Hayden pulled the trigger.
The heavy M60E4 light machine gun roared to life, spitting a continuous stream of fire.
The 7.62mm armor-piercing rounds swept across the concrete, instantly shredding the lead hound into a mist of blood and bone.
The remaining dogs did not even have time to react before Hayden turned the barrel and obliterated them.
Garrison Cross froze.
His eyes bulged as the massive suit of bomb-disposal armor materialized out of thin air.
His unlit cigar slipped from his trembling lips and hit the floor.
His thugs frantically drew their sidearms and opened fire.
The bullets sparked uselessly against Hayden’s explosive-resistant plating, failing to leave a single scratch.
Hayden’s eyes flashed with lethal intent beneath his heavy visor.
A cruel smirk tugged at his lips.
He squeezed the trigger and unleashed a devastating hail of lead.
Standard kevlar vests were like wet paper against the heavy machine gun.
The syndicate thugs were literally torn apart, their bodies violently shredded by the relentless crossfire.
Hayden marched forward like an unstoppable juggernaut, searching the carnage for Garrison.
The seasoned syndicate boss had already ducked behind his men the second the shooting started.
The remaining thugs scrambled blindly for cover, absolutely terrified by Hayden’s overwhelming firepower.
It did them no good.
Using his Wallhacks, Hayden tracked their glowing red silhouettes through the concrete pillars and mercilessly reaped their lives.
“None of you are leaving this warehouse!” Hayden’s mechanically amplified voice boomed through the slaughterhouse.
Within moments, every single man in black was dead.
The concrete floor ran slick with rivers of blood.
Clang!
Garrison burst through the heavy iron doors and sprinted into the loading bay.
Hayden gripped his smoldering machine gun and stalked after him.
Outside the warehouse, a heavy V8 engine roared to life.
Garrison floored his Mercedes G-Class down the main access road, desperately speeding toward the compound gates.
Garrison’s designer shirt was soaked in cold sweat.
His eyes were bloodshot and wide with absolute terror.
The arrogant smirk of an underworld boss was entirely gone.
Hayden calmly planted his boots on the asphalt, leveled the M60, and unleashed a burst of fire right at the fleeing SUV.
A rear tire exploded violently.
The heavy vehicle violently swerved out of control and slammed head-on into a concrete utility pole.
The deafening crash crumpled the front of the G-Class.
Hayden slowly approached the wreckage.
Garrison was pinned helplessly behind the steering wheel, a massive bloody gash running down his face.
“Wait, spare me,” Garrison stammered, his voice trembling.
“I will give you whatever you want.
It was a misunderstanding!” He never imagined his elite Azure Syndicate cell would be single-handedly annihilated by a college kid.
Hayden’s expression remained completely hollow.
Without a word of hesitation, he pulled the trigger.
The heavy caliber round obliterated Garrison’s skull.
His lifeless body slumped forward onto the steering wheel, pressing down on the horn.
The blaring, uninterrupted wail echoed into the night, sounding exactly like the death knell of the Azure Syndicate.
The System’s mechanical voice chimed instantly.
“Threat neutralized.
K6-Tier Assassin eliminated.
Looting Specialization: Sequence 37 – Fortitude.
Effect: Passively reduces physical damage and pain from ballistic impacts by fifty percent.” Hayden gasped.
This passive skill was a massive boost to his base survivability.
He took a deep breath, and his Juggernaut armor dissolved back into digital mist.
He stood amidst the carnage of the abandoned factory, the heavy stench of copper and burnt powder filling the air.
He felt absolutely no fear or disgust looking at the mangled corpses.
Instead, a strange, terrifying calm washed over him.
Suddenly, the wail of police sirens echoed in the distance.
A massive convoy of flashing red and blue lights was rapidly approaching the industrial park.
Hayden quickly looted the immediate area, scooped the unconscious Diana into his arms, and vanished into the shadows before the authorities arrived.
…
Later that night.
An executive suite on the eighteenth floor of The Continental.
“She is perfectly fine, Mr.
Brooks.
She is just exhausted and suffering from mild shock.
A good night’s rest will do wonders.” The Continental’s on-call physician tucked his stethoscope back into his leather bag and offered Hayden a polite smile.
Hayden nodded and escorted the doctor to the door.
As a K6-Tier assassin, he had priority access to the hotel’s elite medical services.
Diana, however, was classified as a civilian.
Under the hotel’s strict rules, she was only granted a temporary two-day sanctuary pass.
Hayden stood before the floor-to-ceiling windows, staring out at the neon-lit Rookwood skyline.
He mentally opened his System interface.
“[Phase Three] Unlocked.
Objective: Complete a public bounty of Tier-5 or higher.
Reward: 200,000 Points and unlocking of Trial Instance 2.” Hayden pulled out his encrypted phone and checked the local bounty board.
To his surprise, his own name was sitting right at the top of the active queue.
The Black Sovereign Syndicate had officially refreshed the hit.
The payout had been increased from two hundred thousand to a flat half-million dollars.
The deadline was set for thirty days.
Hayden scoffed.
Only five hundred grand?
He tapped the details.
His profile still listed him as a senior college student.
The Black Sovereign Syndicate clearly had no idea he was now a registered K6 professional.
The Continental kept its secrets perfectly locked down.
Still, it was highly unusual.
Why would a massive corporate syndicate use their official name to issue a bounty on a random student?
Most clients preferred complete anonymity.
Doing it publicly was a blatant flex of power.
It was a warning to the underworld that the syndicate feared absolutely no retaliation.
It also guaranteed maximum exposure.
Every hitman in Rookwood City would be hunting him for the next thirty days.
Hayden simply shook his head.
He was not the helpless prey he was yesterday in the subway.
Let them come.
Knock, knock, knock.
A sharp rapping at the suite door broke his train of thought.
Hayden instantly checked his Wallhacks.
There was no glowing red box in the hallway.
He cautiously drew his Glock, slowly cracked the door open, and peered out.
The hallway was completely empty.
However, a sleek black business card rested on the carpet right outside his door.
He picked it up.
“The Emissary Network: Elite Intelligence & Logistics.” The back featured an encrypted dark web URL and a burner number.
Hayden pocketed the card, shaking his head at his own paranoia.
Nobody in their right mind would dare conduct a hit inside The Continental.
“Hayden?” Diana’s weak voice called out from the king-sized bed.
She coughed softly, a look of overwhelming relief washing over her pale face when she saw him.
Hayden sat on the edge of the bed.
Through a tearful conversation, he finally pieced together how she had been kidnapped.
While at the club with her classmates, they had bumped into Garret Cross.
Garret did not know Diana.
However, Marcus Vance did.
Marcus had shared drinks with the gang leader, wrapped his arm around Garret’s shoulder, and explicitly pointed Diana out to the syndicate.
Immediately after, Marcus and his sycophants quietly slipped out the back door.
Marcus had deliberately sold her out to the Azure Syndicate to get back at Hayden.
A violent twitch racked Hayden’s eye.
His fists clenched so tightly his knuckles popped.
If he had not survived that Trial Instance, both of them would have been ripped apart by those hounds.
Diana softly sobbed, burying her face into Hayden’s chest.
Knock, knock, knock.
The door rattled again.
Hayden frowned.
Who the hell was bothering him now?