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Hong Kong, China
Following the address provided by the Assassin Guild, John Wick arrived at a building that looked like it was still under construction or undergoing renovation.
After confirming the address was correct, John Wick stepped inside.
Facing the security guard at the entrance, John Wick spoke in Chinese:
"I want to see your leader—Xu Xialing."
The guard looked John Wick up and down, then spoke into his walkie-talkie:
"Someone's here to see the boss."
"Very well."
He then turned to John Wick and said:
"Take the elevator upstairs."
John Wick nodded and headed for the elevator. After rising to a certain height, the elevator stopped.
A man opened the elevator doors from outside and said to John Wick:
"Night Demon, welcome."
John Wick looked at the strange red-haired man in front of him and asked:
"Do we know each other?"
The red-haired man pulled out his phone and said:
"John Wick. Your current bounty is 2.2 billion dollars."
"Impressive, brother."
Hearing this, John Wick frowned slightly but said nothing.
The red-haired man spread his arms in an exaggerated gesture and said:
"I'm John. Welcome to the Golden Dagger Club."
John Wick was momentarily stunned by the man's enthusiasm, then returned the hug.
"Hello. I have an appointment with your leader, Xu Xialing."
John nodded.
"Follow me."
As John Wick followed him inside, he noticed that the entire interior space was divided into independent boxing rings.
Catching John Wick's gaze, John began to explain:
"We're a global cross-platform club. We host all kinds of duels on the dark web, and countless clients place bets online."
"Trust me—if you joined one of these matches, with your current fame on the dark web, you'd attract massive attention and insane betting volumes."
John Wick shook his head.
"I'm not interested."
John said regretfully:
"That's a shame."
He led John Wick into a room guarded by several burly security personnel. At a table in the center sat a young woman.
John Wick walked up and said:
"Hello, Xu Xialing."
"I'm John Wick. I'm here to cause you a little trouble—and to take something from you."
Xu Xialing looked at the man before her with curiosity.
"The legendary assassin Night Demon from the New York Continental. Your bounty is extremely high right now—one of the most sought-after unfinished contracts."
"But I'm curious. How did an assassin expelled by the Continental manage to get in touch with the Assassin Guild?"
Although the Hong Kong branch of the Assassin Guild had contacted her, they still couldn't figure out the relationship between the two sides.
John Wick thought for a moment, then said calmly:
"Divine guidance."
Xu Xialing raised an eyebrow.
"What do you want?"
John Wick replied:
"You have a sphere with six stars—a Dragon Ball. I need it."
"The market price was once as high as two million dollars. I'm willing to pay double."
Xu Xialing wasn't surprised by his objective. She had seen his bounty notice before and knew that Carmela's contract involved Dragon Balls—just not the same one she possessed.
She recalled the Dragon Ball in her possession. She had studied it before—it was incredibly hard, completely resistant even to bullets. Still, she had no idea what it was truly for.
She said:
"I don't know what this thing really does. But collecting all of them across the world won't be easy."
"Can you tell me why you need it?"
John Wick knew this question was inevitable. Ever since his encounter with the Elders, he had prepared a solid explanation.
"This is the Assassin Guild's evaluation of me. They require me to collect all seven Dragon Balls."
"That's the reason I was granted protection."
"They also released this."
Xu Xialing sized him up and said:
"Because of you, the Assassin Guild and the High Table went to war. I heard the High Table suffered devastating losses."
"You're really good at stirring up trouble."
She then took a six-star Dragon Ball from her desk drawer, tossing it lightly in her hand.
"I can sell it to you. But what do I get in return?"
John Wick knew she wasn't talking about money.
"What do you want?"
Xu Xialing reflected briefly on her life, then said:
"A promise. Something like the Continental's blood oath."
"When I need your help, I want you to give it everything you've got."
She had initially wanted a blood oath, but considering that John Wick had already been removed from the list and joined the Assassin Guild, there was no guarantee it would still hold. So she chose to state her terms directly.
As for the Dragon Ball?
Was it really released by the Assassin Guild? She had picked it up on a beach and kept it because it looked interesting. She only started taking it seriously because of John Wick's bounty.
Hearing her request, John Wick frowned. Debts of favor were the hardest to repay. After all, much of his current situation stemmed from the blood oath he once made with Santino.
"Can we change the terms?"
"I saw that you run boxing matches. How about I fight one for you?"
"With my current fame, I should be quite popular on the dark web."
Xu Xialing was tempted, but then considered that John Wick was now connected to the Assassin Guild. If what he said was true—if he had passed their evaluation—then his promise as a Guild member was far more valuable.
Someday, she might be able to borrow the Assassin Guild's power through him.
After realizing this, Xu Xialing shook her head.
"No. I want a favor. A promise."
John Wick sighed.
"No room for discussion?"
"I can offer more money."
Xu Xialing smiled.
"John, this thing is worthless to me—but priceless to you."
"It's your life."
John Wick fell silent for two seconds.
She was right. To him, it was invaluable—it was his life.
"…Alright. I promise."
Hearing his agreement, Xu Xialing smiled.
"Give me a token."
John Wick nodded, pulled out a bullet unique to the Assassin Guild, and handed it to her.