Outside a skyscraper glowing with the radiant, high-tech lights of the Shin-Jinrui Central District, a long line of hypercars—rare gems hard to come by anywhere across the ten federation planets—were parked side by side. The light from technological LED clusters reflected off glossy, immaculate paint jobs, creating a scene of ultimate luxury.
Tonight, a top-tier high-society gala was being held on the building's penthouse floor.
Inside the vast banquet hall, the ultra-wealthy and powerful big shots had gathered in full force. Long banquet tables draped in pure white silk held exquisite multi-tiered pastry towers, while the polite clinking of crystal champagne flutes echoed softly throughout the venue. Dapper young masters and elegant ladies from prominent families mingled in clusters, laughing, exchanging business cards, and networking to solidify family connections.
The middle-aged man took a gentle sip of red wine, turning to the young man in the crisp black suit standing beside him:
— "How do you find the atmosphere here, Kento?"
Kento stuffed both hands into his trousers pockets, his deadpan eyes sweeping over the room before answering nonchalantly:
— "It's lively, but it's not really my thing."
Right on cue, a waiter dressed in a stylish vest hurried over, bowing respectfully:
— "Welcome, sir. Please step this way to the VIP table area."
The waiter then turned to Kento, bowing slightly as he pointed toward a corner of the hall:
— "As for the bodyguard, please head over that way. That area is reserved specifically for the security detail of our distinguished guests."
Kento nodded, silently following the directions. He was led to a row of premium leather sofas reserved for the security forces of the big shots. The moment he sat down, another staff member thoughtfully brought over a cup of chilled fresh fruits.
Kento leaned back against the sofa, casually resting his chin on his hand as he observed the elites falsely chatting and laughing about financial projects, trillion-coin investments, and lucrative business deals. Tsking, he muttered under his breath:
— "Damn it, listening to these guys talk is like being at a noisy market—I don't understand a single thing. Hope tonight passes quickly so I can take home my 30,000 Coins."
He shifted his gaze a bit further away. In a secluded corner of the banquet hall, a large group of wealthy ladies and gentlemen were surrounding a young woman. She possessed snow-white hair that reached down to her waist, standing out brilliantly beneath the crystal chandelier lights. Her face was cold and emotionless, her ash-gray eyes staring at the crowd striving to flatter her as if looking at a swarm of ants underfoot.
Kento curled his lips slightly, muttering mockingly:
— "A swan surrounded by a bunch of frogs."
As he stared, Kento suddenly paused. From the adjacent aisle, a slick, pampered young master carrying a wine glass was passing by. When his eyes accidentally met Kento's, he recoiled in horror, his face draining of all color as he stumbled back a few steps, nearly falling on his rear.
That guy was none other than the leader of the thugs who had picked a fight with Kento and Loona a few days prior.
Kento raised an eyebrow, letting out a cold smile:
— "An acquaintance! Came to mess with me again? Today I wouldn't mind snapping your neck right on the spot."
The thug leader trembled violently, hurriedly waving his hands as cold sweat poured down his forehead:
— "P-Please, sir! I beg you! I only came here tonight for business networking—I swear to god I don't dare have any other intentions!"
Kento jerked his chin up:
— "Is that so? I thought you tracked me down for revenge."
The thug gulped hard, shaking his head frantically like a rattle drum:
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— "Revenge against a monster like you? On the underground arena day, I was right there and saw you fight with my own eyes! From now on, even if I had ten lives, I wouldn't dare step anywhere near you!"
Seeing that the guy was completely thoroughly broken, Kento couldn't be bothered to care. He pointed at the white-haired woman over there and asked:
— "Then let me ask, who's that woman over there? Why are all these flies buzzing around her?"
The thug leader gasped, looking in the direction of Kento's finger, before leaning close to his ear and whispering reverently:
— "Oh, you don't know? She's wildly rising in fame here in the Shin-Jinrui Central District! Her wealth is deeply mysterious—no one can trace the backing behind it. Her name is Freya Sterling!"
Seeing that Kento seemed thirsty, the thug leader immediately tried to play nice, waving to call a waiter carrying a tray of red wine over:
— "Would you like some wine, sir? My treat!"
— "Thanks." Kento casually picked up a glass, tilting his head back to chug it down in one go as if drinking tap water. Tsking, he added: — "Damn, is smoking banned in a place like this?"
The thug leader could only give an awkward laugh, hurriedly calling the waiter back to bring a lineup of expensive dessert plates and fruits to set in front of Kento. This action caused the surrounding bodyguards to widen their eyes in shock. They couldn't comprehend why a famous young master in the city would bow and scrape to serve food and drinks to a young, seemingly no-name bodyguard.
As Kento chewed on a slice of apple, his eyes swept across the venue once more before stopping at a single sofa nearby:
— "Woah, who's that over there?"
He pointed toward a young man lying lazily on the couch, eyes closed as if fast asleep. But strangely enough, grapes from a plate on the adjacent table were floating automatically into the air, falling with pinpoint accuracy straight into his mouth.
The thug leader looked over and immediately explained:
— "Ah, he's a wildly famous genius in the field of black hole and spatial research! He has a passionate obsession with black holes, but in real life he's a literal 'sloth'—all he likes to do is lie around all day without moving a muscle."
Kento looked at the floating grapes, narrowing his eyes slightly in evaluation:
— "He controls his Sophion energy pretty well... But his physical body is way too weak, soft as noodles. What's his name?"
— "His name is Xie Jingchen."
The corner of Kento's mouth twitched upward into a faint smirk as he muttered a line that left the thug leader utterly bewildered:
— "I think he'll be the next member of Zero Horizon."
— "Huh? Zero Horizon? What's that, sir?" the thug asked blankly.
Kento gave him a cold glare:
— "None of your business."
Right then, the gala entered its main event. The hall lights dimmed slightly, and an orchestra equipped with classical instruments stepped onto the stage. They began playing a melodious, luxurious symphony with a nostalgic flair for the elite guests to enjoy.
Kento leaned his back against a pillar, letting out a massive yawn:
— "Standing around watching like this is boring as hell."
As his eyes scanned the room, he saw the white-haired girl, Freya Sterling, abruptly stand up. Her face remained icy and emotionless as she silently turned and exited the banquet hall. It seemed she was thoroughly disgusted by this fake, flashy, money-tainted atmosphere.
Watching her receding back, Kento nodded to himself:
— "Even the swan gets bored of this place. Makes sense—just a bunch of two-faced elites putting on a show for each other."
Tsking, he reached down to grab an apple slice from the plate, intending to toss it into his mouth.
SHRRR!
An extraordinarily faint, razor-sharp sound tore through the air right beside Kento's ear.
In the very next instant, the hulking bodyguard sitting on the sofa right next to Kento suddenly froze. His head slid right off his neck, dropping to the floor with a dry THUD. The headless corpse collapsed onto the marble tiles as blood spouted from the neck like a geyser, painting a wide patch of the floor crimson.
The atmosphere froze for a fraction of a second, before a piercing shriek from a nearby young lady shattered the peace:
— "AAAAAH! Blood... there's blood! Someone's dead!!!"
SLASH! SLASH! SLASH!
Before anyone could comprehend what was happening, continuous invisible slashes flew through the air. The hall security detail's defenses were utterly useless against this demonic power.
One after another, fleeing young masters, ladies, and big shots were clipped by the invisible cuts. The horrifying sound of severing flesh and bones echoed relentlessly. Some lost arms, others lost legs, fresh blood splattering onto each other's faces. In the blink of an eye, the elite gala turned into a gruesome slaughterhouse as people trampled over one another in a panic-stricken escape. Bodyguards attempting to shield their masters suffered the same fate—if not dead, then left maimed.
Amidst the hellish chaos of the entire hall, Kento remained standing still in place. He casually popped the apple slice into his mouth, chewing slowly as his indifferent eyes took in the scene before him:
— "Getting to eat an apple while watching a show like this is worth the money after all."
He glanced at the bodies of the guards littered across the floor, shaking his head:
— "A bunch of weak bodyguards."
With that thought, Kento reached into his suit jacket pocket, pulled out a cigarette, and placed it between his lips:
— "Needs a bit more spice to make this party interesting. Might as well light up first... Ah shoot, forgot I don't have a lighter."
Kento let out a soft sigh. He lightly flicked his index finger, and a tiny spark of Sophion energy ignited at his fingertip. He nonchalantly brought the flame close to light his cigarette, taking a deep drag before exhaling a plume of smoke at total ease.
Yet at that exact moment, an intensely cold, razor-sharp gust of wind abruptly erupted from behind. An invisible slash far more powerful than the ones before was unleashed, aimed straight at the neck of the middle-aged man—Kento's employer, who was currently trembling behind a massive pillar.
WHOOSH!
In one-tenth of a second, a dark silhouette burst forward like the wind. Kento materialized like a ghost right in front of the middle-aged man, taking the terrifying slash head-on with his own body.
RIP!
The loud sound of tearing fabric echoed out. The diagonal strike tore a massive gash across Kento's designer black suit jacket, exposing his toned chest underneath. Yet ironically, beneath the torn fabric, Kento's skin bore not a single scratch—not even a drop of blood was drawn.
He stood tall and immovable, his face completely unbothered as his mouth lazily released a haze of cigarette smoke.
The middle-aged man stared blankly at Kento's back, stammering in terror mixed with profound gratitude:
— "T-Thank you... Kento! You saved my life!"
Kento lowered his head to look at the long tear on his chest, his brow twitching slightly as his voice dropped into an irritated tone:
— "My favorite suit... got torn."
Right then, from within the screaming, frantically fleeing crowd, the mob parted to both sides as if encountering the Grim Reaper himself. A man wearing a neat black suit with slicked-back gelled hair casually strolled forward. In his right hand, he was holding a severed human head, dripping profusely with blood.
He came to a stop a few meters away from Kento, fixing his cold eyes upon him:
— "You... blocked my slash?"
Kento took one last drag of his cigarette, tossed the butt onto the ground, and crushed it beneath the tip of his leather shoe:
— "That's my 30,000 Sophion Coins. Trying to kill my boss to skip out on paying isn't gonna be easy, kid."
It was then that Kento noticed a distinct logo embroidered on the back of the assassin's suit: two crossed swords forming an "X".
Kento's deadpan eyes narrowed slightly, cracking his neck joints with eager pops:
— "Looks like I've bumped into a real assassin again. Hey... you happen to have another pack of cigarettes on you? This brand of mine tastes like absolute shit!"
END OF CHAPTER 31