smile that sent shivers down his spine. He got straight to the point: "The reason the people from Absurd Words attacked the old inn was probably because of that thing you're holding."
"Let me guess... that briefcase likely contains the 'Sword Qi Crystal' left behind by the ancestor of the Xun family, right?"
Barcode instinctively moved the bag he was holding behind his back and said in astonishment, "How did you know about the Sword Qi Crystal?"
"I interrogated it out of a round and ugly clown."
"I'm truly curious, you're just a disaster-level assassin, how did you dare to intercept something belonging to Absurd Words?"
Barcode's expression turned grim as he said, "This thing never belonged to them in the first place; it belongs to us..."
Wen Wen's interest piqued. He took out a bag of dried mangoes and asked while eating, "It sounds like there's a twist to your story. Tell me quickly; I love listening to stories, the more dramatic, the better."
Barcode remained silent for a moment. He didn't want to tell his story to an outsider like Wen Wen, but Wen Wen's power was something he truly couldn't resist.
"There was once a powerful assassin organization called Shadow Assassins, renowned for their use of cold weapons for assassination."
"Over a hundred years ago, they could even influence the political and economic lifelines of a major region. The fact that the Federation was able to unify the world smoothly was partly due to the Shadow Assassins' behind-the-scenes influence."
"But with the rise of firearms and the increasing number of superhumans, the Shadow Assassins' methods gradually fell out of sync with the times, becoming discarded by the era."
"Our Encoding organization is a remnant branch of the Shadow Assassins."
Wen Wen tossed Barcode two dried mangoes, saying, "Don't be shy, eat up. So, you have quite a significant background."
This seemingly detached, opera-like attitude made veins bulge on Barcode's forehead, but he could only continue his narration.
"We learned from the mistakes of the Assassin's Alliance, no longer adhering to ancient traditions. We actively trained our members to use firearms and recruited superhumans to become assassins."
"But ultimately, we couldn't adapt to the times, and our influence steadily declined. We could only accept ordinary missions to sustain the organization's existence."
"Half a month ago, we received a commission from Absurd Words to steal this Sword Qi Crystal from the Xun family's tomb."
"At first, we refused, but... but the money they offered was simply too much!"
"Moreover, if we refused, we would be attacked by them, so we eventually accepted this mission, with me leading some of Encoding's most outstanding assassins to execute it."
"Unexpectedly, the defenses of the Xun family's tomb were much weaker than anticipated, and we easily managed to steal the Sword Qi Crystal."
Barcode's expression turned ferocious. "But just as my team was about to hand over the Sword Qi Crystal to Absurd Words, we were ambushed by them. Only I managed to escape; everyone else died in the ambush."
"After fleeing back to Encoding, I discovered the organization was merely a shell of its former self. The main combat forces were out on missions, and those who remained were controlled by Absurd Words."
"The former vice-president became the president, Encoding became a subordinate organization of Absurd Words, and all opposition was wiped out..."
"So I fled with the Sword Qi Crystal. If I can uncover the secret of this Sword Qi Crystal, I can use it to counterattack Absurd Words!"
Barcode glanced at Wen Wen and said, "You're likely after the Sword Qi Crystal too. With my strength, I can't protect this thing. It might as well be given to you directly; I only ask for safe passage."
After saying this, he decisively threw the box in his hand towards Wen Wen, without any hesitation.
Wen Wen took the box but didn't open it. Instead, he asked doubtfully, "You're just giving this box to us?"
Barcode stated matter-of-factly, "I'm quite afraid of death. Since you're stronger than me, there's no need for me to stubbornly hold onto it; that would be courting death..."
Before he could finish, Wen Wen directly tossed the box into the air. Immediately, a fiery light shot out, and the box exploded with a force comparable to a thermobaric bomb.
This sudden turn of events caused Barcode, who was mid-sentence, to freeze.
Wen Wen sneered, "This box contains a bomb. As soon as I open it, the bomb will detonate, allowing you to escape, right?"
"Don't underestimate yourself as an assassin; you're definitely not as skilled with bombs as I am."
"Wow, why would this Sword Qi Crystal explode? I don't understand what you're talking about."
Barcode gave Wen Wen a foolish smile, acting as if he knew nothing of what had happened, while cold sweat dripped down his forehead as he smiled.