Threat

Had he been exposed?

Even after being reborn, he had never experienced the terror of being brought to justice.

Panic rose in Qin Siyang's heart.

He was more rattled than when he had eaten God Remains by the dumpster or killed someone in that dark alley.

Even on the night of his rebirth, when he had seen countless black moths with glowing eyes clinging to the glass, he had not been this terrified.

He sat blankly in front of the computer, unsure what to do.

Then the information on the screen changed again.

[Friendly reminder from the attendant]

[Keep browsing. When you're finished, don't leave. Wait for me in the alley behind the internet cafe.]

Qin Siyang looked at the message, but he no longer felt like browsing [Godslayer Camp].

The attendant had been watching him all along.

Qin Siyang could not help wondering.

Did the attendant really have that much time on his hands?

Didn't he have anything of his own to do?

Why did he spend every day watching what each customer did online?

But he had already paid. Sitting there doing nothing would only waste his time.

He calmed himself and opened [Godslayer Camp] again.

This would very likely be his last visit to this internet cafe.

No, this would very likely be his last visit to any internet cafe.

Not just this one. He would never enter another internet cafe either.

He had to find a Sequence he could use as a disguise during this visit to [Godslayer Camp].

Qin Siyang continued browsing the Sequence summary thread, looking for a suitable cover.

At last, his gaze settled on one Sequence.

[Phantom Assassin]

[Sequence Level 1: Assassination Apprentice]

[Skill: A Hair's Breadth from Death. Doubles agility for five minutes, but leaves the user weak all over afterward and barely able to move for half an hour.]

[Sequence Level 2: Swift Assassin]

[Skill: Life and Death on a Thread. Doubles agility and strength for five minutes, but leaves the user weak all over afterward and barely able to move for twenty minutes.]

As Qin Siyang examined the [Phantom Assassin] Sequence, he realized that his [Violence] skill completely encompassed the skills of both Sequence Level 1 and Sequence Level 2, allowing him to pass himself off as one for a while.

He read the skill descriptions over and over, committing them firmly to memory.

To learn more about this Sequence, he searched for it on the forum. Thousands of threads immediately appeared.

It seemed this was a fairly common Sequence too.

[What equipment does the Phantom Assassin Sequence need most?]

[Who makes the best teammate for a Phantom Assassin?]

[My Phantom Assassin teammate is useless and only activates his skill to run away during fights. What should I do?]

[Phantom Assassin seeking a God-Hunting Team. Teams with Warriors preferred.]

Qin Siyang opened a thread titled [Introduction to Phantom Assassins (Featured)].

It described how Phantom Assassins should train, how to make effective use of resources provided by the Administration Bureau, and how to purchase the equipment best suited to them.

Qin Siyang learned a great deal from the thread, including that the Sequence Level 3 advancement of [Swift Assassin] was [Afterimage Assassin].

[Skill: A Hair's Breadth from Death (Enhancement 2). Triples agility and doubles strength for ten minutes, but leaves the user weak all over afterward and barely able to move for ten minutes.]

The thread also taught Qin Siyang that, unlike this one, most Sequences gained new skills with every level.

All known [Phantom Assassins] had only one skill, continually enhancing [A Hair's Breadth from Death] as they advanced.

Qin Siyang could not say whether this single-track advancement was good or bad. It had its advantages and disadvantages.

If they failed to finish off their enemy after activating their skill, they would have a hard time surviving.

Without a doubt, [Phantom Assassins] were highly dependent on their teammates.

This skill did make a suitable cover for Qin Siyang.

His [Violence] skill fully encompassed the skills of the first three levels of the [Swift Assassin] Sequence.

So to convincingly pose as a member of the [Swift Assassin] Sequence, he would have to pretend to be weaker.

Carefully comparing the [God Eater] and [Swift Assassin] Sequences also made Qin Siyang realize how powerful his own Sequence was.

Although [Violence] was a skill awakened at Level 2, it was stronger than even the continually enhanced single skill of [Swift Assassin].

And from what he saw on the forum, [Swift Assassin] seemed to be a popular, highly sought-after Sequence. Many God-Hunting Teams hoped to recruit them.

That was not Qin Siyang's only advantage.

According to his careful research on the forum, his base attributes alone were already comparable to those of a [Phantom Assassin] using [A Hair's Breadth from Death], or even stronger.

Even without activating any skills, he could be unbeatable among low-level Sequence Ability Users!

So how was he supposed to maintain his false identity as a [Phantom Assassin]?

The most important trick was to hold back as much as possible.

After finding his "stand-in" Sequence, Qin Siyang received a notification that his computer time was up.

He exchanged a glance with the attendant behind the counter, then logged off and left the internet cafe under the man's watchful gaze.

After taking a detour to avoid the camera at the entrance, Qin Siyang followed the attendant's instructions and went to the alley behind the internet cafe.

The alley lay outside the area managed by the internet cafe's owner, so there were no cameras there.

It was more like an unattended patch of land.

Filthy and cluttered, it was piled with junk and disposable food containers. The smell of swill hung in the air, somewhat reminiscent of the cafeteria.

Qin Siyang could barely find a place to put his feet in the narrow alley.

Eventually, he wiped a stone slab clean, laid it over the grease-covered steps, and sat down.

He felt that before long, the smell of swill would soak right into him.

After a while, the greasy-faced, middle-aged attendant appeared in the cramped alley, wearing a white shirt with a jacket draped over his shoulder, his flab jiggling as he walked.

He paid no attention to the garbage littering the ground, kicking it aside as he went and getting grease on his shoes.

Qin Siyang stared at his collar and cuffs, yellowed with sweat, and felt nothing but disgust.

The attendant, meanwhile, looked at Qin Siyang with naked greed.

"Kid, the cops were looking for you because you killed someone, weren't they?"

His opening words struck right at Qin Siyang's deepest concern.

Qin Siyang did not answer.

He doubted news of yesterday's murder near Safe Exit No. 89757 could have reached somewhere this remote overnight. Clearly, the attendant must have guessed.

There was no need for him to admit it.

The attendant chuckled. "I know even if you won't say it. Last time you came, you were looking at a forum for Sequence Ability Users. This time too."

The attendant had brought up something Qin Siyang had been wondering about, so he followed up. "Do you remember everyone?"

"Of course not. I'm not a Sequence Ability User with a memory skill."

"Just me, then?" Qin Siyang had no idea why he had been unlucky enough to catch this fat, greasy attendant's attention.

"Because one look at your shabby clothes told me you were some pauper from the edge of the Safe Zone. Of course I got curious when you actually spent money to come here. I took a few extra looks, and you happened to wear the same coat both times, so I remembered you."

"While browsing the forum, you spent a long time looking at the [Undying] and [Scent Seeker] Sequences. Most users of those two Sequences are investigators with the Police Bureau."

"Then the cops suddenly showed up. You quickly deleted your browsing history and opened a text document on the desktop, pretending to read an ebook. I immediately guessed you'd killed someone and were checking whether the Police Bureau's Sequence Ability Users could discover you."

The fat on the attendant's face quivered with excitement, as though he were celebrating the great discovery his keen observation had yielded.

Qin Siyang still neither confirmed nor denied anything.

He would not respond to any speculation about himself, even if every one of the attendant's guesses was correct.

Never let your enemy see what you're thinking.

Qin Siyang had forgotten which movie from his previous life that line came from, but it perfectly described his current strategy.

He would not give this attendant another scrap of information about himself.

Qin Siyang watched him silently, waiting for what he would say next.

The attendant seemed a little surprised by Qin Siyang's lack of reaction.

But he did not panic. He still held the initiative firmly in his hands.

"I called you out here for one simple reason. I won't tell anyone about you, but you have to give me one silver coin to keep my mouth shut."

Qin Siyang gave a quiet laugh and cut the attendant with a sharp look. "One silver coin? Are you insane?"

The look frightened the attendant. The murderous menace behind that smile was not something anyone could fake.

This eighteen- or nineteen-year-old kid had definitely killed before!

He swallowed, then stiffened his neck. "I'm not insane. One silver coin to save your life is a bargain. You're a murderer anyway. There's nothing you wouldn't dare do."

As though he had found something to bolster his courage, the attendant grew more animated. "I don't care how you get it. Steal, rob, kill someone. As long as you give me one silver coin, that's enough."

Qin Siyang merely watched him prattle on with indifference, as though witnessing the antics of someone who had nothing to do with him.

The attendant felt as though a tiger had fixed its gaze on him, making his skin crawl.

Yet he laughed again. "You can't scare me. We're both ordinary people who'll spend our whole lives in this dump. It's not like one of us has an extra arm or leg!"

Hmm?

Apparently, the attendant had not realized Qin Siyang was a Sequence Ability User.

That was one small piece of good news amid this disaster.

Qin Siyang did not let the attendant's questions lead him around by the nose. He keenly noticed that the man's breathing was growing heavier, a sign that he was nervous.

So Qin Siyang kept up the pressure and asked the question on his mind. "If you know I've killed someone, why aren't you afraid I'll kill you?"

The attendant wiped the cold sweat from his face. "I've already written an email reporting you and attached a close-up of you from the security footage. It'll be sent to the Police Bureau's inbox at three tomorrow morning. Every day, I reset the time and push it back another day. If I die, you'll be exposed too."

As if to convince Qin Siyang, he added, "If you don't believe me, try it! Kill me right now!"

The scheduled email was like a time bomb, forcing Qin Siyang to treat it with caution.

The attendant's method bound his hands and feet, preventing him from rashly making a move against the man.

"You have to give me a thousand copper coins before next week! Otherwise, I'll tell the Police Bureau about you!"

The attendant grinned smugly, revealing two rows of yellow teeth with a few missing.

Qin Siyang gave no reply. He turned and left the alley.

Watching Qin Siyang walk away, the attendant snorted and smiled with disdain.

So what if you've killed someone? You'll still obediently hand over your money!

Kid, this secret will keep you in my pocket for life! Work hard. I'm counting on you to pay for my house and car!

Then the attendant suddenly remembered that he still did not seem to know Qin Siyang's name.

"Oh, right! My name's Liu Dazhi! What's yours?"

Qin Siyang continued walking back in silence, still offering no reply.

A dead man did not need to know his name.