My Mission Is Complete!

Sin City, the edge of District Five, inside an abandoned prefab.

A man in a blue baseball jersey sat at a table, eyes fixed on the computer screen as he worked.

Zhou Xi, affiliated with "Spark," was the person in charge of this "Operation Serpent Lure."

"Old Zhou, at most half an hour, and we'll have all the data we need!"

"I'm about the same here, almost done!"

"They call themselves a big conglomerate, but 'Serpent Coil' isn't all that!"

"...Don't get cocky."

Listening to his team's reports through the earpiece, Zhou Xi smiled and warned, "This is our first mission. Screw it up, and I won't let any of you off easy."

Though he'd only joined "Spark" not long ago, Leader Shen had left a deep impression on him.

Warm and approachable, with elegant speech.

Most importantly, from that man, he saw hope.

Hope of overthrowing the conglomerate's dictatorship.

In comparison, the other gangs in Sin City, who only schemed against each other, were downright ugly... and that was why he genuinely wanted to follow.

"Rest a hundred percent easy, Old Zhou. How could this possibly get screwed up?"

"Yeah, we're all veterans here. Flipping the car? That's blue—not happening!"

"But this job's a real drag. When it's over, you gotta treat me to a good drink—ah!!"

"Number Six?! What's going on over there?!"

The joking suddenly turned into a scream, and Zhou Xi's heart sank with a bad feeling.

No matter how many times they called out, all they got back was the hiss of static.

"Could it be... those dog conglomerates found us?"

The others quickly caught on. "If that's really the case... what do we do now?"

"...Keep going."

Staring at the "89%" progress bar on the screen, Zhou Xi hesitated briefly before speeding up his typing. "Our positions are spread out. Even if Number Six got exposed, we still have time!"

Just a little more left—there was no way he'd give up now!

But "Serpent Coil's" speed of action far exceeded their expectations.

90%, 91%...

"Who goes there?! Trespassing is a crime—bang!"

92%, 93%...

"No, no, I surrender, don't kill me... ah!!"

94%, 95%...

"Go to hell, you conglomerate dogs, die—" "Rat-a-tat-tat..."

In less than twenty minutes, every hiding spot except Zhou Xi's had been exposed!

And the gunfire and screams coming through the earpiece proved they'd all been killed.

"...Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! I fucking curse them!"

Hearing his team members fall one after another, Zhou Xi's expression twisted. "Damn it, what's going on?!"

Why had the dog conglomerates suddenly gotten so fast?

And he knew full well that at this rate, he'd be next!

So the best choice now was to pack up and run before the strike team found him.

But just as he was about to bolt, Leader Shen's words suddenly surfaced in his mind.

"To overthrow the conglomerates, blood and sacrifice are inevitable. If you want to join us, then I hope—and I ask—that Mr. Zhou's team has that resolve."

So, after a moment of inner conflict, he sat back down at the table and started hammering the keyboard.

Leader Shen was right!

No matter what, he had to tear a piece of flesh from them!

96%, 97%...

At the same moment.

"...43., -79.!"

After calling out the last set of coordinates, Gu Yi shouted in relief, "Quick, quick, turn this thing off!"

Xu Shi nodded in approval—sure enough, she was the right choice for this job.

But just as he was about to stop the countdown, something occurred to him, and he pulled his hand back.

"We'll talk about this later. First, do me a small favor."

"?!"

Miss Black Rabbit jumped up from her chair. "What else do you want me to do?!"

Was there no end to this?

"You should know what those people are looking for, right?"

Xu Shi ignored her and continued on his own.

"...You want me to intercept the information they're grabbing?"

Gu Yi caught on and looked at him.

"No. I want you to disguise yourself as the Serpent Coil database terminal, then replace the information they obtain with what I tell you."

Xu Shi shook his head. "They can't have the slightest suspicion. That shouldn't be hard for you, should it?"

"...It's still a bit troublesome."

Miss Black Rabbit said weakly, "How about you disarm the bomb first..."

"I'm still considering whether to waive the losses you've caused the company."

Xu Shi cut her off, pretending to ponder aloud, "But if you won't cooperate, this matter becomes difficult..."

Watching his half-smiling expression, Gu Yi really wanted to drag him over and beat him senseless.

She'd never seen such a bastard!

But angry as she was, she could hardly refuse his terms.

Not to mention the bomb was still active... Shooting Xu Shi a resentful glare, Miss Black Rabbit puffed out her cheeks and got back to work.

(╬◥益◤) Liar—your mouth will rot sooner or later!

Xu Shi's last-minute change of plans bought Zhou Xi a brief moment to catch his breath.

He had no idea what was happening. At that moment, his eyes were fixed solely on the three percent left on the progress bar.

98%, 99%... 100%!

Completed!

"Done!"

Zhou Xi slammed the Enter key and sent the data off.

In the urgency, he didn't even notice that the information he'd scraped had changed.

Nor did he have time to react.

Because the next second, the apartment door was violently smashed open.

"Serpent Coil combat unit. You are hereby sentenced to execution for illegally stealing corporate intelligence."

The sound of high heels rang out as Su Lin led the squad in, delivering the verdict with a blank expression.

Zhou Xi didn't panic. Instead, he sneered. "Just you?"

The moment he'd made his decision, he knew he had little chance of surviving.

So now... kill one and break even, kill two and come out ahead!

Especially that short-haired woman at the front—from the blood on her face, she was the one who'd killed his brothers!

"Hahaha, Leader Shen, my mission is complete!"

Zhou Xi laughed wildly as he pulled out a grenade he'd prepared, ready to take them all with him. "Bitch, let's die together!"

But.

Before he could pull the pin, Su Lin vanished before his eyes.

The next second, she appeared behind him, grabbed his neck, and twisted it gently.

Crack.

The sound of a cervical spine snapping rang out as Zhou Xi collapsed limply to the floor.

A futile effort.

He stared at the woman before him in disbelief, uttering his final words before the end.

"You're... an 'Ascendant'..."

"Pull out his Brain-Computer Chip."

Su Lin kicked his corpse aside, then put on an earpiece. "Take anything valuable in the room too. Then fall back."