The Start to a Foreign World

“One million!”

“One million five hundred thousand!”

“Three million!”

….

The auction hall was very boisterous, filled with excitement from those who belonged to the upper classes of society. This was a place of riches and desires, where heaven and hell collided.

It had a name worthy of its extravagance, the City of Gold. Of course, there were some who called it the City of Fog as well. Those who were VIP were powerful people who could easily bring about wind and rain in either the business or political realm with just a flick of the hand. Besides them, nobody else knew of the City of Gold’s existence. Even if they did, they wouldn’t be able to find its entrance.

On the auction stage was none other than a gorgeous human doll. It was a delicate young male with golden locks and blue eyes. Occasionally, the rare and mysterious oriental complexion would debut.

These young and pretty boys would be wrapped up exquisitely with a bow tie like a gift. They would present their best on stage.

“Mr. Saad, please enter here.” A middle-aged man was guided by a server with a goatee. Their destination was a large room with a sign hung on its door, “Authorized Personnel Only”.

The server scanned his fingerprint and entered the password to open the double-locked door. He was being very careful because in that room was the most prized object in all of the City of Gold.

“What high-quality good were you able to get this time?” asked the middle-aged man. He was attractive with a natural air of charisma around him. More importantly, he was well-groomed.

The server replied with the utmost respectful tone, “Sir, this time, it’s absolutely the highest grade…. He’s an extremely beautiful oriental kitten. Mr. Brett said that you would like him so I brought you here to take a look first. If you’d like, we won’t list him. He’ll be all yours.”

“Oriental? Oriental boys have always been very delectable.” Mr. Saad gracefully licked his lips. He then asked, “How much did Mr. Brett say that he’s worth?” He hoped that the boy will meet his expectations.

“Ten million, sir. Mr. Brett said that he was worth more but seeing as you are our important client, we….”

“Ten million? This is the most expensive in all of the City of Gold’s history. Hard to believe that he’s worth more than Lejiere. That pretty little thing was only eight million.”

“Sir, you’ll know once you take a look. He’s definitely worth more, an exceptional case.”

Mr. Saad nodded, his eyes twinkling with anticipation.

Once inside, the server turned on the lamp, illuminating the small dark room no more than one meter away from its source.

Underneath the lamp was the City of Gold’s most coveted treasure.

The oriental kitten whom the server mentioned lay weakly on the floor. From top to bottom, he wore nothing but a pair of studded black pants. A silver choker with a long chain attached encircled his neck.

The little thing came to his senses under their intense gaze and trembled slightly, making him seem even more pitiful.

With perfect curves, his body was thin but taut. Under the light, he was fully displayed, his stubbornness and powerlessness evident. It was a tantalizing scene. Such a beautiful little kitty…. A pure-bred, black-colored one.

His throat tightened and the fire in Mr. Saad’s eyes blazed stronger than before.

“Baby….” Mr. Saad knelt down and caressed the kitten’s hair. It was very soft, just like Chinese silk and easily made one addicted to the texture.

After enjoying himself for a while, he pulled the kitten’s hair to lift his head up. What happened after left him breathless. Damn, this wasn’t a kitten at all but a seductive and dangerous panther cub! His facial features were delicate. The look in his eyes was vague yet sensual. The corner of his mouth was slightly curved upward, giving off a strange smirk.

Just then, everything happened in a split second, like a flash of lightning. The server stood there dazed and unable to process what had just happened. Earlier he was still a weak little human, so how did he become a murderous demon next? And the only weapon in this demon’s hand was a small razor blade?

The chained choker around his neck had already been sawed off with the small weapon. He had been waiting for this opportunity to strike back.

He nimbly retreated backwards after his initial kill was unsuccessful. Just when the opponent relaxed in that half of a second, he rushed forward to attack again. Such quick judgment and strong kinesthetic awareness! This little panther definitely made a good killing machine.

The server was frightened to death but he, who had extensive training, recovered shortly not long after. His first thought was that Mr. Saad was very impressive!

If one were to say that the kitty’s techniques were highly skilled, then Mr. Saad’s speed at dodging and countering and his intuition were something that an ordinary human couldn’t rival.

In that one moment when he had begun to sigh in admiration, the poor server had lost his focus and the result was…. The little kitten had escaped.

The entire assassination lasted no more than one minute! The kitty fled when he realized that he couldn’t kill his opponent.

After the kitty disappeared from sight, the server quickly called for the guards over the phone. When he had finished, he discovered that Mr. Saad was gone too. Strange. How come he didn’t see him leave?

It seemed as if the kitten had previously and meticulously planned his escape route. Every step of the way meant getting recaptured if he was just a second too late. Whether it was the guards or security cameras, or even the security system, they were all no match for his agility.

Just when he neared the exit, a figure suddenly appeared out of nowhere before him. He was Saad, B. M. Saad. And this mysterious Mr. Saad revealed an eerie but alluring smile. In the blink of an eye, the kitten was attacked.

T/N: Zero isn’t exactly a young boy but he is considered a baby in the eyes of a vampire. He’s 19 and trained as an assassin from early childhood. More will be explained later.

I abbreviated the full surname to B. M. Saad because Buck-Morris-Saad sounds weird. His first name is Lance. He’s the lead in the sister novel, Black Contract 黑色契約. That novel also dives deeper into Zero’s history, but I won’t be translating it.

Also, oriental is an appropriate term since the literal translation of the Chinese text is eastern.