“Gideon’s bounty has been active for at least six months.
Which god-tier assassin finally collected it?” “I need to report to headquarters immediately.
A mysterious heavyweight just hit Rookwood City.” “The Azure Syndicate’s chief enforcer was actually killed?
It has to be the Obsidian Cartel making a move.
This is going to be a bloodbath.” Fierce whispers swept through the lobby.
Gideon’s sudden death detonated like a bomb across Rookwood’s underground, sending shockwaves through the city’s assassin network.
Hayden had no desire to draw attention.
He popped his collar to obscure his face and quickly slipped out the front doors.
He stood under the awning of The Continental.
The storm had intensified.
Black clouds suffocated the city, and violent webs of lightning completely illuminated the night sky.
The System’s mechanical voice chimed in his mind.
“Phase Two Complete.
Rewarding 150,000 Points.
Current Balance: 150,000 Points.
Phase Three will unlock after the completion of the first Trial Instance.” Hayden opened his status panel.
He stared at his single active ability, Auto-Aim, and hesitated.
Should he upgrade it, or roll the dice on a new skill?
What if he pulled something completely useless?
After a brief internal debate, he decided to test the waters with 50,000 points.
He initiated the draw.
A cloud of digital mist materialized and dispersed on his retina.
Hayden’s pupils dilated rapidly.
“New Ability Unlocked: ESP Level 1.” “ESP Type: Bounding Box Wallhacks.
Effective Range: 50 Meters.” As a veteran FPS gamer, Hayden knew exactly how broken this skill was.
He immediately tried to roll again, but the System prompted him that the next draw would cost 100,000 points.
The cost scaled.
It was not a flat rate per roll.
The thrill of the gamble took over.
“Do it,” he muttered.
His remaining 100,000 points vanished.
“New Ability Unlocked: Bottomless Mag.” “Effect: Grants unlimited reserve ammunition.
Reloading is no longer required.
Note: This feature only activates during combat.” Hayden’s hands trembled slightly.
A deeply satisfied smile curved his lips.
He had hit the jackpot twice in a row.
Just then, his phone buzzed.
He looked down and saw Diana’s caller ID.
When he answered, however, it was not her voice on the other end.
It was the chilling, grating voice of a man.
“Hayden Brooks.
You have exactly thirty minutes to get to the Neon Lotus nightclub.
If you are even one minute late, I chop off one of her fingers.” In the background, Hayden heard Diana sobbing.
“Hayden, don’t come anywhere near here!” The sharp, brutal crack of a slap cut her off, followed by the man’s vile cursing.
The call abruptly disconnected, leaving only a dead dial tone ringing in Hayden’s ear.
The satisfied smile vanished from Hayden’s face.
His expression darkened into a mask of pure, lethal rage.
“Perfect,” he whispered coldly.
“I’ll use you deadbeats as target practice.” …
The Neon Lotus was located in the most affluent entertainment district of Rookwood City.
It was a notorious playground for the city’s elite and debauched.
Hayden stepped out of a cab.
A massive line of heavily dressed-up youths was already snaking out from the club’s entrance, stretching all the way around the street corner.
Couples were making out and pawing at each other in the shadowy alcoves outside the venue.
Hayden closed his eyes.
When he reopened them, hundreds of glowing rectangular boxes flooded his vision.
The sudden sensory overload hit him like a physical blow, splitting his head with an intense migraine.
“System,” he gritted his teeth.
“Filter out all civilians.” Instantly, the sea of white bounding boxes vanished.
Only a dozen glowing red rectangles remained in his vision.
Most of them were clustered on the second floor of the club.
Four of them were stationed right at the front door.
Hayden stored his pistol back into his System inventory.
He bypassed the massive line and walked directly toward the entrance, immediately sparking outrage among the waiting clubgoers.
“Hey!
What the hell do you think you’re doing?
Do you not see the line?
Get to the back, loser!” “Look at how he’s dressed.
He clearly has no idea how things work around here.
Hilarious.” Jeers and mocking laughter rippled through the queue.
Hayden ignored them entirely.
He walked straight up to a burly man whose body was outlined by a glowing red box.
The massive thug glanced at Hayden, his expression instantly shifting to high alert.
He quickly patted Hayden down, found no weapons, and gave a sharp nod to the other three red-boxed men.
The four gangsters forcefully shoved the complaining civilians aside, clearing a wide path for Hayden.
The actual club bouncers stood off to the side, too terrified of the syndicate thugs to intervene.
Hayden took a deep breath and walked inside.
The entrance fell dead silent.
The young clubgoers who had just been mocking him stared in absolute shock.
This supposedly clueless loser actually commanded enough respect to have armed men clear a path for him.
A creeping sense of dread washed over them.
They realized they might have just insulted a dangerous syndicate heir.
The moment Hayden stepped into the main room, he was assaulted by blinding strobe lights and deafening electronic bass.
Hundreds of people packed the dance floor, thrashing wildly to the music.
The air was thick with the heavy scent of expensive perfume and sweat.
Hayden headed straight up the stairs to the VIP section on the second floor.
Diana was slumped over on a red velvet sofa.
Her hair was completely disheveled, and tears streamed down her face.
The moment she saw Hayden arrive, her eyes widened in sheer panic.
Sitting right beside her was a young man with dyed red hair.
He was flanked by a dozen armed thugs.
Hayden’s System scanned the group instantly.
The surrounding thugs were strictly average.
The red-haired man, however, registered as a Trainee Assassin with D-Tier stats.
“So you are Hayden Brooks?” The red-haired man took a sip of whiskey and slammed the glass down on the table, making Diana flinch.
“You probably have no idea who I am.
I am Garret Cross, Gideon’s younger brother.
If you don’t tell me exactly who killed him, you are never leaving this club alive.” At Garret’s command, the thugs swarmed forward.
They surrounded Hayden, drawing long, wicked machetes from their waistbands.
The cold gleam of the steel reflected off Hayden’s stoic face.
Hayden stared coldly at Garret, his mind racing.
It seemed the Azure Syndicate still had no idea what had actually happened in the subway station.
In their eyes, Hayden was just a weak college student.
There was no mathematical way he could have killed a K6 professional assassin.
“It was a guy in a black trench coat,” Hayden lied smoothly.
“I saw them shoot it out.
It sounded like firecrackers.
I ran away while they were distracted.
I don’t know anything else.” Garret narrowed his eyes, studying Hayden’s face for any sign of deception.
Suddenly, Garret swept his arm across the table, smashing the whiskey glass against the floor.
Shards of crystal scattered everywhere.
Diana let out a terrified scream.
“Do you think I am a fucking idiot?” Garret drew a heavy cleaver from his waistband and leaped over the sofa.
“My brother would never lose a duel to some trench-coat-wearing nobody.
The forensic bullet trajectories did not match a face-to-face shootout, and his sidearm was missing!” Hayden watched the furious gang leader.
The fingers of his right hand twitched slightly.
“You are lying to my face,” Garret sneered, an evil, sadistic grin twisting his features.
“You don’t want to tell me who your powerful bodyguard is?” Garret grabbed Diana by the wrist and yanked her forward.
He raised the heavy cleaver, aiming directly for her smooth, pale arm.
“Fine.
I’ll chop off her arm first.
Then we can take our time with your interrogation.” Diana screamed.
Garret swung the blade.
Click.
The crisp, mechanical sound of a slide racking back cut through the noise.
The pitch-black muzzle of a Glock 17 was pressed directly against Garret’s temple.
“Try moving,” Hayden whispered.
Before anyone could blink, Hayden grabbed Garret by the throat and violently hauled him backward, using the gang leader as a human shield.
Garret and his thugs froze in absolute shock.
Diana stared blankly at Hayden, entirely unable to process where the gun had come from.
Feeling the icy ring of steel pressed against his skull, Garret’s legs turned to jelly.
All his previous arrogance vanished instantly.
“So it was you,” Garret stammered, begging for his life.
“Brother Hayden, let’s not be impulsive.
We can talk this out.” “Tell your dogs to drop their weapons and back the fuck up!” Hayden roared.
Garret frantically waved his free hand, signaling his men to obey.