The tires crunched over the last stretch of gravel road, and Zhang Jie parked the Mercedes behind a dead oak tree.
After the engine died, the chirping of insects in the forest rose and fell like a warning.
He rolled down the window, and the damp air was mixed with the smell of decaying leaves and rust.
Three kilometers away, the silhouette of Blackthorn Castle, in the twilight, looked like a paper-cut splashed with ink.
Spires, high walls, and metal spikes that gleamed coldly under the moonlight.
"Fuck…" Zhang Jie snuffed out his cigarette, his Adam's apple bobbing.
Veronica's mention of 'resurrection from the dead' was still swirling in his mind.
If the mission wasn't completed, the penalty would be a million dollars… Selling his and Mrs. Schneider's apartment wouldn't even cover a fraction of it.
He ripped open the velcro on his tactical vest and began to inventory his equipment:
Two Glock 34s (4 magazines)
Tactical knives x 2
John's Zippo (windproof, full of fuel)
Half a pack of chewing gum (strawberry flavored)
Inventory complete.
"The front door is suicide…"
He squinted at the castle's main entrance.
In the eye sockets of the two gargoyle sculptures, the red light of the infrared scanner flickered faintly like capillaries.
Four guards stood on either side of the drawbridge, their waists bulging, evidently with submachine guns.
His gaze turned to the perimeter wall; the five-meter-high stone wall was covered with barbed wire, and every ten meters, a "High Voltage Danger" warning sign hung.
But the third sign on the northwest corner was crooked, as if intentionally loosened.
Zhang Jie crouched in the bushes outside the wall and discovered the kitchen's garbage chute, his nose assailed by the smell of rotting kitchen waste.
The kitchen's garbage chute was made of cast iron, just wide enough for an adult male to crawl through in a crouch.
The opening was coated with a layer of grease, and several rats were gnawing on half a steak, which, judging by the meat quality, was at least very good.
"That old pervert Oriska…" Zhang Jie scraped away the moss from the edge of the chute with his tactical knife, "Feeding rats such expensive stuff?"
He popped a piece of chewing gum into his mouth; the mint flavor barely suppressed his nausea.
The strawberry-flavored gum was for the guards, if the opportunity arose.
The moment he crawled into the chute, sticky sewage soaked the cuffs of his bulletproof suit.
The chute sloped upwards at a 45-degree angle, and its inner walls were as slippery as if they had been oiled.
Zhang Jie had to inch his way up using his elbows and knees, sticking his tactical knife into cracks as temporary anchor points.
Halfway up, a muffled thud of gears turning suddenly came from above.
He immediately held his breath; it was the sound of the trash compactor working.
If he were stuck in the chute now, tomorrow morning's kitchen waste would include at least 70 kilograms of "human minced meat."
A minute later, Zhang Jie crawled out of the chute into the kitchen alley.
His suit front was stained with fish guts, but at least he hadn't triggered any alarms.
After cleaning up, the smell on him would be difficult to remove, but Zhang Jie was relieved; at least he had made it inside.
The kitchen was large, filled with various smells and steam; several chefs were busy at their respective stations, and the kitchen assistants were also occupied; no one noticed an uninvited guest slipping in.
Zhang Jie moved along the cold storage unit when he suddenly heard footsteps behind him.
"New here?" a burly kitchen assistant with a scarred face stopped him. "The sommelier is looking for—"
Zhang Jie's right hand was already on his tactical knife.
Yet he said, "Excuse me, I'm lost. Could you tell me where the outer hall is?"
The kitchen assistant eyed him suspiciously. What kind of guest would run from the outer hall to the kitchen? And why were his clothes a bit damp?
Just as he was about to call out, Zhang Jie acted swiftly. He had already surveyed the environment earlier; this spot was precisely the connection between the freezer and the kitchen, with a passage on the other side, making it a blind spot where no one in the kitchen could see him.
So he moved quickly, delivering a chop to the man's Adam's apple to stop him from shouting. As the man clutched his throat, Zhang Jie made a fist with his right hand, thumb protruding, and landed a fierce punch in his armpit!
Instantly, the kitchen assistant saw stars from the pain.
He then immediately circled behind him and delivered a punch to the back of his head, knocking him out cold. As he dragged the unconscious man into the cold storage, preparing to lay him down, Zhang Jie noticed a coin-sized scar on the back of his neck.
He pulled out his tactical knife and used the tip to pry it open, revealing a miniature chip embedded under the skin, still emitting a regular blue light.
"Electronic dog tag? A bit troublesome!"
He frowned but still stripped off the man's uniform.
The white shirt cuffs were embroidered with "KH" in gold thread. He put it directly over his suit; there was no other way, the man was so strong, and his suit was bulletproof, so he couldn't just throw it away. He would just have to endure the smell on him for now.
After changing into the waiter's uniform, Zhang Jie slipped into the main castle hall, recording the route the entire way.
Under the crystal chandelier, about 40-odd men and women, dressed in various outfits, were tasting wine and socializing. It seemed they had all accepted missions.
However, they all wore bronze masks on their faces, like a masquerade ball, concealing their identities.
His tray held six glasses of champagne, and he surveyed the room as he walked.
"Sir, your drink."
As Zhang Jie bent to offer the wine, he noticed that the assassins all wore bulky electronic shackles on their wrists.
The shackles' display screens showed a countdown: [02:17:35].
"The first round of the game is about to begin." The woman in the red dress licked the rim of her glass. "Who do you think can take down the target and win the grand prize?"
The bald man next to her laughed, "That'll definitely be me!"
"But why, if they want to kill him, did they invite us all to this castle?"
"Who knows? We just wait for the next instructions."
Zhang Jie's peripheral vision swept to the corner of the hall, where a somewhat familiar man, dressed in a waiter's uniform, was watering a potted plant.
The man's bow tie was crooked, but his right hand remained pressed against the seam of his trousers; something was definitely hidden there.
Their gazes met in the air.
Zhang Jie recognized him—the guy who looked like James!
What was he doing here?
The man imperceptibly shook his head.
Suddenly, all the lights in the hall went out.
A voice echoed from all directions: "Ladies and gentlemen, I am Oriska, the one who issued the mission, and also the person you are here to kill. Welcome to the 6th Survival Game!"
"The winner of the game will receive 10 million US dollars!"
"Of course, that's assuming you can survive!"
As soon as the words fell, the people in the hall began to chatter, evidently taken aback by such an opening, even starting to feel confused.
Hadn't they been assigned a mission to kill a target? Why? And why was this target announcing himself so openly?
What was a survival game?
"Allow me to introduce what a survival game is. A survival game is an assassin's carnival held every three years at Blackthorn Castle. Your mission is to survive among the elite, then find me and complete the mission. However, it's unfortunate that only one person has ever completed this mission to date."
As soon as the words fell, they sparked discontent among some people.
"We are assassins; we are here to complete a mission, not to participate in your so-called survival game!"
Unfortunately, no one paid him any mind.
When the lights came back on, Zhang Jie saw many slips of paper falling, one of which landed on his tray.
It had three rules written on it:
[Rule One: Kill any two people, or survive until sunrise]
[Rule Two: Do not leave the castle, or you can try]
[Rule Three: The ultimate winner will meet me, which is your mission objective.]
At first, everyone remained still, but they all distanced themselves from each other, maintaining vigilance. The assassins who had been socializing moments ago now began to act independently.
Oriska's laughter echoed from all directions: "By the way, assassins… your ultimate goal is to take me down, but only the winner will meet me and get 10 million US dollars."
As soon as the words fell, someone made a move; a person directly plunged a fork into the eye socket of a woman next to them.
The moment chaos erupted, Zhang Jie had already retreated cautiously to the wall.
He finally understood how dangerous this four-star mission was, and there was definitely a deeper conspiracy behind this crappy "survival game."
Combined with Veronica's intel, Oriska, this old guy, was definitely a cunning old fox!
His hand was on his Glock, but the man who looked like James suddenly appeared beside him.
"Don't speak." A London accent sounded. "Follow me!"
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T/N: While I am an inexperienced Translator, I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 2 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
There should be... around 20+ advanced chapters?
[email protected]/TripleCrown
If you guys wanna check it out.