The first thing that came to Ren Suo’s mind when he awoke from his slumber was that he was famished.
Unable to wait for a second longer for the food to be delivered to his doorstep, Ren Suo put on a sweater and headed downstairs to the Jianji Porridge Noodles stall. He then shouted his order, “A bowl…Two large bowls of Yee-fu noodles with beef briskets in fried bean sauce! Please make it quick, I’m very hungry!”
“Okay.”
The large plate of hot, simmering noodles served by the waiter was already enough to make one drool. The plate of thick yellow yee-fu noodles was soaked in a mix of thick beef brisket sauce and fried bean paste, topped with tender beef briskets and succulent slices of pork belly which were wobbling like tofu cubes, accompanied by a complimentary bowl of fresh cream-colored soup brewed with flatfish—it certainly would whet anyone’s appetite just by looking. For the hungry Ren Suo, it was extremely appetizing. He picked up a pair of disinfected chopsticks which he had long prepared and began gulping down his food ravenously.
Two strangers came to sit at his table while he tucked in. Since it was a small stall, there were barely any available seats and sharing tables was a common practice during peak hours. Ren Suo did not mind as he continued eating and drinking his bowl of soup, savoring the thick and tasty meat, noodles, and soup which came together as one in his mouth—slowly flowing down his throat and filling his empty stomach. He felt rejuvenated.
Ren Suo had no idea why he was so hungry. It was only when he had finished a large portion of his food and recovered his senses that he overheard the conversation between the two strangers who were seated opposite him:
“…see, it’s really the Lamperouge family!”
Lamperouge?
Ren Suo looked up to see two girls sitting opposite him. They were dressed in suits, and he reckoned that they must have been white-collar ladies who worked at the nearby office building.
The house that he was currently living in was rented to him by his first uncle. It was situated in a prime location which was near the train station, the shopping district, and the offices. Naturally, the white-collar workers would be around at lunchtime. Although Jianji was an ordinary food stall that looked a lot like porridge and noodles stall from the eighties with no extravagant décor, it served up savory food at an affordable price. Hence, it was no wonder it was favored by most office workers.
Ren Suo felt fortunate to have arrived earlier before the lunch crowd, or else he would have had to sit at the temporary tables placed outside the stall, along the pedestrian walkway.
He took a glance at his phone, and it was only then that he realized it was already noon time—he actually slept for 11 hours? He remembered clearly that he had gone to bed before midnight!
“Oh damn, tsk tsk tsk…I’ve seen this person before. He’s the male model for Numero and has an extremely good figure. He was born into the Piaget aristocrat family…I was so shocked I almost peed my pants!”
“Wow, that’s impressive! Is this the Bronze Shield Defence Force? It’s a real gun battle!”
“Turns out England’s aristocratic families indeed have skilled butlers who are well-versed in wielding both the pen and the sword.”
“Even in the Fog City, there are assassins…”
Engrossed and amused by their conversation, Ren Suo said, “Do you guys know about the stage of the Lamperouge banquet too?”
The two girls looked up, glancing cautiously at Ren Suo. One of the girls who had short hair replied, “Who doesn’t know about it at this point? All of my friends have been talking about the hitman.”
Ren Suo scratched his head and asked, “Huh? This game…is it actually that popular?”
He recalled the time when he searched online for more information about the game “The Hitman” yesterday. However, he barely found anything. How did this become the talk of the town just a day later as he ate his noodles? Is the Information Age developing so rapidly?
“What game?” the short-haired girl chuckled. Showing her phone to Ren Suo, she continued, “It’s a real-life video!”
In the video, Ren Suo saw a handsome lad from Xuan Nation who was walking into a grand banquet hall with a pistol in his hand. The skulls of three people exploded as he shot three bullets at them, after which he bent down to retrieve a concealed assault rifle from under the table—
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Sparks flew from the barrel of the rifle, mixed with the blood spurting out from those who had been shot dead. The assistants who were standing on the dead guests’ bodies attempted to take their guns out to return fire. However, it was as if the man from Xuan Nation knew about their identity and plans inside out. By the time they managed to take out their guns, they had already become victims of his rifle. They were blasted into fragments even though they had been hiding behind the pillar to take cover.
Ren Suo immediately linked the scenes with the game scenario that he had been playing yesterday. He thought that everything is the same, even that man from Xuan Nation. I was the one who had created him, except…
This was all happening in real life!
Although yesterday’s game seemed rather realistic, Ren Suo could tell that it was just virtual and not real life—they were special effects and computer graphics—and yet what the short-haired girl showed him on her mobile phone was all real—the blood, the people, and all the action!
“This…Is this a film?” Ren Suo figured.
“What film? This is a video!” The short-haired girl looked at Ren Suo in disbelief. She asked in bafflement, “How could you not know about this incident? What else do you think I am talking about?”
“How could you try to flirt and hit on others without even knowing a thing? Shame on you!”
Ren Suo’s face turned red with embarrassment. He hurriedly finished up the last bit of noodles and soup left in his bowl and promptly returned home to surf the internet. Could it be that people are broadcasting a live-stream of themselves playing the game “The Hitman”? Or could “The Hitman” have been remade into a movie?
They’re even spreading and circulating the video in the chat groups…How is this possible? All of my friends have been sharing photos of themselves with their significant others, their vacations and delicacies that they’ve been enjoying!
Ren Suo opened his group chat with his friends on his mobile phone, and to his utter surprise, the entire chat group was filled with videos about “The Hitman”!
Top student of University: (Attached image: Blackthorn Tower) “What on earth! Even the government of the nation can’t stop this video from spreading. I’m convinced, this must have been plotted by the Pacific Federation.”
Female member from the Comic Association: (Attached image: The Man From Xuan Nation) “Regardless of what happened, the hitman is so ~handsome~! Please meet my new husband, I am now Mrs. Hitman!”
University junior in second year: (Attached image: Yuffie Lamperouge) “So cute and innocent! I’m such a fan of strong girls like her who’ve been through bloodshed and tears!”
University otaku junior in third year: (Attached image: Kallen Lamperouge) “I’m attracted to 3D now… I’ve lost it, I’ve lost it.”
High school classmate: (Attached image: The Bloody Banquet) “It’s so dangerous overseas. That’s such a large-scale assassination attack. It’s no wonder there are so few foreigners here.”
Primary school classmate: “It’s just a movie trailer, how could you all believe it! Think for yourself, how could such an absurd thing happen!”
The chat group was indeed flooded with messages.
Ren Suo felt like he was missing something, and hence, he quickly proceeded to search for information on the internet using his computer. Very soon, he found out the truth which made him break out in a cold sweat.
In the early hours of the morning at 4:55, standard time, a peculiar video rapidly took over all live-streaming platforms and video-streaming sites. Yes, even live-streaming platforms were stopped by this 25-minute and 36-second-long video which had replaced the main page.
At that time, anyone who opened their web browser would automatically be redirected to any one of the live-streaming channels which were airing the video. Even the startup page and pop-up blocker embedded in the internet browser could not stop this from happening; it was a major internet disaster that was much worse than unforgiving page-redirecting advertisements.
This video was titled “The Hitman – The Bloody Banquet”.
It must have sounded like a senseless, violent X-rated film that was made for money-laundering purposes.
However, in reality, it was a real video.
“The mission is to protect Kallen Lamperouge…” In the video, a handsome Xuan Nation lad muttered under his breath as he walked briskly along an alley with an umbrella in his hand.
Then, just like how Ren Suo cleared the stages, the man from Xuan Nation knocked Ingres out and entered the inner hall by pretending to be one of the members of the Ricard family and stealing a gun in the process. He then entered the inner hall in search of Yuffie Lamperouge, who was welcoming the guests with her sister.
“I am not sure if I should say this, but…”
“Don’t say it then.” Yuffie had no intention of continuing a conversation with the strange man, even though he was incredibly handsome.
“I do think so too, but please remember…” The man from Xuan Nation tightened his grip on the pistol and smiled as he said, “Both your life and your sister’s life…are far more important than mine!”
