Chapter 415: One Comes, I Kill One; Two Come, I Kill a Pair

Since he insisted on coming here to die, Shen Lu would grant him his wish.

She just wondered if he regretted forcing his way into the shop.

As for who sent the assassin, or if more were coming, Shen Lu had no idea.

She had no connections and no way to find out.

However, she’d heard that assassins like this were quite expensive. Two of them had already fallen at her hands. She wondered if the so-called Shadow Organization felt the loss, or if the person who paid for the hit felt the sting in their wallet.

Shen Lu looked down at the wounds on Xue Can and sighed helplessly. "There are too many fragments. You should go to the hospital."

Xue Can shook his head. "I can’t leave. It’s just a minor injury. Once the fragments are cleaned out and I put some medicine on it, I’ll be fine."

The opponent’s power was greater than his.

If Shen Lu hadn’t possessed an item that could traverse space, they would already be dead.

"Even if you stay here, you can’t protect me," Shen Lu said frankly. "With injuries like these, you can’t move properly. Besides, I’m perfectly safe in the shop. No one can hurt me here."

"The Shadow Organization is far more terrifying than you think. They will exploit any loophole they can find and take your life when you least expect it."

"Then we’ll see how many assassins they’re willing to sacrifice." Shen Lu couldn’t be bothered to argue with Xue Can anymore and simply played a video of her dealing with the assassin who had snuck into the shop. "If one comes, I’ll kill one. If a pair comes, I’ll kill them both."

Xue Can was at a loss for words. "You..."

"I can’t do this elsewhere, but this shop is my..." Shen Lu paused, searching for the right words. "’Absolute domain’, you understand? As long as I’m in the shop, I’m a god."

"...Alright, I’ll have Wu Jun take me to the hospital." Xue Can wasn’t an indecisive person and made his decision on the spot. "Until I get back, don’t go out by yourself."

"I know. I cherish my life very much."

...

Within the Shadow Organization’s headquarters, there was a deathly silence.

"Fourteen is completely off the grid? Are you absolutely sure?" a man in a black mask asked.

"Yes, Boss. We can no longer sense Fourteen’s presence. There’s been no contact for so long, he’s probably..."

"How is that possible? We did our research. The woman only has a single Level 5 Superpower User with her, one who just recently advanced and has average strength. Fourteen was at the Peak of Level 6. Killing a normal woman should have been a piece of cake."

His subordinates remained silent. The situation was indeed strange, but no one could explain the oddities within it.

A man walked in from outside and said respectfully, "Boss, the client is on the phone asking again."

The boss let out a heavy sigh and took the call himself.

"How is it going? I paid the extra money like you asked. Don’t send some third-rate grunt this time. It has to be an elite, a top-tier assassin who can kill in a single strike!"

"Mr. Ma, we just received the latest update."

"Oh? You’ve already made your move? Is she dead?"

"She’s not dead. Our man has gone dark."

"What?! You’ve taken a total of 50,000 Star Coins from me, and this is the level of service you provide?!"

"The Shadow Organization’s professional standards are the absolute highest among the four major survival bases. We apologize for failing to complete your commission, but it now appears the target’s strength is far beyond our initial assessment. Sending more people now would be an unwise choice. My suggestion is to first ascertain her true capabilities and then formulate a new assassination plan."

"So you’re saying you can’t kill her now?"

"That is correct."

"Then how long will it take until you can?"

"Making a move before we’ve conducted a thorough investigation would not be a wise choice."

Ma Tao caught the implication. "So if your investigation takes a year or two, you just won’t do anything?"

"Please do not doubt our efficiency."

"Three months. Three months at most. I want to hear news of her death."

"That can be arranged. However, it will cost extra."

"You son of a bitch, more money again?"

"The difficulty of this assassination target is comparable to a high-level government official. This is the first time the Shadow Organization has lost two assets on a single target. If Mr. Ma is unwilling, we can terminate the contract here."

"What do you mean, terminate the contract? You’re not giving me a refund?"

"That is correct."

Ma Tao lost his composure. He had even postponed his hair transplant to pay for Shen Lu’s assassination, and this was the result?

The leader of the Shadow Organization hung up the phone decisively. He had no obligation to listen to Ma Tao’s curses.

However, the eyes beneath the mask narrowed. He suddenly found himself somewhat interested in this assassination target named Shen Lu.

In all the years since the Shadow Organization was founded, this was the first time they had encountered someone so difficult to kill.

It wasn’t as if they hadn’t taken contracts to assassinate high-level government officials before; they had succeeded in basically all of them.

’So even a Level 6 Superpower User can’t take her life?’

’What about a Level 8 Superpower User like me?’

...

Xue Can’s injuries looked quite severe, but they were all superficial. Thanks to prompt treatment, as well as recuperating with good food and drink at Shen Lu’s shop, he made a full recovery in less than a week.

Shen Lu completed the latest weekly mission and obtained a new reward—the Jade Knife.

This was a knife that couldn’t be found in either the mysterious shop or the regular one. Judging by the item description, it had an impressive background, belonging to the set of Legendary Kitchenware.

It was specifically designed for handling all kinds of fruits and vegetables, allowing the ingredients to maintain their optimal state when cut.

Shen Lu’s reaction to this was... ’Isn’t this a bit useless?’

But after using it once, Shen Lu took back her words.

The body of the Jade Knife wasn’t thick, and it was incredibly easy to cut with. The blade seemed to break through ingredients the moment it touched them, with very little loss of juice.

Shen Lu tried a bite of the fruit platter she had made and felt that the apples were even crisper, juicier, and fresher than before.

This was basically a divine artifact that could apply a buff to fruits and vegetables. No wonder it was called Legendary Kitchenware.

[DING-DONG~ Weekly mission issued: Please serve shrimp dishes to 160 Superpower User customers. Location: Little Deer Cuisine. Time limit: seven days.]

In the early hours of Monday morning, the new weekly mission was silently issued.

Shen Lu, who was asleep, was completely unaware. She only saw it after she woke up.

"Shrimp?"

Shen Lu mulled over the new mission given by the system.

’River shrimp? Prawns? Or maybe even a big deep-sea lobster?’

[Anything is fine. As long as it’s a type of shrimp, there are no further restrictions.]

The system promptly chimed in with an explanation.

An idea immediately came to Shen Lu, and she swiftly revised the menu.

The first thing Bai Wanwan did after getting up was message Shen Lu to ask if she could place an order today.

Shen Lu replied that she could and sent over the new menu.

Bai Wanwan: Shrimp this week? Sounds good. I’ll take one of every dish. We have a lot of people at home for lunch today, so I need to order a few extra things.

Shen Lu sent back an "OK" sticker.

The sky outside the window was gloomy, but the wind had died down a bit, to about a level four or five.

It looked like it was going to rain. A glance at the weather forecast confirmed a 90% chance of precipitation.

Shen Lu washed up and went downstairs, running into Granny Jin in the elevator.

Granny Jin had been discharged from the hospital a few days ago to recuperate at home. When she first came back, she was mostly bedridden, but she had been feeling much better the last couple of days and couldn’t stay still anymore, insisting on moving around a little each day.