I Have Infinite Skill Points-Chapter 625: They Are Courting Death
The scream instantly alarmed the security guards in Councilman Hosi’s home. Amid the chaos of rushing footsteps upstairs, there was a loud bang—the door was kicked open, and Star Martial Warriors, agents wielding firearms, poured into the room.
What they saw, however, was a scene they would never forget. Inside the room, Councilman Hosi’s wife was huddled under the covers, shivering, while Hosi himself had a dark and livid expression on his face. Four headless corpses lay sprawled across the room, blood and brains splattered everywhere.
"What... what happened? Councilman Hosi, are you all right?" As for Wang Lan and his group, the estate’s security was already aware of them, so no one suspected them.
"What happened? Assassins made it into my room, and you still ask what happened? What good are you? If it weren’t for Mr. Fire Phoenix and his people, I might have been killed, and you probably wouldn’t have found my body until tomorrow."
After Councilman Hosi’s tirade, the security guards’ heads drooped.
Councilman Hosi stood up, his expression dark. "Clean up the room. Mr. Fire Phoenix, thank you very much. You saved my life."
"It’s what we should do, but unfortunately, the identities of these assassins may not be that simple," Wang Lan said gravely.
"Earlier, I heard you mention Paradise Bird? Do they belong to that damned terrorist organization, Paradise Bird?"
"That’s likely. They engrave Skill Forms in their heads, so that if they are subjected to Spirit Engraving or risk exposure, their heads will explode. It’s the trademark of Paradise Bird."
"Damn it, damn it!" Hosi roared furiously.
BRRRING— Suddenly Hosi’s phone rang.
"Hello, it’s me. I’m still alive; I’m fine. I can’t believe you’re so well-informed. I was just targeted in an assassination, only five minutes ago! What?"
Suddenly, Hosi exclaimed. After a long pause, he slowly put down the phone. "Mr. Fire Phoenix, ten high-ranking government officials were attacked simultaneously just now. Aside from us here, the other nine were all killed. Three of them were popular candidates in this election... What are they trying to do? Declare war on the entire Kingdom of Baron?"
Hearing Hosi say this, Wang Lan and his group couldn’t help but glance at him. The popular candidate in this election—wasn’t that Hosi alone? But the gravity of the situation made Wang Lan frown. He had successfully protected Hosi, but were the defenses of Baron’s high officials truly this weak?
The strength of these assassins was only at the peak of the Star Cloud Stage. Even Xu Xiangwen, the weakest in their group, could take them all out with one hand. Ten officials targeted, and nine assassinations succeeded. Surely even the Kingdom of Ice and Snow didn’t have such pathetic defense mechanisms back in the day?
"Mr. Fire Phoenix, do you mind coming with me to take a look?"
"Of course not, let’s go."
It was utterly insane. Ten minutes later, countless people were woken by their phones; some didn’t answer even if they rang. Especially His Excellency the President—upon hearing the news, he reportedly had another bout of heart trouble and nearly ended up in the ICU again.
The news media received the information at almost the same time as the government officials. Almost simultaneously, news alerts from various media outlets flooded in. Night owls refreshing their feeds nearly jumped out of their skin at the headlines, wondering what on earth was happening and if the Kingdom of Baron had been completely overturned.
Outside the window, a light rain began to fall. The corpses of the victims were all placed in the hospital morgue. Nine bodies lay covered with white sheets, an unnerving sight. Wang Lan checked each one: all killed in their sleep, a single fatal blow.
The killers were like ghosts, coming and going without a trace.
After examining the corpses, Wang Lan shook his head at Hosi. The killers were highly professional, and their work was clean.
"What good are you? Weren’t you supposed to be providing 24-hour close protection? Is this how you protect them? Even if you failed to protect them, you let the murderers escape? You don’t even know how the killers got in or out?"
Outside the morgue, an official’s furious roar could be heard. One could only imagine the state of the security personnel in the corridor.
BRRRING— The phone rang again. Hosi, his expression somber, took out his phone and answered, only to be struck with astonishment a moment later.
"Mr. Fire Phoenix, the manor just called. They found a used disposable hand towel in one of the killer’s pockets."
"Huh?" Wang Lan’s eyes showed confusion. "What kind of towel?"
Hosi opened his phone and held it up to Wang Lan, whose expression changed drastically at a single glance. It was a disposable hand towel, the kind given to guests at hotels. But that wasn’t the crucial part; the hotel’s name was printed on the towel.
Such professional killers, would they make such a rookie mistake? Wang Lan’s mind was now teeming with questions. But since the clue was there, it had to be pursued.
Using the map on Hosi’s phone, the four quickly pinpointed the hotel’s location. In a flash, they vanished from the room and soared into the sky.
The rain continued to fall lightly, but luckily, Wang Lan’s team’s combat uniforms were waterproof. The four landed swiftly on the hotel rooftop, and Xu Xiangwen’s Heavenly Eye, beneath his cloak, instantly snapped open.
It was deep into the night, or rather, the early hours of the morning. Almost all hotel guests were asleep, but lights still shone in four rooms. Each of these four rooms housed four girls, who were taking turns showering.
In Xu Xiangwen’s eyes, these girls were all extremely vigilant, occasionally peering out through gaps in the curtains.
"It’s most likely them. Four rooms, four in each: 306, 207, 404, and 512."
"Split up and subdue them all." Wang Lan had barely finished speaking when the four figures vanished into the rooftop like ghosts.
In one of the rooms, a girl with wet hair was walking naked out of the bathroom. Suddenly, she spotted a terrifying shadow in the mirror by the doorway.
The girl spun around, staring nervously at Wang Lan.
"Who are you?"
"Under normal circumstances, shouldn’t you be screaming?" Wang Lan’s low, raspy voice sounded. Instantly, four figures rushed him.
Wang Lan stood perfectly still. Two of the clothed girls somehow produced daggers, while the two naked ones lunged for Wang Lan’s throat with their brightly polished nails.
HUMMM—
A humming sound filled the air, and the four girls froze instantly in mid-air. Terror was plastered across their faces. Wang Lan hadn’t even moved a finger, yet they were immobilized. Anyone would be terrified by such a scene. 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖
Several strands of Sword Qi shot from Wang Lan, piercing their throats. Since they’re Paradise Bird, there’s no point in Spirit Engraving them. Better to kill them cleanly and avoid messing up the hotel.
Four bodies thudded to the ground. Wang Lan stepped lightly to a corner of the room where some damp clothes lay discarded. A quick check confirmed they were the clothes the assassins had worn during the hit.
A knock sounded at the door. Jiang Xinyu and the other two filed into the room. "All taken care of. Vicious, aren’t they?" Xu Xiangwen said with a lewd grin.
"It should be them. But since they’re from Paradise Bird, there must be a deeper conspiracy!" Wang Lan mused, stroking his chin. "Why would Paradise Bird send people to stir up trouble in the Kingdom of Baron? Consolidate drug traffickers, assassinate political figures out of the blue? Even if they wanted to make a statement, the Kingdom of Baron is an odd choice."
"Moreover, Night Hawk hasn’t been apprehended, which is indeed strange. If these assassins were Night Hawk’s people, could it mean Night Hawk is also with Paradise Bird? If Night Hawk *is* with Paradise Bird, why consolidate drug traffickers and deal drugs? When has Paradise Bird ever needed to stoop to such business? Even if Paradise Bird wanted to profit from this, the dismantling of Night Hawk’s forces should have marked it as a failure. There’s no reason for Night Hawk to return for retaliatory assassinations. Paradise Bird’s actions usually have more purpose..."
"If that’s the case, then this assassination might not be for revenge, but for some other objective," Wang Lan pondered, his gaze directed downwards.
"What other objective could there be? Who benefits from killing those nine officials? Would killing a few people make the Kingdom of Baron compromise or even pardon Night Hawk? That’s impossible."
"There’s another possibility!" Wang Lan suddenly remembered something. He stood up and began to pace, his voice grave. "They are all professional killers." Then, his tone turning somber, he asked, "Why would professionals leave behind something as obviously incriminating as a napkin?"
"Could it be they were just careless?" Xie Sisi asked.
"Carelessness is unlikely," Wang Lan replied. "The strongest possibility is that they *wanted* to be exposed."
"Deliberately expose themselves? Isn’t that courting death?" Xie Sisi asked, puzzled.
"Exactly, courting death!" Wang Lan affirmed, now pacing rapidly. "They *wanted* to die. Only their deaths could bring this matter to a close. And if they actively sought to end it, that can only mean one thing: their objective was achieved. It was time for them to tie up loose ends, to start erasing their tracks."
"Erase tracks for whom?" Jiang Xinyu asked.
"At this stage, whoever benefits most is the one whose tracks are being erased."
「...」
"With a heavy heart, I announce to the citizens of our nation that just last night, those damned assassins carried out a widespread assassination of high-level officials in the Kingdom of Baron. My dear friends, my trusted partners..."
On the morning news, Councilman Hosi, dressed in a black suit, solemnly read the unfortunate news to the nation. Most of the public was still unaware of the magnitude of the events that had transpired the previous night. Hearing Hosi’s words, people gasped in shock, some even dropping their breakfast, too stunned to notice.
"However, also last night, we successfully located the assassins’ den and have wiped out the entire damned lot of them. Our investigation has confirmed that these female assassins belong to the terrorist organization Paradise Bird. Just moments ago, Paradise Bird officially claimed responsibility for this incident. The Kingdom of Baron will remember this affront, and we will spare no effort in retaliation. Our military is on high alert, ready to strike wherever Paradise Bird appears—our cannons will find them..."
In the presidential office, Wang Lan and the others stood before the president. On the television behind them, Councilman Hosi’s declaration of war was still being broadcast.
