183 Chapter 183: The Mysterious Girl

"Oh?" the girl smiled playfully. "What do you want to ask me?"

"Who are you?"

"Wouldn't you like to know?" the girl teased me. "Why are you so interested in me?" she raised her hands in mock outrage. "Are you hitting on me?"

"Isn't it the other way around?" I replied dryly, trying not to roll my eyes. The girl continued to giggle mischievously.

"I'm just an ordinary girl. There's nothing interesting about me at all."

"Really?" I snorted. "Even though you're pretty skilled?"

"Skilled? Whatever do you mean?" the girl acted innocently. "Don't be daft. If you hadn't intervened when you did, I would be in real trouble, you know?"

"Both you and I know that that's a lie," I retorted. "You slipped out of that thug's grip so easily and quickly before anyone realized it. That takes some real skill. And when the thug attacked with a knife, you were the one who subtly and gently guided my movements and allowed me to smoothly evade to the side so that I can counterattack. Furthermore…"

I studied her for a few moments.

"You also don't seem to be on your guard around me. You know my name, and you didn't even pull away or flinch when I placed my arm around you." Sad to say, that was the typical response of most girls when I got even one centimeter near them. Okay, I was probably exaggerating, but I was rarely in such close physical proximity with them that I was surprised she went along. "Unless you were super-confident or familiar enough with me, you wouldn't just let a male stranger approach you so closely and follow him wherever. And since I don't know you, I'm guessing it's the former – you're so skilled that you are confident that you'll be able to escape no matter what sort of situation you end up in. Am I correct, Miss?"

"Richard…" the girl was giggling, impressed. "I knew it. So you recognized me."

"No, I don't," I replied irritably. "Haven't you been listening? I don't know you at all. That's why I'm wondering…why do you know my name? Just who the hell are you?"

"You and I have met once before, you know?" the girl chuckled as she lowered her head slightly. "Our first encounter was so intense right from the start…"

"…huh?" I gaped at her, having no idea what she was saying.

"It was my first time having such a rough experience, you know?" the girl continued as she tightened her grip on my arm. "In fact, it was so hard that I lost consciousness immediately."

"Uh, what?" I scratched the back of my head as I frowned. "I'm sorry, I don't follow. I don't remember any intense encounter with you…"

"Fu fu…I can't believe how you continued to set your beast on me even after you blasted me with so much white stuff…"

"…white stuff…?" I repeated incredulously. She nodded, hiding her mouth with her free hand while giggling.

"Black and white stuff," she amended. "Followed by a golden explosion at the end."

Lady…I had no idea what you're talking about. With every new revelation I was finding myself increasingly lost.

"After I was engulfed by that golden spell of yours that you fired from your lion beast, I ended up getting knocked out."

Lion beast…golden spell…ah. Leo and his Regulus spell. That meant the black and white stuff was probably either Gan Jiang and Mo Ye or Castor and Pollux. The girl was clearly talking about a battle I had with her.

Unfortunately, I had fought too many enemies to be able to remember them all. So I shrugged. Until I suddenly recalled the piercing emerald eyes.

…the mask, and the poisoned daggers…

"Oh."

I immediately remembered who she was.

"You're from that time…"

The girl let go of my arm and practically waltzed to the front, turning around to beam at me brilliantly.

"I am Anastasia. I'm an Assassin that you defeated all those nights ago in Jing Tian City."

"Right outside my school," I confirmed with a nod. Anastasia didn't deny that, and instead continued to smile dazzlingly at me.

"That's correct."

That was right. I recalled that fateful incident not too many weeks ago, when I was suddenly assaulted by three Assassins outside my school while on my way home. I remembered Anastasia as the green-eyed Assassin who wielded poisonous weapons, and had to be extra careful of her. She was the only one I incapacitated, though. I killed her comrade with Lyra, and then tried to take out the last one, but the leader of the trio was skilled and fast enough to escape even my Vega.

Even so, right after I drove them away and captured the green-eyed Assassin, someone else showed up shortly after.

"Wait…didn't Instructor Feng Hai and the Silver Wolves take you away?"

Then I stiffened, realizing something. If Anastasia was here, then…

"You managed to escape from the Silver Wolves?"

"Relax!" Anastasia laughed as she tugged my arm. "Of course not! The Silver Wolves are an elite mage mercenary guild. There's no way I'll be able to escape them, right?"

"Then how are you here?"

"The answer is obvious." Anastasia wagged her finger in front of my face. "I was hired by the Silver Wolves."

"…huh?"

That was so out of left field that I didn't expect it. I continued to stare at Anastasia with disbelieving eyes.

"Instructor Feng Hai hired you…an Assassin?"

"A former Assassin," Anastasia corrected. She shrugged. "I'm no longer an Assassin, you know? After what you did, I couldn't go back. You know what they do to captured Assassins?" she made a slicing motion across her throat. "They kill us to silence us. If I want to stay alive, I've no choice but to throw my lot in with Brother Feng and the Silver Wolves."

"I'm surprised he hired you," I muttered. "I thought he would…interrogate you."

"They did. I told them whatever I know…which isn't a lot, to be honest." Anastasia sighed. "That's how the Assassin Guild works. They don't give us a lot of information because such cases often happen. If we Assassins get captured, apprehended or even killed…there are ways to extract intelligence from our bodies even if we refuse to talk. Memory manipulation, hypnotism, truth serums, brainwashing spells and more."

She then puffed her cheeks out and poked my face.

"Anyway, it's your fault that I can't return to the Assassin Guild! You're the one who defeated and captured me! So you have to take responsibility!"

"…I see." I still couldn't keep the skepticism out of my voice. Secondly, I couldn't imagine what she meant when she wanted me to take responsibility. Obviously she wasn't asking me to marry her. Perhaps she wanted me to be her partner for future missions? Unfortunately, I wasn't part of the Silver Wolves so that was pretty unlikely.

"Oh, come on!" Anastasia pouted as she placed her hands on her hips. "Stop giving me that look! You can trust me, you know? If I really wanted to kill you, I would have done so already. Or tried to." she smiled sheepishly. "You're a hard man to kill."

"Thank you," I acknowledged while considering her words. Anastasia had a point. Up till now, she had ample opportunities to assassinate me if that was her goal. She was a mistress of poisons, and at any point of time she could have slid a poisoned needle to pierce my skin while clinging onto me, or applied some toxic lotion on her hand so that she could let it seep into my skin while grabbing my arm. Or a dagger to my throat while behaving so intimately.

There was literally no reason for her to go in such a roundabout manner, revealing her name to me and acting all friendly and intimate if her goal was to assassinate me. She was a professional Assassin, not some badly written web novel or anime character.

"Still, I didn't expect you to be here…in Southampton City."

Even after revealing everything, Anastasia was following me in a leisurely manner, strolling beside me and taking my hand. To outsiders, we appeared to be a couple, but inwardly we were probably watching and examining each other, probing for openings. Not physical ones, but also mental ones, to get an edge in some subtle psychological warfare that was being waged even without my knowledge.

I wasn't sure I liked this. I was way out of my league regarding such nonsense.

Speaking of which, Anastasia didn't know anything about my newly obtained immunity to poisons. I saw no reason to tell her. It wasn't as if I could trust her just because she now suddenly showed up, claiming to be part of the Silver Wolves. There was still some element of distrust and the possibility of subterfuge.

Perhaps her objective now wasn't to assassinate me, but something else? That might explain why she was in Southampton City.

"A lot of things happened," I confessed while scratching my head. "A friend requested my presence, so I came." I shrugged. "He treated me to lunch, and then he had other business, so I decided to go home first. That's when I saw you."

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Anastasia brightened up.

"So you're free now?"

"Uh…I'm going home now."

"That's fine. I might as well follow you. It makes no difference if I stay here or go to Jing Tian City." Anastasia was nodding to herself. I raised an eyebrow in bewilderment.

"Huh? Why?"

"Hmm…well, because my next destination is out in the middle of nowhere." Frowning, Anastasia retrieved her smartphone and conjured up a hologram. Then she brightened up. "On the bright side, maybe I can ask you to come along!"

"Why should I?"

"You'll get paid!"

"How much?"

If there was money involved, then there was no hesitation. I would never say no to the prospect of earning more cash. I could buy a lot more stuff if I had more money…though what exactly, I had no idea. Well, I could always think of what to buy after I earned the required cash. Otherwise it was pointless thinking too much about it if I hadn't gotten the money in hand. Don't count your chickens before they hatch and all that.

Anastasia winked at me, and then tugged me toward the direction of some obscure place. I raised an eyebrow, but followed for a while until I realized where she was leading me toward.

"…are you serious?"

"Dead serious," Anastasia assured me.

Well, no amount of money was going to convince me if this was the case. I sensed a trap. A honey trap, perhaps, but no matter how sweet it looked or tasted, a trap was still a trap.

In this particular case, it took the form of a hotel district. Neon signboards with holographic displays of pink hearts and moody lighting filed the area. There were a few couples moving discreetly before entering the hotel lobbies, their arms linked. There were different rates, and instead of per night, it was per hour. Though there was a flat charge for a single night. Evidently, these hotels did not intend to accommodate their guests for any period longer than a single night.

"Sorry. I think I had best…"

"Don't worry about it," Anastasia assured me again, a confident smile crossing over her face. "I don't intend to do anything weird to you. It's just that, for this sort of intimate activity, we need an enclosed, secure place that's out of view and hearing of the public. Wouldn't you agree, Darling?"

She then glanced around pointedly before clamping hard on my arm with a mischievous wink.

"In any case, I won't let you go. You'll be accompanying me the whole night. Perhaps we could get a threesome?"

I suddenly understood that she was using some sort of code word, especially when she emphasized that last word with a wave of her smartphone.

Threesome = third party. An enclosed space that was out of view and hearing of the public. To prevent people from spying or eavesdropping.

"…all right," I agreed somewhat reluctantly. "I'll play along. But nothing too extreme, or I'll beat the hell out of here."

"Don't worry, Richard." Anastasia laughed throatily as she continued to cling firmly onto me. "I guarantee that you'll like what I have in mind for you."