Jiangzhou, in a room of a luxurious hotel.

Hao Xiaoqiang sat on the sofa.

He was a professional assassin.

His original name wasn’t Hao Xiaoqiang, but because neither his father nor his grandfather lived past the age of twenty-nine, he changed it himself when he came of age.

The name symbolized his hope to be as resilient as a cockroach, hard to kill.

He wished to live a long life, at least longer than his father and grandfather.

Today was the last day of his twenty-ninth year. After midnight, he would officially turn thirty.

To celebrate this birthday, Hao Xiaoqiang had specially bought a cake to celebrate alone.

He glanced at his watch; there was still an hour and a half until midnight.

Hao Xiaoqiang sat on the sofa, patiently waiting.

Time ticked by, minute by minute.

Unconsciously, half an hour had passed.

Gradually, a look of frustration appeared on Hao Xiaoqiang’s face. He muttered, “I wanted to finish this job perfectly to mark the end of my twenty-ninth year, but it failed. Damn it!”

As he spoke, he took a photo out of his jacket pocket. The photo showed an extremely beautiful woman.

Her features were as delicate as a painting, alluring in every way!

If Ye Qiu were here, he would recognize at a glance that the woman in the photo was Lin Jingzhi.

Of course, Ye Qiu would also recognize that Hao Xiaoqiang was the delivery rider who had attempted to assassinate Lin Jingzhi during the day.

“I have to admit, this woman is really beautiful. The employer is ruthless to want her dead, not worried that I might hesitate.”

Hao Xiaoqiang stared at Lin Jingzhi’s photo repeatedly, and slowly, a green light appeared in his eyes.

“It’s a pity to kill such a beautiful woman directly. If I could sleep with her before killing her, that would be great.”

Hao Xiaoqiang laughed lewdly.

Of course, he was only thinking about it and wouldn’t actually do it.

Even an assassin had to follow professional ethics.

Moreover, if an assassin developed inappropriate thoughts about their target, it would be very dangerous.

“Who was that man beside the woman? A bodyguard?” Hao Xiaoqiang subconsciously thought of Ye Qiu again.

“That man reacted quickly and gave me a sense of danger when he struck. He must be an expert. Why wasn’t there any information about him in the data the employer gave me?”

Hao Xiaoqiang frowned, then laughed again, “If the target were easy to kill, the employer wouldn’t have spent so much money to hire me…”

Knock, knock!

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door.

Hao Xiaoqiang’s eyes immediately became sharp. He grabbed the knife on the coffee table and walked lightly to the door, peeking through the peephole. He saw a female service attendant standing outside with a food cart.

“Who is it?” Hao Xiaoqiang asked cautiously, not opening the door.

“Hello, sir. I’m a hotel service attendant, here to deliver your late-night snack,” the attendant said.

“I didn’t order any late-night snack.”

“Sir, the hotel provides a complimentary late-night snack for every guest.”

Normally, Hao Xiaoqiang would have refused directly, but today was different because after midnight, it would be his thirtieth birthday.

“Do you have red wine?” Hao Xiaoqiang asked.

“Yes,” the attendant replied. “We also have steak and desserts.”

Hao Xiaoqiang opened the door, scrutinized the attendant, and saw that she was a sweet-looking young woman. Only then did he let his guard down and said, “Come in.”

“Thank you.”

The attendant smiled and nodded, pushing the cart into the room. She then took out the steak and desserts and placed them on the table.

Next, the attendant saw the birthday cake and asked, “Sir, is it your birthday today?”

“No,” Hao Xiaoqiang replied. “It will be after midnight.”

“Then let me wish you an early happy birthday. Sir, shall I open the red wine for you?”

“Okay.”

Seeing that Hao Xiaoqiang did not refuse, the attendant smiled sweetly and took a bottle of Bordeaux red wine from the cart.

“Hey, who’s outside?” the attendant suddenly said.

Hao Xiaoqiang quickly turned to look at the door, but there was no one outside.

When he realized something was wrong and turned back, he saw a wine bottle coming down on his head.

“Bang!”

His head split open.

Blood and wine mixed together, flowing down his forehead.

Hao Xiaoqiang saw that the attendant, who had just been smiling sweetly at him, was now pointing a gun at him.

“You’re not a hotel service attendant. Who are you?” Hao Xiaoqiang asked in a deep voice.

“You don’t deserve to know who I am. Hao Xiaoqiang, you’re under arrest.” The woman said coldly, taking out a pair of handcuffs from her waist.

Seeing the handcuffs, Hao Xiaoqiang sneered, “I get it. You’re from the Underworld Palace.”

The woman’s expression changed slightly.

At this moment, a man’s voice came from behind, “Since you know we’re from the Underworld Palace, I advise you to be smart. Hao Xiaoqiang, surrender!”

Hao Xiaoqiang looked at the man, who was in his early thirties, with a burly build, a square face, and an air of righteousness.

“Is the Underworld Palace so bored that they have to mess with me? I’ve never provoked you. Why do you have to go against me?”

Hao Xiaoqiang’s face grew darker. It seemed the Underworld Palace had made meticulous preparations to capture him.

The man said, “Our mission at the Underworld Palace is to protect the country and its people. We stop anything that threatens national security and public interest. You’ve killed so many people abroad and now want to cause trouble in Jiangzhou. No way!”

“I never thought I’d fall into your hands. Hmph!” Hao Xiaoqiang snorted coldly, extending his hands.

Seeing this, the woman prepared to handcuff Hao Xiaoqiang.

At that moment—

“Click!”

Hao Xiaoqiang quickly grabbed the woman’s wrist, pulling her into his arms, and then used his left hand to choke her throat.

In an instant, the woman couldn’t breathe and lost all strength. Taking advantage of this, Hao Xiaoqiang swiftly snatched the gun from her hand and pulled the trigger.

“Bang!”

The bullet hit the man’s shoulder, and he fell to the ground, bleeding profusely.

Everything happened in the blink of an eye.

Hao Xiaoqiang sneered, “You think you two can capture me? Dream on!”

“Captain—” the woman exclaimed.

The man propped himself against the wall, enduring the pain, and said, “Hao Xiaoqiang, I advise you not to resist pointlessly. Since we found you, we’ve made thorough preparations. You can’t escape.”

“Can’t escape? Then I’ll kill you first and then rape and kill this woman. With you two paying with your lives, it’s worth it, hahaha…”

Hao Xiaoqiang raised his hand, aiming the gun at the man’s forehead, about to pull the trigger when he suddenly saw a figure appear at the door.

[Author’s Note]

Another chapter is coming soon. I’ll upload it once it’s finished.