Chapter 1: Ace Agent, Prelude to Rebirth (1)
September 12, 1998, F City, M Country.
The September air was unusually stifling. A light rain began in the evening, turning into a torrential downpour by midnight, with flashes of lightning and booming thunder accompanying it.
Through the storm, a flagship limited edition red Ferrari LaFerrari sliced through the downpour, sending up sheets of water from the puddles that littered the ground.
“Skrrrt!”
The Ferrari darted around a curve, pulling into an empty lot. With a sharp turn and an emergency brake, it stopped in a flash of crimson light.
The rain intensified, crashing down.
Directly opposite the Ferrari, a black Audi sat, engine running. A man inside took a final drag from his cigarette, exhaling a cloud of smoke before stepping out of the car.
Simultaneously, the Ferrari’s door opened, and a pair of flat-soled shoes touched the wet ground.
Out stepped a young girl who looked no older than her teens.
The man paused, blinking in surprise. After a brief silence, a smirk crept onto his face. “Well, well. Who would have thought? The world’s top-ranked agent, the legendary boss of the Ancient Kill Mercenary Corps, is just a little girl!”
To the middle-aged man, the girl before him was just a child.
“Where’s my brother?” The girl ignored his taunts, cutting straight to the point.
The man sneered, his expression twisting into something cruel. “And where’s what I asked for?”
If not for the leverage he held, he would never have dared speak to her in such a tone. Despite her age, she was a myth in the mercenary world, a queen in the field of espionage—a young girl with a chilling reputation. There was nothing weak about her.
The girl raised her hand, revealing an ancient-looking box. With a flick of her wrist, the box sailed toward the man.
This box, known as the “Sandalwood Box,” had a hauntingly beautiful name. Yet she didn’t understand why this little box was so highly coveted by international leaders. Even veteran assassins who had been in hiding for years had surfaced to fight for it.
“Keep your word. Release my brother.” Her voice was cold.
She wasn’t an orphan; she had a younger brother she’d only met once. Only then had she learned she even had a Chinese name: Yun Jian.
Until she was sixteen, she had only ever been known by her codename—Death God.
Yun Jian had grown up in the organization. At twelve, she made her debut as a killer; by fourteen, she had taken down the former boss of the Ancient Kill Mercenary Corps. Even at such a young age, she was a legend in the international community, a name that struck fear worldwide.
And she was now the boss of the Ancient Kill Mercenary Corps.
It was only recently that she learned she had an eight-year-old brother.
They had met just once before the man before her—known as Wolf Kill—had captured him to use as leverage against her.
Sixteen years of loneliness had left Yun Jian yearning for family.
“Hah!” Wolf Kill gave a cold laugh, pulling the Sandalwood Box to his chest. He strode to the Audi, opened the door, and dragged out a blood-soaked bundle, throwing it to the ground.
The bundle rolled twice, leaving streaks of blood in its wake. The cloth covering it slipped, exposing the gruesome contents inside.
It was the head of a young boy, about eight years old.
There was no body.
The boy’s eyes stared, wide open, with a faint, dried tear trailing from the corner. His neck ended in nothing but dried blood, a sight so horrific it was unreal.
Yun Jian’s heart lurched, a part of her breaking at the sight, an overwhelming pain ripping through her.
