Chapter 147 — The Long-Awaited...

Yang Ce had not expected to be so dashing. It had been several months ago, and yet people still remembered him. President Wang, hearing the shouts, came running over too. He had been present at Yang Ce's great battle with the taekwondo club, so when he saw Yang Ce it was like seeing a savior. He hurried forward and said, "Yang Ce, you must sign up this time, and win some honor for Songjiang Engineering University!"

This was driving a duck onto the perch. Yang Moyi was caught between laughter and tears; he had not wanted to get involved in any of this. To Yang Ce's mind, it was nothing but a farce. That university's Muay Thai club had probably had its confidence inflated by the boxing champion's words, and imagined itself to be the champion too, so it had come to challenge them as well—little knowing that this was no different from a parrot mimicking human speech.

At most, if things got serious, Yang Ce could sneak off first to the hotel where the Muay Thai club was staying, beat their competitors half to death, and see how they liked competing the next day then.

But now Wang Yanqiu had already registered, and in this situation he could hardly refuse. After all, seeing the happy, hopeful eyes of his classmates, Yang Shuoxuan could not bear to disappoint them, so he said, "All right, I'll sign up too. But I can't guarantee I'll win."

"Wonderful! With you in the ring, I can rest easy. If you can't win, no one else stands a chance!" President Wang was thrilled to hear Yang Ce agree.

"When is the match?" said Yang Yanchuan.

"Around March fifteenth. Why, is there a problem?" President Wang asked. "The date can be discussed further; we can make special requests."

"Nothing. March fifteenth it is, then." Yang Ce shook his head. As long as it was not today, it was fine; he had other things to do today.

After casually filling out a registration form, Yang Ce left with Wang Yanqiu amid a crowd of cheers. He had not been much interested in the first place, but there was no help for it—he had been forced to sign up.

It was just a little strange, though, why Wang Yanqiu had volunteered. So he asked, "Why did you sign up?"

"Nothing much. That woman named Li Lexin and I have a little personal score to settle, and this is a good chance to settle it." Wang Yanqiu pointed at the roster of competitors from that Thai university on the flyer.

"Ah?" Yang Ce had not expected Wang Yanqiu to sign up for this reason; he had thought it was for the school's honor. "What does that person do?"

"She's an assassin too." Wang Yanqiu hid nothing from Yang Shuoxuan. "She ruined my business once before, so I remember her face very clearly. The name is different, but I'm certain it's her."

The competitor profiles all had photos and brief descriptions. Yang Ce looked at the woman named Li Lexin—quite ordinary, nothing special about her. He had never expected she would also be connected to assassins.

"Damn, then what am I joining in for?" Yang Moyi gave a regretful sigh. "If I'd known, I wouldn't have signed up."

"It's possible the others are with her too. Help me take them all down." Wang Yanqiu said.

To be continued.

961. The Ghost Shadow Group

961 The Ghost Shadow Group

In recent years a new organization had emerged, called the Ghost Shadow Group. It was similar in nature to an assassin organization, yet not entirely the same, for this group took on not only assassination but also theft.

Whether it was a museum with tight security or a laboratory under strict guard, once the Ghost Shadow Group accepted a job, they had never once failed. Whatever you wanted, they could bring it to you as easily as walking through their own front door.

Of course, if the Ghost Shadow Group refused a job, then basically no one else would dare take it, for whatever the Ghost Shadow Group could not steal, others could steal even less.

The organization's headquarters were located in Thailand. It was said that a mysterious figure had spent a billion US dollars to establish it. But apart from Liu Kaixi, the organization's head, no one knew what this man behind the scenes looked like.

This time, Liu Kaixi received a phone call from the boss, ordering him to go to Songjiang and carry out a secret mission.

"Boss, what mission exactly are we carrying out this time? How come there's still no word? You take a job like this?" asked the only woman in the organization.

"Li Lexin, don't talk nonsense. This mission was assigned to me by a very important person." Liu Kaixi said with a serious face.

"Who exactly is this important person? Tell me." Li Lexin asked curiously.

"It's our big boss," Liu Kaixi said. It was no secret—no harm in saying it—but as for who the boss actually was, Liu Kaixi would not breathe a word.

"Ah!" Li Lexin was startled. "The big boss—the big boss is finally giving us work?"

Liu Kaixi nodded. "Which means this mission has to succeed. Failure is not an option—otherwise we'd be letting the boss down after all he's done for us."

Since the organization was founded, the boss behind the scenes had done nothing but quietly invest and supply expertise, never once asking them to do a thing. That left everyone in the organization a little embarrassed, and one and all were itching for the chance to do something big for the boss.

"Then why bother with the challenge at all? Why not just go carry out the mission?" Li Lexin asked.

"That tournament is our cover identity, the part we show the world. Without that cover, if we were just here as tourists, there's no way we could stay in Songjiang this long." Liu Kaixi said. "This way, we can use preparing for the competition as an excuse to linger in Songjiang a while longer."

"Brother Yang, you actually signed up to fight in the ring?" Li Dagang and Xu Peng were both astonished. "And it even looks like everyone worships you."

"Damn right. Your boss here was Yang the Madman back in the day—fought like he had a death wish. You two know that well enough," Yang Hengye said.

"But, uh, isn't that Muay Thai club supposed to be pretty tough?" Li Dagang asked, a little worried.

"Back when school started, I put both the president and vice president of the Taekwondo club on the ground. What's a Muay Thai club compared to that?" Yang Ce waved a hand. "Don't worry, there's nothing to it."

"Brother Yang, I really envy you your college life—and all these clubs."

Liu Peng, Li Dagang, and Xiaoying took in these college students' hot-blooded, rebellious side and their brimming youthful energy with a mixture of envy and quiet amusement.

After all, the two men had been out in the working world for a long time now, and the students' behavior struck them as a bit childish. If you don't want to compete, then don't—it's no big deal.

Xiaoying, though, seemed to be thoroughly enjoying the feel of being on campus, and had Xu Peng take a slew of photos of her with his phone, keepsakes for looking back on in the years to come.

"Since we're here, let's have lunch in the cafeteria," Yang Yanzhou said. "You'll get a real taste of student life."

"Works for me. I've never been to a university cafeteria," Li Dagang said with a chuckle.

Classes hadn't officially started yet, but the cafeteria was already up and running—just with fewer people eating there than during term. The five of them walked in and found plenty of empty seats.

At any other time, there wouldn't have been a seat to be had.

Yang Ce handed his meal card to Xu Peng and let them order for themselves. He got himself a chicken-and-potato rice, and Wang Yanqiu ordered a bowl of egg noodles.

"So you're planning to kill that Li-something-or-other right there in the ring?" Once the others had gone, Yang Yanchuan said to Wang Yanqiu.

"How could I? You want me thrown in jail?" Wang Yanqiu shot Yang Puqi a glare. "I'm just going to test her skills and teach her a lesson. It's nothing—no deep grudge, just a small spat."