93: Chapter 93 Is it you? That cleaning lady?

In the backstage corridor of Elysium Manor, the lighting was more than a few shades dimmer than in the front hall.

There were no expensive champagne towers or bikini-clad models here. Only cold metal pipes ran across the ceiling, and the air was thick with the pungent scent of disinfectant mixed with some cheap air freshener.

Chen Yuan’s black handmade leather shoes clicked steadily against the grey concrete floor.

Alice followed closely behind. She had already switched to combat standby mode, her eyes flickering with a faint, barely perceptible red glow in the dim light.

"Boss, the data feedback from the Red Queen shows that the last active area for that employee ID is in the utility room ahead."

Alice’s voice was kept very low. In this deathly silent corridor, it sounded like a sharp blade ready to be unsheathed at any moment.

Chen Yuan didn't speak. He casually pulled his somewhat cumbersome silk bathrobe tighter.

The ID card that had fallen out of the "financial tycoon" who tried to kill him earlier was like a precise fuse.

It directly ignited the killing intent in his heart.

The underground order of San Verde had only just been established, and yet someone had already reached into his bedroom.

This wasn't just a provocation.

This was a slap to Chen Yuan's face.

Pushing open the heavy, slightly ajar iron door of the utility room, Chen Yuan stopped in his tracks.

The narrow space was filled with cleaning buckets, mops, and bundles of unopened industrial paper rolls.

In the middle of this clutter sat a person.

A woman dressed in a grey cleaning uniform, her back slightly hunched, with a head full of silver hair.

Chen Yuan recognized her.

She was a temporary worker responsible for cleaning the logistics area of the manor. Everyone called her "Aunt Mary."

A few days ago, while inspecting the unfinished courtyard, Chen Yuan had seen her working hard to wipe down the handrails under the scorching sun.

At that time, Chen Yuan had been in a good mood.

He had casually pulled a hundred-dollar bill from his pocket and tossed it into her apron pocket.

"You're getting on in years, don't push yourself so hard. The sun in San Verde can be lethal."

Those were the words Chen Yuan had said to her then.

Back then, Aunt Mary had bowed in fear and gratitude, her wrinkled face covered in a humble smile.

But the Aunt Mary now...

She was holding a white silk handkerchief, her movements extremely elegant and calm.

She was wiping her right hand.

Between her fingers, there were still traces of uncoagulated dark red liquid, which took on a viscous texture under the lights.

Chen Yuan looked at her, his gaze gradually becoming deep and inscrutable.

"Aunt Mary, it's so late and you're still not off work. Are you waiting for me to give you overtime pay?"

Chen Yuan leaned against the doorframe. He pulled out a cigar but didn't light it, merely twirling it between his fingertips.

The old woman didn't stop her movements.

Keeping her head down, her voice was raspy and level: "Boss, the grime on the floor is too heavy. If it isn't wiped clean in time, it'll be hard to deal with once it dries."

"Is that so?"

Chen Yuan let out a cold laugh. He glanced at several crooked cleaning buckets in the corner.

On the edge of one of the buckets...

A piece of black fabric was visible—the tactical combat uniform unique to the Umbrella Guard.

A thick scent of blood was continuously wafting out from that bucket.

"It seems you're not just good at cleaning floors. You're also quite skilled at cleaning out my security team?"

Chen Yuan's tone was light, but it carried a chill capable of freezing the surrounding air.

Aunt Mary finally stopped what she was doing.

She slowly raised her head.

That face, which originally looked honest and was covered in wrinkles, now revealed a heart-stopping deathliness under the pale fluorescent lights.

That kind of gaze...

It was definitely not something a cleaner eking out a living in the slums could possess.

It was the look of a top predator who had seen through life and death and viewed all living things as mere grass.

"I haven't had the chance to spend that hundred dollars yet."

Aunt Mary spoke.

Her voice was no longer raspy, but instead carried an extremely professional calmness. "Mr. Chen, you really are special. In all my years in San Verde, you're the only one who would tip a cleaner."

Chen Yuan scoffed.

"So, is that your reason for planning to personally send me on my way tonight?"

"In this circle, politeness is a luxury. But what I prefer more is the mission bounty."

The old woman stood up.

Her originally hunched back straightened instantly. Her short stature also seemed to carry an immense sense of pressure due to some kind of power-exerting technique.

"Unfortunately, those three were too useless."

She glanced in the direction Chen Yuan had come from. Clearly, she already knew the fate of her three accomplices in the front hall.

"Those guys at Pfizer always like to waste money on trash. In the end, it still takes an 'old-timer' like me to do it personally."

Chen Yuan ignored her mockery.

He merely studied the woman with a hint of curiosity.

"I've been wondering, how could you possibly pass Alice's scan? Your physical indicators clearly showed a sixty-year-old woman."

"Is that why you're not dead yet?"

Chen Yuan turned to look at Alice.

Alice’s brow was furrowed, and data streams were flashing wildly in her eyes: "Boss, her body is covered in a layer of bio-silicone membrane. This technology... can simulate the skin decay and heat dissipation frequency of an elderly person. This is high-level agent equipment."

Aunt Mary smiled.

That smile looked exceptionally eerie on her wrinkled face, like some crudely made wax figure.

"Technology is indeed advanced. But technology cannot save your life, Mr. Chen."

As soon as she finished speaking...

She suddenly raised her right hand and pressed it against the base of her ear.

"Squelch—"

It was the sound of some adhesive substance being forcibly torn open.

Under Chen Yuan's cold gaze...

She gave a sudden tug.

A "human skin" covered in the marks of age and mottled liver spots was effortlessly ripped from her face.

The scene was terrifyingly macabre.

Like a snake shedding its skin, she was revealing her most hideous truth.

"Click."

The silver blade in Alice's hand instantly snapped out.

Chen Yuan's pupils constricted slightly.

As that mask hit the floor...

What appeared before him was no longer that senile, hunched-over cleaning lady.

But a tall woman...

Dressed in a dark bodysuit...

With a cold, beautiful foreign face that looked as if it were carved from frost.

In those emerald-green eyes, a bloodthirsty killing intent flickered, much like a wild wolf that had been lurking on the plains for a long time.

"Let me re-introduce myself."

The woman casually tossed aside the handkerchief.

She drew a long, slender black short sword from her waist, its blade as thin as a cicada's wing, showing almost no reflection under the lights.

"Ranked fourth on the Dark Web Assassin List."

"Code name: Thousand-Faced Person."

She twirled the sword, her eyes fixed on Chen Yuan's throat. "Mr. Chen, this is the real 'in-depth' interview. Are you ready to hand over your head?"

Chen Yuan did not step back.

Instead, he took a step forward, a playful yet cruel smirk appearing at the corner of his mouth.

"Ranked fourth?"

He tilted his head, his tone full of disdain. "It seems the quality of this so-called Dark Web Assassin List is getting worse and worse."

"What?" Thousand-Faced Person’s brow furrowed slightly.

Chen Yuan stretched his somewhat stiff neck, his joints making a series of crisp cracking sounds.

"Since you like playing with faces so much... then in a moment, I'll show you..."

Chen Yuan’s gaze was like a knife, his tone grim:

"...what a real... twisted freak looks like."

Thousand-Faced Person’s hand gripping the sword suddenly tightened.

She instinctively felt an unprecedented sense of crisis frantically spreading from this seemingly unarmed man.

"Death is at your door, and yet you still dare to boast!"

She gave a sharp cry, her body moving like a bolt of lightning as she lunged straight for Chen Yuan’s face.

Chen Yuan stood his ground, neither dodging nor evading.

He simply uttered a few words calmly:

"Alice."

"Don't break her."

"I want her alive."

Alice's figure vanished from her spot instantly.

"Clang!"

An extremely ear-piercing sound of metal clashing.

Thousand-Faced Person's invincible thin sword was firmly caught in mid-air by two of Alice's silver fingers.

"How is this possible?!"

Thousand-Faced Person’s eyes widened, looking in terror at this woman who had been standing behind Chen Yuan looking like mere eye candy.

Alice didn't even turn her head.

She merely stared coldly at Thousand-Faced Person, her tone calm without a single ripple:

"In front of the Boss... put away your toys."