Feng Kang took a deep breath—anyone could figure this out with a little thought.
Xu Mu was just the rich second generation of an ordinary company, but Dai Xiao was different—he was a direct descendant of a hidden-world clan.
On that point alone, he was nowhere near someone like Xu Mu.
Just then, new messages flashed in their chat window.
Moonlight Waltz: "After review, both targets may be eliminated."
Seeing this, Feng Kang sighed in relief and asked, "How much?"
Moonlight Waltz: "Dear client, because of our 'kill one, get one free' event, we will only charge the bounty for Dai Xiao. Xu Mu is free."
Feng Kang and Lin Yan both stared at the screen. This outcome didn't surprise them.
If one target was free, of course it would be the cheaper one.
Moonlight Waltz: "Dear client, Dai Xiao is a direct member of the Jiangbei hidden-world Dai family. Based on our panel's assessment, the fee is 8 billion."
Eight billion?
Feng Kang's mouth twitched—this price was outrageous.
He hadn't even fulfilled the previous wager to donate 5 billion to help the Xu family.
The local commerce bureau was already urging payment.
Add to that the tens of billions he'd burned on the fake weight-loss drug investment—real cash, not paper assets.
And now another 8 billion in cash?
Whose account just sits on that much liquidity? He'd have to keep selling assets. At this rate, the Feng family might end up worse off than the Chai family.
"Mr. Lin, is that expensive?" Feng Kang asked Lin Yan.
"It's the normal rate," Lin Yan replied calmly, arms folded. "This group is backed by the No. 5 on the Death Rankings, and your target is a member of a hidden-world clan. If you could take someone like that out for a billion or two, what authority would the hidden families have left?"
Feng Kang nodded—fair point.
He continued typing: "I can accept 8 billion, but what if you fail?"
He wasn't worried about Xu Mu; he was worried about Dai Xiao.
After this incident, Dai Xiao would be cautious to the extreme. Killing him wouldn't be easy—he didn't want his money to go down the drain.
Moonlight Waltz: "Dear client, if the mission fails, we refund 80%. If our operatives are killed, we refund 50%."
"Damn it! What a scam! A failed job still nets them over a billion for doing nothing," Feng Kang cursed inwardly.
"Relax," Lin Yan said. "This is a regulated platform. A failed mission docks their credentials."
Moonlight Waltz: "Dear client, if you can provide a site such as a ruin and lure them there, the fee drops to 5 billion. If we fail in that case, we refund 90%."
At that, Feng Kang brightened—now that sounded promising.
"Mr. Lin, what exactly is a 'ruin'?"
"It's a mysterious zone left behind by ancient powerhouses. Ever read the Peach Blossom Spring?" Lin Yan glanced at him.
"Of course," Feng Kang said.
"Tao Yuanming stumbled into an ancient ruin," Lin Yan explained, his expression turning grave. Then he added, "As it happens, two days ago I obtained the location of one."
Feng Kang grabbed his arm. "Mr. Lin! Please help me!"
Lin Yan thought for a moment, then nodded. "The prerequisite is luring them there. Looks like we still need a plan."
Xu Mu and Xu Shou walked Isabella out.
She didn't give an immediate answer—only said she'd go back and think it over.
Xu Shou glanced at Xu Mu and smiled. "If we can tap the Russell family to expand overseas, the Feng family's blockade will be nothing but a flea bite."
"Exactly," Xu Mu nodded.
"Let's head home," Xu Shou said, patting his shoulder.
The family drove back to Jiang City.
During the ride, Xu Ningbing sat in front, gazing out the window.
After returning to the company, Xu Mu took a car back home.
With Ye Tong and the others still out, Xu Mu lay on the sofa, ready to draw his lottery.
He planned to find time to scout the location Xu Ningbing mentioned—there might really be treasure there.
He tapped Ten-Draw. The wheel spun—
[Ding! Congratulations to the host for obtaining the title: God of Assassins.]
Xu Mu froze at the very first reward.
God of Assassins.
It had "God" in the name, but it wasn't literally a god-tier ability.
Still, for Xu Mu, this was close to god-tier.
Up to now, his combat skillset only included military close-quarters combat—suited for ordinary people or low-level ancient martial artists.
Against high-level practitioners, it fell apart: movement arts, techniques—everything changed.
Take a simple example: according to the storyline, sword cultivators would appear later.
Military CQC was melee; facing powerful weapons, those techniques lost effectiveness.
But now it was different—Xu Mu himself had mastered the assassination skills of a top killer.
[Ding! Congratulations to the host for obtaining 30 Cultivation Points.]
[Ding! Congratulations to the host for obtaining 20 Attribute Points.]
…
[Ding! Congratulations to the host for obtaining Storage Space.]
Xu Mu nodded to himself—not bad.
His original storage space was about the size of three refrigerators; now it had expanded by another "fridge."
One step closer to fitting his car inside.
When the draw ended, he checked the pity yields:
He'd gained 125 Cultivation Points and 80 Attribute Points.
Without hesitation, he allocated them all.
Feeling his body carefully, he found his physical strength had climbed another rung—
doing nothing, yet likely sturdier than ancient martial artists who specialized in honing the flesh.
He checked his current stats:
Name: Xu Mu
Role: Villain's Sacred Body; HR Manager, Xu Group
Realm: Early Mystic Art Realm
Physique: 640
Spirit: 640
Cultivation Gauge: 195 (max 800)
Power of Fate: 177
Next he opened his storage space—sure enough, it had expanded, enough to stash more items.
Then he examined the God of Assassins title. A flood of familiar memories poured into his mind.
He was stunned—this ability really was near god-tier, if not already there.
Mastery of every kind of weapon; every assassination technique—
pursuit, ambush, you name it—he grasped them all.
Most importantly: in high-level duels, how to kill with a single strike.
Just then he heard voices outside. Using his perception, he saw Ye Tong and the others had returned.
"Brother-in-law!"
Spotting Xu Mu's car in the garage, Ye Yu rushed in first.
Moments later, Ye Tong and Meng Wanyue came in, arms full of shopping bags.
[Favorability +10]
[Favorability +10]
Black text appeared above both Ye Tong and Meng Wanyue when they saw Xu Mu.
"You're back?" Xu Mu smiled at Ye Tong. "Looks like you bought quite a lot."
"Brother-in-law! I'm right here—how come you didn't talk to me first? And I even bought you a present," Ye Yu pouted.
"What'd you get me?" Xu Mu chuckled, tapping her head.
"Underwear," Ye Yu grinned.
"How'd you know my size?" Xu Mu asked, curious.