Chapter Sixty-Eight: The Butterfly Dominates the Rankings

Xue Tian'ai had absolutely no idea why his QQ was suddenly flooded with so many messages, the notifications chiming non-stop until he was utterly bewildered. Qin Mengxue, on the other hand, was furious. She had clearly warned Xue Tian'ai not to make a sound, yet after a brief period of silence, the computer erupted with incessant noise once more, and even now it persisted.

"Xue Tian'ai! What did you promise me?" Qin Mengxue glared at him, her pretty face cold and severe.

"Wife, it was an accident, really! The headphone jack must have loosened a bit. I promise it won't make another sound!" Xue Tian'ai stared at his headphone port, a dark line crossing his face. He must have pressed the wire while moving the screen, causing the jack to slip and the sound to escape through the computer speakers. He hurriedly secured the headphones.

"Hmph! If it happens again, I won't let you off!" Qin Mengxue shot him a sharp look, snorted coldly, then turned back to her work.

"Heh heh, it won't happen again." Xue Tian'ai chuckled and, curious, opened the constantly flashing QQ icon. Who could be bombarding him with messages?

As he clicked the QQ icon, he was instantly dumbfounded. The messages were all from members of his Butterfly organization: Owl Butterfly, Weiss, Bamboo Leaf Butterfly... Although each sent only one message, the sheer number was overwhelming. There was one exception—Shigong Yan Yue, that little girl, had sent him a barrage of moody emojis, clearly blaming him for not contacting her since returning to the country, which made Xue Tian'ai sweat a little.

Aside from Shigong Yan Yue, the content from other members was nearly identical: urging Xue Tian'ai to log into the "BUTTERFLY" app on his phone—the custom software developed by the Butterfly organization for its own use. After all, platforms like QQ or WeChat belonged to others; given the nature of their profession, relying on third-party chat apps was unreliable. So Xue Tian'ai had spearheaded the creation of their exclusive Butterfly messaging app.

But Xue Tian'ai rarely logged into the "BUTTERFLY" app, only for online meetings or task assignments. He’d told his members to ping his QQ if something urgent came up, since he was often online, typically playing games in his free time.

What could have happened for so many to ping his QQ at once? Even Shigong Yan Yue was in the mood for emojis—it couldn’t be anything especially dangerous threatening Butterfly. So what was going on?

Xue Tian'ai took out his phone and opened the "BUTTERFLY" app. Almost as if all Butterfly members had been waiting for him, the moment he logged in, a flood of congratulatory messages and bouquets of emoji filled the group chat.

Puzzled, Xue Tian'ai typed quietly: "What’s happened? Why did you need me to log in?"

A piano avatar, coded as Monarch Butterfly—none other than Weiss—was first to reply: "Congratulations, Boss! Bravo, Boss! Boss, you're the best! Boss, you're the strongest!"

"Damn it, just tell me what’s going on," Xue Tian'ai said, annoyed at Weiss’s flattery.

"Boss, the new annual assassin power rankings just came out!" Owl Butterfly cut straight to the point, his avatar simply an owl.

"Hey! Owl, that was supposed to be my news! Didn’t we agree I’d be the first to tell Tian'ai?" protested a user whose avatar was Xue Tian'ai's own photo. This was Shigong Yan Yue, who idolized him like a fangirl, setting her avatar as his picture—according to her, only Tian'ai’s handsome face was worthy.

Owl Butterfly, cowed by Shigong Yan Yue's outburst, hurriedly retracted his message and sent two emoji, each reading "After you, after you."

Xue Tian'ai watched their exchange and couldn’t help but smile, a look of overflowing happiness spreading across his face.

"Tian'ai, listen to me! The new assassin power rankings for the Chip Platform are out!" Shigong Yan Yue excitedly typed, adding a cute selfie emoji.

"Boss, congratulations on clinching first place in the assassin rankings for the ninth consecutive year!" Weiss was ecstatic, pounding the exclamation key.

"Congratulations, Boss!"

"Boss, you’re awesome!"

"Boss is still our god!"

"BOSSYYDS (means 'forever our god')!"

Blessings and celebratory words flooded the chat screen. Xue Tian'ai smiled helplessly at the frenzy—these guys were more excited than he was.

He had long grown accustomed to holding the number one spot in the Chip Platform assassin rankings. Ever since he single-handedly completed the SSS bounty, his rating had remained the only SSS+ in the entire platform, firmly securing him as the top assassin.

"This was supposed to be my news! Stop it, stop it!" Shigong Yan Yue typed, nearly in tears. They’d agreed she would be the one to tell Xue Tian'ai, but Weiss had snatched the moment.

Yet with everyone spamming the chat, her message was quickly washed away, leaving her stamping her feet in frustration on the other side of the screen, powerless to do anything.

"Alright, alright, I get it. Let’s stop with the congratulations," Xue Tian'ai intervened, seeing the situation spiraling out of control.

As if his words carried magic, the chat immediately fell silent. On every screen, the latest message was Xue Tian'ai’s.

"I’m not particularly concerned with my own ranking. Did you call me online just to shower me with congratulations for my achievement? How did our organization do? What about everyone else?"

"Heh heh, Boss, you’d better see for yourself!" Weiss chuckled, posting a website link in the Butterfly group.

"Ah! Weiss, you stole my line again!" Shigong Yan Yue grumbled.

Xue Tian'ai smiled faintly and clicked the link. Instantly, his phone displayed the same interface as his computer—a ranking chart: the Chip Platform Assassin Power Rankings.

(First: Phantom Butterfly; Second: Jesus; Third: KING; Fourth: Archimedes; Fifth: Monarch Butterfly [Weiss]; Sixth: Rose Crystal Butterfly [Shigong Yan Yue]; Seventh: Heaven's Killer; Eighth: Owl Butterfly; Ninth: Lost Butterfly; Tenth: KAMI.)

A quick glance at the top ten made Xue Tian'ai’s eyes light up. Five Butterfly members were in the top ten—an unprecedented achievement since the organization’s founding. Last year, only Weiss, himself, and Shigong Yan Yue had made the cut.

He browsed further down the rankings, spotting more Butterfly members at respectable positions, nodding in satisfaction.

He then clicked the assassin organization rankings. His smile grew even broader: Butterfly was leading by a wide margin in tasks completed, efficiency, and quality—all ranked number one.

At this moment, Xue Tian'ai’s face was radiant with pride. The Butterfly organization was like his child, and seeing it so strong filled him with boundless joy.

There was a section on international assassin rankings, but Xue Tian'ai cared little for those. He exited Weiss’s link and returned to the group, immediately sending a massive red envelope.

Unlike QQ or WeChat, where red envelopes max out at two hundred yuan, the "BUTTERFLY" app had no limit—a feature Xue Tian'ai had designed.

This time he sent exactly ten million dollars, the envelope bearing the message: "Congratulations to Butterfly for sweeping the rankings!"

The group erupted in excitement as members scrambled for the red envelope. In less than thirty seconds, the ten million was snatched up.

Suddenly, Weiss cursed aloud: "F**K, Boss, you have to send me a private envelope!"

"Hahaha! Serves you right for stealing my lines earlier!" Shigong Yan Yue was overjoyed, posting a screenshot.

The screenshot showed the envelope details: Shigong Yan Yue had snagged two hundred thousand dollars, the luckiest of all, while Weiss... When Xue Tian'ai saw Weiss’s share, he nearly laughed himself silly—had Qin Mengxue not been beside him, he’d have burst out.

Ten million dollars, five hundred twenty-three envelopes, and Weiss had only grabbed... six hundred sixty-six dollars! He stood out like a crane among chickens.

"Weiss, you’re truly the luckiest! Six-six-six, indeed! I, Old Cat, salute you!" Owl Butterfly chimed in mischievously.

"Hahaha!" Shigong Yan Yue continued to mock Weiss, flooding the chat with 666 emojis.

Other members joined in, mercilessly ribbing him. Weiss could only angrily tag them all, responding with the universal gesture emoji.

"Ahem," Xue Tian'ai typed, sending a message.

The lively group instantly quieted.

"Let me say a few words. I’m very pleased with these assassin rankings. But I must remind you: the world we inhabit is a dark world, cruel and harsh—a place of absolute survival of the fittest. No one can afford to let their guard down. Keep improving yourselves! That’s all—meeting adjourned!"

With a smile, Xue Tian'ai sent the message, then quietly exited the app. He took a deep breath, leaned back into his comfortable chair, and exhaled slowly.

Suddenly, a plaintive voice sounded in his ear.

"Who were you chatting with, little girl? You looked so happy."