"I have a question for you; your answer will affect my decision. The matter I informed you about, did you report it to the Queen? Why not?"

Li Yan’s question was straightforward. He bypassed Yue Yao to contact directly because he didn’t want her worried; of course, he didn’t want Xie Xuanji to report to her either.

Upon hearing this, Xie Xuanji immediately realized this was a difficult problem. The King’s intention was obvious; whether it was reported or not, he could find out from the Queen. But if he kept it a secret, the Queen would find out sooner or later, and the outcome then...

Xie Xuanji sighed inwardly, guessing that the King gave him this question as an indirect way of discouraging him. He answered truthfully, "I have not reported to the Queen yet because I think you contacting me yourself must mean you don’t want the Queen to know for now, so I must meet your request. But the management by the Queen is under your authorization too, and I can’t violate the organization’s rules. Once I leave here, I will still report to the Queen."

His answer slightly surprised Li Yan but was very satisfactory.

This was a dilemma, requiring a choice between loyalty to the King or loyalty to the Queen. Now, in front of him and asking for his support, most people would declare loyalty and answer as he wished. Xie Xuanji’s response, however, considered both sides. He executed the King’s demand unconditionally, and he didn’t ignore the system represented by the Queen because of the King.

Such an answer might displease the King and thus affect the benefits he wanted to gain. Even while facing this, being able to make such a decision and say it directly shows someone who isn’t blinded by interest, is loyal yet not blindly faithful to an individual, but loyal to the organization.

"As you wish."

"What?" Xie Xuanji doubted he heard right, wasn’t the King supposed to use this opportunity to refuse? 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

"Do as you said; your answer satisfies me, I will discuss it with the Queen," Li Yan spoke as he stood up and left.

Xie Xuanji couldn’t help a surge of joy! The logistics of the forward and finishing duties were much safer and perhaps offered more opportunities for missions and more income. Still, he always longed to be an assassin who could take on tasks himself! It’s like providing a woman, providing a condom beforehand, and cleaning the room, taking the woman away afterward; even though there’s income, and no risk of disease, there’s no engagement in the action itself. Doing it for a long time becomes unbearable.

...

Li Yan circled to the side from the back row, keeping an eye on the entire venue where people were watching movies or flirting, with nothing suspicious. Just as he was about to return, he heard a phone ringing, a strange ringtone, coming from his person.

The phone Sonia left behind!

Li Yan took the phone out to the hallway leading to the restroom.

"King, since you’ve found me, perhaps we can talk first."

"Talk about what? Love?" Li Yan chuckled coldly; when a killer was already beside him, was there anything left to discuss?

"To show my sincerity... I’ve left you the phone and stopped following you."

Li Yan didn’t speak. Being tracked to this hotel room by Sonia was both a display of her abilities and his negligence in safety due to matters with Changhe Group, Ye Jiahong, Lin Fenni, the movie, and preparing for Xiao Di’s birthday.

"I can also reveal my identity: I am not with ’Swordfish’ or ’Gate’; I am—’Rose’! The ’Rose’ from Rocana!"

Li Yan couldn’t help but be slightly surprised. Perhaps there was more than one assassin using the alias ’Rose,’ both male and female. But among S-Class assassins, the one with the code name ’Rose’ referred to the ’Rose’ from Rocana. But wasn’t the Rocana Rose dead by his gun?

It seems the Rocana ’Rose’ was not just one person! No wonder Sonia didn’t find it strange when hearing, "Some time ago, I destroyed a ’Rocana Rose.’"

There’s more than one Rocana Rose!

(Thanks to the brothers who rewarded on the 21st: Sai Clan’s Little Fish, Seaside Bright Boy, Li Fanshow, dintt, Book Friend from Taiwan, I Am Just Reading, dongmin8061, kgjo, Support You with Heart, zjun971210, Deep Love in the Celestial River, Cp Pampas, shouken, jK Liang) (To be continued, for further developments, please visit www.qidian.com, more Chapters available, support the author, support legitimate reading!)