Goodbye, Sniper

Bodyguard suits, leather shoes, and sunglasses looked cool, but the job was actually dull and mentally stressful. Especially when the employer carried a high danger rating—high pay came with high risks.

Pepper's ride was a stretched bulletproof sedan. Mike didn't know the driver, a steady-looking middle-aged man who appeared to be a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent. Mike sat in the front passenger seat, while Pepper, Skye, and Black Widow sat in the back.

Mike only wanted to shout, "Come on, sit on my whip!"

An SUV escorted them in front and another behind, making their convoy even more extravagant than Stark's.

Special times, after all.

Today's itinerary consisted mainly of two things: routine work at Stark Tower, then a speech at the University of Chicago that evening.

Mike had originally thought last night's attack would reduce the audience. He had overthought it. In Marvel's New York, if yesterday's incident hadn't happened in a wealthy district and the target hadn't been Pepper, it wouldn't even have qualified for the news, let alone wall-to-wall coverage.

The students nearly packed the auditorium to bursting, and there were plenty of young professors too. The professors mainly wanted to squeeze some research funding out of Stark Group, while the students wanted to know how they could get into Stark's core departments. Even at the University of Chicago, finding a satisfying job wasn't easy for students.

"Ms. Potts, would you like to have a coffee with me?"

These were the lecturers or students who considered themselves suave and promising. Their inner thoughts were probably: Sis—Auntie—I don't want to work hard anymore.

Drink with your sister!

Mike kept shoving people away, so irritated that he nearly drew his blade and chopped someone.

"Stark is mine, you shameless—"

That was a crazed Stark fan who wanted to throw a rotten egg at Pepper. Mike reacted quickly, casually grabbing a book and batting it back. As for why it landed in her mouth... would you believe it was an accident?

"I'm exhausted."

Back in the hotel room, Skye threw herself onto the couch and lay face-down, unwilling to move.

"I'll give you a massage."

"Okay."

"Feeling better?"

"Mhm."

After a while, Skye slapped Mike's hand away in embarrassment and annoyance. "Where are you massaging?!"

"This... my hand moved there by itself. It had nothing to do with me." Mike withdrew his hands from her pert butt, looking utterly innocent.

Skye glared at him.

Mike only grinned shamelessly, embodying the essence of being bold, attentive, and thick-skinned.

Skye had no way of dealing with Mike and could only say irritably, "I'm going to take a bath!"

"Sure, together."

Five seconds later, Skye shoved Mike out of the room and slammed the door shut.

How heartless.

Mike was still chuckling when he ran into Black Widow, who had just returned from a spa treatment.

Uh... what was with wearing only a bath towel?

There was a man staying here!

Did she think so little of him?

Mike really wanted to mount up and teach that woman a lesson.

Fine, Mike merely greeted her, then openly enjoyed some eye candy. As for anything else... forget it. Even if he was just an employee, he still had basic professional ethics.

Before closing the door, Black Widow swept back her wet hair and provocatively raised an eyebrow at Mike.

At that moment, Mike nearly lost his mind to a surge of lust.

Whew... what a dangerous woman.

The next day.

Pepper's itinerary involved inspecting Stark Industrial Park. A female reporter and cameraman followed her throughout the visit, intending to edit it into a television documentary.

The reporter seemed very interested in Mike and Skye, the two close-protection bodyguards. She asked whether Mike knew martial arts and whether Skye was a good shot, until Black Widow, acting as Pepper's secretary, stepped in to stop her.

Both of them kept straight faces and gave no answer. It would definitely be cut in post-production.

Naturally, Pepper had to give a speech. The venue had been deliberately chosen as an exhibition hall. The hall was built entirely of steel, shaped like an inverted bowl, and covered in irregular one-way glass. The nearby high-rises suitable for gathering were all Stark buildings, and patrols had been sent out long ago.

Every report said, "No suspicious individuals," and "No suspicious signs."

There was a building two kilometers away, outside Stark Industrial Park.

"A sniper from two kilometers away..." Mike muttered.

"No way." Despite saying that, Black Widow immediately ordered her people to investigate.

Accurate sniping from three or four kilometers away was exceedingly rare. Accurate sniping from two kilometers away qualified someone as a master among masters.

The key was that the building had no good sniping angle, which was why Black Widow had overlooked it.

"I have a feeling..."

Mike took out a Possession Card. "Use the card!"

This was a loss.

He had no idea why the system's commission had been set so low. He said to Black Widow, "I'll be gone for a moment."

Then he walked behind the curtain.

Black Widow vaguely heard some noises, followed by Mike's voice. "Scatter, Senbonzakura."

Black Widow was full of doubts when she saw Mike emerge from behind the curtain, holding an... sword hilt. "You said a moment, and it really was a moment. What are you doing?"

Black Widow was about to ask when the glass above the exhibition hall suddenly shattered, and a cloud of pink dust appeared in front of Pepper.

Sparks burst.

A lump of iron fell from the pink dust.

At that moment, Black Widow faintly heard the sound of a sniper rifle firing. It wasn't very distinct, which meant the shot had come from far away. She realized it was a sniper, but she couldn't figure out what the pink dust was, nor why a sniper bullet had been blocked by it. Instinctively, she wanted to tackle Pepper to the ground.

"Don't panic!"

Mike spoke. He was addressing Black Widow, as well as Pepper. "The speech ends here. Tell everyone not to panic and leave in an orderly fashion through the side exit."

Pepper wanted to ask why they were not using the wider main entrance.

The answer was quickly revealed: intense gunfire erupted from the main entrance, where S.H.I.E.L.D. agents were exchanging fire with unidentified armed personnel.

The unidentified gunmen were armed no worse than the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents. Their training might have been inferior, but they vastly outnumbered them. Soon, the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents were pinned down and unable to raise their heads.

More than a dozen armed men surrounded the main entrance, shooting several employees who disobeyed orders and attempted to leave through it.

For a time, the scene descended into absolute chaos.

"Don't panic!" Mike repeated. He stepped behind Skye, held down her trembling hand, and helped her draw the Glock from its holster.

"First, disengage the safety."

"Very good."

Black Widow beside them looked like she wanted to complain: "Disengaging the safety counts as very good?"

"Now hold the gun in one hand with the standard stance, support it with the other, line up the sights, aim..."

"Pull the trigger."

Bang!

The bullet blasted a small crater into the floor, spraying sparks before vanishing somewhere unknown.

"It's okay. Again. Watch the recoil."

The gunmen entered the exhibition hall.

"..."

Damn it, could they at least respect the assault rifles and automatic weapons? Was this really the time to flirt? Were they even human?!

Rat-a-tat-tat...

A burst of bullets flew toward Mike and Skye.

Clink, clink, clink...

The pink dust around them formed something like a force field, blocking every bullet.

The exhibition hall instantly fell silent.

"Again... Hey, hey, using an RPG is going too far." Mike swung the sword hilt in his hand, and red dust swallowed the gunman carrying the RPG.

Screams...

The pink dust turned red, and the man turned red as well. The screams abruptly stopped.

"Damn, this is a genuine death by a thousand cuts." Mike sighed.

"This..."

The gunmen's leader knew they had encountered a monster, and he wailed inwardly. How had they gotten this unlucky?

They didn't dare fight anymore, but if they ran... would the other side let them?