(Thanks to the book fan [ｗǒ╃→风★] for becoming the new squad leader of Mixed! Here's an additional chapter as a thank you!)

After a series of medical procedures, the special care unit quieted down, and all the medical staff left. Li Yan was alone watching Yue Yao. Although her complexion had slightly improved after the blood transfusion, she hadn't woken up, let alone returned to her normal state.

He checked all of Yue Yao's belongings; the handgun was on him, and there weren't many other items. Considering that Yurong might be looking for her, it was inconvenient to let her know, so he turned off the phone.

After a while, aside from watching and waiting for her, Li Yan couldn't do much else. Now that Yue Yao was settled and stable, there was no longer any immediate threat to her life, waking up was only a matter of time, and recovering was a matter of time. He finally had the mind to consider other issues. The most direct one was... Has the Rocana Rose been shot dead?

At the time, it was a matter of stalling, to prevent the opponent from shooting continuously and risking both of them being hit. But now, now that things had settled, it became a potential future problem. If Rose didn't die, she not only might come to kill him in the future but could even harm him by revealing his identity!

Of course, the latter possibility is very small because when one reaches the peak in their industry, they care about their identity, feeling a sense of honor that cannot be measured by ordinary interests. At that level, the unwritten rules of the industry become universally accepted codes, especially in older industries, where such unwritten rules are more prevalent. Violating them is regarded as disgraceful by everyone in the industry! If you treat others like that, one day, someone might treat you the same way!

For example, when magicians come out to teach or reveal tricks, it's usually some minor ones. Truly difficult core magic or others' unique skills are often only guessed at or revealed by outsiders or amateurs. Sometimes, someone might use illegal means like covert filming to uncover them. True magic masters absolutely wouldn't come out to reveal their peers' secrets, even if they are competitors! Even if temporarily benefiting from it, they would be despised by everyone in the industry.

Assassins are an even older profession; those who can take on S-Class missions are top assassins and are veterans of time and life-and-death trials, no longer reckless experts in the field. So, on that night at the park, Li Yan and Rose both sensed each other as rivals yet had three choices, confrontation, cooperation, or leaving each other alone. That night they chose cooperation, but afterward, once the common enemy was eliminated, they became opponents who might challenge each other at any time in mortal combat.

But at that time, even though everyone was hiding in the darkness, their actions were aboveboard! In the subsequent times, everyone competed with their own means. "Rose" knew the true face of "King"—or say one of the faces, similarly, "King" also knew a certain true face of Rocana "Rose." However, Li Yan didn't have the idea of secretly filming her appearance to publish her appearance data or current location and other information.

Rose waited until today to act, also proving she wouldn't otherwise expose Li Yan's information. This is the accepted industry rule!

But personally challenging someone is outside of these bounds. A magic master may not reveal another master's magic tricks, but if you can prove to be better, you can challenge similar magic, presenting a faster, stronger, and more perfect performance to show you're superior. For instance, if a magic master publicly reveals David Copperfield's secret of walking through the Great Wall, they would be considered a disgrace among magicians, but if they can walk through the Great Wall with a more amazing method, faster speed, and more perfect performance, everyone would acknowledge them, thinking they are more formidable than Copperfield.

Similarly, Rose can challenge King head-on, and King can challenge Rose. They are assassins, and the challenge does not necessarily require a fair fight but rather their most adept method—assassination! As long as one kills the other, they can prove to be stronger!

Life—this is the method of proof for assassins.

...

Rose has already challenged; the relationship of mutual non-interference between the two has been broken, especially since she fired and hit King, making them no longer parallel competitors but adversaries with a grudge.

So whether to win against King or prevent him from retaliating, as long as Rose isn't dead, she will seize the best chance now to continue hunting King!

For Li Yan, it won't just be a personal trouble but could also implicate innocent people around him, as Yue Yao was involved today. He must eliminate such an enemy, but the priority was to save Yue Yao at the time, so he could only fire one shot to buy time to leave.

Though he has immense confidence in his shooting skills, hitting a moving target amidst a chaotic crowd isn't a difficult task. But the opponent is a professional assassin with skill not far off from his own, making everything possible. Just as Rose aimed for a decisive shot, capturing the best opportunity with one critical shot, yet that might not necessarily be the fatal shot.

Just… there's one thing Li Yan didn't know.

Unexpectedly, due to the performance that night, the fury after Yue Yao got shot, and the unknown weaponry he had, Rocana Rose was genuinely scared off by him!

After the blood transfusion and mental strain, Li Yan felt a bit fatigued. He lay on the companion bed beside and turned on the TV, lowering the sound to silence.

And even if Rocana Rose really isn't dead, it is believed she will stay in S City for a while, he will definitely not let her leave!

After turning off the computer, Li Yan glanced at Yue Yao on the hospital bed, then closed his eyes to relax. Zheng Yixuan's advice wasn't wrong; for now, it wasn't convenient to let anyone else in, even though nurses were around, he still had to look after himself, keeping his spirits up.

After a massive blood transfusion, his spirit was diminished significantly, gradually falling asleep, only to be awakened later by the phone.

Li Yan's commonly used number was left at home, not turned on. Naturally, no friends from S City could call it, and among those he contacted most these days, Yue Yao was in the ward, and those who could call were few.

Upon checking, it was Guan Ziyi calling.

"Guanzi, are you calling to comfort me?" Li Yan believed he had heard of it from Zheng Yixuan.

Guan Ziyi sighed, "Is Queen alright?"

"Alright, not the worst." Li Yan chuckled bitterly; "Alright" was relative. Compared to normal, it certainly wasn't alright.

"Well... you have to look after it yourself. Third brother informed me of the situation and asked me to check this morning's events. If that person isn't dead, you shouldn't be staying so peacefully in the hospital."

Li Yan appreciated it secretly, even though Zheng Yixuan often reprimands, he still cares.

"... I've already hacked the computers of several district police stations near the train station."

Did Rose die? A shot to the heart?

Li Yan had some doubt, but this wasn't a message irresponsibly from ordinary people. If he still had doubts, he would need to see the body. However, from the scene within his field of vision, at most Rose was out of view during the second or so when he retreated into the car with Yue Yao, a large plaza that couldn't possibly substitute anything there.

"It seems in the heat of anger, my shooting didn't lose accuracy." He joked, "Sigh... Even if she's dead, vengeance is taken, so what? Yue Yao can't get better right away!"

"Don't worry, recover for a period and it will be fine." Guan Ziyi comforted, then said, "I'll follow up on this matter for you. If there's any video evidence against you found, I'll handle it. Now just focus on taking care of Queen!"

Hearing Li Yan's amused remarks, Guan Ziyi laughed and hung up.

"A dog bites you once, even if you slaughter the dog, the wound needs time to heal, don't worry about me..."

A weak voice emerged from behind, prompting Li Yan to quickly turn his head.(To be continued. For more, please visit www.qidian.com, support the author, support legitimate reading!)

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