Astonishment

Jiang Xin had already done everything he could think of, but Ning was still standing there.

Feisu Chinese Network

Perhaps because it was his first real battle, Jiang Xin had been scratched in many places by Ning's claws. Though his healing power had helped stop the bleeding, he could still feel the pain.

Grimacing through the pain, Jiang Xin kept facing Ning, who was ready to attack at any moment. He was beginning to regret not taking the weapon Zeng had given him. It seemed that killing Ning with his fists was far too difficult for a beginner. He looked around, but there didn't seem to be anything he could use. With no other choice, Jiang Xin charged again. Ning's attacks were fairly simple. Once more, it prepared to slash at him as he rushed in, but its claws missed. Jiang Xin nimbly dodged the attack and punched Ning hard in the head.

Thud! Driven by his Combat Power, the punch sent Ning flying into the wall and ended its life. Jiang Xin, meanwhile, sat down on the ground in a daze.

With a vicious thrust of his spear, Zeng finished off his opponent, and Deng ended his fight as well. They walked over to Jiang Xin and helped him up, then called the government authorities to send someone to handle the aftermath.

After a while, Jiang Xin came to his senses a little. He looked at Deng and Zeng, unsure what to say.

Deng smiled. "That was pretty good for your first time. You passed the test. Go to Okinawa tomorrow. Someone will meet you when you arrive."

Jiang Xin touched his hand as if he wanted to say something, but he didn't.

Looking out the window, they saw that the Japanese authorities had arrived. Zeng ushered the two of them out.

Okinawa was already one of Japan's most prosperous cities. Jiang Xin got out at the designated location and waited for the person who was supposed to meet him. But the other person seemed terribly late; Jiang Xin had been waiting at the station for over an hour.

Another hour passed. Just as Jiang Xin was about to lose his temper, the contact finally arrived. A young man in a suit slowly walked toward him.

Judging by his description, this was indeed the contact Zeng had mentioned. But he was nearly three hours late. What kind of person was he?

Just as Jiang Xin was about to ask, the man spoke. "Mr. Jiang Xin, I'm glad you passed this special test. This was entirely my own decision. My name is Guangcheng Qiming, and I'm the head of the urban operations team at the Pitch Black Company. You've been assigned to my team. I hope this test hasn't given you any wrong ideas."

Jiang Xin was still a little confused, so he asked, "Why was I assigned to this team? And what's my codename?"

Qiming motioned for Jiang Xin to follow him, then answered, "Miss Yaming assigns the teams. I'm not entirely sure why, but we've got it much better than the wilderness operations team, don't you think? As for your codename, let me make this clear: from now on, you don't need your old name anymore. Whatever you do, you'll use the name the organization gave you. Of course, during missions, you'll use an alias. Either forget your old name or keep it in your heart as a memento. Your name is Guangcheng Heming. That's a fourth-level name. Your identification code is GC399. You'll only need that code when you return to headquarters, so just remember it."

Heming nodded slightly and didn't ask anything else.

Following Qiming, the two of them arrived at a black commercial building. A large sign hung outside, bearing the two characters "Pitch Black."

Heming had never seen a building like this before, so he was naturally quite surprised. Qiming glanced at him and smiled. "You'll be scared stiff when you reach headquarters, for sure. Heh. Come on, hurry up and follow me. They've already assigned you a mission upstairs."

The eight-story commercial building was black inside and out. Without the lights on, it really would have been pitch-black...

When they reached the top-floor office, Qiming walked over to the executive chair and plopped down in it. "You're now a researcher at the Pitch Black Japan Branch, and I'm your superior. Call me Mr. Li when we're out in public, and I'll call you Mr. Liu. This is a very low-level mission, perfect for you. You just have to catch a little bat that escaped from the United States. Of course, if you can't catch it, killing it is fine too. The target is in a small city not far from here. Here's a file and a credit card. Take them and get ready to leave. Oh, one more thing: only make your move at night, at the earliest. Don't let too many ordinary people find out; it could cause trouble. All right, off you go."

Heming took the file and credit card, said goodbye, and headed out. He went to the office Qiming had mentioned, sat down wherever, and began reading the file.

Name: Bill Kain Filani. Race: Vampire. Threat level: Low (intelligence from two months ago)

Photo: ...

He had committed twenty-nine crimes in Okinawa. Twenty-eight people had been drained dry in bars, and one in an alley. He was now on the run in a small city near Okinawa. His exact location was unknown. (This is a free mission, so we hope the team members who take it on won't push themselves too hard...)

Heming shook his head and cursed inwardly. What kind of file was this...?

Never mind. Time to go...

He left the company and took a taxi to the small city mentioned in the file. It might have been small, but it probably had hundreds of bars. How was he supposed to find the target? He'd just have to ask around, one place at a time...

Heming looked at his clothes. This outfit didn't seem suitable for going to a bar. Should he change first? Vampires were probably just bloodsuckers, right? They operated at night, so he'd change his clothes, find somewhere to rest, and then check out some bars.

After buying some clothes, he found a random hotel and got a room...

After taking a shower, Heming went to sleep.

He didn't know how long he'd been asleep when the phone rang. At first, Heming thought it was the hotel's special service. Only after answering did he realize it was Qiming.

"Damn it, you're actually sleeping? Good, though. Forget about that little bat; the Japanese authorities already killed it last night. Heh, an elite ninja took it out. Get back here right away. Something major has happened in China, and we have to hurry back!"

Heming answered, "Okay," then hung up and got dressed. I can't believe I just bought these clothes for nothing...

After taking a taxi back to the company, he rushed straight to the top floor.

Four people he didn't recognize were already there.

When Qiming saw Heming arrive, he said to the four, "This is Heming, the newest member of the team. Introduce yourselves."

The four nodded...

Then they introduced themselves from left to right.

The first was a rather cute girl. She smiled at Heming and said, "My name is Ming Ying. My name is level four, and my specialty is close-range assassinations. At the company, call me Amei."

The second was an old man with a kind expression. He nodded slightly and spoke in a young man's voice. "My name is Ming Yin. My name is level five, and my specialties are disguise and impersonation. At the company, call me Old Wang."

The third was a young man with red hair who looked a lot like a street thug. He shouted at Heming, "My name is Jia Ming. My name is level five, and my specialty is long- and short-range shooting. At the company, call me Brother Qing."

The fourth was a little boy who seemed shy, the cute type. He spoke softly. "My name is Xi Ming. My name is level six, and my specialties are assassination and theft. At the company, call me Wang Aiming. I'm Old Wang's grandson."

After hearing their introductions, Heming felt a little puzzled, but he didn't feel comfortable saying so...

Qiming interrupted Heming's thoughts and said loudly, "All right, that's enough introductions. Something's happened at the Chinese headquarters. We don't know which side attacked, but they killed three-quarters of the people there. Two level-two members stayed behind to protect the others and were dismembered. The Portugal headquarters has sent word that everyone from Pitch Black is to gather at a certain hotel in China. The company's being left in the hands of ordinary people. We're gathering tomorrow. In a bit, we'll take a private plane to China with people from several other Japanese branches. There'll be quite a show..."

Ming Ying interrupted Qiming. "The Chinese headquarters had two level-one members, four level-two members, over ten level-three members, and even more at lower levels. How could something like this happen?"

Qiming answered with two affirming grunts. "The two level-one members and two level-two members were away on a secret mission. A lot of the others had been sent out too. It looks like a trap. Once we find out who did this, they'll be wiped out. All right, all right, let's go!"

After meeting people from the other branches at the Okinawa airport, they boarded the private Pitch Black plane. None of this was what Heming had expected...

On the plane, some of the people who knew one another began chatting. They heard that Guangchang Ziming and Jin Ming had been dismembered. The two of them had apparently been about to be promoted to level-one names... Some of the others were worked up, too. Damn it, they were going to avenge the two women!

Jia Ming, seated beside Heming, said to him, "Ziming and Jin Ming were sent directly from the Pitch Black headquarters to report on the branches around the world. I only met them a few times, but they were both wonderful people..." Jia Ming seemed reluctant to say more.

Heming patted Jia Ming on the shoulder to comfort him and said nothing.

The plane landed before long. As they gathered after disembarking, an airport worker called Qiming over for some reason.

Fifteen minutes later, Qiming ran back and said to the group, "We know who did it. We're going to the Pitch Black Plaza to gather. Miss Yaming and several other special-grade members are there. Hurry!" With that, he hurried out of the airport first.

No one said a word. They quickly followed Qiming, and outside the airport, each company group got into a car.

The six of them sat in silence in the car...

When the car arrived, the driver called for them to get out. They entered the Pitch Black Plaza, where several hundred people had already gathered. At the entrance, Qiming said to the five others, "Follow me and change clothes first. There's a new rule: everyone has to wear black. Jia Ming's hair needs fixing too. You've got only two minutes, so hurry!"

Two minutes later, all six had changed, and Jia Ming's hair had been dyed back to its original color...

When they entered the plaza, staff led them to their assigned area. The men and women were separated.

Twenty minutes later, someone walked onto the platform in the Pitch Black Plaza and said, "Everyone, please take your places according to the formation I'm sending you. Thank you for your cooperation." As he spoke, the instructions for how to stand appeared directly in their minds.

Ten seconds later, everyone had taken their places according to the instructions. If one had to describe it...

The person on the platform smiled and said, "Excellent!" then stepped down.

Another twenty minutes passed, and no one complained...

Five minutes later, seven people dressed in black with gold trim walked onto the platform.

Three women and four men. The person at the very front was the goddess often seen in Pitch Black Company's games—the one everyone called Guangchang Yaming.

When they reached the center of the platform, Yaming spoke. "Thank you all for making the long journey. I'm sure you've heard about what happened to the Chinese headquarters. Let's begin with three minutes of silence." Her graceful, sweet voice was exactly the same as in the game.

After the moment of silence, Yaming continued, "The ones responsible for this heinous act turned out to be our allies—and also the biggest company in China right now, Sea of Fire. Well, they're already here." Yaming didn't continue.

A group of armed helicopters flew in from outside the plaza, while thousands of people charged through the entrance and surrounded the area...

Powerful energy surged in from behind the helicopters. A group of people standing on clouds followed the helicopters and stopped in midair.

What was this...?