Two hours later.
Ace of Spades Nine was lying shirtless on a bed, looking puzzled. He glanced with disdain at the woman next to him, snoring loudly, around 40 years old, and raised his eyebrows.
What happened?
Why has the quality of women in China dropped so much in the few years I've been away?
Slowly, he started to realize.
Could it be that the driver tricked me?
"Hey, handsome... you're awake?"
A coarse yet alluring voice came from beside him.
"Get out!" Ace of Spades Nine's face darkened.
Downstairs.
The driver who had brought him here casually extinguished a cigarette, casting a glance back at the hotel—a run-down place called "Red Rose Inn."
The driver sneered. "Stupid foreigner, daring to look down on us Chinese?"
"Today, you'll get to experience our city's local 'beauty,'" he said, laughing as he drove away.
In the room, Ace of Spades Nine was frustrated for a while but remained calm.
The mission is important.
I'll indulge when I get back to Europe!
He made sure there was no one around, then pulled out an old European classic, *Faust's War*. He had retrieved this book from an airport locker.
He slowly ran his fingers over the pages, closing his eyes.
Nearly invisible raised dots on the book's pages transmitted information to his mind, similar to Braille.
Liu Di…
25 years old…
Average family background…
No military experience…
No combat training…
CEO of Creator…
After processing the information, Ace of Spades Nine opened his eyes.
This target is too ordinary!
Just a regular rich guy.
What a waste of my time!
I really don't understand why they needed me for this job.
Ace of Spades Nine shook his head, put on a pair of glasses, and continued flipping through the book.
A picture was supposed to be there, but it had been replaced with a photograph of Liu Di.
Ace of Spades Nine sneered at the image of the defiant young man.
Good-looking, but too bad—you're about to become another notch on my belt.
Thirty seconds later, the image of Liu Di began to fade.
The special ink was designed to evaporate after exposure, lasting only 60 seconds before disappearing without a trace.
As the picture faded, the original illustration in the book reappeared.
Ace of Spades Nine continued to flip through the book.
The following pages contained a detailed blueprint of a hemispherical building, with every exit, ventilation duct, and drainage system clearly marked.
As an international assassin organization, the Poker Society didn't just have top-tier killers—they also had "spies" specialized in gathering intelligence.
Before Ace of Spades Nine even arrived in China, someone had already prepared all the information he needed about Liu Di.
Ace of Spades Nine chuckled.
Living in such a strange place?
What a weirdo!
No wonder someone wants you dead.
In such a remote location.
Such a defenseless target!
This job will be a piece of cake!
Of course, being a top international assassin, Ace of Spades Nine was no ordinary person.
In three minutes, he had memorized every detail of the blueprints.
An assassination plan was forming in his mind.
Hehe, Liu Di.
Tonight at midnight, your life will end!
Ace of Spades Nine grinned menacingly.
Meanwhile, the live streaming industry had been booming in China over the past two years.
Not just Penguin, but companies like Magic Hands, Squid Live, and others had grown into billion-dollar enterprises.
Three days ago, they were sitting on the sidelines, enjoying the Creator versus Twinzi battle.
Then, they were startled to hear that Twinzi was entering the live streaming market.
Panic ensued.
They knew all too well how powerful Twinzi was.
If Twinzi set its sights on the live streaming pie, other companies might not even get crumbs!
However, they were unsure of Twinzi's strength because, unlike Penguin, they had never faced Twinzi head-on.
Their headquarters had never been "celebrated" with fireworks.
So, they banded together to prepare for a showdown with Twinzi!
At this moment, four hours before midnight, the major live streaming companies were on high alert.
First, they reinforced penalties for their contracted streamers who might be thinking of switching platforms.
Additionally, in China, over a hundred top-tier internet celebrities were contracted to various live streaming companies.
The companies demanded that all these influencers go live at midnight, showcasing their best content to compete with Twinzi for viewership.
Here are some of the announcements:
- *Magic Hands Live*: "China's first-generation internet celebrity, Lion King, will go live at midnight to reveal insider stories about A-list celebrities!"
- *Magic Hands Live*: "Super popular streamer Donkey Bro will give away 3 million RMB in red envelopes and interact with 30 million fans tonight!"
- *Magic Hands Live*: "At midnight in Room 0365, 100 female internet celebrities will perform hot dances in their nightgowns—come and watch!"
- *Squid Live*: "Famous food vlogger Pig Mom will attempt to eat an entire pig in three bites on her live stream tonight!"
- *Squid Live*: "Famous game streamer Big Monkey will challenge a +88 weapon enhancement live on stream tonight!"
- *Unknown Platform*: "Just watch us today, and all female streamers will stream without filters!"
- *Streamer Little Peach Blossom*: "If you come and watch, I'll do something I shouldn't be doing on stream!"
- *Streamer Chang Meili*: "Live stream raffle—win a chance to marry a male fan on the spot!"
Gasp…
Viewers were shocked by the various announcements.
Female streamers streaming without filters?
Is that even watchable?
And then there's the even crazier one—raffling off a male fan for marriage?
Have all the platforms gone mad?
Have all the streamers gone insane?
Did Twinzi scare them that much?
However, you have to admit, thanks to Twinzi, today has become a wild free-for-all, with all sorts of bizarre antics.
It might actually be quite entertaining!
Many viewers were genuinely looking forward to it!
Today could be considered a grand festival for the live streaming platforms!
One wave of promotion followed another.
Streamers kept pushing boundaries, likely creating a massive explosion in live stream traffic!
Viewers were keeping tabs on their favorite streamers, ready to watch as soon as the clock struck midnight.
But what about Twinzi?
Why has there been no news from them?
Fans were puzzled.
This isn't like them.
Though there were rumors that some streamers had recently signed with Twinzi, none were particularly famous, and most were newcomers.
Fans silently prayed, "Twinzi, please don't lose this time. We're still waiting for that Creator concert!"
But deep down, they were uncertain.
So far, Twinzi's live stream offering lacked any real appeal.
Out of curiosity, everyone checked Twinzi's platform, searching for the Creator account, *Emperor Three*.
Recently, all of Twinzi's major announcements had come from this account.
*Emperor Three* now had an astonishing 400 million followers!
Suddenly, *Emperor Three* updated his status: "Hello everyone, tonight at midnight, I, Emperor Three, will be live streaming on Twinzi!"
The fans were taken aback.
Oh, Emperor Three is going live?
Is he going to reveal his identity?
Interesting!
But…
To the public, Emperor Three was more of a super business genius, akin to Teng Hualong or Ma Baba.
While everyone was curious about what he looked like, compared to the other platforms' outrageous content, it was a bit underwhelming.
Fans felt a tinge of disappointment.
Twinzi isn't bringing its A-game this time, huh?
The content is lacking in excitement.
Just then, Emperor Three posted a second update.
Fans were stunned!
*Emperor Three*: "Unfortunately, I've made many enemies, and someone has hired an assassin to kill me. So tonight's live stream will feature—**an online murder**!"
As soon as those words appeared, the internet exploded!
Live streaming had only been around for about two years in China.
It was a rapidly growing trend, with all sorts of grassroots talents offering a wide variety of content.