Wang Ning!!

Wang Ning!

In a dim alley, shadows shrouded his entire figure.

He sat there at ease, leaning against the wall, his left hand resting on a raised knee as he tilted his head back and gazed up at the pitch-black night sky.

In such a dark corner, his glasses reflected black light, like thick ink.

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

"Heh! Black Shadow's special skill is amazing. It lets me blend almost completely into the darkness! It's practically tailor-made for me. This place... isn't bad at all."

Nobody knew that Wang Ning had two special skills.

One was the "Low-Profile Way" he'd mentioned. The other was the "Black Shadow" he was displaying now. Effect: blend into dark surroundings and reduce one's presence to a minimum! Unless someone's perception was more than twice his, they wouldn't be able to sense him at all.

Just then, another burst of flame shot up outside the alley. A car exploded, and the flames instantly lit up the whole block!

Wang Ning's figure flickered in the firelight, then disappeared into the darkness again. He let out a quiet chuckle. "Forget it. They're just a bunch of high schoolers, after all. I never expected them to take care of those small fry... Li Shuangmu, you're the young master of the Li Clan, yet I never thought you'd perform so poorly. Zeng Fei... now there's a kid with promise. His talent for shooting really opened my eyes. I wonder what his connection is to Ghost Bullet, Zeng Yinlong... As for Yin Kuang... apart from being a little luckier and having three more points of intelligence than me, he doesn't seem worth mentioning. And that idiot woman... whatever."

Listening to the gunshots, the crackle of flames, and the wind outside the alley, Wang Ning gave his assessment in a leisurely, mocking tone. "Overall evaluation: a team with decent potential. If possible, I should try to recruit Li Shuangmu and Zeng Fei. Yin Kuang... he's optional. As for Qian Qianqian, she's probably fallen for Li Shuangmu... How funny. Falling for him means tragedy is all but certain for you."

"With Li Shuangmu's overall strength, Zeng Fei's sniping talent, and my assassination skills... if I can get those two to stand in front of me, maybe I'll just manage to get by in this strange and mysterious 'university.'" Wang Ning murmured, "I can hardly wait. I've been sick of that dull life of killing people, collecting money, spending it, then killing again and collecting more money. Here, it seems I can not only kill as much as I want, but also keep exchanging for all kinds of abilities and getting stronger... How could I not be excited?"

Wang Ning flipped his hand, and a pitch-black dagger appeared in it as if by magic. He spun it in his palm, letting it dance between his fingers as though it were not metal but a supple serpent. "It's about time I made a move, too. Otherwise, they might resent me later. It'd be a shame if the relationship we've only just built fell apart. I can't leave them all behind, but if I take out one or two, they won't have much to say."

With that, Wang Ning stood and stretched his limbs in the darkness. "It's been a while since I last fought. I wonder if I've gotten rusty. I'll use you to find out."

The next moment, the dim alley fell silent, its shadows as dark as ink.

At some point, another tremendous explosion rang out.

Someone seemed to have thrown another grenade. It had landed in a particularly clever spot, right between several cars. Its violent flames and sudden burst of energy set off one car after another.

A brilliant fireball rose over the block, lighting up half the sky. The explosion's echo reverberated between the buildings, while a scorching wave of heat swept across a wide area.

In the flickering firelight, a slender figure flashed past...

"Blue Whale... are you all right?"

The grenade hadn't landed where Sagittarius and Blue Whale were hiding, but its shock wave still reached them. The violent heat made it impossible to keep their eyes open. Blue Whale had it worse. The blast hurled him away, and he slammed hard into the door of a nearby car.

"I'm not dead! Forget about me. Use this chance... hurry and deal with that kid!" Blue Whale coughed several times and spat out a mouthful of blood.

Sagittarius's eyes turned steely. "Watch out for that sniper!"

With that, he took the gun in one hand, drew the Combat Knife strapped to his leg, and darted between the cars like a cheetah launching into a sprint, vanishing from Blue Whale's sight.

Blue Whale gulped down the scorching air, coughing without pause.

With difficulty, he slowly reached behind his lower back. Nobody knew what he did, but his features twisted in pain. A moment later, he pulled his hand back out.

His hand, now stained red with blood, clutched a bloodied shard of glass.

It turned out that during the explosion, a piece of shattered glass had lodged in his lower back and pierced deep into his body.

"I didn't think... my luck would be this bad. Cough... cough!" Blue Whale gave a bitter smile. "Is this punishment for not believing in God?"

Blue Whale released the shard from his right hand, and it fell to the ground.

Then, with his left hand, which he could still move, he took out a white handkerchief and wiped the blood from his right hand. His eyes, already clouded with death, suddenly gleamed with an eerie light. A flush spread across his bloodless face.

A final rally.

Blue Whale raised the hand he'd wiped clean and struggled to slip it inside his shirt. He pulled out a photograph.

The majestic Great Wall, lush trees, crowds of tourists, a foreign young man with long hair, and a pretty Chinese girl with short hair... Their smiles were so radiant and warm.

For an instant, a tender, longing expression appeared on the face of this cold and ruthless mercenary.

"The Great Wall of China... How beautiful."

"If you want to see our Great Wall so badly, I'd be happy to send you there for free."

His voice was cold, devoid of emotion.

Wang Ning strolled out of the darkness.

In his hand was a pitch-black dagger.

Blue Whale showed no surprise. A smile still lingered on his long, narrow face, as if he were awaiting not death and endless darkness, but a grand feast. "You'll never understand..."

Blue Whale spoke in an authentic Beijing accent.

A flicker of surprise crossed Wang Ning's eyes. Clearly, this man had noticed him long ago. But he quickly dismissed the thought. So what if Blue Whale had noticed?

"Why should I understand?" Wang Ning asked mockingly.

"People are made real by their beliefs. Those without beliefs are pitiful." Blue Whale gazed intently at the photograph, his eyes fixed on the short-haired girl's smile. "I don't believe in religion, and I don't believe in God, but I believe in love... Even though I can never be with her, just seeing her smile makes me feel that I truly exist. What about you? A boy from China... No, a killer from China!"

Wang Ning sneered. "You sure talk a lot."

"That's why you're pitiful."

A surge of anger rose in Wang Ning's eyes behind his glasses. His thin lips curled into a cold smile. "I'm standing, and you're lying down. You're the one who should feel sorry for himself, not me."

Blue Whale gave him a cold look. "Do it... I'm tired, too."

The sneer on Wang Ning's lips froze. His smooth forehead furrowed unconsciously. "As you wish."

A streak of black light cut across Blue Whale's throat, ending the life of this "elite mercenary."

"Notification: You inflicted throat-slashing damage on 'Elite Mercenary' Blue Whale, killing him in one hit!"

"Notification: You killed 'Elite Mercenary' Blue Whale. Reward: 100 Study Points."

But Wang Ning's frown only deepened.

There was no thrill! None of the pleasure he used to feel when ending someone's life. Instead, an inexplicable sense of irritation and impatience welled up inside him.

That peaceful expression in death, that look of release, infuriated Wang Ning!

"Forget it. Why should I care about a dead man?"

Wang Ning bent down and pinched the photograph in Blue Whale's hand. He tugged, but it wouldn't come free. Only after pulling harder did he finally wrench it from Blue Whale's grip.

"Notification: You obtained the special item 'Photo of Longing.'"

"Photo of Longing: A photograph of Elite Mercenary Blue Whale and a Chinese girl. It carries Blue Whale's purest longing and selfless love."

"Notification: This item can be equipped."

"Condition: Only those who have love in their hearts can equip it."

"Effect: ???"

"Evaluation: You don't have to possess the person you love. You only need the person you love to be happy."

Wang Ning's expression turned strange. He tried to equip it.

"Notification: You cannot equip this item."

"Hmph!" Wang Ning snorted and casually tossed the "Photo of Longing" into the flames nearby.

Blue Whale and the Chinese girl's smiles vanished in the flames.