Hell's Handbook

Su Jin’s expression didn’t flinch, and Xu Ran didn’t need an answer from him either. Xu Ran went on, “I know Situ’s character quite well. He’s quite paranoid to begin with and it got worse after he became a member of the Department of Supernatural Affairs. So, I’m not surprised if he asked you to check my background.”

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“Also, as fellow Handbook owners, I think you guys can understand me better in certain aspects, so I don’t intend to pursue this matter. But… let me warn both of you very sternly here – if you barge into my territory without my permission again, I will not let you off.”

Xu Ran’s voice was murderous, and he clearly wasn’t joking. If Su Jin and Situ Jin tried to do something like that again, he was prepared to kill Situ Jin even though they were as close as brothers.

“Oh? Then… can you tell me what exactly are you protecting? What is this thing that’s precious enough for you to be willing to kill your brother over?” asked Su Jin in a frosty voice.

Xu Ran’s indifferent eyes met Su Jin’s, and neither was willing to back down. Eventually, Xu Ran was the first to look away. He said quietly, “You don’t have to know the details. You just have to know that… I’m not your enemy. And so, I hope that the both of you will not become my enemies too.”

With that, Xu Ran turned to leave. He said to Situ Jin, “Since everything here is settled, I’ll be on my way. I’ll call when I have the time.”

A silver beam of light covered Xu Ran’s body, and he shot into the night sky like a shooting star, disappearing in seconds. Situ Jin watched Xu Ran leave and quietly murmured, “Thank you.”

Su Jin’s mind was filled with even more questions now. Before this, he was just curious, or rather, worried about how powerful Xu Ran was. But now, he was someone who was no less powerful than Xu Ran, and if his psychokinesis was unsealed, he would be even more powerful than Xu Ran. He could sense that Xu Ran was hiding something, and it was likely to be something terribly important.

As he decided to stop thinking about these questions for the time being, Situ Jin walked over and said, “Jin, if possible, I… would like Bo Ya to join Team Boning Knife.”

Su Jin nodded and said, “No problem. We have space for more team members. Besides, Bo Ya is someone familiar, so I don’t have to worry about her.”

In reality, the one who Su Jin was worried about wasn’t Bo Ya but Situ Jin. Situ Jin was a more old fashioned sort of person and placed a lot of emphasis on succeeding in everything he did, but of course, he wasn’t a bad guy, and he wasn’t the sort who would abandon his companions. The members of Team Boning Knife were capable, but more importantly, they were people who never abandoned or gave up on their teammates.

Su Jin got Bo Ya to place her hand on his Handbook, gave her a drop of blood, and in no time, the boning knife tattoo appeared on her arm.

“Welcome to the team. I hope that we can all help each other in future Challenges.” Su Jin held a hand out to welcome Bo Ya, and she shook it gently.

She smiled and said, “Team Leader, I’m still not very familiar with Hell’s Handbook, so could you explain it in further detail to me?”

“Ah, I’ll leave that to Mai.” Su Jin got Kano Mai to do it not because he found it troublesome to do so, but because he felt that it would be easier for a female to speak to another female.

As for the matter at hand, Su Jin didn’t need to worry about it at all. Situ Jin had plenty of resources which could wipe out this incident in its entirety. The fact that Shen Chao even existed would be deleted entirely, including details as small as a supermarket purchase. It would be as though there had never been such a person in this world.

Su Jin and Kano Mai returned to S City, and before they could even spend an hour in the house, Tang Ning suddenly came knocking on their door. Su Jin was completely stunned as he was informed that he had been chosen to represent the company at the International Mercenary Army Exchange.

“What? The International Mercenary Exchange? Aren’t we a security firm? What do we have to do with mercenaries?” Su Jin was utterly bewildered. “Besides, I’m considered a high ranking employee, right? Why do I have to do this?”

“Firstly, yes, we’re a security firm, but we can’t only focus on doing business locally. In the international market, security guards, bodyguards, and mercenaries are more or less within the same industry. If we want people to hear about our company, we have to be part of this international exchange.

“Secondly, you are indeed a high ranking employee of our company, and that’s why we need you to lead the team personally! I can’t possibly give this job to any Tom, Dick, or Harry, right? Besides, we don’t need you to do any of the fighting. We’ve hired several local martial arts experts, so you just need to go along,” Tang Ning explained to Su Jin.

But Su Jin shook his head again. “No, I don’t want to go. I don’t even know what this event is for.”

“I can tell you that! This International Mercenary Exchange is basically the Olympics of the mercenary world. You know about the Olympics, right? It’s a chance to bring glory to your country!” said Tang Ning brightly.

“I don’t get it. I’m not an athlete anyway, so this isn’t for me.” Su Jin refused to go.

“Let me put it more clearly then. This is like an international martial arts competition. If you make it past the preliminary rounds, you’ll be well-known internationally. Does that sound tempting enough now?” Tang Ning continued trying her best to convince him.

This time, Su Jin didn’t even bother speaking and just shook his head again.

Tang Ning’s face fell as she sneered, “Humph. If you’re going to be like this, I’m going to tell my uncle that you’ve lost my cousin.”

A shiver ran down his spine as he gave her a pained look. “Miss Tang! That’s being unreasonable! She ran off by herself – you can’t just say that I lost her!”

“I don’t care! I’m going to tell my uncle and you can deal with the aftermath yourself.” Tang Ning picked up her bag and turned to leave. She wasn’t backing down.

“Hold it! The International Mercenary Exchange, you said? Fine, I’ll go for it.” Su Jin sighed and slapped his forehead. He wasn’t afraid of Tang Ning’s threat, since he could use his psychokinesis on ordinary people like her to manipulate their thoughts. If he wanted to, he could make her forget her own name. And if he were to be more evil than that, he could get himself a sweet looking maid without any problems.

Even though it wasn’t his fault, he still felt guilty about what happened to Ye Yun. He felt that if he had been more careful to watch her, this wouldn’t have happened. He had been hired to watch her after all.

Tang Ning started smiling again when Su Jin agreed, but a gloomy look spread across her face soon after. “This cousin of mine is really terrible. Why did she enroll herself in some school in a foreign country? There are more than enough elite schools here for her to choose from! And worse still, I have to keep this a secret for her and not allow my uncle and aunt know her exact whereabouts. My life is so hard!”

Su Jin didn’t know how to respond to that, so he could only switch the topic back to work. “Who else is going besides me?”

“You remember Thor Security Services? Thomas, the black guy who caused a commotion the last time? Remember him? He has more experience with this exchange, so he’ll be there as your assistant.” After pausing to think, she continued, “Besides Thomas, there will be five local experts from reputable martial arts schools. They’re all young and extraordinarily capable. I spent a lot of money to get them to work for us and they’re going to be human testimonials for the company in the future.”

Su Jin took a moment to recall who Thomas was. That was one really epic character. After he and Ye Yun taught him a lesson, he started clamoring to learn Chinese martial arts. Later on, they crossed paths again at the Special Police.

“I have to go with him?” Su Jin could feel a headache coming already.

Tang Ning got up and said, “I’ve informed you of this matter already and the flight’s scheduled for tomorrow. The company has already arranged for your ticket. I hope you and the team can work hard and bring glory to the company!”

“I’ll try…”

“What did you say?”

“I’ll make sure I’ll accomplish my mission.” Su Jin rolled his eyes at her.

Since the exchange was being held in a different country, he thought it’d be a good idea to bring Kano Mai along and treat it as a nice holiday overseas, since he had never gone overseas for a holiday before. He had gone to Japan with Kano Mai before, but they had spent all their time fighting and quarreling with other people, so they didn’t have any fun there at all.

“Mai, how about we go overseas for a holiday?” Su Jin said to Kano Mai, who was reading a book.

“Sure! Where are we going?” Kano Mai was quite interested in going on a holiday too. Besides waiting for the next Challenge, all she did was read some books and cook a delicious meal. She had never really gone on a proper holiday before either.

“Good heavens I totally forgot to ask! Give me a minute, let me ask her.” Su Jin slapped his forehead and quickly texted Tang Ning to ask where the International Mercenary Exchange was going to be held.

Tang Ning didn’t take long to answer. Her text only had a few words: A grassy plain in North Africa!

“A grassy plain in North Africa… does that sound appealing to you?” Su Jin stuck his head out and asked Kano Mai.

The next morning, Su Jin and Kano Mai were ready to go. Actually, they didn’t need to prepare anything. They didn’t even bother bringing a change of clothes and headed straight for the airport.

Once they arrived at the airport, they saw that Thomas and the other martial arts experts that Tang Ning hired were already there. Thomas approached Su Jin excitedly the moment he saw him. He tried to hug Su Jin but Su Jin stopped him quickly and said that shaking hands was enough.

“It’s been such a long time, Mr. Su!” said Thomas with a big smile.

Su Jin nodded and smiled back. “It has been quite a while. Aren’t you going to introduce the others to me?”

“I don’t think that’s necessary. We’re just a part of the same group. Mr. Su, just focus on what you need to do and don’t bother us with anything else,” said a man among the five of them who looked like he was in his forties.

Su Jin was a little taken aback, but wasn’t offended, so he just gave them a polite smile. Since they weren’t interested in getting to know him, he wasn’t going to insist on it and end up getting the cold shoulder. Besides, the man was right. They all just needed to focus on their work.

Thomas was a foreigner, but he too, could sense the pride in that man’s tone. His first reaction was to frown unhappily, but Tang Ning had told him beforehand that these were experts whom she had taken a lot of effort to hire and asked him to take care of them, so he did not say anything in the end.

It was soon time to check in and board the plane, and before long, they were all on their way to North Africa.