Huh? That Battle Power reading looked a little familiar!
Jiang Nan opened the door and found two men standing outside. Closest to him was a tall old man in a long robe, his long black hair tied into a braid. A bald white man with a vicious expression stood just behind him to one side.
At the sight of the red character for "kill" on the old man's chest, Jiang Nan blurted out,
"Mercenary Tao?!"
Mercenary Tao was a little surprised. "Oh? You've heard of me? Well, consider yourself lucky. It's an honor to die by my hand. Since you recognized me, I'll give you ten minutes to write your last words."
Jiang Nan grinned and asked, "Who hired you? Must have cost them a fortune!"
"A man named Carlos paid seventy million to have you killed!"
Mercenary Tao made no attempt to conceal his employer's identity. After all, his targets always died. Learning who had hired him just before their deaths would not change the outcome.
Jiang Nan searched his memory, but the name seemed unfamiliar. Looking again at the bald man behind Mercenary Tao, he thought the man's face looked familiar.
Right, he was from the Silver Wolf Society!
No wonder this bald guy looked familiar. He looked just like that fellow Pabrik, the one Doris had killed!
Although Jiang Nan had no idea when the Silver Wolf Society had discovered his whereabouts, he could not help feeling relieved. He had never expected them to hire Mercenary Tao. Had this happened even half a month earlier, he probably really would have died by Mercenary Tao's hand.
Jiang Nan chuckled as though greeting an old friend. "You really will have to wait a moment."
He shouldered his luggage and stepped outside, then tucked the door key beneath the doormat as though the two men were not even there. Only then did he say, "Let's go somewhere else. This isn't a convenient place to fight."
"There's nowhere inconvenient for me to kill someone. But since you asked, and I'm in a good mood today, I'll let you choose where you die. Just so we're clear, though, I'm taking your head with me," Mercenary Tao said cruelly, licking his lips.
The sight of Mercenary Tao licking his lips filled Jiang Nan's mind with images of him sticking out his tongue and stabbing people to death with it. He could not help laughing aloud.
Mercenary Tao found Jiang Nan's laughter inexplicable, but suspected nothing. He merely assumed Jiang Nan had gone mad with fear.
Jiang Nan headed downstairs at a leisurely pace, with Mercenary Tao and his companion following unhurriedly behind him. They were not remotely worried that he might seize the chance to escape. No target marked by Mercenary Tao had ever gotten away.
After leaving the residential complex, Jiang Nan headed north. Suddenly, he accelerated, instantly opening a sizable gap between himself and Mercenary Tao.
So fast!
Mercenary Tao's eyes lit up. No wonder this seemingly ordinary young man had made Carlos spend a fortune to hire him. Judging by his speed alone, Jiang Nan was indeed beyond what someone of Carlos's caliber could handle.
But Mercenary Tao was not worried in the slightest. He accelerated as well, closing the distance again. Piri Rete gritted his teeth and barely managed to keep up behind them.
Once only a few body lengths separated them, Mercenary Tao laughed loudly. "Is that all you've got? I thought you might give me a little surprise!"
Jiang Nan glanced back, then put on a grave expression and accelerated again, widening the gap.
Mercenary Tao's lips curled into a mocking smile. He increased his speed to match, maintaining a fixed distance from Jiang Nan.
Their chase was like a game of cat and mouse: one fled, the other pursued, and there was no escape for the fugitive.
The three raced through the city streets. By the time passersby who witnessed the astonishing sight pulled out their phones or cameras to take pictures, they had already vanished without a trace.
In truth, Jiang Nan was the hunter in this chase. He deliberately held back his speed, leading Mercenary Tao to believe that everything was under his control.
As the saying went, the best hunters often appeared in the guise of prey.
Jiang Nan lured Mercenary Tao and his companion to North Suburb Park, leading them to the paved clearing where he had previously practiced his reaction drills. No one was around, so he could fight without worrying about innocent bystanders getting caught up in it.
Jiang Nan suddenly stopped. Mercenary Tao came to a halt five meters away, while Piri Rete had long since been left behind.
"Oh? Done running? Or can't you run anymore?"
Mercenary Tao asked mockingly.
Jiang Nan waved a hand. "I'm done, I'm done. You've got pretty good stamina for an old bastard. I couldn't shake you off."
"Ready to die? You didn't pick a very good spot, though. It's a pretty lousy place for a grave."
With that, Mercenary Tao extended a hand and declared arrogantly, "Five seconds. Within five seconds, I'll twist your head clean off. You can die content, knowing you fell to Mercenary Tao."
Jiang Nan activated the stopwatch on his digital watch and said with a smile, "Then I'd better time you. Do you need me to call out 'start'?"
"Insolent!"
Mercenary Tao suddenly sprang into action, flashing before Jiang Nan with lightning speed and chopping at his neck with a knife-hand strike.
At that critical instant, Jiang Nan pushed off the ground and slid half a meter backward, narrowly avoiding the lethal blow.
Mercenary Tao's eyes gleamed. He swiftly ducked low and followed with a sweeping kick, but Jiang Nan leaped backward and dodged again.
Using his momentum, Mercenary Tao drove off his legs and sent a vicious punch straight at Jiang Nan's chin. Jiang Nan raised his hand to block, then pushed sideways, redirecting the force of the blow.
The push spun Mercenary Tao halfway around. He used that momentum to whip back with an elbow strike at Jiang Nan's temple. Before the attack landed, Jiang Nan punched him in the small of his back, then struck his lower leg with a low kick before he could react.
Thud!
Mercenary Tao lost his balance and fell to the ground. He scrambled up in disbelief, staring fixedly at the young man before him.
"Oh dear, it's already been more than five seconds!" Jiang Nan said with exaggerated surprise.
"H-how is that possible?!" Mercenary Tao still could not accept what had happened.
Although Mercenary Tao had not used his full strength just now, he had never suffered such a setback in his entire career. Not only had he failed to hurt his target, but he had even come off slightly worse himself.
"Hyah!"
Mercenary Tao began fighting in earnest. He attacked Jiang Nan again, this time using his signature killing techniques and targeting Jiang Nan's vulnerable spots. Jiang Nan became fully alert as well, responding carefully to each of Mercenary Tao's attacks.
The gap in their Battle Power was not overwhelming: 150 against 180. Coupled with Mercenary Tao's wealth of combat experience, the actual difference between them was not that great. If Jiang Nan let his guard down, a single careless mistake could reverse their roles as attacker and defender.
But a gap was still a gap. Like the difference between a national-team athlete and a Grand Slam champion, however slight the margin might be, the outcome was already decided.
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