However, the feeling was fleeting.
By the time they could react, the crimson hue in Luca’s eyes had completely vanished without a trace.
“Hide. There’s a sniper,” Luca said in a low voice, his gaze shifting toward a residential building over a kilometer away from the villa. His golden eyes glinted with light.
In an instant, his pupils contracted. The scenery in front of him seemed to warp and change, focusing sharply as he peerlessly pierced through the kilometer of distance.
On top of that building, he could clearly see the sniper, crouched down with a heavy sniper rifle, taking aim at their direction.
The two locked eyes across the vast distance.
The sniper, seeing those golden eyes in his scope, couldn’t help but feel a chill run down his spine.
What a terrifying individual!
To be able to detect his position from this far away using only Perception?!
Without hesitation, he adjusted his aim and squeezed the trigger.
No matter how powerful his opponent was, once the head was blown off, they were dead!
The sniper rifle was the great equalizer!
However, what happened next was something he couldn’t believe.
Almost as soon as he pulled the trigger, Luca vanished from his position.
The sniper hurriedly adjusted his scope, searching for Luca’s location, but found not a single trace.
Where did he go?!
The sniper was left dumbfounded. Having killed so many people in his career, this was the first time he had encountered such a situation.
Before the mission, they had been informed by their employer that the target was likely a top-level player with Transcendent abilities.
So, after the initial panic, the sniper quickly calmed himself.
He made a swift decision, dismantling the entire sniper rifle into pieces and stuffing it into his carrying case. He then put on sunglasses, quickly exited the building through the rear security passage, and left the area as fast as possible.
He was one of the best professional assassins in the world. Failures like this were rare for him, but it wasn’t the first time he’d encountered them, so his mindset remained calm.
What occupied his mind now was whether he could return, pocket the payment intended for his teammate, and then demand some mental compensation from that clueless employer.
After all, the intel he’d received was far too vague. Had he known that his target was such a powerful individual, he wouldn’t have come even if they offered him two billion.
Once out of the alley, he saw the busy crowd ahead.
The sniper let out a breath of relief.
As long as he blended into the crowd, he could make a safe escape.
With this thought in mind, he took a step forward.
But suddenly, a calm voice rang out from behind him, causing the assassin’s entire body to freeze, his eyes widening in disbelief beneath his sunglasses.
“You’re running a bit slowly, aren’t you?” Luca’s voice was smooth as he appeared behind the sniper. He pressed the twig against the sniper’s head, his lips curling into a cold, menacing smile.
“How is that possible? How could you be so fast?!” The sniper’s forehead was instantly covered in cold sweat, his heart pounding in terror as though he had seen a ghost. He had chosen a spot that was over a thousand meters away from his target, and even if the opponent was as fast as ten seconds per hundred meters, it would take at least a minute to cover the distance. Yet, it took him less than 30 seconds to go from the rooftop to the ground.
How could he possibly cross a thousand meters in such a short time and find him with such precision?!
“You’re the kind of assassin who only knows how to deal with ordinary people. When it comes to players, you’re far from good enough,” Luca said, as though he had sensed the sniper’s surprise. His voice remained calm.
In the future, players would level up, and a thousand-meter sniping shot would become a joke. In fact, the distance of an enemy’s movement skill was even greater. The truly top-tier snipers would wish they could shoot across half a continent to hit their target.
And in the future, there was even one strange case where a sniper managed to kill a Superclass player with a cold shot from such a long distance, then escape without a trace. The story became famous worldwide.
But the sniper in front of him didn’t even have the qualifications to be compared to such people.
“Put down all your weapons and answer my questions. If I’m satisfied, maybe I’ll spare your life,” Luca said, prodding the sniper’s head with the twig in his hand.
He spoke indifferently, “Of course, you can also test if your gun is faster or my twig.”
The sniper hesitated for half a second.
Then, decisively, he placed the suitcase down and began to remove all the weapons hidden on his body.
Although the sniper hadn’t seen exactly how Luca had killed the other killers, he understood that Luca’s strength far exceeded his expectations. The sniper didn’t trust his own speed to shoot before Luca could puncture his skull.
The sniper moved quickly, soon pulling out all of his weapons. A handgun, a knife, a revolver, a mini bomb, grenades, and various other items—he had a large collection of weaponry.
Luca even spotted a bag of small balloons and a box of blue pills among the assortment.
“Is this what you call being a killer?” Luca couldn’t help but sneer at the man. He then pocketed the small balloons and pills, just in case the sniper had something trick up his sleeve with those seemingly insignificant items. Better safe than sorry.
“Who sent you to kill me?” Luca asked bluntly, getting straight to the point.
The sniper hesitated for a second.
Slap! A loud slap rang out.
And the sniper’s sunglasses flew off his face, half of his face swelling up almost instantly.
Luca snorted coldly, “I didn’t expect you to have some backbone. I’ll give you one more chance—tell me, who sent you to kill me?”
The sniper looked at the young man in front of him, completely confused.
He couldn’t understand when he had wasted his opportunity.
Smack!
Another slap landed on his face.
This time, the sniper’s lip was split open.
Blood dripped from the corner of his mouth.
Luca sneered, “Good, good, good. No wonder you’re a professional killer, you’re not an ordinary person. Now I’ll give you one last chance—tell me!”
The sniper’s lip twitched, and he almost didn’t know how to curse anymore.
Is this guy insane?!
Seeing Luca raise his hand again.
The sniper’s face tensed. He quickly put his hands over his head and blurted out, “It’s Celephais from the James Family! Celephais from the James Family! He offered 1 billion to hire six of us to come and kill you! It was him, don’t hit me anymore!”
“Celephais, that son of a b*tch.” Luca’s eyes flashed coldly. Fortunately, they were in the safe house he had set up. If they were still staying in the previous house, even if he survived, Donald and Sini would definitely be dead.
That bastard. I hadn’t even gone looking for trouble with him, and he came looking for me instead!
At that moment, the sniper begged, “I’ve said it! Please, let me go. All the money is in the safe, I’ll give it to you! Everything, it’s all yours!”
Smack!
Luca slapped him again, this time harder, knocking out two of his teeth and causing blood to pour from his ears.
The sniper collapsed to the ground, dazed, his face swollen like a pig’s. He wept bitterly, his words slurred, “Why… why are you… hitting me again…”
“This slap is a reward for you. At least you know how to be reasonable,” Luca said, smiling.
The sniper, hearing this, lifted his swollen face to look at Luca. His lips moved a few times, and then his eyes rolled back as he passed out cold.
He actually fainted from sheer rage.
“These days, the quality of assassins is appalling,” Luca remarked, lifting the sniper’s head, ensuring he was deeply unconscious before pulling out his phone and dialing Coarmy’s number.
The phone rang twice.
As soon as it connected, Coarmy’s frantic voice came through.
In the background, the sound of a police siren could be heard, suggesting he was likely in a car.
He hurriedly said, “Kid, where are you? I just got word that the people we stationed near your place have been killed—there are professional killers coming after you! Be careful, don’t go outside!”
Luca glanced at the semi-conscious sniper on the ground and muttered, “So it turns out the cops in movies are always late not because the director wants to build dramatic tension or give the audience information, but because they just love showing up late…”
“What? What are you rambling about? Did you hear what I just said?” Coarmy’s confused voice came through, sounding like he was still in the police car.
Luca casually said, “Nothing much, I killed them all. You can come over to collect the bodies. Make sure you clean up thoroughly, don’t leave any traces for the police or the protagonists.”
He paused for a moment, glancing at the large bruise and burn mark on his chest where the skin had caved in. “By the way, call an ambulance for me. I’ve sustained serious injuries, my heart and lungs are both damaged. My time is short.”
Without waiting for Coarmy, who was on the other end of the line, to respond, Luca hung up the phone.
…
Outside the military hospital in Celephais.
A row of black Mustangs rolled into the parking lot, followed by Quagmire, Donlow, Fuzzsir, Melania, Coarmy, and the others, all dressed in black uniforms. They stormed into the building with an imposing air.
Upon hearing that Luca had been assassinated, seriously injured, and had internal organ damage, concern was written on everyone’s faces.
“Please don’t let anything happen to him!” Donlow muttered, his eyes bloodshot, repeating the words over and over.
The others also felt a weight pressing on their hearts.
Soon, they arrived at the emergency room on the twelfth floor.
As the elevator doors opened, they saw two families waiting at the end of the corridor.
Darabont had a furrowed brow, Donald was smoking a cigarette by the window, his face tense, while Zoey, her eyes red and swollen, was comforting a tearful Sini.
Susie, dressed in a thin nightgown, sat silently in the corner, her hair disheveled, her gaze vacant. She looked like a lifeless statue, drained of all emotion.
Seeing this, Coarmy, as the leader, felt the need to offer some words of comfort to the families of the soldiers. But as he opened his mouth, he felt a lump in his throat, unable to speak a single word.
Finally, he sighed deeply and said, “Please, accept my condolences.”
Luca… he was such a good kid. How could he be gone so soon? Heaven has no eyes!
As he thought this, tears welled up at the corners of his eyes.
Just as he finished speaking, Coarmy quickly realized something was wrong.
The two families, all five members from each, were now staring at him with odd expressions.
“Condolences?”