19 The Top Assassin

Pain.

Bai Wei’s head was swimming with agony. He reached out, trying to grab Lusen, but his hands could only find the headrest. He could hear his fingernails scraping against the fabric with a harsh, tearing sound—the headrest must have been snagged by his nails. And he himself, surely, was bleeding.

Had he been lying on his back instead of his stomach, Bai Wei would have struggled much harder—for then he could see everything. Even though Lusen now appeared human, the sense of scale, the instinctive terror of injury would have driven Bai Wei to fight with every ounce of strength. But now, pressed down, he was like prey caught by a massive predator, held helplessly by the nape.

Yet Lusen was more terrifying than any carnivore. A beast would be satisfied with devouring the choicest flesh from its prey’s belly. Lusen, however, sought everything—Bai Wei’s fingers, his ankles, his viscera, every inch of bone within his body.

He thought he heard footsteps in the corridor outside—two people walking. Who would come to the thirtieth floor at this hour? Perhaps other attendants? But Bai Wei had no way to call for help.

How could he plead? “I snuck into Room 3003 to commit murder and was caught”?

Ugh!

“You wanted to kill me…” Bai Wei whimpered. At that moment, he felt Lusen the swordsman surely intended to kill him, or perhaps destroy him entirely. Bai Wei tensed every muscle, as if that could deny the weapon even the slightest gap.

He barely heard whatever Lusen was saying. All he knew was that his head was turned, and something was fed into his mouth. The taste was cloyingly sweet, like chocolate, but soon even the air around him seemed infused with the scent of chocolate—that molten, bubbling honey-darkness, flowing and rich…

He no longer needed to ingest that pheromone; the concentration in the air alone was enough to invade every limb, every pore in Bai Wei’s body. Lusen’s tense, threatening masculine presence ceased to provoke Bai Wei’s fierce resistance, so much so that he no longer felt compelled to fight back.

He was still utterly suppressed, unable to move. Yet gradually, Bai Wei felt himself beginning to melt.

“I…”

Saliva dripped from his lips onto the pillow. Bai Wei had never known his body could be this soft. He was dizzy, as if walking on clouds, or weightless in the cosmos. Lusen, who controlled him, was the universe’s sole heat source. In that instant, Bai Wei imagined himself transformed into a gaseous asteroid, drifting and spinning, his head molten like magma, his body diffused vapor, deep in his abdomen a surge of violent nuclear reactions. Expanding and contracting, expanding and contracting—just a single neutron could trigger a massive chain reaction. One neutron strikes the dense atomic core, more neutrons burst forth, all the heavy nuclei splitting, unleashing enough energy to burn out his mind, sending mushroom clouds taut through his calves, insteps, and toes.

“You… I’m not dead…?” Bai Wei heard his own voice, muffled and unclear.

Lusen turned his face again, this time no longer needing to force Bai Wei’s mouth open. He pressed his lips—a temptation at its reddest, more alluring than ever—seeking to extract the flavor he desired from every corner of Bai Wei’s mouth.

“Mmm…”

Outside, the storm raged. Bai Wei’s mind, dulled and dizzy under Lusen’s weight, seemed to flash with white light. Realization struck him; he screamed and began to cry.

In that moment, he and Lusen were like two atomic nuclei, overcoming the repulsive Coulomb barrier between them. Afterwards, they were bound more tightly than anyone, fused together.

Seamless, compressed, releasing a force that dragged Bai Wei wholly into the abyss.

…

“Rolling your eyes… how adorable.” Bai Wei vaguely heard Lusen say, and Lusen was reaching out to touch his eyelids.

His body was limp, like a pot of syrup. Bai Wei struggled to focus his gaze, seeing his legs bent high. Lusen’s burning hand was on his face; Bai Wei bit down hard on Lusen’s hand.

He tried to crawl aside, attempted to use his legs to strangle Lusen. Lusen generously flipped him over, but didn’t let him escape.

“Ugh!”

Just as Bai Wei fought to break free, his waist gripped tight, he was thrust beneath the bed, and at the same time his mind exploded with fireworks.

Behind the fireworks was a face… Wait, how could Lusen’s face be under the bed, how could there be another Lusen… like a corpse… Bai Wei reached for the Lusen under the bed, then was yanked back by the Lusen on the bed, his waist caught in a strong embrace.

“Look at me,” Lusen said, dissatisfied.

“My mind… I… ugh… my head… it must… be ruined…”

“Gulp gulp…”

Bai Wei hazily thought this, utterly dissolving into the bed.

…

“What a loud splash.” The pink-haired girl held one hand flat to her forehead. “This week must be a sleepless one for everyone in Black Harbor City.”

The air was still thick with the scent of gunpowder. Thunderous explosions and alarms echoed throughout the city. Charred human shapes lingered on the docks. Two players crouched, gathering evidence from the ground.

“Still let that killer escape… How did you manage it, tracing the thread and pulling out such a big secret, even uncovering the number one killer.” The girl with long, straight black hair spoke as she placed DNA samples into evidence bags. “But this DNA is probably useless—too contaminated.”

“Isn’t the number one killer the White Death?” The blue-haired youth leaned in.

“The White Death is the hidden final boss. Why do you think the game’s nickname is ‘Killer 101’? He’s not ranked among the top hundred.” The troll player replied.

“Wait… someone save me… my health bar’s almost empty…” Several players lay groaning on the ground.

Streaked green highlights bypassed the chatting teammates, holding several apples and stuffing them one by one into the mouths of the fallen players. The Black Harbor City police, arriving soon after, were shocked to see the players—whose limbs had just been blown apart—instantly regrow arms and legs after chewing a few bites. They shook themselves off, sprang up, and soon were hopping and squatting in endless repetition.

“Don’t spread this around, or you’ll be in trouble.” The pink-haired girl grinned at the lead police officers.

They nodded cautiously and retreated. Nearby, another player complained, “Long black hair, you can’t even restore this DNA.”

“What good does complaining do? Who told you to trigger the boss early—did your proficiency level rise enough to act like this? Nearly got everyone blown up, and now let the killer escape.” Long black hair shrugged, addressing the blond man beside her, “Captain, what should we do?”

Amid this band of odd players, the handsome blond man with gentle demeanor stood out. Not only was his face the most human, but his manner was like that of a social elite. To top it off, he dared to lead a group of players, an act of remarkable courage.

“Seal all exits for now. Investigate everyone trying to leave the city during this period.” He squatted, pinched the ash on the ground. “It’s the best we can do.”

The pink-haired girl flopped backward, clearly unwilling to do such drudgery. Long black hair said, “Fine, I’ll alert the police. Everyone, check the map, pick an exit to guard.”

“Wow.” The blue-haired youth stood atop a waste gas tank, gazing out across the city—including the thirty-story hotel known as the jewel of Black Harbor City. “That last blast must have woken everyone up. The whole city is watching us now, probably all worried sick, hahahaha…”

“Wonder what the hidden boss is doing? Maybe he’s scared of us too? Hahaha.”

…

Bai Wei woke—but it was thirst that roused him.

“Water…” he whispered, hoarse and strained.

Rain poured outside the window. The entire Black Harbor City was shrouded in misty, abundant water vapor; beneath the docks, the waves surged. In this rainy, overflowing season, Bai Wei’s throat was parched beyond belief. His voice was rough. He had never suffered such injuries in his life.

And beneath him, everything was sticky. Not just beneath him—his whole body was smeared… but especially underneath.

He couldn’t open his eyes, only the rise and fall of his breathing belly showed he was awake. Yet even his abdomen felt swollen and heavy. It took him some time to realize the probable cause.

Bai Wei was nearly in tears.

At last, someone lifted his chin and poured cool liquid into his mouth.