4.

In front of a small herbal medicine shop, a black cat pawed aggressively at the door.

A small, silver lotus bell hung down from the entrance. As Yao opened the door, it gave off a few crisp clinks. "We're here. My squad members are nice and...interesting people, they don't bite, so you don't need to worry." Yao winked at Fain. The latter stood awkwardly in the centre of the shop, faced with the shelves of herbs lined against the walls.

"Yao!" A young boy leapt down from the stairs, then came to a forced stop in front of the stranger. He looked Fain up and down, like an alert kitten observing with its large eyes.

As Fain broke the confrontation with a sudden step back, the boy leapt back as well, and a row of gold darts appeared between his fingers, aimed towards Fain's expressionless face.

"Wan, don't be scared. This is Fain, he's...an old friend of mine." Yao walked between them with an awkward smile.

"Oh." Wan retrieved his darts. "I thought a thief had broken in."

"Also, I'm not scared! I've just been practicing too much lately. That's all." Wan added in a loudened tone.

"Wan, don't be rude." A young man walked down from the stairs. His eyebrows locked together slightly at the sight of Fain, then he turned to his younger brother. "Wan, stay composed, how many times do I have to tell you? Your enemy won't wait for you to gather yourself on the battlefield. Why do you always forget?"

Wan looked down at his boots.

"Julian, he's still young. I saw him in the training room the other night at almost past ten. Isn't that right, our hardworking marksman?" Yao bent over to rub Wan's head, yet touched a handful of air as the boy ducked down and ran off.

Julian shook his head. "He's turning fifteen next month, yet still stubborn as a bull."

He then turned to Fain. "Sorry, I haven't introduced myself yet. I'm Julian, the leader of the squad. I received Yao's message this morning, we've been waiting for a suitable assassin like you. Welcome to Moonlit, Fain."

Fain returned a shy smile. "Thank you for giving me the opportunity."

Yao noticed the dark circles under Julian's eyes and his unshaven chin. "Are the rumours true?"

Julian nodded his head. "The central committee has implemented new policies for next season."

He lit a cigarette, then continued, "So far from what I know, there will be a new points system. The squads that don't meet the target scores each month, will undergo compulsory correction and discipline training. All the tasks will be moved to a combined bounty list, regardless of area, level, status, all will have an equal chance to challenge the high level tasks and climb the leaderboard."

"And an equal chance to fall to the bottom." Fain commented.

"Well, squads like us are already not far from the bottom." Said Yao.

"Competition will be fierce. There will be many looking to replace the elite squads, now that the gates have opened." Puffs of smoke blurred Julian's tired emerald eyes.

"There will be a new executive branch as well, look." Yao pointed to a bolded headline on his phone screen. "To help better overlook all the unnatural power holder squads."

"The skies are changing." Julian then pulled out an open envelope from his pocket, and handed it to Yao. "We've been invited to the season commencement ceremony at the capital next week."

"Those that choose not to come, will not be registered into the new system." Yao smudged the red spider lily seal stamped on the front of the invitation. It looked more like a death threat, he thought. He believed that anyone who had experienced the first three years after the end of the Null War would agree with him. If they didn't, they were either dead inside or purely hopeless.

"We'll leave by this weekend. I'll send an announcement in our team chat about the details." Julian broke the silence, then went to one of the cupboards. "You two can stay in the rooms upstairs. There's also food in the fridge." He added some cat food into a metal bowl. "It's the second explosion this month right? Ugh those crazy rebels across the border. Wild dogs will always be wild. No wonder the government doesn't trust us power holders anymore."

Once Julian left the shop, Yao and Fain stared at each other.

"Yao, I need to tell you something."

"Wait, let me get some food first. I'm starving. Fain, can you cook?"

"Yeah?"

Meanwhile, Pearl chomped away at her little metal bowl.