"Phew!!"
The white fox lying on the ground jolted awake, gasping for breath. His dazed eyes focused on Qin Fu—who sat nearby, calmly sipping tea with an almost teasing smile.
Without a shred of restraint, the white fox grabbed Qin Fu by the collar and shouted,"You bastard! You definitely did that on purpose! You were getting revenge on me, weren't you!?"
Qin Fu arched a brow, spreading his hands innocently."Don't talk nonsense. How was I supposed to know that branch would knock you out? That's on you."
He took another slow sip of tea, adding with mock sincerity,"Besides, do I look like someone that petty?"
The white fox faltered. Righteous fury met Qin Fu's disarming charm—and lost. After all, that charisma of his wasn't just for show.
When he wasn't in a killing mood, Qin Fu's presence could be dangerously persuasive.
With a reluctant sigh, the white fox released his grip and muttered under his breath,"Fine. Next time, don't bother taking me along."
Qin Fu hid a satisfied smirk and nodded lightly."Ahem. Anyway, how far are we from the base? I'm not familiar with this area."
The white fox straightened his tilted bamboo hat, checked the sun's position, and glanced back suspiciously."From here, it's nearly ten kilometers. Don't tell me you got here that fast?"
He frowned, then waved it off. "Whatever. You did fight that swordsman Mei, so I guess nothing should surprise me anymore. Come on."
He led Qin Fu through a series of winding alleys before stopping in front of a building that screamed "assassin" in both design and atmosphere.
Qin Fu stared at the bustling structure—masked figures coming and going, vendors selling skewers and dumplings right by the entrance.
He wanted to comment… but found himself speechless. Instead, he just looked at the white fox with a blank expression.
"What?" The white fox shrugged. "It's not some top-secret place. There are assassins all over Xuanwu Kingdom. Nothing shady about it."
Qin Fu lowered his head in silent defeat. Right. He really should've stopped expecting logic from Assassin Wu Liuqi's world.
Following the white fox inside, he found himself in a grand hall. A hostess in a fitted cheongsam greeted them with a professional smile.
Qin Fu glanced around, uneasy.Wait… why does this look exactly like a Paradise facility? This can't possibly be legit, right?
The white fox, unfazed, grabbed a registration form and quickly filled in Qin Fu's details before handing it to the receptionist. Moments later, Qin Fu's name appeared on the Assassin Network database.
Right on cue, the familiar system voice rang in his ears.
[Main Quest (1): Faction Selection – Completed]No reward. Subsequent quests unlocked.
[Main Quest (2): Shadow Assassin]
Difficulty: Lv. 3
Objective: Rapidly rise within the Assassin Organization in preparation for future missions.
Details: Gain higher rank through any means—missions, bribery, manipulation, etc.
Time Limit: 20 days
Reward: +1 Attribute Point, 1,500 Paradise Coins
[You have successfully joined the Assassin Organization.][Faction Contribution System Unlocked.]
Current Rank: Assassin #12001(Ranks are tiered by every 3,000 members: A, B, C, D.)Contribution: 0/50Gain contribution by completing assassination missions. Accumulated points can be used to advance your rank or exchange for internal resources and equipment.
Seeing no "Balance Mechanism" notification this time, Qin Fu finally relaxed.
He'd already been exiled to Xuanwu Kingdom, and with World Source Progress still at 0%, the last thing he needed was for the other contractors to get scattered into Sturt Country. That would've made his task nearly impossible.
"Let's go," said the white fox, turning with a flick of his tail. "I picked out a mission for you—and tweaked the rewards a bit."
He smirked faintly. "If you can pull this one off, I'll personally recommend you for promotion… to Shadow Assassin."
Qin Fu frowned as he read the mission briefing. The next moment he exploded.
"You bastard, was this on purpose?" he shouted. "Look at what it says here. Dragon slaying."
"Are you kidding me? You did this to get back at me. I swear I will gut you. Even if I kill you, I will still be a Shadow Assassin."
The white fox shifted Qin Fu's Secret Scepter a little, suddenly sheepish.
"Don't be so violent," he said. "Look, it is only a juvenile dragon, not a full grown one."
"I can take one down easily. So can you."
"Besides, I used my highest privilege to boost your contribution points as much as I could."
Qin Fu stared at the extra zero added to the contribution field. He was still angry, but there was nothing to do now. Paradise had already reset the plot. This was just the first act. Better to grind contribution in Xuanwu Kingdom and swap it for useful rewards.
He also suspected the other contractors had different missions. Chicken Island did not even have an assassin organization.
Qin Fu put the Secret Scepter away, pocketed the mission, and turned to leave. The white fox looked like he wanted to follow, but a single glare from Qin Fu sent him scampering back. He could only watch as Qin Fu walked away.
"All right, all right," the fox muttered to himself. "I should finish my own mission. Which sect leader do I have to kill again…"
Outside the assassin hall, Qin Fu bought a bowl of beef offal and ate as he planned his next move. The mission pointed him toward Niuzhan Country, Baiye Village. The name felt like a bad joke. Qin Fu almost spat out his food. The creative team's sense of humor was wild. Baiye Village was basically a hotpot.
He swallowed the offal in one bite, wiped his mouth, and faced the direction of Niuzhan Country on his map. Then he began a long distance teleport. His current mana could not take him all the way in a single leap, so he moved in stages, meditating while traveling.
Twenty days. He was not in a rush. One mission was enough to rack up the contribution points he needed.
Thus he set off, training and traveling at the same time. Whenever his mana dropped to about one hundred points he paused to rest and to study spell structures. He regretted not bringing the various books he had in the Supermechanic era. Back then he had skimmed through them and learned only the skeletons of ideas. Many details were still fuzzy now.
He also planned to acquire some instruments at the end of this world. Wait, why buy? Sturt Country had plenty of high tech. Qin Fu slapped his forehead, excited at the thought. Once this mission was done he would storm Sturt Country, kidnap a couple of scientists, and force them to craft the equipment he needed. Robots, experimental rigs, anything useful for future spell tests and errands. He pictured a workshop full of machines and grinned.
While Qin Fu plotted how to strip Sturt Country bare, the Sturt prince who was en route to Chicken Island felt a chill along his spine.
"Scan all suspicious targets nearby. Run a full system check on my body," he ordered.
"Yes."
The artificial intelligence completed its scan and found no anomalies. The prince dismissed the feeling as nothing more than a bodily reflex. His priority remained the red energy stone.
Back with Qin Fu, he had already drafted a scheme to kidnap the prince, use him to blackmail the king, and, failing that, storm the stronghold and steal whatever he could.
With enough technical knowledge he believed he could build a bespoke set of apparatus for spell experiments. The thought of becoming stronger electrified him. He rose, focused all his power, and unleashed a torrent of spatial compression. Trees along the route snapped like twigs.
Three days later he detected the border of Niuzhan Country.