The Night Without Stars

On a starless night, the moon shone alone, as lonely as he was.

Qin An clutched the gunshot wound on his right shoulder, tore strips of fabric from his clothes, and hastily bandaged it. Gritting his teeth, he ran forward. Above the forest, helicopter rotors whirred incessantly, blinding searchlights swept across the ground, and the faint barking of dogs echoed from behind.

Blood kept gushing from the wound. His body grew cold and stiff, like a corpse, and his steps became heavy as lead.

Qin An couldn’t figure out what had happened. Ten years of careful planning, a perfectly chosen moment—all to kill that woman. He had staked his entire life on this goal. But the moment he acted, the night that should have been the most defenseless turned into an iron fortress.

What the hell was going on? Had someone betrayed him? Who?

The Desert Eagle in his hand had only two bullets left—one for the enemy, one for himself. But he couldn’t accept it. In the end, he only managed to wound her, not kill her. He hadn’t avenged his little sister.

He ran desperately. Blood loss blurred his vision, his head grew heavier, his steps slower. If he stopped now, he would die.

Trembling, he gripped the Desert Eagle. But the first thing he saw was a person standing in the moonlight—or rather, a girl.

She had her back to Qin An, arms spread wide, as if breathing fresh air. Only she would dare such a defenseless pose. But… it didn’t matter. If he killed her, everything would end.

Gritting his teeth, he fired. The silver bullet traced a bizarre arc. She turned slowly, wearing a cute Gothic Lolita dress, holding a parasol even though it was night. Golden hair, petite figure, childish face, eerie heterochromatic eyes—at first glance, she looked like an adorable girl. But who would have guessed she was the head of the world’s most powerful assassin organization, Tianyu?

Originally, the organization wasn’t called Tianyu, but Dover. However, after this woman took over, the organization became her personal empire. Under her dictatorship, some had tried to rebel, but they all inevitably fell at her feet—not because of her beauty, but because they died.

The bullet was about to hit her heart, but she didn’t dodge.

“Bang—”

Another gunshot rang out. A bullet was fired from the side, colliding with his and altering their trajectories.

It was a technique that only appeared in anime and novels, but he wasn’t unfamiliar with it. Only two people could use it: him and his beloved disciple.

A sapphire dress entered his view. A flawless face, blue hair as deep as the ocean, a small body that seemed so pitiful, purple eyes that shone like amethysts in the night.

It was you! Of all calculations, he never expected his own trained disciple to betray him.

Qin An opened his mouth, which was full of thick blood. His voice was hoarse, like a dead man’s: “Wh…y…?”

“An-ge, are you still trying to kill me now? Or are you going to escape?” The head of Tianyu blinked her big, innocent eyes, revealing a cute smile like a neighbor girl.

“We deployed five S-rank assassins. You blew three heads off. Only Zi Yi and I remain. Fifty-two A-rank assassins—you killed thirty. Five helicopters—you shot down two. Ten Barkos hounds—you slaughtered five… And and…” She counted on her fingers, as if solving a strange, complex math problem.

“You’re still as strong as ever, An-ge! I adore you so much. Right now, I want to strip you down and bear the fruit of our love.” She touched her flat stomach, a shy expression on her face.

“Don’t joke,” Qin An said, swallowing blood and shouting.

“I’m not joking! The first day I joined the organization, I fell for you, overwhelmed by your strength. If you were willing, Tianyu would be yours for the taking. But your eyes were always on that useless sister of yours. How jealous I was! So jealous!”

“So you…”

“So you think I killed her?”

“Didn’t you?”

The only keepsake of his sister—a limited-edition Hello Kitty pink hair clip—still rested quietly in Qin An’s arms. The last person his sister saw before she died was her.

“An-ge, you really break my heart. Let me tell you the truth.” The head of Tianyu took out a voice recorder and played a voice that haunted Qin An’s dreams.

“You said that if I died, my brother would become stronger, even become the head of Tianyu, leave behind his dirty assassin identity, and live a normal life, marrying and having children.”

“Of course. Someone without attachments is the strongest. With attachments, there are always many hesitations when taking action. With Qin An’s strength, becoming the head of Tianyu would be effortless.”

“That’s great. My brother always gets hurt for me. He hasn’t smiled in years—only bitter smiles. It breaks my heart every time I see it. He’s a transcendent S-rank, but he always accompanies me, a B-rank at best, on missions, and then gets punished. I don’t want to be his burden anymore. I want him to know I’ve grown up, that I’m no longer the unreasonable, whiny child I used to be.”

Idiot, idiot, you’re such an idiot. I want you to stay that whiny child forever, so you can stay away from this dark vortex.

“You’re such a good child. No wonder your brother likes you so much. Even I like you a little.”

“Lilo-jiejie, you?”

“Actually, I could have been your closest sister-in-law, but…”

“But what?” Her voice seemed a little excited.

“But your brother said he would only love you for a lifetime. So, for your brother’s sake, could you… die?”

“For my brother?”

“That’s right. Behind you is a bottomless abyss. If you jump, your brother can gain freedom, have a better life, a beautiful wife, a cute son or daughter. Unfortunately, there’s no place for a little sister-in-law. I’m sorry.”

“Mm… sob… sob… Goodbye, brother… I’m sorry, I can’t keep my promise.” The voice ended there, but the sobbing echoed in Qin An’s ears, in the deepest part of his soul.

“See? I didn’t kill her. She committed suicide! I didn’t even touch a corner of her clothes!”

“Lilo Anrietta, I’ll kill you!” Qin An shouted, his eyes wide with rage.

“Do you really want to kill me that much?” Lilo’s face was streaked with crystal tears, unspeakably miserable.

“Then let’s die together!” Lilo smiled brightly. She raised her umbrella, using it as a buffer to land right in front of Qin An. She was so close, yet he had neither the strength nor the courage to raise his gun.

Lilo discarded her parasol and hugged Qin An tightly, as if she wanted to merge into his body. She whispered softly into his ear, “Qin An, do you remember the first time we met? I had just joined the organization, and everyone lusted after me. I was surrounded by disgusting men. I thought I was done for—just out of the wolf’s den and into the tiger’s lair.

“Many men fought over me. I noticed you in the corner, and you noticed me, but your eyes showed no intention of saving me. The women were all watching the show, except your sister. She seemed to say something to you, probably asking you to save me. Then you stood up and said, ‘If there are women, S-ranks get the first pick.’ That was the organization’s rule, right? Many looked at you with awe, especially those women, as if they wished they were me.”

“Then why did you kill my sister? She was innocent. She even helped you.”

“An-ge, does an assassin ever say ‘repay a favor’?”

“No!” Qin An said coldly, killing intent bursting forth. Under such pressure, rookie assassins would have their legs go weak, but Lilo seemed unaffected.

“And if we’re talking about blame, you’re not innocent in your little sister’s death either. You had a part in it. You were too good to her, too indulgent, always holding her in your heart. Do you know how much she worried every time you went on a mission?”

Qin An was momentarily speechless.

Lilo extended her pink tongue and licked Qin An’s neck, then lingered, pecking, kissing, nibbling, as if savoring a unique delicacy.

“Although I thought I couldn’t escape being violated, being taken by a handsome and strong man like you seemed like a better fate. But you pulled me into a corner and didn’t do anything to me, didn’t even kiss me. You just brutally shot my leg and said, ‘This way, no one will want you. And if you don’t want to be used, become an S-rank.’ I was ignored for the first time in my life—by that group and by my pursuers. I thought you were so hateful. Since you didn’t want me, I decided to become an S-rank and make you mine.”

“You’re truly twisted.”

“Who in Tianyu isn’t twisted? Aren’t you? An-ge, or should I call you Shura? The organization’s only zero-failure Shura-sama.”

“You…”

“That’s right, I have all your information, including your deadbeat foster parents and your biological parents. I even found some clues. Aren’t you moved, An-ge?”

“Get away, cough…” Qin An’s voice weakened, his breath fading.

His sister’s death was partly his fault. He thought protecting her was enough, but he was wrong from the start. If he had let her grow strong on her own, with her talent, she might have been his equal now, or even surpassed him. But it was too late.

“Don’t be so heartless.” Lilo caressed Qin An’s handsome face and slowly pushed him toward the edge of the cliff.

“Now we can die together.” Lilo hugged Qin An, a relieved expression on her face.

“What?”

The bright moon broke free from the heavy clouds, casting silver frost-like light on Lilo’s face, revealing an indescribable desolation.

Lilo’s face was pale as snow, her breathing rapid. Where was the carefree, laughing woman from before?

“You took a biochemical agent.” Qin An’s sharp eyes immediately saw the truth.

Lilo silently nodded, acknowledging it.

“Why?”

The biochemical agent was a drug developed by a madman named Lester to enhance physical functions. Unlike ordinary boosters, it was addictive like a drug, and its side effects were chronic. Each use was essentially a deal with death.

“If I said it was for you, would you believe me?”

“…”

Lilo hugged Qin An without hesitation and jumped off the familiar, bottomless abyss.

In the howling wind, Lilo kissed Qin An’s cracked lips, her tongue exploring his mouth.

Qin An stared at the sky. Tonight’s moon was especially round. He didn’t want to die. How could it end like this? His eyes glowed with an eerie red light.

Lilo clung to Qin An like an octopus, murmuring, “An-ge, let’s never part, even in death. Then we can be together forever.”

Zi Yi watched the abyss, black as a hole, tears streaming down her face: “I’m sorry, Master. I’m sorry, Lilo-jiejie.”

“I can’t live alone. At least I’ll die with you.”

Zi Yi resolutely stepped into the dark abyss. And so, Tianyu’s S-ranks were all wiped out.