Wang Ning!!

Wang Ning!

In a gloomy alley, shadows shrouded his entire frame.

He sat there in a leisurely and comfortable manner, back against the wall, his left hand resting on his bent knee, head tilted back to gaze up at the pitch-black night sky.

The glasses he wore, even in such a dark corner, reflected a black luster, thick as ink.

His whole body had merged into the darkness, as if he himself were a mass of black smoke.

"Heh! The special skill 'Black Shadow' is truly excellent; I've almost completely blended into the darkness! This skill is practically tailor-made for me. This place... it's really not bad at all."

No one knew that Wang Ning possessed two special skills.

One was the "Low-Profile Way" he had spoken of. The other was the "Black Shadow" he was currently displaying. Effect: Merge into dark environments, reducing presence to the absolute minimum! Unless one's perception exceeded his by double, it would be impossible to sense his existence.

Just then, a ball of fire soared up outside the alley, a sedan exploded, and the flames instantly illuminated the entire block!

Wang Ning's figure flickered in the firelight before merging back into the darkness. He let out a soft chuckle, "Forget it. In the end, they are just a group of high school students. I never expected you all to handle those small fries... Li Shuangmu, for all your status as the young master of the Li Clan, I didn't expect your performance to be so lackluster. Zeng Fei... this kid is actually not bad; his talent for marksmanship has opened my eyes. I wonder what his relationship is with the 'Ghost Bullet' Zeng Yinlong... As for Yin Kuang... aside from having slightly better luck and an intelligence stat 3 points higher than mine, the rest seems hardly worth mentioning. As for that idiot woman... never mind..."

Listening to the gunfire, the roar of flames, and the whistling wind outside the alley, Wang Ning, with a playful expression, gave his assessment in a gentle tone, "Overall evaluation: This is a team with decent potential. If possible, it would be best to win over Li Shuangmu and Zeng Fei. Yin Kuang... he is dispensable. As for Qian Qianqian, she likely has feelings for Li Shuangmu... How truly laughable. Falling for him has already destined your tragedy."

"Li Shuangmu's overall strength, combined with Zeng Fei's sniping talent, and coordinated with my assassination techniques... perhaps, by pulling them in to stand before me, I might be able to barely gain a foothold in this magical and mysterious 'University'," Wang Ning said faintly. "It is truly something to look forward to. I have long since grown weary of that boring life of killing, collecting money, spending it, and then killing again to collect more. Here, it seems I can not only kill wantonly but also continuously exchange for various abilities and improve my strength... How could such a good thing not make me look forward to it with great anticipation."

Wang Ning flipped his hand, and a pitch-black dagger appeared eerily in his grip. It spun and danced between his fingers, as if it were not a piece of metal, but a supple, living snake. "It's about time I made my move. Otherwise, I fear I might invite their dissatisfaction later. It would be a shame if the relationship I've only just established were to fall apart. Although I cannot keep all of them, they won't have much to say if I leave one or two behind."

Having said this, Wang Ning stood up and stretched his limbs in the darkness. "It's been a while since I last took action; I wonder if my technique has regressed. Let's use you lot to test my hands."

The next second, the gloomy alley fell into silence, the shadows thick as ink.

Before long, another massive explosion rang out.

It seemed someone had thrown another grenade. Moreover, the position of this grenade's explosion was extremely clever; it landed right in the middle of several cars, and the violent flames and instantly released energy triggered a chain reaction that blew up the vehicles.

A brilliant fireball rose in the district, illuminating half the sky. The echoes of the explosion reverberated melodiously between the buildings, and scorching heat waves swept across a large area.

Amidst the leaping flames, a slender figure flickered and vanished...

"Blue Whale... how are you?"

Although the grenade had not landed where Sagittarius and Blue Whale were hiding, the shockwave of the explosion still affected them, the violent heat waves forcing them to keep their eyes shut. Blue Whale had it worse; he was directly thrown by the blast, slamming hard against the door of a nearby car.

"I'm not dead yet! Don't worry about me, take this opportunity... go and finish that kid off!" Blue Whale coughed a few times, spitting out a mouthful of blood.

Sagittarius's eyes were cold and sharp, "Watch out for that sniper!"

With that, he put away the gun in his hand, drew the military knife from his leg holster, and like a cheetah launching a sprint, wove through the gaps between the cars and vanished from Blue Whale's sight.

Blue Whale took deep, ragged breaths of the scorching air, coughing incessantly.

He reached his hand into his lower back with difficulty and slowness. Whatever he did, his facial features twisted into a knot. The next moment, he pulled his hand out from his lower back.

In his hand, already stained red with blood, was a piece of blood-soaked glass.

It turned out that during the explosion just now, a shard of shattered glass had embedded itself into his lower back, piercing straight into his internal organs.

"To think... my luck is this rotten. Cough, cough... cough!" Blue Whale gave a bitter laugh. "Does this count as punishment for my lack of faith?"

Blue Whale loosened his right hand, and the glass shard fell to the ground.

Then, he used his still-mobile left hand to pull out a white cloth, wiping his blood-covered right hand clean. His eyes, which had been clouded with the gray of death, strangely bloomed with an unusual luster. A flush of color even rose to his pale, blood-starved face.

A final flash of vitality!

Blue Whale raised his cleaned hand, reached into his chest pocket with difficulty, and pulled out a photograph.

The majestic Great Wall, lush green trees, crowded tourists, a long-haired foreign youth, and a short-haired, delicate Chinese girl... their smiles were so bright and warm.

On the face of this cold and cruel mercenary, a touch of tenderness and longing appeared in an instant.

"The Great Wall of China... how beautiful it is."

"Since you want so badly to see our Chinese Great Wall, I don't mind giving you a free ride."

A cold voice, devoid of any emotion.

Wang Ning walked out leisurely from the darkness.

In his hand, he gripped a pitch-black dagger.

Blue Whale showed no surprise; that long, narrow face still wore that same smile, as if what awaited him was not the endless darkness of death, but a grand feast. "You will never understand..."

Blue Whale spoke in a pure, authentic Beijing accent.

A flicker of surprise crossed Wang Ning's eyes; clearly, this man had long since discovered his presence. But he immediately dismissed it—even if he had discovered him, so what?

"Why would I need to understand?" Wang Ning said with a playful expression.

"People are real because of faith. Those without faith are pathetic." Blue Whale stared deeply at the photo, his gaze focused on the smile of the short-haired, delicate girl. "I don't believe in religion, I don't believe in gods, but I believe in love... Although I am destined to never be with her, as long as I look at her smile, I feel that I truly exist. And you? Boy from China... no, assassin from China!"

Wang Ning sneered, "You certainly talk a lot of nonsense."

"That is why you are pathetic."

The eyes hidden behind Wang Ning's glasses surged with a burst of anger, and his thin lips curled up coldly. "I am standing, and you are lying down. The pathetic one is you, not me."

Blue Whale looked at him coldly. "Do it... I'm tired."

The sneer on Wang Ning's lips froze, and his smooth forehead furrowed involuntarily. "As you wish."

A black streak of light slashed across Blue Whale's throat, ending the life of this "Elite Mercenary."

System: You have dealt a throat-slitting blow to "Elite Mercenary" Blue Whale. One-hit kill!

System: You have killed "Elite Mercenary" Blue Whale. Reward: 100 Study Points.

However, the frown on Wang Ning's face only deepened.

There was no sense of pleasure! None of the thrill he used to feel when ending another's life; in fact, an inexplicable sense of annoyance and impatience began to stir within him.

That peaceful look in his dying eyes, that expression of relief, made Wang Ning feel incredibly displeased!

Forget it, why bother caring about a dead man.

Wang Ning bent down and pinched the photo in Blue Whale's hand. He gave it a tug, but it didn't budge; he pulled harder, finally prying the photo from Blue Whale's grip.

System: You have obtained the special item "Photo of Longing."

Photo of Longing: A photograph of Elite Mercenary Blue Whale and a Chinese girl. It embodies Blue Whale's purest, most untainted longing and selfless love.

System: This item can be equipped.

Requirement: Only those with love in their hearts may equip this.

Effect: ???

Evaluation: To love someone does not necessarily mean you must possess them; it is enough that the person you love is doing well.

Wang Ning's expression turned somewhat strange, and he attempted to equip it.

System: You are unable to equip this item.

"Hmph!" Wang Ning let out a cold snort and tossed the "Photo of Longing" into the nearby flames.

The smiles of Blue Whale and the Chinese girl were ultimately reduced to nothingness within the fire.