Chapter 135: Who Has She Killed

“Four went, three returned. What a fine Seventh Branch—looks like I underestimated them after all.”

In the small house on Bai’ou Road, Xue Tinghai had already withdrawn his mind from last night’s fierce battle. At this moment, he spoke with a light, casual air.

He could think that way, but his teammates didn’t share the same thoughts.

Especially Tian Wen and Hu Li, who had both suffered through multiple attacks from the Seventh Branch. Ji Li and Fang Shenyan’s faces were etched into their memories.

Tian Wen, in particular, still couldn’t forget Fang Shenyan’s vicious, razor-sharp strike.

The team’s only remaining female staff—and the only native Japanese among them—was Yanagawa Tomiko.

Yanagawa Tomiko had always been well protected. Because of her special identity as a Japanese in this mission, she was treated even better in the Fourth Branch than Kondo Sei.

Xue Tinghai had almost never required her to take part in any operations.

Like Kondo Sei, she had also been abruptly pulled into the hotel right before the mission—clearly a setup for this assignment.

Now, her face was blank with confusion. After Xue Tinghai and the others returned, they went straight to rest, leaving her completely in the dark about last night.

What she thought was just a simple intelligence-gathering mission had instead ended with Sister Qing’s sudden death.

She didn’t understand, but a faint dread had crept into her.

From Xue Tinghai’s words, it seemed Sister Qing had been killed by the Seventh Branch.

To Tomiko, Sister Qing was a veteran staff, someone who even carried two Sin Artifacts—yet she died.

If that could happen to her, then what chance did a newcomer like herself have…

In this mission, Xue Tinghai stood unrivaled, but his subordinates were far too weak.

Sister Qing, though considered a senior staff, was in truth the weakest among the veterans, something Xue Tinghai knew well.

Her persistent underestimation of the Seventh Branch was the most direct cause of her death.

In other words—she had it coming.

But with her gone, Xue Tinghai’s position grew only more precarious.

Tian Wen had been through only one mission. Hu Li and Tomiko were just fresh replacements.

Though he put on a relaxed front, Xue Tinghai was already considering how exactly to contend with the Seventh Branch.

In fact, from the moment he walked out of the seventeenth floor, regret had taken root.

He realized he had been far too certain of himself. If the ghosts failed to kill Ji Li and Fang Shenyan, then he’d only be raising a tiger to devour him later.

That thought gnawed at him more strongly with every passing moment.

He even suspected the two men might have hidden cards to play. He never should have let the ghosts act as executioners.

But at the time, what else could he have done?

If he personally killed Ji and Fang, the ghosts would have turned on him without a doubt.

It was a true dilemma.

“Assisant Manager, what should our next move be?” Tian Wen, now convinced he was the one Xue Tinghai valued most, stepped forward, hoping to discuss and perhaps get hold of Sister Qing’s last remaining Sin Artifact.

But Xue Tinghai’s next move left him utterly stunned.

Xue Tinghai rose to his feet. Ignoring the expectant Tian Wen, he walked straight over to Tomiko.

He handed her an iron box.

“Keep this with you at all times—it could save your life.”

His voice was low, yet carried a trace of gentleness, as though the simple words held a deeper meaning.

But no one else could hear it, nor see through it.

Tian Wen’s eyes nearly popped out of his head. He stood off to the side, scratching himself in anxious disbelief.

That iron box was clearly a Sin Artifact—the very one he had dreamed of obtaining. Though he didn’t know its effects, there was no reason for Xue Tinghai to give it to a rookie like Tomiko!

Tomiko was so moved she could hardly speak. Cradling the box in both hands, her body trembled.

Xue Tinghai, unwilling to linger on the matter, glanced at his watch and said to the group:

“It’s five o’clock in the afternoon, November 4th. The mission requires us to arrive at Sunset Bridge by eight.

Let’s move out.”

Then, shifting his tone, he shot Tomiko a sly look and added:

“I’ve given you a Sin Artifact—now you’ll have to do something for me in return.”

Hearing this, Tomiko’s face stiffened. She bit her lip, not daring to refuse.

Before a wide floor-length mirror, Ji Li slowly crouched down, gazing quietly into its surface.

But the reflection wasn’t his own—it was a gray tabby cat.

A plain country cat, with no striking markings, no odd-colored eyes. Just utterly ordinary.

But a cat is just a cat—merely sitting there so obediently could stir affection in anyone’s heart.

Before the mirror, Ji Li crouched outside while a gray tabby crouched within. They stared at each other in silence.

Suddenly, Ji Li felt a pair of eyes on him—blatant, unhidden.

Their stare left him unsettled, flustered, and finally jolted him awake from the dream of the tabby.

The moment he opened his eyes, he was met with a face of cold beauty, gazing fixedly at him from beside the bed.

That face was breathtakingly beautiful, yet missing the vitality of the living.

It was like a painting on paper—lovely, but lifeless, its whole presence exuding rigidity and gloom.

Such beauty did not comfort but burdened, leaving unease with every glance.

This was how Mei Sheng looked.

Ji Li had slept long, and the first thing he saw upon waking was her face, so close to his own.

In an instant, his survival instinct surged. A dusky glow like twilight flickered in his gray-black pupils as he sprang up.

His slender, deadly fingers shot toward Mei Sheng’s pale throat, pinning her down on the bed.

Mei Sheng only frowned slightly, meeting Ji Li’s gaze as she said:

“From the Starless Hotel to the Two-Star Hotel—six missions.

How many have you killed?”

Ji Li snapped out of his daze, gave her a look of disgust, and rose from the bed.

Only the two of them were in the room. He asked coldly:

“Where are the others?”

Mei Sheng sat up slowly, turning her head toward the window.

Since Ji Li hadn’t answered her question, she chose silence in return.

Her demeanor only deepened his irritation. At first, he had thought Mei Sheng might not be ordinary, and had considered drawing her closer.

But the oppressive gloom surrounding her was so heavy even he found it hard to bear.

Ji Li called Fang Shenyan, learning he was out with Gao Liangping buying cigarettes.

Cui Yanqing and Chi Rou had gone to buy groceries; apparently, while Ji Li slept, they had decided to prepare a hearty meal before the mission began.

The snow had already stopped.

But the mission was about to begin, and Ji Li couldn’t help but wonder—

If he were Xue Tinghai, what would he be doing right now…