Forge a path to success.

Chapter 356 A Friendship as Faint as a Phantom (1)

That happened not long after Chu Hengkong officially joined the company.

On a sweltering summer day, as he struggled with tedious family documents, hidden histories, and heraldry, his boss, unusually, took a day off from his classes to assign him a task. Walking into the office, he radiated an almost prison-release-like joy.

"Even if you asked me to assassinate the president, I would leave with a smile on my face."

“The first thing I need to tell you is to put away this careless attitude,” Wilbert told him.

Beside her desk sat a briefcase, its silver metal casing emblazoned with a bright red temple emblem—the seal of the Blood Oath. Chu Hengkong's interest was piqued by the briefcase, and before Vilbert could stop him, he had already crouched down and begun tapping and examining it.

"A miniature nuclear bomb?" he guessed as he tapped it. "A biological weapon? A strange little craft?"

Chu Heng could usually determine the contents of a suitcase by the echo; those with keen hearing could use this useful little trick. But this time, his hearing failed him. Perhaps it was because of the suitcase's special material; the vibrations from the taps seemed to disappear into a black hole, failing to elicit any response.

“Stop, Akong.” Vilbert pressed his hand down. “Secondly, don’t touch this box. This is a guard duty.”

"Where to send it?"

“A building in New Jersey.” Vilbert handed him a photo. “It’s a mission directly issued by the Blood Alliance. The building is full of Blood Alliance traitors.”

Since Violet said that, it meant she had personally investigated the situation. Chu Hengkong put away the photo and listened to her say, "The specific route is in your car. You need to arrive at your destination before 20:30 PM tonight."

"after?"

“Open the box at the building entrance,” Wilbert said. “Mission complete.”

Chu Hengkong weighed the box in his hand; it wasn't light, much heavier than he had estimated. This job was clearly suspicious, because the boss never gave such vague information. It was most likely a special mission assigned by the Blood Alliance's higher-ups, but the boss couldn't elaborate due to ancient covenants or similar reasons.

He waved to indicate that he understood, and as he walked out the door, he heard another instruction from Wilbert.

"If you find anything unusual, throw the box away and come back."

"I suspect the Blood Alliance didn't give that explanation."

"This is my request."

"Received, received, received!" Chu Hengkong casually lifted the box and carried it on his back with one hand, like a schoolbag.

The journey to his destination was incredibly tedious: drive, board a private jet, land, drive another car. This wasn't the era of rampant traitors anymore; they'd purged the entire family, and no one except the boss knew his whereabouts. He began to miss the days when he'd drive around with girls, engaging in gunfights—slightly thrilling but also quite fun, and he could occasionally crack a joke to amuse little Violet.

Now, Violet is a powerful underworld boss, able to walk onto the Blood Alliance's round table without batting an eye, even stepping over the faces of the dead. The missions assigned by the big boss are so boring and repetitive that they're not as fun as the Blood Alliance's missions to eliminate outcasts.

"Doesn't it feel like sitting in an office?" he said to the box. "Comfortable, peaceful, day after day."

I arrived at my destination at 20:25 PM. The logo at the building entrance contained suspicious symbols of a dark wizard. A crescent moon smeared with prison-like horizontal lines, or a half-drawn full moon—those dark wizards were always obsessed with moon worship.

This place is 100% hopeless. Chu Hengkong casually knocked out the guard on duty and laid his suitcase flat under the cover of night. He thought for a long time about an opening line that would never be used, and finally told a lame joke:

"Time to get to work."

He unlocked the combination lock.

The suitcase opened automatically, and moonlight shone into the dark velvet lining, illuminating a pair of slowly opening eyes.

Chu Hengkong subconsciously held his breath. He had imagined many possibilities along the way, but even the most absurd imagination paled in comparison to the reality before him. A slender girl was curled up in the box, her light white hair tinged with pale blue. She wore only a plain dress, her fair skin faintly visible beneath the thin fabric, her delicate features like a masterpiece of Pygmalion.

For a fleeting moment, Chu Hengkong thought he had brought over a doll, because the girl lacked any sense of realism; she seemed entirely fake. A living person couldn't possibly remain silent in a box for eight hours—even he couldn't do that.

But as he was thinking this, the girl stood up and took a few steps with her slender, delicate ankles. She walked barefoot into the building, and Chu Hengkong's gaze followed her. Soon after, he saw the brightly lit building gradually darken until the last light went out, and silence descended upon the darkness.

It felt like being swallowed whole by an unknown behemoth.

Three minutes later, the girl appeared under the streetlight, without a trace of blood on her. She nodded slightly.

"Mission complete," she said.

Where are the people in the building?

"They paid the price for betraying the Blood Oath."

Chu Hengkong raised an eyebrow: "With your skills, there's no need for me to make this trip alone."

“This is for observation,” the white-haired girl said. “There is controversy within the Blood Alliance regarding the new Velves. They acknowledge his talent but worry that he will repeat the mistakes of the past. But you are far more powerful than the previous Serpent of Life, so I can confidently hand over power to Velves.”

"Such an arrogant tone, as if you were the king of the Blood Alliance." Chu Hengkong laughed.

Do you think the King is the ruler of the Blood Alliance?

"Perhaps he'd be called Emperor? Consul?" Chu Hengkong shrugged. "There must be someone like that, otherwise who would be sending out tasks all the time?"

“Such people do exist, but they are meaningless in themselves. Because a king’s position comes from the scepter in his hand, and a king without power is just another mortal,” the girl said. “Just as Velbert Velus became queen because of you, she would have no power without you.”

Chu Hengkong suddenly reached out and pressed his fingertip against her nose. The girl stared at him silently.

“If you want to get along with me, learn to respect my boss in front of me,” Chu Hengkong told her. “Otherwise, I don’t mind teaching you what violence is stronger than power.”

The girl tilted her head and smiled.

“Very interesting. I look forward to your performance, Chu Hengkong.” She turned and picked up her suitcase, disappearing into the night. Chu Hengkong walked into the dark building, scanning the corpses on the ground floor by floor.

Not a single drop of blood could be seen in the building; everyone had died instantly from suffocation. He replayed the scene from minutes earlier in his mind: the girl darted behind her target, her delicate hand silently brushing across his neck, like a white grim reaper embracing him. And so, someone died silently, and she quietly departed to visit the next victim.

He finally squatted on the rooftop and made a phone call to his boss.

"Has a battle broken out?" Velbert asked.

“They didn’t fight,” he said. “I guess she’s the Dark Kingdom?”

·
The title "Dark Kingdom" does not exist in the surface world; it is a legend that circulates only among Blood Oath assassins.

Some swear that Wang Quan is an unparalleled beauty, captivating with every smile and gesture; others swear that Wang Quan is a disfigured woman who kills her targets in the most ruthless way because of her hatred for the world; retired veteran assassins say that Wang Quan is an invisible vengeful ghost; and old members of the underworld family swear that Wang Quan is an amorphous monster.

There are countless legends about the King's Power, but they all share one common thread: he is incredibly powerful, perhaps the strongest being on Earth. This is because the King's Power is an assassin who kills assassins; his opponents are battle-hardened individuals who attempt to betray the Blood Pact. These traitors often defect with great fanfare only to die silently, their gruesome corpses displayed to the various clan leaders as a demonstration of the consequences of betrayal.

That irresistible power is proof of authority.

"Brother Chu, who's more awesome, you or Wang Quan?"

The lackey, with a shifty look on his face, handed him a cigarette and obsequiously lit it for him. Chu Hengkong blew a smoke ring at him irritably: "Where the hell did you hear that from?"

"Everyone's talking about it!" the underling said, making it sound very convincing. "They say you fought Wang Quan for three hundred rounds in the traitor's headquarters, and after the fight, the whole building was gone."

"They even demolished it and put it upstairs, that's pure bullshit."

The younger brother's eyes lit up: "So you've really seen it? Is it amazing?"

"You can't catch up with me!" Chu Hengkong laughed.

He turned to buy a magazine, but saw another young man walk out of the convenience store, with the exact same face and expression. A voice, exactly as he remembered, echoed behind him: "That's not necessarily true."

The "little brother" was still smiling, no longer with its shifty eyes, but with a playful, cat-and-mouse attitude. Chu Hengkong wasn't buying it. He went up and pinched its face, but couldn't pull it off despite using some force.

"The mask is of good quality."

“Using your muscles to stick it to your face can fool most of the detectives,” Wang Quan said. “However, if you squeeze it too hard, even the best mask will break.”

He or she pinched the loosened "cheek" and ripped the mask off. A handsome white-haired boy then appeared, just as rumored, a beautiful man with a pair of dark, bright eyes.

Chu Heng glanced at it and commented, "Not as good-looking as last time."

Wang Quan put his hands in his pockets and sat on a fire hydrant by the roadside: "You're a teenager in your adolescence, aren't you? I think that image would make you feel awkward, and you wouldn't really want to chat with a blushing sacrificial snake."

"You seem to have looked down on me from the very first time we met," Chu Hengkong sneered.

"It was just a little joke."

He leaned back sharply, dodging Chu Hengkong's sudden grappling move: "Don't be so rough, what should I do if I'm really a girl?"

“In our line of work, we believe in gender equality. If someone provokes me, I’ll fight them without hesitation,” Chu Hengkong told him. “You better watch out, kid. I’ll definitely recognize you next time.”

·
"Please enjoy your ice-cold beer."

"Thank you."

Chu Hengkong pulled the tab and took a sip, noticing a simple smiley face drawn on the can. The waitress turned and smiled, "Dark Power sends its greetings."

"Go to hell."

He tossed the beer can over, and Wang Quan caught it with a grin, sitting across the table and taking a sip. Chu Heng was furious; he rarely suffered a setback, yet he had been outmaneuvered twice by this man.

"how did you do it?"

·
“It depends on observation,” said Wang Quan, who was dressed as a newspaper boy. “Imitation of appearance is not important; what is truly important is demeanor. You need to hide in the shadows for a long time to observe a person, imitate his actions, and imitate his thoughts.”

Wang Quan, who works at a gas station, smiled at him: "Imagine yourself as him, live your life, pursue what he pursues, despise what he despises, love the people he would love, hate the people he would hate, until one day you forget your original name and think that he is who you really are..."

“On that day, you will truly become a different person.” Magician Wang Quan blinked, took off his top hat, and released a flock of pigeons.

They began a little game without rules, the outcome of which depended on whether one could identify Wang Quan from among those who passed by. Chu Hengkong suffered repeated defeats in the early stages of the game, failing to recognize any of the acquaintances Wang Quan impersonated for a whole week. In the second week, he became more alert, throwing stones before Wang Quan even greeted him.

On the third day of the third week, he casually grabbed a petty thief's wrist and pinched the boy's face hard.

"I'm starting to recognize you."

"Why?" asked the thief Wang Quan.

"Your eyes. There's something deep in your eyes that can't be changed."

Wang Quan rubbed his cheek, lost in thought: "Looks like next time I'll have to pretend to be a blind flower girl to get close to you."

"Go back to your own workplace," Chu Hengkong told him.

(End of this chapter)