Assassination

The next day,

Black Mountain Town.

Three teenagers who had been enemies just yesterday walked into Black Mountain Town with their arms around one another's shoulders.

Earthworm pointed at Black Mountain Town and boasted, "Boys, I'm not bragging, but my reputation around here is something else."

"How good is it?"

"Good enough that widows aren't afraid to be alone with me." Earthworm grinned. "Let's go to my place first. My second uncle's birthday is in a couple of days. My cousin will definitely come back for it."

Little White Tiger was grasping at straws now. He wasn't familiar with the world outside the city, so all he could do was take things one step at a time.

For one thing, Black Mountain Town was the busiest town within dozens of kilometers, making it easier to find Lei Zi.

For another, it would be good if Earthworm's cousin agreed to take the job.

"Hey, Earthworm, you're back? Thought you'd died out there."

People he knew along the roadside greeted Earthworm with easy familiarity.

Though dawn hadn't fully broken, some of the town's small shops had already opened.

The town might have been small, but it had everything it needed.

Breakfast shops, KTVs, casinos—you name it.

Most of the businesses, though, were motels catering to passing truck drivers.

"Morning, Aunt Zhang!"

Earthworm casually greeted the owner of a breakfast shop. "Three bowls of something to eat!"

The owner carried a bucket of water out, washed the bloodstains off the ground outside her shop, then smiled and nodded at them.

The water flowed past Little White Tiger's feet. A severed finger that hadn't been cleaned up lay in the bloody runoff.

"Pretty wild, huh?"

Hi Dog kicked aside the finger, whose owner was anyone's guess, pulled out a roadside chair, and sat down.

"Hey, work's work. Nothing shameful about it. City folk slave away in offices; those of us outside can only make a living killing and robbing. But don't worry. Nobody'll dare touch you while you're with me." Earthworm took out cigarettes and offered them to the other two. "Just asking—what do you need Lei Zi for?"

"Lei Zi doesn't ask why when he takes a job."

Little White Tiger gave him a wary reminder.

Earthworm curled his lip. "I was just thinking I could come along if you still needed people."

"You'll get a cut when it's done."

As Little White Tiger and the others chatted, three SUVs drove into town and passed them, splashing muddy water all over them.

"Pay up, you fucking bastards!"

Earthworm went over to shake them down, but Little White Tiger reached out and held him back.

"What's wrong?"

The other two looked at Little White Tiger's frown and asked in confusion.

"Better not to invite trouble."

Little White Tiger watched the three vehicles uneasily. He didn't recognize anyone inside, but he was an Awakened now, with astonishingly sharp senses.

In the instant he had met one of the passengers' eyes, he had clearly seen the man's pupils dilate and a gleam flash through his gaze.

It had lasted only an instant, but it hadn't escaped Little White Tiger's notice.

The three vehicles stopped a short distance away. Nobody got out.

"Relax. Who the fuck would dare mess with me, Earthworm, in Black Mountain Town?"

Earthworm casually urged them to eat breakfast.

"Boss, those three eating breakfast at the street entrance look like the targets."

The men in the vehicles communicated over their radios.

"Brother Lang said he'll introduce us to Boss Ding if we pull this off. Our chance to move up in the world is right in front of us."

In the lead vehicle, Cowboy fed the men in the other two vehicles promises over the radio. "Win Boss Ding's favor, and sooner or later we'll have a place in Ice Prefecture. Do this cleanly. Make sure you get the one in black. Bring back his head."

"Should we give the locals a heads-up?"

In theory, when working on someone else's turf, they had to notify whoever ran the town. That was the rule.

Settlement towns that survived in the wilderness generally had an Awakened guarding them. Paying them off was a must if you wanted to kill someone under their noses.

"No need. We'll head straight back to the city afterward. Just be quick."

Cowboy in the lead vehicle smiled confidently. "Just a couple of wet-behind-the-ears brats. Save the payoff and spend it on some leggy foreign girls when we get back."

"Got it."

"Number Two, take Little Gray and check them out. Confirm the target."

After Cowboy gave his instructions, two men got out of the last vehicle and ambled toward the breakfast stall, rubbing their stomachs.

Looking travel-worn, they sat at the table next to Little White Tiger and rubbed their stomachs. "Boss, two bowls of wide noodles. We're starving. Make it quick-we've got to get back on the road afterward."

They played their parts well. One glance told you they were seasoned operators.

They never looked at Little White Tiger, trying to keep the three teenagers from growing suspicious.

Without changing his expression, Little White Tiger dipped a finger in water and wrote one word on the table: "Kill."

Earthworm and Hi Dog frowned. Pretending to get money out, Hi Dog reached into his canvas bag.

Just then, the man at the next table turned and tapped Little White Tiger. "Brother, got a light?"

He wore a black leather jacket that was clearly expensive. Hardly anyone outside the city wore clothes like that; most wore hard-wearing clothing.

Little White Tiger smiled faintly and handed him his lighter.

"Thanks. You look pretty young, brother, but you've already got the guts to make your way outside the city. Badass."

The man stared at Little White Tiger with a smile that never reached his eyes.

"You flatter me."

"What's your surname, brother?"

The man took out three more cigarettes and offered them to Little White Tiger and his companions.

"Stop asking. I'm the one you're looking for."

As Little White Tiger accepted the cigarette, he caught the man's wrist. "Next time you're probing someone, don't instinctively reach for your gun."

While the leather-jacketed man talked to Little White Tiger, his accomplice's instinctive reach for his gun hadn't escaped any of the three teenagers.

"Fuck!"

Earthworm rushed to the breakfast shop entrance in two strides, grabbed the meat cleaver off the chopping board, then turned and chopped off the leather-jacketed man's arm.

Bang!

The other man tried to draw his gun, and a large hole burst open in Hi Dog's canvas bag.

The Shotgun inside spat flame, killing him on the spot.

"You... how did you know...?"

Clutching his arm, the leather-jacketed man asked in terror.

"Idiot. Next time, don't get so excited when you see your target."

When the leather-jacketed man had met Little White Tiger's eyes from inside the vehicle, the obvious excitement in his gaze had already given him away.

"Anything else to say, you little shit?"

Earthworm tapped the leather-jacketed man's head with the cleaver.

The man's eyes darted. He flipped the table and ran into the breakfast shop.

At the same time, he pulled out the radio hidden in his clothes and yelled, "We're blown! The kid spotted us!"

Bang!

Before he could finish, the leather-jacketed man flew out of the breakfast shop's kitchen, a huge hole blasted through his chest.

A plump woman in her forties swaggered to the doorway carrying a Shotgun.

"Motherfucker, you came to Black Mountain Town to rob people?"

In his panic, the leather-jacketed man had fled into the breakfast shop's kitchen, only to be mistaken for a robber and killed outright by the proprietress.

He probably hadn't figured out even as he died why a breakfast shop owner kept a Shotgun on her chopping board while cooking.

"We're blown. Go loud! Vehicle Three, move up and cut off their retreat. Vehicle One, suppress them from the front with me."

Cowboy shoved his door open, pulled an automatic rifle from under his seat, and fired three controlled shots at Little White Tiger.

Bang, bang, bang!

Blood sprayed from Little White Tiger's body.

Had Little White Tiger not been an Awakened, that volley would have killed him outright.

Bang!

At the same time, Vehicle Three reversed to the street entrance and swung its rear around neatly, blocking the trio's retreat.

The windows rolled down. Two gun barrels poked out and opened fire on the three.

"Inside!"

The plump proprietress grabbed Earthworm with one hand and flung him into the breakfast shop. With the other, she controlled her gun's recoil one-handed and fired at the men in Vehicle Three.

Rat-tat-tat!

The tables and chairs outside the breakfast shop were instantly reduced to wreckage. Shielding Hi Dog, Little White Tiger charged inside.

The proprietress, who weighed nearly two hundred pounds, leaped up and pulled down the roller shutter.

"Move up!"

The well-trained killers worked in pairs, one laying suppressing fire into the shutter while the other covered him against attacks from anyone else.

Within a few breaths, Cowboy and his two teammates from Vehicle Three had gathered outside the breakfast shop.

"Grenade!"

Cowboy called out.

Boom!

The roller shutter was blasted open.

Little White Tiger, his two companions, and the proprietress were forced to retreat into the kitchen.

Little White Tiger tore open his shirt. Three bullets were lodged in his muscles, and blood streamed from the wounds.

If not for the Silver-Patterned Tiger's tough physique, even an ordinary Awakened would have suffered serious injuries.

"I'll take them out. Stay under cover."

As the four attackers closed in step by step, Little White Tiger prepared to stake his life on one desperate attack.