Chapter 33: Chapter 30 Assassination
The elevator restarted, continuing to ascend.
When the elevator had stopped earlier, all the other Professionals had exited, entering the floor.
At this moment.
Only Chen Haoyu and Shen Ye remained in the elevator.
Chen Haoyu, facing the transparent glass wall, watched the high-rise landscape outside while exclaiming in awe.
Shen Ye watched his back, a sudden chill surfacing in his heart.
"I found a body beyond recognition."
—Whose could it be?
If it was someone he knew—
"Employee dormitory floor has been reached, please proceed slowly."
The elevator stopped, a soft reminder sounded.
The door opened.
"Let's go, Brother Ye, I've always wanted to see where you guys live," Chen Haoyu said excitedly.
"Let's go," Shen Ye said softly.
The two stepped into the corridor.
As Shen Ye walked, he continued to reminisce.
Starting from yesterday morning, he had first been sent to school by his father, then studied in class, took simulation exams, got into a fight with some boys which brought the teachers, Qian Rushan personally spoke with him, went to the police station, then met with his parents, and finally arrived at the Renjian Wudao Group Building.
Throughout these events, Chen Haoyu had not had the chance to be alone with him.
There were people all around.
Wait a second!
In the morning, when they met in class, what did he say?
"Brother Ye, I'll treat you to a stir-fry at noon."
After that...
During the simulation exam, he had left the main group and gone to the rooftop.
After he "entered" the door, he dissolved it!
So, Chen Haoyu searched the entire teaching building and couldn't find him!
But just after returning, he immediately received a message from him:
"Why haven't you come yet, did you fall into the toilet?"
Then...
After the simulation exam ended, Chen Haoyu went to wash off the paint from his body and made plans to have lunch together again.
Still, he didn't go to meet him.
While Chen Haoyu was washing up, he went back to the classroom to review questions and then fought with Sun Ming and the others, drawing the teachers and police.
Qian Rushan also came.
—Due to an unexpected turn of events, he never had lunch with Chen Haoyu!
But!
But he had been looking for opportunities to be alone with him all along!
Why was that?
A smile hung on Shen Ye's face as he pointed toward a door at the end of the corridor.
"That's my dorm."
Chen Haoyu followed his pointing direction and was about to speak when his arm suddenly transformed into a piercing black line.
A tearing whine sounded through the air, but the black line hit nothing!
"Eh? Over here!"
Chen Haoyu smirked, contorting his body into a strange arc, spinning around to unleash a second slash.
"Hit—"
Chen Haoyu roared angrily.
The slim, narrow, curved blade in his hand had stabbed into a figure.
Crack.
The blade passed through Shen Ye's body, piercing into the wall with a slight noise.
Chen Haoyu's expression changed immediately.
The figure of Shen Ye gradually faded, becoming transparent, and finally vanished into nothing.
Another miss!
An illusion? Impossible!
How could that guy have such a high-level movement technique!
A massive force struck—
Chen Haoyu's face was kicked by a foot, twisting out of shape with a 'crack' of bones breaking.
Thud!
The sound of impact thundered.
He turned into an afterimage as he was kicked away, retreating dozens of meters, falling at the other end of the corridor, scrambling back to his feet with haste.
"Who are you—you're not Shen Ye!" Chen Haoyu yelled, panic, and rage mingling in his voice.
Shen Ye looked at him, calm as he spoke:
"You're not Chen Haoyu either."
"I'm not," the other admitted.
"Where is Chen Haoyu?" Shen Ye asked.
"He's dead, and you'll be dead soon too," the other laughed.
Shen Ye fell silent.
On his retinas, rows of glowing letters popped up:
"You have consecutively allocated Attribute Points, releasing three Skills: 'Moonlight Deer Step', 'Specter Technique', and 'Frostwind'."
"Based on these, you have temporarily performed the 'Under the Moon' series move 'Frosty Moon Shocking Sky' (Incomplete), with the following effects:
"Guaranteed to repel enemy,"
"Your Specter illusion takes on your appearance, increasing its deceptiveness,"
"Your movement speed is increased by 30%, lasting ten seconds."
"With the successful use of 'Frosty Moon Shocking Sky' (Incomplete), your body has undergone extraordinary training."
"Your Strength has increased by 0.1, Agility by 0.2, Spiritual Power by 0.1."
"Current Basic Attributes:
"Strength: 1.3;"
"Agility: 3.1;"
"Spiritual Power: 1;"
Shen Ye was deeply shaken.
—There really were secrets hidden within these skills!
He held the gun, continuously pulling the trigger.
Bang, bang, bang—
The bullets missed their mark.
Chen Haoyu's physique subtly shifted, effortlessly dodging the bullets.
"That kick just now wasn't bad, but your shooting is really awful," he sneered.
"I wasn't trying to hit you," Shen Ye said indifferently.
Suddenly, a piercing alarm sounded in the corridor.
The elevator door was kicked open.
That gentle lady—Wenna—holding two revolvers, landed lightly next to Shen Ye.
"Human Skin Technique?" She frowned at Chen Haoyu.
Before she could finish,
One Professional after another appeared in the hallway, staring at Chen Haoyu with guarded expressions.
A faint rumble echoed through the area.
Looking out through the window, several large war shuttles were circling around the outside of the building.
The Tian Luo Net.
Shen Ye looked at Chen Haoyu and said, "I'll ask you once more, where exactly is Chen Haoyu, and why do you want to kill me?"
"Chen Haoyu" laughed coldly: "You won't find out anything."
"But you can't escape; we have countless ways to pry the truth from your lips," Wenna said angrily.
Damn it, the opponent's Human Skin Technique had fooled both the defense AI and himself.
Never had anyone mastered the Human Skin Technique to such an extent.
Never even heard of it!
"Your methods are useless on me," the assassin said.
Wenna strode towards him, each hand gripping a dagger, and murmured softly,
"I will pry open your mouth and make you spill everything."
"No, you don't have any way to," the assassin responded, looking at her mockingly.
Then he grabbed his long knife, placed it against his neck, and sliced.
The head fell to the ground.
Wenna stopped in her tracks.
The Professionals were all rendered speechless.
—This was a true assassin.
Failing his mission, he had no intention of returning alive!
With that, how could the truth be revealed?
Dead men tell no tales!
Elsewhere.
The school.
Girls' dormitory, top floor.
Zhao Yibing whispered into her phone, "I've done everything as you instructed, but alas, he didn't fall for it."
The phone screen was pitch black.
No response came.
Zhao Yibing, in a rush, said quickly, "He's been signed by the Human Martial Arts Group, and I'm just a junior high student, any action I take won't have any effect."
Suddenly, a location popped up on the screen.
Followed by a line of text:
"Tonight at eight, 'Maple Forest' Hostel in the Western Suburbs."
Zhao Yibing fell into hesitation.
To go or not to go?
Suddenly.
The phone suddenly rang.
She quickly answered it and after brief listening, a look of joy spread across her face.
"Really? I've been recommended for admission? That's wonderful!"
The call was brief, not much was said, and it was quickly disconnected.
The phone screen once again went dark.
Another line of text appeared:
"Don't be late tonight."
This time, Zhao Yibing hesitated no more and said sweetly with a smile,
"Yes, I'll be there on time."
The darkness on the screen gradually faded away.
Everything returned to normal.
Zhao Yibing turned to leave, but suddenly, everything before her blurred.
Somehow, a girl had appeared next to her, snatching her phone away, swiftly turning it off and removing the SIM card.
Zhao Yibing's face lost color as she exclaimed,
"Who are you!"
The other girl was tall and slender, clad in a dark blue cheongsam, with a long sword tied at her waist, like a goddess who stepped down from the moon, her demeanor cold and distant.
"Who were you talking to just now?" the girl asked directly.
"That's my business. I've never seen you before—if you come any closer I'm calling the police!" Zhao Yibing warned sharply.
Suddenly, a chill grazed her face.
A dagger touched her face, radiating a cold, eerie aura.
The girl hadn't even used her sword; instead, she took out a fruit knife from her small bag and carelessly tapped it against Zhao Yibing's face.
"Zhao Yibing, I know what you pride yourself on most isn't your grades, but your looks."
"—You wouldn't want your face sliced up by me, becoming a hideous freak, would you?"
The dagger moved slightly.
"Or... should I start by cutting off your nose?" Xiao Mengyu said with a nonchalant tone.
She didn't even look at Zhao Yibing, holding the knife in one hand while scrolling through messages on her own phone with the other.