In the operation room, Xia Fei was lying flat on the surgery bed, under anaesthesia, as the neurosurgeon Qin Fang held a laser surgical scalpel and very deftly worked it.
In the technologically advanced Pan-human Alliance, machines had largely taken over human work, especially in something as complicated as brain surgery. The nimble mechanical arm was far more precise than that of human hands, and a neurosurgeon’s primary responsibility had become that of an equipment operator.
Logically speaking, machines had the potential to completely take over the role as a doctor, and it was only their lack of an AI system that prevented this eventually. This was all due to the fear of humans toward robots with a high intelligence, which meant that all the machineries were only half automated; they were only able to move according to a human’s request to perform the surgery accordingly, unable to determine the psychological state of a patient being operated on, which was why there was still a need for a surgeon’s supervision.
It was said that surgical operations during the ancient civilization’s era were completely overseen by machines, serving humans faithfully for tens of thousands of years. Just when humans were used to treating these robots as their kin, the robots suddenly betrayed their trust, causing the originally prosperous ancient civilization to fall into ruins.
The robots, which were created by human hands, were like children to humanity; for the children to turn and kill their parents, it was simply such an unimaginably horrific tragedy, so perhaps the deep-seated hatred that humans held toward robots was born out of the immense love they once held toward them back then.
Xia Fei had lost his senses, letting Qin Fang have free rein to cut up his skull. This was an extremely dangerous situation for any warrior, and a true warrior would not lose their control over their surroundings at any time, for that was no different from handing their life over to someone else.
Xia Fei was of course very clear about this, and he had covered a psychic thread all around him, which could not be seen with the naked eye so that he could remain conscious. This psychic thread would alert Xia Fei in the first instance if any danger were to come to pass, forcing his brain to awaken from his anaesthetic-induced state.
For most people, having this subtle mental control was practically an impossible task, but Xia Fei had specialized training on this front, and from the standpoint as a high level ability warrior that had his seventh brain region completely opened, this was not in the least bit difficult.
Besides, Phantom was also swimming around in his surroundings. This immortal spirit was not exactly super sensitive to the changes around him, but he was at least able to observe the slight fluctuations in energy and mental power, and having the perception of these two working in tandem complemented well.
Xia Fei would actually do this whenever he slept, and never had there been any problem, though this time, he actually vaguely felt a sense of threat from around him.
It was completely formless and odorless. There were no energy fluctuations to speak of.
In this gloom, a shape that Xia Fei had completely no knowledge of was slowly closing in.
Xia Fei’s skull was sliced open, and his nervous system was completely anaesthetized. He was like a warrior without a weapon, so if someone were to ambush him, there would be no way for him not to passively take it.
Silently and without any forewarning, an intricately crafted butterfly knife made a flurry of cuts in the air. The knife was miniscule, but it exuded a very shocking murderous intent.
Phantom, Xia Fei, Qin Fang—none of them could sense the grim reaper closing in on them. That was because none of them would have thought that someone could infiltrate in such an incredible manner.
This person’s body had already turned into as small as a molecule, intermingling with air. Even the small knife in hand was no bigger than a mote of dust.
He looked to be very weak, as if a single gust of wind could send him flying for tens of thousands of miles, but he was also very dangerous. Even though he was as small as dust, there was no doubt about the sense of cool calmness surrounding him.
An imperceptible danger was the most dangerous danger. Xia Fei had no idea who had said such a line, but he was now mired in such a danger, and the threat was getting closer and closer.
Dust. It was a special ability that turned its user into dust.
Xia Fei had once read an article on Earth about how when repairing the Muzhou temple in Tibet, people found a corpse inside the wall, who was a great lama that practiced Tantric Buddhism. What people found strange was the dispersed state of his corpse, where every cell of his body had been melded with the wall. It was impossible to distinguish just what was part of the stony wall and which was the lama.
Science could only give a hypothesis that the lama had managed to grasp the secret behind diffusing one’s body into molecules and attempted to pass through that thick stone wall doing so. Unfortunately for some reason, due to a sudden loss of control, the whole person ended up stuck in the wall.
Xia Fei was young then, so he completely did not believe that such an inexplicable thing could be real, yet who would have thought that, many years later, Xia Fei would really meet a killer with the dust ability, and he would actually make his move while Xia Fei was under the knife and completely unable to resist?
The butterfly knife continued to dance in his hand, and that killer came with the wind, without leaving any trace whatsoever.
With just a thought, the killer’s knife began to transform and landed deep in Xia Fei’s most vital point for a fatal strike. This was also the fearsomeness of the Dust ability; as if nothing was there, the ability could disintegrate the user and the things around them at any time, as well as restore everything back to original whenever the user wanted.
The killer glanced with the corner of his eyes and noticed something strange in Xia Fei’s brain. There was an inconspicuous scar on his brain stem, and if a microscope were to be used to observe this, he would have discovered it was a star, a black star, with two rings orbiting it.
“Eh?!” exclaimed the killer. Of course, no one could have heard him.
He shook his head helplessly as a light smile appeared across his face.
“I wouldn’t have imagined… not at all…” muttered the killer to himself.
That said, the killer escaped from the room without leaving a trace. Meanwhile, Xia Fei was still on the operating table, yet to notice this intrusion, and how he had just escaped from the gates of hell.
…
In the blink of an eye, the killer had turned into a breeze which blew by, just like a particle of sand in the desert getting carried far away by wind.
In a dark alley, several stray cats were searching for food in the trash, but sadly, even the humans themselves had trouble filling their stomach here in the slums, so there was hardly any food that got thrown out. The cats here were all skinny bags of bones, their fur faint and patchy.
The killer took a look around his surroundings and revealed himself when he saw that there was no one around.
Like in a sci-fi movie, the air rapidly solidified then a transparent human form appeared and color very swiftly returned. A young man in his early twenties had appeared in that alley without a warning.
The man whistled as he played around with that butterfly knife, walking toward the intersection as if he had not done anything.
His steps were light, not at all making a single sound with every step. His face even held a soft smile.
It had to be said that this young man had very delicate features. He was clearly a man whose looks would easily make most women jealous, and when he smiled, his cheeks would even have two deep dimples. If he were to dress like a woman, he would very likely entrance tens of thousands of men out there.
Standing by the intersection was a middle-aged man in a pressed suit. This expensive suit, which he was wearing, was made out of pure wool, standing out very starkly considering the humble slums they were in. None of these people who lived in the area could even buy the sleeve of this suit even if they worked their whole lives for it.
He was wearing a deep-blue bowler hat, with the brim pressed so very low that half his face was covered. The middle-aged man was leaning against a wall very casually. There was hardly anywhere clean here in the slums, yet this person did not seem to care about dirtying the expensive suit. It was as if the only thing he cared about was being comfortable while standing there, and nothing else mattered.
The pretty-faced young man and that middle-aged man wearing his expensive suit passed each other, neither looking at the other, as if they were mere passersby on the street.
*Whoosh!*
All of a sudden, the butterfly knife that the young man was holding moved.
As quick as a bolt of lightning, the edge of this knife barely flashed passed the middle-aged man’s cheeks, hovering just away from both the wall and his face. There was hardly any sound as if he was just cutting tofu. It could be seen that this beautifully crafted little knife was no toy but a weapon that could kill without spilling blood, instead.
“Are you following me?” asked the young man, slowly retracting his knife.
“There’s no need for me to follow you because stray cats love the slums.” The middle-aged man lowered his head. He was not even feeling panicky even after the knife came a millimeter away from his face, remaining so calm that it was frightening.
“Did you fail?” asked the middle-aged man.
The young man chuckled and curiously asked, “How did you know?”
“Because your knife doesn’t have the smell of blood on it.”
The young man pressed his lips together as he shrugged lightly. He quickly slotted the knife back into his sleeve, disappearing like magic.
Slotting both his hands into his pockets, the young man mimicked the middle-aged man and leaned against the wall, except while the middle-aged man had his head lowered, the young man was looking right up to the hot sun.
“I wouldn’t leave any trace of blood if I could kill anyone,” the young man softly corrected.
The middle-aged man was unperturbed. “Trust me. As long as it’s a knife that kills someone, there will always be a unique smell of blood lingering.”
The young man laughed. “So many years, yet you’re still as stubborn as before.”
The middle-aged man shook his head. “I’m just the same as before, but the stray cat has been honed into a Clean Knife.”
The young man happily replied. “Clean Knife is a good name, right? I came up with it.”
The middle-aged man sighed. “I still prefer the stray cat.”
“What’s the difference? The stray cat uses a butterfly knife, and so too does Clean Knife.”
“The stray cat only cared about life and not money, while the Clean Knife takes both.”
The young man was quiet for a good moment before flashing a bright smile. “Anyone would get tired after killing too many. Instead, I’m more interested in money right now. Besides, didn’t you also go and become a guard dog for that so-and-so? So you and I have both changed. The little mongrel has turned into a guard dog, while the stray cat has turned into a Lucky Cat, with neither being better off than the other.”
“The Li family. I went to work for the ‘Immutable Gold’ Li family,” the middle-aged man said gruffly. “You’d best remember that name.”
The young man laughed, taking exception to the advice. “I like immutable gold, but I dislike the Li family.”
“Whether you like them or not, they’re your employer this time, and that means killing for them after taking their money.”
“I know.” The young man casually whistled at a middle-aged woman walking down the street, scaring her off as she fled.
“Then, why did you let Xia Fei off if you knew that?” asked the middle-aged man, annoyed. He had lifted his face and was now looking straight at the young man, the mustache above his lips bristling.
