I Am A Killer

by A Sick Frog

  “I asked you what are you doing.”

  Chapter 29 - Kill Her Way Out of The Organisation

  Qin Ke Xuan saw a gentle-looking female teacher in that classroom sitting in front of a large black box, somehow making some very melodious sounds. She retracted her gaze and looked at Yin Xu Dong strangely. He was looking at that woman? The gaze he gave that woman was one of infatuation, was this… even though the woman looked pretty young, she was, in the end, still older than him by several years.

  “You’re spying?”

  Yin Xu Dong immediately detonated. Covering her mouth with his hands, he warned her fiercely: “Don’t talk nonsense! I, I’m not spying!”

  At that moment, the window above them whooshed open and the person inside popped her head out, asking in surprise: “Yin Xu Dong, what are you doing here not attending lesson?”

  Yin Xu Dong froze, removed his hand covering Qin Ke Xuan’s mouth, he woodenly raised his head to smile embarrassedly at the person. “Hehe, Lu lao shi*, we…”

  *老师 = lao shi; teacher

  Qin Ke Xuan swept a cold gaze at the two of them and turned to leave.

  Yin Xu Dong said to Lu Wei Wan: “Lu lao shi, sorry, my sister’s personality’s like that. We’ll head back to class first then!” After finishing, he turned to run off.

  Qin Ke Xuan looked meaningfully at her and her lips that tilted. A strange expression flashed momentarily across Lu Wan Ran’s face, and Qin Ke Xuan turned and disappeared.

  After finding a secluded corner in the large school, Qin Ke Xuan checked there was no one around before leaping up with an inhale to sit on a tree to read her book.

  After reading for a while, the phone in her pocket rang. She took it out and saw the caller ID and couldn’t help but frown, then pressed to pick up. “What is it?”

  “An Ye! My ancestor! Why didn’t you contact us?! How did it go yesterday, did you handle it okay?”

  “Leopard, I have something I need to tell you.”

  “Enh? What is it?”

  “I want to quit the organisation.”

  “…What did you say?! Did I go deaf?”

  “I’ll repeat, I want to quit dark organisation.”

  Leopard paused for a long time before saying again: “Why?”

  “I can only tell you that I will very likely become a soldier of this country.”

  “Soldier?”

  Qin Ke Xuan heard Leopard’s ragged breathes on the other side of the phone.

  “Fuck! Exactly what happened?!”

  “Some stuff happened during military training.”

  “Was that why you suddenly ran away recklessly a month ago, not even going home? Freaking hell, are those soldier eggheads snatching our people? Let me tell you, I’m not in the position to make this decision. It’s better you look for Zhou Lin.” After saying that, he hung up madly.

  Before long, another call came in.

  “What is it?”

  “Let’s meet and talk.” Zhou Lin’s voice was gentle as usual. He did not get mad because Leopard reported to him that Qin Ke Xuan wanted to quit the organisation.

  “Okay.” She had never once believed that it would be easy quitting the underworld once she entered.

  Qin Ke Xuan closed her book. Just as she was about to flip down from the tree, she saw people walking by. Among them was a familiar face, and so she instinctively halted her body.

  The two people walked over to under the canopy of another tree and started chatting softly about a topic she wasn’t interested in.

  “Lao shi, do you really like me?”

  “Of course, why would I lie to you?”

  “But, aren’t you together with Yin Xu Dong?”

  “Yin Xu Dong? How’s that possible. I’m just a little better to him, and he self-importantly thought that I liked him. He should seriously check himself out in the mirror and see how disgusting he is right now, always sticking to me. I’m so annoyed, but I’m a lao shi, so I can’t really say anything to not let him come looking for me.”

  “I’ll go and tell him to stop bothering you!”

  “…”

  Qin Ke Xuan listened to the two of them chatting endlessly in boredom, and then actually witnessed them performing improper acts under the broad daylight. She looked through the tree branches in disgust and gave that coquettish face a cold stare. She raised her wrist to check her watch, leapt down from the tree, ignoring the flabbergasted pair of people and brushed past them, expressionless. Are you reading this on ?

  The male student reacted first. He caught up to her and blocked Qin Ke Xuan, saying in anxiety: “Tong xue*, can you not spread this?”

  * 同学 = tong xue; (for both acquainted and non-acquainted) schoolmates/classmates (often addressed to students in school by other students or teachers; may also be used jokingly/teasingly as a suffix when used outside school context)

  Qin Ke Xuan had originally not wanted to bother herself with matters that were not her business, but after being talked to in such a way by him, her gaze leapt past him and fell onto the Lu Wan Ran who was heading over, and couldn’t help but snort coldly: “Why not?”

  “You, even if you do spread this, no one will believe it!”

  “You sure?” Qin Ke Xuan asked.

  The male student saw the phone in Qin Ke Xuan’s hand and his heart jolted. He pointed at her, trembling, and said: “You took our picture without permission?!”

  Lu Wan Ran walked over. Despite her expression being a little unnatural, she still raised her chin, saying arrogantly: “Say it, how much money do you want to not spread it?”

  Money? She actually wanted to seal her mouth with money? Qin Ke Xuan stretched out her hand, saying blandly: “Take out everything you have with you right now.” It’ll fund her travel fees when meeting Zhou Lin later very nicely.

  Lu Wan Ran raised her eyebrows in surprise. Usually when students meet with such situations, they wouldn’t want money. The money she was carrying didn’t amount to much either, so it wasn’t much of a loss to her. Hence, she very candidly extracted the all the notes in her wallet and gave it to Qin Ke Xuan.

  When the male student was giving Qin Ke Xuan money, a person rushed out from the side.

  “This tong xue! What are you doing?!”

  Qin Ke Xuan stuffed the money into her pocket and looked at the angry man. “Nothing much, just happened to see a student and teacher and their clandestine love affair. They told me not to spread it.”

  The man looked at the said pair of people in shock, and asked Lu Wan Ran: “Lu lao shi, was what she said true?”

  Behind the director, the male student glared at Qin Ke Xuan in rage. Clenching his teeth, he bit out: “You said it even after talking our money?!”

  Qin Ke Xuan: “Did I promise I won’t say it?”

  “You, you wretched woman!”

  Lu Wan Ran shook her head in panic. “Director, that’s definitely not true! I was just chatting with that student, she probably misunderstood it.”

  “Then why did you give her money?” The director picked at the details.

  “I, she….” Lu Wan Ran was at loss for words and couldn’t find any excuse for that.

  “How can you engage in such activities as a teacher?! The three of you, come to my office and address this clearly!” The director berated, and turned to call the two students. “Huh, where did the female student from just now go? How come she’s gone?”

  “Director, she left…”

  The school gate would not open to let students leave before dismissal time, so Qin Ke Xuan came out by flipping over the wall. She flagged a taxi and headed straight for the meeting place she agreed with Zhou Lin.

  Their meeting place was a bar. There were not many customers in the day so the place was very lonely. When Qin Ke Xuan entered, she immediately noticed Zhou Lin among the few customers. The fact that there were two burly guys standing behind him made him all the more conspicuous.

  Qin Ke Xuan headed over to Zhou Lin and was blocked by the
two bodyguards’ hand. Zhou Lin waved his hand and the two bodyguards retracted their hands. Qin Ke Xuan walked over and sat down on the seat across him. This guy was not easy.

  Zhou Lin’s hands were interlaced. He smiled gently: “Long time no see.”

  Indeed, they hadn’t meet ever since their first meeting when he had invited her to join the dark organisation. This was their second meeting, as well as their last meeting. She said blandly: “Exactly what do you want to let me leave the organisation?”

  “Hehe, why do you talk as though I’m an unkind person.”

  “I don’t want to waste time.”

  “Look at you, already so military-esque when you’re still only in the Special Forces Reserve Squad. Not bad, not bad, you have potential.” Zhou Lin’s interlaced fingers lightly tapped.

  Qin Ke Xuan’s gaze chilled. She had only told Leopard she would very likely become a soldier, she didn’t tell him she was already in the Special Forces Reserve Squad.

  The two of them gazed at each other for a long time before Zhou Lin laughed out loud. “I praise you, why are you looking at me like that?”

  This guy was just a smiling tiger*. He’ll smile gently on the outside but would hide his scary intentions. She disliked people like that very much. “Then will you let me leave the organisation?” If he did, then everyone will be happy. If he didn’t, then he’ll have to finish her with his capabilities first.

  * 笑面虎 = xiao mian hu; (lit.) smiling tiger, (fig.) an outwardly kind but inwardly cruel/sly person

  “Hehe, since you’ve already said it like that, then can I still not let you go? You’re a soldier. No matter how powerful we are, we won’t dare to adopt a confrontational posture against the country’s military.” Zhou Lin picked up the cup and sipped his alcohol, his eyes glinting cold. “But our organisation’s not a place for people to come and go as they wish.”

  “Every organisation’s the same.” Qin Ke Xuan’s eyes rolled sideways as the bodyguard beside her pressed a gun against her forehead.

  Zhou Lin took another sip, continuing leisurely: “It’s not like I’m not going to give you a chance either. If you can escape this bar alive, I’ll let you leave.”

  “If you die?” Qin Ke Xuan asked.

  “Haha, lass, you’re pretty amazing but don’t overestimate yourself. It’s better you think about how you can save your little life.”

  Before Zhou Lin finished talking, Qin Ke Xuan’s hand had already hit the bodyguard’s numbing acupuncture point at a very fast speed. The bodyguard, upon seeing Qin Ke Xuan’s movements, wanted to pull the trigger, but the numbing of his arm rendered him unable to control his fingers. Qin Ke Xuan had already taken this opportunity to unclasp his fingers, and then twisted his arm, breaking it as she seized the gun. At the same time, she raised a leg to kick the other bodyguard who had wanted to take out his gun. She bent down to pick up the gun he’d just taken out and set it against the leisurely drinking Zhou Lin’s forehead.

  “Can I go now?”

  “Hehe, not bad as expected, no wonder the military took notice of you, but…” Zhou Lin swallowed a sip of alcohol again, “you can only die here today!”

  Qin Ke Xuan dropped her short figure. Bang bang bang, several bullets brushed past her above her head. She rolled on the ground and hid behind a chair. Raising her hand, she aimed the gun at the few people running out from the boxed rooms in the bar. Her finger pulled the trigger and the bullet hit one of the people’s thighs.

  Qin Ke Xuan shook the gun. It was her first time using this thing so her shooting wasn’t as good as she had desired, but it didn’t feel too bad using it. She raised her gun and aimed at the other few people again. Pulling the trigger, the next several times she shot had not been her intended aim, but she was becoming increasingly familiar with its strength as well as its accuracy.

  Another shot, and it hit one of the people’s arms where she’d intended it to it. She wanted to continue but discovered no matter how much she pulled the trigger, no bullet shot out from the gun. She waved her hand and swung the gun at one of the people’s head.

  Qin Ke Xuan pocketed her other gun, leapt up and dodged the bullets that followed her way before zipping out the bar.

  “Zhou ge, are we chasing?”

  “No need, let her go.”

  Chapter 30 - Target Shooting Competition

  Qin Ke Xuan after zipping out the bar upon seeing those people not chasing her stopped, took out her phone and dialled Zhou Lin. “Why didn’t you chase me?”

  “Hehe, I’ve said that if you escape the bar alive, I’ll let you go. I’ve always been a very trustworthy person.”

  “…”

  “Hehe, you don’t believe me?”

  “Why?”

  “Hehe, do you really need me to give you a reason? First of all, my people may not even be able to catch you even if they chase. Next, they may not be able to kill you even if they catch you. Lastly, won’t fighting with firearms in the broad daylight a perfect excuse for the police to finish us off? Oh, and one more, you could have killed my people and me just now, but you didn’t make your move, so I’ll return that. I’ll let you go, but if you let out anything about our organisation, then don’t blame me for being merciless.”

  “Just like that?”

  “Just like that. When I had scouted you to join the organisation, I’d knew that you’ll leave one day, just that I never expected it to be so fast.”

  No wonder that guy had her do all the thievery jobs and did not let her come into contact with the high-clearance ones. He had never trusted her, but it’s good like that too because it made disengaging herself easier.

  Qin Ke Xuan didn’t return to school immediately but turned towards another direction.

  Standing before the gates, Qin Ke Xuan was refrained from entering by the sentinels at the gate. “This area is under military supervision, outsiders are prohibited from entering.”

  Qin Ke Xuan took out the ID Chang Jiang Lin had given her to the Sentinel. The guard took it and examined it before immediately standing up straight and gave a military salute. “So you’re the soldier from the Special Forces Reserve Squad. Leader had said you will only be coming tonight, how come you are here already?”

  Qin Ke Xuan returned a military salute as well. She learnt this during the military training. She knew lots of changes had occurred to this world. The etiquette of kneeling when seeing a senior officer no longer existed. She still lacked comprehension with regards to this military salute but had cheerfully complied. Nobody liked to kneel down before others; half kneeling was the same.

  “I was thinking of coming ahead of time to see.”

  “Oh, one moment please. I need to stand guard at the gates so I’ll call someone to bring you in. There are quite a few people in the Reserve Squad already.” The sentinel informed her enthusiastically, and shouted at the duty room: “Xiao Ye, come out for a bit.”

  Another sentinel walked out of the duty room, asking: “Why?”

  “New soldier from the Special Forces Reserve Squad, you go and get someone from their troop to come and pick her up.”

  “Enh, hold on.” And then he returned to the duty room to make a call to explain the situation.

  Before long, a car drove over to Qin Ke Xuan. A robust man alighted from the car. After saluting them, he stretched his hand out at Qin Ke Xuan. “I’m Li Jian Zhong from the Special Forces Reserve Squad.”

  Qin Ke Xuan lightly shook his hand. “Qin Ke Xuan.”

  “Get on, the people from our squad are all waiting to meet you.”

  Qin Ke Xuan got in the car and Li Jian Zhong introduced the building and areas along the road as he drove. The military supervised zone in City B was a desolate suburban area. Other than some necessary buildings, everything else was wild vegetation and jungle. Squadrons of soldiers could be seen training along the road.

  “You probably knew that the reserve squad we are in is under Chinese People’s Liberation Army, under the Tercel* Brigade in th
e east when you joined right. You can join Tercel as a proper member if you can pass the examination, it’s okay even if you don’t pass the examination, you’ll still be deployed to the different battalion and company and take up different duties in the military area.”

  * 雄鹰 = xiong ying; tercel (aka: male eagle)

  “Enh.”

  “Oh yeah, there are a total of 15 people in the squad, three of which, inclusive of you, are female. You are the only one among us that is still a high-schooler, the youngest here. The rest are university students. Our squad’s been assembling for training since a month ago. We’ll look out for you so you need not worry about lagging behind.”

  “Enh.”

  “And also, because we are still in the reserve squad and are still not proper soldiers yet, we attend normal lessons if we have any in the morning, else we will come over for training. Gathering for night training is compulsory. Also, we will live here. It will be stressful studying and training together, so you need to be mindful about managing the time on your side.”

  As he talked, they reached a warehouse and Li Jian Zhong brought Qin Ke Xuan into the warehouse. Just as she stepped into the warehouse, she realised there were concealed weapons attacking in their direction. She immediately moved two steps to the side to evade the concealed weapon before hearing two pops coming from Li Jiang Zhong’s body. The two spots that were hit by the concealed weapon had a small hole each in his shirt.

  Li Jian Zhong’s face darkened and he clenched his teeth bellowing in anger: “Who the hell did this?”

  Two people with ropes around their waist jumped down from above. They were both donned in camouflage clothing and carrying rifles. One of them said to Li Jian Zhong cheekily: “Squad leader, your alertness is too low! If that was a real bullet by the enemy, you’d be dead already!”

  Li Jiang Zhong punched him, scolding: “This is how you welcome a new member?! Fudge it, it hurts even if it’s an empty ammo I was shot by!”

  He immediately withdrew his smile and set his expression and gave Qin Ke Xuan a military salute. His frivolous expression returned the minute he dropped his hand, and he said to Qin Ke Xuan: “Hellooo, I’m Chi Qu Qi, may I ask for this beauty’s name? And the age of this young lady? And whether you have a boyfriend? Do you want to consider this handsome guy?”