Ding!
A soft chime echoed.
The elevator resumed its ascent after a brief pause.
Earlier, the other professionals had exited the elevator when it stopped, leaving only Chen Haoyu and Shen Ye inside.
Chen Haoyu stood facing the transparent glass wall, admiring the high-rise view outside and exclaiming repeatedly in awe.
Shen Ye stared at his back, a sudden chill creeping over him.
“I found a disfigured corpse.”
—Who could it be?
If it’s someone I know—
Ding!
“Employee dormitory floor. Please proceed with care,” a gentle reminder sounded.
The elevator stopped, and the doors slid open.
“Let’s go, Night Bro. I’ve been dying to see your place!”
Chen Haoyu spoke excitedly.
“Let’s go,” Shen Ye replied softly.
They stepped into the hallway.
As they walked, Shen Ye’s mind continued to think.
From yesterday morning onwards, first, his father had dropped him off at school. Then, there were lessons, a mock exam, a fight with some boys that brought in the teachers, a discussion with Qian Rushan, a trip to the police station, a meeting with his parents, and finally, his arrival at the Mortal Martial Arts Group building.
Through all these events, there hadn’t been a chance for Chen Haoyu to be alone with him.
There were always people around.
Wait!
In the morning, when they met in class, what did he say?
“Night Bro, let me treat you to stir-fry at lunch.”
And then…
During the mock exam, I left the group and went to the rooftop.
I entered the “door” and dissolved it afterward!
So when Chen Haoyu searched the entire school building, he couldn’t find me!
But when I returned, I immediately received a message from him:
“What’s taking so long? Did you fall in the toilet?”
After that…
When the exam ended, he went to wash off the paint on him and later asked me to meet for lunch.
But I still didn’t go to him.
While he was cleaning up, I returned to the classroom to study, only to get into a fight with Sun Ming and the others, which escalated to involve teachers and the police.
Even Qian Rushan showed up.
—By a twist of fate, I never ended up having lunch with Chen Haoyu!
But!
Why?
Why was he so intent on finding a chance to be alone with me?
Shen Ye smiled faintly, pointing to a door at the end of the hallway.
“That’s my dorm room.”
Chen Haoyu followed his finger, looking in that direction. Just as he was about to speak, his arm suddenly transformed into a sharp black slash.
The air screeched as it tore, but the slash hit nothing.
“Huh? Over here!”
Chen Haoyu sneered, twisting his body into an unnatural curve and unleashing a second slash mid-spin.
“Got you—”
Chen Haoyu roared as the thin, curved blade in his hand pierced into a figure.
Crack.
The blade passed through Shen Ye’s body and embedded itself in the wall, emitting a faint sound.
But Chen Haoyu’s expression shifted.
Shen Ye’s figure began to fade, becoming translucent before vanishing entirely.
Another miss!
An illusion? Impossible!
How could that kid possess such advanced movement skills?
Suddenly, a tremendous force struck—
Chen Haoyu’s face twisted as a foot smashed into it, bones cracking loudly.
Boom!
A deafening collision sounded.
He was sent flying, tumbling back dozens of meters before crashing to the far end of the hallway. He scrambled to his feet hurriedly.
“Who are you—you’re not Shen Ye!” Chen Haoyu shouted, anger and shock mingling in his voice.
Shen Ye stared at him calmly.
“And you’re not Chen Haoyu.”
“I’m not,” the other admitted.
“Where is Chen Haoyu?” Shen Ye demanded.
“He’s dead. And soon, you’ll be dead too,” the imposter replied with a grin.
Shen Ye fell silent.
On his retinal display, glowing lines of text appeared:
“You distributed attribute points and used the skills ‘Moonlit Deer Steps,’ ‘Shadow Veil’ and ‘Frostwind.’”
“As a result, you temporarily activated the ‘Moonlit’ series skill: ‘Frostmoon Tremor (Incomplete).’ Its effects are as follows:”
“Guaranteed enemy knockback.
“Your shadow veil now mimics your appearance with greater deception.
“Your movement speed increases by 30% for 10 seconds.”
“Executing ‘Frostmoon Tremor (Incomplete)’ successfully has yielded exceptional physical conditioning.”
“Strength increased by 0.1, agility by 0.2, and mental power by 0.1.”
“Current base attributes:”
“Strength: 1.3”
“Agility: 3.1”
“Mental Power: 1”
Shen Ye’s heart trembled.
—There’s a secret behind these skills!
He raised his gun, pulling the trigger repeatedly.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The bullets missed.
Chen Haoyu’s body shifted slightly, effortlessly dodging each shot.
“That kick just now wasn’t bad, but your aim is terrible,” he sneered.
“I wasn’t trying to hit you,” Shen Ye replied coolly.
A shrill alarm suddenly echoed through the corridor.
The elevator door was kicked open.
The gentle young woman—Wenna—descended lightly, holding two revolvers, and landed beside Shen Ye.
“Skin-crafting?” She frowned as she looked at “Chen Haoyu.”
Before her voice could fully fade, other professionals began appearing in the hallway, all staring at Chen Haoyu with wary expressions.
A faint rumble came from the distance.
Looking out the window, a few large war drones could be seen hovering around the building, patrolling the exterior.
It was a net cast in all directions.
Shen Ye fixed his gaze on Chen Haoyu and asked, “I’ll ask you one more time: where is the real Chen Haoyu, and why are you trying to kill me?”
“Chen Haoyu” sneered. “You’ll never know.”
“But you won’t escape. We have plenty of ways to extract the truth from you,” Wenna said angrily.
Damn it, she thought. The opponent’s skin-crafting technique had fooled not only the security AI but even herself.
No one had ever mastered skin-crafting to such a terrifying level. She hadn’t even heard of anyone coming close.
“Your methods won’t work on me,” the assassin replied coolly.
Wenna stepped forward, gripping twin daggers, and said in a low voice, “I’ll pry the truth out of you myself.”
“No, you won’t.”
The assassin smirked mockingly, raised the curved blade in his hand, and spun it forcefully against his own neck.
His head fell to the ground.
Wenna stopped in her tracks.
The professionals around her were speechless.
—This was the resolve of a true assassin.
If the mission failed, survival wasn’t even an option.
But now, how could they uncover the truth?
Dead men tell no tales.
Elsewhere.
At the school.
The girls’ dormitory, top floor.
Zhao Yibing whispered into her phone, “I followed your instructions, but he didn’t take the bait.”
The screen of her phone was pitch black, showing no response.
Growing anxious, Zhao Yibing quickly added, “The Mortal Martial Arts Group has signed him. I’m just a middle schooler; there’s nothing I can do to influence him.”
Suddenly, a location appeared on the screen, followed by a line of small text:
“Tonight at 8 p.m., West Suburbs ‘Maple Grove’ Hotel.”
Zhao Yibing hesitated.
Should she go?
Her phone suddenly rang.
She quickly answered, listening briefly before her face lit up with joy.
“Really? I’ve been accepted? That’s fantastic!”
The call was brief, ending as quickly as it began.
Her phone screen went dark again.
A new line of text appeared:
“Don’t be late tonight.”
This time, Zhao Yibing showed no hesitation. She smiled sweetly and said, “I’ll be there on time.”
The darkness on the screen gradually faded, returning to normal.
Just as Zhao Yibing turned to leave, her vision blurred.
Before she realized what had happened, a girl appeared beside her, snatching the phone from her hands. The girl swiftly powered it off and removed the SIM card.
Zhao Yibing’s face turned pale as she exclaimed, “Who are you?”
The newcomer was tall and slender, clad in a dark cyan mamianqun, a traditional pleated skirt, with a longsword at her waist. Her expression was cold and distant, like a celestial maiden descended under the moonlight.
“Who were you talking to just now?”
The girl’s voice was direct and unyielding.
“This is my business. I don’t know you—come any closer, and I’ll call the police!” Zhao Yibing retorted in a low voice.
Her face suddenly felt cold.
A dagger rested against her cheek, exuding a chilling aura.
The girl didn’t even use her longsword. She had pulled a small fruit knife from her pouch and casually tapped it against Zhao Yibing’s face.
“Zhao Yibing, I know what you value most isn’t your grades but your looks.”
“—You wouldn’t want me to ruin your face, would you? Spend the rest of your life as a hideous monster?”
The dagger shifted slightly.
“Or… should I start by slicing off your nose?”
Xiao Mengyu spoke in an indifferent tone, as if the thought barely interested her.
She didn’t even look at Zhao Yibing, instead flipping through the phone with one hand, browsing its messages.
