Inside the luxury sedan, Qiu Shubai stared at the KK status that hadn’t been updated in a long time. She listened to the faint hum of the tires on the road, remaining silent for a long while.
KK, short for KICK, was the Republic of Shenzhou’s new generation of national-level social media software.
It had been fifteen years since it first became the most installed application on the phones of the people of Shenzhou.
Qiu Shubai’s account was old, yet she had fewer than ten friends.
“Those who spend their lives in waters as still as a mirror will eventually drown.”
This quote was the status of the first friend she had ever added, and the only one among her few friends who no longer logged in.
In the gray profile picture, a girl with black twin-tails wore an indifferent expression. She was dressed in a thin black dress, paired with black over-the-knee socks and small high heels.
Qiu Shubai remembered this person telling her once: “Men like darkness.”
Did that person... actually like this style?
She touched her long, grayish-white hair and let out a soft sigh.
I suppose this counts as being somewhat related, doesn’t it?
Looking out the window, the night sky was quiet—no wind, no rain. It was her favorite kind of weather.
In the distance, the diamond-shaped aqua-blue emblem on the roof of the venue was already clearly visible.
“What exactly needs to be done?” Qiu Shubai asked, her voice cold and clear.
“The word from above is that there will be an attack tonight. Use it as cover to make these people disappear legitimately. Beyond that, provided your own safety is guaranteed, try to protect the innocents.”
The man in black sitting in the passenger seat handed over a slip of paper. Written on it in scrawled handwriting was a timestamp and several names, each belonging to a prominent entrepreneur in the city.
Qiu Shubai didn’t ask why; she simply gave a slight nod.
“Has the compensation been set?”
The man gave a look, and another person in the same uniform sitting in the back seat immediately produced a heavy, large box from beside them.
The box was opened. Half was filled with cash, while the other half was meticulously decorated. Inside an exquisite transparent case lay a palm-sized red gemstone.
The gemstone was irregularly shaped, roughly categorizable as a rhombus. Its surface was covered in numerous chaotic indentations, looking like a raw ore that had just been mined and left unpolished.
But Qiu Shubai knew that this stone was entirely an industrial product.
“This mission is extraordinary. The attack wasn’t arranged by us; someone is genuinely coming here to kill. We can’t be sure who their target is, which is why the Section Chief wants you to ensure these individuals keep their mouths shut forever.”
“These are extra items from the Special Division for you. Consider them support supplies; it’s recommended you use them immediately. Additionally, given the uncontrollable nature of this mission, even if you don’t fully achieve the objective, we won’t hold you accountable. We will still pay a certain percentage of the reward as appropriate.”
Opening the case, Qiu Shubai held the red gem in one hand and gripped her sword hilt with the other. The colorless crystal at the center of the white longsword’s crossguard suddenly flashed with a blinding light. Under the radiance of this white light, the blood-red gem actually began to melt, turning into wisps of “blood” that flew into the colorless crystal.
“Ugh...”
As the red gem was completely absorbed, an unnatural flush appeared on Qiu Shubai’s face. Though it faded quickly, the lingering sensation continued to batter her psyche.
It wasn’t until the car stopped at the hotel entrance that she barely recovered enough to move.
The crystal on the longsword emitted pulses of dark red light, as if urging her to set out.
“Miss Shubai, we’ve arrived.”
“I can go in by myself.”
“Understood. We’ll see you later.”
The car stopped at the main entrance. A well-dressed, elegant waiter opened the door and made a “please” gesture toward Qiu Shubai.
“Welcome, Miss Qiu.”
“Thank you.” Qiu Shubai’s expression was cold, and her voice seemed devoid of any emotion.
She wasn’t wearing her usual academy uniform today. Instead, she had changed into a black evening gown and black high heels. Around her neck hung a necklace made of sea-blue gems, which made her collarbones appear even fairer.
The gown was custom-made using special materials, making it both form-fitting and comfortable. It met the dress code requirements for a high-end banquet while also allowing for a degree of mobility.
Qiu Shubai didn’t own many shoes, and even fewer that could be used for such an occasion. The black luxury-brand heels she was wearing today were a gift her father had bought her last year.
But that was the last gift her father had ever sent her.
The gift she wanted most—the one representing her father’s blessing for her adulthood—would never be received.
A pleasant ringtone chimed from her phone. Opening the screen, she saw a message from the man in black from earlier.
“My superior asked me to pass on one more sentence to you: be extra careful.”
Qiu Shubai’s movements faltered slightly, and she closed her eyes with a sense of weariness.
Not a single mission assigned to her could be described as easy. None had ever given her room for negligence, and as for escape, that was out of the question.
She walked the line between black and white, fighting tirelessly just so she could stay alive.
Her ability had brought her power, but it had also brought a lifelong curse.
Her ability was in a constant state of hunger. As the physical manifestation of that ability, that sword craved to draw blood from living beings every second of every day.
If it couldn’t find blood, she herself would become its food.
Only those red crystal ores could serve as a substitute for blood, and they even had a certain suppressing effect on that frantic craving.
The text in the chat box flickered repeatedly, but in the end, she didn’t send what was on her mind.
The moment she looked up, an almost imperceptible scent of woody perfume drifted into her nose.
Such a familiar scent...
Looking around, she saw a figure dressed in black slowly walking away.
But she didn’t chase after him to confirm his identity. She had a mission—a mission she had no choice but to complete for her own sake.
...
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