First Mission

The next day, the sun was bright and clear—a perfect day for killing.

Lu Hao woke up early and took a look at his panel.

[Slaughter Point System]

[Host: Lu Hao]

[Vitality: 278/278 cal]

[Mentality: 299/299 Hz+]

[Storage Space: 10 cubic meters]

[Slaughter Point: 54]

Over the past half-month, Lu Hao had been slowly tempering his bones, completing nine in total. Added to his previous progress, Lu Hao had now tempered 37 bones.

This meant Lu Hao had officially reached the mid-stage of the First Grade, though his actual combat power had already reached the high-stage of the Second Grade. Even in a life-or-death struggle, he was confident he could handle a low-stage Second Grade martial artist.

Today, Lu Hao wasn't heading to the arena alone; he was going to the Beiding Detective Branch with his mother to officially accept a mission. As for Viper, he would meet them there.

The standard for the mission remained unchanged: as long as Lu Hao wasn't in mortal danger, Viper wouldn't intervene. With Viper's Fourth Grade strength, protecting Lu Hao would be a simple task.

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

Lu Hao urged his mother; after all, he hadn't gained any Slaughter Points in half a month.

"What's the rush? Anyone who didn't know better would think you're heading off to get married, not to accept a mission to kill someone," Bai Qiuyao said. In her eyes, there was no need to be this anxious; it wasn't exactly a joyous occasion.

Without further ado, Bai Qiuyao finished getting ready and took Lu Hao to the car.

Once inside, Bai Qiuyao tossed a small booklet to Lu Hao.

Lu Hao picked it up and saw that it was his Martial Artist ID.

"Mom, what is the Martial Artist ID used for?"

"The Martial Artist ID is incredibly important. Without it, you aren't allowed to carry restricted weapons in public. It also functions as an all-in-one card for martial artists."

"In our Detective Bureau, you need to swipe your Martial Artist ID to accept missions. Furthermore, payments, credits, and even merit points are all distributed through it. You can also use it to pay for things directly."

"That's why it's so important. If you lose it, the replacement process is a huge hassle. And if you ever encounter a martial artist outside and find they don't have an ID, there's a high probability they are either an Evil Cult member or a criminal."

Hearing Bai Qiuyao's words, Lu Hao pretended to put it in his pocket, but instead, he slipped it directly into his storage space. This way, it would never get lost.

Lu Hao's storage space was currently filled with various sundries and supplies, including dry rations and water. He had prepared these in advance to make things easier once he went to the Earth Cave.

As for the Big Ring Blade in his hand, Lu Hao would have liked to store it away too, but he would definitely need it for the mission. If a blade suddenly appeared out of thin air, anyone would be suspicious.

So, he had no choice but to carry it. Fortunately, it had a scabbard; otherwise, he wouldn't dare bring it out for fear of scaring ordinary people.

Before long, the car pulled up. Bai Qiuyao dropped Lu Hao off at the entrance while she went to park, then entered the Detective Bureau.

As for Lu Hao, he went in on his own. He didn't want others to know he was the son of the Detective Bureau chief; otherwise, he might run into all sorts of unwanted situations.

The Beiding Detective Branch was magnificent and imposing!

It was a complex of buildings, with the main tower standing over twenty stories high.

Lu Hao had been here before, back when he used to come to find his mother.

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

"Uncle Wang, where do we accept missions?"

Lu Hao waved his hand, and Viper walked over once he spotted him.

"Let's go, Little Lu. I'm quite familiar with this place."

Under Viper's guidance, Lu Hao arrived at a machine, selected a mid-stage First Grade mission, and after swiping his Martial Artist ID, the mission was officially accepted.

Once outside the Detective Bureau, Lu Hao carefully reviewed the mission details.

Name: Lu Bo

Gender: Male

Age: 34

Strength: Mid-stage First Grade, 31-35 tempered bones. No firearms, possibly carrying cold weapons. Practices basic fist and foot combat techniques, no special combat skills.

Case: On March 30, 2008, he killed someone during a dispute and fled. During his flight, he attacked ordinary people, resulting in the deaths of one low-stage First Grade martial artist and five civilians.

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

Reward: 200,000 in cash.

"Oh, I didn't expect my first mission to be against a member of my own clan. It seems I'm being asked to clean house. And the pay looks pretty good—200,000. If I remember correctly, that's the same price as winning a standard match in the arena."

Lu Hao said to Viper with a smile.

"You can't compare the two. The main income for the arena comes from betting and gambling; that's where the real profit is," Viper replied from the side.

"That's true. Let's go, Uncle Wang, and see what's going on in the suburbs."

Viper nodded, then drove Lu Hao toward the suburbs.

Lu Hao had already consulted the situation when he accepted the mission; the latest news was that someone had seen him near a cluster of unfinished buildings in the suburbs the day before yesterday, so there was a high probability that Lu Bo was hiding in that area.

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

As for Viper, he stayed outside to keep watch; if anything went wrong, he could get inside in less than four or five seconds.

Lu Hao looked over these unfinished buildings, surprised that Magic City still had such a place. It looked like it had been abandoned for a long time; he guessed the developer's capital chain had broken, leading to the site being left to rot.

Since the location was remote and deserted, Lu Hao decided to be bold and flush the snake out of its hole. Even if Lu Bo fled, he wouldn't be able to cause much damage, and otherwise, if he relied on searching slowly by himself, who knew how long that would take.

Lu Hao kicked a piece of discarded sheet metal.

Clatter, clatter.

A massive sound instantly spread out. As long as Lu Bo wasn't deaf, he would definitely know someone had entered, and he would surely want to investigate who it was.

After that one kick, Lu Hao didn't move again, instead listening carefully to see if any sounds were coming from the surrounding buildings.

As it turned out, he really did hear the sound of a bottle toppling over.

Lu Hao immediately rushed toward the source of the sound. Within a few seconds, he saw a middle-aged man standing before him, and Lu Hao instantly recognized who it was: his target, Lu Bo.

However, Lu Bo noticed someone coming to capture him but didn't run away. Could he have some kind of trump card? Lu Hao looked at Lu Bo with some vigilance.

"So you're the martial artist sent to catch me? Is the Detective Bureau out of people, sending a kid like you? Judging by your aura, you've reached the middle stage of the First Grade; you must be some kind of genius..."

Before Lu Bo could finish speaking, Lu Hao kicked out at him. This kick condensed his blood energy, and combined with the power of Point-Burst, even if Lu Bo had some hidden tricks, he shouldn't be able to block it.

Yet, Lu Hao watched with his own eyes as his opponent simply used his arms to block???

In an instant, Lu Bo's arms were pierced through, and a large hole was left in his chest, from which blood was gushing out frantically.

Lu Bo collapsed to the ground.

???He just died like that???