Ding!
A soft chime rang out.
The elevator restarted and continued upward.
When the elevator had stopped earlier, all the other professionals had gotten out and entered that floor.
Now.
Only Chen Haoyu and Shen Ye remained in the elevator.
Chen Haoyu faced the transparent glass wall, admiring the view from high above and exclaiming in wonder.
Watching his back, Shen Ye suddenly felt a chill rise in his heart.
"I found a corpse mutilated beyond recognition."
-Who was it?
If it was someone I knew-
Ding!
"You have arrived at the staff dormitory floor. Please watch your step."
The elevator stopped, and a gentle announcement sounded.
The doors opened.
"Come on, Brother Ye. I've been wanting to see where you guys live."
Chen Haoyu spoke excitedly.
"Let's go," Shen Ye said softly.
The two stepped into the corridor.
As he walked, Shen Ye continued recalling what had happened.
Starting yesterday morning, his father had first taken him to school, then he had studied in class, taken the mock exam, and fought several boys, drawing the teachers over. Qian Rushan had spoken to him personally, and he had gone to the Police Station, met up with his parents, and finally arrived at the Human Martial Arts Group building.
Throughout all these events, Chen Haoyu had never had a chance to be alone with him.
There had been people all around.
Wait!
When we met in class that morning, what did he say?
"Brother Ye, I'll treat you to some stir-fried dishes at lunch."
Then...
During the mock exam, he had left the main group and gone to the top floor.
After I entered the "Gate," I dispersed it!
So Chen Haoyu searched the entire school building without finding me!
But the moment he returned, he had received a message from him:
"What's taking you so long? Did you fall into the toilet?"
Then...
After the mock exam, Chen Haoyu had gone to wash off the paint on him and had arranged to have lunch with him again.
He still hadn't gone to meet him.
While Chen Haoyu was washing up, he had returned to the classroom to work through questions, then fought Sun Ming and the others, drawing the teachers and police over.
Qian Rushan had come too.
-Through a series of coincidences, I never had lunch with Chen Haoyu!
But!
But he kept looking for chances to be alone with me!
Why?
Shen Ye put on a smile and pointed at a door at the end of the corridor.
"That's my dorm."
Chen Haoyu looked where he was pointing and was just about to speak when his arm suddenly turned into a vicious black streak.
The air shrieked as though being torn apart, but the black streak struck nothing!
"Huh? Over here!"
Chen Haoyu grinned savagely, his body bending into a bizarre curve as he spun and delivered a second slash.
"Got you-"
Chen Haoyu roared.
The long, narrow, curved blade in his hand pierced a figure.
Crack.
The blade passed through Shen Ye's body and stabbed into the wall with a faint sound.
Yet Chen Haoyu's expression changed.
Shen Ye's figure gradually faded, becoming transparent before disappearing entirely.
Another miss!
An illusion? How was that possible!
How could that kid possibly have such an advanced movement technique!
A tremendous force struck-
A foot caught Chen Haoyu in the face, twisting it out of shape with the cracking of bones.
Thud!
The impact boomed.
He was kicked away in a blur, flying back dozens of meters and landing at the other end of the corridor before hurriedly rolling to his feet.
"Who are you-you're not Shen Ye!" Chen Haoyu cried in shock and fury.
Shen Ye looked at him and said calmly:
"You're not Chen Haoyu either."
"I'm not," the other man admitted.
"Where's Chen Haoyu?" Shen Ye asked.
"He's dead, and you'll be dead soon too," the other man said with a smile.
Shen Ye fell silent.
Lines of small, glowing text appeared on his retinas:
"You allocated attribute points in succession and activated three skills: 'Deer Walk Beneath the Moon,' 'Shadow Clone Technique,' and 'Frostwind.'" "On this basis, you temporarily performed the 'Beneath the Moon' series move 'Frost Moon Shakes Heaven' (incomplete), with the following effects:" "Guaranteed to knock the enemy back," "The shadow you conjure takes on your appearance, making it more deceptive," "Your movement speed increases by 30% for ten seconds." "By successfully performing 'Frost Moon Shakes Heaven' (incomplete), your body received extraordinary training." "Your strength increased by 0.1, agility by 0.2, and mental power by 0.1." "Your current basic attributes are:" "Strength: 1.3;" "Agility: 3.1;" "Mental power: 1;"
Shen Ye was deeply shaken.
-There really were secrets within these skills!
He held up his gun and kept pulling the trigger.
Bang, bang, bang-
The bullets missed.
Chen Haoyu shifted slightly, casually dodging the bullets.
"That kick wasn't bad, but your marksmanship is terrible," he scoffed.
"I wasn't trying to hit you," Shen Ye said flatly.
A piercing alarm suddenly sounded in the corridor.
The elevator doors were kicked open.
That gentle young woman-Wenna-landed lightly beside Shen Ye, holding two revolvers.
"Human Skin Technique?" she said with a frown as she looked at Chen Haoyu.
Before her words had faded.
One professional after another appeared in the corridor, staring warily at Chen Haoyu.
A faint rumbling reached them.
Through the windows, several large war Flying Shuttles could be seen circling outside the building.
An inescapable net.
Shen Ye looked at Chen Haoyu and said, "I'll ask you again. Where exactly is Chen Haoyu, and why do you want to kill me?"
"Chen Haoyu" sneered. "You won't learn anything."
"But you can't escape. We have countless ways to dig the truth out of you," Wenna said angrily.
Damn it, his Human Skin Technique actually fooled the Defense AI, and me too.
No one had ever mastered the Human Skin Technique to such a degree.
It was unheard of!
"Your methods won't work on me," the assassin said.
Wenna strode toward him, holding a dagger in each hand, and said quietly:
"I'll pry your mouth open and make you tell us everything."
"No, there's nothing you can do."
The assassin gave her a mocking glance, took the long blade in his hand, set it against his neck, and twisted hard.
His head fell.
Wenna stopped.
The professionals were all struck speechless.
-This was a true assassin.
Once his mission failed, he had no intention of returning alive!
In that case, how could they learn the truth?
Dead men couldn't talk!
Elsewhere.
At school.
The top floor of the girls' dormitory.
Zhao Yibing spoke softly into her phone. "I did everything you instructed, but unfortunately, he didn't take the bait."
The phone screen was pitch-black.
There was no response.
Growing anxious, Zhao Yibing spoke rapidly. "He's been signed by the Human Martial Arts Group. I'm just a junior high school student. Nothing I do will work."
A location suddenly appeared on the screen.
A line of small text followed:
"Eight tonight. Maple Grove Hotel in the western suburbs."
Zhao Yibing hesitated.
Should I go?
Suddenly.
Her phone rang.
She hurriedly answered, listened for a while, and a look of joy appeared on her face.
"Really? My guaranteed admission was approved? That's wonderful!"
The call was brief. Little was said before it quickly ended.
The phone screen went dark again.
Another line of small text appeared:
"Don't be late tonight."
This time, Zhao Yibing did not hesitate at all and said with a sweet smile:
"Yes, I'll be there on time."
The darkness on the screen gradually receded.
Everything returned to normal.
Zhao Yibing turned to leave when her vision suddenly blurred.
At some point, a girl had appeared beside her. She snatched her phone, swiftly switched it off, and removed the SIM card.
Zhao Yibing paled and cried out:
"Who are you!"
The girl was tall and slender, dressed in a blue-black Mamian Skirt, with a longsword at her waist. Like a goddess who had arrived on moonlight, her expression was cold and distant.
"Who were you talking to just now?"
The girl asked directly.
"That's my business. I've never seen you before-come any closer and I'll call the police!" Zhao Yibing snapped under her breath.
Her cheek suddenly felt cold.
A dagger rested against her face, radiating a faint chill.
The girl did not use her longsword at all. Instead, she took a fruit knife from the small bag she kept close to her body and casually patted Zhao Yibing's face with it.
"Zhao Yibing, I know what you take the most pride in isn't your grades, but your looks."
"-You wouldn't want me to slash your face to shreds and leave you an ugly freak for the rest of your life, would you?"
The dagger shifted slightly.
"Or... I could slice off your nose first?"
Xiao Mengyu spoke in a utterly unconcerned tone.
She was not even looking at Zhao Yibing. Instead, she held the knife in one hand while scrolling through her phone with the other, checking her text messages.