Chapter 98: Life and Death Kill [Continued 3: The Relentless Assassin]

Chapter 98: Life and Death Kill [Continued Part 3: The Assassins Keep Coming]

“Swish, swish—”

Chu Fei’s heavy footsteps slowly emerged from a dense thicket. Behind him, three figures dressed in peculiar attire stared in disbelief at his retreating back, then almost simultaneously collapsed to the ground with heavy thuds. Each pair of eyes was filled with shock and utter incredulity—they couldn’t fathom how their opponent had detected and slain all three of them at once.

They were supposed to be the hunters, concealed in the shadows, waiting for the perfect moment to strike. Yet now, they had become the prey, and even in death they could not comprehend how they had been killed.

“Phew—”

Standing at the edge of the bushes, Chu Fei exhaled deeply.

Though he had eliminated three hidden assassins, his mood was far from lightened—if anything, it grew heavier. Coupled with the earlier mercenaries from Southern Yue and the gunslinger Ivan, this marked the ninth wave of attacks. Ivan had not lied: there was more than one assassin targeting him. The sheer number exceeded Chu Fei’s expectations. For instance, those three killers lurking deep in the forest were from Japan—ninjas, and not just any ninjas, but genuine high-level ones. Utilizing elemental concealment arts, they melded into the forest as if invisible, undetectable even when standing right before one’s eyes—far more extraordinary than Chu Fei’s own forest techniques—and there were three of them.

Only someone like Chu Fei could survive such a situation; were it anyone else, they might never have known what hit them.

At that moment, Chu Fei felt a surge of gratitude toward the mysterious woman he had met in Japan. Had she not been severely injured and rescued by him, and in gratitude shared with him numerous ninja combat techniques, he would have been gravely wounded or dead by now. The secret arts of Japan were like illusions—if you did not understand them, they were bewildering, leaving no chance to guard against them.

Now, Chu Fei regretted not accepting Ivan’s earlier offer to help intercept the assassins. The gunslinger’s firearms were absolute kings in the forest, especially against weaker assassins—virtually invincible.

“Chu Fei, don’t worry about me anymore. Leave me here and go on by yourself.”

At that moment, a complicated voice sounded behind Chu Fei.

It was Chen Yaxin.

Her gaze, fixed on Chu Fei, was filled with a complex mix of emotions. Time and again, this man had led her through one deadly hunt after another. Though they were the prey, Chu Fei had turned into the hunter, mercilessly dispatching all the killers. Chen Yaxin had never experienced anything like this in her life. She had never even seen a chicken slaughtered, let alone a human killed. Yet today, she had witnessed death—not once, but multiple times. She had thought she would be terrified to death, but instead, watching Chu Fei kill, she felt little fear. In fact, an indescribable exhilaration stirred within her.

She couldn’t understand it herself and attributed it to psychological trauma brought on by the environment.

If not for Chu Fei, she would have been a corpse long ago.

Yet she still spoke, especially upon seeing the deep wound on Chu Fei’s chest—a scar he bore from shielding her during one of those deadly hunts. Chu Fei would never have been hurt otherwise; he had sacrificed himself for her, even risking that injury to rescue her. And such scenes had occurred more than once.

But Chu Fei was just too strong to be seriously harmed again.

In that instant, Chen Yaxin felt a tremor within her heart—an indescribable emotion. This special feeling erased all negativity in her gaze toward Chu Fei, replacing it with gratitude and deep emotion. Chu Fei wasn’t obligated to bring her along; he could have abandoned her and fled on his own. Chen Yaxin, though not Chu Fei, could see this was a deadly web—a chain of traps with unknown numbers of assassins lurking in the shadows, countless eyes watching them. Without her burden, Chu Fei could have easily escaped, but because of her, he was forced to confront these enemies step by step, constantly risking life and death.

Chen Yaxin didn’t want to be a burden anymore.

“You want to give up on living?” Chu Fei turned coldly, shooting her a sharp glance. He thought she was crazy; abandoning her now was a death sentence.

Chen Yaxin met his rebuke not with anger, but with a natural expression. She frowned, saying, “Their target is you—they probably won’t harm me.”

“Who do you think you are? To these scum, life isn’t worth a penny,” Chu Fei replied calmly.

“But if I’m a burden, you’ll lose your life because of me,” she argued on.

Chu Fei was silent, pulling out a cigarette and lighting it. He glanced at Chen Yaxin, who kept staring at him with unwavering resolve.

“I understand your thoughts. But as you said, they’re after me. If I’m dragging you down, then I’ll make sure we both get out alive. Unless…” Chu Fei hesitated momentarily, his eyes tinged with regret as he looked at her. “Unless I die too. Then there’s no way out—we’ll be a pair of ill-fated lovers.” He finished with a toothy grin.

Chen Yaxin didn’t laugh at that joke. She stared blankly at Chu Fei, the strange emotion inside her growing stronger. Suddenly, she blurted out loudly, “You’re crazy! We’re not related. You don’t have to risk your life for me. You have such a beautiful fiancée, and others covet her. Do you really want to die and hand her over to others?”

Chu Fei was momentarily stunned.

Chen Yaxin herself was taken aback. She didn’t know where that sentence came from, but she still looked defiantly at Chu Fei. These were her true feelings—she didn’t want to be a burden. She’d been strong and stubborn all her life, independent. Though beautiful and alluring, her personality was tougher than many men’s. Only in front of Lin Cong did she reveal a softer, daughterly side.

“Haha—” Chu Fei suddenly laughed. Reaching out, his empty left hand grasped Chen Yaxin’s waist firmly, pulling her close so their faces were inches apart. Then he exhaled a plume of smoke that landed on her stunning face.

“Cough, cough—” Chen Yaxin choked, glaring at him in fury.

Chu Fei paid no attention. Grinning widely, he said, “You’re tougher than I thought. I really misjudged you.”

Chen Yaxin was speechless.

Suddenly, Chu Fei’s expression turned serious. “But no matter what you say, I’m not abandoning you. That’s my dignity as a man. As long as I’m alive, I won’t let you die.”

He swore like a sailor, calling himself “old man” repeatedly.

Yet Chen Yaxin felt no disgust—only a soft sigh. This man was too domineering; she couldn’t change him.

“Ha, you’ve never been in a situation like this before, right? Feels thrilling, doesn’t it?” Chu Fei continued, grinning as he flicked away the cigarette butt. Then, with both arms, he scooped Chen Yaxin up and dashed toward the forest’s depths, laughing recklessly, “Come on, I’ll take you to kill again and let you experience the thrill to the fullest!”

Chen Yaxin couldn’t help but laugh and cry at the same time. She suddenly thought Chu Fei had lost his mind—how could he still be smiling at such a time? Yet she didn’t say another word, nor did she struggle. Instead, she obediently wrapped her arms around his neck.

She realized she’d grown accustomed to the gesture—and even found it somewhat enjoyable.

—

Chen Yaxin did not notice Chu Fei’s eyes narrow slightly as he glanced back swiftly after they left.

“Damn witch!” Chu Fei cursed inwardly and quickened his pace.

Deep in the forest behind them, perched on a tree trunk, a girl in a red dress smiled faintly—none other than the ghostly girl who had haunted him.

Throughout their journey, the girl had trailed them, never striking, seemingly waiting for the right moment.

—

Nearly an hour of fleeing later…

Four more waves of assassins met the same fate—they all fell to Chu Fei’s hands without exception.

Earlier, when facing mercenaries, Chu Fei had refrained from killing to avoid trouble, but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t kill. Now, the endless stream of assassins had thoroughly enraged him…

He no longer held back!

Kill!

Against every assassin, he acted swiftly and decisively, using the most direct methods to end them. He could not afford to waste energy, not knowing how many more were lying in wait.

Two hours later…

Nearly midnight…

Chu Fei had eliminated two more groups of assassins.

Even he felt fatigued. Maintaining constant vigilance for so long was exhausting.

“Are there no more assassins behind us?” Chen Yaxin asked, breaking her silence with a rare tone of puzzlement.

“None for now,” Chu Fei replied, coming to a halt. Almost an hour had passed without another attack.

They were safe for the moment.

Chu Fei understood that their continuous flight deeper into the mountains had helped. Even if more assassins were trailing, they couldn’t catch up quickly. This was why he dared not flee outward toward the city—it granted him precious time to rest.

Otherwise, facing endless assassins, even an iron man would be worn down.

That was a hundred million yuan bounty.

A sum enough to drive ninety percent of the world’s assassins into madness.

Yet Chu Fei was puzzled. The mercenaries had said no assassin dared enter Kun City to kill him, which explained the current frenzied assault from outside. Why were they afraid of entering the city?

Was there some special reason Kun City had become a forbidden zone?

Chu Fei had never heard of assassins being barred from killing inside cities, especially not in a small city like Kun City. Even in East Sea City—the premier city of Huaxia—assassins entered freely to kill. Skilled assassins paid no heed to borders or territories, just to the opportunity.

What was really going on?

Lost in thought, Chu Fei’s heart suddenly skipped a beat. He snapped upright and turned sharply, his face darkening.

Chen Yaxin turned as well, her face pale. Instinctively, she rushed to grasp Chu Fei’s arm.

“Chu Fei, the snake—the girl is here again.”

Her voice trembled with terror. Having grown numb to slaughter, Chen Yaxin’s heart, usually strong even in the face of countless killers, was completely shattered by the sight of the serpents swarming the mountain.

In the darkness…

A girl in a red dress swung lightly from a branch, landing gracefully on another branch barely ten meters from Chu Fei. She stood before him, smiling sweetly—like a delicate and enchanting ghost.

Was she preparing to strike?

Chu Fei’s heart grew unbearably heavy…

[End of update for today. Tomorrow, after finishing errands and driving over a thousand miles, I may be too tired to write. These chapters have been mostly action scenes; we’ll see tomorrow. Just giving an early heads-up!]