The weather was really nice that day, it was my favorite kind of afternoon, not too hot, with a gentle breeze blowing, feeling very pleasant on the skin. It was just in that moment I forgot I was about to become a murderer.

For people like us, "assassins" and "killers" are just fancy names that sugarcoat things. Thinking about all this, I suddenly lost the mood to enjoy the weather, my stomach felt hot but I didn't feel like eating anything. I don't know how other colleagues felt on their first mission, but right now, I feel awful.

I haven't met other colleagues, during training it's one apprentice per master, and my master thinks highly of me. He said out of all the apprentices he's had, I'm the most likable one. It's just because of the nature of our work, we can't get too close.

I wandered around a mall far from the scene, trying to be in people's sight as much as possible, I want everyone to know why I'm doing this. Around 6 PM, I took the bus to the operation site, couldn't take a taxi. Great, the bus was crowded, everything seemed to go smoothly.

I positioned the camera bag in front of me because there were three thieves on the bus, there are three types of people who can sense someone with a special profession: cops, colleagues, and professional killers. Those three thieves kept eyeing the woman's purse on my left, but I stood between them, and with so many people on the bus, they didn't get a chance to act.

I got off at my stop, people crowded to get off, I took the opportunity to grab the woman's butt, she yelled out, cursed loudly turning back, clearly not knowing who did it, visibly annoyed. The woman got off the bus, the thieves missed their chance.

At the operation site at 6:35 PM, just like when I scoped it out two days ago, this place was in a bustling area, at this time, the crowd still seemed somewhat congested. I sat on a pedestrian chair across the street from the restaurant, waiting for the target to show up.

Then, two cars in the middle of the road collided, not long after the traffic police arrived. The offending car blocked the road, causing a traffic jam, my mind went blank for a moment, encountering an accident on my first mission, my master said to stop the operation if any accidents happen, and wait for another opportunity.

Just then, the target's car appeared, coming from my left and turning right towards the restaurant's parking lot. Watching his car drive past me into the parking lot, my mind was in turmoil. To walk away or make a move? Walking away would be normal, but this is my first mission, how can I stand firm in the future if I do this now? Making a move, but the cops were just about 10 meters away across the street, could I escape smoothly?

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Then, he came out, alone. Damn it, here goes nothing! As he walked past me, I glanced at him with my peripheral vision, that moment of brushing shoulders, I've seen it countless times in movies, but I never expected to be the main character this time.

The pedestrian light was red, people were waiting for the green light, I stood behind him, quietly unzipping the camera bag, my hand reaching inside, pulling out the gun's hammer, pushing the barrel slightly out, eyes fixed on the pedestrian light... I kept reminding myself in my mind, remember, two shots, one to the heart, one to the right lung, if the crowd moves, shoot, stay calm, stay calm...

The pedestrian light turned green, the already jammed cars on the road barely moved a few steps before stopping again, drivers irritated, honking incessantly, my fingers squeezed the trigger.

"Bang, bang," the two gunshots mixed with the noisy crowd and car horns, sounding so faint, yet I could hear his muffled "uh" as his body slowly fell, head turning back, I avoided his gaze and walked to his other side, he lay on the ground, the crowd erupted, pedestrians crossing the street quickly surrounded him, women screamed, someone went to help him.

Then the police officers ran over, pushing through the crowd, seeing he was shot, they immediately began searching for the shooter. I was among the crowd, that's why I didn't leave immediately, always have to anticipate your opponent's moves to stay safe, it's one of my own rules. The police called for detectives and an ambulance, I watched as the man slowly lost his breath, his eyes starting to lose focus, I knew he wouldn't make it.

Only when the police started dispersing the onlookers did I leave, our eyes met briefly as they cleared the crowd, but I didn't look at them, just like the curious bystanders around me, listening to the police telling everyone to leave.

After firing the shots, I knew I couldn't just roam the streets freely anymore, couldn't go wherever I wanted or do whatever I pleased, always had to watch out for the police and enemies, had to isolate myself as much as possible, avoid interactions, even avoid being seen.

The company was pleased with my operation, after the mission, they gave me a bonus of ten thousand as encouragement, and arranged for a psychologist to provide me with counseling. Isn't it funny? But that's the reality, as my master said, every underworld has its own rules and systems, whether it's up or down, black or white.

After the first mission, I stayed at my residence, day in, day out, didn't go out. Ordered takeout for meals, switched between different places, played video games, read books, or just kept cleaning the gun over and over again, but the look in that man's eyes as he lay on the ground kept haunting me, the doctor said it's a normal psychological reaction, it'll pass in time.

So, a month went by like this, until the dispatcher gave me the second mission.