Chapter 7: Young Miss Arrives, Part 4
“So you’re just an irrelevant bystander?”
After returning home and finding Youyou gone, I began to pursue her according to Lan’s instructions.
However, the other party’s methods were surprisingly skillful. In just a minute, they managed to disable all the cameras and escape Lan’s sight.
Unable to find the target immediately, I decided to go straight to their lair.
After subduing the place and interrogating a certain rich, tall, and handsome man by pulling his hair, I discovered that this rich second generation young master seemed to know absolutely nothing. What a waste of time.
“Huh?! What?!”
“Stop being so startled, am I some kind of devil? Why are you so afraid of me?”
I merely used a slightly forceful method, and this rich young master spilled everything. But there wasn’t a single useful piece of information.
As it turned out, this guy was just using the most old-fashioned method. He didn’t even intend to kill me with the assassins. No, killing me was a minor issue. What he really wanted to do was stage a very cliché hero saves the damsel scenario: have villains kidnap Lianbing and Youyou, and then pretend to be a righteous superhero to ‘save’ them. But the kidnapping hadn’t even happened yet, and problems had already arisen.
“Do you really not know?”
“I don’t know! I really don’t know!”
“You don’t even have the backbone or ferocity of a typical villain from an urban novel. You caved so quickly. I get it, it’s called ‘a gentleman’s revenge takes ten years to enact,’ right?”
“Where did I…”
At this moment, the young master of the Long family was like a deflated ball, covering his right cheek which I had just slapped, and collapsing on the ground like a deflated ball. I hadn’t even begun interrogating him. I had only demonstrated the dismemberment technique on his bodyguard in front of him, and this guy immediately surrendered.
Seeing a tall, handsome man, who just minutes ago was acting like a domineering CEO, kneeling before me with an expression akin to a submissive, I couldn’t help but sigh. Dominance and submission aren’t just about appearance, but also about inner potential. Ahem, I mean, people really put on a good show on the surface.
That’s right, his own life was definitely the most important—Only a fool would value another person’s life more than their own. Only a fool would.
“So, your subordinate is the real mastermind?” That guy was hiding pretty deeply. From the rich second generation’s account, a subordinate named Lu Haoyu was responsible for bringing the people. He also hired an A-class assassin from Black Street. Once the mission was complete, they would immediately bring the people to him for the planned performance. But Lu Haoyu didn’t bring them. He was probably part of Eden. Of course, that was just a guess. If they truly considered Youyou the Son of God, they wouldn’t have treated her so roughly. But the room was a mess, and perhaps they had already used some violent methods on Youyou. Thinking of this, my inner anger became even more uncontrollable.
“Hey, call your subordinate. Now. Immediately.”
“Y-Yes.”
Kicked by me, the rich second generation quickly got up and made the call, handing the phone to me respectfully. The other party didn’t seem inclined to waste words. It was obvious that people from Eden wouldn’t easily return an important Son of God. So, I simply issued a threat and then smashed the phone on the spot.
“Ah, sorry, this is your phone, right? My bad, I’ll buy you a new one later?”
“N-No! No need! Really, no need!”
“Is that so? Why are you so scared of me? Besides slapping you just now, I don’t think I’ve done anything else to you.”
I had originally planned to use waterboarding or something if this guy turned out to be a tough rich second generation, but there was no opportunity for that.
“To be honest, my Long family has always had a special inherited ability called ‘Qi Observation Technique.’ In our eyes, we can see how strong a person’s ‘qi’ is. I’ve relied on this technique to identify talent and expand my business.”
Qi Observation Technique? I don’t even know if qi exists. I suspect he saw something else. So, this rich second generation is this afraid of me because he can see something else about me?
“Then let me ask you, what level do I appear as in your eyes? Tell me the truth, and I won’t hit you.”
*SF Light Novel* “Oh.”
I slapped him.
“You said you wouldn’t hit me!”
“You’re not a child anymore, believing such a thing.”
However, it seems this guy’s ability is genuine. That’s great! This is simply a natural ‘ability user detector,’ isn’t it?
Just then, Lan sent a map to my phone. It should be the location where Lu Haoyu’s phone last emitted a signal. It looks quite far away.
“Perfect, you’re coming with me.”
“W-Wait?! No!”
“Black Street Assassin Rank A-23, Cold Hand. Proficient in firearms, short blade combat, and hacking. Master-level skills in intrusion, stealth, tracking, and counter-tracking. Due to his habit of severing his targets’ hands, he is nicknamed Cold Hand. He enjoys traveling the world and accepts assignments on a whim, often completing a mission wherever he finds himself.”
In the factory’s office, a rough man wearing sunglasses revealed the intelligence on Cold Hand piece by piece. After speaking, the man in sunglasses sat on the sofa with a smile. Two stern-looking men in suits stood beside him, and there were many others outside. Cold Hand and Lu Haoyu were kneeling on the ground, their hands bound.
“Heh. You know me very well. Are you my fan?”
“I was also a killer in Black Street.”
The man paused and continued. Cold Hand’s mocking smile faded, and he squinted his eyes slightly. S-class is not just a rank; it represents the authority of the entire assassin community. One doesn’t become S-class simply by completing more missions or killing more people. The S-class slots are limited, with only ten in total. To become S-class, one must kill an S-class killer already on the list. This sounds terrifying, as no one wants to be targeted by assassins daily. Nevertheless, many killers are eager to reach the S-class. Honor? No, no one cares about that. What they care about is power. Becoming S-class means breaking free from the ‘assassin being hired’ paradigm and wielding immense power. Some say S-class assassins are equivalent to the president of a country, kings of the underworld. But with such power comes corresponding responsibility. Except for the tenth-ranked [Shadowless Rakshasa], whose true identity has never been revealed, most S-class killers are already powerful figures in their own right. Cold Hand had once seen the current ninth-ranked [Annihilator], whose skill in killing without a trace was beyond ordinary human capabilities. Abilities, that’s right, most killers who hold S-class positions are those with special abilities.
The man in sunglasses before me also claims to be S-class. If he’s telling the truth, then there might be no hope at all.
“Actually, most ability users in organizations used to be assassins or mercenaries, engaging in life-risking work. It’s not that they value money that much; they primarily use their abilities for killing because it’s more convenient.”
“Just for convenience…” Lu Haoyu realized that his worldview was completely different from this man’s. Although he wouldn’t claim to be a good person himself, the views of the man before him were decidedly non-human. If these people ruled the world, what would the world become? He dared not imagine and lowered his head resignedly. After all, no matter what happened to the world, he probably wouldn’t see it.
“If you can use your abilities better, why not? Why should we live in the same world as inferior and incompetent people like you? Aren’t we superior to you?”
Yes, if you have abilities, why not use them? Concealing your talent? No, talented people can never hide their brilliance. This world values talent, and there are differences between people.
“After becoming S-class, I once thought I had reached the pinnacle of the world… until I met that g…” The man in sunglasses had a look of intoxication on his face. Cold Hand felt that the other party had been completely brainwashed, no different from a religious fanatic.
“You’ve seen it, haven’t you? The abilities of that newly emerged Son of God.” SF Light Novel
Even though it was only for a moment, the explosive power was enough to make Cold Hand break out in a cold sweat. The power that erupted from the little girl… it was pure repulsion.
“Even if you don’t say it, I can guess. That power, it’s immense, right? The kind of power that can control nature. That is the true power that can change the world.” The man in sunglasses spoke ecstatically, as if seeing a beautiful future beckoning him.
Suddenly, a booming sound came from the doorway, not like an explosion, but more like the sound of something being broken through. The man in sunglasses picked up the intercom and asked the others outside.
“What’s the situation?”
“Report! BOSS! An enemy has broken in!”
“What? How many people? From where?”
“From, from the front!”
The front? Before the man in sunglasses could say anything else, noise erupted from the other end of the intercom, followed by a barrage of gunfire. From here, one could also see the intense flashes of gunfire outside. Explosions, shouts, and various other sounds mixed together, like dozens of people engaged in a firefight.
“Hey! Reply immediately! Who is the opponent! Are they those ignorant fools from the Salvation Army?!”
“N-No! It’s one person! Just one person!”
“What?” The man in sunglasses frowned, realizing this was no simple matter. The gunfire ceased, and everything seemed to quiet down, but soon screams filled the air again.
“Help! Help! He! He’s here! He’s killed everyone in front! He’s not human! He’s a monster!” The voice on the intercom was filled with panic and fear, then the call was completely cut off. The man in sunglasses sensed something was wrong. Just one person, and they broke through from the front. Is he an ability user?
“Heh. It seems the tables have turned.” Although he didn’t know who had arrived, Cold Hand was quite pleased. Seeing the exasperated expression on the man in sunglasses’ face was enough to bring him happiness.
