The blonde-haired, blue-eyed man called Ross instantly raised his hands in a gesture of surrender, his eyes filled with terror.
He hadn't expected to be surrounded the moment he showed his face.
But another man named Laurent suddenly let out a savage grin.
"You don't understand the power of the game!"
As he spoke, his figure abruptly vanished from where he stood.
Invisibility!
It was absolutely incredible.
Ross's eyes went wide as he stared at the empty space in disbelief.
The SWAT officers' expressions shifted simultaneously as recent training flashed through their minds.
Game Experience Card!
This man had acquired power from the game.
There was only one explanation for his disappearance.
A Stealth ability from the Assassin class.
"Everyone on alert, thermal imaging scan."
Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh!
The fully equipped armed force instantly swapped their glasses for thermal imaging goggles. As their surroundings shifted, the thermal scan quickly revealed the hidden figure.
"There he is!"
"Watch out!"
An armed officer shouted as several of them opened fire.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
Bullets flew.
But they missed.
His speed was inhuman—faster than any creature on this planet, swift as lightning as he dodged the bullets. His combat knife slashed viciously toward an officer's throat.
In an instant, blood sprayed.
The officer collapsed with a thud, blood pooling around him, leaving no hope of survival.
"Ah!"
The entire unit erupted in fury, spraying fire at the enemy's position.
But he had already closed in on a second target, striking again.
That officer's eyes flickered with determination as he grabbed the arm stabbing toward him.
The blade buried itself in his neck, but he held tight.
"Ugh... got... got him!"
"Fire!!!"
Someone roared.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
Bullets hammered into the enemy, only to pass straight through his body, nearly hitting their own man.
Assassin Level 30 Skill: Gale Step – increases speed by 200%. Upon activation, the user's body turns into the wind itself, entering an invincible state that cannot be locked onto.
Horror seized every heart.
"Eagle!"
"Captain!"
The armed officers roared, fury surging through them. One pulled a flashbang, predicted a trajectory, and threw it.
"Boom!"
The officers with thermal goggles were unaffected, but the enemy was stunned.
Gale Step had a five-minute cooldown, so he dared not fight any longer. He turned and disappeared into the forest.
The armed officers gave chase, knowing they were outmatched but refusing to let him roam free—lest he unleash chaos on civilians.
Ross was captured and immediately put through interrogation until he revealed the target.
The SWAT team had already guessed.
There was only one target.
Chu Fu!
As the leader of the first village publicly livestreamed, Chu Fu had made an overwhelmingly strong impression.
And on that very night,
a bounty of one hundred million had been posted on the dark web.
People came one after another, but Li Weizheng had reinforced defenses, recently catching several foreign assassins.
But this time, with his Game Experience Card, the enemy was far too dangerous.
Li Weizheng immediately called Chu Fu.
"Student Chu, a foreign assassin has slipped into the area near Wangxi Mountain. His target has been confirmed as you.
He has a Game Experience Card and is an Assassin-class player.
We've already engaged him. He escaped. You're in constant danger now. Don't leave the game capsule for the next few hours. We're requesting backup!"
Chu Fu frowned deeply upon hearing the news.
"You engaged him? Were any of you hurt?"
Li Weizheng fell silent, then said heavily, "Two of our soldiers have fallen."
Chu Fu felt as though a giant hand had squeezed her heart, sending a wave of bitter pain—followed by blazing fury.
"Don't move the bodies. Don't cremate or freeze them. He's not the only one with a Game Withdrawal Card. I'll have Sister Suture come out with an experience card.
Also, what skills did this assassin use?"
Li Weizheng's heart jolted.
Suture Saint... did have a Suture Technique!
Hope surged within him.
He quickly described the assassin's abilities.
Chu Fu's heart sank.
Gale Step. A Level 30 Assassin skill.
The game had only been open for thirty-nine days. Even among players from Zone 001, Level 30 was rare as phoenix feathers.
And once you hit Level 30, you could withdraw skills permanently.
But it required gold.
A massive amount of gold.
That was why he had accepted the dark web contract.
Someone had posted a one-hundred-million-dollar bounty on Chu Fu.
It was a global posting, so the currency was Federal coins.
At the exchange rate in the Free Federation, that could be converted to 1,000 gold.
How hard was it to accumulate gold in the game? You had to clear dungeons, kill monsters, and fight world bosses.
And you could be killed by a boss at any moment.
Not everyone could solo a boss.
By Level 30, silver-tier gear was worthless, gold-tier was standard gear—worth only 1 to 9 gold each. Only dark-gold-tier equipment could sell for real money.
From that perspective, killing people was faster.
That was why Laurent had come to Zhonghua.
Once Chu Fu stepped outside, he would kill her.
And if she didn't come out? He would kill her family's maids, her security guards, create chaos, and force her out.
Word was, she had a brother.
...
Inside the game,
Chu Fu warned Li Weizheng not to send anyone to their deaths. If the assassin's target was her, he would surely head to Wangxi Manor.
She also called Chu Feng and told him everything.
"Fufu, don't be afraid. I'll check things out first. Don't come out yet."
Chu Fu wasn't about to go out and get herself killed.
As for that Laurent,
he was doomed.
Then Chu Fu called everyone in the team.
"Lieutenant Li Weizheng just told me an assassin player is trying to sneak into Wangxi Manor. No one logs out for now. Tell your families to get into their game capsules.
My brother told me about a new achievement I can unlock.
Jiaojiao, how much gold do you have on you?"
"80 gold."
Jiaoyao Bu Jiao didn't have much liquid cash either—she was running a guild and paying salaries.
Of course, the guild had extra income; every player who completed missions earned guild funds.
The guild funds could also be used to buy potions, repair gear, and so on. There was a margin to be made, but it could only be spent, not withdrawn, and extracting it was tricky.
Chu Fu said, "Trade it all to me."
Jiaoyao Bu Jiao immediately sent her gold to Chu Fu.
[System Notification: You have received 100 gold. Achievement unlocked: Tycoon! All stats +1.]
Chu Fu took the money and returned to Fengdu Town, walking through its bustling streets.
After circling the commercial street twice, she spotted a handsome man in a magnificent robe carrying a shoulder pole approaching her.
The outfit was oddly jarring.
Above his head were four words.
Mysterious Merchant: Tianheng.
"Customer, care to browse my wares?"
