Chapter 111 - Intimidation

Chapter 111 - Intimidation

On the outskirts of Baichuan City on Xiangye Street, a black sedan stopped by the roadside, and a tall young man in a black trench coat stepped out. His body was bathed in golden sunlight, his coat reflecting faintly. Despite how large the coat was, his shoulders were so broad and muscular that the corners lifted up stiffly. The white shirt underneath clung to his firm chest, highlighting the contours of his muscles.

The young man's blank expression gave off an unapproachable aura. He glanced around at the streets.

At the moment, Violet spoke to Cassius in a pleasant voice through the window of the car, "Boss, Binan Road is about a hundred meters ahead of Xiangye Street. It's a riverside residential area, and the assassination department gathering is there. Someone should be there to meet you. Because it's a meeting between the higher-ups, I won't be able to go, but the car will be waiting here. Once you're done, you can come back here."

"I understand." Cassius nodded slightly.

"Also, here's your identification." Violet flicked her hand, and something flew over. Cassius caught it and looked down. It was a paper playing card, the Jack of Diamonds.

"I'm off." Cassius casually slipped the card into his trench coat pocket and began walking along the sidewalk.

He was close to the city limits where he wouldn't be able to spot any tall buildings. There were only low, gray houses; some with yards, others were used white pickets to enclose gardens. What caught his eye were the strings of triangular flags hanging in the windows of the houses, along with wooden candle holders adorned with lights. The decorations were themed around the Holy Spirit or forest animals. A large wooden basin was placed in the middle of the fenced areas, where it had been collecting rainwater for the past few days.

The customs carried some religious significance and were related to the Holy Bath Festival that Cassius had seen before. The wooden basins were prepared for the Holy Bath; citizens would place them outdoors on the day of the festival, collecting rainwater to perform the ritual.

Truthfully, the rainwater wasn't particularly clean, and only those who were slightly more educated knew it contained bacteria, but traditions and customs have always had historical significance.

Walking past Xiangye Street, Cassius turned a corner and arrived at Binan Road. There were even less people here and it looked more like a town than a city.

The street was wide, with only the occasional passerby. He slowly came to a halt before a white stone flower bed over three meters in diameter, connecting four roads in each direction. Wildflowers and grass grew in dense patches within the flowerbed.

"Come out," Cassius said.

"As expected from the expert who is going to replace Jack of Diamonds. You sensed my presence instantly." A voice came from behind the flowerbed, belonging to a man in a blue and white striped jacket. He lifted his head and stared intently at Cassius.

He had an average appearance. Slightly tan, he had classic deep-set features, a prominent aquiline nose, and bright green eyes. The most striking feature was his slightly narrow eyes, which inexplicably felt like being pricked by needles.

The man looked at Cassius. "How did you notice me? I lowered both my breath and heartbeat to the minimum and didn't even move."

As a killer from Ace of Spades' assassination department, he naturally had stealth techniques. Mastering breath-holding techniques gave one the ability to better ambush their targets. However, his breath-holding technique didn't seem very effective.

Judging by the oppressive aura exuding out from the tall, strong man before him, he was definitely not an ordinary person. He was likely a master of similar techniques!

"'How?'" Cassius raised an eyebrow and said expressionlessly, "Your shadow."

The man with the aquiline nose was taken aback. "Huh? What?"

"Your shadow. Can't even get that?" Cassius repeated.

The aquiline-nosed man glanced down to his left and indeed saw his shadow sticking out. He was speechless. He had thought the other party was an expert in the art of breath-holding stealth technique and had detected him, but he had made a novice mistake.

"So that's it..." The man's green eyes flickered. "It's getting late. Mr. Wind Elephant, please come with me." He turned immediately, gesturing at Cassius.

Without warning, the man with the aquiline nose shifted. He whipped around and charged at Cassius, his right hand pulling out a sharp object. He was going to stab him.

Out of nowhere, a petite figure sprang out from behind the flowerbed, rushing quickly at Cassius's back. Both assailants closed in around him in an instant, and they were so close that Cassius could even see the excitement in the aquiline-nosed man's green eyes.

Bang! Bang!

With two thuds, both bodies crumpled to the ground, one after the other. Cassius expressionlessly rotated his right wrist. In a flash, he had punched the aquiline-nosed man's shoulder and then spun around, yanking and striking down the other.

To Cassius, who had superhuman reflexes, the two assassins' supposed sneak attacks were utterly childish.

If I can dodge bullets from firearms, what makes you think I can't dodge human assassins?

He glanced down, noticing the sharp object the aquiline-nosed man had been holding had fallen to the floor. It was a black plastic dagger—a child's toy. It had little to no lethality.

He's here! White Bird and Red Fang coldly exchanged glances.

With a bang, the closed wooden door was kicked open. Red Fang raised an eyebrow, and opened his mouth to start reprimanding.

Thud, thud.

Two slender figures hit the ground gently.

The newcomer's tall body blocked the brilliant sunlight from outside the door, casting a large shadow over the room. He glanced at his watch. "1:31 p.m. Sorry, I'm a minute late."

"Li Guang, Li An?!" Red Fang immediately recognized his two subordinates. His heart surged with emotion, causing his brow to furrow involuntarily.

"Heh heh... just as I expected." White Bird crossed his arms, glancing at Red Fang. He looked at Cassius's strong physique and nodded in satisfaction.

"The meeting hasn't started yet, has it?" Cassius asked.

"No, it hasn't," White Bird replied.

"That's good. I just have a quick question before we begin." Cassius's gaze casually swept over the other two. "Who do these assassins on the ground belong to? One of them is named Li Guang."

He stepped forward a few paces, his towering frame exuding an intense pressure. Cassius turned his gaze to the gentleman in the main seat and asked bluntly, "Was it you?"

The old man didn't seem to hear him. His eyes remained closed.

"Guess not." Cassius shifted his gaze to Red Fang. "So, they're your subordinates, huh?"

At Cassius's blasé tone, inexplicable anger ballooned inside Red Fang at the audacity of being belittled. He stood up with a clatter.

Thud!

Red Fang flew back instantly, knocking over the light yellow chair behind him and rolling across the open floor. He crashed into the corner. He didn't even get a chance to cry out in pain when he came back to his senses.

A figure crossed several meters in a single leap, landing heavily with both feet on Red Fang. With a thud, the dust stirred and the ground shook, making his back tingle.

"Then they must be your subordinates." A voice, devoid of joy or sorrow, came from above, the owner's looming tall shadow swallowing Red Fang in darkness. Like dark clouds overhead, it gave off a feeling of oppressive dread.

"I..."

Whoosh!

A fist enveloped in swirling air currents came down like a pile driver. It rapidly enlarged in Red Fang's vision.

"No!"

Whoosh...

The air currents blasted wildly, causing the fabric of Red Fang's collar to ripple like waves and his black mustache to flail erratically. The fist froze just a centimeter from his forehead, but it didn't stop the surrounding air currents from biting into his skin painfully. They split into two and shot out to either side, stirring a large patch of dust on the ground.

"Huff, huff, huff..." Red Fang's eyes widened as he gasped for breath. In that instant, he felt death's gaze from within the dark shadow above. Every organ and every cell in his body told him that if the punch hadn't stopped in time, he would have died! His head would have exploded like a watermelon.

Red Fang had wanted to scare Cassius but Cassius responded in kind, making sure that his intimidation would leave a deeper, more unforgettable impression than Red Fang's!

"Sir, may I ask for your name or code name?"

"I... Me? Red... Red Fang..."

"Please get up, Mr. Red Fang. It was just a harmless, little prank to commemorate our first meeting." Cassius extended his hand with a gentle smile. "Allow me to introduce myself. Code name, Wind Elephant, assassination department's Jack of Diamonds."