Stepdad Was Useless!

Attached to the file was a photo of the hostage: a young girl who looked older than her age.

After Xiao Miao finished reading the commission file, the system panel automatically popped up with mission details:

[Assassin commission detected: 96-hour international rescue. Accept?]

[Yes/No]

Setting the panel aside for the moment, Xiao Miao racked his brains trying to recall movies he had watched in his previous life. He had a strong sense of déjà vu about this commission, but he could not remember the details right away.

Seeing Xiao Miao fall silent, Charon sighed. "The reward for this job really isn't much—one gold coin plus a hundred thousand dollars—and it's an international mission. No one wants to take a losing job, so I downgraded it to see whether any newcomers would be willing to accept it. You said you wanted to make a big splash, so I came to you..."

"I want to meet the client," Xiao Miao said.

Whether this was really a movie plot or not, all he had to do was see whether the person involved had Fate Dice. Simple and direct.

Charon froze, then regained his hotel manager's composure two seconds later. He rose and nodded elegantly. "Of course, Mr. Smith. Please wait a moment."

Ten minutes later, a weary-looking, haggard man in a leather jacket entered the Continental Hotel. Led by Charon, he sat across from Xiao Miao.

[Story Character: Brian Mills]

[Current Bond: Level 1]

[Draw Cost: 100 Fate Points]

"So he really is a story character!"

Xiao Miao studied him without giving anything away. That aged face looked extremely familiar. Long-buried memories surfaced at last, and he finally remembered the movie this plot came from.

Taken!

It even seemed to be the first movie!

The film involved a large-scale gang, as well as an underground trading network used by the French elite. Its reach was broad, and its influence considerable.

Fine. He would take this commission!

Xiao Miao had been watching the menu for days, but there were simply too few jobs available to newcomers. Using Taken as his debut was not bad at all.

The man named Brian seemed deeply uncomfortable with the Continental Hotel's atmosphere. As he sat down, he instinctively looked around, as though the assassins nearby might shoot him in the back.

Brian's reaction was not strange, because his identity before retirement was both completely at odds with assassins and vaguely connected to them.

He was CIA!

Before retiring, Brian had considered himself one of the righteous. He had fought and bled for national security, spending years on the most dangerous front lines. He deeply despised faithless creatures like assassins.

Or rather, the Continental Hotel's assassins believed only in money. To them, nations were no different from toilets.

Yet the irony was that when his daughter was abducted by a gang in a foreign country, the first person he sought out was his well-connected former superior. But his old boss dismissed him with a casual, "The CIA has no authority to enforce the law overseas."

The CIA really did not have overseas law-enforcement authority, but if they truly wanted to save someone, would it not take only a word? This was France, not some rabbit or bear country!

With no other choice, Brian dug out the one gold coin he had left from his days operating in the shadows, added his entire pension, and entered the Continental Hotel to seek help from the assassins he had once despised most.

Compared with his daughter's safety, what the hell was his old face worth?

But the same rule still applied: assassins believed in money. One gold coin plus a hundred thousand dollars, in exchange for an international hostage rescue against an unknown number of gangsters—no one wanted to accept a commission guaranteed to lose money.

Except for the assassin in front of him...

Brian fixed his gaze on Xiao Miao, and his first impression was that he was young.

Far too young!

He was probably younger than Brian's daughter. Could an assassin like this really be trusted?

Judging by his build, he did not even look like he could fight...

It was not that Brian judged people by appearances. It was simply the nature of the assassin business: older assassins were often formidable, because rookies did not live long enough to grow old.

But he had no choice. Xiao Miao was the only one willing to take the job, and his daughter was in mortal danger. He had to use every resource available.

A rookie was still better than nothing. He could have him assassinate gang members and draw their attention away.

His thoughts raced as he made up his mind. Brian slowly said, "Hello. I'm the client who posted the mission. I heard you wanted to see me."

"Yes." Xiao Miao picked up his cola and drained it in one gulp, then rose and urged, "No time to waste. Let's leave now."

Brian's eyes widened. "You called me here just so we could leave together?"

"Exactly. You're in such a hurry, so I figured you must have a private jet ready to fly directly to Paris, right? I'll hitch a ride."

The veins on Brian's forehead throbbed as his lips pressed into a thin line. "That's right, but we could have discussed this over the phone!"

"Stop dwelling on it. Time is of the essence!"

Brian nodded helplessly, wondering whether his concern for his daughter had made him take a bad step.

At this point, all he could do was trust the Continental Hotel's professionalism.

Xiao Miao registered the commission with Charon and claimed it. The system panel updated at the same time, and the two left the Continental Hotel together and drove toward the airport.

Brian's wife had remarried and taken their daughter with her. The private jet had been arranged at the last minute by her stepfather, but because time was tight, something had gone wrong as expected.

The stepfather's company had run into trouble, greatly reducing his influence. The transoceanic flight plan was stuck in the approval process, and France claimed that everyone had already gotten off work. No one could make them work overtime.

That stepdad really was useless!

Brian was frantic, pacing in circles as he tried to find another flight. Xiao Miao rolled his eyes and shoved Brian into the car with one hand.

"What are you doing? Huh? You're incredibly strong!"

Xiao Miao rolled his eyes. "Back to the Adventurers' Association. I have a way to get to Paris."

"What kind of place is the Adventurers' Association?"

The two returned to the Continental Hotel. Xiao Miao found Charon and took out one gold coin. "I need a direct flight to Paris. Immediately."

Charon put away the gold coin. "A flight can take off at any time, Mr. Smith. Mr. Brian, I wish you both a pleasant journey."

Xiao Miao nodded, his expression showing no surprise at all.

When it came to providing quality service at any time, the Continental Hotel was the reliable one. Stepdad, learn something.

When he turned around, Xiao Miao found Brian staring at him intently, his expression so complicated that it seemed almost strange.

"You..." Brian opened his mouth, but did not know what to say.

His commission only offered one gold coin in total, yet Mr. Smith had spent an entire gold coin in the blink of an eye just to reach Paris faster...

What was he after?

A young but wealthy assassin—could he be the son of an assassin?

Did this profession even have heirs who lived off their fathers' fortunes?

[Story Character: Brian Mills]

[Current Bond: Level 2]

[Draw Cost: 80 Fate Points]

"What are you staring at?"

"Uh, nothing." Brian buried his doubts. Whatever questions he had could wait until after his daughter was rescued.

The two took a private car to the airport, where a Gulfstream G550 was already prepared. Its underwing turbofan engines roared to life, carrying them and the crew into the night sky.

On the plane, Brian handed Xiao Miao the intelligence he had prepared, including basic information on the Albanian gang and a recording of the call from before his daughter was kidnapped.

There was very little information, far too little to infer anything specific. But Xiao Miao was struck by déjà vu again and recalled much more of the movie.

Brian played the recording over and over, forcibly etching the kidnappers' voices into his mind. Xiao Miao lay beside him with his eyes closed, sorting through the plot details he could remember.

In the original story, Brian's daughter Kim and her companion were targeted as soon as they arrived in Paris. The gang arranged for a handsome man to chat them up. Swept up by the romantic atmosphere of the city, the two girls let down their guard and revealed a great deal of information, earning themselves two sacks.

Her friend was immediately drugged and sent to entertain clients. Since Kim was still a virgin, she temporarily escaped that fate. She was worth more, so the gang sold her to an underground auction house for dignitaries and nobles to ravage at will.

Reality was not a movie after all. Kim's exact location still needed to be investigated. Xiao Miao had never learned professional skills like tracking or searching, but he knew the general flow of the plot and had his own methods.

The flight would take seven hours. Xiao Miao entered a private cabin to rest and conserve his strength. Near landing, he walked into the main cabin stretching comfortably, only to find Brian's eyes bloodshot. Clearly, he had not slept all night.

Ah, there was no love like a parent's love.

As the plane descended, Brian suggested that they split up. He would investigate the clues alone and call Xiao Miao when it was time to act.

That was exactly what Xiao Miao wanted. He readily agreed, and the two went their separate ways.

Xiao Miao turned into the Continental Hotel in Paris, only to discover that many of the hotel staff were Albanian. He promptly turned around and left.

Plan A—buying intelligence directly—had fallen through. No big deal. He still had Plan B.

Pigalle District, Pigalle Square, one of Paris's most famous red-light districts.

It was early morning. The good girls who had worked all night were taking a break, and the square was mostly filled with tourists.

Xiao Miao spotted two girls traveling together. Muttering an apology in his heart, he put on a lecherous grin, forced his way between them, and wrapped an arm around each of their waists.

"Hey, ladies. Want to make some extra cash?"