Encirclement

Charon said, "This bounty was only posted today, but the amount is too low to meet the standard for notifying you, so you didn't receive it. No one else is interested in taking it."

Hearing that, Meng Zu immediately became interested. "That's interesting. Send it to me so I can take a look?"

A message soon arrived on his phone: "Bounty on Leon, reward: two hundred thousand dollars."

Seeing the bounty details, Meng Zu could not help pondering, Two hundred thousand dollars isn't exactly low. Why is no one else interested? And I feel like I've heard that name somewhere before.

Meng Zu placed a gold coin down. "Charon, give me the file."

Charon directly opened the folder beside the counter and pulled out a sheet of paper, placing it on the tabletop. Seeing that he had carried the file with him, Meng Zu looked at Charon in surprise.

Charon naturally noticed Meng Zu's expression and explained, "Everyone who took this bounty today gave up after reading the file, so I've kept it with me."

Alright then. Meng Zu picked up the file and began reading. There was very little information: apart from a photograph, there was only a brief introduction. Leon, an Italian-descended top-tier professional assassin. He had worked as an assassin for twenty-three years, lived alone year-round, and never interacted with anyone except his handler. He was vigilant and highly dangerous.

"So it's that lone wolf. I'd heard before about an assassin with an extremely solitary nature. No wonder the name sounded familiar. Charon, what idiot posted this bounty? He wants to deal with a top-tier assassin for two hundred thousand dollars? Is he dreaming?" Meng Zu said speechlessly.

"Charon, how did this bounty get approved? This clearly doesn't match Leon's worth," Meng Zu asked curiously.

Normally, a bounty on a top-tier assassin like Leon would start at tens of millions of dollars. Naturally, no one was willing to take one for only two hundred thousand. Charon explained helplessly, "It can't be helped. The person who posted it has some connection to someone in the High Table, which is why it was approved. Evan, are you interested? If not, this bounty may be withdrawn after tomorrow."

Meng Zu tapped his fingers against the counter as he thought. Becoming a top-tier assassin proved that Leon was highly skilled, and he had been in the business for twenty-three years. Few assassins could survive in this line of work for so long. His talent for sensing danger must be extraordinary. Even another top-tier assassin would find it difficult to deal with Leon. Still, the Contract Points for a bounty on such a top-tier assassin should not be low.

After thinking it over, Meng Zu said, "I'll take it first and test him out. If it doesn't work, I'll give up the bounty."

"Alright."

Normally, assassins could not abandon a job after accepting it, or they would be punished. But the Continental Hotel was different. Sometimes, after taking a bounty and trying to eliminate the target, assassins would realize that the task was beyond their abilities. If they managed to escape with their lives, they could abandon the bounty, and the hotel would not pursue the matter—unless it was a compulsory mission or involved a blood marker.

Contract Mission: Eliminate the assassin Leon. Contract Points: 200.

Looking at the Contract Mission generated by the system, Meng Zu sighed inwardly. A top-tier assassin truly was something else. The Contract Points for one person were even higher than those for taking out two members of the Exploding Wolf Gang. The entire Exploding Wolf Gang was worth only 80 points.

After accepting the bounty, Meng Zu drove home. While sitting on the living room sofa watching television, he suddenly felt that something was wrong. He immediately rose and moved to the window, turning sideways to look outside. In the darkness some distance away, he spotted several furtive figures slowly approaching his house. Every one of them had a hand tucked inside their clothes. From their posture, Meng Zu's years of experience told him they were probably holding guns.

Meng Zu instantly frowned. It seemed someone wanted him dead.

Keeping low, Meng Zu moved to the power switch and shut it off. At once, every light in the house went out, plunging it into darkness.

When the gunmen saw all the lights abruptly go out, they immediately realized they had been discovered. Without another word, they raised their suppressed submachine guns and sprayed the house with bullets.

The moment he shut off the power, Meng Zu ran toward the rear window. He had originally planned to jump out and circle around for a surprise attack, but there were people behind the house as well. Danger Sense immediately reacted, and without a second thought, Meng Zu dropped flat to the ground. Bullets instantly tore through the air above his head.

Crashing sounds of shattered glass rang out. Muzzle flashes lit up in the darkness, accompanied by a series of muffled gunshots.

Meng Zu quickly crawled into the living room and knocked over two round tables that had originally held vases and tea sets, placing one in front of himself and one behind him. He had specially commissioned these two tables. They looked no different from ordinary round tables, but they were actually bulletproof.

Meng Zu crouched behind the two tables, avoiding a barrage of bullets. He pulled out a pistol from Storage Space and remained still, waiting for an opportunity.

From what he had roughly seen earlier and the gunfire he had heard, there were at least seven gunmen outside, positioned both in front of and behind the house. Every one of them carried a suppressed submachine gun. Their behavior made it clear that they had come to kill him.

Fortunately, they had not brought grenades. Otherwise, Meng Zu would have already fled into the basement to hide. After a while, the gunfire stopped, but Meng Zu did not get up to return fire because he could hear footsteps slowly approaching.

He had not prepared night-vision goggles in Storage Space beforehand, so Meng Zu decided to wait until the gunmen entered the house before dealing with them.

After all, his house was surrounded from both the front and back. In the darkness and cramped space, he would have the advantage.

The seven gunmen had riddled his house with holes. Meng Zu pushed one of the round tables into a blind corner. After several gunmen entered the house, he took out a small remote control and pressed it. A sound immediately came from the second floor.

The gunmen immediately noticed it. After signaling to one another, they slowly crept toward the second floor. Only three gunmen remained downstairs, and that was the moment Meng Zu had been waiting for. He temporarily put away his pistol and approached one gunman from behind in the darkness. Before the man noticed anything, Meng Zu struck the back of his neck with a hand chop, knocking him unconscious.

Meng Zu quickly caught the gunman's body from behind, took the submachine gun from his hands, and pulled the trigger at the other two gunmen, who had yet to notice anything.

With two screams, the two assassins fell dead. The gunmen upstairs immediately noticed the commotion below and realized Meng Zu was downstairs. They completely disregarded their teammates' safety and directly fired through the floor from the second story.

Dragging the unconscious gunman, Meng Zu quickly dodged to the side and avoided the bullets raining down on him. Then, judging from where the gunfire came from, he unleashed a barrage at the second floor.

Several screams rang out, and the gunfire from upstairs abruptly stopped. Meng Zu cautiously went upstairs and put a bullet each into the two gunmen who were not yet dead.

Meng Zu brought the only surviving gunman into the basement. After waking him up and interrogating him, he learned that the seven men belonged to the Ten Rings. When Meng Zu had rescued Tony Stark, he had killed quite a few of their people, causing the Ten Rings' leader to hold a grudge against him. Obadiah was also displeased with Meng Zu for saving Tony, so Meng Zu's information had ended up in the hands of the Ten Rings' leader.

The seven men had all come to New York through Obadiah. Obadiah had no interest whatsoever in the life or death of a nobody like Meng Zu, but since someone was willing to kill him, Obadiah was naturally willing to provide a little assistance. The men's guns and Meng Zu's whereabouts had all been supplied by Obadiah.

Being ambushed and surrounded filled Meng Zu with murderous fury. He laughed angrily and muttered to himself, "Very good. It seems a nobody like me needs to give you a grand gift."

Meng Zu opened the basement storage room, took out some weapons, and put them into Storage Space. Then he made a phone call. "A deluxe dinner for seven. I have something urgent to take care of. I left the gold coins on the table in the living room."