The ranking battle in the Grey Zone continued fiercely, but the academy's pace didn't slow. The morning bell chimed, and the cadets who had advanced to the Advanced Ranking Battle were gathered once more. This time, their faces showed not just fatigue, but more of a blade-like sharpness and numbness. Rin stood in the crowd, his eyes cold. Yesterday's memory backlash from Ye Xue, and that blurred image, deepened the mystery within him. He needed answers, and those answers might lie in the upcoming mission.
The scar-faced instructor's voice was still cold, devoid of any emotion:
"Congratulations, you lucky survivors. The ranking battle was a test of your individual abilities. Next, you will face the true challenge—field assassination missions."
A low murmur immediately spread through the plaza. Field missions meant leaving the academy's protection, entering the real shadow world, and confronting cunning and dangerous targets directly.
"Missions will be executed in two-person teams. Your partners have been decided and cannot be changed," the instructor said, as the large screen began to scroll through pairs of names.
Rin's gaze swept the screen. When he saw "Ye Xue" appear next to his own name, his pupils constricted sharply.
Ye Xue. Her again.
Rin's heart pounded. This coincidence felt eerily deliberate, yet also like an inevitability of fate. He turned to look at Ye Xue, not far away. Her gaze was also fixed on the screen, and when she saw Rin as her partner, a rare, almost imperceptible ripple crossed her usually serene face. But quickly, that ripple was replaced by extreme calm.
"Your mission objective is to infiltrate an academy underground stronghold in the black market," the scar-faced instructor's voice continued to echo across the plaza, each word carrying heavy pressure. "Eliminate all guards within the stronghold, locate and kill the target—the underground warlord, 'Butcher' Orga. He possesses intelligence vital to the academy and must be eliminated before that information can be leaked."
An underground warlord, a black market stronghold. This was no longer a simple assessment but a genuine infiltration and assassination, far more dangerous than the Trial Tower. Rin knew this would be a tough fight.
"Now, collect your mission brief and equipment, and depart immediately!"
Rin and Ye Xue were assigned to a private briefing room. Oppressive silence filled the air; neither spoke. Rin took the mission brief, which detailed the target's information, the stronghold's layout, and infiltration routes. He noted that this mission heavily emphasized stealth and coordination; once exposed, the success rate would drastically drop.
"Watch your back," Ye Xue's voice was cold and emotionless, sounding exceptionally clear in the quiet room.
Rin looked up at her. Her eyes were icy, but seemed not directed at him, but rather a habitual wariness and reminder.
"You too," Rin responded coldly.
The two collected their specialized black stealth suits and silenced weapons, then silently left the academy, blending into the night. This was their first time working as partners on a real infiltration and assassination mission.
During the infiltration, Ye Xue remained silent. Her body was as light as a ghost, every step falling into shadow without a sound. She was like a wisp of wind, or a perfect shadow, merging with her surroundings. Rin found that her stealth skills were almost on par with his own from his past life, and even surpassed him in certain aspects, that inherent sense of merging with the environment possessing a natural keenness and detachment.
Rin was equally silent, concentrating fully on observing his surroundings, pushing the "Blade of Demise's" vigilance instinct to its limit. Although Ye Xue displayed superb professionalism, that memory fragment and her "I'm sorry" still lingered in his mind. He didn't know if she had remembered more, nor why she chose to remain so silent.
The two moved through a dilapidated urban area on the outskirts of the black market. This was the intersection of the slums and the black market, the air thick with the scent of decay and despair. Buildings by the roadside were crumbling, many reduced to mere ruins, as if ravaged by war.
As they passed a particularly ruined abandoned house, Rin's steps suddenly faltered.
It was a wooden house with only half its walls remaining, the roof collapsed, and the interior covered in dust and cobwebs. However, in a corner of the ruined house, a dust-covered wooden carving reflected a faint glow in the moonlight.
Rin's heart clenched fiercely. He felt an abnormally familiar aura, and a warmth that penetrated to his bones.
He almost instinctively walked over, brushed away the dust, and picked up the wooden carving.
It was a small, exquisitely carved wooden sculpture, shaped like a snow owl with wings poised for flight. The owl's eyes were set with two tiny blue gemstones, shimmering with a cold, ethereal light in the moonlight, looking incredibly lifelike.
Rin's hand trembled violently.
This wooden carving was far too familiar!
He had carved it himself in his past life, after a mission, to pass the time while recovering from injuries! He had painstakingly selected the best ice wood and spent days crafting this snow owl. He vividly remembered that he had specifically inlaid these two blue gemstones in the owl's eyes because they so closely resembled Ye Xue's cold eyes.
He had given it to her as a small, insignificant gift. At the time, she had merely glanced at it indifferently, saying nothing, but he knew she had accepted it. He thought she wouldn't care for such trinkets, but unexpectedly… it was here!
In Rin's mind, countless fragmented images surged like a flood. He saw himself handing the wooden carving to Ye Xue, saw her casually placing it in a corner of the training room, saw it lying quietly by her bedside…
His breathing grew heavy as he tightly clutched the wooden carving.
Ye Xue noticed Rin's unusual stillness. She stopped, turned, and her cold gaze fell upon the wooden carving in Rin's hand. Her eyes, at the sight of the snow owl carving, suddenly constricted, as if struck violently by an invisible force.
On her typically indifferent face, a true crack appeared for the first time. In the depths of her pupils, an unbelievable shock flickered, along with a pain and confusion of long-sealed memories on the verge of being awakened.
"This… this is…" Ye Xue's voice trembled slightly, her eyes fixed intently on the wooden carving, as if trying to etch it into her very being. She didn't know why, but seeing this carving caused her heart such a violent ache, as if something incredibly important, yet forgotten, was frantically trying to break free from the shackles of memory.
Her cold eyes were now filled with confusion. She seemed to want to reach out and touch the carving, but her arm froze mid-air, as if touching a forbidden object.
Rin looked at her, his gaze complex and deep. The wooden carving, the snow owl, the blue eyes. Everything was silently speaking a cruel truth: they had once been closer than he imagined. And she cared more about those seemingly insignificant memories than he had thought.
He said nothing, merely handed the wooden carving to her.
Ye Xue trembling took the carving, her fingertips touching the warm wood. A violent headache assaulted her once more, more intense than the memory backlash from last night. Numerous blurry images flashed in her mind: snowscapes, training, missions they performed together, even scenes of her bandaging him when he was injured… All of it pointed to one fact—they had been partners, partners who had faced life and death together and trusted each other!
"Ah—!" Ye Xue cried out, clutching her head in pain, swaying precariously. The intense pain made her dizzy, and her vision blurred.
Rin's gaze fell upon her pained face, his heart sinking heavily. This wooden carving had once again become the key to unlocking her memories. And this time, it seemed even more violent.
He stood silently beside her, offering no comfort, no support. He knew that some memories brought pain that only she could bear alone. But in the depths of his cold eyes, there was a trace of unspoken worry and anticipation.
The fog of truth was slowly being lifted. And their two fates were steadily moving towards a buried past, filled with blood and emotion. This infiltration mission was not just about assassinating a warlord; it was the beginning of them reclaiming their lost memories and facing their true identities.