Repeated Refusals

Ginny watched John Wick walk away, her red lips parting as she said, "That was the Night Demon? Looks like he turned down Lord Shinobi!"

"And that legendary assassin even got beaten up."

After saying that, Ginny fixed her bright eyes on Charlotte Doyle, wanting to see how he would respond.

Charlotte Doyle merely smiled. "He retired from the assassin world four years ago. It's only normal for him to get hurt when suddenly attacked. Right now, he doesn't want to have too much to do with us."

"But after retiring, he's stirred up trouble again. I'm afraid it won't be possible for him to stay completely uninvolved with the assassin world. This incident will drag him all the way back in."

"And no one can refuse Charlotte Doyle's goodwill. Not even the Night Demon."

As they spoke, John Wick had already finished talking with Winston. After getting the addresses of several punks from Adina, he left the bar.

Seeing John Wick leave, Ginny smiled. "He's gone. Aren't you going to follow him and take a look?"

Charlotte Doyle shook his head and said slowly, "No need. He'll return to the hotel. The story has only just begun; there'll be plenty of chances."

After casually having two drinks, Charlotte Doyle said, "I'll take you home. New York isn't peaceful at night."

The two left The Continental Hotel. After escorting Ginny back to her residence and watching the Room Door close, Charlotte Doyle turned and returned to The Continental Hotel.

Inside the room, Ginny leaned against the Room Door. Only after confirming that Charlotte Doyle had left did she slowly straighten up.

She had known Charlotte Doyle for some time, and she had been his assistant for half a year.

She had originally been an assassin from The Textile Factory, though she was not a registered member of The Continental Hotel. A failed mission had nearly cost her her life.

It was also because of that mission that she left The Textile Factory. When the mission ended, she collapsed in front of Charlotte Doyle's home. He saved her, and from then on, she quit the business.

Especially after learning that he was also an assassin, she chose to become his assistant, helping Charlotte Doyle gather mission intelligence and handle various miscellaneous matters.

Over the past half year, she had left The Textile Factory, and they had not contacted her again, as though they had silently accepted her departure. But today, she received news from The Textile Factory: Cross had betrayed them!

At that moment, she did not know whether she should trouble Charlotte Doyle with this.

Meanwhile, after returning to The Continental Hotel, Charlotte Doyle waited quietly. His room was at the end of that floor, right next to John Wick's room.

Time slowly passed.

The sound of a Room Door opening rang out. Charlotte Doyle knew John Wick had returned.

Sure enough, not long afterward, sounds of fighting came from the room next door.

Although Charlotte Doyle did not go over, he already knew what the fight looked like.

Perkins, the female assassin who had violated The Continental Hotel's Rules, had her head covered with a bedsheet while John pounded her in the face.

Charlotte Doyle knew someone would notify the hotel front desk, so he had no intention of calling them himself.

Thinking of The Continental Hotel's Rules, Charlotte Doyle felt rather speechless.

No killing.

There was nothing inherently wrong with that rule, but once the other party attacked, you still could not kill them inside the hotel because you had to obey the Rules.

After all, they might have broken the Rules, but you still had to follow them. Otherwise, you too would be regarded as a rulebreaker and punished by The Continental Hotel.

Otherwise, John Wick would not have shown mercy.

Before long, the sounds of fighting stopped. John emerged victorious.

Charlotte Doyle opened his own Room Door and looked at Perkins crawling along the hallway, silently shaking his head.

John, having just hung up the phone, came out and grabbed her from behind. He pressed a pistol to Perkins's head and finally got the information he wanted...

Then he knocked her unconscious with a single blow from the pistol's grip. At that moment, Harry, who was staying in the room next to John's, heard the commotion and opened his Room Door with a pistol in hand.

The sound of the pistol being cocked caught John's attention. He paused, unsure whether the person behind him was an enemy or whether he wanted the bounty on his head.

Without turning around, he heard a voice behind him. "Do we know each other?"

Hearing the familiar voice, John Wick replied, "I think we do."

John Wick raised both hands, indicating that he had no intention of attacking.

Just as he raised his head and was about to turn around, he discovered that the Room Door in front of him had opened as well, with a man standing there.

It was Charlotte Doyle, whom he had met twice in one day. After pausing for a moment, John still turned around and greeted the Black assassin behind him. "Hey, Harry."

Harry glanced at the three of them. When his gaze fell on Charlotte Doyle, his pupils involuntarily shrank. Then he asked John, "Everything okay?"

John Wick answered, "I'm fine."

"Then handle it yourself."

Harry turned, intending to return to his room, but John Wick called out to him. "Hey, Harry."

"Want to earn a Gold Coin? Help me keep an eye on this sleeping woman."

Harry answered expressionlessly, "Catch and release?"

John Wick replied with humor, "That's right. Cat and mouse."

Hearing John Wick say that, Harry accepted the job. He took out a pair of handcuffs from his room, locked Perkins's hands behind her back, and brought her into his room.

Standing in the doorway, Charlotte Doyle held a bottle of Chivas and an empty glass. He smiled at John Wick, who had temporarily finished handling his business. "John, want a drink? Those injuries of yours aren't light."

As he spoke, he used the hand holding the glass to point at John's injured abdomen.

Perkins had punched that spot several times just now. Blood was already seeping out, staining the gauze around the wound red.

John Wick walked over, took the Chivas and the glass, poured himself a drink, and downed it in one gulp.

"This is good." He looked at the label—Chivas 1987—then handed both the bottle and glass back to Charlotte Doyle.

Charlotte Doyle took them and said, "John, you're looking a little rough. Do you need help with what comes next?"

"Charlotte Doyle, I've already retired. This is a personal grudge. I can handle it."

John Wick clearly did not want to be dragged back into the mire of the assassin world, so he refused the friend who had repeatedly offered his help.

Charlotte Doyle shrugged regretfully. "All right, then. John, be careful. If the Night Demon falls here, it'll be a loss for the assassin world."

Charlotte Doyle then turned and returned to his room, closing the Room Door behind him.

As for Harry, the Black assassin responsible for watching Perkins, Charlotte Doyle had no intention whatsoever of warning him about the danger to his life.

Some Black man—whether he lived or died had nothing to do with him.