Forge a path to success.

Chapter 359 A Friendship as Faint as a Phantom (4)

Wang Quan claimed his birthday was January 1st, so Chu Hengkong spent New Year's Day the following year on the Eiffel Tower. When Chu Hengkong reached the top of the tower with his bare hands, Wang Quan, disguised as a disheveled vagrant, was smoking heavily against the wind.

"Happy birthday." Chu Heng tossed a watch over.

Wang Quan held it up with both hands, his eyes filled with lust like a true pauper: "God's egg, this is a Patek Philippe!"

“You’ve given yourself away; the homeless man won’t recognize this brand.”

Wang Quan skillfully fastened his watch: "How do you know the homeless man wasn't a millionaire back then? We're in Paris, a romantic city full of men and women who are completely devoid of reason. The taxi driver who's helping you might have been a big shot ten years ago."

"Do you like to create a story behind every identity? Then you'd be suited to be a writer."

"Thank you for your kind words. When I get too old to move, I'll switch careers and write books. If those idiots on the internet dare to nitpick my details, I'll just type on the keyboard and share with them the little-known facts that even friends who frequently commit murder know."

Chu Hengkong glanced around. The night sky was brightly lit by the New Year's Eve fireworks, and only the two of them stood in the small space more than 300 meters above the ground. This place should be quiet and deserted like this. No one would be out and about during the New Year, and even the maintenance workers of the iron tower wouldn't climb to the top with their bare hands.

"What about the rest?"

"There's no one else here. Unlike you, a gang leader, I'm a reclusive loner with no friends. Aside from missions, I don't have much to do except observe humans."

“That only shows that you are arrogant,” Chu Hengkong said. “You have been indulging in your delusional myths for too long, to the point that you are unwilling to associate with those ‘mortals’ you look down on.”

Wang Quan smiled and said, "It's not a matter of power! I don't want to communicate with people who don't love."

"This city is full of romantics overflowing with love."

“That’s fake love.” It pointed to itself. “True love is selfless. Most people don’t have love, so I’m very distressed when I’m with them.”

Chu Hengkong found it even more absurd: "Parents all over the world would be furious with your words."

"Is the love of parents for their children selfless?" Wang Quan countered. "Even the most enlightened and gentle parents will consider their child's future and worry about how they will grow up. If a child becomes unambitious or even turns into a rude and unruly person, can his parents still love him as much as they did at the beginning?"

“Anyone who can still spoil their children to that extent is a fool,” Chu Hengkong said. “Do you want love that is equal and unchanging forever? Then you’d better go believe in God and chant with the priests about God’s love for the world.”

"God has also brought suffering to the world, sending down His Four Horsemen to spread death. A god like that probably wouldn't love me."

Wang Quan stretched out his hand exaggeratedly, as if searching for a phantom angel. Chu Hengkong shook his head: "Then you are destined to be lonely for the rest of your life. You want a god who transcends the world, disregards morality, and spreads love without restraint. Such a thing is impossible. Even the fanatics of ancient times would not have imagined such an image, because even mythology emphasizes clear rewards and punishments."

Wang Quan ignored him and gazed wistfully at the moon in the sky.

"Perhaps such a god really exists?" it whispered.

"impossible."

“You’re so heartless,” it laughed. “That’s why you can be my friend.”

"I am a million miles away from being compassionate."

“Don’t you realize that you are very similar to true love?” Wang Quan toyed with the watch. “You did so many things without seeking any reward. You saved that girl in the rain but received nothing in return. You took the wealth that Verus gave you just to put their minds at ease. In reality, you never asked Vilbert for anything in return. You just like the feeling of silently giving to the one you love, just like me.”

"Do as you please. You can apply this twisted logic to everyone you know. A person knows best what they are really like."

Chu Hengkong didn't care; he had never cared about such games of words and definitions. He lit a cigarette in the cold wind, and Wang Quan, who also had a cigarette in his mouth, leaned over to borrow a light.

This means the topic is over. They are friends, and friends won't continue talking about something uninteresting.

"As a return gift for the watch, here's some intelligence: the sniper is heading to Paris." Wang Quan tightened his tattered coat. "You know who the target is without me having to tell you."

Chu Hengkong took a deep drag of his cigarette, feeling the smoke linger in his lungs. He blew the smoke into the cold wind: "Who hired him?"

"One of the elderly people."

Wang Quan spat out his cigarette butt, watching the tiny spark drift away in the wind: "Keep an eye on your girl, don't let her go any deeper. We can be at peace in the mire of ignorance, but if she insists on going deeper, even I can't change the outcome."

Chu Hengkong patted its shoulder: "Thanks for the advice. If one day they send you to kill me, remember to dress up as a hot beauty... that way my attention might be diverted, and you'll have a slight chance of winning."

"I would never do that!"

Wang Quan spoke flippantly, watching the assassin leap from the iron tower and move nimbly through the steel jungle like a primitive man.

“I won’t do that,” it repeated softly.

·
A week later, at the Paris Fashion Week show, Chu Hengkong faced off against Shax for the first time. This was his first tough battle in years; the mercenary's gun was damnably accurate, and the specially made bullets could even break through his defenses.

That evening, they retreated to a temporary base. Due to a shortage of medical personnel, the boss personally changed his bandages.

“Vilbert, take my advice,” he said seriously. “Stop investigating the royal power. This is a warning from the Blood Alliance. We have no grudge against them, and there’s no need for us to fall out with them out of curiosity.”

“I stopped investigating after that,” Vilbert said. “I was investigating who was behind my father’s murder.”

Chu Hengkong realized what was happening. They had always suspected that the Blood Alliance's higher-ups had framed Old Velus, and that suspicion had been confirmed today.

“Then you can investigate with confidence. I’ll kill as many people as come,” he told Vilbert.

·
Since that day, the situation has gradually become dangerous.

The men on the list began to appear one after another. The person who hired them was quite shrewd, and the mission requirement was not to kill on sight but to retreat if the attack failed. He didn't expect to achieve victory in one strike; he wanted to wear down Verus's will through this unpredictable war of attrition until the moment of weakness arrived.

Chu Hengkong began a hectic and interesting life. The assassins were all quite skilled, and the intensity of the enemy's attacks allowed him to deduce the boss's investigation progress. He gradually became less involved in the extermination of the aliens; the boss's newly developed drones performed faster and better in this regard than the thugs. The more frequent the assassinations, the more alien missions the Blood Alliance directly issued, prompting him to ponder the underlying meaning.

“Some things are changing.” Wang Quan handed him a can of Coke. “The old folks have found something… and they’re starting to get increasingly anxious.”

"An elixir of immortality?" Chu Heng laughed.

Wang Quan didn't smile. Today, she was dressed as a powerful career woman in a suit and tie, and her face seemed to be naturally meant to be taut and tense.

“Outsiders always have some strange methods,” it said vaguely. “Listen, soon the Blood Alliance will issue a new mission to wipe out the dark wizards in London. This is an unprecedented large-scale mission, and you must be there this time. If the Verus family doesn’t show sincerity, they will raise the banner of breaking the alliance.”

He understood the meaning of royal power. Once branded a traitor, even the strongest force would be doomed. Before setting off, he entrusted the White Wolf to take care of Velvet. At that time, the White Wolf's health was already critical, but he was still capable of serving as a guard for a day.

As he boarded the helicopter, a white-haired girl in a dress sat beside him; she had grown somewhat since their first meeting. At that moment, Chu Hengkong knew this mission was unlikely to end well. And indeed, as he suspected, the black wizards' "witchcraft" was inconceivably powerful. Normally, they would merely use crude methods to sew human bodies together for show, but this time, the black wizards had become living monsters. Multi-headed blobs of flesh, cultists whose lower bodies writhed like minced meat, a cult leader so obese it was nauseating…

When the mission was over, even Wang Quan's dress was stained red with blood. Chu Hengkong ripped off the cult leader's head and smashed it on the muddy ground.

“It’s over.” He gasped for breath. “Put that thing down, I’m smashing it.”

Wang Quan was holding the black wizards' "idol," a strange, jet-black sphere that resembled a full moon with a mouth. This freak, who played among humans, seemed bewildered and uncertain, as if he had sensed something from the idol.

Chu Heng reached out to snatch the statue, but Wang Quan dodged it. It grabbed the moon and took a step back.

"The elderly want this."

"Tell them it was destroyed in the battle."

"For necessary research—"

"This thing can't be left behind."

“I will keep an eye on them.” Wang Quan looked him in the eye. “Smash it immediately after the preliminary analysis report comes out. Trust me.”

"Alright," Chu Hengkong said, then suddenly hurled a pebble, smashing it through the statue. A large hole appeared in the center of the full moon, from which a disgusting black liquid flowed.

Wang Quan sighed deeply, tossing the useless thing into his bag: "I'll be sent to an internal court..."

"To hell with those old fogies." He slapped Wang Quan hard. "Come on, let me buy you a drink."

The mission was a success. After treating Wang Quan to two drinks, he returned to the Verus estate and thanked the literally exhausted White Wolf profusely. He recounted all the details to his master, convinced he had done the right thing.

"Ah Kong, are you sure it's a full moon?" Velbert also seemed nervous.

“That strange thing actually looks more like a ball of flesh, but the first time I saw it, I thought it was the moon.” Chu Hengkong thought for a moment, “as if the moon should look like this.”

“You did the right thing,” Velbert said firmly. “Tell me everything you know about those wizards. From this day forward, the Blood Oath is no longer trustworthy.”

He wanted to say that his boss was making a mountain out of a molehill, but he knew that his boss never exaggerated.

After that, an eerie calm descended. The assassins ceased their attacks, and the Blood Alliance sent no new missions. Yet, this very calm suggested that the enemy was brewing something. Velvet found a new lead, meticulously investigating every major Blood Alliance mission over the past twenty years, starting with the exterminated dark wizards. She grew increasingly weary, but never discouraged, for she was on the right track.

"It's almost here, Ah Kong," she told Chu Hengkong privately. "It's very close. I've already guessed the truth."

"It's not like we're solving a case, there's no need to talk about evidence. I'll just go directly to whoever I've identified."

"We need evidence this time."

On that bitterly cold winter day, White Wolf's life finally came to an end. He personally saw his old acquaintance off on his final journey, wandered alone on the snowy streets for half a day, and finally logged onto QQ to send a message to an account he had chatted with long ago.

The next day, he and Wang Quan stood in front of the white wolf's grave, and Wang Quan placed a bunch of sunflowers on a blue stone.

“The Russians all like this,” it said confidently.

"This is the first time I've ever seen sunflowers placed on a grave."

"White Wolf isn't one to wallow in self-pity, wouldn't it be nice to lighten the mood?" Wang Quan shrugged. "Any last words?"

Yes. 'Thank you.'

Wang Quan was confused. He explained, "White Wolf didn't want to die in bed, so we had a final fight."

Wang Quan understood, and his smile appeared so melancholic in the bright sunlight.

"You personally saw off one of your few friends."

Chu Hengkong placed a pack of cigarettes in front of the grave. He had quit smoking some time ago, and he carried it with him as a memento.

“If it weren’t for cancer, this day might have come decades later,” he said. “But it will come eventually. No one can live forever, and we will all have this day. I’m thinking about whether I should take on an apprentice to help me with my affairs after I die, otherwise if I die even earlier, no one will be worthy to see me off in my final moments.”

"You're overthinking it. That day will never come."

"We must accept reality..."

"Will not!"

Wang Quan forcefully interrupted him, gripping his shoulders tightly with both hands. A hint of madness flickered in his dark eyes.

"Life never ends, for love is eternal!"

Chu Hengkong was speechless: "Wake up!"

“You are the one who is ignorant,” Wang Quan told him. “You will see it, Chu Hengkong. Tell Verus to obey me this time, and you will see true love!”

That was the last time they met as friends. A week later, the Blood Alliance held an emergency meeting, which all family heads were required to attend in person. But Violet didn't move. She said that if she went this time, she would really die, and there would be no chance of turning the tide.

Chu Hengkong trusted her judgment and made comprehensive preparations, including the worst-case scenario. However, he never expected that Shaks Ibn Urd would initiate a duel just two days later. That damned mercenary was finally going to fight him to the death, and at such a terrible time.

The morning after the duel, he lay in his hospital room, chatting casually with his boss who had come to see him. The boss put down his newspaper and prepared to leave, but he grabbed the man's hand. He knew Vilbert had something else to say.

"You've found it," Chu Hengkong said confidently.

“I found it.” Wilber nodded.

He tried his best to stay alert: "Who is it?"

“Ten years ago, my father was investigating the secrets of the dark wizards. He almost found out everything about them. He suspected that the dark wizards had infiltrated the upper echelons of the Blood Alliance, so he made an agreement with the King of the Blood Alliance to launch a top-secret raid.” The girl said softly, “That mission was of the highest level of secrecy. The current Twin Serpents went there in person. Apart from my father and the previous Serpent of Life, only one other person was qualified to participate in that operation.”

She silently gazed into Chu Hengkong's eyes and uttered the name that was both familiar and utterly foreign to him.

"Dark Reign".

(End of this chapter)