Liu Yang quickly regained his posture after a short break (which lasted approximately a hour) and, after checking the time, decided that it would be in his best interest to hurry up. He looked at the clock again. It was presently 4:30 PM. It was time.
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In the distance, he could see it. Against a backdrop of fog was a beacon of light, shining brightly for the poor refugee that had overcame the odds and faced the fury of countless people. Finally, a day of peace and quiet, an item so rare to Liu that it's value could not be measured. He got to his door, and was just about to open it when he heard a whizzing noise that cut through the air. Before he realized what was going on, he was returned to the desolate landscape that was Earth.
All the spectators and unlucky people who happened to see this grotesque scene were horrified by it. A man walking to the door was killed in an instant, his blood seeped into the bricks that made up his home. Many of them just stood there, dazed at the sight in front of them. The few others who gained their senses and tried to run away were quickly cut down by a few strikes of a sword, their bodies joining the mass grave in front of Liu Yang's door.
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10 hours earlier
"Hey, this is the Mafia. If you want a service, press 1. If you want to join, press 2. If you want to buy anything from us, press 3. If you don't need anything, get the he*l out before one of our service members goes and kills you."
"I'd like to call a consumer service representative please."
The man calling was greeted by a friendly female voice, who sounded cheerful even though it was obvious that she was enslaved.
"Hi! How can I help you?"
"I'd like to arrange an assassination. Do you have any recommendations for hitmen to hire?"
"Of course? My personal favorite hitman is 'The Shadow Viper'. He gets the job done no matter what circumstances it is, and 99 times out of 100 he leaves undetected and there aren't any other casualties besides the target. However, since he is known as one of the top assassins in the entire world, demand for him is high and his prices are some of the most expensive in the world, unless you work in the Mafia like me. If you are on a budget, then 'Killing Machine' is the cheapest for you. He always gets his targets, but he has a tenancy to kill all the spectators too, complicating the assassination much more than necessary. If you want a clean assassination without any further casualties, I suggest you look at more pricey options, but if you want the job done the cheapest and fastest way and you don't care about the aftermath, then go for 'Killing Machine'."
"Hook me up with 'Killing Machine' then, and I'll pay after the job is done." the caller remarked.
"Okay. That's definitely doable. By the way, there's two more questions necessary for the assassination. What's your name, and what time do you want the assassination?"
"My name is Wang Tan, and I want the assassination as soon as possible. The faster, the better."