Chapter 388 - 66: Shocking Identity, Assassination Target

"Tan Yue?"

Inside the room.

Staring at the bounty mission that scrolled into view before him.

Lu Chao’s eyes narrowed slightly, a hint of surprise in them.

’This guy has a bounty on the Dark Web, too?’

’Then again...’

’His personality is arrogant and domineering. He’s offended plenty of people. And the Jinggang Chamber of Commerce has been around for so many years, it’s bound to have other enemies. It’s not strange for someone to put out a contract to have him killed.’

Nodding, Lu Chao dispelled his doubts.

The man was a Limit-Breaking Level expert, and he had the Tan family behind him. Most Superpower Level individuals probably wouldn’t dare to take this mission.

Ten million Alliance Coins and thirty thousand points wasn’t too low, but it definitely wasn’t that high either.

On a whim,

A glint flashed in Lu Chao’s eyes, and he clicked the "Accept Mission" button.

BZZT!

[Please complete identity verification!]

A message box popped up, which didn’t surprise Lu Chao.

Based on what he’d learned, a "guest" identity could only browse partial information on the Dark Web.

Everything here was tied to point ratings.

To truly accept missions, one had to go to the black market, obtain an identity token, and become a member of one of the Dark Web’s major organizations.

High-bounty missions in particular required a high-level point clearance. Even purchasing certain resources required not just Alliance Coins, but also a cost in points.

’Let’s give it a try.’

With a look of anticipation, Lu Chao took out the black card.

On its face, a blue ocean wave crested with foam, etched with such realism it was as if a real ocean had appeared before him.

He entered the token number from the card into his communicator’s projected light screen, then typed in the password he had previously memorized.

BZZT!

The moment he hit the virtual enter key on the light screen,

The information was authenticated quickly, without any issues.

He had actually logged in successfully, becoming a member of the Dark Web.

’It worked?’

Lu Chao was a little surprised. It had been easier than he’d imagined.

But in the next instant,

A new notification suddenly appeared.

In a flash, he saw the content.

Lu Chao’s pupils constricted. He almost couldn’t believe his eyes.

[Esteemed Legend of the Dark Web—Celestial Hunter!]

[Welcome back!]

...

SPLASH!

SPLASH!!

The sound of waves carried from afar.

Looking down, one could see the azure ocean, with waves rolling and churning with the wind.

Massive waterspouts connected the sky to the sea as storm-driven tornadoes ravaged the ocean, stirring up a ferocious tsunami.

Lightning gathered within the colossal dark clouds, flashing intermittently. The seawater, agitated by the storm, formed a gigantic vortex that spun relentlessly toward the distant coastline.

"Director, the level-twelve storm and tsunami in the southeastern sea region haven’t subsided yet."

"We can’t go any deeper."

A dark gray hover vehicle pierced through the clouds, appearing over the border of the sea region, not far from the storm clouds.

An operator inside the cabin shouted a warning, his expression grim.

Looking closer, the cabin door was open.

Inside the spacious cabin were only three or four people.

A powerful Superpower Level aura emanated from them, indicating they were at least at the Exploration Level. Some held Fighting Weapons forged from manganese steel alloys and wore special combat suits. Others were cybernetically enhanced, their magnetic fields vibrating the air as they shouldered what looked like cannon-style firearms.

But strangely, none of them spoke.

Instead, they stood silently around a gray-haired woman in a black suit, flanking her by the open door as they gazed outside.

"It seems this Violent Sea Beast King is quite lucky,"

the gray-haired woman in the center said softly, her black eyes looking past the door toward the sea’s surface.

Mist filled the air as fierce winds gusted.

Below, a massive black shadow could be seen sinking into the water, churning up waves as it used the cover of the storm and tsunami to flee at high speed.

The colossal silhouette resembled a mix of a whale and a crocodile, nearly a hundred meters in size.

The surrounding seawater roiled violently, and a massive whirlpool even began to form, stirring the nearby sea storm and preventing anyone from getting closer.

Amidst the crashing waves, if one looked closely, a large patch of crimson rose from the depths, dyeing the surrounding tens of meters of sea red. It took several seconds before the waves gradually washed it away.

Witnessing this scene,

"What a pity,"

someone sighed. They had been tracking this Transcendence Level Sea Beast King for a long time and had made many preparations.

They never expected it to escape.

"This goddamn weather! If it weren’t for the storm, we would’ve slaughtered it by now."

"It’s all because you got careless. You’re completely unreliable."

"Fuck you, you’re blaming me? If I hadn’t been trying to save you, do you think I would’ve fired that early?"

The Superpower Level experts were on the verge of a fight. Their powerful auras flared out, causing the hover vehicle to tremble as if it were about to fall from the sky.

At that critical moment,

"It’s fine."

The gray-haired woman, who appeared to be in her thirties, waved her hand and spoke softly.

Her ordinary voice held no commanding authority, yet it made the bickering experts, all at least at the Exploration Level, fall silent. They seemed to hold her in high regard.

"We’ll just let it live a little longer."

The gray-haired woman known as the Director smiled calmly. "It won’t be too late to hunt it again after the storm passes."

"When we head back, we’ll go to the wilderness and hunt a Beast King. Consider it your payment for this operation."

Hearing this, their expressions softened, and they nodded.

Only then did the dark gray hover vehicle turn around, preparing to leave the sea region and head toward the mainland wilderness.

BUZZ! BUZZ!

Just then,

her communicator vibrated lightly. The expression of the gray-haired woman known as the Director hardened as she looked at her wrist.

The light screen of her watch lit up. She had just received a message.

It was an urgent communication from a trusted subordinate.

"Celestial Hunter... has appeared?"

After reading the message, her expression froze, and she stood stunned for several seconds.

Seeing this, the experts around her exchanged quiet, surprised glances.

’Why would the famous Director of the Dark Web suddenly lose her composure?’

...

"Celestial Hunter?"

Back in his apartment, Lu Chao stared at the message that had popped up on the Dark Web interface, his eyes filled with shock and surprise.

Celestial Hunter.

He had memorized this name while researching the Dark Web earlier.

He was once the universally acknowledged strongest person on the Dark Web, a legend in the world of assassins. He held a monopolistic grip on the number one spot in the point rankings and had completed an unknown number of S-rank contracts.

It was only because he had vanished for over thirty years that the Dark Web had removed him from the point rankings.

’It’s actually him?’

Lu Chao was both amazed and impressed.

Within a dozen seconds, he had naturally figured out the key connection.

Both were powerful figures from over thirty years ago. The timelines matched perfectly.

Without a doubt,

the senior Robert, who had left behind the Martial Arts inheritance, was none other than the former legend of the Dark Web—Celestial Hunter.

He wasn’t just the leader of the Starry Sky Heroes, but also the number one expert in the shadows of Earth Star.

For a moment, Lu Chao was surprised by this revelation, but then he felt it was perfectly reasonable.

In those difficult times, the Alliance Country had not yet been founded. Earth Star was still in a chaotic, post-apocalyptic era where all sorts of bloody incidents frequently erupted.

Even Wilderness Warlords and groups like Al-Qaeda existed, so it wasn’t strange for a Starry Sky Hero to have a hidden identity.

’If that’s the case...’

Lu Chao’s eyes lit up. He quickly navigated the interface and opened his account information.

[Celestial Hunter]

[Clearance: Deep Sea—Extreme Whale Level]

The brief information appeared, and Lu Chao nodded to himself.

As the former number one expert on the Dark Web, he had naturally accumulated a massive number of points, achieving the highest assassin rank in the [Deep Sea] organization.

Consequently, all corresponding Dark Web permissions were fully unlocked and available.

Primary resource purchasing channels, access to high-bounty missions, intelligence gathering, hacker employment...

It could be said that all the core resources of the Dark Web were now open to him. He was no longer just groping in the dark with a hazy understanding.

He could even directly access information on the hidden Dark Web branches in the black markets of major city-circles, including their rendezvous points and contact methods.

Without a doubt, this Celestial Hunter identity saved him a lot of unnecessary trouble.

He wouldn’t have to start from the lowest assassin rank, and he could take on the highest difficulty missions right away.

However...

[Balance: 0]

[Points: 0]

The final line of the account information appeared.

Lu Chao frowned slightly as he read it, falling into a brief silence.

’Is it because I haven’t logged in for too long, so the Dark Web cleared my points?’

He recalled what he’d learned before: because [Celestial Hunter] hadn’t appeared in over thirty years, he was removed from the Dark Web’s assassin point rankings.

BUZZ! BUZZ!

Then, before he could think any further,

his account inbox suddenly vibrated. He had received a message.

He opened it.

[It seems you’ve logged into my account.]

Lu Chao’s expression turned serious at the short opening line.

’A message from Robert?’

[Don’t be surprised. I just set some conditions so that you would see this upon logging in.]

’I see.’

Lu Chao breathed a sigh of relief. He had no desire to be monitored.

He continued reading. There wasn’t much information.

There were only a few short lines, mostly explaining some of the rules of Deep Sea.

Additionally,

[An A-rank bounty contract. Prove yourself as a first step.]

That was the final line.

After reading the entire message, Lu Chao’s furrowed brow gradually relaxed.

He suspected that his points being zeroed out was likely not the Dark Web’s doing, but rather something Robert had done intentionally before leaving Earth Star.

According to what he said, only by completing this test would he have a chance to get the key and go to the Golden Defense Group to retrieve the other item Robert had left behind.

Thinking of this, Lu Chao became thoughtful.

He didn’t resent it, because he genuinely needed the Dark Web clearance of the [Celestial Hunter] account to access new resource channels and purchase things like energy mineral essence.

In other words,

with no points to his name, he would have had to take on some high-bounty missions anyway to earn a large number of points, which were the key to buying resources.

His mind made up, Lu Chao closed the account information and re-entered the Dark Web.

The information was still the same, yet there were many subtle differences.

More previously hidden permission buttons were now unlocked, and the bounty missions on the entire [Assassination] page were far more detailed.

He could even spend money and points to purchase intelligence on targets.

In response to this,

Lu Chao’s eyes shone. An idea had already formed in his mind.

He then clicked on the A-rank mission list and selected a contract.

[Red Maple Shelter City, Jinggang Chamber of Commerce Security Consultant—Tan Yue]

His gaze fell upon the target’s name.

’If I can complete this contract,’

’I’ll pass Robert’s initial test, get ten million Alliance Coins and thirty thousand points, and be able to acquire nourishing resources from the Dark Web.’

’More importantly, I can officially begin my revenge against the Tan family without worrying about implicating my identity as Lu Chao.’

’In that case...’

A cold glint flashed through his eyes as Lu Chao made his decision.

"It’s you, then."