Undercurrents

As Odin left Heavens Arena, the long string of zeros in his bankbook gave him a reassuring sense of security.

Four hundred million Jenny was enough for him to splurge. More importantly, it provided ample funding for his upcoming training plans.

The night outside was rather dark. Odin narrowed his eyes. He planned to visit the shopping district first to buy some high-quality ingredients and basic fitness equipment, then return to the house he had rented two days earlier. It had a rooftop terrace, perfect for training.

Trouble, however, rarely left you alone just because you wanted nothing to do with it.

Especially when you had just demonstrated extraordinary value and appeared to have no powerful backing.

Sure enough, Odin had barely crossed two streets and entered a relatively quiet alley-a shortcut to the shopping district-when his steps faltered slightly.

The Rabbit Talisman granted him more than absolute speed. It also gave him the heightened perception needed to match it, far beyond that of ordinary people.

With his relative perception of time, any unnatural "sluggishness" or "stillness" in his surroundings stood out sharply.

Ahead in the alley, a tall man in a black suit and sunglasses leaned against a wall, apparently waiting for someone.

But the slight tension in his muscles and the rhythm of his breathing told Odin, who had fought so many battles, that he was poised to attack at any moment.

Odin glanced back. Several heavy footsteps sounded from the other end of the alley.

Cornered, huh... Odin sighed inwardly, though he was hardly surprised. Tch. I knew the money wouldn't come that easily. Neither would the spotlight.

He stopped and withdrew his hands from his jacket pockets. His expression unchanged, he quietly watched the suited man ahead, who seemed to be the one in charge.

Seeing Odin stop, the suited man knew he had been spotted and dropped the pretense.

He straightened, adjusted his tie, and approached with measured strides, stopping three meters in front of Odin.

His movements were precise, with the rigid quality of someone well trained. His face was expressionless, and his sunglasses concealed his eyes, but they could not hide his contemptuous gaze.

"Mr. Odin?" the suited man began. The address sounded friendly enough, but Odin heard no goodwill in it.

Odin replied in an equally flat tone, "What do you want?"

"Our boss admires your abilities." The suited man wasted no time getting to the point. "For someone as strong as you, fighting matches at Heavens Arena is a waste of talent.

"Our boss can offer you a better platform, more resources, and broader horizons."

He deliberately stressed "horizons," implying that Odin's current outlook was far too limited.

"Admires me?" Odin tilted his head, a faintly amused look on his face. "Who's your boss? Does he run a pyramid scheme or a martial arts school? Never mind. Let's leave it at that. Go back and tell your boss he doesn't need to admire me."

The suited man did not get angry at Odin's feigned ignorance. He seemed to have expected it. "You'll naturally learn our boss's identity once you've shown sufficient 'sincerity.'"

He leaned forward slightly and lowered his voice, his tone leaving no room for argument. "Mr. Odin, you can make those jokes with me, but make absolutely sure our boss never hears them. People could die."

The recruitment pitch was obvious, but now it carried a threat as well.

Odin's lips curled into a faintly mocking smile. "Oh, then I'm very sorry. I'll pass on joining you. You can all leave."

His refusal was crisp and decisive, leaving no room for negotiation.

The suited man fell silent for several seconds. His gaze seemed to sharpen behind his sunglasses.

He slowly straightened, his trained bearing growing more aggressive. "Mr. Odin, I hope you'll reconsider. Rejecting goodwill can sometimes bring unnecessary trouble."

As he finished, the two burly men blocking Odin from behind stepped closer. Their muscles bulged, and their clenched fists cracked. The threat was unmistakable.

"Guess talking won't get us anywhere." Odin shook his head helplessly and muttered, "Looks like you've pulled this trick plenty of times."

The instant his last word fell, his figure blurred.

There was no warning, no preparatory movement. It was as if a frame had suddenly been skipped.

The suited man's pupils abruptly contracted. Relying almost entirely on combat instincts honed over years, he reflexively crossed his arms in front of his chest.

Yet the heavy blow he expected never came.

Odin's real target was the burly man behind him to his left.

The man's vision blurred. Odin, who had been several meters away, appeared beside him as though he had teleported. He could even make out the slightly puzzled expression on Odin's face.

Odin used no fancy techniques. He simply raised his right hand and delivered a lightning-fast chop, striking precisely at the exposed artery on the side of the man's neck.

Thud! A dull impact sounded.

The fierce expression froze on the man's face. His eyes rolled back, and his massive body crumpled as though all his bones had been removed. He lost consciousness on the spot.

The whole process took less than half a second.

The other burly man behind Odin had not even registered how his companion had fallen when he saw Odin reverse course as though inertia did not exist, charging toward him with an afterimage trailing behind.

Terrified, he flailed his arms, trying to block Odin's approach.

To Odin, that haphazard defense was nothing but openings.

He did not even change direction. He merely ducked beneath the man's swinging arms while his right foot swept out like a scorpion's tail, silently and swiftly hooking the ankle of the man's supporting leg.

Thump!

The second man felt his footing vanish. As the world spun, the back of his head slammed into the hard concrete, making him see stars. He would not be getting up anytime soon.

Only then did the suited man, still standing where he had been, fully process what had happened. Both his men had been taken out in an instant! He had not even seen exactly how Odin had done it!

This guy was faster than the information they had gathered at Heavens Arena suggested! Much faster!

A bead of cold sweat formed at the suited man's temple. He abruptly pulled a handgun from inside his suit jacket.

Without hesitation, he raised it and aimed at Odin, who had just knocked down the second burly man.

But the instant he pulled the trigger, the "Odin" in his sights rippled like a reflection in water and vanished.

An afterimage!

The moment the man drew his weapon, the real Odin had accelerated, leaving a brief afterimage in place to fool him while slipping around to his side like a ghost.

"Guns take all the fun out of it." Odin's flat voice sounded right beside the suited man's ear.

Every hair on the man's body stood on end. He tried to swing the muzzle around, but it was already too late.

A seemingly unremarkable hand clamped around his gun wrist like an iron vise, its fingers tightening.

"Argh!" The suited man grunted in pain, and the weapon fell from his grasp.

His other arm reflexively drove an elbow backward, but once again struck nothing.

Then he felt a chop strike the back of his neck. His vision went black, and he knew nothing more.

Odin looked at the three figures sprawled on the ground and dusted off his hands, though there was no dust on them. "Tch. You just had to make me do it."

He bent down and picked up the handgun. It felt quite heavy in his hand. "A handgun, huh? I'll keep it."

"What a pain." After putting the gun away, Odin glanced toward both ends of the alley.

Fortunately, the alley really was quiet. Their brief fight had attracted no onlookers.

He did not linger. He quickened his pace and left the alley, as though he had merely swatted a few annoying flies.

He had not killed them, but Odin knew the three men on the ground probably would not live to see tomorrow, just like that earlier group of thugs.

How could people doing this kind of business in this city have no rivals-or victims they had harmed in the past?

Lying helpless on the ground without any protection, they were bound to have someone come after them.

But that had nothing to do with him. He already had the money. All he needed to do now was focus on mastering "Nen."