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Qiluo Ling's heart felt as if it were being tightly squeezed by a pair of hands, and a cold wind blew past, causing her to shiver.
"Where is this?" Qiluo Ling opened her sleepy eyes and asked nonchalantly. Then she rolled down the car window wider, letting the icy air rush in, seemingly bringing her some clarity.
"Miss Qi, this is a place on the outskirts," the middle-aged man said coldly.
"What are we doing here? Are you lost?" Qiluo Ling twisted her slightly sore neck and asked with a hint of confusion.
"I was waiting for you to wake up."
The middle-aged man suddenly turned on the car lights, filling the interior with an orange glow.
He glanced at her, and the light allowed Qiluo Ling to see his expression clearly.
His face was serious, completely devoid of the earlier smile, and his demeanor seemed to take on a hint of ferocity as his deep, bottomless eyes stared at her.
Then he turned back to face forward, took a deep drag from the cigarette in his hand, and forcefully threw the butt out of the window. The cigarette butt arced beautifully before landing on the ground not far away.
"Waiting for me to wake up, for what?"
Qiluo Ling still seemed not to understand his words, even though her heart inexplicably twitched. She had not fully regained her senses; after all, waking up still left her mind in a haze, and her rhythm was still a beat slow.
"Miss Qi, you'll understand when you see this." The middle-aged man turned around and pulled out a short knife from his pocket, waving it in front of her.
In the dim light of the car, she could see clearly that it was a sharp dagger, a potentially lethal weapon.
Qiluo Ling's consciousness suddenly sharpened; she felt that things were about to take a turn for the worse.
This was the first time she encountered an armed assailant. She had never faced such a scene before and had no life experience to draw from, so she desperately searched her mind for images of knife-wielding hostage situations that she had only seen on television.
“Miss Qi, do you understand?” the middle-aged man asked calmly.
“I understand a little, but all I can grasp is that you have ill intentions. However, I have no idea what exactly you want to do or how you disguised yourself as a driver to pick me up,” Qiluo Ling replied with an apologetic smile. “Could you clarify what you intend to do with it?”
“Miss Qi, I admire your calm demeanor. Among all the people I have encountered over the years, I doubt anyone has been as composed as you. Indeed, I pretended to have a minor accident to ambush the driver and successfully gained your trust,” the middle-aged man said with another smile, praising her.
However, he quickly wiped the smile off his face and coldly stated, “Miss Qi, no matter how calm and perfect your performance is, according to my plan, this is just business, and that is indisputable. Of course, I appreciate your cooperation; it will make things smoother for me and lessen your suffering.”
Qiluo Ling was momentarily stunned, her heart tightening once again. However, she feigned calmness and said, “Well, you certainly appear very professional and rational. But how do you want me to cooperate?”
“First, give me your bag and phone.”
Qiluo Ling glanced at her bag; in reality, the bulging wallet contained very little of value—just some random personal items.
“I can give you my bag and phone without issue, but…” Qiluo Ling hesitated.
“What is it?”
“Sir, do you want money? I can give you all the cash I have on me, but unfortunately, it’s not much. I didn’t expect you would come to rob me today,” Qiluo Ling said sincerely.
The middle-aged man glanced at her with an indifferent expression and said, “Hmm, how much money you keep in your wallet is your business; just hand it over.”
Reluctantly, Qiluo Ling handed over her bag and phone. He reached out to take them, turned off the phone first, then rummaged through her disorganized bag but seemed uninterested in anything he found.
After pondering for a moment, the middle-aged man said, “Miss Qi, it seems you are also a straightforward person. Since we both understand each other well enough, let’s be clear: I am not here to rob you; I am a hitman.”
"Assassin? You mean someone is paying to take my life, right?" Qiluo Ling pondered and then asked.
"Of course, after all, we have no grievances or enmity. Since it's a payment, no matter how much I appreciate you, I can't tarnish my reputation, can I? My reputation is even more important than my life," the middle-aged man replied with an indifferent expression as he glanced at her.
"Can I ask who wants to kill me? I want to die with some clarity. I believe I still have that right, don't I?"
"I can't tell you that because I never ask others why they hire me to kill. Besides, I don't care. We conduct transactions through intermediaries. I don't know who the other party is either."
"Hmm, you seem to be making a reasonable point. What do you plan to do next?" Qiluo Ling said calmly; it was better to remain composed than to panic. After all, she was no stranger to life-and-death situations.
The middle-aged man looked at the glowing watch on his wrist and said, "There's still an hour until dawn. Since there's still time, I've got nothing to do after finishing my tasks. Why not use this hour for a chat? When the time comes, I'll take action. What do you think?"
"Sure, what topic do you want to discuss?"
"I'm an excellent assassin; I've taken on nearly a hundred jobs, each executed cleanly and efficiently without a single failure. Let's talk about the people I've killed; are you interested?"
"Not really; after all, it's bloody and gruesome, and besides, I'm a bit squeamish about blood."
"Alright then, let's talk about women instead." The middle-aged man thought for a moment and said.
"Okay."
"I have a multiple-choice question for you."
"A multiple-choice question?"
"It's about your life and death."
"Please speak."
"In fact, you still have a way out in front of you."
"What way out?"
"That is to sleep with me, and I will let you go."
"Oh? I always thought you were a gentleman-like killer. If an outcome is inevitable, shouldn't we make the process a bit more elegant? A person can be cold and cruel, but must be elegant; that's my view."
"How do you understand that?"
"For example, our ancestors were quite elegant. Killing was merely settling accounts after autumn. They would never kill at the beginning of spring when everything is flourishing. Even before an execution, they would have a long meal, drink what they called farewell wine, use glue to slick their hair down neatly, tie it up in a proper bun, and insert a red paper flower at the side. When they beheaded someone, they would hold it up; that was a dignified head!"
The middle-aged man couldn't help but laugh heartily. "You seem to make a lot of sense. So it seems you are rejecting my proposal?"
"Yes."
"You don't regret it?"
"Of course not."
The middle-aged man fell silent, and the car was eerily quiet.
After a long while, he raised his head, and Qiluo Ling noticed that there were some tears in the corners of his eyes. A killer who decided her fate was actually showing emotional weakness in front of her, leaving her somewhat at a loss.
"You are the only woman who has not complied with me. Even after sleeping with them, I will still kill them all. Yet they still foolishly believe me and willingly offer their cheap bodies."
"Why are you doing this? At least it seems to me that you are a cultured killer," Qiluo Ling slowly asked.
"Because I hate all women in the world," the middle-aged man glanced at her a few times and replied.
"Why?"
"There's not a single good woman; they are all fickle. Before I became a professional killer, my wife ran off with someone else, and later, my girlfriend also left for a wealthy man." The middle-aged man flashed a look of hatred.
"Oh," Qiluo Ling's heart felt unsettled, unsure of what to say at that moment.
It seemed that even a cold-blooded killer was still a flesh-and-blood person. Emotional wounds were unavoidable for anyone, even though she was still in a vulnerable position. Unconsciously, she leaned forward and gently placed her hand on the middle-aged man's shoulder as a gesture of comfort.
The warmth from Qiluo Ling's palm transmitted through his thin clothing to his body, and he felt an indescribable warmth. It seemed like it had been many years since anyone had shown him such kindness and concern; his heart seemed to change a little.
"You should get out of the car," the middle-aged man suddenly said calmly.
"What?" Qiluo Ling seemed not to have heard him clearly.
"I said hurry up and leave," the middle-aged man said impatiently.
Realizing what he meant, Qiluo Ling quickly opened the car door and got out. After getting out, she politely closed the door behind her.
"There's a Police Booth about a mile ahead; you can find the police to take you back. Good luck!" The middle-aged man started the car and sped into the darkness without turning on the headlights.
Qiluo Ling had no choice but to walk forward in the dark. Sure enough, after about a mile, she saw the dimly lit Police Booth.
Inside the Police Booth, three police officers were playing cards. Qiluo Ling stood by the window of the Police Booth without disturbing them. One of the officers had an excellent hand and quickly played a "reverse spring."
Qiluo Ling walked in after appreciating the good cards in the game.
"What should I do if I encounter a robbery?" Qiluo Ling asked sincerely.
"Ah? Is that you?" Short Policeman stammered.
"Yes, it's me, just twenty minutes ago."
"Then you should report it."
"My phone was taken; aren't you the police?"
"Sorry, we are Auxiliary Police."
Despite being Auxiliary Police, Short Policeman still drove her to the nearby Police Station. After a ten-minute ride on the electric bike, they arrived at the Police Station.
The Police Station was empty at night, with only one person on duty. After quickly finishing the report, the police drove Qiluo Ling back home.
As soon as she got home, Qiluo Ling used the landline to call Choi Jae-sun. The mobile phone was unreachable. She had no choice but to call Xu Xiaoya. The call connected, and after two rings, Xu Xiaoya answered.
After listening to Xu Xiaoya's call, Qiluo Ling felt blank, her face pale...
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