Chapter 90: Joining the Crescent Group

That night, Edo, in that dilapidated attic filled with a musty smell.

Xu Nuo sat upright in front of the old laptop, her back perfectly straight.

She suddenly spoke, carrying an all-or-nothing decisiveness:

"Teacher, I've decided."

She paused, her gaze not leaving the screen,

"I want to join the Crescent Group. Only a native yakuza organization like theirs has the ability to give me a brand-new identity."

Without waiting for Xu Yunzhou's response, perhaps her heart was also afraid of hearing dissuasion, she had already skillfully cut deep into the dark web, bypassed several encrypted nodes, and ultimately found that hidden contact window with the crescent mark.

Her fingers hovered over the keyboard for a full three seconds. Then, her eyes turning sharp, she rapidly typed lines of text in the dialogue box:

[If you can solve a legal identity for me that can withstand verification at any level.]

[I am willing to join you and provide the technical support you need.]

[Moreover, I am willing to help you complete the task of assassinating Takemiya Susumu. Consider it my pledge of allegiance, I have already formulated a detailed assassination plan. I firmly believe that no one can complete this matter more perfectly than me.]

[The following link is proof of my abilities and a brief background. The decryption method is attached below.]

After typing the last character, her finger landed heavily on the Enter key!

Message sent successfully.

She closed her eyes and slowly exhaled a breath.

Takemiya Susumu... must be killed by me.

Only this way will Teacher firmly believe that he is my irreconcilable enemy.

Today in Kyoto, in front of Song Jiaru... my reaction was too abnormal, losing my composure to the point of almost being stupid.

My hatred and panic were so obvious, it's impossible Teacher didn't perceive anything at all. After all, he is so keen...

So I can only use this "pledge of allegiance" to make Teacher completely believe it. That way he won't get angry, much less leave me...

Beside her, Xu Yunzhou quietly watched all this, without making a sound to stop her.

As expected, Xu Nuo possessing [Limitless Will], her destiny was never just being a super hacker hidden behind data.

She is a demonic sword destined to be unsheathed and drink blood.

Joining a yakuza organization like "Crescent," and personally assassinating Takemiya Susumu, might be the true beginning of her story.

Only an organization like Crescent can help her take revenge and retreat unscathed.

And the things that happened during the day today, also have an answer at this moment.

As for the identity of the top-tier assassin who accepted the task of "assassinating Lin Ruoxuan" in the present...

I'm afraid he is actually this young girl before my eyes who is pushing herself into the darkness step by step, Xu Nuo.

So, that's why at the final moment, she chose to give up killing her.

Because she saw me beside the target!

Although I still don't know how far the future Xu Nuo will walk down this blood-stained path, and what kind of terrifying appearance she will turn into...

But at this moment, he was incomparably certain that no matter how deeply she was dyed by the darkness, her sword would absolutely never be pointed at him.

Thinking of this, Xu Yunzhou spoke softly:

"Ah Nuo, thank you."

Xu Nuo turned her head sideways in confusion, looking at the void:

"Teacher? You... what are you thanking me for?"

Xu Yunzhou smiled, that laughter containing some deep meaning she couldn't understand:

"Thank you... for showing mercy."

Showing mercy?

Xu Nuo's heart abruptly panicked!

Teacher he... knows? Did he realize that surging, almost unsuppressible killing intent I had toward Song Jiaru for that instant in Kyoto today?

Just as her thoughts churned, and she was almost about to blurt out and ask—

"Ding."

The window with the crescent totem on the computer jumped, and a new line of message popped up:

[From: Unknown Contact]

[Materials received. Decrypting... Heh, interesting.]

[Didn't expect the recently famous '(๑•̀ㅂ•́)و✧' to actually be such a young beautiful girl.]

[Conditions can be met. Your value, after preliminary evaluation, far exceeds our expectations.]

[Before 9:00 AM tomorrow morning, someone will arrive at your current residence to pick you up. Please keep your communication open.]

[Welcome, for officially stepping into the shadows of the Crescent. Here will provide you with the strongest sanctuary, as well as... the stage to display your talents that you desire the most.]

Xu Nuo opened her eyes, looking at that line of text on the screen, her face still without much expression.

She just reached out and cleanly turned off the computer.

The room completely fell into darkness.

Only the neon of the distant city outside the window cast blurry halos on the ceiling, swaying slightly.

Tomorrow, 9:00 AM.

That will be a clear and cruel dividing line, forcefully cutting apart the "past" and the "future."

"Teacher,"

Xu Nuo's voice sounded in the darkness, very light, yet carrying a calmness akin to accepting fate,

"I am about to completely... fall into the darkness. Unlike Song Jiaru, she stands in the center of a radiantly shining stage, loved and held by everyone. And me..."

She paused, a trace of self-mocking coolness seeping into her voice,

"Probably in this life... I'll never see what the real sun looks like again. In the future when others mention me, they'll probably only say... that's a demon who should go to hell, right."

"What nonsense are you talking about?"

Xu Yunzhou shook his head,

"Who says those walking in the darkness must be demons? Where Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva goes is exactly the deepest part of the Avici Hell. The boundary between good and evil in this world has always been blurry, not black and white.

Even in a place like Crescent, I believe Ah Nuo is still Ah Nuo, knowing what should be done and what shouldn't be done, and will absolutely not turn into someone she hates."

(TL: Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva is known for his vow not to achieve Buddhahood until all hells are emptied.)

Xu Nuo was abruptly stunned.

She was silent for a few seconds, before asking softly, carrying a trace of unbelievable confusion:

"Teacher... why do you... believe in me so much?"

I am clearly full of lies and harboring unfathomable motives!

Smiling, Xu Yunzhou clicked the [Reward] button.

The illusory shadow of a large, gentle hand faintly surfaced in the darkness, carrying a reassuring warmth, extremely softly caressing the top of Xu Nuo's head.

"Because Ah Nuo is a good child."

His voice carried undisguised, almost doting trust,

"Even more so because I have seen the future. No matter how complex, rugged, and involuntary a path you walk on in the future, you will persist in being yourself.

You will not let down the things I taught you, nor will you... betray your own heart."

In the darkness of the room, Xu Nuo's vision instantly became a blurry patch due to tears.

She abruptly buried her face deeply into the crook of her arm, biting her lips tightly, viciously forcing back the wet heat that almost burst from her eyes.

I cannot cry.

Today in front of the temple in Kyoto, she had already cried wantonly once like a weak and incompetent child.

That was the first time in an unprecedented three years.

And it must also be... the last time.

From now on, tears are a luxury, and weakness is a fatal poison. She no longer has the qualification to possess them.

She took a deep breath, and then, using a tone almost like swearing an oath, she whispered to the void:

"Teacher, I swear. No matter what I turn into in the future, how many un-washable things my hands are stained with... I will never do anything that makes you sad or disappointed..."

Her voice lowered, carrying a heavy pain that she herself might not fully understand,

"...Much less let you experience... the kind of pain... I once experienced..."

What she referred to, naturally, was the pain of suddenly losing all closest relatives and having her world collapse.

Xu Yunzhou vaguely guessed her meaning, but at the same time felt something was weird—the direction of this promise seemed too heavy and specific.

Early the next morning, 7:40 AM.

The sky was gray, like an unwashed rag.

Xu Nuo had already packed her luggage—actually, there was nothing much to pack, nothing more than a few old clothes, a laptop barely held together by tape, and a dozen classic computer and math books with yellowing pages.

These were all her belongings, pitifully shabby.

Finally, she bent down and carefully hugged that vibrantly green pot of Rohdea japonica into her arms.

Not long after, the low and textured roar of car engines, completely incompatible with the dilapidated environment of "Happiness Manor," came from downstairs.

She walked to the window, gently lifted a bit of the curtain, and looked down.

At the narrow and dirty street intersection, in front of the door of that dilapidated apartment, parked two pure black Toyota Century cars.

The lines of the car bodies were smooth and majestic, the paint as clean as black jade, forming a glaring contrast with the rusted iron and piled garbage around.

Beside the cars stood three women quietly.

They uniformly wore black suit skirts, wearing dark sunglasses covering most of their faces, making it impossible for people to peek at the slightest emotion.

They didn't converse, had no extra movements, just waited quietly.