Bon Voyage

The next day.

Lake woke up feeling refreshed.

Today was another energetic day.

Thinking about the 1.5 million he would receive today, Lake felt incredibly pleased, even with a broad smile on his face as he ate breakfast.

"Stop smiling."

"..."

Lake looked up at his girlfriend. She said, "Eat quickly, so I can finish up and head back to the precinct."

Just as Lake had expected.

New York City had been quite chaotic late last night. By early morning, according to incomplete statistics, there had been over twenty emergency calls the previous night, with an unusually high frequency.

Manhattan.

Brooklyn.

Queens.

Even out in Long Island, people had reported gunfights. But what was curious was that when patrol officers arrived at the scenes, there were bloodstains on the ground, but no bodies.

Some reported incidents didn't even have bloodstains.

It was very strange.

No one at the NYPD could figure out what was going on, but all personnel were still required to report to headquarters as soon as possible. Maureen was one of those who needed to go quickly.

Lake didn't need to.

He was on leave.

Sick leave, with a full week of rest. After all, for a detective, having his gun-wielding right hand in a sling was pretty much the same as a long-distance runner losing their legs.

Lake said to Maureen, "It's fine. A cleaning service will come over later."

Seeing this, Maureen said, "Then I'll head out. You stay home and behave. Remember, you're injured, you're a casualty."

Lake nodded in agreement.

Stay at home?

How could that be possible? If he stayed home, how would he collect his 1.5 million? After a night of intense gunfights, Lake figured Carlos must be nearing his limit.

If he delayed and got taken out by another competitor, Lake wouldn't know who to cry to.

So...

Ten minutes after his girlfriend Maureen left, Lake also went downstairs. As he went down, he asked his downstairs neighbor, Cassell, who was struggling to come up with plot ideas for his new book and had written his male protagonist to death, to help by opening the door when the cleaning service arrived.

He exited Starlight Tower.

Turned the corner.

Lake, having removed his rule-bound prop, the Gold-rimmed Glasses, walked to the roadside, flagged down a taxi, got in, and gave the driver the address Carlos had arranged.

Hell Gate Bridge.

20th Street.

Lake got out of the taxi, his gaze falling on the sewage treatment plant about a kilometer away, situated right by the East River bank, which had been bankrupt for some time.

That was the address Carlos and Lake had agreed upon.

One million, here I come.

As Lake got out of the taxi, he had wondered if Carlos was trying to trick him. However, as he walked towards the sewage treatment plant, that thought disappeared.

There were many assassins here.

As for how Lake recognized them, he could only say it was a professional intuition. It was like how a smoker could clearly identify fellow smokers in a crowd.

Walking into the sewage treatment plant.

The first thing Lake saw were several assassins hiding around the perimeter. Their attention was uniformly focused on the dark factory building not far away.

"Bang!"

A muffled sound echoed.

Lake watched as an assassin cautiously entered the factory, and after the muffled sound, he collapsed ten meters inside the factory entrance.

Shot through the skull with a bullet!

Overestimating himself!

Lake chuckled inwardly, feeling no sympathy for the dead assassin. There were more and more newcomers entering the assassin world these days, and the quality of assassins was declining.

Furthermore...

The ones who came here for the bounty were all assassins with relatively poor overall quality. In other words, top-tier assassins who were financially independent wouldn't come for a small sum like 1.5 million.

And those who were top-tier but not financially independent wouldn't come even less.

Carlos the Cross was on their level, so they understood Carlos's strength. It wasn't worth it for 1.5 million, and the 1.5 million bounty wasn't enough to make top-tier assassins form a team to take down Carlos.

So...

Carlos really held out all night.

But that's as far as it goes.

Lake shook his head, lifting his foot slightly, and walked towards the factory building where three bodies already lay by the entrance.

Just then.

Bang!

A bullet fired from a silenced sniper rifle flew straight at Lake from behind, aiming directly for the back of his head.

"Bang!"

"Thwack!"

Lake drew his gun in a counter-attack, flicking it to shoot down the bullet, then pulled the trigger again, instantly blasting the young assassin perched on the water tower. He chuckled coldly, looking around. "If you don't have the skill, don't come here to die. Is it worth it?" After speaking.

Lake, not bothering with the outside assassins' thoughts, directly entered the factory.

"Bang!"

"Bang!"

Lake blasted away an artfully angled bullet, a smile curving his lips. "I'm not going to be buried with you, Carlos."

Carlos, clutching his abdomen, stood up somewhat pale from behind a barrier inside the factory, and chuckled. "I had to try, to see if you're qualified to take my bounty."

Lake nodded. "Understood."

If he were in Carlos's position, he wouldn't be content to be killed by someone weaker than him either. After all, this was the last stubbornness of a strong individual.

Lake stood at the factory entrance and, without even looking, fired a shot behind him, blasting the thigh of an assassin who seemed ready to sneak in and pick up the pieces. He then looked at Carlos. "You're injured?"

Carlos managed a weak laugh. "Ran into a rather troublesome fellow."

"Freelancer or organization assassin?"

"Organization."

"Black Caesar?"

"No."

"Arthur?"

"That guy only causes accidents, he wouldn't go head-to-head with me."

"That's true. Then there aren't many who could kill you. Could it be someone from the Assassin's Guild?"

"Yes."

Lake exclaimed, "Wow," and blasted another fearless assassin with a shot. "Those guys are a bunch of fearless killers."

Carlos agreed. "When I killed him, I couldn't see any fear in his eyes at all."

Lake spoke as if chatting about daily life. "I heard that the assassins from that company are all the same. I strongly suspect they're clones."

Carlos said, "If you had cloning technology, would you train these people as assassins?"

Lake shook his head. "No."

After speaking.

Lake and Carlos both burst into laughter.

After a while.

Carlos took a few deep breaths, then moved his right hand that was pressing on his abdomen. Instantly, the wound bled profusely. With a swish, Carlos stared intently at Lake, as if trying to see into Lake's heart. "Remember your promise, Black King."

Lake didn't dodge, meeting Carlos's gaze directly. "I will keep my promise. As long as he doesn't court death himself, I guarantee his normal life."

Carlos nodded, took a photo of a woman from his pocket, looked at it deeply, kissed it, and then closed his eyes. "Do it."

Lake said, "Alright, farewell!"

As the words fell.

Bang!

PS: Black Caesar - from John Wick!

PS: Arthur - from The Mechanic!

PS: Assassin's Guild - from Hitman!