Carlos!
The top assassin of The Assistance, and one of the top ten assassins on the entire assassin rankings—in simple terms, Carlos was practically an idol in the hearts of countless assassins and rookie assassins.
But...
That was in the past. Now, he was someone countless assassins both admired and pitied.
Without exception.
Because Carlos had betrayed his organization, The Assistance.
The assassin business wasn't about hosting dinner or some beautiful tale of romance and moonlight. Before The Continental Hotel, the assassin world might have grown wild and unchecked. But after The Continental Hotel emerged and spent more than a decade establishing rules for the entire assassin world, everything changed.
Put it this way.
After The Continental Hotel rose to prominence as the arbiter of those rules, any assassin who dared betray their organization had only one path: death. There were no exceptions.
Don't be fooled by the fact that Carlos could still drink at The Continental Hotel. That was only because it wasn't time for The Continental Hotel to act yet.
Carlos wasn't a directly employed assassin of The Continental Hotel. He belonged to one of the chain partners operating under The Continental Hotel.
For directly employed assassins, once a betrayal occurred, The Continental Hotel would issue a Wanted notice and place a bounty on them. They would be hunted until dead.
But the chain partners?
The chain partner would deal with it first. If they couldn't handle it, or if the assassin wiped out the chain partner instead, only then would The Continental Hotel step in, clean up the mess, and deal with that assassin.
The Continental Hotel did this to reassure the other assassin organizations. After all, The Continental Hotel was immensely powerful. If it casually interfered in the internal affairs of other assassin organizations, the entire world would have rebelled against it by now.
So...
Carlos's fate had been sealed the moment he betrayed The Assistance, regardless of his reason. He was going to die—the only question was how many people he could take down with him.
Would he die alone, or take how many members of The Assistance with him?
Lake watched Carlos down whiskey after whiskey. A faint smile touched his lips as he walked over.
"Hi!"
"..."
Lake looked at Carlos, who raised his head with an expressionless face and said nothing. He smiled, sat down across from Carlos, and waved toward the bar. "Two bourbons."
One glass cost one gold coin, and two glasses cost one gold coin too. Naturally, Lake chose two.
Soon.
The bartender brought over the bourbon.
Lake took the glasses, handed the bartender a gold coin, and then, under Carlos's watchful gaze, placed both bourbons in front of himself.
Carlos's brow twitched. He looked at Lake and asked, "Do you need something?"
Lake took a sip of bourbon and shook his head. "No. I just wanted to come over and see what the legendary Cross from the assassin rankings looks like."
The assassin world had its own hierarchy.
Lake?
Lake had no rank to speak of. He was a freelance assassin. If the assassin world was compared to the takeout industry, then The Continental Hotel was the Meituan with a complete monopoly, while the other assassin organizations were franchise partners under Meituan.
The directly employed assassins of The Continental Hotel were salaried Meituan assassins. The assassins working for the other franchise partners were their respective delivery assassins.
A freelance assassin like Lake was equivalent to a crowdsourced assassin.
Yeah.
Most of the jobs Lake accepted were orders that the Meituan assassins and delivery assassins didn't want, or jobs that slipped through when they were too busy.
It sounded rather pitiful.
But Lake didn't see it that way. If he became a directly employed assassin or a delivery assassin, he was afraid he would ravage the entire assassin world.
How would he make money then?
Besides...
Lake liked a life with some excitement, but he didn't want to spend all 356 days of the year living on the edge.
Carlos frowned. "You've seen me. You can leave now."
"I will."
Lake smiled. "Cross, may I ask you something a little personal?"
"No."
"Why not?"
"Because I'll kill you."
"This is The Continental Hotel."
"I'm a dead man walking."
"Understood."
Lake nodded. "So you've already made up your mind to die. Do you really have nothing left to worry about?"
That was why Carlos was at The Continental Hotel while the other assassins from The Assistance hadn't come.
If Carlos saw them at The Continental Hotel, he would probably open fire immediately. But Fire Fox and the others didn't dare. If Carlos lived and they died, or if Carlos died, they would still be targeted by a bounty from The Continental Hotel for opening fire.
Carlos remained expressionless. "No."
Lake swirled the bourbon in his hand, the corners of his mouth curling upward. "Not even Wesley..."
Before he could finish.
Lake suddenly felt something press against his thigh.
It was cold.
The sensation of a gun muzzle.
Carlos's eyes narrowed, and his entire body radiated the aura of a cornered beast. "Move, and see what happens."
Lake's smile didn't change. "I have a proposal."
I think I can make money twice.
The moment Lake walked into the hotel and saw Carlos in the bar, this thought had suddenly surfaced in his mind.
He could profit from both sides.
No.
He could get paid three times.
As one of the top-ranked assassins in the world, Carlos had some savings despite Director Sloan embezzling most of The Assistance's operating funds. As one of The Assistance's top assassins, Carlos still had a decent fortune.
Carlos stared at Lake's completely unpanicked eyes. After a moment of silence, he said tersely, "Speak!"
Lake smiled. "You want your son, Wesley, to avoid becoming like you and live an ordinary life. So here's my proposal: I'll make sure Wesley gets to live a normal life."
Carlos remained expressionless. "What do I have to pay?"
"Everything!"
Lake's smile remained. "As far as I know, although the assassins of The Assistance don't participate in events organized by The Continental Hotel, you still have some gold coins and savings. Simply put, give me your inheritance, and I guarantee Wesley the most ordinary life possible."
Carlos smiled for the first time.
Lake felt the pistol withdraw from his thigh.
Carlos looked at Lake, burst into laughter twice, downed the whiskey in front of him, and then said mockingly, "Do you know how many people have come to covet my inheritance tonight?"
As the saying went.
Not every assassin had a mansion and a sports car.
Every profession had its elite. Aside from the tiny handful at the very top who could make real money, most assassins lived only slightly above the subsistence line, just like blue-collar workers outside.
Lake smiled. "I'm different from them. That's why this involves something else. I can do the job first, and you can pay me afterward."
Carlos: "..."
Please leave a three-part support! Lao Mi thanks you, nya!
Before you continue