Chapter 338: Assassination!

"Alright, I'll go."

Qi Ming looked at the flower Yan Jing had pinned to his chest. He hesitated for a moment, then turned and walked away.

Watching him leave, Pan Yue turned her gaze to Yan Jing.

"Are you using Qi Ming as bait?"

Her eyes were cold. Before coming here, she had asked around among the people who had entered Dungeons with Yan Jing. Many claimed he would use any means necessary to clear one.

She just hadn't expected to witness it so soon.

No matter how strong Yan Jing was, she couldn't approve of this behavior.

"No need to assume the worst of me."

Yan Jing smiled. "Do I look that evil?"

"..."

Pan Yue suppressed her rising frustration. "But having Qi Ming execute the mission alone, I think—"

"I don't care what you think, Miss Pan Yue."

Yan Jing's gaze suddenly turned cold.

"I distinctly recall telling Teacher Shen to find a group of players who would follow orders as strictly as possible, precisely to avoid this kind of unnecessary back-and-forth."

"I understand your confusion and your doubts, of course. It's human nature. But Qi Ming volunteered to gather intel just now. If you're going to blame me for something like that, I think you've already broken your promise to Teacher Shen."

In a split second, the man before Pan Yue seemed to become a completely different person. She pursed her lips.

"Sorry."

"It's fine."

Yan Jing's eyes were calm.

"Like I said, I understand."

"But only to a point."

The group fell silent.

Zhou Xian watched Yan Jing.

Compared to when they had met in the last Dungeon, Yan Jing now carried a much more ruthless edge. His methods were far more decisive and swift, making him increasingly impossible to read.

...

...

Qi Ming strode into the hotel and bypassed the front desk. As he rounded a corner, he suddenly reached out and grabbed an Inner World resident dressed as a waiter, murmuring softly, "You are very sleepy right now. You need to sleep..."

As the words left his mouth, the waiter's eyelids drooped. Qi Ming took the man's hand, led him into a storage room, and tied him up. He then stripped the Information Component from the waiter's wrist and transformed into his exact likeness.

Stepping back out into the hallway, he blinked at the door handle. A surge of weird energy flew from his eyes, instantly warping the metal shut.

He stepped into the elevator, brought his right fingertips to his nose, and took a deep breath.

A tiny black smudge lingered on his fingertips—a fleck of paint he had scraped off Wen Tian's car earlier.

As weird energy surged, it was as if dozens—perhaps hundreds—of scents transformed into motes of light, rising from his fingertips and drawing into his body. He quickly isolated the two or three strongest odors.

Two of those scents trailed outside the hotel; they likely belonged to the driver and the car's paint.

The last scent led to the fifth floor.

He pressed the elevator button.

The elevator smoothly ascended to the fifth floor.

When the doors opened, he was greeted by a small lobby bathed in a dim blue light.

Two corridors extended from either side.

Qi Ming picked one and walked down it. As weird energy rippled across his eyes, his vision pierced the walls, sweeping over the rooms behind them.

It didn't take long to find the room where Wen Tian was staying.

He pressed his ear against the wall. The purple light of the First Ritual flared behind his ear, allowing him to eavesdrop on the conversation inside.

A rustling sound gradually amplified in his ears.

"Councilor Wen, allow me to congratulate you in advance on your reelection."

"Ah, the election hasn't even started yet. Let's not get ahead of ourselves. If I do get reelected, it will be thanks to the support and trust of the people."

"You're too modest. Xu Chao is trailing behind you and Councilor Li by over ten percentage points. He has no chance whatsoever."

"You can't say that. Everyone has a chance. Everyone has a chance, haha..."

It was confirmed. The person inside was indeed Wen Tian.

The information on the paper was real, and the target was real.

The tone of the two conversing inside was brimming with cheer. Qi Ming was just about to listen a little longer when hurried footsteps suddenly approached from the other side of the door.

He quickly pulled his ear away and hurried in the opposite direction.

But just then, the door swung open, and a gruff voice called out, "Hey! You!"

Qi Ming took a deep breath and turned around.

"Hello, sir. Is there something I can help you with?"

A burly, hulking man stood in the doorway.

"We're out of water. Bring some over."

"Right away."

Qi Ming thought the burly man would go back inside.

To his surprise, the man pulled the door shut and stood outside with his arms crossed, clearly not intending to go back in.

Qi Ming couldn't help but marvel at his own luck. This bruiser must have been called inside just moments ago; otherwise, eavesdropping wouldn't have been so effortless.

Now came the real problem: should he stay or go?

If he left, he could head downstairs and get out right now. But he had no idea how high their alert level was. If they noticed something amiss, Wen Tian's itinerary would likely change, and their security would skyrocket.

If he stayed, he would have to carry water into the room, which introduced a host of other risks.

As he walked downstairs, he became increasingly conflicted.

...

...

"I read in the papers that whenever it's election season, the Peace Heavenly Kingdom goes all out to slaughter humans, and their vigilance spikes significantly,"

Yan Jing said, looking at Zeng Qing beside him.

"Yes."

Zeng Qing nodded.

"It's tradition. Whenever this time rolls around, the human side sends a batch of assassins..."

"Assassins?"

Yan Jing chuckled.

"Yes, assassins." Zeng Qing's expression was grave.

"They are usually highly organized and premeditated. Because of that, ever since the thirty-fourth president took office, our Heavenly Kingdom's attitude toward humans has never been friendly."

The current president of the Heavenly Kingdom was the forty-first.

"I think assassins aren't so bad," Yan Jing smiled.

"It would be quite convenient if Wen Tian happened to be killed by an assassin."

Zeng Qing rolled her eyes.

"Why don't you just wish Wen Tian would trip over a stone and die on her way out?"

"Alright, let's go. We still have a business meeting to attend. Let's see if we can salvage those medical companies you have your hands on."

...

...

Qi Ming suppressed his impulses and walked out of the building.

In the final moment before making a rash decision, he had remembered promising Yan Jing that he was only going to gather intelligence. To prevent the tragedy of years past from repeating itself, he chose to follow orders.

"It seems Fate hasn't chosen the difficult path."

Inside the café, Yan Jing smiled faintly.

What does that mean...

Pan Yue froze for a second, then let out a sigh of relief when she saw Qi Ming stepping out of the building.

Soon, Qi Ming returned to the café and relayed everything he had heard.

"It's confirmed. It really is Wen Tian."

His expression turned slightly serious.

"But I knocked out a waiter on my way in, and I promised to bring them water but left instead. If they're cautious enough, we're very likely to be exposed. From here on out, their guard will definitely be up."

"Then we assassinate her now."

Yan Jing made the call.

The group's eyes widened. Assassinate her now?

"Then we need to map out four phases: the ambush, the exfiltration, the hideout, and the follow-up second strike," Qi Ming said.

"And we have to do it quickly."

Everyone drew a sharp breath. They all knew how nearly impossible that was.

Qi Ming sighed softly.

"I knew I should have just made my move earlier. The situation right now isn't much better anyway."

But Yan Jing smiled.

"How about this? For maximum efficiency, we split into two groups. One handles the assassination, and the other secures our escape route and hideout. What do you think?"

"I can handle the assassination,"

Pan Yue said.

"I'll take the assassination too," Qi Ming chimed in.

"Then I'll handle the escape and the hideout?"

Yan Jing smiled. "Do you trust me with that? If you don't, we can swap."

Pan Yue and Qi Ming fell silent.

It wasn't that they severely lacked trust in Yan Jing, but rather that the team had only just been formed.

"Whoever handles the assassination must have a way to disguise themselves," Zhou Xian said in a deep voice.

"It's best if two people go. One drives the getaway vehicle, and the other strikes directly. After the deed is done, they pull out immediately and rendezvous with the rest of us."

"There are security cameras all over this street. Without a disguise, hiding out later will be a massive headache."

A way to disguise themselves...

Based on their exchanges yesterday, it seemed Qi Ming was the only one who had one.

"I'll go with Qi Ming." Pan Yue drew her blade.

"I'll cover my face with a mask, and after the hit, I'll cut off my hair. Plus, I can alter my skeletal structure and body shape to some extent."

It was a solid plan, but it hinged on the others completing the preparations for exfiltration and hiding. Given the extremely short time frame, that task sounded even harder.

Yan Jing listened to their discussion. This was the first time he was truly observing how other players tackled a Dungeon, and highly capable players at that.

He had to admit, their performance—both in on-the-spot judgment and decision-making—could be called outstanding.

If possible, Yan Jing would have liked to watch and learn more.

But for the sake of his Dungeon rating...

"You guys get a car. I'll handle the assassination and the exfiltration on my own. Qi Ming, you stay behind to cover me. The rest of you find a hidden safe house and execute the previous plan."

Yan Jing looked at one of the two players who had tagged along to make up the numbers.

"You have a communication-type ability, right?"

"Yeah, I do."

The man nodded.

Yan Jing once again marveled at Shen Youran's watertight planning. Even knowing he possessed the Messenger ability, she had still filled out the team's composition flawlessly.

"You're in charge of maintaining communications."

He didn't want to expose his Messenger ability. Everyone had brought communication devices into the Dungeon, but having stayed in the Peace Heavenly Kingdom for a long time, he knew very well that machinery was the most unreliable thing here.

"Just do as I say."

Hearing his instructions, the group was somewhat surprised. They hadn't expected Yan Jing—who hadn't taken the initiative to command since they entered the Dungeon—to suddenly issue such sweeping orders.

It was just that... executing the hit and escaping entirely alone...

"If you want to stay here and drag me down, I have no objections."

Yan Jing spoke again with a smile.

Zhou Xian was the first to react, heading straight downstairs. Pan Yue pursed her lips and led the other two downstairs as well.

Only Qi Ming and Yan Jing remained in the café.

"Before I came, Shen Youran talked with me on the phone for a long time."

"She told me that meeting you was the luckiest thing that ever happened to her. She said you would definitely reach the Summit, and when you did, she would be proud to claim one percent of your success."

Qi Ming looked at Yan Jing.

"I told her I didn't believe it."

"She said I would believe it once I met you."

"She spoke with such absolute certainty that it made me a bit sad. I always thought that, in her heart, meeting us was the luckiest thing in her life."

"Now I've met you, and you are indeed different from what I imagined. But I think... it's still not enough."

"At least, to reach the Summit, it's not enough."

"I came this time to see exactly what kind of person you are."

He looked at Yan Jing, his eyes utterly devoid of the decadence, laziness, or cynical playfulness that outsiders assumed he possessed.

There was only the unyielding refusal of a strong man to accept defeat.

He was willing to admit the man in front of him was stronger, but Yan Jing had to prove it first.

"You will. This is just the beginning."

Yan Jing smiled faintly.

He raised both hands. Weird energy flowed from his palms like spring water. Dream-like colors erupted from that deep spring—just like a magic show—sketching out a frame, manifesting into a shape, and gradually filling in with color.

Under Qi Ming's shocked gaze, a man with a camera for a head appeared before him.

As weird energy flickered, a massive wing sprouted from the man's back.

In the next second, he shattered the window and shot straight out, hurtling directly toward the fifth floor across the street!