Chapter 1 Still the Same Bar

Still that somewhat dilapidated bar. Cao Xu sat quietly in a corner, drinking beer. In fact, from the moment he evaded those who were monitoring him and secretly planned Nie Yan's assassination, he had already known his ending. Only his death could reassure the people of the Tianxia Group, the Zheng Rong Consortium, and the Long Yue Consortium. However, even if he died, he couldn't die as pathetically as a dog, because he was once the formidable Cao Xu!

Therefore, he spent three hundred billion to plan the assassination of Nie Yan, not even leaving a single cent for himself. One hundred billion was the visible part, and the other two hundred billion was currently in a notary office. As long as Nie Yan died, the money would be directly transferred to that person's account.

He quietly drank his wine. A hint of spiciness flowed down his throat. He had to admit that even if he killed Nie Yan, he had still lost, even if he was so unwilling in his heart.

The noise in the bar seemed to have nothing to do with him.

He understood that his time was running out, so he just quietly drank his wine.

"Waiter, another drink," Cao Xu shouted loudly.

As his voice fell, a waiter came over carrying a tray with a bottle of baijiu (white liquor) on it.

"Sir, your drink," the waiter said, placing the bottle of baijiu on the table.

Cao Xu glanced at the waiter with somewhat drunken eyes, grinned, and said with a slurred voice, "You know, your skills are far inferior to Gui Hu's. Gui Hu's disguise is definitely much more sophisticated than yours."

Hearing Cao Xu's words, the waiter's expression froze, and his right hand quietly went inside his clothes.

Cao Xu picked up the bottle of baijiu, poured it into the glass in front of him, and then drank it down in one gulp.

Seeing Cao Xu's actions, the waiter was a bit confused again. If Cao Xu had recognized him, why would he still drink this bottle of wine? Could it be that Cao Xu already knew his fate?

"The reason why Gui Hu became the number one assassin is not because he strikes so fast, but because his disguise has never been seen through. Compared to him, your disguise skills are simply terrible. Bar waiters don't have such sharp eyes as you do. The male waiters in this bar always glance at those sexy women, but you don't. Your eyes have a strong sense of purpose. Your target is me! Also, this isn't a regular bar. Being dressed so meticulously only exposes you." Cao Xu poured another glass of wine. No one could tell if he was drunk or still sober.

Although Cao Xu was down on his luck, his every move was still calm and composed, with an air that others couldn't describe.

"Go back and tell your masters, this is the last gift I'm giving them. I, Cao Xu, started my career at the age of twenty, joined the Century Consortium, was promoted to general manager at thirty-one, and at thirty-five, I offered my wife to others, brought down the chairman of the Century Consortium, and seized the position of president. I have committed countless evils, and ultimately, karma has come back to bite me. My wife died tragically, and I have no children at the age of fifty-six. Fame and fortune will eventually return to dust, leaving behind only a lifetime of emotional debts. I sigh, 'Why did I live this life?'" Cao Xu suddenly laughed loudly, his laughter tinged with desolation.

Seeing Cao Xu's almost crazy appearance, the waiter sighed and turned to leave.

At this moment, Ying Sha in the corner couldn't help but sigh as well. Looking at Cao Xu again, he found that he had already fallen to the ground. The bar was in chaos. Before long, the police would arrive. Those hiding in the dark slowly retreated.

Nie Yan watched the video on his phone. It was lamentable that Cao Xu, a hero of his generation, had come to such an end. Listening to Cao Xu's words, Nie Yan felt a mixture of emotions. In his previous life, although Cao Xu had committed many evils, no one could do anything to him. Was his own rebirth his retribution?

Nie Yan couldn't explain all of this karma.

With Cao Xu's death, Nie Yan's heart was completely relieved. Everything was finally over.

"Let's go," Nie Yan said. His smile had an unspeakable ease and freedom.

"Nie Yan, be careful!" Ci Dao's low roar came from behind.

Just as Ci Dao's voice fell, there was a muffled thud. Nie Yan's smile froze on his face. He looked at his chest in disbelief. A bullet had pierced his chest, and blood stained his chest. He touched it with his right hand, and his hand was stained with bright red blood. This wet feeling was so familiar.

Nie Yan's eyelids drooped weakly, as if he was about to fall into eternal darkness. Images flashed through his mind: father, mother, Xie Yao, Ci Dao, Tang Yao, and many, many others. These people had all left a deep mark on his life, but at this moment, they were becoming more and more distant. He reached out to grab them, but all he saw was the endless dark void.

Could it be that I'm going to die?

Were the four years of rebirth just a dream, and this moment is the true reality from the beginning?

Or is this fate? Fate allowed him to be reborn, giving him four years to make up for all his regrets, but now, fate has decided to take his life back?

Unavoidable fate, Nie Yan sighed softly, but in his heart, there was too much reluctance. God, can you give me some more time, so I can see the increasingly aged faces of my father and mother, and her beautiful and sweet smile?

Could it be that it's already too late? That farewell has become forever.

Cao Xu is dead, so Father and Mother should be safe now.

As for Xie Yao, someone will love her more than I do, and they will be together forever. Nie Yan seemed to see that scene from many years ago, when the sunlight shone through the glass window onto her beautiful face, and she looked at Nie Yan with a peaceful smile.

Farewell, Xie Yao...

Nie Yan felt his head getting heavier and heavier, and he heard some panicked shouts in his ears, but these voices became more and more blurred, and eventually he could no longer hear them.

"Quick, stop the bleeding!"

"Treat the wound, do it quickly!"

"Medic, come quickly!" Ci Dao shouted almost frantically, his voice hoarse, and tears faintly visible in his tiger eyes.

Two medics squatted down and nervously treated Nie Yan's wound.

Sixteen hundred meters away, a person in camouflage put away a heavy sniper rifle. Through the scope, he saw that the shot had hit its mark, and a cruel smile appeared on the corner of his mouth. This shot should have hit the heart directly. There was no need to add another shot, and there were people everywhere around Nie Yan, so there was no chance at all. He put down the heavy sniper rifle and leaped away.

Ci Dao looked towards the east. The bullet came from that direction! He saw a green shadow flash through the trees over there. Although it was just a slight movement, it still caught his eye. Ci Dao leaped out. At this moment, there was only one thought in his mind: kill that person!

Satellite imagery showed that all the assassins had been eliminated, but there were still some who had slipped through the net. The other party must have made some disguises and mixed in! It was possible that there was a problem during the battle just now, or it was possible that they had already mixed in before, waiting silently for an opportunity, and only acted now. This method immediately reminded Ci Dao of one person: the number one assassin - Gui Hu!

Gui Hu was the most mysterious person. He rarely accepted assassination missions, and each time he accepted a mission, the price was extraordinarily high, but his missions had never failed. Whether they were politicians from various countries or business tycoons, all had died at his hands, and he was elusive. No one had ever seen him in person.

This was Cao Xu's real trump card. The assassins before were just a smokescreen! It was a pity that they realized it too late!

Ci Dao's heart felt like it was being cut apart inch by inch by a knife. He had been with Nie Yan for so long. Although the two of them had a雇佣 (gùyōng; hire) relationship, Ci Dao had long regarded Nie Yan as a brother!

Gui Hu was leaping through the jungle. After running for over a thousand yards, he glanced behind him. No one was chasing him. He took off his special forces camouflage uniform, threw it into the grass, and like a magic trick, changed into casual clothes, looking like a handsome young man. Everything that had just happened had nothing to do with him. From the moment he made his move, he had interfered with the satellite, so the satellite did not record the situation at that time. He smiled. The mission was complete. As long as Nie Yan's death was confirmed, he would have an income of two hundred billion. Being an assassin was really a lucrative business. He walked towards a car parked by the road.

Just as he was about to open the car door, there was a muffled thud. He felt a sharp pain in his heart and looked at his chest in disbelief. He found a bloody hole in his chest, from which blood was gushing out. He staggered and fell to the ground with a thud.

After Gui Hu fell to the ground, a figure walked out of the bushes more than a thousand meters away. It was Ci Dao. He walked over with a gloomy face and a cold expression. When he fired just now, he deliberately deviated from the heart. Gui Hu was only seriously injured, but it would take a few minutes for him to die.

Gui Hu's body was still twitching violently, as if he was enduring the pain. He tried hard to get up.

Ci Dao walked over and stepped on Gui Hu's back. Gui Hu trembled violently.

"Who are you?" Gui Hu gritted his teeth and said in a trembling voice. At this moment, he had no strength to turn his head.

"So you can die knowing who killed you, Ci Dao," Ci Dao said coldly, taking out a pistol with his right hand and pointing it at Gui Hu's head.

"So it really was you... Dying in your hands... I have no regrets." Gui Hu grinned. He originally wanted to smile, but it looked even more ugly than crying.

Ci Dao pulled the trigger. There was a dull bang. It wasn't the sound of a gunshot. Gui Hu's brains splattered all over the ground.

Gui Hu twitched all over, then stopped moving.

Looking at Gui Hu's corpse, Ci Dao's anger was vented, and a sense of sorrow surged in his heart. That kid, Nie Yan, is really dead? He didn't want to believe this fact, but he had to. He roared sadly to the sky, and a tear rolled down his face.