Professional Assassin C27

Chapter 27: Interstellar World (2)

Lin Yuetian stayed in the hospital for a few more days. Once his bodily functions were back to normal, the first thing he did after being discharged was head straight to the Admiral’s residence to find Vincent. This scared the system so much that it kept pleading repeatedly:

“Big brother, just let it go! Please let it go! That Admiral Vincent has a higher status than you, a stronger spiritual power than you, a more expensive mecha than you, and richer combat experience than you. What are you going to fight him with?! Don’t act on impulse! As the saying goes, ‘As long as the green hills remain, there’s no fear of running out of firewood!'”

“I’m not going to fight him,” Lin Yuetian replied calmly. After notifying the butler, he walked into the Admiral’s residence. “I’m not a violent maniac, nor am I that irrational.”

When Lin Yuetian saw the Admiral, Vincent was in his study handling military affairs. Seeing Lin Yuetian, he didn’t seem particularly awkward or guilty.

“Is there something you need? Are you feeling better?”

“To be so shameless, he truly deserves to be a dragon among men,” the system remarked.

While observing Vincent’s reaction, Lin Yuetian plainly stated his intentions:

“I do not blame you for your actions. As a civilian and a subordinate, I must unconditionally obey your orders, Admiral. Even if you wanted my glands or my life, I wouldn’t bat an eye—I’d give them to you without hesitation. I am absolutely loyal to the Empire! Besides, Baron Sala surpasses me in every way. His noble birth makes him a much better match for you, Admiral. And look at me—so pitiful, so fragile. It’s only natural that you’d prefer him. For me to have foolishly hoped for your affection—how ridiculous, how utterly inappropriate.”

“Ultimately, it’s all my fault. I sincerely acknowledge my mistakes and will absolutely correct them. That being said, I, Lin Yuetian, am a pragmatic person. I know that with my lowly background, losing my S-rank spiritual power means I could easily be sent back to my home planet and forced into marriage. But I don’t want that. So, Admiral, I implore you to look after me for the sake of our past connection. As the saying goes, ‘Business is business, but relationships still matter.’ Even if we can’t be lovers, we can still be good colleagues. You, as my superior, can guide me a little, can’t you?”

Lin Yuetian spoke with heartfelt sincerity, delivering his words with impeccable theatricality. His expressions, tone, and gestures were all perfectly on point, making his plea sound incredibly genuine. The system was so impressed that it felt like all that was missing was a strong background soundtrack to complete the performance.

Strangely, Vincent did not seem to doubt Lin Yuetian’s words much. Based on the original body’s memories, Lin Yuetian knew that in this world, due to the presence of the Nass Empire, social hierarchies were extremely rigid. This was precisely why Vincent had no sense of shame about using the original owner and felt no guilt about Lin Yuetian’s visit. Vincent was incredibly powerful—an S-rank noble Alpha with both strength and authority. From his perspective, he had every right to act as he pleased, without any fear or hesitation. In fact, those who, like the original Lin Yuetian, believed in controlling one’s fate through personal effort and refused to accept such treatment were the minority in this world.

Vincent only frowned slightly and said, “You’re speaking strangely today.”

“As a subordinate, I now deeply understand righteousness and have sincerely repented. Naturally, I should not behave as I did before,” Lin Yuetian replied respectfully.

But oddly enough, Vincent seemed even more displeased. When Lin Yuetian offered to pilot a mecha and clear out some Zerg on a nearby planet, Vincent’s displeasure only grew stronger. However, unable to find a valid reason to be angry, he could only wave his hand with a sour expression and dismiss Lin Yuetian.

———

As Lin Yuetian piloted his mecha through space, the stars and space debris swirled around him. Seizing the opportunity, he turned to the system and asked, “Why was Vincent so unhappy just now?”

“Even if I told you, you wouldn’t understand,” the system replied. “Big brother, stop trying to understand. When you don’t try, your actions are just bizarre. But when you do try, they become downright creepy. Between the two, the lesser evil is for you to remain cold and emotionless.”

———

And so, Lin Yuetian began exterminating Zerg.

Despite being called a “Zerg race,” these creatures weren’t just some ordinary insect species. They were more like grotesque monsters with barely recognizable insect traits. Not only were they intelligent and skilled in combat, but their horrifying appearance could easily give someone nightmares. However, what the system found most unbearable was the fact that beneath their hard exoskeletons, their bodies were filled with an alarming amount of fluid. Every time Lin Yuetian killed one, it exploded into a fountain of gore.

“No wonder all the mechas here are waterproof,” Lin Yuetian commented as he controlled his massive silver-and-red mecha. Grabbing a low-level Zerg with his bare hands, he ripped it apart before drawing an energy blade to slash through more. Where his blade swept, insect limbs and green fluid sprayed in all directions. Meanwhile, his mecha’s cannons deployed from its back and unleashed a relentless barrage against the distant Zerg horde.

With his vast experience in mecha combat from the original body’s memories, combined with his own remarkable learning ability and adaptability, Lin Yuetian tore through the swarm with ease, cutting down enemies like a warrior in a hack-and-slash video game.

“This planet is still contested between the Nass Empire and the Zerg Queen. Right now, only low- and mid-tier Zerg are within a few hundred meters of you, so you can handle them alone. But be careful! Deeper in, the high-level Zerg colonies begin—don’t push your luck! Safety first!” The system was nervous.

Low and mid-tier Zerg were nothing alike. Low-tier Zerg had no intelligence, acting purely on instinct, like mindless NPCs in a video game. Even a weak warrior could cut down dozens of them without breaking a sweat. Mid-tier Zerg, however, possessed basic intelligence, could assess threats, and were much more dangerous in combat. For anyone below A-rank in spiritual power, facing mid-tier Zerg required extreme caution.

As for high-level Zerg and the legendary Zerg Queen, their combat strength was terrifying. Though they were supposed to look even more monstrous, high-level Zerg had the ability to disguise themselves as humans. Before the Nass Empire developed and widely deployed Zerg-detection technology, numerous major Zerg victories had been achieved through infiltration by these high-level Zerg. Moreover, all high-level Zerg were mentally linked in a massive hive-mind network with the Zerg Queen, making their combat coordination incredibly difficult to counter.

Lin Yuetian had been actively hunting Zerg for the past few days for a simple reason—he discovered that, for some unknown reason, Zerg corpses could be sold on the black market for money. Initially, he hesitated, wondering if making money this way would damage his professional pride as an assassin. After all, he was a killer, not a scavenger.

But soon, he figured it out: Killing living things, getting paid, getting paid, killing living things.

The process was exactly the same as being an assassin! If detective novels had classic and non-classic categories, then surely the assassination industry could have its own variations too. There was no need to turn down easy money…

The system admired how thoroughly he could rationalize things for himself but still pressed on with the main issue. “So when are you actually going to start your mission?”

“I’m already doing it,” Lin Yuetian replied.

“What do you mean?”

“You know about the legendary assassin Jing Ke?” Lin Yuetian asked.

“Are you doubting my database? Of course, I know.”

Lin Yuetian calmly crushed another low-level Zerg in his mecha’s grip. Its dark green blood splattered across the sleek metal surface before slowly sliding off.

“There’s a saying about him. Have you heard it?”

“Are you trying to prove your literacy skills? Did you look this up while reading trashy novels?” the system questioned. “Fine, say it.”

Lin Yuetian spoke clearly:

“‘Jing Ke tried to assassinate the King of Qin, but instead, his patron presented his own head.’”

—

—Last phrase refers to the historical assassination attempt by Jing Ke (荆轲) on the King of Qin (秦王), later known as Qin Shi Huang (秦始皇) in 227 BCE. However, the second part of the phrase suggests an ironic or tragic twist: instead of the assassination succeeding, the person who supported or instigated the attempt ended up suffering the consequences.