When the long wait finally gave way to nightfall, everything was ready. Except for Chris, all the children were already fast asleep. The two of them were now standing in the first-floor corridor and nodded at each other. At that very moment, their figures disappeared.
At the assassins' location, they had also just dealt with their hunger. Originally, they had wanted to continue searching the remaining areas of the city, but after seeing Chen Luo's group, they had already begun changing their plans—interrogate the people first, then continue with the mission.
They never expected that Chen Luo had already stationed Chris on the rooftop of their building and had him cast a soundproofing domain. After all, for those children, being forced to hear the sounds of killing with their own ears would itself be an extremely terrifying shadow.
-"Hey, Second Sister, are you really sure that thing is level 27?" The fourth shadow asked tentatively.
-"There can't be any mistake. I already investigated that place. The residual magic essence proves that guy must be at least level 27 to release that level of power." The shadow known as Second Sister answered firmly.
-"If that's really the case, then we have to kill that guy as soon as possible. The longer we drag this out, the more of a burden he'll become to us." The third person spoke with an intense killing intent.
-"But don't you all feel that... something isn't quite right?" Second Sister among them also voiced her doubts.
Before the words of doubt had even faded, a sharp sound tore through the silent night.
The fourth shadow reacted extremely quickly, immediately swinging his dagger to block the incoming surprise attack. The harsh clash of metal echoed through the night sky. While pointing toward the direction from which the arrow had come, he shouted:
-"Who are you? We have no grudge against you. Why are you attacking us?"
However, before he could finish speaking, the mysterious attacker launched another attack.
This time, the overwhelming killing intent and speed far beyond their expectations left the fourth shadow completely unable to react. Second Sister—the one standing behind him under his protection—was instantly pierced through the forehead by a dark arrow. She collapsed and died on the spot without even having time to make a sound.
The remaining three suddenly noticed the next barrage of furious sounds cutting through the air. They immediately bent their bodies and leapt upward, forcibly jumping to a higher position to evade the attacks coming from the darkness.
However, two of them had not even landed before they were already dead. Two arrows resembling the hands of death pierced straight through their heads with terrifying force, draining the last of their vitality as their lifeless bodies fell freely to the ground.
-"Congratulations, Host. By using the item 「Shadow Doppelganger」 to kill 3 targets, you have obtained 85% of their resources and all items. Congratulations, Host. You have unlocked the skill 「Silent Steps」."
The shadow slowly emerged from a dark corner, taking on Chen Luo's appearance, but its figure was somewhat hazy and eerie, resembling a ghost.
Chen Luo himself, watching from afar, was not particularly surprised. After all, a one-time doppelganger purchased from the system cost 8,000 crystals. Although the price was still somewhat expensive even after the 80% discount, the equipment collected from these people would certainly be enough to make back the cost.
But for some reason, only three people had been killed.
Chen Luo controlled the doppelganger and walked toward the corpse of the person he suspected was still alive.
Just then, the fourth shadow suddenly sprang up like a spring, swinging his blade filled with killing intent and knocking Chen Luo's doppelganger backward.
-"I really didn't expect that even after being this cautious, I'd still be played by you. You're indeed a dangerous person. Tell me, who are you? If you give me your name and let me leave, I can still spare your life..."
The fourth shadow spoke and made an offer.
After all, he had nothing left to lose. He wanted to risk everything in a life-or-death battle, but if he could retreat now, then naturally retreating was still the better choice.
-"You don't need to know who I am. You only need to know that your actions were incredibly foolish—you actually dared to target me. And don't worry, you'll soon be joining them. You don't have much HP left either, do you?"
Chen Luo's doppelganger spoke as well.
After all, the one who truly decided whether he lived or died was still Chen Luo himself.
Knowing that he had nowhere left to retreat, the assassin charged directly into battle with Chen Luo.
A series of sharp clashes between blades and swords continuously rang out beneath the pitch-black night sky.
The doppelganger moved as nimbly as a ghost, repeatedly unleashing treacherous sword strikes that forced the assassin to defend with all his strength.
Since the earlier surprise attack had already left him seriously wounded, it did not take long before the assassin gradually began to run out of strength. His breathing became ragged, and fresh blood continuously flowed down the front of his clothes.
Realizing that he did not have much time left and could not possibly defeat this strange existence before him, he gritted his teeth and crushed the jade pendant hanging around his neck.
A crimson beam of light shot straight into the sky, tearing through the pitch-black night, while his body collapsed directly to the ground, his breath completely extinguished.
-"Ding! Congratulations, Host. You have killed the final target, for a total of 4 level-22 assassins killed. You have successfully obtained 180,000 EXP and reached level 18 (1150/157860 EXP). You have obtained a total of 60 free attribute points, 7 AD, 6 AP, 6 Vitality, 5 Physical Lifesteal, and 6 HP Recovery."
When the final assassin's figure fell, Chen Luo also frowned.
He had recognized that light—it was a Cloud-Piercing Jade Pendant, one of the jade pendants belonging to the renowned Eight Great Mage Organizations of the current world.
He knew that this time, he had probably kicked a hornet's nest for real.
After all, the leaders of this organization were eight famous mages from the Eight Great Mage Families, known as the Great Robed Mages. They were not only legendary old monsters of the mage world and beings countless mage-class players looked up to, but also the true figures standing at the pinnacle of the major mage families.
This time, Chen Luo knew that he had inadvertently alarmed these mages, and he truly needed to give them an explanation.
But for now, he first had to deal with the various problems caused by this incident.
-"Chris, go back to the base. We'll need to hold an emergency meeting later. Wake the children up as well. We may really be in trouble this time."
Chen Luo informed Chris.
At the same time, his hands did not stop, taking the opportunity to rummage through the belongings of the final assassin.
……
……
……
At the headquarters of the assassins' organization, they had now received the signal transmitted by the fourth assassin.
When the person in charge saw the entire battle, he was speechless for a moment, fear impossible to conceal on his face. Without saying another word, he pulled out the USB drive containing the report and hurried toward the center of headquarters.
A few minutes later, an announcement rang out, causing everyone in the hall to widen their eyes in shock.
-"ATTENTION, ATTENTION, RED ALERT. THE BLACK EAGLE SQUAD HAS BEEN COMPLETELY WIPED OUT DURING THE MISSION. THE BOUNTY SYSTEM HAS BEEN ACTIVATED. ANYONE WHO POSSESSES INFORMATION ABOUT THE PERSON IN THE VIDEO MAY REPORT IT. AT THE SAME TIME, A BOUNTY OF 5,000,000 CRYSTALS HAS BEEN POSTED. ANYONE WHO SUCCESSFULLY KILLS THIS PERSON WILL RECEIVE THE REWARD."
The moment the announcement sounded, the entire hall was thrown into an uproar.
They knew that the Black Eagle Squad was one of the most outstanding teams in reconnaissance and assassination missions among all teams below level 40, despite having only four members.
Yet they had actually been completely wiped out.
When the video was played, everyone felt a chill run down their spines.
An unidentified figure whose face could not be seen had killed three members of the Black Eagle Squad with only three arrows, while the remaining member had managed to resist for only a dozen or so minutes before ultimately being forced to commit suicide.
The entire sequence of events had taken place within just 19 minutes.
Most of that time had been spent in the battle between the system doppelganger and the final member of the Black Eagle Squad.
Seeing this scene caused quite a few squads to swallow nervously.
In a certain room, after the person in charge issued the emergency alert, everyone inside was once again left stunned.
This time, they had dispatched a large number of teams to carry out missions, including the Black Eagle Squad.
Yet at this moment, everyone was overwhelmed by an indescribable sense of fear.
-"There's a very strange problem. The Black Eagle assassin squad we sent out has been completely wiped out, but this time they managed to send the video back. Let me play it."
The people in the room displayed the footage of the four men being killed on the screen.
The four had originally been talking normally, but at that moment, four arrows simultaneously struck them.
Three were directly hit in the head and died, while the person responsible for transmitting the message was fortunate enough to be struck only in the chest and temporarily pretended to be dead.
However, when everyone saw the battle that followed, all their emotions changed from fear into complete silence.
-"Completely wiped out? Dead is dead. These people are merely seeds and have not officially become members yet, so there's no need to care too much. But this matter is indeed extremely unusual."
One of them spoke to the others.
-"This person's strength must be at least above level 25. There is definitely something wrong with this person. Put him directly on the assassin mission board and have them gather information. Killing him would be ideal; capturing him alive will earn a heavy reward. Remember, the bigger the commotion, the better. Don't hide it."
Only after this order was transmitted did the scene described above occur.
As for Chen Luo's group, after everyone had been awakened from their brief sleep, they all moved together to the first-floor hall of the base.
After hearing that something bad had happened, they quickly put on their equipment and went downstairs to gather.
When Chen Luo saw that everyone had assembled, he spoke:
-"We're in trouble..."