Chapter 1 Xiao Jin

Xiao Jin suddenly said, "My adopted son died at your hands."

Han Xiao's heart stirred. "This is a private matter, Leader Xiao. Let's discuss it privately."

"Agreed." Xiao Jin nodded.

The others exchanged glances, noting the stark contrast in Hei Youling's responses to the same matter…

Dero's face showed displeasure, but he remained silent.

Han Xiao turned to Dero and said, "It's getting late. I trust you don't mind if I stay the night."

"...Xiao Jin, you take care of him. Meeting adjourned." Dero abruptly stood up and strode away.

The others passed by Han Xiao, their expressions varied.

A yellow-skinned man approached and smiled. "I'm Xiao Ming, Leader Xiao's adopted son. I'm responsible for arranging your accommodations. Please, follow me."

Han Xiao looked around. Umile, who had brought him here, was nowhere to be seen. A realization dawned on him. "Overma's internal conflicts are quite serious."

The undercurrents in the hall earlier were ample evidence of that.

With these thoughts on his mind, Han Xiao walked out of the hall and was surprised to find himself surrounded by more than a dozen players, all from the Zhuyu Guild. They looked excited, and Zhuyu Xuanxuan had activated the recording function.

"We want to learn skills…" Zhuyu Piaoxiang said.

Han Xiao naturally wouldn't refuse the opportunity to earn experience and readily opened his skill panel.

Xiao Ming, standing beside him, asked in surprise, "You know them?"

Han Xiao shook his head.

"Hei Youling seems to be quite popular among the alien community." An Overma member passing by noticed this and was filled with suspicion.

The Zhuyu Guild had originally wanted to try to trigger a quest, but Han Xiao didn't engage in any other interaction and left after a few seconds.

"It's clearly a sudden plot development, but there's no quest." Zhuyu Xiaofei was puzzled.

Zhuyu Xuanxuan said dejectedly, "The footage I recorded doesn't seem to have any explosive content."

…

Xiao Ming arranged a room for him. Although Han Xiao's attitude during the day had angered many of the higher-ups, it also explained the origin of their hostility, so the atmosphere wasn't as tense as before.

Night fell.

Xiao Jin invited Han Xiao to his residence under the pretext of discussing compensation.

Arriving at the place, Han Xiao found all of Xiao Jin's children present, including Xiao Hai and other siblings, but not Xiao Jin's adopted son.

In private, Xiao Jin was just as expressionless as he had been during the day, making him difficult to read.

Han Xiao sized up Xiao Jin and his children, who were doing the same to him.

"What compensation do you want?" Han Xiao asked, a faint smile playing on his lips as he withdrew his gaze.

"It was his bad luck to die." Xiao Jin's expression was indifferent. To him, his adopted son was nothing more than an assistant and a tool.

"Then why did you invite me here?" Han Xiao raised an eyebrow.

"There's no harm in getting to know a famous assassin."

Han Xiao couldn't quite grasp Xiao Jin's intentions. Perhaps it was simply to make acquaintances, or perhaps there was another purpose. However, he was interested in having more contact with the original owner's family to gather information.

They chatted casually, touching on a wide range of topics. Xiao Hai and the other siblings occasionally interjected, creating a harmonious atmosphere. Xiao Hai was the leader among the siblings, and the others seemed to fawn over him. Xiao Hai's attitude was nonchalant, as if this was his due.

Unconsciously, more than an hour passed. Han Xiao frowned slightly and suddenly said, "I'm very interested in Xiao Han. How about you tell me more about him?"

"…"

The atmosphere immediately turned cold. Xiao Jin put down his water glass and slowly said, "He was my son. He was always incompetent. I never thought he would become a Germinal Organization wanted criminal."

Xiao Hai scoffed. "I thought he was a goner for sure. The wicked live long, causing trouble for us."

Han Xiao pointed at himself. "Are you implying I'm trouble?"

Xiao Hai sneered. "Isn't it obvious?"

Xiao Jin coughed and issued an order to leave. "It's getting late."

"It is quite late." Han Xiao stood up and left.

Xiao Ming led him back to his room and handed him a document as he entered. "This is Xiao Han's information. My father instructed me to give it to you."

Han Xiao nodded.

As soon as he entered the room, he thoroughly inspected it. There had been three surveillance devices before he left, and now there was one more. Shaking his head, he continued to use a program to crack them. After completing these tasks, he began to read the file and gained a deeper understanding of the original owner. He was an insignificant character, and he had never heard of the NPC "Xiao Han" in his previous life.

"Sigh."

Han Xiao shook his head. His purpose in contacting Overma was to learn about the original owner, and he had achieved that goal. He didn't care about Overma's attitude or structure, because they had nothing to do with him. As for the so-called hostility, it was just a show of strength.

Overma was already trying to swallow their pride and avoid conflict with Han Xiao. It would be pointless for Han Xiao to kill people in their headquarters for no reason, making unnecessary enemies without any benefit.

It was much better to avoid fighting and killing all the time, and instead cultivate some flowers and plants.

"I wonder what Overma's reaction will be when they find out that I am 'Xiao Han'." He thought with a mischievous glint in his eyes.

He put away the information, lay down on the bed, and closed his eyes for a short rest. He planned to leave early in the morning.

…

Midnight.

Dero's residence.

"It's all because of that bastard Xiao Jin that Overma has been dragged into this unfortunate mess. That bastard is unscrupulously expanding his power, clearly trying to seize control. Hmph, the Northern Faction is my people, and Serge's Chiyu Faction has always been neutral. What does he have to fight me with?" Dero gritted his teeth.

When the Overma Family was first established, there was internal harmony. But as the power snowballed, conflicts began to surface. Unequal distribution of wealth caused resentment. The Main Family Faction, as the leader, obtained the most benefits and was at the center of the storm. Despite the various factions appearing to be obedient on the surface, they harbored ulterior motives and all wanted to seize power.

Fortunately, after so many years of cooperation, they were intertwined, and any major movement would affect the whole body, so no one dared to make too many drastic changes. Bloody events were unlikely to occur, and even if there were any, they would be planned in secret.

Xiao Jin was the biggest threat. The attack on Xiao Hai was secretly orchestrated by Dero to eliminate Xiao Jin's successor, but it failed, and only an insignificant Xiao Han was killed.

However, to his surprise, more than a year later, Xiao Han, whom no one had taken seriously at the time, had become a Germinal Organization wanted criminal with a sky-high bounty, and had brought a terrifying enemy like Hei Youling to the family.

Dero regretted it now that he thought about it.

At this moment, Dero's son, Lagos, walked in and said, "Father, Hei Youling left Xiao Jin's residence after a meeting that lasted one hour and thirty-seven minutes."

"Hmph, meeting with Hei Youling privately without going through me. Xiao Jin is getting bolder and bolder," Dero said angrily.

"What should we do? Are we just going to let Hei Youling leave so smoothly?"

"Don't provoke him."

"But he dares to be so rampant in our territory…" Lagos was indignant.

"I told you not to touch him!" Dero slammed the table violently and roared in a deep voice, "Get out!"

Lagos gritted his teeth, closed the door, and walked out. The moment he turned around, his face suddenly darkened.

…

As dawn broke, a commotion awakened Han Xiao, whose sleep was light.

He leaped out of bed and went to the window, looking out to see Overma members shouting and running in one direction.

"What happened?" Han Xiao wondered.

Footsteps quickly approached, and dozens of soldiers surrounded the room with guns.

A captain shouted, "Hei Youling, don't move!"

The soldiers' mission was to restrain him. They looked nervous and could misfire at any time. Han Xiao saw more people running in another direction.

"Something must have happened, and it's not aimed at me," Han Xiao narrowed his eyes and waited to see what would happen.

After a while, the captain seemed to receive instructions and shouted, "Come with us!"

Han Xiao also wanted to know what was going on, so he followed the tense soldiers to Dero's residence.

By this time, the crowd was already tightly packed. The higher-ups from all factions had arrived, their expressions fearful and enraged as they all looked at Han Xiao, which puzzled him.

Walking inside the residence, Han Xiao finally realized what had happened.

In the office, Dero was slumped in his chair, his left eye a deep bullet hole covered in blood. The back of his head had a gaping cavity. A pool of blood had congealed on the wooden floor, and the smell was bloody and pungent. The corpse's hands were drooping, and his legs were propped against the edge of the desk to prevent him from falling to the ground. He was already cold.

The boss of Overma had been assassinated!

"Cause of death: gunshot wound. The bullet entered through the eye, passed through the brain, and pierced the back of the head, resulting in immediate death. Based on the bullet caliber, the murderer used a large-caliber pistol, and the boss didn't show any signs of resistance. The clues scattered at the scene also don't indicate that the murderer was ever here…"

Han Xiao understood and knew why the others had that kind of look.

Dero had died last night, and he, an uninvited assassin, was the most suspicious. Moreover, the weapon used by the murderer was also a large-caliber pistol, and the undetectable assassination method was very similar to his "ghostly" style.

Everything was too coincidental.

This was a premeditated frame-up!

Han Xiao blinked, took out a cigarette from his pocket, lit it, took a deep drag, and blew a smoke ring at the incredibly tense soldiers around him. He muttered, "This is getting interesting…"