Xiao Liu

"Hey, take it easy!" the guard who had previously been rough with Heisenberg grumbled when he saw him pass out. "If you really break his brain, how are we going to report back to the boss?"

Xu Xiaoyou didn't reply. She simply stepped back into the shadows with her gun. Someone nearby quickly jogged over and lifted the young man’s body into a vehicle, clearing the scene in no time. The floor was polished to a shine, leaving only the echoes of the man’s final, desperate roar within the factory—a silent testament to a tragedy.

Inside the steel plant, massive steel cranes suspended scrap vehicles, which were then hammered into blocks of scrap iron by hydraulic presses weighing dozens of tons. These blocks were sent through a vast and complex underground transport network to the smelting furnaces. Through a series of chemical reactions, different metal components were separated and reprocessed into military-grade alloy steel to be shipped across the entirety of Red Heaven.

Some might think this was an ideal location for manufacturing moon sugar, but that was not the case. The emission of waste gases from a steel plant required an extremely strict reporting process, and the Chi family conducted irregular inspections of the nearby water quality. If any moon sugar-related components were detected, tracing the source back here would be simple.

This was just an ordinary steel plant that the mastermind behind Eight-Spider had acquired to serve as a base for their sprawling operations across Dragonfly Town.

Following the guards, they walked through a long corridor to a narrow path and boarded a large industrial elevator. The rust on the handrails spoke silently of its past glory. The outer steel mesh was heavily worn, and the pitch-black ceiling pressing down, combined with the drafty structure, created an unspeakable sense of oppression.

Through the steel mesh, Xu Xiaoyou caught a glimpse of an armored vehicle equipped with a machine gun driving down a slanted ramp. She was somewhat surprised—it was one thing for Eight-Spider to get their hands on firearms, but they had even managed to obtain a military armored vehicle still in active service? The 'Vulcan Tyrant' machine gun it carried could fire tens of thousands of armor-piercing rounds per minute, enough to turn a Tiger tank into scrap metal.

As the elevator cabin vibrated upward, a yellow indicator light above flickered on. A soul-grating sound of metal friction echoed as the rusted gate was pulled open. Scarface walked out, carrying the unconscious Heisenberg. Xu Xiaoyou followed him, her slender frame inconspicuous among the crowd. A young guard sidled up to strike up a conversation, his tone excited. "We’re about to see Brother Long, haha!"

Xu Xiaoyou nodded. Seeing that she didn't seem particularly interested, the young guard was a bit puzzled. "That's Brother Long! The big boss's number one enforcer! Do you have any idea how powerful he is? You know about that Dark Gold Rose everyone’s talking about lately? Brother Long said he personally traded a few blows with that luminous prism grade fixer!"

"Dark Gold Rose... so powerful. For real?" Xu Xiaoyou nodded solemnly. "Does Dark Gold Rose herself know about this?"

"Are you saying Brother Long is bragging? He’s a grade 3 fixer!" The young guard said, dissatisfied with Xu Xiaoyou's perfunctory attitude.

Xu Xiaoyou couldn't help but chuckle.

She had thought Brother Long was at least a grade 5 fixer. She really wanted to ask if he had managed to keep a straight face while claiming to have traded blows with a luminous prism grade fixer.

Along the way, she had roughly observed all the security forces in the steel plant. Aside from Scarface, who was a grade 2 thug, the rest were all ordinary humans with guns, numbering about thirty. Collectively, their threat didn't even match the Vulcan Tyrant mounted on that armored vehicle. With her current abilities, these guys couldn't stop her.

Arriving in front of a room, Xu Xiaoyou and the young guard remained outside on sentry duty while Scarface and a few others escorted Heisenberg inside. The young guard continued to chatter away. "I've always admired Brother Long. He's the strongest person I've ever seen. I saw him lift the front of a tank with my own eyes. He—he even stood side-by-side with a really powerful man, acting all friendly."

The young guard's eyes were filled with longing for strength.

"Really powerful? How powerful?" Xu Xiaoyou was bored and decided to pass the time with this naive, reserved boy.

"He felt like a ghost that kills invisibly in the dark of night. I don't know exactly how strong he was; I couldn't sense it. But many of the seniors I respect were incredibly deferential to that man, calling him Black Rakshasa."

Xu Xiaoyou's heart immediately sharpened with focus.

Black Rakshasa and White Yaksha—weren't those the Assassin Duo?

Regardless of how flamboyantly Ivy acted in the shop, he was a genuine grade 5 fixer, an entity on the same level as Chihong. The Assassin Duo were names that had brought fear and nightmares to countless people. No one knew exactly what price had to be paid to hire them, only that no target they set their sights on ever survived. They were like reapers walking on the dark side of the world, a true Queen and King of Death!

Before every mission, they would send an invitation to the target, announcing their impending demise. No matter how airtight the bunker or how professional the security team the target hired, or even what life insurance they purchased, the moment the time on the invitation arrived, they would appear from the shadows to swing their scythe of slaughter.

It reached the point where, during the period they were active on the world stage, every insurance company in the world added a clause to their life insurance policies: "If the contract beneficiary is confirmed as an assassination target by the 'Assassin Duo,' we reserve the right to unilaterally terminate this contract."

The pre-mission invitation was also known by the outside world as Yama's Summons.

Did this Brother Long the young guard mentioned actually have a connection with Ivy?

"If only I could be as strong as Brother Long or Dark Gold Rose," the young guard said longingly. "Then I could have escaped sooner."

Only then did Xu Xiaoyou notice that the young guard's body was covered in scars—cigarette burns, overlapping bruises, and a dense thicket of needle marks. His wrists were even more slender than hers. He looked like a skeleton held together by skin. His complexion was sallow, his hair was frizzed from long-term malnutrition, and the uniform he wore hung loosely on his frame.

Like countless children poisoned by drug dealers, this young guard was a microcosm of those children who had been subjected to drug testing, abuse, and other cruelties. As he spoke, his eyes shone with a glimmer of hope, so much so that he didn't even notice the nosebleed until it started flowing. He hurriedly wiped his face with his hand, making his already dirty face even more of a mess.

Xu Xiaoyou handed him a wet wipe. The young guard politely said thank you, took the wipe to clean off the blood, and pressed down on the flowing dark blood. He sniffed, rubbed the bridge of his aching nose, tilted his head back, let out a heavy sigh, and forced a strained, ugly smile.

"What's your name?" Xu Xiaoyou glanced at him and asked casually.

"I don't have a name," the young guard said indistinctly. "I was the sixth child there. They call me Xiao Liu."