Sin Becomes a God

Chapter 33: A Trip to Hong Kong

After returning from his meeting with the Fat Guy to the apartment he rented, Lu Renjia briefly explained to the guild members that he had received another mission before his thirty-day cooldown period had even ended. Master Xuan Kui and the others regarded Lu Renjia as a key candidate for cultivation; after all, an Earth-born Qualifier was the most unique among all Qualifiers. Having an Earth-born Qualifier on their side in the upcoming War Chronicle team battle would significantly increase their chances of victory. After listening to Lu Renjia’s account, Master Xuan Kui smiled. “This is a ‘Career Guidance’ mission, but this is the first time I’ve heard of a case like yours. Moreover, your ‘Career Guidance’ mission is quite unique compared to ours…Because we all received our ‘Career Orientation’ missions only after advancing to the three-star gold-bordered Sin Level, and back then, the ‘Evil God System’ offered quite a few options—unlike you, who was given only the ‘assassin’ profession…” “With your skills, taking on the role of an assassin shouldn’t be a problem… By the way, did you purchase the ‘Great Restoration Pill’ or the ‘Marrow-Cleansing Pill’ from the ‘Evil God System’?” “You remind me—I’d almost forgotten. I really have to thank you, Chairman, for your recommendation. The effects of the ‘Marrow-Cleansing Pill’ are truly remarkable; my cultivation speed is now about fifty times faster than before…” Lu Renjia laughed. Hearing Lu Renjia’s words, the seven of them—Xuan Kui Zhenren, the Enchanting Little Devil, the Eight-Faced Ghost, the Doomsday Maniac, the Mechanical Witch, and the Demon Dragon Warrior—exchanged knowing smiles. “Since you received the ‘Career Guidance’ quest before your Sin Level even reached Three Stars with a Gold Border, it only proves once again that Earth’s Qualified Ones are the most exceptional among all Qualified Ones… Xiao Jia, just let me know if you need any weapons. Don’t even mention guns or cannons… even if it’s a particle weapon, I can get it for you…” the Mechanical Witch said with a laugh. “Give me a break… Particle weapons? Aren’t those only used for outer space combat in your civilization? If you used one on Earth, wouldn’t a single shot blow right through the planet? As an assassin, poison is obviously the way to go…“Since you’ve found a new direction in life, I’ll give you an ounce of Dragon Venom for free… Guaranteed to kill anyone who smells it or touches it… Once you use it, you’ll want to use it again…” The Dragon Warrior began pitching items from her own world to Lu Renjia once more. “I’ll pass… After all, this is my first job, and I want to pull it off on my own…” Lu Renjia chuckled. “All right, all right… Stop trying to sell Xiao Jia all those weird and wacky things of yours. Being an assassin will help Xiao Jia understand the hidden side of Earth that no one knows about… Xiao Jia, be careful in everything you do. We, your comrades-in-arms, are still waiting to fight alongside you—don’t go dying on us…” Master Xuan Kui interjected. Hearing Master Xuan Kui’s well-meaning advice, Lu Renjia smiled knowingly. “Don’t worry, President… I’m a Qualified One from Earth—how could I die so easily? Besides, I haven’t even experienced the rich diversity of the other Great Thousand Worlds yet…” After finishing his calls with True Master Xuan Kui and the others, Lu Renjia crossed his legs into the lotus position and began cultivating the *Nine Yang Divine Art*. In the world of *The Legend of the Condor Heroes: The Demon Cult Leader*, he missed the thrill of crushing enemies with the nearly boundless inner energy of a先天 martial artist. After taking the “Marrow-Cleansing Pill,” his cultivation speed increased fiftyfold, meaning one day of his cultivation was equivalent to fifty days of cultivation for other martial artists. It was like the thrill of cheating in a private server game, and Lu Renjia was utterly intoxicated by it. For the path of martial cultivation—a journey that requires time and accumulation to reach the pinnacle—this was akin to racing at breakneck speed in a sports car. “Physical attributes of a qualified candidate: Internal Energy (mid-second-tier), Reflexes 15 (15 times above average), Strength 20 (20 times above average), Speed 15 (15 times above average), Comprehension 3 (3 times above average). Overall evaluation: F-rank martial artist.” Watching his various attributes improve, Lu Renjia felt a quiet sense of satisfaction. Meanwhile, Xiao Bai, sitting in the server room, continued to stare lazily at the monitor, which displayed a live feed of Lu Renjia sitting cross-legged in meditation. He twisted open a bottle of Coke and took a huge gulp. The icy sensation made Xiao Bai exhale a cold breath. “Hehe… you little punk… did you think that by removing the laptop’s battery, I, Xiao Bai, wouldn’t be able to see you? Don’t you know… that I tracked you down using the street surveillance cameras?” Just then, Fei Lao pushed open the door and walked in. He glanced at the image of Lu Renjia sitting cross-legged on the monitor and chuckled, “Oh? This kid actually looks the part… How long has he been sitting like that?” “He’s been sitting there since he finished dinner… he’s got some staying power… By the way, I’ve already sorted out the fake passport, and I also found out that Jimmy, the right-hand man of Gao Laowen—the boss of He Sheng He—bought a restaurant in Mong Kok under a false name half a month ago… I wonder if it’s for meeting with Kamben Ichiro…” Hearing Xiao Bai’s words, Fei Lao furrowed his brow. “I’ve heard this collaboration between He Sheng He and the Sumiyoshi-kai involves a deal worth over five billion US dollars. Even the Inagawa-gumi can’t figure out exactly what this massive deal is about… No wonder they’re being so cautious…“No problem. All we need is for Lu Renjia to show up at that restaurant and die gloriously on the spot… Then the Inagawa-gumi won’t bother us anymore…” The next day, Lu Renjia received a package via express delivery. Upon opening it, he found three items inside: a cell phone, a passport, and a plane ticket to Hong Kong departing in three days. On the passport, Fatso had arranged for Lu Renjia to be listed as a Chinese-American, even giving him a name with a distinctly Western-sounding Chinese-English phonetic equivalent—Charlie Chen. “Who is… knocking on my window…” The ringtone was, surprisingly, one of Tsai Chin’s classic old songs. Lu Renjia swiped his finger across the phone’s screen, which displayed one unread text message and one MMS. “Ghost Shadow… The deposit has been received. The 10th of next month, Hong Yun Restaurant in Mong Kok, Hong Kong.” Seeing that “Fatso” had deliberately included his code name in the text, Lu Renjia was momentarily taken aback but didn’t think much of it. He then tapped open the unread MMS, and the screen displayed a man in his fifties with a slicked-back hairstyle and a burly build. Lu Renjia then opened his phone and checked the SMS notification from his mobile banking app—his bank account now showed an additional 500,000 RMB. Counting the six-digit deposit, Lu Renjia chuckled softly, “Get paid first, then do the work… This job really isn’t half bad…” Little did he know that at that very moment, in the server room of the “Seeking the Way” Internet café, Xiao Bai—using the Trojan horse he’d installed on the phone sent to Lu Renjia—was watching Lu Renjia’s smile through the camera. Xiao Bai pursed his lips and said to the fat guy standing beside him, “You really went all out on this… 500,000?” “Sigh… Five hundred thousand to buy us some peace of mind—it’s worth it no matter how you look at it… By the way, you’ve taken care of that phone, right? The text message won’t get deleted, will it?” the Fat Guy asked. Xiao Bai gave a dismissive chuckle. “Don’t you trust me? As long as that phone isn’t thrown into molten lava—even if it’s blown to smithereens—the text message proving that Lu Renjia is ‘Ghost Shadow’ won’t disappear…” Three days later, Lu Renjia—now dressed in a set of Armani casual menswear worth over 30,000 yuan—dragged a black suitcase out of the airport. Having loved classic Cantonese oldies like “Glorious Years” and “I Love You” since childhood, Lu Renjia—whose “comprehension” had improved by ten percent—began breaking down and rearranging the lyrics of these classics in his mind, and what came out of his mouth was actually authentic Cantonese. As Lu Renjia stood at the airport entrance, about to hail a taxi, he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. He swiped the screen, and Fai Lo’s voice came through on the other end. “I’ve arranged a hotel for you… I’ll send the address to this phone—just head straight there… Oh, and I don’t know if you know how to handle a gun, but I left a Browning in the bathroom sink… Pretty cool of me as your agent, huh?” Hearing Fatso’s feigned concern, Lu Renjia let out a cold smile. If it weren’t for the “Evil God System” issuing a real-world mission, when he’d run into Fatso at the “Seeking the Way” internet café, Lu Renjia would definitely have landed a “Bone-Crushing Palm” right on that life-buoy-sized belly of his. “Hmm… That’s pretty thorough service. Are you sure the target will show up at Hong Yun Restaurant in Mong Kok on the 10th?” “You still don’t trust me? I, Fatso, have a solid reputation as a broker in this line of work… Trust me… The intel I’ve provided has never been wrong… Oh, and you’d better keep this cell phone on you at all times, because this target is very cunning—he might change the location. I’ll notify you immediately if anything changes… Remember, the 10th is your chance to make a name for yourself…” After hanging up, Lu Renjia looked at the address displayed on his phone and couldn’t help but chuckle: “Looks like being a hitman really is a quick way to make money. I never would’ve thought that for a job like this, the target would be staying at a five-star hotel…” He waved down a taxi, and once inside, Lu Renjia gave the hotel’s name in fluent Cantonese—his accent so authentic that the driver gave up on trying to overcharge him. Arriving at the hotel Fatso had booked for him, Lu Renjia gave his name at the front desk. After the receptionist verified the passport he presented, a bellhop escorted him to a business suite. After tipping the bellhop a hundred yuan, Lu Renjia reached into the sink in the bathroom and pulled out the Browning pistol Fatso had mentioned. Looking at the Browning pistol and two magazines inside the waterproof plastic bag, Lu Renjia scratched his head in exasperation. As a student in China, he’d had opportunities for military training in both middle and high school, but those training sessions had been little more than a formality—nothing but marching in step and the like. Now, with a real pistol right in front of him, he had no idea how to handle it. Fortunately, the business suite at the five-star hotel was fully equipped. Whenever he encountered something he didn’t understand, Lu Renjia’s first instinct was to ask Baidu. After watching a dozen or so videos on how to use a Browning pistol, Lu Renjia pulled the slide back and chambered a round. He aimed at the mesmerizing neon lights outside the window for a moment. Once the novelty wore off, Lu Renjia tossed the brand-new Browning pistol onto the bedside table. “After the thirty-day cooling-off period, it looks like I’ll have to head to a world that offers assassin training or something like that. Otherwise, it’d be a real embarrassment for an assassin not to even know how to use a gun…” Lu Renjia thought to himself. Lu Renjia, who had taken over a thousand lives in the world of *The Legend of the Condor Heroes: The Demon Cult Leader*, was no longer the clueless young migrant worker he once was. Since the Fat Guy had managed to have someone hide a Browning pistol in this room, it followed that every move Lu Renjia made within it was likely under the Fat Guy’s control. As for the Fat Guy’s deliberate instruction during their phone call to keep this cell phone on him at all times, that had also aroused Lu Renjia’s suspicion.