Chapter 486: You Are Not Worthy
After the interrogation, Xiao Ye handed them over to the cleanup crew.
He got dressed and vanished into the night.
The young man had no idea that death was closing in.
He held a wine glass, feeling smug about having eliminated his target.
"This time, my lord is sure to reward me handsomely. Maybe I can finally wash my hands of this life."
He'd earned more than enough money; he didn't want to live this kind of life anymore.
He wanted to find a peaceful place and become an ordinary person.
Suddenly, the man seemed to sense something. He set down his glass and stood up.
A second later, the door to his room swung open.
In the bright light, he saw the visitor clearly, and the color drained from his face.
"Impossible! Why aren't you dead?!"
'I used the explosion bugs! He should be dead, no question about it!'
"Your methods are... unique. But you failed. And failures... die."
Xiao Ye advanced, one step at a time.
The man tried to fight his way out, only to be slammed to the floor and utterly dominated.
He was physically weak. Even with some self-defense training, he was no match for Xiao Ye.
If that weren't the case, he could have been like other assassins who rely on pure combat skill, rather than using explosion bugs every time.
Xiao Ye grabbed him by the neck and hoisted him into the air. "Now, you can tell me who sent you. And where are the others."
'They just keep coming, one after another, wasting my time.'
'These assassins aren't a threat, but they're a real nuisance.'
「Ten minutes later.」
Xiao Ye turned and left.
The man's body lay on the ground, his eyes wide with terror.
He felt no repentance, only regret—regret for ever taking this mission.
Killers will themselves be killed.
'Their nest is in the next city.'
Xiao Ye went back, got a good night's sleep, and set out again early the next morning.
The cleanup crew never showed. 'The mastermind must already know his man failed.'
The car sped down the road.
The window was down.
Music drifted out.
The rest of the journey was uneventful, and he arrived smoothly in the next city.
This was a second-tier city in Country N. Even its capital was rundown, let alone a place like this.
Even in the most bustling downtown area, the malls looked old and dated.
Xiao Ye found a place to eat lunch. The moment he stepped outside, he ran into some fool who'd picked the wrong target.
The man had clearly intended to take advantage of the crowd, sneak up on him, and kill him in one blow.
Unfortunately for him, he'd picked the wrong target.
Xiao Ye's hand shot out and clamped down on the man's arm. "Trying to kill me?"
The man struggled desperately, but before he could even pull his arm free, Xiao Ye had snapped his neck.
The mall was crowded with people coming and going.
The body crumpled to the ground, drawing a crowd of onlookers.
"What happened? Did he faint?"
A braver soul stepped closer to check on him, only to find the body was already growing cold.
"He's... he's dead! He's not breathing!"
"How horrible! Someone call mall security! A man just died of a sudden illness!"
No one could have guessed that his neck had been snapped in two.
"Wait!"
A voice rang out from behind him.
Xiao Ye turned to see a man hurrying toward him.
The man got straight to the point. "I'm an assassin. I accepted the contract on you, but I got held up and only just got here."
Xiao Ye frowned slightly. 'Why is this guy just outing himself like this?'
"I know the contract's been canceled, so it doesn't matter that I didn't complete it. But I just saw you kill that man!"
"And I know he was just like me."
A sarcastic smile touched Xiao Ye's lips. "So, you're here to threaten me?"
"No!" The man shook his head frantically. "No, you've misunderstood. I'm not here to threaten you. Besides, the fact that I told you who I am should prove my sincerity!"
"I know that anyone who can force the agency to cancel a contract must be incredibly strong. I have no desire to make an enemy of you. I want to propose a partnership."
After speaking, the man glanced around and lowered his voice. "Perhaps we could go to a nearby café to talk properly. What do you say?"
Xiao Ye's curiosity was genuinely piqued.
'An assassin, asking him for help? Isn't that like willingly walking into the line of fire?'
The two made their way to a café.
It was conveniently empty.
The assassin continued, "Have you ever heard of Pink Country? They produce an extremely precious type of red diamond there."
"These diamonds are impossibly rare. I know someone who happens to know the location of one such red diamond."
"It was stolen from a wealthy merchant. The thief even murdered the merchant's entire family to get it!"
"How can someone like that be worthy of such a perfect diamond? What do you say we team up and steal it for ourselves?"
He made it sound noble, but in reality, he just wanted an ally to commit the same kind of heinous act.
To convince Xiao Ye, he even took out his phone.
"This is the red diamond in the photo. Look, it's absolutely gorgeous!"
Xiao Ye's gaze wasn't on the pigeon's-egg-sized, blood-red gem, but on the tray it was resting on.
'If I'm not mistaken, that's an antique from the Dragon Country.'
"Where did you get this photo?"
"The owner posted it to show off. He's very confident in his security; otherwise, I wouldn't be looking for a partner."
Xiao Ye pointed to the tray underneath. "Does he have a lot of antiques?"
The assassin was stunned for a moment, surprised that Xiao Ye had noticed the inconspicuous tray beneath the dazzling red diamond. Still, he answered truthfully.
"A lot. A huge amount. The only reason the guy is an assassin is to satisfy his collecting habit."
"Every time he makes a kill, he loots the victim's house. Oh, right, he even killed a businessman from the Dragon Country just because the man owned a particular antique."
Xiao Ye understood and nodded. "Give me his address and all related intel."
"So you've agreed! Excellent! Together, we'll definitely succeed."
"No. I'm going alone."
"You... What do you mean?"
"It means you're not worthy."
Xiao Ye knocked the man unconscious and dumped him at the entrance of the local police station. He then forwarded the intel to his own contacts for verification.
The address and other information were all authentic.
'To kill and steal, and to kill someone from the Dragon Country no less... This guy really has a death wish.'
Xiao Ye had originally planned to deal with the mastermind first, but now he'd changed his mind.
He parked his car and headed for the villa district.
The so-called "villa district" was more like a collection of custom-built homes.
They were all built by the wealthy and were enormous in size.
Xiao Ye looked at the villa before him—it was as large as a playing field and surrounded by an electric fence. He pulled on a pair of insulated gloves.