The Fading Tiger Is Still a Tiger

I worked hard to earn this money, why should someone else take it.

Lake narrowed his eyes and, without holding back, began to mock the many assassins in the bar.

The expressions of the assassins in the bar all changed in unison.

With a snap.

A bald man, whose codename was Baldy and lived up to his name, slammed his hand on the table and stood up, "Black King, you are too arrogant."

Lake's lips curved upwards. "Oh really? I'm sorry, that's just my personality. If you don't like it, go ahead and shoot."

"You think I wouldn't dare?"

"Heh."

Lake lowered his head and chuckled.

The next second.

A Glock 17 appeared in Lake's hand, the muzzle pointed at Baldy.

Baldy's face changed drastically. "Black King, this is The Continental Hotel."

Lake tilted his head. "I know. I also know that I dare to shoot here. Want to bet?"

Baldy: "..."

The bartender stopped wiping his glass, but he didn't choose to report the situation. Instead, he watched with great interest from the side.

The other assassins didn't make any moves either, they just looked at Lake and Baldy.

Lake wore a smile that never left his face.

Baldy, on the other hand, had a shifting gaze.

After a while.

Baldy snorted, calling him a lunatic, then stood up and walked towards the elevator.

Fine.

He didn't dare to bet.

Although shooting was strictly forbidden inside The Continental Hotel, if Lake actually fired, Baldy would be dead. No matter how you looked at it, he would be the one at a disadvantage.

So...

Baldy chickened out.

Seeing this, Lake chuckled, spun the pistol in his hand, and it disappeared.

"Impressive."

"Can't compare to you."

Lake smiled at Carlos, who was sitting opposite him. "You're the top assassin in the assassin world. I'm just a nobody, and I earn my money through hard work. So, if someone tries to steal my money, I get very angry. So angry that only by killing their entire family, leaving no chickens or dogs alive, can my hatred be appeased."

His voice was low, but it was enough to be heard throughout the entire venue.

Lake was once again warning everyone in the bar not to try and steal his money.

Just then.

A voice came from the bar's loudspeaker.

[Assassin Cross, the expulsion order will take effect in one hour. The bounty is 1.5 million, and the bounty is open to everyone.]

It has begun!

Lake raised an eyebrow and looked at Carlos, who was sitting opposite him.

Carlos's expression didn't change at all.

He knew this moment would come and had already prepared himself mentally.

The assassins in the bar began to stir and move towards the elevator, intending to find a favorable position outside The Continental Hotel first.

The bartender had already come out from behind the bar, ready to politely ask Carlos to leave. From the moment the expulsion order took effect, all businesses under The Continental Hotel and within the assassin world would be closed to Carlos.

"Cross first..."

"Wait."

"..."

Carlos made a gesture to wait to the bartender, who had already reached their table. He then downed the last glass of whiskey in front of him and looked at Lake, "Can you give me one night?"

Lake didn't speak, he just looked at Carlos.

Carlos smiled. "Since I have to leave, I plan to find a few more people to accompany me. Can you give me one night?"

Lake said, "I have no objections. It's just, can you hold on?"

He had told his girlfriend, Maureen, that he was coming out to buy cigarettes tonight. If he stayed out for another two hours, Lake felt that his girlfriend would likely call the emergency services to report him missing while he was out buying cigarettes.

Then the NYPD would be mobilized city-wide, which would be troublesome.

After all, it wasn't an impossible scenario, considering Lake had recently wiped out an assassin organization.

Just...

Could Carlos last one night?

"Don't worry!" Carlos stood up, handing the note in his hand to Lake and said, "For him, I'll persevere too. This is the only thing I can do."

Lake took the note without looking at it, nodded, and said, "Alright, have a good hunt."

Carlos smiled, "Thanks!"

After saying that.

Carlos turned and walked towards the elevator, his departure casual and unburdened.

Tonight, New York was likely to erupt in a bloodbath.

Lake thought to himself, then downed the bourbon in front of him. After contemplating that Carlos had already left The Continental Hotel, he finally stood up and walked towards the elevator.

Although it was a bit short of the two million US dollars bounty he had imagined.

But...

One and a half million US dollars wasn't a small amount either. It was enough for fifteen prize draws.

A huge profit.

Starlight Tower.

Maureen, who was sitting at the bar reading a book and waiting for Lake to return in her pajamas, turned to look at Lake as he entered the room. She frowned slightly, "Did you go all the way to New Jersey to buy cigarettes?"

Lake shrugged, "I ran into a friend on the way and we chatted for a while."

Maureen gave Lake a look, then stood up and came over to help him take off his coat. Her movements paused slightly, "You've been drinking too?"

Lake replied, "Just a couple of drinks at the bar."

Maureen was a bit speechless, "You're injured and you're still drinking? Do you really think you're made of iron?"

"That playboy is the one made of iron."

"What?"

"...Nothing!"

Lake laughed it off, then hugged his girlfriend with one arm, "Don't worry, I'm fine. I should be fully recovered in three days."

Maureen looked at Lake with a helpless expression and sighed, shaking her head, "Go take a shower."

Lake smiled and said, "Yes, ma'am!"

Late into the night.

Lake, bare-chested, leaned against the bed. He first glanced at his girlfriend Maureen, who was sleeping soundly beside him, then his gaze fell on the bay window in the bedroom. He wanted to see New York under the starry sky through the window curtains.

New York was probably going to be exceptionally busy tonight.

Two hours had already passed.

Carlos's final hunt had likely begun. He wondered how many overconfident assassins would end up as bodyguards for Carlos.

Lake thought to himself.

In Lake's mind, Carlos's threat level was even higher than John Wick's.

It was simple.

Carlos was a top assassin from The Assistance, possessing the miraculous skill of Gun Fu. John Wick was also formidable, but in terms of personal combat ability, he was far inferior to Carlos, who could make bullets curve.

With eighty percent of the assassin world only knowing how to spray bullets wildly, perhaps they might have a chance if they attacked together. But expecting to claim Carlos's bounty alone was undoubtedly asking for trouble.

Lake glanced at the phone on his bedside table.

He wasn't worried at all about the phone ringing later. Before Carlos's bounty order took effect, The Continental Hotel's clean-up crew had probably already started deploying to various corners of New York.

No bodies.

Naturally, no cases. However, tonight, the patrolling police officers would likely be sleepless.