Assassination

A week had passed since the dungeon break incident.

The cat and wolf were slowly fitting into the dynamic of the store, so Maria was very happy to see this.

She was also very happy to see that they were very enthusiastic about playing with Xiao Bai. Whenever she looked at them, she would always see the three of them together, happily playing with each other.

This scene really melted the heart with how cute it was.

As for the S Rankers, they also slowly left the store and finally left her alone again.

Today was actually her first day since Seul Ah went back to work.

Seul Ah seemed like she wanted to stay a bit longer, but she couldn't in the end because her guild called her back for a special raid of a dungeon. As the only S Ranker of her guild, she had no choice but to go…but the way that she kept looking back at Maria when she left made it clear that she wasn't willing.

It was a very normal morning as Maria opened up the cafe, but then she realized that something was off.

For some reason, it felt like something was missing.

When she looked around the store, her eyes suddenly fell onto a figure that was sitting there in the corner.

This was a figure that she recognized with a single glance because his appearance was quite dazzling. However, unlike his flamboyant and vibrant usual self, he was sitting there in the corner alone as if he was thinking about something.

Anyone that looked at him could tell with a single glance that something was off.

However, whenever someone went over to talk to him, he would just say a few polite words before turning back to continue thinking about something.

Maria couldn't help turning to Alexei and asked, "Do you know what's wrong with Alex today?"

Alexei looked at Alex before shaking his head in response.

He had tried asking Alex what was wrong earlier, but all he had gotten was the cold shoulder just like everyone else.

Since Alex wasn't willing to speak, he wasn't someone that was willing to stick his warm face in a cold butt. But he also couldn't help feeling worried about him since they were friends after all.

Even if they were technically love rivals and even though they normally fought with each other, they were still friends that had bonded over coming to Maria's cafe.

Seeing this, Maria decided to finally go over to where Alex was sitting.

Since he had come in, he had just sat there without ordering anything, so it was perfectly normal for her to go over.

When she stood by him, she asked, "Is there anything that I can get you?"

Alex suddenly jolted when he heard this voice.

He looked up at her and then gave a sigh as he said, "Just give me the usual."

It almost seemed like there was something that he wanted to say, but he couldn't say it in the end.

Maria didn't leave right away and just stood there looking at Alex with narrowed eyes.

Alex had gone back to his thoughts at first, but then he felt that she was staring at him and he couldn't help looking up to match her gaze. After staring back into her eyes for a bit, he couldn't help awkwardly turning away since it felt like those eyes were peering right into his soul.

He asked in a stuttered voice, "What, what is it? Why, why are you looking at me like this?"

Maria didn't answer right away as she just stared at him for a bit longer. Then she suddenly asked, "You seem different today. What's wrong?"

Alex jolted when he heard this and he looked right into her eyes for a bit before giving a sigh.

He gave a nod and said, "Yes, I'm a little different today, but I can't help it. I've received some news that's just too hard to accept."

When the others around him heard this, they all couldn't help turning in his direction.

As S Rankers, they all had their own information networks, but they hadn't heard anything about Alex today. Since this was information that even their networks hadn't received yet, they were naturally curious.

Maria nodded and waited for him to explain.

Alex didn't say a thing as he took out a piece of paper that he put on the table.

Maria was surprised to see this, but she leaned in to take a look and found just a few simple words, "You will die soon."

She couldn't help being taken aback by this before she looked at him and asked, "Is this a joke?"

This was the only thing that she could think of since she thought that no one would be crazy enough to send something like this to Alex. After all, he was a famous S Ranker, so they would be crazy to threaten him like this.

Alex revealed a bitter smile before shaking his head, "I thought so at first, but we confirmed that it's real."

Maria still couldn't help being confused as she asked, "Even if it's real, is there anything for you to worry about?"

Alex had the same bitter smile as he said, "Normally, no, but the one who sent this isn't a normal person."

Maria raised a brow as she revealed a confused look, but she didn't say anything as she waited for him to explain.

Alex didn't continue right away as he sat there in silence for a bit. Then with a sigh, he said, "It's Wu Qing."

The moment that this name was said, everyone around them couldn't help taking a cold breath.

That was because the names Wu Qing had too much of a significance to them.

This was a name that would even pose a threat to them as S Rankers.

That was because Wu Qing was someone that was recognized as being as powerful as these S Rankers. But that wasn't strange, or else they wouldn't be able to match the title of Assassin King.

But they had never heard of Wu Qing taking a job that required killing a S Ranker before.

That was because every S Ranker was tightly connected to the safety of the world and they were protected from things like this by the various governments of the world. Not a single government would allow a single S Ranker to be hurt in this manner since they were important people that would safeguard all of humanity.

So every nation's spy network would ensure that no one would be able to even think about assassinating a S Ranker.

However, Alex was in a very special position right now where people didn't know what to do with him after he left the royal family.

So most governments had adopted a wait and watch attitude towards this and had been waiting for Alex to make a move first. So most of their spy networks had been occupied with keeping their eyes on Alex instead of making sure that nothing like this happened.

In this gap, someone had taken advantage of this opportunity and hired the Assassin King to take care of Alex.

Maria slightly knitted her brows before asking, "How do you know that it's this person?"

Alex revealed a bitter smile and said, "My guild already checked with the previous notes that had been sent and we've made sure that it's a match. There's no doubt that the person who sent this is Wu Qing."

Maria knitted her brows even more when she heard this.

It had been a long time since that black cloaked figure had come to the cafe, so she was worried that something had happened to them.

She had long known about their identity, but she knew better than to question them.

She knew that even if she didn't agree with what they did, they had a reason for what they did.

After losing their parents, she had taken many jobs just to support herself and her little brother, so she knew what it felt like to have no other choice.

So she didn't judge and just accepted it for what it was.

But now that it was crossing into territory of affecting her friends, she had no choice but to get involved.

However, she also didn't know how to contact that black cloaked figure…

They came at nights when they came and it wasn't something that Maria controlled. She didn't even get a warning from that person, let alone have a way to contact them.

So for now, she didn't know what to do.

While everyone else was still thinking this matter through, they didn't notice that there was an extra figure that had appeared in the store.

After a long period of silence, Alex said with a comforting smile, "You don't have to worry about this. I'll figure out a way to deal with it. You know how strong I am, I won't die from something like this."

Even though he put on a brave face, everyone could tell that he was just acting strong.

That was because they all knew how dangerous this situation was for him.

At this time, to everyone's surprise, it was Alexei that came forward first and said, "Stop trying to act tough."

Alex was taken aback when he heard this, but then he said, "I'm not acting tough. I'm just stating a fact."

The two of them glared at each other like this, with neither person backing down.

Maria was normally the one that mediated between the two of them, but at this moment, she just stood there with knitted brows and a look of deep thought on her face.

But before it could escalate, there was a voice that suddenly said, "Calm down and let me speak."

Everyone turned in the direction of that voice and were shocked when they saw who it came from.

It was a black cloaked figure that had appeared in the store without anyone noticing!