Chapter 74

The news? Li Yan thought for a moment about what news he might had made a few days ago. The only event that could relate to being on camera should be the movie’s launch ceremony. Even then, the focus of the camera was on those celebrities, right? He couldn’t believe that just by occasionally appearing on camera, he could catch an assassin’s attention. It left him speechless.

"Since that person was from your ’Rose’, and you’re here to find her, it should be to avenge her death. She died at my hands, so why are you so calm?" Li Yan asked with a smile, while staying on guard.

Sonia pondered for a moment, then slowly said, "’Rose’ is not a large, tight-knit organization; it’s just a shared code name. Apart from the one you’ve met, there’s me, and another one. We usually accept tasks individually. That means the ’Rose’ tasks you see might be me this time, her the next, or yet another person. Because we’re all from Rocana and all girls, most who know the inside story think Rocana Rose is one person."

Li Yan would never casually talk about his own matters, including those of ’their’ organization, especially not with peers in the industry. Sonia was surely aware of that; they’d just met and weren’t close enough to confide secrets. She had a reason for sharing this, and he was waiting for it.

"You know the difficulty of the last mission. Originally, we intended to carry it out together. However, Eva disagreed and insisted on executing it alone, ultimately leading to her remaining on Yun Country soil," Sonia said with a trace of wistfulness.

From her words, Li Yan deduced that Eva was the one he killed last time. Though they weren’t from the same organization, the three seemed to be very trusting, friendly sisters. Why, then, did Sonia express only a bit of regret over Eva’s death, with no hatred or grief?

Sonia seemingly guessed Li Yan’s thoughts and asked with a smile, "You’re puzzled by my reaction, aren’t you? Besides being a top assassin yourself, you’re the leader of ’their’ organization. I heard some of your members disappeared recently. What would your reaction be?"

Before Li Yan could answer, she continued, "You’d be concerned but not mourn or seek revenge for them, right? We’ve all chosen this path, aware of its risks—there’s always a chance of death. No one lives forever, and no one can always best others. Eva died at your hands, but if she hadn’t, maybe you’d be the one dead. If I seek revenge on you for her death, shouldn’t the Si Country agents she killed seek revenge on me as well?

They might, but they’d more likely follow orders. Similarly, with Eva’s death, we’ll remember her and care for her family as she asked, but we won’t risk our lives for revenge. If it were me who died, they’d do the same."

Seeing Sonia’s serious demeanor, Li Yan suddenly understood their philosophy of letting the living move on. For ’their’ people, he held the same view, except Yue Yao was a special case.

"Makes sense. In our terms, if you live outside the law, you’re bound to pay the price eventually. As an assassin, one must be prepared to face death. Or, more profoundly, it’s the theory of cause and effect. Since you’ve embarked on this journey, you must accept its consequences," Li Yan nodded in agreement, then directly asked, "So why are you looking for me?"

"I want to find Eva’s body and bring her back!" Sonia’s tone was serious.

Li Yan frowned slightly, "I’m afraid I can’t help with that. She was taken by the police at the time, and it’s been so long. She may have already been cremated." 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

While saying this, he noticed a slight change in Sonia’s expression. He initially thought it was to bring her partner home for burial, but now it seemed there might be another secret.

"King, only you know the situation back then. I hope you can assist me in finding out whether Eva’s body is still around. If no one claimed it, I assume it’s likely at a funeral home. Please help me!"

Li Yan stared at her, "To be honest, when I found you, I thought you were here for revenge. Moreover, the disappearance of ’their’ three members might just be your way of forcing me to meet you. But your answer surprised me; I’m not sure I can trust it."

Sonia smiled slightly, "I truly have no ill intentions. The disappearance of your people has nothing to do with me; I only heard about it while searching for you. I don’t need revenge on you, nor will I expose your identity, because you’ve seen me too. I even shared our circumstances. My sole objective is to find Eva, bring her home for burial—it’s that simple. I believe you can understand that."

Li Yan looked at her and smiled, "Maybe I am too suspicious. Give me some time; I’ll investigate which police station was involved back then."

"Thank you, I’ll wait for your news," Sonia said, picking up one of the two phones tossed on the bed. "Stay in touch via phone?"

Li Yan shook his head, "No need; when I have news, I’ll come straight to you."

"Alright, I’ll be here waiting for you." Sonia straightened her chest as she spoke, "This time I’m asking for your help. What do you want as compensation?"

The deep V-neck already revealed a fair cleavage capable of holding a phone. As she intentionally puffed her chest, it became even more pronounced—any man might have second thoughts at such a moment, hearing talk of compensation.

Li Yan didn’t flinch. It’s not that he wasn’t interested in big chests; the Roca girls were attractive enough. But her identity alone was enough to completely cool him off.

Sleeping with an unfamiliar and potentially adversarial female assassin is, without a doubt, foolish! By that time, both would be undressed, leaving nowhere to hide a weapon. If she drew a knife or a gun from under the pillow or bed in a split second, it’d really be death under the peony flower.

Li Yan stood up, barely glancing at her chest, and said faintly, "Miss Sonia, you’re smart enough to already know what I want."

"Of course, after it’s over, I’ll completely forget your identity. As long as we don’t become competitors during missions, there will be no contact. I won’t disturb your friends. I swear by the name of ’Rose’!" Sonia swore solemnly to reassure Li Yan.

Li Yan defended at every step, and so did she. This was foreign territory for her, necessitating extra caution to avoid being devoured by King, leaving her stuck on Yun Country soil.

"Okay, I’ll try to find a way. Perhaps we can have dinner and discuss it further then." Li Yan waved two fingers in farewell.

"Fine, I’ll book a table. My treat!"

"By the way, Miss Sonia, if you’re considering a Yun Country name, you might go with Xuanyan."

"Xuanyan?" Sonia chuckled, "Hmm, sounds nice. But why?"

Because it’s like a great commotion... Li Yan chuckled without explaining and left.

...

He didn’t travel far and returned to his own room.

Everything in the room remained unchanged. The rose flowers continued to fill the room with a faint rose fragrance. But Little Drop was no longer there; only another thorny ’Rose’ from Rocana lingered. Li Yan had no mood for wistfulness and lay on the bed, taking out his phone to call Guan Ziyi.

The reason he didn’t ask Sonia for her phone again wasn’t due to trust or feeling free to knock on her door. Rather, he realized having taken the phone was already a risky move. Although it was indeed left by Sonia for convenient contact, who knew if it contained listening devices? There hadn’t been time to think about it in the restaurant, but now, in a completely rational and calm state, he wouldn’t take it again.

"Damn, Seventh Brother, you’re indeed a ladies’ man. Even with a wife, you don’t let university freshmen off the hook. To cheer up a girl, you actually hacked the 526 member school network—so pretentious!" Upon hearing Li Yan’s voice, Guan Ziyi immediately laughed and teased.

Li Yan was slightly uncomfortable, "I’m such a low-key person, just occasionally giving the girls a surprise, how’s that pretentious? You damn bug!"

"Damn bug..." Guan Ziyi pondered and then reacted, teasing, "What’s your business? Calling me a damn bug means I won’t help you!"

"Alright, let’s be serious. Regarding that foreign girl’s case, what’s the current situation? Have you been following up for me?"

Upon Li Yan mentioning the Rocana Rose case, Guan Ziyi became more serious and briefly stated, "Wasn’t it de-emphasized? They downplayed it over there, so why are you worried?"

Li Yan pondered, "I want to meet her. Help me check if you can locate her now. If not, please send me detailed information!"

Guan Ziyi was a bit overwhelmed, "Things have passed, Queen should be fine. Are you settling scores posthumously, planning to desecrate the body?"

Li Yan felt a bit nauseous, "Guan, have you been hanging out with Old Mocheng lately? You seem to be getting corrupted, becoming as heavy-going as him?" Such heavy language was more in line with Yu Mocheng than Guan Ziyi.

"Haha, I’m just joking. Don’t actually take it that far! On another note, if it’s still frozen, it should still be fresh. Perhaps you..."

Before he could finish, Li Yan hung up. He was simply being disgusting. Damn it, if there were to be a violation, there’s a perfectly good Rocana big-breasted ’Rose’ assassin right here! Why go for that?

(Annoyingly, there’s only one monthly pass today; we’re about to fall out of the top 50... Friends with tickets, please help!) (To be continued. For more, please log in to www.qidian.com, support the author and read legitimate content!)