Codename: Azure Dragon

There are always some people in this world who constantly want to show off how great they are.

But in front of truly impressive individuals, these people become as humble as dirt.

The arrogance and pride of the blond guy vanished completely as he obediently picked up the stacks of cash and handed over his backpack to the young man.

Even though he was seething with anger and secretly cursing the young man for the embarrassment, he didn't dare show it.

The young man took the backpack and walked inside.

"Um... sir, you haven't bought your ticket yet..." The plump female conductor's attitude instantly became polite, adopting a customer-is-king tone.

"Oh, right."

The young man handed the 20-euro note back to the conductor and said calmly, "This is real. Can I use it now?"

Of course!

The ticket, originally worth 18 local currency units, was being paid for with 20 euros. Only a fool would refuse!

"Sorry for the misunderstanding earlier," the pretty policewoman suddenly said.

"It's okay."

The young man seemed easygoing and didn't make a fuss. He just grabbed his canvas bag and walked toward the rear of the carriage to find an empty seat.

After taking a couple of steps, the policewoman's voice came from behind, "Sit next to me."

It wasn't a question or a negotiation.

Although it wasn't a forceful command, it carried an undeniable tone, the seat next to the policewoman was empty.

The young man paused for a moment, then without responding, sat down by the window. The policewoman followed and took the seat next to him.

"You're carrying so much cash around. Aren't you afraid something might happen?" the female officer sitting next to him whispered. "Did you see the way those people in the car were looking at you? Don't worry. Nothing will happen while you're sitting next to me."

The young man almost laughed out loud. He felt a bit of admiration for the officer.

Was she making him sit next to her because she was worried someone might try to steal the money? She had quite a sense of justice!

"What's your name?" the officer asked.

"Qing..." He almost said "Long" but stopped himself as memories from the past flashed through his mind.

A name? He hadn't used a real name in years. In fact, he never really had a full name of his own. His mother used to call him by his nickname, Brother Merritt. It wasn't until she passed away that he learned his last name was Lopez. Later, he was just a number, until he earned his title—Qinglong, the Azure Dragon.

Now that he was back in Ancient Splendor, he might need to use a name again.

"Why aren't you saying anything?" the officer asked.

"Merritt."

"I'm Felicity."

The officer, Felicity, had a naturally outgoing and cheerful personality. "Are you heading to Bien City? By the way, where are you from? You don't even have any local currency and are carrying so much foreign cash. It's so inconvenient. You..."

Merritt leaned against the window with his eyes closed, showing no intention of continuing the conversation.

Seeing him close his eyes, Felicity looked at his pale face and quickly asked, "What's wrong? Are you feeling unwell? Are you sick?"

With Merritt's ghostly pale face, anyone would think he was ill, and they would be right, though it was even worse than they imagined.

He wasn't just sick; he was dying!

A year ago, after completing a certain mission, his body started failing him: his internal energy inexplicably drained, his vitality mysteriously weakened.

He sought out the best doctors, but none could diagnose the cause.

Until today... he could feel it, he had less than three months left to live.

When life is nearing its end, one's thoughts change. He had always had a lingering wish he never fulfilled. Returning to the long-separated Ancient Splendor this time was to complete that old desire.

To find someone!

To find the childhood friend from many years ago in Ancient Splendor, the girl with the nickname "Hamilton."

"If you keep yapping, I'll die from the noise before the illness," Merritt said, still with his eyes closed.

"You... hmph!" Felicity's enthusiasm was doused with cold water. She huffed and muttered, "What's so great about you? It's not like I wanted to talk to you!"

Merritt thought to himself, finally, some peace and quiet.

The female cop was actually pretty nice, just a little too enthusiastic and chatty for Merritt's taste. He was someone who really valued peace and quiet, and right now, he was completely exhausted. He had gone through so much to avoid being tracked, traveling all the way from Europe to Ancient Splendor, and his body was barely holding on.

The car's temperature was just right, and the seats were pretty comfortable. As it rolled smoothly down the flat road, the worn-out Merritt slowly drifted off to sleep.

The passengers were quiet, with only the sound of two TVs playing the news.

"Earlier this morning, a jewelry store in Sanin City was robbed. Five armed robbers, holding three guns and knives, killed a store clerk and two security guards, taking a huge amount of gold and jewelry. According to the police, after analyzing the surveillance footage, the robbers moved fast and looked professional. One of them clearly had some kind of special training. The police are working hard to catch them. If anyone has any information, please contact the police immediately. A reward of 100,000 dollars will be given to anyone who helps solve the case…"

Not many passengers were paying attention to the TVs. Most were either sleeping or glued to their phones.

As for Felicity, who still had energy to spare and no one to talk to, she ended up watching the news.

"Those awful robbers... if I catch them..." Felicity mumbled under her breath, annoyed. Just then, she felt something touch her right shoulder.

It was… that rude guy!

She had tried to talk to him earlier out of kindness, but he acted like she was annoying and didn't want anything to do with her.

She had thought maybe he was just hard to talk to, but now?

This jerk was leaning on her while pretending to be asleep, what a fake gentleman, seriously just a creep.

Trying to take advantage of a police officer? Did he have a death wish?

Just as she was about to shove him away and tell him off, she noticed that Merritt had only turned his head to rest on her shoulder. He wasn't doing anything else weird.

She could tell he wasn't faking being asleep. He looked completely drained.

Thinking back, maybe he didn't talk to her before because he was just too tired?

But still…

Should she really let him lean on her?

Felicity was still unsure when suddenly, the bus screeched to a stop, making a bunch of passengers scream in surprise.

A white van had sped up behind them and swerved right in front of the bus, forcing the driver to hit the brakes hard.

The sudden stop made a lot of people get thrown forward, and some even fell out of their seats.

"What the heck?!"

"Do you even know how to drive?! Ow… my head…"

"Driver! What's wrong with you?!"

The passengers were either complaining or yelling in frustration. The bus driver was mad too, but he wasn't the one at fault. It was that van's fault.

Furious, the driver was about to get off the bus and go argue with the van driver. But as soon as he stepped outside, he froze.

A group of people jumped out of the van, all pointing scary-looking guns at him.

Five guys.

Two of them were carrying backpacks. The other three had guns.

They looked different from each other in height and build, but they all had one thing in common, they were wearing huge sunglasses that covered most of their faces.

"Get back on the bus!"

The one who looked like the leader had an average build and held a rifle. He growled at the bus driver, "Do as you're told, and no one gets hurt."

At first, most of the passengers didn't really get what was going on. But when the bus driver was forced back inside and the five guys stormed in, everything exploded into chaos.

"Ah… help!"

"Don't kill me!"

"Waaah… I don't want to die…"

"They're the jewelry store robbers…"

Some people who had been watching the news earlier recognized them right away.

The bus instantly fell into panic. Just hearing the gunshots had already scared a few kids into crying loudly, and even some adults were screaming or crying, completely freaked out.