Chapter 23

“Learn well and use what you’ve learned.”

Seeing that Yun Qingshang was unmoved, Gao Xuan became glib and tried his best to brainwash Yun Qingshang.

“You’ve gone through so much hardship and struggled and fought to the death to acquire the abilities you have now. How can you give up on everything that you’ve learned? How can you let yourself down like that?”

Yun Qingshang said seriously, “I don’t like to kill.”

“I don’t like to kill either. I like to play with games at leisure, play with girls, enjoy food, and enjoy everything nice life has to offer.”

Gao Xuan said with a serious expression, “The universe is a giant, dark forest. We’ll become prey if all we know how to do is live a life of glitz and glamor. I don’t want to be prey. I want to be a predator.”

He sighed, then said, “Even though the universe is huge, there’s not a piece of land out there that’s peaceful. There will never be a piece of land that’s peaceful. Powerful fighters pillage and control everything. Weaklings can only follow and accept. A perfect world where there’s no fighting is just an idealistic fantasy.”

Even though Yun Qingshang was silent, she felt that Gao Xuan was exaggerating.

Even though there was a strict class structure in modern society, a person was still guaranteed basic human rights.

With their abilities, it shouldn’t be difficult for them to become middle class.

The risks involved in becoming an assassin and killing people were no small matter. Furthermore, what Gao Xuan was suggesting seemed to stem from his own personal interests.

This talkative man was more merciless than anyone she knew!

Gao Xuan saw the suspicious expression on Yun Qingshang’s face. He said with a cross expression, “Hey hey, do you think I’m lying to you right now? To think that you would suspect a buddy like me. To think that you would suspect a partner who would fight to the death with you. You’re making me too sad…”

“I am a little suspicious.”

Yun Qingshang honestly admitted her doubts. She had decided to protect Gao Xuan forever, but that didn’t mean that she had to listen to everything Gao Xuan said.

For example, she didn’t want to support Gao Xuan’s unorthodox idea.

“To think that you admitted it!” Gao Xuan put a sad expression on his face. “Take back what you said quickly if you still have even a little bit of respect for our friendship.”

Yun Qingshang stood there silently and allowed Gao Xuan to say whatever he wanted. She didn’t speak.

“You’re fighting me with silence.” Gao Xuan sighed. “Fine. I’ll tell you the truth. First, the Blood Deity Association has many splinter associations on Pegasus Planet. These people are in cahoots with Zhou Lang. We have to deal with them, don’t we?

“Also, there are many Spirit Beings amongst our kind. We have to kill Spirit Beings, don’t we?

Gao Xuan said, “Since we have to kill people anyway, we might as well seize the opportunity to earn some money…”

“Spirit Beings?”

Yun Qingshang was completely ignorant about the matter and was a little dumbfounded when she heard the term.

Gao Xuan explained the Spirit Beings to her. “Actually, there are many other races mixed in with the human race. That includes a variety of life forms like the Insect Race, the Shadow Race, etc…

“The universe is made up of a myriad of strange life forms. When the human race stepped into the galaxy, it was inevitable that we would have dealings with these life forms.

“However, the population of the human race was too large, and our collective power was abnormally strong. Most of the smaller races either avoided the human race or lurked amongst us.

“The human alliance expanded too quickly and violated the interests of a few large races in the galaxy. A great galactic war will soon erupt…”

Gao Xuan explained the situation in his previous life. But, of course, he said it in a speculative tone.

“What’s that got to do with us?”

Yun Qingshang felt that this was a problem for the distant future and way beyond them. Even if the world was going to be destroyed, there was nothing they could do about it.

“Don’t belittle yourself. Perhaps we might be able to save the human race.

Gao Xuan said, “At the very least, we have to stay alive and preserve the bloodline of the human race.”

“So?”

“So we have to start by dealing with the small matters around us. By killing, we can eradicate our enemies, train ourselves, and earn some money. That takes care of three birds with one stone…”

Yun Qingshang looked doubtfully at Gao Xuan. She had a nagging feeling that Gao Xuan was spouting nonsense.

“We’ll first come up with a fake identity, then register an account with the Assassin Association on the dark web. We’ll be able to accept orders after that.

“What do you want to be called?” Gao Xuan asked excitedly.

“Huh?” Yun Qingshang didn’t understand.

“Your assassin nickname.”

When he saw how lost Yun Qingshang looked, he knew he couldn’t count on her to come up with a nickname.

He thought for a moment, then said, “Why not ‘Sunshine Boy?’ It’s positive and lively. It leaves a deep impression…

“Judging from your expression, you don’t seem to agree. Then how about Handsome Brother? Fatal Little Cutie?”

Gao Xuan had an important issue to take care of. He brought Yun Qingshang to the Eastern 11th Sector of the Ninth Ring after dinner.

Mingjing City’s property prices corresponded to the ring they were in, with the central sector being the most expensive. The further away from the central sector the properties were, the cheaper the prices.

Based on wealth, the different sectors in Mingjing City naturally divided its citizens by social classes.

The people who stayed in the Ninth and Tenth Rings were the lowest classes of people in society. Most of these people didn’t have jobs and relied on the aid given them by the alliance for survival.

The Ninth and Tenth Rings were also the most chaotic and dangerous sectors. At night, even the law enforcers from the alliance wouldn’t recklessly enter the area.

In many of the areas here, the Skynet Signal had been blocked off by some people.

This was especially so for the Eastern Sector of the Ninth Ring. Everyone knew that this was the most depraved area in the entire city.

The trains that connected the entire Mingjing City were managed by artificial intelligence and operated 24 hours a day. It was the number one choice of transportation for the average person.

Gao Xuan and Yun Qingshang sat facing each other in the carriage. Both of them were dressed in black hooded windbreakers and were wearing large face masks. Gao Xuan was wearing a completely dark pair of sunglasses.

Their getup was suspicious, but no one in this megacity would pry into someone else’s business.

The rest of the people in the carriage were dressed in loud colors and eccentric styles. The clothes that Gao Xuan and Yun Qingshang were wearing didn’t stand out in any way.

When they stepped out of the carriage, even the law enforcement robots didn’t pay them any mind.

The law enforcement robots would only stop a perpetrator after it had ascertained that they were committing a crime.

The 11th Sector was bustling. Neon lights of a variety of colors were pieced together to form giant advertising billboards. There was also a myriad of holograms dancing manically on the top of the buildings.

There were scantily-dressed girls all over the streets, as well as fierce muscular men and skinny, shifty-looking vendors.

The customers who were looking to have fun all reeked of alcohol and were staggering as they walked, spouting nonsense.

To an average person, this place was bizarre and depraved.

As Gao Xuan and Yun Qingshang walked, they were met with many girls from the streets who tried to talk them up.

“Come and play. We’ll take you to the skies with just 50 Credit Points…”

“Come and play, Sir. We’re adept in all thirty-six styles and specialize in role play. You can play with us however you please…”

There were even some shifty vendors who followed behind Gao Xuan and whispered their wares: “An electronic card that will make you experience extreme joy. Just download it to enjoy extreme happiness. Only 200 Credit Points.”

Gao Xuan didn’t stop once. Yun Qingshang and Gao Xuan looked so cold and aloof that not many people dared to stop them.

“It’s here…” Gao Xuan pointed to the Iron Fist Bar in front of them and said, “This is one of the web spots the Blood Deity Association has in Mingjing City. Even though it’s a little run down, it’s very lively inside.”

The words “Iron Fist Bar” were exceptionally eye-catching, even amongst the whimsical lights around them.

Gao Xuan pushed open the door of the bar. The loud music blasted out from within like the tide, drowning both him and Yun Qingshang.

Spotlights of various colors shimmered in the dark bar. Two ample women who were dressed in almost nothing twirled their bodies around on the small stage in the middle of the bar.

The customers around the stage bobbed their heads to the beat of the music and threw out virtual coins from time to time.

These coins were actually Credit Points, but they were displayed as coins when tossed out for effect.

The gold coins that were scattered on the stage shimmered and were especially eye-catching.

The waitresses that walked around the bar were also dressed unusually scantily, and the drunk customers occasionally reached out to pinch or pat them.

Yun Qingshang knitted her brows. This demonic dance made her uncomfortable.

Fortunately, she was disguised as a merciless man, so no one stepped forward to harass her.

However, Gao Xuan was very interested in the glamorous act. He stood to the side and watched the performance for a long time before bringing Yun Qingshang into the bar and booking them a room.

There were two burly men dressed in black short-sleeved shirts at the end of the corridor, where the entrance of their room was.

The two burly men both had metal prosthetic arms and a metallic chip on their chests. These attachments protruded out of their short-sleeved shirts.

Modern metallic prosthetic technology was very advanced. Prosthesis were more nimble than human limbs and could exert more force. They were also immune to many types of damage.

Any violent fighter who had to work in these environments would almost always modify a part of their body. Not only would they be able to enhance their battle capabilities, but they could also make themselves look more threatening.

Even though these modifications were simple, they weren’t cheap. Furthermore, they would lose their natural sense of touch after the modifications were complete.

More importantly, the human body was compatible with Source Power. On the other hand, modified metallic prosthetics weren’t compatible with Source Power.

A true expert would never recklessly modify their bodies.

Anyone who displayed their metallic prosthetics out in the open was most definitely a gangster.

The two fighters observed Gao Xuan. One of their electronic eyes glimmered with red light and did a scan of both Gao Xuan and Yun Qingshang.

Gao Xuan didn’t mind this. These low-level electronic eyes were also metal detectors, but they couldn’t detect anything more than that.

“What are you doing?” one of the burly men asked after he scanned Gao Xuan and Yun Qingshang and found that they didn’t have any dangerous weapons on them.

“We’ve come to do a little business with Old Dog.”

Gao Xuan was an expert. He had dealt with many people like this in his previous life.

The two burly men seemed to relax a bit when they heard Gao Xuan say this.

One of them asked for instructions through a communications device before pushing the door open and signaling for Gao Xuan and Yun Qingshang to enter.

The room was somewhat small. A few ferocious-looking men were lying on the sofa inside, and the table was covered with bottles of liquor and snacks.

There was a muscular man in the center of the room. When he saw Gao Xuan and Yun Qingshang enter, he said lazily, “What do you dabble in?”

This man had extremely short eyebrows that looked like two moles on his forehead, and he didn’t have a lot of hair. His chin stuck outward, making him look a little like a dog. He was the boss of this bar—Old Dog.

“We’re businessmen,” Gao Xuan said. “I want to buy a batch of smartwatches with identification numbers.”

The Skynet was everywhere. They had to hide their identities if they wanted to engage in the assassination business, and Old Dog was an expert in that respect.

Old Dog glanced at Gao Xuan, whose eyes were completely hidden. “You’re being sneaky in front of me. Do you know the rules?”

“Did you hear the boss’s words? Take off the sanitary napkin on your face.”

“Why won’t you show your face?”

A bunch of bodyguards cursed and stood up when Gao Xuan didn’t respond, and the two of them even pointed their guns at Gao Xuan and Yun Qingshang.

Gao Xuan tilted his head and said to Yun Qingshang, “What are you doing just standing there? Protect me.”

“Oh,” Yun Qingshang replied blankly.