A few minutes later, more than twenty people from the City Protection Bureau arrived.
Many of them frowned deeply when they saw the bodies of two of their own.
They went about clearing the scene in an orderly manner, as though it were an everyday affair.
Leaning against the wall and watching the scene unfold before him, Duan Ming vaguely came to understand something.
Whether it was the Demon Suppression Army, the Divine Mark Association, or the people from the City Protection Bureau standing before him,
none of them stood above or below the others.
They were all fighting with burning blood to protect humanity.
Even little people could have grand ideals.
"Dammit! If I'd known that beast was still alive, I would've crawled through the sewers to find it back then!" A man in a leather jacket, looking incredibly cool, stood with his hands on his hips and cursed.
"Captain Sun, if there's nothing else, we'll head back first," Peng Sisi said to the leather-clad man in his early forties.
"Let me have a word with him first." The man looked at Duan Ming and asked, "Kid, what are your plans after graduation? Want to join our City Protection Bureau?"
"I haven't decided yet. We'll see when the time comes. I'm only a first-year, so graduation's still a long way off."
As he watched Duan Ming and Peng Sisi leave, the middle-aged man couldn't help clicking his tongue. "To be that strong at such a young age, his future is beyond measure. A little place like the Jiang City Protection Bureau probably won't be able to hold on to him."
He knew who Duan Ming was and had heard about him killing the Human-Faced Arachnid.
He just hadn't paid much attention at the time.
Now that he had seen Duan Ming in person, he had a feeling the kid had been through more than he had.
He would never forget the look in those eyes for the rest of his life.
"You killed the Four-Eyed Ghost in less than thirty seconds. Just how strong are you?"
Peng Sisi drove as she went over what had just happened.
"Not bad."
"Shouldn't you be saying you'd like to keep a low profile, but your strength won't let you?" Peng Sisi teased.
"You seem to have seen a lot of scenes like that. You haven't even graduated, but it seems you've been through a lot of things like this."
Duan Ming voiced the question on his mind.
"Well, pretty much all fourth-year students gradually start coming into contact with these things."
"You drive such a nice car. Your family must be rich. Where do you plan to go after graduation?"
"The Divine Mark Association."
"The Divine Mark Association?" Duan Ming nodded thoughtfully.
"Don't you know? I became a specially recruited member of the Divine Mark Association a long time ago. I can join them directly after I graduate."
"Because of your Power of God?"
"That's right. My Power of God is special, so even though I'm not much good in a fight, I was able to become a specially recruited member of the Divine Mark Association." Peng Sisi drove with one hand.
"So what exactly is your Power of God?"
"Withered Tree Meets Spring. I can use it to cure illnesses and heal injuries, but every time I use it, it consumes a lot of the Qi in my body. I healed two people in a row today, and now I'm so tired my arms and legs are a little weak."
"Doesn't that ability have any restrictions?"
"It does. There are no conditions for activating it, so I can use it whenever I want, but the restriction is troublesome. The person receiving help has to be willing to let me treat them, and I have to be willing to treat them too. Otherwise, I can't use the ability."
"There's someone who might need your help." Duan Ming looked at Peng Sisi. "I have a friend..."
As she listened to Duan Ming describe Zhao Jie's brother's condition, Peng Sisi nodded thoughtfully. "He can't stand up, but he still has both legs, right?"
"He does!"
"Then it should be possible. But if he's been disabled for many years, getting him to make a full recovery definitely won't be easy. I might have to rest for a long time after healing him. I only have three Divine Marks, after all, so I don't have that much Qi yet."
"Then when do you think you might have time..."
"Hey! Wait, I haven't agreed yet!" Peng Sisi said. "I can't just help you for nothing, can I?"
Duan Ming pondered for a moment, then said, "How much money do you want?"
"It's not about money. Do I look like someone who needs money? If you agree to one condition, I can give it a try."
"Join the Heaven and Earth Society?"
"You don't want to join the Heaven and Earth Society at all. Even if I forced you to join, you wouldn't feel comfortable, would you?"
"Then what do you want?" Duan Ming looked down at himself. Did he have anything valuable on him?
"I want you to help me kill someone!"
Peng Sisi's tone suddenly turned cold, and the car pulled over to the side of the road.
"Are you joking?" Duan Ming asked with a perfectly serious expression.
"Do I look like I'm joking?"
"All right, then. Who do you want me to kill?"
He would hear who it was before deciding whether to agree.
"July."
Whoosh!
A gust of wind blew past.
"July?" Duan Ming had never heard the name before.
"He's a member of Year of Calamity, the world's strongest assassin organization. His code name is July. His identity and gender are unknown. Even the Divine Mark Association's headquarters has no information on him."
"The world's strongest assassin organization?"
"That's right. The number of people in the organization and the members' backgrounds are unknown. All anyone knows is that their leader is a man, and each member uses a month from January to December as a code name. As for whether there are actually twelve of them, nobody knows."
"You want me to kill an assassin?"
"I have no other choice. That man killed my father. I have to take revenge! But I really can't think of a way to kill him. I don't even know who he is. I once planned to spend my entire fortune hiring another assassin to avenge me, but nobody dared take the job."
"How strong are they?"
"I don't know, but one thing is certain: every member is at least as strong as Du Qinggang."
"I can't do that. That's like asking me to kill Du Qinggang, and that's assuming I could even find him."
"I didn't ask you to kill him now. You certainly can't do it with your current abilities, but four years from now, when you graduate, you might be strong enough to kill him."
She wants me to kill an assassin?
Would that make me an assassin too?
"You have great potential. If you don't die young, you'll definitely be very strong in four years. Besides, once you kill him, you'll receive a bounty of at least a hundred million."
Duan Ming took a deep breath.
That was true enough.
He was just afraid he'd live to collect the money but not to spend it.
"Aren't you afraid I'll agree now, then go back on my word and do nothing four years from now?"
"That's your business. It's not like I can sign a murder contract with you now, is it?" Peng Sisi took a deep breath. "I really can't think of any other way to get revenge, so I can only pin my hopes on you. If you can't find him when the time comes, I won't blame you."
"Since you think so highly of me, I'll agree. As long as I can beat him and find him when the time comes, I'll kill him for you."
"Your friend's brother must be very important to you. Otherwise, you wouldn't agree to something so difficult."
"It's only right to do a friend a favor. I hope his spirit in heaven can watch over me and keep me safe for the rest of my life."