Sin Becomes a God

Chapter 50: False Hope

“Huh…” Exhaling a breath of stale air, Lu Renjia, seated in the lotus position, slowly opened his eyes, a fleeting gleam of brilliance flashing through them. Although he had only created the first move of the *Zhan Tian Jue*, Lu Renjia was already quite satisfied. Now that he had elevated his “Assassin’s Heart” to the “Application” level and gained “Perception,” Lu Renjia was confident that, among practitioners of equal cultivation, no one within a 150-meter radius could evade his strike. “Knock, knock, knock…”A knock sounded at the door. Ever since he had elevated “Assassin’s Heart” to the “Application” level and gained the new attribute “Perception,” Lu Renjia’s five senses had become more than three times as acute as before. Although his heart rate was not currently maintained at 400 beats per minute, his keen senses allowed him to identify the visitor’s identity from the sound of their breathing and heartbeat outside the door. “Come in… Russian…” The Russian outside paused for a moment, then shook his head with a wry smile. Lu Renjia’s transformation over these past few days had been plain for all to see. If Lu Renjia had once been like a razor-sharp blade, he was now more like a spring-fed pond—seemingly calm and still on the surface, yet with undercurrents churning beneath. After pushing the door open, the Russian man deliberately glanced behind him to see if anyone was following. The moment he stepped inside, the good-natured smile faded from his face. Ever since Lu Renjia had chosen the third and most unlikely path from his notes to obtain the “Assassin’s Heart,” the Russian man had genuinely come to regard Lu Renjia as a friend. Therefore, there was naturally no need to hide anything from him. Glancing at Lu Renjia, who was sitting in meditation on the bed, the Russian man said in a deep voice, “The Repairman has woken up…” Having created his own sword technique, Lu Renjia was naturally in high spirits. He shrugged nonchalantly and laughed, “So he’s awake… What’s the big deal? If he dares challenge me to a fistfight again, I wouldn’t mind keeping him in bed for a few more days…” No sooner had the words left his mouth than he noticed the Russian’s grave expression. Lu Renjia did a quick mental calculation and couldn’t help but be taken aback. “That’s not right… Didn’t you say that, given the Repairman’s injuries, it would take three days for him to regain consciousness and at least seven days to fully recover? How come it’s only been five days… and he’s already fine?” The Russian shook his head helplessly. “Although I’m in charge of all day-to-day operations in the infirmary… Sloan is, after all, the leader of the ‘Brotherhood.’ He came to the infirmary in the middle of the night and specifically increased the Repairman’s dosage… That’s why the guy woke up early…” Lu Renjia nodded. “So… they’ll be searching for Wesley Gibson in the next few days?” “That’s probably it… Otherwise, I really can’t think of any other reason why Sloan would increase the dosage despite the side effects…” the Russian said slowly. Lu Renjia’s mouth twitched slightly, and he silently breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank goodness this physical transfer into the world of *Assassin’s Alliance* was a reward from the ‘Evil God System’… Otherwise, with the world’s trajectory having shifted so drastically, the difficulty would have increased… Who knows what other strange complications might have arisen!” Nodding, Lu Renjia put on an air of understanding. After all, one lie requires more lies to cover it up. Since he’d lied to the Russian about having advanced the “Assassin’s Heart” to the “Application” level—and claimed that the strongest talent selected was the “Precognition” ability—Lu Renjia had no choice but to keep spinning the web. “Hmm… It seems Sloan is preparing to make a move on Wesley Gibson. But don’t worry… In the visions I’ve seen, Sloan’s ultimate fate remains unchanged… I wonder just how severe the side effects will be for the Repairman after Sloan increases the dosage?” With Lu Renjia confirming that Sloan was about to take action after awakening the Repairman, the Russian’s expression grew somber. He sighed and said, “While it won’t prevent the Repairman from ever reaching the threshold of ‘Mastery,’ for the next three to five years… his strength won’t be able to improve… Sigh, I hope things really turn out just as you foresaw… ‘The Cross’ regards that boy Wesley as his very life…” “Um… Since Sloan and his team were able to find Wesley Gibson, why not just use him to blackmail ‘The Cross’? Lure him out? I think if we combine the strengths of Sloan, Fox, the Repairman, the Butcher, and the Gunsmith—taking down ‘The Cross’ shouldn’t be too hard, right? Why go to all the trouble of training Wesley Gibson?” Lu Renjia voiced a question that had been puzzling him for a long time. Upon hearing Lu Renjia’s question, the Russian couldn’t help but let a fascinating expression cross his face as he laughed, “It seems you exchange student didn’t do your homework before coming here… Members of our ‘Brotherhood’ regard the ‘Assassin’s Creed’ as everything… The ‘Assassin’s Creed,’ which has been passed down for hundreds of years, clearly states that ‘an Assassin can never be blackmailed; they will only repay tooth for tooth, blood for blood…’ So blackmail? It’s completely useless against ‘The Cross’! But in this world, aside from Wesley Gibson, ‘The Cross’ will shoot anyone without hesitation… That’s why Sloan and the others came up with this method to take out ‘The Cross’ with minimal losses… Isn’t it the same over in China?” “Um… we also have the rule that ‘one’s wife and children should not be harmed,’ but as you know, family planning is strictly enforced over there… so almost all the members of our organization are single…” Lu Renjia made up on the spot. The Russian, deep in thought, didn’t press Lu Renjia on his words. Noticing the grave expression on the Russian’s face, Lu Renjia chuckled, “If you’re worried, I’ll go out there for you when the time comes… Besides, I’m curious to see just how strong ‘The Cross’ really is—the one hailed as the most outstanding assassin in the history of the ‘Brotherhood’…” Of course, Lu Renjia wasn’t genuinely concerned about Wesley Gibson’s life or death; his claim of “going out to keep an eye on things” was nothing more than an excuse to get a handle on “The Cross’s” “beyond-line-of-sight sniping” technique. When the time came, “The Cross” and Fox would be locked in a fierce battle inside the supermarket, and Lu Renjia could use that window of opportunity to sneak into “The Cross’s” residence to see if he could figure out the method behind the “beyond-line-of-sight sniping.” But to his surprise, the Russian chuckled softly. “If you go, I advise you not to get too close… The reason ‘Cross’ is called the strongest assassin in the history of the ‘Brotherhood’… is because he’s handpicked the two with the greatest natural talent…” As Lu Renjia stared in disbelief, the Russian explained slowly, “Those capable of awakening the ‘Assassin’s Heart’ are considered one-in-a-million geniuses, and as for those who can elevate the ‘Assassin’s Heart’ to the level of ‘mastery,’ one in a hundred is considered a good ratio… This is precisely why, although we in the ‘Brotherhood’ are outnumbered, we firmly hold the position of the world’s number one assassin organization…You’ve also learned from my notes about the three ways to awaken the ‘Assassin’s Heart,’ haven’t you? ‘The Cross’ is something of an exception—his parents were both members of our ‘Brotherhood,’ so genetically he already met the first requirement for awakening the ‘Assassin’s Heart.’ Later, during his childhood, he witnessed his parents’ gruesome deaths while they were on a mission… That’s what made him this one-of-a-kind individual…” “As the saying goes, ‘Like father, like son.’ No wonder Wesley Gibson is so ruthless—after just six weeks of training, he dared to storm the ‘Brotherhood’s’ headquarters single-handedly…Although luck played a part in the end, the fact that he managed to take out both the Butcher and the Tinkerer suggests that, after the blow of patricide, Wesley Gibson has advanced from the ‘mastery’ stage to the ‘application’ stage…” Lu Renjia thought to himself. On second thought, Lu Renjia couldn’t help but curse under his breath, “Damn it… I thought ‘Beyond-Line-of-Sight Sniping’ was the ‘Cross’s’ signature move, but I never expected it to be the strongest talent he’d selected… Looks like I’m out of the running…” Unwilling to give up, Lu Renjia asked the Russian, “So… the two talents ‘The Cross’ selected aren’t ‘Beyond-Line-of-Sight Sniping’ and ‘Stealth,’ are they?” The Russian raised an eyebrow and sighed, “I didn’t expect your ‘precognition’ to be so out of this world—you even know this? Back then, when ‘Cross’ obtained those two strongest talents, Sloan issued a gag order. Fewer than ten people in the entire ‘Brotherhood’ knew about it…” Having received the answer from the Russian, Lu Renjia’s plan to take advantage of the time gap and make a quick profit at “The Cross”’s residence lost its appeal. However, since he’d promised the Russian he’d keep an eye on Wesley Gibson, Lu Renjia naturally couldn’t go back on his word. The following afternoon, Sloan, Fox, the Gunsmith, the Butcher, and the Repairman—who had just recovered—drove their respective vehicles slowly out of the “Brotherhood’s” castle-like building. Lu Renjia, standing by the windowsill, took in the entire scene. The Russian standing beside him whispered, “They’ve set out… In a bit, I’ll make an excuse to drive out to buy medicine… You can come with me…” “There’s no rush… According to the vision I saw using my ‘precognition’ ability, Sloan and the others won’t harm Wesley Gibson, and Fox will arrange a ‘chance encounter’ with Wesley Gibson at the supermarket while he’s there to buy medicine… It’ll probably happen in the evening, so I’ll just go out on my own later… After all, even if you take me along to buy medicine… it’s not like you’d be gone for most of the day, is it?” Lu Renjia continued to play the charlatan and sweet-talk him. The Russian glanced at his watch; it was only 2:00 p. m. Based on Wesley Gibson’s schedule as a hapless office worker, he’d be busy at least until 6:00 p. m. before getting off work, and then he’d have to walk to the pharmacy. So Fox’s “chance encounter” with Wesley Gibson wouldn’t happen until at least 8:00 p. m. If he took Lu Renjia out for six or seven hours, it might arouse the suspicion of the cunning Sloan. After thinking it over, the Russian pulled a set of keys from his pocket and handed them to Lu Renjia. “I’ve got a place out there. Here are the keys to the house and the car… Don’t you dare wreck my ‘Khatushka,’ or I’ll come after you…” Taking the keys, Lu Renjia chuckled, “A guy who names his car is either gay or a total nerd… Uh, don’t worry—my driving skills are so good, even the traffic cops can’t catch me… And even if they did, I wouldn’t be afraid… because I don’t have a driver’s license… They wouldn’t be able to deduct any points from me anyway…” Ignoring the Russian’s murderous glare, Lu Renjia quickly turned and walked away. After Lu Renjia left, the Russian’s wails of despair echoed from behind him. “I’m not gay… I’m not a shut-in… Aaaah… Khatushka… I’m so sorry!!!!”