Hidden Assassin 217

The hallway was pitch black. Police car lights flickered in the distance through the glass windows. Inside, the old school desks were scattered haphazardly. Some parts of the wall had gaping holes, remnants of the renovations undertaken before the school was sold to Sacred Heart Academy. The dust and the stale air felt heavy, as if echoes of children once filled these classrooms, reading, writing, chasing each other. Now, everything was gone, replaced by darkness and dilapidated structures, a battlefield where the sound of gunfire echoed and strange gusts of wind whipped through the halls, carrying the scent of smoke.

A loud bang echoed, followed by a flash of light on the wall. A large hole had been torn through the wall separating two classrooms. An old desk flew through the air, smashed against the wall, and landed with a resounding thud. A figure quickly dodged the flying debris. On the other side of the hole, bullets from a submachine gun rained down like a storm.

“Haha… You missed, you missed! Yu Jin Xiang!” The figure ran through the sparks of the exploding bullets, his laughter echoing through the empty room. Zhu Shen Wu Nian laughed as he dashed out of the room, occasionally firing back. “Come on, you want to kill me so badly. You think you can perfectly suppress fire like Yuan Lai Chao Chuang, but I can predict your every move. Do you believe me? Come on…”

“Is relying on your supernatural ability that impressive?” Leaping to the side, dodging another burst of bullets, Jia Ming found cover behind a pillar, quickly reloading his gun.

“It’s not about being impressive. It’s what I have, a tool. And mine is much more useful.” As Jia Ming closed in, he leapt into another classroom.

“The power of a weapon depends on the person wielding it!” Jia Ming shot at the figure, closing in with every shot.

“Then show me the power you used to kill the Da Nei Chang Du. Prove it to me!” He stretched out his hands, a wall of bullets blocking the doorway.

Silence. Then, he turned abruptly. A deafening boom echoed from the wall behind him. The old ceiling crumbled, sending a shower of dust down. A circular crack, a meter wide, appeared on the wall, radiating outward like a spiderweb. He pointed his gun at the crack, ready to face whatever came through.

The silence stretched, broken only by the wind whispering through the hallway. After a while, Zhu Shen Wu Nian started laughing. “The wind will tell me where you are. Come on, don’t waste my time.”

Still, there was no response. He felt a flicker of unease in his heart. The wind carried the faint outline of the figure in the room opposite, but he was surprised. Despite using all his might, the image remained vague and unstable. Clearly, the other party had extensive experience fighting supernatural beings.

“Fine. Since you won’t come out, we can chat…”

“You’re injured. I saw your blood. To be honest, I never thought you were the kid. You fooled everyone…”

“Are you a natural evolutionist? Or maybe a modified one…”

“I think I understand your anger…”

“You were living a peaceful life. Then people come knocking, taking your girlfriend and loved ones hostage, making a big scene. You’re angry?”

“I know what you want… A simple life. No matter what your background, you want simplicity, right?”

“Well, after all these years in this business, you know what I find most amusing?”

“Every single one of you thinks you’re innocent. Yuan Lai Chao Chuang, Da Nei Chang Du, the tank you killed earlier, Bai Nana, even you… You all think you’re innocent. You think you had other choices, even death…”

“But life is like that. You have your past, so you’re destined for a certain future. You have your power, and you have to face the consequences.”

“You had your choices. And in the end, you reached this point. You may blame us for seeking you out while you wanted a simple life, but your life’s path is half your own choosing…”

“From the incidents you’ve caused, many people saw your strength. I did too. But at the same time… I saw your fear…”

“I’m different from you. I don’t have fear. Because I’ve always known who I am, what I must face. I never thought I was innocent…”

His words were cut off by the deafening roar of a shotgun. The wall exploded, sending a spray of concrete shards flying. Zhu Shen Wu Nian leaped to the side. Across the gap, bullets and flames erupted like a sudden burst of fireworks. Taking advantage of the moment when Zhu Shen Wu Nian tumbled to the ground, Jia Ming, clutching his shotgun, rushed toward the front door of the classroom. As he fired, Zhu Shen Wu Nian, laughing, hid behind desks, sending a shower of wood splinters flying.

Suddenly, a furious wind swept through the doorway, swirling dust from several classrooms, obscuring vision and making it difficult even to breathe. Zhu Shen Wu Nian’s voice boomed through the chaos, “Die!”

Bang!

Bang!

Through the dust, Jia Ming dodged the bullets. Zhu Shen Wu Nian burst through the dust cloud, a whirlwind of fury, his leg lashing out at Jia Ming. He blocked the attack with his shotgun, both of them stumbling back a few steps. Then, the wind howled, whipping at them from all directions.

The dust obscured vision, the wind distorted sound. Jia Ming weathered a barrage of attacks, his body pushed back towards the center of the classroom. He grabbed a desk, slamming it into Zhu Shen Wu Nian, sending the desk splintering across the room. At the same time, he was sent flying by a powerful kick.

“You can’t see. Let’s see how long you can hold out!” He leapt forward, closing in on Jia Ming.

“No need to hold out.”

As Zhu Shen Wu Nian’s fist came hurtling towards him, Jia Ming countered, his head twisting out of the way by a hair’s breadth. His hand clamped onto Zhu Shen Wu Nian’s wrist.

Startled, he deflected the knee strike with a fluid maneuver. He couldn’t understand how the other could see his moves in such a chaotic situation. His right hand, still not fully secured, pulled back, only for Jia Ming’s other hand to strike. In a blink, the two men exchanged dozens of grappling and dodging maneuvers, their bodies moving with lightning speed. Zhu Shen Wu Nian felt as if he were trapped in a sticky morass, unable to break free, unable to strike, unable to do anything. As he exerted his full force, the opponent’s strength would weaken, and when he tired, the opponent’s power would press down on him with overwhelming force.

The ebb and flow of the exchange was almost perfectly balanced. This was… Tai Chi!

The thought was barely formed before his collar was grabbed, and the world spun.

With a roar, the wall that had already been broken shattered completely. Jia Ming, dragging Zhu Shen Wu Nian with him, crashed against it.

“Actually, you…” A whiplike kick, powered by the force of his spinning body, slammed into Zhu Shen Wu Nian’s stomach.

“You’re also pitying yourself…” A thunderous blow from both fists. “You suffer, you are helpless, you destroy yourself. No matter what you do, it’s useless, because…” He swung Zhu Shen Wu Nian’s body, throwing him once again with all his might. The impact sent a cascade of desks and chairs flying, shattered beyond repair.

“Because you are a monster created by Pei Luo Jia!”

“Damn it…” As Jia Ming pressed forward, a curse echoed from the dust cloud. Emerging from the swirling dust, Jia Ming launched a two-fisted attack. Zhu Shen Wu Nian, not bothering to block, grabbed Jia Ming’s shoulders, his eyes burning with an intense hatred.

In the swirling dust, they were so close that he could see the terrifying rage twisting Zhu Shen Wu Nian’s handsome features. His face, his eyes, were bloodshot. “I’m not a monster! You… Die!”

With that scream, Jia Ming felt a force surge into his body, then a searing pain in his head. It was different from the manipulation of wind he’d felt before. This was a direct assault on his body. Then, the headache intensified, a throbbing wave of agony.

“Ugh…”

This headache was far more intense than any he’d experienced before. He tried to retaliate instinctively, but a powerful gust of wind exploded from Zhu Shen Wu Nian’s body, a wave of air that ripped through the room. With a choked gasp, Zhu Shen Wu Nian coughed up a mouthful of blood, his body then sent flying by Jia Ming’s kick.

“No… impossible… What are you…”

Through the dust, Zhu Shen Wu Nian’s incredulous voice echoed. He had clearly discovered something out of the ordinary. Jia Ming shook his head, wiping the blood from his face, then coughed, clutching his chest.

“Face reality. You’re a monster, that’s true. And as for me… am I a monster hunter?”

…

…

Below, in the old school building, the lights of the police cars flickered, illuminating the anxious faces of those gathered around the building. They watched the commotion inside, catching glimpses of the occasional conversation, but mostly the roar of gunfire.

Then, everyone gasped as a cloud of white dust billowed out of a window.

“What is that?”

“Are they cleaning up?”

“Two people, what are they doing?”

As murmurs filled the air, Ye Lian opened his mouth.

“This is likely…”

“Chief Ye, what is it? Do you know?” The police chief, Hao, asked.

“Uh… I’m not certain. Not enough information. Right now, it’s just speculation… We’ll see. If it’s really him, the only one who could cause this kind of situation is… No matter what, stay back. Don’t make any attacks for now…”

He refused to say more, and Hao, not daring to press the matter, watched as the dozens of fully armed police officers with loaded guns waited around the building, their presence tense and silent. Soon, a shout rang out, “Look, someone’s coming out!”

They looked up and saw a figure on the sixth-floor rooftop, leaping over the edge. Then, another followed.

The height of the drop, from that distance, would normally be a suicidal act. The two figures streaked down, but just above the second floor, the first figure seemed to pause, almost as if in mid-air. This brief moment, like a illusion, was quickly overtaken by the second figure. With a resounding thud, the two figures hit the small square in front of the school building.

Silence.

The fall from such a height was shocking, enough to leave everyone speechless. These two powerful individuals who had wreaked havoc inside, had they just jumped out of a window and died? The question barely formed before a figure stirred.

In a flash, the police officers raised their guns, aiming at the shadowy figure emerging from the depths of the dilapidated school, the figure clad in a gray hooded cloak. The silhouette, in that moment, looked like a illusion from a Western legend.

“Manipulating wind… They paused in mid-air. Then… that person is…”

Ye Lian unconsciously glanced at the sky, then at the two figures, one dead, one alive. Hao drew his gun, using his eyes to ask for instructions. In a moment, the figure clad in a gray cloak, stained with blood, stretched his neck, turning towards a gap in the cordon, slowly walking in the direction of the forest behind the school.

“Chief Ye, we should…”

“Hey, I know who you are. Can we talk?” As Hao asked his question, Ye Lian called out.

No response. The figure simply walked towards the forest along the edge of the shadows, two police officers, positioned at forty-five-degree angles on either side, blocking his path with their guns. They glanced at each other, unsure what to do. After a moment, Ye Lian waved his hand. “Let him go. Put down your guns.” The officers lowered their guns.

With everyone watching, the figure slowly moved into the woods, gradually disappearing into the shadows, until he was gone. Ye Lian called out, “Thanks. Call me if you have any trouble.”

“Who was that…”

“He was wearing that cloak, you couldn’t see him. Did you see him?”

“No, I didn’t see his face…”

“What’s going on? You two were the closest…”

Amidst the buzzing of questions and speculation, Ye Lian finally looked away, taking a deep breath. He then plastered his signature friendly smile on his face. “Chief Hao, congratulations. The guy on the ground is probably Zhu Shen Wu Nian, an international terrorist. Now, if you get promoted, you have to treat us to dinner.”

“Uh… really…” Hao looked stunned for a moment before asking, “Then, the man in black…”

“It’s best not to pursue him. He’ll be really angry if you do. But I can tell you this, she’s the one you’ve been chasing for so long. Yu Jin Xiang.”

The night was still young. The neon lights blinked, shifting from December 2nd, 1998, to a new day.

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