Assassination

The crystal chandelier cast a gentle glow over the lavish room. Wang Quan reclined comfortably in a king's chair, with someone massaging his feet and someone else kneading his shoulders. Living it up on the company's dime-that was the life.

His blindfold slipped open a crack, and a snowy-white cleavage instantly filled his vision, followed by a bashful face.

"Honored guest, do you like what you see?" Red lips parted, and a soft, seductive tremor drifted into his ears. The young woman massaging his feet suddenly leaned closer, bringing a faint scent of roses.

Holy shit!

Wait, I only asked for legitimate massage therapists!

Wang Quan's eyes widened, and he hurriedly pulled his blindfold down. After all, in the world of the Six Eyes, even the most perfect person had flaws.

Suddenly, a weight settled onto his legs. The beauty nestled into his arms, soft as a cloud of marshmallow.

Ref, she's charging with her balls! And those are some big balls!

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Don't touch me there!" His mouth protested, but his body was far more honest. He could only blame himself for being too handsome. There was no stopping it.

Unbeknownst to him, the other massage therapist had already drawn a poisoned dagger and was quietly bringing it toward his throat.

The two beauties exchanged a glance. They had never expected the assassination to be this easy. They were even starting to doubt the rumors.

Rumor had it that the special squad's [Daybreak] had single-handedly chased down ten Sea Realm experts from the Ancient God Church, hacking away at them. Several had even been divine agents.

Had they succeeded?

No!

Something bizarre happened. The dagger stopped a millimeter from Wang Quan's neck, but that single millimeter might as well have been a light-year.

"Wait, are you ladies really that kinky?"

"Too bad. I'm into uniforms, not BDSM!"

Wang Quan pinched the poisoned blade. A closer look would have revealed that a millimeter also separated the blade from his fingers.

Before "Stopping Power," any attack carrying killing intent could never reach him. It would only become trapped in that infinitely close stretch of space.

The two assassins stared at each other, bewildered.

At that moment, the air seemed to freeze.

After utter stillness came the storm.

Both women activated their Forbidden Ruins abilities at once.

Sequence [221], Blazing Fire.

Sequence [222], Ice Rain.

In an instant, the enormous room turned half red and half blue, with Wang Quan as the dividing line.

Blue blades of ice rained down like a torrential storm, their cold edges gleaming.

A crimson fireball blazed like a miniature sun, sending waves of heat surging outward.

The full-force attacks of two Sea Realm experts poured toward him without restraint.

A thunderclap split the clear sky. The deafening blast pierced the long night as flames soared upward and the skyscraper's top floor was obliterated. From a distance, a red-and-blue mushroom cloud rose slowly into the air.

Strangely, only the top floor was affected. Even the floor beneath Wang Quan remained entirely undamaged. Since there were no guests on this level, the violent explosion caused no casualties.

After absolute silence, a casual sneer rang out:

"That's it?"

Dressed in a white bathrobe, Wang Quan gripped a voluptuous woman by the throat in each hand, standing on the edge of the hundredth floor as the wind howled past his face.

Under the scrutiny of those azure eyes, both women felt as though their souls were about to be shredded.

"Who sent you?"

"The Ancient God Church, right?"

"Yue Huai?"

"Or Whispers?"

"All I did was kill a few of your Sea Realm people!"

"You were the ones who tried to kill me first!"

Holding the two Sea Realm experts as easily as a pair of chicks, Wang Quan talked to himself.

"One day, our god will kill you personally!"

"You're too arrogant! You're just a Sea Realm brat. Do you really think you're invincible?"

The assassins' faces twisted as they let out agonized roars. They utterly despised his contemptuous gaze and haughty expression.

At that, Wang Quan first smiled, then leaned toward them and said disdainfully, "You want to kill me?!"

"You're not worthy!"

He was arrogant-arrogant as a lion, a lion king roaming the grasslands.

After a pause, he continued, "Want to see what I'm made of?"

"Send [Whispers]! Send your god!"

With those words, Wang Quan threw them over the edge.

A fall from a hundred-story building would not kill Sea Realm experts, but the Cursed Technique "Purple" would blast them into dust.

A dark-purple orb the size of a ping-pong ball plunged like a meteor, leaving a trail of alternating light and shadow along the glass. It looked as though a universe were imprisoned within it.

Before the two Sea Realm assassins could react, a brilliant flower bloomed beneath the dim night sky. Not even their bones remained.

Wang Quan looked down at the endless stream of cars below the building, linked into a multicolored river. He could clearly make out every flaw on every car: scraped paint, loose screws...

Even a Sea Realm mind could not withstand that vast flood of information for long.

Pulling down his black blindfold, Wang Quan dialed a number.

"Hello!"

The instant the call connected, a middle-aged man's voice rang out. It sounded somewhat weathered, but above all steady. He launched into a tirade:

"You bastard! How dare you wine and dine on public funds? I'm putting you in confinement! And you even fucking hired massage therapists! I'm docking three years of your salary!"

"Go ahead. You just docked a year's pay three days ago. It's all on the company's dime anyway. I'm not short of cash!" Wang Quan replied indifferently.

The other man fell silent.

Then the sound of another phone connecting came through the call.

"Commander, the hotel where [Daybreak] is staying blew up!"

"Huh?"

"When did that happen?!"

"Uh... just now!"

"Goddammit, I'm going to chew him out!"

Wang Quan listened quietly, thinking that he could hardly be blamed. If he had not held back, the entire building probably would have been gone.

"Wang Quan, explain!"

"There were assassins!"

"From the Ancient God Church."

"That's a perfectly valid reason!" The man's anger vanished at once. "But I'm still giving you a demerit for hiring massage therapists with public funds!"

"You're a special squad member, a hero of Great Xia. How could you..."

"Heroes are people too!" Wang Quan retorted. "Besides, I'm not a hero. Calling me one would be a bit of an insult to heroes."

He had at least that much self-awareness. He was simply someone who lived freely.

"Uh!"

For a moment, the man was at a loss for words.

"Right, book me a plane ticket!"

"Where to?"

Wang Quan stared into the distance. The night was so deep. In a calm voice, he named a place:

"Cangnan City!"

"Huh?!"

"What are you going there for?"

"Can't I take a vacation?"

"Suit yourself. This damned freedom of yours. Why the hell did I agree to it back then?"

Even Ye Fan, the commander-in-chief and supreme commander of the Night Watchers, both loved and hated this [Daybreak]. He admired Wang Quan's character and valued his abilities, but loathed his utterly lawless nature.

There was nothing he could do about it. Someone whose ability fell outside the Forbidden Ruins sequences, yet possessed strength rivaling divine agents, was hard not to love.

"Commander, one more thing!"

"The long night is lonely as snow. Could you get me another two massage therapists? Fair skin, pretty faces, long legs, gentle and attentive... legitimate ones!"

A deathly silence once again settled over the other end of the line. Soon, a single word struck like a blow from a supreme god, short and forceful:

"Scram!!!"

"Will do!" Wang Quan smiled faintly. Being a little obnoxious was fun.

After moving to another room, he lay on the bed. With a thought, a panel only he could see appeared before his eyes.

[Heavenly Restriction unlock tasks.

Task one: kill fifteen Sea Realm experts. Progress: 15/15.

Task two: reach the Sea Realm. 1/1.

Task three: save Night Watcher Zhao Kongcheng. 0/1.]

The thought of Toji Fushiguro's sheer intimidating presence set Wang Quan's heart ablaze. After all, using only one type of ability was honestly boring. Fists pounding flesh-that was a man's romance.

The next day, a flight bound for Cangnan took off.