'Xiao' shed his disguise and gasped for air in a deserted alley.
His legs still ached, and his mood was at its absolute worst.
As a seasoned assassin, ranked among the top one hundred in the assassin world, he had thought he was being underutilized.
But he never expected to almost get himself trapped twice in just twenty-four hours.
It was merely a simple task of fetching something, which should have been a breeze for an assassin skilled in the art of killing.
But who had he encountered?
A delicate woman turned out to be a master of combat.
Last night, after checking into the hotel suite and searching for the target item, he was caught off guard by a sneak attack.
If not for his quick reflexes and ability to dodge the fatal blow, he might have ended up on the spot.
Then the bodyguards and security reacted swiftly, blocking the exit.
Fortunately, with his extensive experience, he managed to force his way out and escape.
To be so disheveled as a veteran assassin was simply a disgrace!
He was infuriated!
Reviewing his experience, he concluded that the reason for this situation was his lack of situational awareness and overconfidence.
Thus, he had spent the entire day tracking and observing Chen Xing'er and Shi Wenyan.
Upon discovering that Chen Xing'er had swiftly purchased a villa and was planning to host a banquet, he felt his opportunity had arrived.
Chen Xing'er and her companions would never have imagined he would act so quickly again.
This time, he was fully prepared, having made contingency plans for every possible scenario.
Taking advantage of Chen Xing'er and Shi Wenyan's preoccupation with entertaining guests, he impersonated a hotel waiter and searched the entire villa.
However, he failed to find the target item.
He then concluded that the target item was being carried by Chen Xing'er.
After much deliberation, he remained unwilling to give up and thought of drugging them.
Once chaos ensued, he, disguised as a waiter, could stealthily steal the item from the target.
Theft was also one of the essential skills for an assassin like him. Although not as skilled as a professional thief, his proficiency was not far off.
But he never imagined that his risky plan would be exposed as soon as it began.
A guest named Chen Fan had, upon their first encounter, detected his anomaly.
He didn't think he had shown any flaws.
Even if a flaw was detected, it should have been after the drug took effect, right?
But for no apparent reason, that guy suspected him?
Was it accidental, or was it a case of persecution complex?
'Xiao' couldn't fathom it at all.
In any case, the mission had failed for the second time!
In his career of over a hundred missions, such consecutive failures were unprecedented.
He even felt a sense of bewilderment, unsure of his next course of action.
Abandon the mission?
Not only would he be unwilling, but it would also become a stain on his assassin career.
He was never one to give up easily.
"Chen Xing'er, Shi Wenyan, Chen Fan. You've forced my hand!"
His breathing stabilized, and killing intent flared in his eyes.
Because of the presence of that person, he did not want to cause major trouble within Great China.
But to avoid a stain on his career and damage his future business, he had to take this seriously!
He moved like a ghost through the night-shrouded streets, arriving at a secluded spot. He pulled out a satellite phone and dialed.
"This is Xiao, I need professional equipment. The location is Jiang City, Great China."
"Great China? That place is troublesome. It will cost extra."
A cheerful voice came from the other end of the line.
It was an arms dealer with a global business.
"Deal!"
Xiao gritted his teeth. These arms dealers were vampires. This mission had no advance payment, and now he had to foot a considerable expense himself.
But he had no choice.
...
Fragrant Mountain Tan Mansion, Villa No. 2.
Ambulances had taken away the unconscious guests.
Chen Xing'er couldn't neglect them either and had to go to the hospital to check on their condition.
However, before that, she had to drive Fan Tingyun and her daughter to the hotel.
Chen Fan naturally wouldn't linger. After bidding farewell to Chen Xing'er, he returned to Villa No. 1 with Wang Tingting.
"I say, Chen Fan, you're something else. I didn't expect you to actually make that young girl cry?" Wang Tingting said excitedly.
Chen Fan remained noncommittal.
"Young girls are just young girls, too fragile psychologically," Wang Tingting rambled on. "What a shame, we didn't even get to see that Mr. Yuan, the smug fellow, kneel and kowtow."
"Those people look presentable, but they're no different from street hooligans, just richer. What 'high society' is this!"
Chen Fan cast an appreciative glance at Wang Tingting.
Although this woman was a bit boisterous and lacked guile, her words held some insight.
"The food tonight was good, just not enough of it," Wang Tingting continued to chatter. "You said you were treating us, right?"
"Yes!"
Wang Tingting giggled and said, "Then I'll definitely eat you into bankruptcy. By the way, are you rich? Your villa and car belong to your boss, so how much salary does your boss give you each month?"
"Enough for you to have one meal," Chen Fan said casually.
"Don't think one meal can buy me off," Wang Tingting added. "You're not entirely useless, but you're still far from being worthy of Axue."
Chen Fan ignored her.
Back at Villa No. 1, Su Yingxue was still awake. Wang Tingting excitedly chattered to her about the banquet.
Chen Fan went straight into the study.
He opened a laptop and began to modify and set up various parameters for the computer.
Then, he entered an extremely complex address.
As the screen popped open, a live stream appeared.
The live stream was broadcasting adult content.
Chen Fan paid no mind to such content and waited quietly.
"Brother Chen, here's a cup of tea for you!"
Just then, the door was pushed open, and Su Yingxue entered with a cup of tea.
"Good, thank you!"
Chen Fan took the teacup.
"I heard that at Miss Chen's banquet, something happened..."
Su Yingxue was about to ask Chen Fan if he was injured when she suddenly saw the image on the computer screen.
She gasped and exclaimed, "Ah!"
Her face turned red, and she huffed, "Brother Chen, you, why are you watching this stuff too?"
With that, she turned and fled.
Chen Fan came to his senses, feeling somewhat speechless.
At that moment, the live stream froze, and a login prompt appeared.
"Damn Dark Web!"
Chen Fan couldn't help but curse under his breath, and he entered an account and password into the login box.
The content on the screen changed to a forum.
The underground world's Dark Web, where all sorts of illicit underground transactions took place. Those with needs would post various tasks here.
The prerequisite for entering the Dark Web was to wait for five minutes in that adult live stream.
This was good. What kind of person did he appear to be in Su Yingxue's eyes now?
With a speechless expression, Chen Fan quickly browsed the contents of the Dark Web.
A task post caught his attention.
"Reward of 500,000 US dollars for the purchase of the item in the image!"
The image displayed a fragment of the dragon-patterned compass that Chen Xing'er held.
"It's really something else, all sorts of unsavory characters are showing up!"