Prologue

Prologue

"According to reports, at 15:26 this afternoon, workers at a remote construction site in A City, China, accidentally unearthed an ancient tomb while operating an excavator. The scope of the tomb and the identity of its owner remain unknown. Upon receiving the report, local police quickly organized personnel to secure the site while awaiting further excavation..."

"Currently, staff and experts from multiple cultural departments have arrived at the scene to conduct preliminary surveys and excavations. Initial inspections reveal that the tomb covers an extremely vast area, a rarity in previous excavations, suggesting that the tomb owner's identity is far from simple..."

"The local television station reported on August 12th that the excavation of the mysterious A City tomb is nearing its end. Regrettably, no ancient artifacts or burial goods were found; only a primitive, mysterious coffin was unearthed. Surprisingly, experts and staff on-site have attempted various methods but failed to open the lid. This matter has drawn the attention of multiple departments, and local police have organized a security detail to protect the coffin and transport it secretly to the capital..."

"Global Television brings you an urgent report: at noon today, an unidentified terrorist organization appeared in the border region of A City and engaged in a fierce conflict with local police. A shootout occurred, resulting in the tragic deaths of twelve innocent civilians. In the chaos, the newly unearthed mysterious coffin was seized by the organization... The casualty count is currently being tallied; please continue to follow the subsequent developments of this incident..."

"Click..."

Chen Lin's eyes were cold as he casually switched off the car radio.

"Beep-beep..."

Suddenly, a sound emanated from his waist. With a numb expression, Chen Lin reached into his jacket, pulled out an earpiece-like device, and inserted it into his ear.

"Codename 'Bayonet', receiving orders."

A sinister, raspy voice came through the earpiece, cold enough to send a chill through the listener: "It has been confirmed that the largest gang in A City, 'Thorn Flower', has colluded with foreign forces to seize the mysterious coffin. They have reached an agreement with an unknown foreign family to conduct a private transaction at midnight tonight. Your mission is to work with 'Thorn Fox' to retrieve the coffin."

"The transaction location is Yellow Dragon Port in A City... Remember, leave no survivors!"

"Received," Chen Lin replied in a calm, flat tone before removing the earpiece.

He rubbed his brow, his eyes filled with a trace of exhaustion, and slammed his foot on the accelerator. The car surged forward. He rolled down the window, letting the wind howl against his face, his eyes narrowing slightly as if he enjoyed the sensation.

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

Chen Lin stood silently under the lights, his arms hanging limp; he was clearly injured. Eerily, a coffin sat behind him. The biting wind whipped through his hair as he stood in a standoff against a man opposite him.

"Number Five, you betrayed me?"

Crimson blood dripped steadily from his arm, but there was no trace of pain on Chen Lin's face. He simply watched the man across from him, his tone heavy with fatigue.

"Third Brother, I'm sorry."

The man facing Chen Lin wore a light-colored suit. He was young, with a refined and delicate appearance. He pushed up his glasses, looked at Chen Lin calmly, and said slowly, "In the face of immense profit and temptation, everything is fake. Including... so-called brotherhood; it's all just a joke."

Chen Lin fell silent. He looked at this young man, barely in his twenties, who usually wore a subtle smile but possessed a terrifyingly deep cunning, and a flicker of profound disappointment crossed his eyes.

They were members of the Chinese "Hidden Thorn" organization. Chen Lin's codename was 'Bayonet', and the man opposite 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 were brothers who should have been able to trust each other with their backs!

The Chinese "Hidden Thorn" was mysterious and powerful, a thorn stuck in the throat of every hostile nation, feared by all.

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

Thorn Fox gently shook a glass vial in his hand, his eyes fixed on it with a calm gaze that suddenly flashed with a hidden, burning intensity: "...is the derivation and resurrection of myth!"

Inside the glass vial, a single drop of blood, deep red, was suspended.

"I really didn't expect that those foreigners would pay such a high price for this coffin, actually using 'Source Blood' as currency." He paused, glanced at Chen Lin, and said with an indifferent tone: "But Third Brother, I have to thank you. Without your martial prowess to take out those annoying flies, how could I have obtained this precious 'Source Blood' so easily?"

Around Thorn Fox, a field of corpses lay scattered—tall, blue-eyed, blonde foreigners, as well as gang members in suits with "Thorn Flower" tattoos on their arms.

"These people were experts, but not enough to cause me such heavy injuries... You were hiding nearby, and at the most critical moment, you released a high concentration of 'Adrenaline Agent' into the air, forcing them to burn their potential to fight me. You really are... good at calculating."

As soon as Chen Lin finished speaking, blood suddenly erupted from his mouth, eyes, nostrils, and ears simultaneously. The crimson fluid instantly blurred his face, making him look grotesque and terrifying.

"Adrenaline Agent" could force a person to unleash astonishing potential and strength, but it drained all of one's life force. Chen Lin had inhaled a massive dose during the fight; he felt he was on the verge of death.

"Third Brother, I have to say, you really are a martial arts genius. Your strength is so great that you actually managed to hold on until now." Thorn Fox pushed up his glasses again, a cold glint flashing in the depths of his eyes. "Although my martial arts are far inferior to yours, killing you now is effortless. Don't worry, Third Brother, I will make it clear to the organization that you sacrificed yourself for a national mission."

A sharp dagger appeared in the young man's palm, flickering with a cold, lethal light as he walked slowly toward Chen Lin.

"Heh... hehe... cough! Cough, cough..."

Chen Lin's head hung low as he spat out mouthfuls of blood foam. Suddenly, he let out a raspy, cold laugh—a laugh filled with mockery, sorrow, and a touch of... relief.

Hearing the mocking laughter, a bad premonition suddenly arose in Thorn Fox's heart. He stopped in his tracks and frowned, "What are you laughing at?"

"Heh... cough, cough... Number Five, it's been so many years; did you think I couldn't see through you? I just didn't expect your treachery and cunning to be used against a brother one day. Fortunately, I took precautions."

Chen Lin squinted, smiling. The blood masking his face made him look somewhat eerie. He slowly pulled an object from his sleeve—it was a glass vial identical to the one in the young man's hand!

And inside this container, there was also a drop of blood.

Only this drop of blood was bewitchingly, profoundly red, floating in the container and shimmering with an eerie crimson glow.

"Source Blood!!"

For the first time, the calm vanished from Thorn Fox's face.

"Then the one in my hand..."

He gripped the container so tightly he nearly crushed it. Suddenly, he realized what had happened: during the fight, Chen Lin had successfully swapped the real one. Thorn Fox's expression turned cold and terrifying.

"Yours, naturally, is fake." A mocking curve touched Chen Lin's lips. At the same time, a small red button appeared in his right hand.

"Number Five, long ago, I had already set everything up in the vicinity. I gave you a chance, but you disappointed me. Your heart is too dark. Today, I die by your hand; tomorrow, it might be Number Four or Number Six... I cannot leave the seeds of danger around them, so..."

"Let's die together."

Chen Lin smiled, his tone peaceful. There was no attachment in his eyes, only profound exhaustion and relief. He had long since accepted his death.

Simultaneously, he gently pressed the red button in his hand.

"Stop!!"

The young man had completely lost his composure. His once refined and gentle face was twisted in a savage grimace, his eyes flickering with hysterical madness and resentment. He transformed into a blur, rushing rapidly toward Chen Lin!

Unfortunately, it was too late.

"BOOM!!!"

A deafening explosion resounded through the night sky, the entire pier engulfed in red light as it trembled violently!

"I'm so tired. Carrying so much, watching my brothers, sisters, and instructors of the past... dying one by one in missions. That feeling, it's exhausting."

"And... Heart Piercer, you actually died in the last mission... I still had so much to tell you... I liked you, I've liked you for nine years... It's a pity you can't hear me anymore. I'm so unwilling to let it end like this..."

In Chen Lin's mind, the figure of a woman appeared. She had beautiful, flowing eyes and wore a white robe as pure as snow, yet her face always bore an eternal, icy coldness. Only in the dead of night would she reveal her vulnerability and helplessness.

Chen Lin would always remember that night nine years ago. He had watched from afar as a young Heart Piercer stood alone on the high training mountain of Hidden Thorn, shedding all her defenses and disguises to wail in grief. He knew those were tears of longing for her family.

He had kept those tears in his heart, and from that day on, they accompanied his life like a shadow, aching for nine years.

"Hidden Thorn... in the next life, let me be an ordinary person. I'm truly sick of everything. I'm just... so tired."

Amidst the blinding red light, Chen Lin looked at the twisted, frantic Thorn Fox rushing toward him. A smile curled at the corners of his lips, as if he had finally shed all his weariness, and he slowly closed his eyes.

However, he did not notice that the mysterious coffin behind him had suddenly floated into the air. On its surface, eerie and mysterious runes flared with brilliant light, instantly whipping up a violent vortex!

The coffin paid no heed to anything else, sweeping Chen Lin and the Source Blood in his hand into its depths. Then, as if it had exhausted all its strength, it rapidly shrank and vanished into the vortex.