Everything in the room was as usual, and none of Zhou Ziwei's belongings were missing.
In fact, all of Zhou Ziwei's Kun pets were hiding in this room. If that mysterious expert really thought Zhou Ziwei wasn't there and brazenly sneaked into the room, then that guy might have already met his end here without a trace... After all, no matter how powerful an expert is, they might not be able to handle mosquitoes.
Ladybugs, being such small and vulnerable insects, have no sense of caution. But if a mosquito can land silently on a person, that person's fate will be terrifyingly tragic.
Zhou Ziwei sat on the large bed, hesitant and unsure whether he should accept the challenge or not.
To be honest, Zhou Ziwei was still somewhat wary of this mysterious expert.
However, if Zhou Ziwei really wanted to run away, he believed that no matter how powerful that guy was, he wouldn't be able to find him. After all, Zhou Ziwei possessed an unparalleled ability to change his appearance. As long as he found an opportunity to go to a crowded place and then easily changed into another face, he didn't believe that person could find him again.
The mysterious expert had never seen Zhou Ziwei's true face, nor did he know who Zhou Ziwei was. So, once Zhou Ziwei left the island nation, where would that person go to find him?
However... stimulated by this mysterious expert, Zhou Ziwei was no longer as blindly confident in his own abilities as before.
Before this, he had never doubted whether he could wipe out the black market assassin network.
Just like facing the Night Elves, he believed that as long as he could find out the details of the Black Market Assassin Network and locate their lair, destroying the organization would be a matter of minutes.
However, after encountering that mysterious expert who appeared and disappeared without a trace, Zhou Ziwei finally realized that the Black Market Assassin Network, as the world's largest platform for the movement of assassins, was not as easy to deal with as he had imagined.
If there are assassins of the same caliber as that mysterious expert in the black market assassin network, then... and if there are more than one or two experts of that caliber, the outcome would naturally be even more dangerous.
So after much deliberation, Zhou Ziwei finally decided to meet the mysterious master who had challenged him.
This wasn't because he was competitive; he simply wanted to hone his skills so that he wouldn't be caught off guard if he encountered a master of the same level in the black market assassin network.
Upon reflection, Zhou Ziwei realized that the sudden appearance of a mysterious master challenging him was not a bad thing, but rather a welcome development.
Thinking of this, Zhou Ziwei immediately made up his mind, got up and changed his clothes, then took all the important things with him, while leaving all the odds and ends and not very important things in the room.
This included the full $100,000 in cash that Zhou Ziwei had just withdrawn from Wu Di a few days ago... These colorful banknotes might be more important than life itself to others, but to Zhou Ziwei, they were just a burden.
After getting ready, Zhou Ziwei immediately opened the window, leaped down to the outside of the wall, and then quickly ran eastward at a speed of about ten meters per second.
At ten meters per second, even a hundred meters would only take ten seconds.
Some professionally trained 100-meter athletes can reach this speed, but... those athletes can only maintain this speed for about 100 meters at most.
However, Zhou Ziwei was running tens of kilometers at the speed of a professional athlete running 100 meters, which was astonishing.
In reality, Zhou Ziwei had already been holding back a great deal of his strength, lest his opponents, who might have been secretly observing him, suddenly discover all his secrets.
Volume 2 The Assassin's Nightmare Chapter 275 Concealment
Zhou Ziwei maintained a steady pace as he moved forward. At the same time, all of his Kun creatures, except for the little mosquito which was too slow to keep up and had to land on him, were released and formed a circle around him, flying forward in sync with him.
This allows Zhou Ziwei to detect any movement within a radius of several hundred meters around him while running, through the soul connection with Kun Chong.
Although the mysterious expert said in the challenge letter that he would wait for Zhou Ziwei on the top of Dongshan Mountain, fifty miles to the east, who knows if that guy said it on purpose but secretly lurked on the way to launch a surprise attack.
After all, this is Japanese territory, and there's a 99% or higher chance that the mysterious expert is from Japan.
The Japanese were known for their untrustworthiness, so Zhou Ziwei naturally dared not fully trust them.
However, with several Kun beasts guarding the area, Zhou Ziwei essentially had several more pairs of eyes. He was somewhat looking forward to the reappearance of that mysterious expert. He believed that if that guy wanted to ambush him on the way, he would definitely be exposed to his observation.
Zhou Ziwei did not choose to rent a car for safety reasons. The space inside a car is too cramped, and if the mysterious expert were to launch a surprise attack on the way, there would be nowhere to hide. Although running there would be more difficult, it would be safer.
The Japanese used a method of measurement that was mostly copied from ancient China. The fifty li mentioned on the cloth strip was actually equivalent to twenty-five kilometers.
For ordinary people, 25 kilometers is a very long distance, but Zhou Ziwei kept his speed as low as possible and still arrived in less than an hour.
The small mountain in front of him, which was over 600 meters above sea level, was the so-called Dongshan. Zhou Ziwei stood at the foot of the mountain and looked up for a moment before quickening his pace and climbing up the mountain.
To Zhou Ziwei's surprise, the mysterious expert did not appear on the way. It seems that the guy still has some pride as a master and disdains to do such a thing as going back on his word.
The mountain is not very high, but it is quite steep, with strange rocks and ancient trees all around.
Island nations have limited land and large populations, resulting in very limited living space per person. However, this also makes their environmental awareness particularly prominent. Of course, this environmental awareness is only for their own country. For example, island nations have a great demand for timber, but they are reluctant to cut down the few trees they have in their own country. So they use some high-quality products to exchange for cheap timber from other countries.
For example, a certain chemical product causes significant air pollution, but there is considerable domestic demand. So, they build their factories overseas, not only solving the pollution problem in their home country but also utilizing the cheap labor in that country and enjoying many of the preferential treatments afforded by foreign-invested enterprises.
Under this selfish environmental consciousness, the island nation's environment has actually been preserved quite well. In China, Dongshan would just be a dilapidated little hill, but here it has been managed to resemble a paradise on earth.
While the scenery is beautiful, it has an artificial feel and lacks natural charm.
The mountain path was difficult to traverse, and the surrounding pines, cypresses, and strange rocks provided ample cover. Therefore, to be on the safe side, Zhou Ziwei slowed down his ascent again. He would often let a few fruit flies explore the area ahead before heading towards a safe spot.
Despite the opponent's potential arrogance, Zhou Ziwei was not one to easily trust his enemies. He preferred to endure more hardship rather than directly face the peril of life and death.
Only when the mountain peak was in sight and there were few obstacles left on the remaining journey did Zhou Ziwei breathe a slight sigh of relief. He could even see, through the eyes of the fruit fly leading the way, a person dressed in an ancient robe standing alone in an ancient pavilion on the mountain peak, with their back to him, seemingly gazing blankly at the vast darkness below.
It seems this person is a man of his word.
When Zhou Ziwei saw that the guy was actually waiting for him openly and brazenly, he couldn't help but change his opinion of the Japanese soldiers a little.
Then, at that moment, a strange sense of palpitation arose. This feeling was very faint, obviously someone was trying their best to suppress the murderous aura that was being exposed. Only someone like Zhou Ziwei, whose soul power was extremely abnormal, could sense such a hidden murderous aura.
The killing intent was faint, but it was definitely coming from close range, which greatly surprised Zhou Ziwei.
Zhou Ziwei had clearly searched this area thoroughly with several fruit flies and confirmed there was no danger before coming here. How come now...
Before Zhou Ziwei could figure out what the problem was, he suddenly felt a fine gust of wind mixed with the raging mountain wind coming from behind him.
Zhou Ziwei didn't turn around, but he could see through the eyes of the little mosquito behind him that a spray of black sand suddenly shot out from a rock.
The fine sand wasn't moving too fast, and it was being scattered against the wind. If you weren't paying attention, you would definitely think it was just sand and dust blown up by the mountain wind.
However, Zhou Ziwei dared not be careless in the slightest. With a swift movement, he dodged far to the side. The spray of fine sand missed its target and fell limply into a patch of grass. Zhou Ziwei watched as the grass withered rapidly at a visible speed, turning into a patch of dry, yellow grass in the blink of an eye...
Damn, what a vicious thing...
Zhou Ziwei felt a chill run down his spine. He looked up at the rock that was spewing out fine sand and saw that the rock was only about half a meter high and not very big. He estimated that it was impossible for a person to hide inside it. Therefore, the fine sand was most likely emitted by a mechanism installed on the rock.
Mechanisms are such a headache... Any mechanism is bound to be extremely well hidden. Even if you examine it step by step, you might not be able to find its secrets. Hoping that a few Kun pets will discover where the mechanism is hidden beforehand is just too unlikely.
Since that's the case, it's better to shrink the circle as much as possible, so that Kun Chong can surround the area. That way, no matter which direction someone attacks, Zhou Ziwei can sense it immediately.
Thinking of this, Zhou Ziwei summoned all his Kun pets back, letting them surround him along with the little mosquitoes. Then, he began to slowly make his way towards the mountaintop, almost step by step...
After walking another hundred meters or so, Zhou Ziwei still couldn't find any traps or ambushes along the way. He couldn't help but wonder what was going on. He then thought back to the ambush he had just encountered, but he felt like he had missed something. He racked his brains for a long time but still couldn't figure it out.
The journey ahead was not far, and Zhou Ziwei could already see the figure standing in the ancient pavilion on the mountaintop in the distance with his naked eyes.
Just then, Zhou Ziwei suddenly realized something and remembered that he had forgotten something.
He had clearly sensed a faint killing intent coming from nearby. That killing intent... should be an energy similar to emotions emanating from a human soul. This kind of energy can only be emitted by humans, or rather, by life forms or souls. If what happened just now was really just an unmanned mechanism, how could a mechanism possess human emotions and how could it exude killing intent?
The more Zhou Ziwei thought about it, the more uneasy he felt. He suddenly turned his head and stared intently at the place where he had just been ambushed down the mountain. With his eyesight sharpened several times over, he was horrified to discover that the rock, which was more than half a meter high, had vanished in just a short while.
Could those rocks actually be disguised by a person?
Zhou Ziwei found it hard to believe this conclusion. The rock was far too small. If it were large enough to fit a person, Zhou Ziwei would definitely have checked it. But if the small rock wasn't disguised, how could it have suddenly disappeared?
Zhou Ziwei was filled with doubt and wondered to himself if the person who had ambushed him earlier was a short dwarf? That was quite possible. However, Zhou Ziwei did not expect that although the guy who challenged him spoke very boldly in his challenge letter, as if he were a master, his actions were really quite low-class.
He stood there attracting attention, while secretly sending his accomplices to hide in the shadows and wait for an opportunity to strike... Sure enough... If you can believe the Japanese devils, then pigs will fly.
Zhou Ziwei secretly despised the person in the ancient pavilion, feeling indignant. So he simply patted his waist and flicked out a new-style cross-shaped dart.
He thought to himself: You can ambush me, but do you think I can't ambush you? Let's see how good my hidden weapons are.
At this moment, Zhou Ziwei was still several hundred meters away from the ancient pavilion on the mountaintop. This distance was neither too far nor too close. The soul connection between Zhou Ziwei and the independent soul entity could only be maintained within a radius of two hundred meters. However, the independent soul entity of the new-style cross-shaped dart was still in an immature stage, and it might go out of control at any time once it left the soul connection range. Therefore, Zhou Ziwei once again used the same method as before, using a small fruit fly to replenish some soul power to the new-style cross-shaped dart. This immediately gave the new-style cross-shaped dart a temporary dependence on the fruit fly, allowing the fruit fly to control the new-style cross-shaped dart for a short period of time. Then, Zhou Ziwei gave the fruit fly a command, instructing it to steer the new-style cross-shaped dart straight towards the figure in the ancient pavilion on the mountaintop...
Zhou Ziwei could have sent Ladybug to carry out the task, but he was still quite wary of the mysterious expert. He was worried that if Ladybug went forward, it might accidentally fall into the hands of that guy again, and Zhou Ziwei would be heartbroken.
After all, the ladybug was Zhou Ziwei's longest-serving pet, and their relationship was far from ordinary.
Moreover, the ladybug's strength is unparalleled among all Kun pets, so this risk is something we absolutely cannot let it take.
As for the new-style cross-shaped dart... although that thing also has its own soul, it has almost no intelligence. Zhou Ziwei naturally doesn't have much affection for it, and even if the new-style cross-shaped dart is damaged because of it, Zhou Ziwei won't feel too bad.
Under the control of the fruit fly, the new cross-shaped dart swept across hundreds of meters like lightning. Seeing that the figure standing in the ancient pavilion remained motionless as if unaware of the danger, the fruit fly naturally didn't need the new cross-shaped dart to play any tricks. It simply increased the speed to the limit, aimed at the figure's back, and thrust it down without hesitation...
With a "thud," a flurry of fabric scraps and swirling dry grass erupted as the figure was instantly pierced into a pile of fragments by the new-style cross dart, which carried the force of a sprint of hundreds of meters.
dummy!
Zhou Ziwei was several hundred meters away, and it was dark outside. Although he couldn't see the scene clearly with his eyesight, he already knew something was wrong just from a distance.
He had the fruit flies launch a surprise attack with the new cross-shaped darts, intending only to catch the man off guard, but he never dared to expect to eliminate the enemy with that one strike.
Even now, Zhou Ziwei still feels lingering fear when he recalls the throwing knife thrown by his opponent in the hot spring. His opponent was definitely the strongest enemy Zhou Ziwei had ever encountered in his life. If he had easily killed him in one go, then... Zhou Ziwei probably wouldn't be excited; he might even be somewhat disappointed...
However, the figure standing in the ancient pavilion did not even flinch when facing the attack of the new cross-shaped darts. This was hardly the behavior of a skilled master; it was clearly just a dummy set up by the opponent.
Sure enough, the little fruit fly soon returned to Zhou Ziwei's side on its new cross-shaped dart. Zhou Ziwei took the dart and put it back at his waist, while simultaneously absorbing the little fruit fly's soul memories.
He knew that, just as he had expected, what stood in the ancient pavilion was simply a scarecrow covered with a garment.
The figures in the ancient pavilion were dummies, which means that... the one who ambushed Zhou Ziwei earlier was probably the mysterious master himself, and not the helper he had found.
Now that it has been confirmed that the mysterious expert is not in the ancient pavilion, Zhou Ziwei no longer needs to go there. In any case, this is the top of Dongshan Mountain, which is the agreed location for the final battle. Therefore, strictly speaking, the fact that the other party ambushed him here just now cannot be considered as breaking their promise.
Zhou Ziwei had already witnessed the mysterious master's incredibly powerful and almost abnormal ability to conceal himself, so he had to be on high alert at all times. Now, Zhou Ziwei even suspected that every stone and tree around him might be a disguise.
He knew that under these circumstances, moving would only give the other side a better opportunity to ambush him. It was better to stay put than to move. Since the other side refused to come out, he would just wait for him here.
No matter how powerful the mysterious expert's invisibility is, as long as the opponent moves towards him or launches an attack, there will always be a trace to follow.
Thinking of this, Zhou Ziwei stood still and shouted loudly, "I'm here now. Didn't you want to have a match with me here? Then come out! If you're a hero, let's have a fair fight... Hehe... What kind of skill is it to just hide your head and cower in fear?"
Just a few dozen meters away, a shadowy figure hidden in the dense grass chuckled to himself, thinking: What a hot-blooded young brat... to try and provoke him out with such a pointless trick... it would be hilarious if he fell for it... you know, he's a ninja, all about hiding and dodging. If he were to swagger out into the sunlight and openly fight someone, he wouldn't be the infamous Blood Shadow anymore.
"I'm not coming out." Zhou Ziwei chuckled, then continued, "Then I'll just wait for you here..."
After shouting those words, Zhou Ziwei waited for a long time without any response. He couldn't help but sneer, then walked to a stone bench for tourists to rest on and sat down. He then simply closed his eyes and remained motionless, like an old monk in deep meditation.
From within the bushes, a shadowy figure sneered again. Pretending to close my eyes to lure me into attacking? If I were that easily fooled, I wouldn't be alive now, testing my patience, huh? Hmph… Do you think an old man like me would be afraid of a little brat like you?
Originally, this man didn't take Zhou Ziwei seriously, but he had just witnessed Zhou Ziwei, from hundreds of meters away, manage to shatter the dummy standing in the ancient pavilion with a strangely shaped dart, and even make the dart fly back. (Although the new-style cross dart was controlled by a fruit fly, this was too incredible, so in that man's eyes, the new-style cross dart was manipulated by Zhou Ziwei with a wonderful technique.) This greatly shocked him, who had studied the art of hidden weapons all his life, and he no longer dared to underestimate Zhou Ziwei in the slightest.
Even though Zhou Ziwei appeared to have closed his eyes, he didn't dare to approach rashly. He believed that as a ninja, his patience was far superior to that of a young man, so he wouldn't make a move easily. Even if he were to make the first move, he would wait for the best opportunity.
Time ticked by in this stalemate, neither of them seeming to have expected the other to be so patient. Several hours passed, and neither took the initiative... However, Zhou Ziwei was genuinely unconcerned, because... dawn was approaching...
Volume 2 The Assassin's Nightmare Chapter 276 Blood Mist
Dawn is approaching... Once it's light, that guy who's good at stealth will no longer have any advantage. At that time, Zhou Ziwei can send out his Kun pets to search with all their might, and they'll eventually find him... At worst... if that guy really wants to stay a coward and never come out, then Zhou Ziwei won't bother with him anymore.