“Hey! Do you have any plans for the weekend?”

  As Kieran Vale walked out of the school gate, he felt a tap on his shoulder, and he slowed down as an arm draped over him. He could tell just by the voice who it was, but he wasn't really in the mood to engage, so he coldly replied, “... sleeping at home.”

  “Really? I'm going fishing with my family...”

  Even if no one asked him, he could go on and on, and that was Jasper for you. Kieran didn't dislike him; he just didn't want to get close. Or rather, he didn't want to get close to anyone, even someone as warm, friendly, and well-liked as Jasper.

  Sometimes he felt that Jasper talked just for the sake of talking, to show his friendliness or for some other reason, but in reality, he was the only person Kieran could talk to who wouldn't be put off by his coldness.

  “I’m off, have a great weekend.” By the time they reached the school gate, Jasper's ride had arrived, and he waved goodbye.

  The car drove away from his sight, and his ears finally returned to silence. He walked slowly on his way home; most students at this school opted for rides or buses, and very few walked to or from school.

  He did this on purpose because he enjoyed strolling alone through the city streets. It was a city with a sea breeze, the air filled with the salty scent of seawater. As a port city and tourist destination, visitors were naturally abundant, and the boats on the sea dotted this historic harbor city like decorations.

  The sunset coast is especially beautiful, and he enjoys watching the same scenery every day without getting tired of it.

  The sky has changed from a dusky yellow to a dark blue as he steps onto the dim path leading home. The houses in this area are different from those on the streets, eroded by the sea breeze over the years and looking old and dilapidated due to years of neglect. He opens the door, and the old wooden door creaks as he enters. A strong smell of alcohol hits him, and in the dim light, a fat figure is slumped on the sofa.

  “I’m back ...”

  “Hurry up and make dinner, I’m starving ...” the man on the sofa roars, his mind hazy from excessive alcohol.

  Kieran walks past him numbly. Doyle Hargrove is his adoptive father, who used to be a dock worker. After losing a leg in a work-related accident, he lost his ability to work and has become like this since then.

  Although Doyle often tells him that if it weren't for him raising Kieran ... as if he has done him a great favor, the truth is that since Kieran can remember, he has been the one taking care of Doyle.

  And now, he still relies on the income from his "job" to support him.

  Doyle doesn’t know what kind of job he has; he only knows that since a certain day, they no longer have to live a frugal life. He has started drinking heavily, and most of Kieran's income goes to buying alcohol.

  Kieran silently walks into the kitchen and makes two ham and corn muffins with the remaining ingredients in the fridge. When dinner is served, an angry expression appears on Doyle's face.

  “Why is it this again? Can’t you make something different?”

  “There’s only this left in the fridge ...” Kieran said coldly, looking at Doyle with a blank expression.

  “Then go buy it! Do I need to remind you!?” Doyle's anger was clearly rising as he picked up an empty beer can and threw it at him.

  He reached out to block it, narrowly avoiding being hit on the head by the can. Kieran ignored his protest, gritting his teeth and coldly staring at him.

  “What are you looking at!? Do you have something to say?” Doyle swept everything off the table onto the floor and lunged forward to grab his collar. “What are you even worth!? If it weren't for me, would you have a place to live?”

  Kieran pushed him away forcefully, a hint of murderous intent flashing in his eyes.

  Doyle immediately shut up. He braced himself against the edge of the table and silently got up from the floor. His prosthetic left leg was still somewhat inconvenient, and he limped toward the living room, dejectedly sitting down on the sofa.

  He had thought about leaving this man. In the past, whenever Doyle got rough with him, Kieran thought about leaving him, even... wanting his life.

  He almost did it. At the age of twelve, he rebelled against his father for the first time. He choked his father, watching his face turn from red to a purplish hue, seeing the oxygen entering his lungs become increasingly scarce, his life slipping away bit by bit from his hands.

  Then he regained his senses and let go. Doyle had a close brush with death, and from that point on, he never laid a hand on him again.

  Now, Doyle posed basically no threat to him. Kieran occasionally caught a glimpse of fear in his father's eyes, but he preferred it this way over physical violence.

  As for why he didn't leave him? Kieran couldn't really say. Perhaps it was because Doyle was his only family, or because after leaving him, he had nowhere else to go. Where else could he go?

  Later, he gave a vague answer to the question; he needed his father.

  After dinner, he returned to his room and, as usual, opened the game. He had been playing this online RPG for many years, starting when he was still in elementary school. Later, by chance, he joined the current guild, and no one knew that the top sorcerer in the famous Floris Guild was just an elementary school student.

  Of course, he was now sixteen years old, but his status in the guild had never wavered.

  They gathered online at a fixed time every week and then tackled dungeons.

  The newly released monsters were too strong; not long after the battle began, their healer went down. Then the tank at the front fell.

  The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  ‘It's up to you, Nightwalker.’

  Kieran glanced at the chat box below and realized that all his teammates had fallen, leaving only the character with the “Nightwalker” ID still fighting.

  He reasonably suspected that this guild was only able to achieve today’s success because of him alone. He nimbly dodged attacks coming from all directions, the screen filled with dazzling effects, and while maneuvering, he also dealt damage without hesitation. His teammates, lying on the ground, watched him perform through the screen until the last drop of the monster's health was depleted.

  ‘Incredible ...’

  ‘Did our guild set a new record again? Haha ...’

  “Can we chat?” A secret message mixed in with the guild chat, sent by a feminine ID.

  Kieran did not respond, but instead focused on fighting monsters and collecting equipment. Over the years, countless people have tried to uncover his true identity, but none have succeeded.

  The guild often holds offline gatherings, and many people think that most players of this game are male, but in fact, there are many female players. At least in their guild, there are quite a few, including many young and beautiful women. There are several couples in the guild who met through this game.

  He does not play this game to meet the opposite sex, nor is it for recognition and praise.

  If one were to say, it is simply because he is bored.

  On his eighth birthday, his father gave him a computer, and he installed the most popular game at the time, and has been playing ever since.

  Many people have contrasting personalities in reality and online, but he shows no difference between the two—consistently indifferent.

  Only by immersing himself in this game can he temporarily shift his attention away from reality, forget the hardships of life, and forget about his terrible father.

  A faint sound came from the living room, prompting Kieran to temporarily leave the game to check. He opened the door and caught a glimpse of his father preparing to leave through the crack. Doyle slammed the door shut, and soon after, the sound of a car speeding by could be heard outside.

  Where is he going? This question flashed through Kieran's mind, but he did not really care. He returned to the game; the time in the game is different from reality, where one minute probably equals an hour in the real world, which is why he enjoys the game.

  Before long, the sound of a car engine could be heard outside again. Doyle had returned, carrying a shopping bag full of items.

  He was actually out shopping, Kieran thought. This way, he might not have to go grocery shopping at the supermarket this weekend. He quietly walked out of the room, opened the fridge, and was disappointed to find it only contained a pile of beer. Doyle was focused on the television, seemingly unaware of his presence, with a plate of baked oysters and beer on the table, which he had just bought.

  He looked at the mess in the kitchen and silently bent down to clean up, throwing the food that had fallen on the floor and the broken plates into the trash can before returning to his room.

  ‘Kieran. Is Vale there?’

  A clear female voice echoed in his mind. Kieran turned off the game and focused on his communication with her.

  Sabrina was his contact in the "organization" and also his direct superior. He met her when he was nine years old, or rather, it was Sabrina who approached him.

  At that time, he was living in dire circumstances, wandering on the edge of darkness every day, enduring poverty, hunger, physical pain, and suppressing the impulse to kill his father.

  Sabrina was a woman in her forties with golden hair and sharp eyes. She seemed to see Kieran's situation at that time and brought him back to the organization.

  He often thought that if his mother were still alive, she would probably be around the same age as Sabrina. Such fantasies faded as he grew older; if his mother were really still here, how could she have left him all alone?

  ‘There’s a new mission, here’s the target information...’ Sabrina interrupted his thoughts, and a continuous stream of text and visual information flooded into his mind.

  A microscopic device, invisible to the naked eye, had been implanted in his brain. It was a product of a blend of human technology and magic, and the person who developed it was Sabrina.

  Specifically for people like him.

  Only those with extraordinary power can drive and use this device. Besides communication, it can also be used to track the user's location, making it easier for the organization to keep tabs on its members. Kieran once had privacy concerns about it, but Sabrina told him that unless there is a clear intention to convey a message, others cannot know what he is thinking.

  Just like how you have to press the "send" button on regular communication software.

  This is a technology that is absolutely secure, ensuring that the content is known only to the communication partner.

  Even so, he still has to sacrifice a portion of his privacy. In addition to his location being constantly monitored by the organization, his emotional state and "loyalty" are also under surveillance.

  'Oliver Engels, 29, unmarried, cryptocurrency tycoon ...'

  Kieran examined the target data, which detailed all his personal information, including medical records, financial status, and interpersonal relationships. If they wanted, they could even dig up his ancestors' entire lineage. People think they have privacy, but in reality, they are like walking naked down the street. These privacy rights are superficially protected by law, but in fact, they are secretly controlled by certain individuals.

  Oliver developed a highly popular cryptocurrency, and as the number of users increased, related applications flourished, creating an ecosystem of its own. In recent years, he also launched a credit card that allows users to buy things directly with that currency. This is a currency that is favored by many, and its value has been rising significantly, showing a trend of potentially replacing fiat currency in the future.

  But all of this will fall silent with his passing.

  Victims are always killed for various reasons, which is not within Kieran Vale's area of concern. For him, this is an easy job that solves his life difficulties.

  It is simply tailor-made for him. He believes that his encounter with Sabrina is destined because they need each other.

  When he was young, he didn't think he was special. It was only after meeting Sabrina that he realized that people like him are rare and hard to come by.

  In terms of the number of people trained by the organization, there is roughly one person with potential among ten thousand, but it may take years for one to be selected and participate in training. If luck is not on their side, it could take decades before one is found.

  Kieran Vale is that rare talent that appears once in several decades.

  ‘He has plans to meet a friend at the dock in the old port area tomorrow morning, and then they will take a yacht out to sea... that’s when you should act.’ Sabrina's calm voice continued, ‘For safety's sake, please continue monitoring until the mission is complete.’

  Kieran noted down the location he had just received, ‘Got it, I will lie in wait near the dock tomorrow morning.’

  ‘Good, contact me anytime if there are any developments. I wish you all the best.’ After Sabrina finished speaking, the connection was cut off.

  There are many ways to take a person's life, and the reason they have space to exist is that human lives are valued differently.

  Life is inherently unequal, and sometimes even the manner of death reflects that inequality.

  Ordinary lives usually end in ordinary ways, of course, referring to non-natural deaths. These people do not need to take action themselves; an average human assassin can handle it.

  They deal with those "important" figures. The level of importance often reaches a point where it affects the development of nations or humanity as a whole.

  The people targeted by them often leave the world quietly, without causing any commotion, and no one suspects that they have been murdered.

  Occasionally, there are "like-minded" individuals who doubt what they are doing, but without evidence, they are merely regarded as conspiracy theories and are difficult for people to take seriously.

  As for their clients, ordinary people will absolutely never hear their names; their existence transcends the nation, secretly manipulating the world. They are the true rulers of this world.

  This organization only serves them, obeying their commands. As weapons of the "rulers," their history is equally long, and even though the members change over time, the organization remains steadfast.

  No one knows how long this group has existed, for humanity is so small, their lives fragile and short, insufficient to glimpse the faces of this group. However, throughout the long river of human history, they have undoubtedly influenced it; the statement that humanity created history is not entirely accurate.

  The history of humanity is "formulated." Only those that conform to the "rulers'" rules can survive; otherwise, they will be suffocated in darkness.

  Back then, Kieran Vale was wandering on the edge of darkness, and the appearance of Sabrina helped him cross that line.