The First Mission

The next day, the sun shone brightly—a perfect day for killing.

Lu Hao got up early and glanced at his status panel.

[Slaughter Point System]

[Host: Lu Hao]

[Vital Blood: 278/278 cal]

[Spirit: 299/299 Hz+]

[Storage Space: 10 cubic meters]

[Slaughter Points: 54]

Over the past half month, Lu Hao had slowly tempered his bones, refining nine in total. Including the ones he'd tempered before, he now had thirty-seven tempered bones.

That meant Lu Hao had officially reached the middle stage of Rank One. But his actual combat strength had already reached the upper stage of Rank Two. Even in a fight to the death, he was confident he could take on someone in the lower stage of Rank Two.

Today, Lu Hao wasn't going to the Duel Arena by himself. He was heading straight to the Detective Bureau with his mother to officially take on a mission. As for Viper, he would meet them at the bureau.

The rules during the mission were unchanged: as long as Lu Hao wasn't in mortal danger, Viper wouldn't step in. With Viper's strength as a Rank Four martial artist, protecting Lu Hao would be easy.

"Mom, let's go. I can't wait any longer."

Lu Hao urged his mother on. After all, he hadn't earned any Slaughter Points in half a month!

"What are you in such a hurry for? Anyone who didn't know better would think you were going to get married, not take on a mission to kill someone."

Bai Qiuyao said. Did he really need to be this excited? It wasn't as if this were a good thing.

Without saying anything more, Bai Qiuyao quickly finished getting ready and took Lu Hao to the car.

Once they were in the car, Bai Qiuyao tossed Lu Hao a small booklet.

Lu Hao picked it up and took a look. It was his Martial Artist ID.

"Mom, what do I need a Martial Artist ID for?"

"Martial Artist IDs are incredibly useful. Without one, you're not allowed to carry controlled weapons around. And a Martial Artist ID is basically a martial artist's all-purpose card."

"To take on missions at our Detective Bureau, you have to swipe your Martial Artist ID. Your rewards—money, academic credits, and even merits—are all issued through it. You can also use it to pay for things."

"So your Martial Artist ID is very important. If you lose it, replacing it is a real hassle. And if you meet a martial artist outside who doesn't have one, there's a good chance they're with an Evil Cult—or they're a criminal martial artist."

Hearing Bai Qiuyao's explanation, Lu Hao pretended to put the ID in his pocket, then slipped it directly into his Storage Space. That way, there was no chance of losing it.

Lu Hao had all sorts of odds and ends in his Storage Space, along with some supplies—rations and water he'd prepared in advance. They would come in handy once he went to the Earth Cave.

As for the Big Ring Blade in Lu Hao's hand, he wanted to put it in his Storage Space too. But he would definitely need it on the mission, and if a Big Ring Blade suddenly appeared out of nowhere, anyone would get suspicious.

So he had no choice but to carry it. Fortunately, it had a sheath. Otherwise, he wouldn't have dared take it out in public, for fear of scaring ordinary people.

Before long, the car stopped. Bai Qiuyao dropped Lu Hao off at the entrance, then went to park before heading into the Detective Bureau.

Lu Hao went in by himself. He didn't want anyone to know he was the Detective Bureau chief's son. Who knew what kind of trouble that might cause?

The Beiding Detective Branch was grand and imposing!

It was a complex of connected buildings, with a main tower more than twenty stories tall!

Lu Hao had been here before, back when he'd come to look for his mother.

As soon as he walked in, he spotted Viper waiting in the lounge. Lu Hao breathed a sigh of relief. With an old hand like Viper around, things would be much easier.

"Uncle Wang, where do I go to take on a mission?"

Lu Hao waved. When Viper saw him, he came over.

"Come on, Lu. I know my way around here pretty well."

Viper led Lu Hao to a machine, where he selected a mission for someone in the middle stage of Rank One. After Lu Hao swiped his Martial Artist ID, the screen showed that the mission had been accepted.

Once they were outside the Detective Bureau, Lu Hao carefully read the mission details.

Name: Lu Bo

Sex: Male

Age: 34

Strength: Middle stage of Rank One, 31–35 bones tempered. No firearms; may carry cold weapons. Trained in basic fist and foot combat techniques; no special combat techniques.

Case: On March 30, 2008, after getting into a fight with someone, he killed them and went on the run. During his flight, he also attacked ordinary people, killing one martial artist in the lower stage of Rank One and five ordinary people.

The case was assigned to the Beiding District Detective Branch in Magic City. Those who accept the mission may contact the Beiding District branch for more information...

Reward: 200,000 yuan

"Well, I didn't expect my very first mission to be against someone with the same surname as me. Looks like I'm being asked to clean house. The reward's pretty good, too—200,000. If I remember right, that's about what a Rank Two martial artist gets for winning a Standard Match."

Lu Hao said with a laugh.

"Those aren't really comparable. The Duel Arena's main source of income comes from betting and gambling. That's where the real money is."

Viper said from beside him.

"That's true. Come on, Uncle Wang. Let's check out the suburbs and see what's going on."

Viper nodded, then drove Lu Hao toward the suburbs.

When Lu Hao accepted the mission, he'd already asked for more information. The latest report said someone had seen Lu Bo near a cluster of unfinished buildings in the suburbs two days ago. There was a good chance Lu Bo was hiding somewhere in that area.

Before long, they arrived at the unfinished buildings in the suburbs. Lu Hao got out and headed inside.

Viper stayed outside to keep watch. If anything seemed wrong, he could get in within four or five seconds.

Lu Hao looked over the unfinished buildings. He hadn't expected a place like this to exist in Magic City. It looked as though it had been abandoned for a long time. The developer had probably run out of funds, leaving the project unfinished.

Since the place was remote and deserted, Lu Hao decided to take a bolder approach and flush his target out. Even if Lu Bo ran, he couldn't cause much damage. Otherwise, searching the area bit by bit would take forever.

Lu Hao kicked a piece of discarded sheet metal.

Clang, clatter, bang!

The noise rang out across the area. Unless Lu Bo was deaf, he would know someone had come in. He'd surely come to check who it was.

After kicking the metal, Lu Hao stayed still and listened carefully for any sounds from the nearby buildings.

As it turned out, he really did hear a bottle fall over.

Lu Hao immediately rushed toward the sound. A few seconds later, he saw a middle-aged man standing in front of him. He recognized the man at once: his target, Lu Bo.

But Lu Bo had noticed someone coming to arrest him and still hadn't tried to run. Could he have some kind of trump card? Lu Hao watched him warily.

"You're the martial artist who came to arrest me? Is the Detective Bureau really that short-staffed, sending a kid like you? You look like you've made it to the middle stage of Rank One, though. You must be a genius..."

Before Lu Bo could finish, Lu Hao kicked him. Vital Blood surged through the blow, and with the power of Point-Burst behind it, even if Lu Bo had some kind of trick up his sleeve, he shouldn't be able to block it.

Then Lu Hao watched in disbelief as the man across from him raised both arms to block???

In an instant, Lu Bo's arms were pierced through, and a gaping hole appeared in his chest. Blood poured out uncontrollably.

Lu Bo crumpled to the ground.

???He was dead just like that???