1 Xiao Yun and the Framed Picture

"Xiao Yun! Are you going to get the game that everybody has been talking about as of lately, Requiem Online, that is coming out today? I can't wait to get my hands on it after school!"

Xiao Yun turned to look at the chubby figure that sat behind him in class with a casual expression.

"Fatty Chen, how will you even get the money to buy the game? Didn't your parents stop giving you an allowance because of your bad grades?"

Li Chen, also known as Fatty Chen by the class, chuckled. "I have my ways…" he said in a cheeky tone.

"Don't let your parents catch you stealing," Xiao Yun shook his head helplessly at him.

"Wha— who said anything about stealing from my parents? I'll have you know that I earned this money with my own effort!"

Xiao Yun narrowed his eyes at him and sighed. "Yeah, yeah…I believe you."

"Really! I recently sold my World Tree account that I had spent 10 years on, and the amount I made is just barely enough for the system and the game!" he said in a voice that sounded somewhat sorrowful.

"But it was worth it! Requiem Online is said to be the start of a new generation for virtual gaming, and that the world inside the game was so realistic that many beta testers had mistaken it as the real world!"

"How about it, Xiao Yun? Come with me to the store today after school to buy one."

"No thanks, I have things to do." Xiao Yun easily refused his offer.

"You are always busy after school. Do you have a part-time job or something?"

"No...There is still a lot of things my mother left behind for me to do despite being gone for a whole year now."

"Oh…right, your mother..then I will no longer bother you," Fatty Chen said in a reserved tone that was filled with pity, thinking how hard it must have been for Xiao Yun ever since his only guardian died a year ago.

"If you need anything, just let me know, okay? Especially money, okay? My parents have plenty, okay?" Fatty Chen said before leaving him alone.

Xiao Yun smiled slightly before turning back around.

Moments later, the bell that signaled the start of class resounded around the school, making everybody return to their seats to wait for the teacher.

Time passed slower than usual for the students at school today. They were all impatient for school to end so they can all rush to the store to buy Requiem Online, the most popular topic around the world ever since it was announced.

Ding. Ding. Ding.

The last bell of the day rung and students could be seen running out of schools as though there were an emergency moments later.

Nobody went straight home but instead flooded the nearby stores to snatch their copy of Requiem Online alongside the system required for the game, hoping to get even the slightest of advantages amongst others.

Nearly everybody in the world is trying to get their own copy of Requiem Online at this moment.

Xiao Yun, however, went straight home, being the only person in his class to not join in on the race.

"I'm home!" he said out loud despite knowing that he was the only person living in the house.

He then went straight into his room that was clean and oddly empty— especially considering that he was a high schooler. It was so clean that not a single particle of dust was present.

He sat down in front of his empty desk and retrieved a yellow binder not from the desk drawers like one would expect, but from a hidden drawer that required many steps to open.

Xiao Yun opened the yellow binder and read the content—

—Julian Davis, age 49, leader of the Red Snake Clan.

He is believed to be the next 'Phantom' by many big clans and infamous assassins, and even Xu Long, leader of the Green Dragon Clan, favors him.

He is mostly known for his lightning-quick movement techniques, most famously his Shadow Steps that greatly assisted him in his rise of fame during his early years.

He is a wicked man who has killed, raped and tortured countless innocents to death just to satisfy his lust for blood.

Difficulty: SSS+

Potential Danger: Maximum

"This is my— mother's final target— my last obligation as her son and…disciple." Xiao Yun closed his eyes, and silence filled the room.

After another moment, Xiao Yun stood up and quickly changed his appearance.

Covered in all black, the only thing that could be seen were his eyes that glowed slightly in the dimmed room.

After preparing himself, the only thing he had to do was to wait for the night sky to appear.

During his wait, Xiao Yun stood silently in the room that was beside his room, with his gaze at the only thing that existed in the room— a framed picture of a beautiful middle-aged lady that was positioned by the window.

That was his mother or the one who adopted him to be precise.

"Mother— Master, it has been some time since I last saw your face, and this may be sudden, but I am about to finish your final mission in your stead so you can rest in peace," he mumbled while looking at the figure in the picture.

Despite being told multiple times that he could only call her Master when in his night clothes, he would always mess up here and there and would never be consistent.

"Although it has taken me 360 nights to get to this point, please do not blame me. You can only blame yourself for accepting so many missions with so many difficult targets."

For the last 360 nights, every night, he would leave in the same appearance and come back with blood stains that did not exist prior to leaving. But of course, these bloodstains didn't belong to him, but instead his targets that had unfortunately been listed as a target.

"During the past year, I have also been living my life as you had told me to in your will. I have been making friends, and I have been going to school properly. Although it was hard at first because I was not used to such a lifestyle, I have gotten used to it by now. Look, I can make a smile properly, now." Xiao Yu said as he showed off his bright smile.

"It looks realistic, right? It used to be very stiff and weird— at least that was what people would tell me."

"I can make many different types of expressions now, and I also learned how to express many emotions."

"My grades in school are also good, and I have never gotten a question wrong ever since I started school."

"I have also learned how to cook, so you do not have to worry about that…"

"Oh, then there's...….."

Xiao Yun continued to talk about his achievements for the past year that he has not entered this room.

He talked and talked to the framed picture in this dark room, and before he realized it, the evening sky had turned dark.

"It's about time, huh…"

"I will return with success, so I will not say my goodbyes, but instead…"

"I will be back, Master…and mother."

Xiao Yun looked at his mother in the picture for one last moment before turning around.

The moment his back faced the framed picture, his bright expression instantly turned blank as though it was void of emotions, resembling a soulless doll.

The light in his eyes was no longer present as if it had been swallowed by the darkness.

And like a ghost, Xiao Yun disappears from the room and into the darkness.