Assassination Commission

Battle?

Ron was stunned for a moment.

He frowned. "Why had there suddenly been such radical reforms...

If I remembered correctly, hadn't ability rating assessments always been scored based on an Ability Model's output data, rarity, and research value?"

"I don't know..."

Deng Yin shook his head, a rare trace of worry appearing on his face.

"But for those people to temporarily abandon the 'profits' brought by abilities and pursue combat power instead...

Perhaps there was only one reason: the Outer City."

The Outer City?

Ron froze, unable to understand what Deng Yin meant.

"What do you mean, pursuing combat power for the Outer City?"

Only after saying it did he notice the concern on Deng Yin's face and belatedly frown.

"Don't tell me... you mean war?"

"You could see it that way..." Deng Yin nodded heavily.

War... How could it be war?

Ron found it impossible to believe. There was no force in this world capable of rivaling Moen City!

Although Moen Ideal City had all kinds of problems—class oppression, capitalist exploitation, intense social conflicts...

Those social issues made Moen Ideal City seem like a complete mess, yet no one denied that it was humanity's only home.

The history books would always record one sentence—

After the Great Cataclysm that scorched the planet, humanity regained its desire to rebuild its home and united as one to establish this ideal city spanning half the planet.

Of course, that was merely a gentle way to educate children. It could be put more plainly—

After the Great Cataclysm, the three corporate giants, the three strongest powers, chose to end their corporate wars and cooperate for mutual benefit, creating the current situation.

They held immense control over everything on this planet. There could not possibly be any force capable of resisting Ideal City...

Even if war truly broke out, it would only happen within Ideal City's Inner City, among the three corporate giants themselves. It would never take place in the remote Outer City—

To put it bluntly, how could a bunch of antiques still living in the last century possibly threaten Ideal City?

And how could they make those lofty corporate giants jointly invest in reforming the College Entrance Exam to select combat talent?

"The war isn't quite what you're imagining. Naturally, the enemy won't be the people of the Outer City..."

As though he had seen through Ron's confusion, Deng Yin shook his head and instead posed a question to him.

"Have you ever considered... why Ideal City is divided into Inner and Outer City districts?"

...What was there to ask about that?

Wasn't it the classic case of the developed ideal leading the undeveloped ideal, with the Inner City being developed first and the Outer City simply not having its turn yet?

Ron scratched his head. "Because of the gap between rich and poor?"

"No." Deng Yin's tone was complicated. "It's actually something more serious... but it involves a strict confidentiality agreement, so I can't explain it clearly to you.

I can only tell you one thing—the city government has the absolute capability to conquer nature. If Moen Commerce and Sumeru Real Estate were willing to activate their industrial machines, they could completely transform the entire planet with steel and concrete within half a year.

They do not do so only because certain unsolvable problems stand in their way..."

The Outer City actually hid such a secret?

Ron could not help finding it rather unbelievable.

He had lived in the Outer City as a child. Aside from its somewhat old-fashioned way of life, the people's greater superstition, and its relatively backward technology, there had been nothing special about the Outer City in Ron's memories.

He wanted to ask more about the Outer City, but Deng Yin merely shook his head and interrupted him.

"By past convention, you would learn about this once you obtained a laboratory of your own...

But given the current situation, perhaps the classified files will be declassified before long—

You can put your curiosity aside for now."

He looked at Ron, his tone grave.

"What you need to focus on now is your College Entrance Exam.

After the reforms, you'll have to fight students from the same examination district, and your ability rank will ultimately be judged by victory points...

I don't doubt that your ability is stronger than that of most examinees, but I must remind you of something."

As he spoke, he activated a holographic projection and brought up all kinds of GG posters.

"Since this College Entrance Exam has become an ability competition open to investment from all corporations, and its attention far exceeds anything before, many of your opponents have received corporate support."

Ron looked at those GG posters and indeed found that their spokespersons were examinees his own age.

"Many examinees who accept investment will strengthen their abilities in corporate giant laboratories, and the intensity of their abilities will undergo a tremendous leap...

Losing to them isn't frightening. You have many chances to lose, after all. As long as you defeat some of them, you'll be able to enter Moen University—"

As he spoke, he selected one poster from among the densely packed holographic advertisements and enlarged it.

"But you absolutely cannot lose to this person!"

The projection showed a youth about Ron's age, proud and aristocratic, with contempt hanging at the corners of his eyes.

He looked awfully high and mighty...

Ron frowned and read the words on the poster.

"Tomorrow's rising star of Moen University, future heir to the throne of the Physics Department, Youan Hansen... Who is this?"

Deng Yin continued, "He's the youngest son of Moen University's vice chancellor, a Gravity Control ability user who is about to advance to Lv.3.

He is the nearest enemy standing between you and first place in the Physics Department—

If you lose to him in the College Entrance Exam, then in the departmental ranking test afterward, your evaluation weight in Prometheus will inevitably be far lower than his.

So losing to him means losing your chance at first place in the Physics Department!"

So it was only about losing first place...

Ron was not particularly concerned. Although he had promised Deng Yin that he would enter the Physics Department as its top-ranked student under Deng Yin's name, he had also said that he would do his best.

Even if he failed to take first place in the Physics Department, what impact would it have on his life?

Ron did not care much about it, but Deng Yin saw his lack of interest and immediately raised his voice.

"Don't take this lightly! Getting first place in the Physics Department would be far more than just doing me a favor—don't you want to solve your ability losing control?"

"Once you get first place in the Physics Department, you'll understand just how differently the school will treat you compared to everyone else...

Perhaps this could very well be your chance to remove your ability's restrictions and gain complete control over it..."

Complete control over his ability?

Ron immediately became serious, no longer as uninterested as before.

So becoming first in the Physics Department could offer him such an opportunity?

Then he absolutely could not hand it over to someone else...

He carefully studied the poster in the holographic projection for a few moments, committing Youan's appearance firmly to memory.

However, this was not the time to study this future opponent.

The old magician's accepted commission was scheduled for noon today, and Ron did not want the magicians to suspect anything because he missed the time.

He bade Deng Yin farewell, left the training hall, and found a corner where no one was paying attention.

[Configuration loaded: "Thousand Faces."]

In the next instant, Ron's body became hunched and gaunt. His gentle young face immediately turned shriveled and hard, like a desiccated corpse.

What a strange feeling...

Ron felt as though a cool, thin membrane had wrapped itself around him, as if he had draped himself in a gauzy garment.

It seemed Thousand Faces did not truly distort his body or alter his appearance.

It was merely something like a disguise garment draped over him, making him appear as the old magician in the eyes of others.

He put on the pure black cloak he had prepared long ago, donned the emerald ring, and activated map navigation.

"If I remembered right, the commission said to go to Noah Pharmaceuticals' Ω8631 Laboratory in District C..."

Ron muttered to himself. Following the navigation, he quickly found the marked location on the outskirts of District C, already close to District D of Ideal City.

A silver-white building stood there, bearing a white-and-green "∞" logo. It was clearly Noah Pharmaceuticals property.

Under normal circumstances, a Noah Pharmaceuticals laboratory should have been bustling with people, with countless researchers working toward the targets their superiors had assigned.

But now, this silver-white building was deathly quiet, and seals had long since been pasted over it.

Huge skulls were printed on the orange-yellow seals, warning every passerby that a danger that had to be buried lay within.

Yet the seal at the first-floor entrance had already been torn open, and the indoor lights on the first floor were lit. Clearly, people were already inside.

Presumably, they were the client and the magicians who had arrived early...

Ron pondered this, pulled down his hood to conceal his current withered face, and slowly pushed open the laboratory doors.

His gaze swept across the room, taking in the four people inside—

A man in a suit, with the Noah Pharmaceuticals logo on his clothes... Was the person beside him his secretary? Was this the client?

A sharply dressed, intellectual-looking woman who seemed like a teacher;

And a young man with a roguish air, tattooed and looking like some street thug...

Ron was still considering them after only a brief observation when the thug-like young man looked over at him and grinned.

"Another one... Oh, isn't this Master Karen? Why weren't you looking for that imaginary Forbidden Codex of yours? What were you doing taking private jobs from a corporate giant?"

His gaze toward Ron was undisguisedly contemptuous and mocking.

"What was an old relic like you, still living in the past and thinking you were somehow superior because you inherited some trash sect, doing in Ideal City's Inner City?"

What did he mean by an "imaginary Forbidden Codex"?

As a fellow magician of the old magician, did this man actually believe the Forbidden Codex did not exist?

And an old relic living in the past, believing himself superior because he was an inheritor of a sect...

Ron pondered this, recalling how the old magician had introduced himself earlier, claiming to be from the Ember Sect.

It seemed he needed to find a way to draw some information out of this man.

"Cough, cough. How ignorant... Just because you don't know something exists, does that mean it doesn't?"

Ron coughed twice, imitating the old magician's lofty, irritating tone as he snorted coldly.

"And take back your slander against the Ashen Church... A person like you could never understand the Church's glory!"

"What did you say?"

The young man immediately looked at Ron in displeasure, his eyes full of contempt.

"Who didn't know you hugged some battered book every day, yelling about the Forbidden Codex? When you lost the book, you claimed some god had stolen your treasure...

If you really had some Forbidden Codex, you would have truly advanced to Master long ago. Would you still need to pull strings for an honorary Master title?"

As he spoke, a malicious smile curled across his lips, deliberately provoking him.

"And, old man, in case you didn't know, let me tell you this.

Whatever Ashen Church or Coal Ash Church you were talking about, it was buried beneath the wheels of history long ago...

You were calling yourself a magic master holding the Forbidden Codex under the name of that trash church. You were just living in a dream!"

So... the Magician Association knew nothing about the spellbook!

Even the Ashen Church had only the old magician left as its sole surviving member!

A surge of delight rose within Ron. He truly had not expected the old magician to be so ostracized among magicians, completely disregarded by everyone else.

If the Forbidden Codex had not been discovered by the Magician Association, then there was no organization behind the old magician...

As long as Ron got through this commission, he could naturally disappear without a trace and never again get dragged into magician troubles!

At that thought, Ron suppressed the smile threatening to curve his lips.

He had originally wanted to exchange a few more words with the roguish young man to see if he could obtain more information, but the client beside them was clearly too impatient to listen to such trivial nonsense.

"Enough."

The client clapped his hands, interrupting their quarrel.

"Settle your private grievances privately. Don't waste time...

Since you accepted this commission, you should know what happened here, right?"

At that point, the sharp-looking woman who had remained silent finally pushed up her glasses and spoke.

"According to the commission, the administrator made an experimental error here and awakened all the corpses in the laboratory..."

"That's right. He conducted an incorrect ritual and awakened all the experimental materials."

The client nodded, rose to his feet, and opened a concealed access lock on the wall nearby.

He entered a password. In the next instant, the floor not far from them sank and opened, revealing a secret passage.

Deep within the passage stood an extraordinarily heavy iron door, and faint, miserable wails could be heard from behind it.

"Those corpses have all been reanimated and are wandering through the underground laboratory...

You are all Masters of the Necromancer School. You should be confident in handling this sort of trouble, right?"

Upon hearing that, the young man immediately patted his chest and declared confidently.

"Of course! They're just walking corpses transformed by a flawed ritual. We can deal with them easily!"

As he spoke, his tone turned fawning as he sought to ingratiate himself with the client before him.

"However... sir, after completing this commission, could I perhaps have an opportunity to join Noah Pharmaceuticals?"

"That won't do..."

The client shook his head. "I know all of you want to complete this commission as a stepping stone to join Noah Pharmaceuticals, but this alone is nowhere near enough."

"However," he continued, changing the subject as he produced several files, "if you can complete these commissions as well and prove your loyalty..."

"The doors of Noah Pharmaceuticals will naturally open for you!"

Commissions that could prove loyalty?

Ron looked toward those files with interest and discovered that they were all assassination commissions.

Most of the targets were renowned scholars, low-ranking corporate executives, and even some students who could be seen in those College Entrance Exam GGs...

As he kept reading, his gaze suddenly froze. He stared fixedly at the final file, a storm raging in his heart.

The final file did not contain some famous scholar, nor was it a corporate executive...

Written in the file,

was unmistakably

Ron's name!