H City Center, Hameko District, bordering H City's outskirts.
True to the landscape of a developing metropolis, most things are modern technology; even traffic lanes are separated and strictly monitored by the government.
All of this is implementing Dr. K's newly introduced policy, which was proposed by the government and put into operation.
The closely packed apartment buildings caught the full sunlight shining down from above, forming dazzling, metallic-gleaming mirrors that reflected an orange hue, adorning a stretch of sky.
A small figure in pink clogs skipped down the road, turning towards Supermarket A.
"Hello, Uncle Zhāo!"
The security guard standing at the right corner of the entrance smiled brightly at the lively girl in front of him.
"Just like that, our Yī Hé is already twenty, haha!"
Yī Hé rummaged in her crossbody bag, took out a piece of candy, and gave it to Uncle Zhāo.
"Have an energetic day at work, Uncle! I'm off to buy some things for dinner!"
With that, she dashed straight into the supermarket.
"Hello, Yuè Nǐ. What do you want to eat tonight? I'll buy it all at once!"
"Ah!"
Tāi Yī Hé accidentally bumped her shopping cart into a man whose face was completely covered. She quickly apologized, stepping forward to help the man she had just bumped into.
"Are you alright? I'm so sorry!"
At that moment, their eyes met, and the man turned his face away.
"I'm fine," he said, then walked away.
"Oh, sir, you dropped something! Sir!"
She picked up the black bag from the floor and put it in her own bag. After finishing her shopping, she found Uncle Zhāo, the security guard, and gave him the black bag she had just picked up.
"Uncle, I just bumped into a man, and he dropped this bag. Could you please make an announcement for it? Thank you, Uncle."
As soon as Tāi Yī Hé arrived home, she remembered the symbol embossed on the black bag from earlier. The symbol felt very familiar; she had seen it somewhere before.
It reminded her that when she was little, her mother abandoned her and her sister at an orphanage and drove away in a car. On the car was a symbol exactly like the one she had seen on the black bag.
"What a coincidence... could it be?"
"Boo!" Yuè Nǐ ran up from behind, launching herself into a hug with Yī Hé.
"Ah!" she turned her head to look. "You little rascal, you scared me half to death!"
Yuè Nǐ let go, sorted through the items in her bag, and as she spoke, carried the groceries into the kitchen.
"I saw you just got home, standing there dazed as if you'd lost your soul, so I scared you awake."
The two sisters were abandoned at an orphanage when they were little. Two years later, a charity group visited, and as if by fate, the sisters were adopted by Uncle Zhāo and his wife.
Not long after adopting the two sisters, the aunt (Uncle Zhāo's wife) fell ill and passed away. Because of this, the uncle (Uncle Zhāo) lived a difficult life for the past few years.
The two sisters were very grateful to the couple who adopted them. After finishing high school, Tāi Yī Hé worked odd jobs everywhere to earn money for her younger sister, Yuè Nǐ, to attend university.
For three long years, Uncle Zhāo no longer indulged in drinking. Instead, he applied for a security guard position at the supermarket near their home, making it convenient to look after Yī Hé and Yuè Nǐ.
No matter how difficult life became, when children were too understanding, adults would come to realizations on their own sooner than if they had to figure things out for themselves.
Many times, Yī Hé would ask herself, "Why did Mother abandon us that year?"
That question was deeply etched into Yī Hé's subconscious. Whenever she was sad, she would remember her mother and ask herself that question, involuntarily letting out a sigh.
Yuè Nǐ was just as understanding as Yī Hé. Seeing her sister, looking like a lost soul, stirring the soup until it was almost dry, she shook her head in exasperation.
“Sister Hà, if you don’t turn off the stove soon, we won’t have any soup to eat at all.”
Y Hà startled, looked at the soup pot, and clumsily turned off the stove.
“You go ahead and sit at the table, I’ll bring the soup out.”
“Thank you, dear. I’m sorry, I’ve been a bit preoccupied today.”
Y Hà tapped her forehead a few times, then brought the bowls and chopsticks to the table.
“Nguyệt Nhi, are you almost finished with your course?”
Y Hà picked up a piece of meat and placed it in Nguyệt Nhi’s rice bowl.
“Yes, this course finishes at the end of next month, Sister. I plan to finish this course and then apply for a temporary leave of absence.”
Y Hà was surprised. “Why are you taking a leave of absence? You’re doing well, so just keep studying hard. Don’t worry about the tuition fees, I can handle them for you!”
Nguyệt Nhi scooped a ladle of soup into her bowl, shaking her head in refusal.
“No, I see how hard you work, coming home utterly exhausted, and you say you can still take care of me?”
Y Hà stroked the girl’s head. She knew Nguyệt Nhi was always hot-headed and impulsive, so she put all the money she earned into a separate bank account.
“Don’t worry,” she said, pulling a small, palm-sized bank card from her pants pocket and handing it to Nguyệt Nhi. “Take this to pay for your tuition. The remaining money in there is enough for you to spend until the end of the year!”
With that, she took the bowls and chopsticks to the sink, leaving her younger sister with tears welling up in her eyes as she watched her sister work.
“Sister, thank you! You’re the only family I have! That’s why… I’m so scared of losing you, *sob*!”
||||| Recommended Story: Under the Oak Tree |||||
* Hetsuji Port, Hagi Sea, Shina City
“Have you contacted them yet?”
The middle-aged man, his white hair immaculately styled with gel into neat waves, wore an expensive tuxedo. In his hand, he held a valuable ruby. After admiring it for a long moment, he placed it back in a red silk box and ordered someone to put it away.
“Yes, Boss, we’ve finalized the plan with them.”
“Hmph!”
The red-haired young man, who was always glued to the boss’s side, frowned, as if deeming the subordinate incompetent.
“You’ve finished discussing, yet the other party still hasn’t named a price for this deal?”
With that, he kicked the subordinate in the stomach. “Are you stupid?”
“Alright, Kiệt Giai.” The middle-aged man motioned with his hand, giving an order, and only then did Kiệt Giai reluctantly step back.
“This is a warning, get out!”
“Yes, sir, I… I ask permission from the Boss and Big Brother to withdraw!”
The subordinate clutched his stomach and scrambled out, fearing for his life.
“Kiệt Giai, I need you to do something for me!”
“Yes, Father!”
That tall, handsome man was, in fact, the son of one of Shina’s most infamous crime lords. He had the classic dashing good looks of a playboy, but few knew that he paid no attention to anyone except one person: Diệp Tiểu An – his cousin. Kiệt Giai was completely devoted to his father’s career. He had pledged his loyalty by cutting his hand and mixing his blood with wine in front of his father, vowing that he would always be faithful and support him wholeheartedly.
* Najiishawa City – Gacha Metropolis
In this country S, there were countless famous cities. Besides the two cities mentioned above, there was also Najiishawa City – the city of the elite. Few knew that hidden within this beautiful city, shimmering with mystical golden hues, were immense and formidable underground forces.
At one point, the most prominent was Liquo. A notorious gang at the time, it has now been completely wiped out, with no trace of the gang remaining. People whispered among themselves that the Liquo gang had been crushed and completely annihilated by some unknown underground force. But those were just rumors, and because they were rumors, the gang had faded into oblivion.
Naturally, one forest cannot have two tigers, but with Liquo's decline, other powers will inevitably rise to take control. The most renowned in Najiishawa currently is Mr. Lin Zhuquan, the eighth generation of the noble Lin clan.
"This seems serious. Is this CT's decision?" Mr. Quan sipped his tea, letting out a contented sigh.
"Tell the young master to come see me."
"Yes, Sir!"
The maid, bowing subserviently, quickly made her way to the inner hall of the estate. She respectfully said, "Young Master, the Master is calling for you."
The young man with light pink hair was sitting, studying books on mixology. His brow furrowed. "Hmm, I'll be right out!"
"CT? Father, you're not joking, are you?" The son, who was pouring tea for the middle-aged man, stopped. He was puzzled; long-term missions were very rare. If there were any, they were considered top-secret, high-level assignments, and only extremely capable individuals were ever designated for them.
Mr. Quan knew how powerful the CT corporation was, but for his son to be sent, it had to be an extremely important matter.
"Yes, I understand, Father."
With that, the young man cheerfully went to his room to prepare his belongings as Mr. Quan had instructed.
*Mineral Mining Industrial Zone – Wahiba – Shina City*
"Chairman, a message from CT has arrived!"
The handsome elderly man before him, who had been swaying a wine glass to the mellow jazz music in his office, set the glass down.
"Alright, call the young master to me!"
"Yes, Chairman."
The warm jazz music had been playing for more than half a song when a knock sounded at the door.
"Come in."
With such a captivating appearance and shoulder-length platinum hair, whose beautiful young man could this be? He was exquisitely handsome, none other than Chen Kangmang, the eldest son of the chairman of Shina City's largest mineral supply corporation.
"Father, you called for me?"
Mr. Chen Zhongming's face was stern for a long time. It seemed he didn't want to be separated from his beloved son; as soon as he saw his son arrive, he became completely subdued.
"There's a mission from CT, they're sending you..."
Mr. Ming hadn't finished his sentence when the beautiful young man replied, "I understand, Father, I'll go!"
"But you haven't heard me out yet," Mr. Ming said, looking at his precious son before him, on the verge of tears.
"Oh! My precious son will have to be away from me for a while now."
The beautiful young man Kangmang maintained his icy expression, asking only one question.
"So, how many people in total?"
Mr. Ming didn't want to go against CT's orders, so he could only respond with a heavy heart, sadly.
"Six professional assassins, and you've been designated as one of them."