“I’ll talk. I’ll talk.”
The man finally spoke, his voice hoarse. “It—it’s the box in the truck.”
“Our target is the Heart of Revival inside.”
The Heart of Revival?
The moment those four words left his mouth, An Changqing and Long Ao’s expressions changed simultaneously.
Chen Guan raised an eyebrow as well. He had never heard of it, but it sounded incredibly impressive.
An Changqing stared at the man on the ground and asked slowly, each word enunciated clearly, “Do you know what you’re talking about?”
“How could I not?” The man forced a smile that looked more like a grimace.
“It can repair the source damage suffered by ability users. There’s even a chance it can bring the dead back to life. Something like that has driven the entire black market into a frenzy. Who doesn’t know about it?”
“We’re just mercenaries who take jobs for money. We’re with the Blood Wolf Mercenary Group. Someone offered us an astronomical sum to steal it.”
After saying this, he seemed to collapse completely, every last ounce of strength leaving him as he lay limp on the ground, his heart filled with regret.
Why had he risked his life for a few hundred thousand a month?
It might sound like a lot, but given his strength, that was merely the standard market rate. It wasn’t worth throwing his life away over.
A deathly silence descended.
Long Ao finally understood how serious the situation was. He abruptly turned around, his eyes blazing with fury as they locked onto Qian Yongnian, who had just scrambled down from the transport truck.
An Changqing lowered his longsword as well, his gaze settling on the fat man.
Qian Yongnian’s legs gave out, and he collapsed onto the ground. His entire body was trembling, and sweat had soaked through his finely tailored traditional tunic, leaving him looking utterly disheveled.
“I—I don’t know! I don’t know anything!”
His voice was choked with sobs as he waved his hands frantically.
“I’m just an intermediary. Someone wanted to use my channels to hire people from the academy for a job. I only took the money to arrange the transport. I swear, I had no idea the box contained something this deadly.”
“You didn’t know?” Long Ao advanced toward him one step at a time, each footfall seeming to land directly on Qian Yongnian’s heart. “Then the S-class transport vehicle was prepared without your knowledge too?”
“This…” Qian Yongnian was left speechless, his face turning ashen.
He knew. How could he not know?
It was just that the person who had approached him was a powerful figure. That person had specifically ordered him to post the commission at the academy, and the payment offered had made it impossible for him to refuse.
An Changqing ignored his excuses. He walked over to Chen Guan and Long Ao, lowering his voice, though his tone remained firm.
“We can’t continue with this mission.”
“This thing must not fall into anyone else’s hands. It has to be taken over by us—or rather, by the academy and the Great Wall.”
Long Ao had no objections. He nodded heavily.
Chen Guan agreed as well.
Just as An Changqing was about to contact the academy—
Click.
A soft sound rang out, like a pebble dropping from somewhere above. In the dead silence of the tunnel, it was exceptionally clear.
The three of them raised their heads almost simultaneously and looked toward the pitch-black ceiling where the sound had originated.
A black shadow detached itself from an inconspicuous ventilation duct and drifted down like a weightless feather.
When the figure was still two meters above the ground, its descent strangely slowed. Then, both feet touched down lightly. The hem of her black trench coat swept through the air behind her in an arc, stirring up a thin layer of dust from the floor.
She wore no mask. Her face, carrying a faintly playful smile, was exposed beneath the tunnel lights.
The moment Chen Guan recognized that face, his heart gave a jolt, as if an invisible hand had seized it.
Santai?
What was she doing here?
There had been no word from White Tiger. This couldn’t be an arranged mission.
In other words, this was just a chance encounter?
“Well, well. What a stroke of luck. The little friends from Huaqing Academy.”
Santai tilted her head, her lazy gaze drifting from An Changqing, to Long Ao, and finally to Chen Guan.
When her eyes landed on Chen Guan, they lingered for a moment longer, but the smile on her face did not change.
“I want what’s in that truck.”
Santai extended a slender finger and casually pointed toward the black transport vehicle nearby, her tone light and relaxed.
“Any objections?”
Her words were similar to those spoken by the man earlier, but no one dared underestimate the weight behind them.
【Holy crap, holy crap! It’s Santai! What is she doing here?!】
【Speaking of which, what level is Santai at now? Waiting for the experts to weigh in.】
【Ninth rank. But there are differences even among ninth-rankers. Numbers determine rank, but abilities determine actual strength. Someone like Teacher Li, who’s at the tenth rank, probably wouldn’t be her match.】
【Does this count as infighting between coworkers? Good thing Santai is only here on personal business this time.】
The barrage of comments before Chen Guan’s eyes had gone completely insane. Text in every color flashed across his vision so quickly that it made his eyes ache, but it also confirmed his guess.
This really was just a chance encounter.
He forced down the storm raging in his heart and adopted the reaction an ordinary student should have when facing a powerful enemy.
He tightened his grip on his scythe and shifted half a step backward, assuming a defensive stance. His eyes filled with vigilance and solemnity.
An Changqing reacted first. He raised his longsword horizontally before him, the blade pointing directly at Santai. The gentle smile had vanished from his face, replaced by an unprecedented seriousness.
“Who are you?”
His voice was calm. “We’re students of Huaqing Academy, currently carrying out an A-rank commission. This shipment is under the academy’s protection.”
He invoked the academy’s name at the first opportunity, hoping it would make the other party hesitate.
Long Ao stepped forward and stood shoulder to shoulder with An Changqing. He had just finished a battle, and his blood was still running hot.
Faced with this woman who had appeared out of nowhere, he showed no fear. Instead, his eyes burned with an even fiercer fighting spirit.
“Big words.”
Every joint in Long Ao’s body cracked loudly. “If you want the goods, you’ll have to get past my fists first.”
Santai looked at the two little friends standing before her, poised for battle. The smile on her lips grew wider.
She paid no attention to the weapons in their hands or their ready stances. Instead, she shifted her gaze to Qian Yongnian, who was sprawled nearby, and the Blood Wolf mercenaries they had subdued.
Santai clicked her tongue in disdain. “Tsk, tsk. A bunch of useless trash.”
She shook her head as if bored by the farce unfolding before her.
Ever since she had left the assassin world, why were the rookies these days getting worse and worse?
Apparently, it was still up to an old veteran like her.
Only then did Santai look back at An Changqing, her eyes filled with the playful amusement of a cat toying with a mouse.
“Huaqing Academy? What an impressive name. I’m so scared.”
She claimed to be frightened, but her tone was openly contemptuous.
An Changqing’s brow furrowed even more deeply. There wasn’t the slightest trace of energy fluctuation coming from her. She seemed no different from an ordinary person.
But that abnormality was precisely what sent a bone-chilling cold through him.
This woman was countless times more dangerous than the sixth-rank mercenary captain from earlier. He couldn’t see through her strength, which meant it was far beyond his own.
“We have no intention of becoming your enemy,” An Changqing said in a low voice. “But a mission is a mission. It’s our duty, and we cannot back down.”
“Duty?”
Santai laughed as though he had just heard the funniest joke in the world, rocking back and forth as the hem of his trench coat swayed with him. “Kids, do you still not understand the situation?”
y came from. The chests contained supplies, currency, class-change scrolls, skills, talents… and even godhood! The laws of the world were completely rewritten. This became a world where everyone gambled with their fate! Some people, despite having nothing, opened a divine artifact and rose to the top, eventually ruling the world. Others went bankrupt, opened nothing but worthless junk, and leaped from skyscrapers in despair. Lin Ye arrived in this world from another reality, utterly bewildered. “What is going on? Why is everyone a gambling addict?!” “Opening chests? No way. I refuse to gamble. I’ll start with myself!” Until— On his first chest, he obtained a Mythic Talent: Void Incarnation! He could become completely intangible, pass through all things, and reduce everything to nothingness! … On his fiftieth chest, he obtained a Mythic Weapon: Blade of Karma! With a single slash, karma shattered, twisting the universe and overturning the myriad phenomena of creation! … On his ninety-ninth chest, he obtained a Mythic Divine Treasure: Primordial Purple Energy! It could split open the heavens and earth, create all things, and evolve countless worlds with a single thought! Lin Ye: “Now that I think about it… shouldn’t someone have told me that every chest is guaranteed to contain something Mythic?!”
nd fell into a coma while saving his younger sister from an out-of-control car. He became a vegetable. No one knew that his consciousness had crossed into a world of cultivation. Over the course of sixty years, he began as the lowest kind of mine slave, struggling to survive amid mountains of corpses and seas of blood. By sheer chance, he eventually obtained the complete memories of a fallen Immortal King. Alchemy, medicine, formations, feng shui, physiognomy, artifact forging… Every great inheritance of the cultivation world was now his. But when he opened his eyes again, he discovered that ten full years had passed in the modern world. To pay for his treatment, his father had sold the family’s shop and house, leaving himself covered in lasting injuries and illness. His mother had cared for him day and night, and more than half of her hair had already turned white. His younger sister, who had been only fifteen back then, was now twenty-five. To help repay the family’s debts, she had been forced to lower her head and put on a smiling face in places of glittering lights and endless revelry. Only then did Chen Xuan understand that what he had lost was not merely ten years. He had lost the life his entire family was meant to have. The good news was that he had brought back the memories of an Immortal King’s entire lifetime. The bad news was that his soul had returned alone—his cultivation had not come with him. Spiritual energy was scarce, resources were depleted, and the modern world still had firearms, surveillance, capital, and laws. If he wanted to protect his family, break free from everyone’s control, and become truly invincible beneath the heavens, he would have to start all over again.
s + Rent Collection Wealth】 At the start, he inherited a rundown house in the urban village from his grandfather. The house had no tenants, but the moment he was diagnosed with a terminal illness, a self-proclaimed empress from the Tianxuan Continent arrived as his first tenant. Ye Chuan soon discovered that with every new tenant moving in, not only did he receive massive daily payments, but he also obtained unique items related to their backgrounds. 【Acquired Bai Qianshuang’s related item: Tiger Strength Pill—dramatically enhances physical power!】 【Acquired Bai Qianshuang’s related item: Deer Blood Pill—significantly boosts vitality!】 …… From that day on, all sorts of bizarre tenants began appearing in the house: the empress from Tianxuan Continent, an apocalyptic sorceress from the Magic Realm, a mysterious scientific girl who fell through a spacetime rift… Every single day, he received strange, powerful items and endless money. Then one day, he suddenly realized—he had become invincible. Enough, enough! Stop giving me more!
nto another world, I bought a slave for the first time, never expecting the silver wolf girl to be so cute... Lin Feng: I know it's cold, but you don't have to sneak into my bed! Yuna: Just sharing body warmth, if you dare do anything naughty, I'll definitely...
