"Brother, you're the real deal."
The lead assassin gave Piglet a thumbs-up.
What did people enter the underworld for?
Most did it for money.
For money, Old Xie could sell out Little White Tiger. For money, Old Xie would take on the kind of dirty business that cursed a man's sons to be born without assholes.
Who could remain unmoved by someone like Piglet, who put brotherhood above his own life?
Mr. Li had given Little White Tiger a million, but each of the brothers had received only ten thousand.
Piglet had taken ten thousand and done work others would charge over a hundred thousand for. If it were just for money, who would face death so resolutely?
"Brother Nine... go... Brother Nine... get out."
Piglet slowly lowered his head, murmuring unconsciously.
Blood ran down his body and into the room.
Bang!
The noise inside the room grew louder.
The three assassins exchanged glances, and their leader stepped forward, smoothly raising his gun.
"Brother, you have my respect. I'll send you on your way and end your suffering."
You could call someone like Piglet simple or foolish, willing to throw his life away for brotherhood.
But you couldn't laugh at him, because he had done what most people couldn't.
Piglet raised his head slightly and grinned at the assassin. "Fuck."
Bang!
Bang!
A gunshot rang out.
The door split.
A claw covered in scarlet scales burst through the door, shielding Piglet's face just in time.
As the claw slowly opened, the bullet dropped to the floor.
At the last moment, the man Piglet had protected with his life appeared.
The door opened. Bare-chested, with waist-length hair and scales covering his body, Old Ninth stood before the three men.
"Brother... Brother Nine, run."
Sensing Old Ninth's presence, Piglet uttered those final words, and his body finally collapsed.
Old Ninth's pupils blazed red. Pure killing intent locked onto the three men.
His stare actually made the three professional assassins' hair stand on end.
"Old Ding's men?"
A hoarse voice rasped from Old Ninth's dry throat.
"The men here to kill you."
The three raised their guns at Old Ninth in a triangular formation.
Without even looking them in the eye, he bent down, picked up Piglet, and carried him back into the room.
Click!
One assassin worked his gun's action, but the leader reached out to stop him.
The three exchanged glances and, in unspoken agreement, lowered their hands.
"Thank you."
Old Ninth didn't turn around. Only after taking adrenaline from the operating room and injecting it into Piglet did he breathe a sigh of relief.
"Buddy, wait for me. Don't die, or your Brother Nine will never get over this." Old Ninth tenderly stroked the unconscious Piglet.
Leaving the room, Old Ninth gently closed the door, as though afraid to disturb Piglet's rest.
He took out his phone and calmly called for an ambulance.
"Blackhorn Road, Old Cave Building, room 502. There's one person..." Old Ninth calmly gave the address.
"Only the living are leaving here today. But don't worry. Even if you die, we'll get your brother into the ambulance. He deserves it."
The lead assassin's expression was solemn.
Everyone in the underworld talked about brotherhood. Few actually lived up to it.
"Send an ambulance right away."
Old Ninth put down his phone, and his muscles began bulging one by one.
The eerie scarlet light in his eyes grew brighter.
"An Awakened?"
The three sucked in sharp breaths.
"You didn't take advantage of the opening to kill my brother. One of you gets to live today." Old Ninth bared his fangs.
"Do it!"
Bang, bang, bang!
The three assassins worked in perfect coordination, bullets pelting Old Ninth like rain.
When the gunfire stopped, shell casings littered the floor.
Old Ninth hadn't budged.
His thick scales had blocked every bullet. His defenses were at least as strong as Little White Tiger's.
"Second Awakening?"
The lead assassin had never imagined that his bullets wouldn't hurt Old Ninth at all.
That was the helplessness ordinary people faced against the Awakened.
Even using every trick they had, they couldn't do the slightest damage.
"Nothing in this world pisses me off more than someone hurting my brothers."
The tiles cracked beneath Old Ninth's feet as he hurtled toward one of the men like a cannonball.
"Watch out!"
The lead assassin raised his gun, firing as he slammed his companion out of the way.
"Boss!"
The assassin who had been knocked aside stared wide-eyed.
Old Ninth's claw pierced the lead assassin's chest.
The two leaders met each other's eyes.
Approval showed on Old Ninth's face.
He, too, had taken a fatal blow for his brother.
"Motherfucker!"
Eyes red, the other two assassins unleashed a barrage at Old Ninth.
Bullets struck sparks from his scales.
The lead assassin swallowed the blood about to gush from his mouth and wrapped his arms around Old Ninth.
"Run!"
"Boss!"
"Fucking run! The intel was wrong! This bastard's a Second Awakening Awakened!"
Resolved to die, the lead assassin lifted Old Ninth, charged out of the room, and leaped off the corridor.
He was buying his brothers time to survive.
The two fell from the fifth floor and slammed into the ground.
"Boss..."
Tears filled the two assassins' eyes as they stared down at the pair below.
Barely clinging to life, the lead assassin fixed his gaze on his brothers on the fifth floor.
"Take... take Little Xizi and go. Stay... stay alive."
The lead assassin lowered his head, bit down on the cord at his collar, and pulled the fuse on the explosives around his waist.
"Is it worth it?"
Old Ninth easily broke free of the lead assassin and turned to go upstairs to continue the slaughter.
But the lead assassin did exactly what Piglet had done, lunging forward and wrapping himself around Old Ninth's legs.
"...I'm no worse than your brother. Even if I can't blow you up, I'll splash my blood all over you. Number Two, go!"
The lead assassin looked up in despair to bid his brothers farewell.
"You have your brothers, and I have mine. Our brotherhood is no less than yours. We lost today. I accept that. But don't you fucking dare touch my brothers!"
Boom!
A violent explosion erupted.
Half the lead assassin's body flew high into the air, his eyes glaring at Old Ninth, unwilling to close even in death.
"Boss!"
The two assassins who should have fled came running downstairs. Ignoring Old Ninth entirely, they threw themselves beside their leader's severed upper body.
"Boss!"
"Brother!"
"Don't... don't cry. Don't let them laugh at you. Run... Ah... Lang will... silence you. Run."
After speaking, the lead assassin looked at Old Ninth with bitter resentment.
It was as though he were saying, See? My brothers are no worse than yours.
"You two can go."
After a long hesitation, Old Ninth said, "Your boss bought your lives with his own."
"Go? Are you fucking kidding?"
The two assassins drew daggers from their waists, their faces resolute.
"When the four of us became sworn brothers, we promised to live and die together. Don't think you little fucking punks are the only ones with loyalty."
"Get him!"
"Fuck!"
The two charged Old Ninth without hesitation.
Roar!
Without the slightest hesitation, Old Ninth unleashed a Dragon Roar.
His claws were like blades.
Clang!
The three swept past one another, leaving only Old Ninth's afterimage behind.
Thud!
The two assassins clutched their throats and fell to their knees.
Old Ninth's claws had torn through their necks with ease.
In their final moments, the two assassins struggled to crawl to their leader's side.
The three lay facing the sky and peacefully closed their eyes.
"Boss..."
"Brother Nine..."
At the entrance to the residential complex, Old Ninth's brothers arrived at the same time as the ambulance.
"Motherfucker!"
Old Ninth's brother Xiao Feng aimed his Shotgun at the assassins on the ground to finish them off, but Old Ninth stopped him.
"Death settles the score."
Old Ninth knew these assassins were merely blades. The person wielding them was still hiding behind the scenes.
He found a phone on one of the assassins. It held only one call record.
Clearly, it belonged to the person behind this.
He called the number back. After three rings, someone answered.
"Hello? Is it done?"
"Who's this?" Old Ninth asked in a low voice.
The person on the other end paused, evidently realizing that the assassins he had sent had failed.
"Got the guts to give me your name?" Old Ninth tilted his head. "I can find out even if you don't tell me. Is this all Old Ding's men can do?"
The other end remained silent.
"Wait for me. You're fucking finished," Old Ninth said coldly. "I'll start by killing Old Ding. Your turn will come. We're at war. Right now."
Before you continue