Prologue

Prologue

"According to reports, at 3:26 p.m. today, workers at a construction site in a remote development zone in City A, Huaxia, accidentally unearthed an ancient tomb of unknown age while digging with an excavator. The tomb's extent and the identity of its owner remain unknown. After receiving the report, local police swiftly organized personnel to secure the site while they await further excavation..."

"Staff from several cultural departments and experts have already arrived at the scene. After an initial survey, they found that the ancient tomb covers an enormous area, something unprecedented in previous excavations. This suggests that the tomb's owner must have been someone of extraordinary status..."

"On August 12, the local television station reported that the excavation of City A's mysterious ancient tomb was nearing its end. Unfortunately, no ancient artifacts or grave goods were found. The only discovery was a plain, mysterious coffin. To everyone's astonishment, the experts and staff at the scene tried every method they could think of, but none could open the lid. The matter has drawn the attention of several departments, and local authorities have organized police to secure the coffin and secretly transport it to the capital..."

"Global Television brings you breaking news. At noon today, an unidentified terrorist organization suddenly appeared in a border area of City A and clashed violently with local police. A gunfight broke out between the two sides, and twelve innocent civilians have died in the crossfire. Amid the chaos, the organization also seized the mysterious coffin that had just been unearthed... The casualty count is still being tallied. Please stay tuned for further developments..."

"Click..."

Chen Lin's gaze was cold as he casually switched off the car radio.

"Beep, beep..."

Suddenly, a sound came from his waist. With a numb expression, Chen Lin reached into his coat and pulled out something resembling an earpiece, then fitted it into his ear.

"Codename 'Bayonet,' acknowledge your orders."

A sinister voice came through the earpiece, tinged with a rasp. Even through the earpiece, it seemed to carry a chill. "We've confirmed that City A's largest gang, the 'Thorn Flower,' has joined forces with foreign powers to seize the mysterious coffin. They've reached an agreement with an unknown foreign lineage to conduct a private exchange at midnight tonight. Your mission is to retrieve the coffin with 'Thorn Fox.'"

"The exchange will take place at City A's Yellow Dragon Port... Remember, leave no survivors!"

"Understood." Chen Lin replied calmly, his voice flat, then removed the earpiece.

He rubbed his brow, fatigue showing in his eyes, and pressed down on the accelerator. The car surged forward. He casually rolled down the window, letting the wind howl against his face. Chen Lin narrowed his eyes slightly, seeming to enjoy the sensation.

※※※※※

Late at night, at a private dock in City A, several high-powered searchlights illuminated the area.

Chen Lin stood silently beneath the lights, his arms hanging limply at his sides. He was clearly injured. Strangely, a coffin stood behind him. The fierce wind whipped at his hair as he faced off against a man across from him.

"Fifth, you betrayed me?"

Bright red blood ran steadily down his arm, but Chen Lin's face showed no hint of pain. He simply watched the man opposite him, his voice heavy with exhaustion.

"Third Brother, I'm sorry."

The man facing Chen Lin wore a light-colored suit. He was young, with refined, handsome features. Pushing up his glasses, he regarded Chen Lin calmly and said, "In the face of enormous profit and temptation, everything else is false. Even... so-called brotherhood is nothing but a joke."

Chen Lin fell silent. He looked at the young man before him, barely over twenty, who usually wore a reserved smile but harbored a frighteningly deep mind. A trace of profound disappointment flickered in his eyes.

They had both been members of Huaxia's "Hidden Thorn" organization. Chen Lin's codename was 'Bayonet,' while the man across from him was 'Thorn Fox.' They had undergone the most brutal death training together since childhood, lived together, gone on missions together, and faced life and death together. They had been brothers who could entrust their backs to one another...

Huaxia's "Hidden Thorn" was a mysterious and powerful organization, a thorn lodged in the throats of all the nations hostile to Huaxia, feared by them all.

"Third Brother, you and I both know this world isn't simple. It holds too many secrets that ordinary people can't even imagine. But this drop of 'Source Blood'..."

Thorn Fox gently rocked the glass vial in his hand, his eyes fixed on it. His calm gaze suddenly flashed with a restrained, feverish intensity. "...is the birth and resurrection of myth!"

A drop of crimson blood was suspended inside the glass vial.

"I never thought those foreigners would pay such a high price for this coffin. They actually offered 'Source Blood' in the exchange." After a pause, Thorn Fox glanced at Chen Lin and said indifferently, "But I should thank you, Third Brother. If your force hadn't dealt with those annoying flies, how could I have gotten my hands on this precious drop of 'Source Blood' so easily?"

Corpses lay strewn all around Thorn Fox. Some belonged to tall, blue-eyed, blond foreigners; others were gang members in suits, their arms tattooed with the "Thorn Flower" emblem.

"They were all skilled fighters, but they shouldn't have been able to leave me this badly injured... You hid nearby and released a large dose of 'Adrenaline Agent' into the air at the crucial moment, forcing them to burn through their potential and fight me. You really are... good at scheming."

As soon as Chen Lin finished speaking, blood suddenly poured from his mouth, eyes, nostrils, and ears all at once. The crimson blood instantly smeared his face, making him look ghastly.

"Adrenaline Agent" could unleash astonishing potential and strength, but it consumed every bit of a person's life force. Chen Lin had inhaled a large dose during the fight as well. He could feel that he was about to die.

"Third Brother, I have to admit, you're a martial arts prodigy. You're so powerful that you've managed to hold on until now." Thorn Fox adjusted his glasses again, a cold glint passing through the depths of his eyes. "Though my martial arts are far inferior to yours, killing you now will be effortless. Don't worry, Third Brother. I'll explain to the organization that you died in the line of duty for your country."

A sharp dagger appeared in the young man's palm, its blade gleaming with a chilling light. He slowly walked toward Chen Lin.

"Heh... hehehe... Cough! Cough, cough..."

Chen Lin's head hung partway down as blood bubbled from his mouth in great gouts. Suddenly, he let out a hoarse, mocking laugh. There was derision in it, sorrow, and a hint of... release.

Hearing that mocking laugh, Thorn Fox felt a sudden, ominous premonition. He stopped and frowned. "What are you laughing at?"

"Heh... cough, cough... Fifth, after all these years, did you really think I couldn't see through you? I just never thought you'd one day turn your treachery and cunning against your own brothers. Good thing I kept a hand up my sleeve."

Chen Lin half narrowed his eyes and laughed. Blood obscured his face, lending him an eerie look. Slowly, he drew something from his sleeve. It was a glass vial exactly like the one in the young man's hand!

There was a drop of blood inside this vial, too.

Only this drop was a strange, deep red. It floated inside the vial, glowing with an eerie crimson light.

"Source Blood!!"

For the first time, Thorn Fox lost his composure.

"Then the one in my hand..."

He clutched the vial in his hand so tightly he nearly crushed it. Then, as if suddenly realizing what had happened, he understood that Chen Lin had switched out the real one during the fight. Thorn Fox's expression turned cold and terrifying.

"Yours is fake, naturally." Chen Lin's lips curled in a mocking smile. At the same time, a small red button had appeared beside his right hand.

"Fifth, I set everything up around us long ago. I gave you a chance, but you let me down. Your mind is too deep. Today it's me who dies by your hand; tomorrow, it might be Fourth or Sixth... I can't leave a dangerous seed growing beside them, so..."

"We die together."

Chen Lin smiled. His voice was calm, and there wasn't a trace of attachment in his eyes—only deep fatigue and relief. He had long since made peace with death.

At the same time, he gently pressed the red button in his hand.

"Stop!!"

The young man completely lost his composure. His refined, handsome face twisted with rage, his eyes blazing with hysterical madness and unwillingness. He blurred into a streak and charged toward Chen Lin!

Unfortunately, it was too late.

"Boom!!!"

A deafening explosion rang through the night sky. Red light engulfed the entire dock, and the ground shuddered violently!

"I'm so tired. I've carried so much, watched my old brothers, sisters, instructors... die one by one on missions. That feeling—it's exhausting."

"And... Heart Piercer. You died on your last mission... I still had so much to say to you... I liked you. I'd liked you for nine years... Too bad you can't hear me now. I can't accept it..."

An image of a woman appeared in Chen Lin's mind. Her eyes were beautiful, her white robes as pure as snow, but her face was perpetually cold. Only in the dead of night did she reveal her vulnerability and helplessness.

Chen Lin would never forget that night nine years ago. From afar, he had watched Heart Piercer, still a child at the time, standing alone atop the training mountain of "Hidden Thorn." She had cast off every defense and disguise and wept bitterly. He knew those were tears of longing for her family.

He had seen those tears, and from that day on, they had followed him like a shadow through life, aching in his heart for nine years.

"Hidden Thorn... In my next life, let me be an ordinary person. I'm truly tired of everything. I really am... so tired."

Amid the blinding red light, Chen Lin looked at Thorn Fox, his face twisted as he charged toward him in a frenzy. A faint smile curved his lips, as if he had cast off every burden. He slowly closed his eyes.

But as he closed them, he failed to notice the mysterious coffin behind him suddenly rise into the air. Strange, mysterious runes blazed across its surface, instantly whipping up a violent vortex!

The coffin showed no regard for the explosion. It swept Chen Lin and the Source Blood in his hand into the vortex. Then, as if it had exhausted all its power, it rapidly shrank before vanishing into the vortex.