Regarding the person of which the barrel of the sniper rifle was aimed towards, Shang Xuan had little clue regarding his identity. All the youth knew about his target as a simple name, and a basic description of his deeds presented on the mission brief.
Wang Xiaofeng.
Twenty-eight years old, born in Shangxing Providence to a poor farmer's family. The youth had madly studied underneath the blind hopes of his parents, and had enacted the scene of a goldfish leaping over the Dragon Gate to become a might existence, graduating from Beijing University as the valedictorian of his class.
After that, he had been employed in the fancy municipal company building belonging to a corporation known as the Yuan Ming Group.
Listed on his job description, Wang Xiaofeng was stated to be a hardworking employee with great respect towards his colleagues and superiors, earning countless "Competent Employee" rewards every annual gathering of the corporation.
On the Heaven and Earth organization's tasklist, however, Wang Xiaofeng was listed with a different identity.
Middleman to a small drug smuggling group hidden deeply within the underworld of Hua, and partaking in transporting jobs of a celebrity sex-scandal trade. The hardworking, loyal employee that graduated from Beijing University with flying colors lived a secret life of engaging in work as a drug and human trafficker to a wide range of clients, from high-ranking politicians to wealthy businessmen seeking immoral pleasure.
Simply put, a walking bag of scum stained with the darkness of modern society.
Of the list of missions posted on the forum board of the Heaven and Earth organization's clever application, the assassination of Wang Xiaofeng was rather insignificant – both in the target's realm of influence, and the rewards for a successful mission.
A successful assassination of Wang Xiaofeng was rewarded with a total of three million yuan.
To the family of Shang Xuan's current identity, the Xi Family, a sum equaling that of the realms of millions was far beyond their potential wealth.
To Xi Ran, killing Wang Xiaofeng would allow the Xi Family to live a life without troubles for several decades.
…and yet, the Heaven and Earth organization list contained missions awarding several tens of millions of yuan as the initial compensatory fee, disregarding any subsequent commissions and final reward. On the list on the forums of the 'Shadow' application, the mission of Wang Xiaofeng was awarded a miserable title of 'non-urgent'.
Compared towards those missions whose rewards had escaped the realm of monetary compensation and verged onto the realm of spiritual treasures, medicines, and mortal cultivation techniques, assassinating Wang Xiaofeng was indeed…
"Kind of disappointing and shameful, really."
The Flame Ancestor could only give such an evaluation towards his most recent three hours spent lying atop an apartment complex's cold rooftop with a sniper rifle pressed against his shoulder, staring into the window of a company building on the other side of the city.
Shang Xuan lightly packed up the PGM 338 into the duffel bag prepared by the ever-wise Na-er, his body agilely morphing into the shadows as he leapt over the rails of the roof and onto the lower balcony.
As for the bullet…
For an immortal existence who couldn't miss a shot even without any experience holding a bow, what was there to expect about the conclusion?
Unless Wang Xiaofeng could display a second reenactment of a goldfish leaping over the Dragon Gate and avoid a sub-sonic bullet without being aware of its presence in the first place…
Besides, he could just activate his spiritual intent and make the bullet swerve to hit its target...
Crash!
A few seconds following Shang Xuan's finger gently pulling against the trigger of the PGM 338, the .338 Lapua Magnum cartridge pierced through the glass of the company building's fortieth floor with ease, the glass fragments raining down onto the scattered passerby traversing the roads underneath.
The bullet ignored the screams of the startled people as it invaded into the company's depths, seeking after the life of a young man standing before a coffee maker.
The coffee maker that was made in Italy bubbled and hummed with a dull intone of excitement as the black liquid trickled into the cup prepared at the lower rack, the roasted and savory fragrance of coffee resounding throughout the galley and into the young man's senses.
As he reached for the filled cup with his anticipatory fingers, Wang Xiaofeng never expected that in the next moment, a bullet would request for his immediate attention.
…and it possess no shortage of urgency, for the brass casing slammed into the back of the young genius and scum of modern society's head without even knocking on the door. The steel core hidden within the protective casing was not granted the opportunity of bidding farewell to the utterly confounded soul, and a splatter of crimson blood decorated the plain walls of the galley.
The cup of coffee dropped towards the floor to shatter across the tiles with an earsplitting screech, the black liquid scattering across the pristine interior of the galley to accompany the unfortunate demise of Wang Xiaofeng.
Alas…
-
"Yesterday night, earlier around midnight, a man was killed in Sanzhou City…"
The droning voice of the female newscaster brushed against the tips of Shang Xuan's ears, easily dispersed and ignored by the youth as he continued to eat his breakfast. Besides him, Na-er brought forth a spoonful of white rice to her lips, her small mouth lightly blowing at the cooked grains to disperse their heat.
"…perhaps, we went a bit overboard?" the young girl mused as she nibbled upon a slice of spicy cabbage, her head tilted to the side as she glanced towards the youth.
At the sight, Shang Xuan could only release a heavy sigh. The youth reached forward to lightly knock against Na-er's forehead with his knuckle, speaking in a chiding tone.
"Of course that was overboard for a simple assassination," the youth muttered between bites of food.
"Na-er, do you really think that nobody would realize that that Wang Xiaofeng's death wasn't unintentional?"
"As of today morning's report by the Sanzhou City police, the victim was murdered by a sufficiently powerful sniper rifle, indicating that this death was by no means a simple murder…"
The lightly trembling voice of the female reporter interjected at that moment, prompting Na-er's head to drop in shame. His lips quirking into a smile of unknown origins and purpose, Shang Xuan raised his hand to rub the young girl's head.
"Don't think too much about it, ah," the youth consoled.
"As the mission's description stated, this Wang Xiaofeng was a true member of the darkest regions of modern society. So, I didn't kill anyone innocent, and we finally managed to begin paying back that ridiculous debt to Old Meng – everything should be fine, no?"
At the least, he had scrolled through the entire mission list presented by the Heaven and Earth organization's forum, and had not discovered any assassination mission regarding a truly innocent target. Moreover…
With such an ample and readily accessible method of solving his dilemma regarding that atrocious debt with the miserly owner of the Spiritual Conflux, how could Shang Xuan not jump at the opportunity?
As the Flame Ancestor ate, he could barely restrain the urge of racing over to give Ah Hu a splendid smack on the back.
With this, he didn't have to worry about being sanctioned by the Spiritual Conflux for not daring to uphold a contract that he had agreed to, but he was definitely going to be sanctioned by the Three Realms for spilling so much unnecessary blood belonging to that of mortal souls!
Whether he should praise the fire spirit's splendid deed, or punish him, the Flame Ancestor didn't know…
"Ah Xuan, though with this three million yuan, we should be able to get quite a few things, right?"
Na-er had managed to recollect her thoughts in a short period of time, and successfully dragged the floundering Shang Xuan from his mutinous thoughts. The young girl began to clear away the cleaned dishes from the table, occasionally pausing to place a finger at the base of her chin and murmur in a rather… obvious…
"With three million yuan, I can get a few dresses… the white one with a lily pattern at the hem looked nice. Also, I could get a rather charming bag – an authentic one constructed with the appropriate materials…"
Behind, Shang Xuan's lips couldn't help but mightily twitch upon grasping onto the young girl's murmurs as she commenced the chore of washing dishes. Hearing the contents of the words departing from her mouth, the youth didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
Young lass, those items you speak of would consume this three million yuan in an instant!
That leather bag itself – with the quality that Na-er sought, would chip away at half of the newly earned income!
Besides, you hide your presence every time we go out into public, so what's the point of satisfying your vanity!?
Shang Xuan's mouth curved into a wry smile as he observed the slender and attractive figure of Na-er scrubbing at the dishes, his mind flying into a vast world of… thoughts. Immersing himself in a sweet dream for the few brief moments that it took to successfully wash and clean a set of tableware for two light eaters, the youth could only echo with a soft lament in his heart.
It seemed that in order to maintain his head afloat from the financial whirlpool that was Na-er's awakened sense of vanity, he was bound to accept another mission on the 'Shadow' application on the specially prepared phone…
Mm, you people won't die for no spectacular reason, I promise!
It's just that Na-er here wants a custom-made Chanel J-12 watch, as well as a Fendi Bauguette mini-handbag – the new one rumored to be priced at five hundred thousand RMB at the closest fashion store…
Aih…