Become A Character Who Dies Within Three Chapters

A tall shadow flashed in the darkness, cutting through the streets; his footsteps were so light they made no sound. The wind whipped his cloak, his hair fluttering, revealing a pair of azure eyes that flashed under the moonlight, vast as an ocean.

Louis curled his lips, stopping in front of a familiar grocery shop.

In places like this, having a proper grocery store was truly unimaginable.

Even more unimaginable was that the owner could survive for so long.

After all, people were capable of anything when pushed to the brink.

But the shopkeeper's territory was inviolable — he was brutal and had such a fearsome reputation that even if the local citizens were starving, they wouldn't dare go near his shop.

"Looks like you've prepared everything, huh?" The shopkeeper was the same as ever, with a shaved head and tattoos crawling all over his body.

He was a member of Zone 6's security force and the man who kept order in this land of exile.

That sounded pleasant, but his presence here ensured that no uprisings would raise their heads.

Low-class exiled citizens were to live out their exile lives — don't even think about rebellion.

Of course, he knew many of the exiles weren't here simply because they were low-class citizens; some were criminals evading arrest.

People like that often looked for jobs outside to earn extra income. However, they had no means to leave this place.

They could walk and run — they had legs, naturally — but that took too much time for a round trip. Besides, no one could vouch for them if they were accidentally discovered inside the city.

In times like these, they came to the shopkeeper, the one called D-045.

He could get them out; if they were discovered, he could coordinate cover-ups — he had that power. The condition was that they had to give him half of whatever pay they earned, a not insignificant sum.

Water that's too clear has no fish; D-045's actions were certainly known to others, but like people in their position, those above usually looked the other way — unless he tangled with people he shouldn't have.

But it didn't matter; live day by day. If any consequences came, deal with them later.

D-045 spat out a sunflower seed shell, slipped on a pair of dark sunglasses, and swept his gaze across the crowd. Besides Louis, two others were also leaving this place today. They were wrapped up tightly, probably not ones who often crossed the gate, so Louis couldn't make out who they were.

"Alright, let's go."

With that, he tossed a cube into the air. In an instant, the cube transformed, unfolding into a flying craft.

The craft shot off at unimaginable speed, like lightning ripping across the sky, though it wasn't too visible in the darkness.

D-045 dropped them off at the city's edge before turning back. Before leaving, he reminded them: "Remember to move carefully. I only handle pickup, drop-off, and what I can manage. If you get locked up, don't expect anyone to come save you."

With those words, he disappeared as quickly as he had arrived.

The moment their feet touched the ground, the other two immediately moved, clearly seasoned in carrying out missions.

Louis didn't rush. He checked his own mission once more.

He had found his assignments on the dark web, accessible only to seasoned criminals.

Louis wasn't a seasoned criminal, but he could break through firewalls — thanks to Sylus's teachings.

This time, his mission was to assassinate the zone chief of Zone 6.

Recently, with the new laws about to be enacted and reshuffling in certain management positions, the presence of the zone chief must have blocked the path of some significant power.

The job was dangerous, but the reward was unimaginably high. Two billion gold coins. He'd still walk away with a billion, even if split in half. Of course, he wasn't about to let D-045 pocket such a significant cut from him.

As for who the zone chief had offended, Louis didn't know — but the man wasn't any saint either. Best to let Louis be the one to swing the blade.

At the same time, Louis wanted to dig up information about the state of the world, especially concerning Zone 1. The fact that Aboli and the leading group of protagonists still hadn't appeared on the wanted list left him unsettled.

It felt as if something was slowly slipping beyond control…

Tonight was a special night: a grand banquet welcoming members from Zone 1 was being lavishly held at Zone 6's convention center. High-ranking officials and ruling nobles held delicate goblets of wine as they strolled across the cool marble floor.

Young ladies and heirs were dressed beautifully, batting their eyes and flirting — a scene in stark contrast to the city's edge, where the exiles lived.

Clearly, there were people worse and more foolish than those at the edge, but they were born noble and would remain noble forever; the power of Zone 1 guaranteed them everything.

However, that era was clearly about to end, as a new legal code was about to be enacted.

The high-ups of Zone 6 probed the distinguished guests from Zone 1 with different intentions, but none of their questions produced anything meaningful.

Servants moved through the crowd unhurriedly, offering wine and cakes to anyone who needed them at any time.

At that moment, a waiter suddenly rushed into the restroom, his face pale and trembling.

Just after he shut the door, his expression immediately changed. He pressed an earpiece to his ear, unaware that a slimy black shadow was constantly shifting directly above his head, moving slowly, and making sticky sounds.

"Right, room 303. I heard these people from Zone 1 are hard to serve — don't forget the primary mission…"

No sooner had he finished speaking than a large black shadow suddenly dove down from above, enveloping his entire body instantly!

The man's mouth gaped open; it seemed he wanted to scream, but he had no chance. Black matter poured into his mouth, his body stiffened, and in a flash, he was completely covered from the inside out.

The black substance writhed and rebounded, eventually taking on a humanoid shape and standing upright — but its face had changed.

Louis leaned in and looked into the mirror. The young man in the reflection had slightly wavy black hair, narrow eyes, and thin lips — a face that was naturally cold-looking. But he habitually curled his lips into a half-smile, so he didn't seem entirely unapproachable.

"Moah!"

Louis lightly kissed his two fingers and then touched the mirror. At the same time, the young man's appearance in the glass shifted, becoming ordinary enough that he would never draw attention in a crowd.

Two of Louis's fingers traced a crack across the mirror as he left the restroom.

The time to carry out the mission had come...