"As I thought, it is you."
"You recognise me?"
Ling Chen sneered, "Who wouldn't know the esteemed name of Snake Lord?"
He had never met Snake Lord personally, but he was abundantly clear about Snake Lord's modus operandi. The opponent was a killer, but he had an eccentric personality. This person loved to cause havoc, and amidst the chaos, he would silently eliminate his target. It was difficult for others even to catch a trace of him and wanting to find him was a feat more difficult than ascending the heavens.
"I don't recognise you, but I know that you are in the same line of work as me."
"I'm just a mob-level character, nothing impressive enough to warrant your attention."
Snake Lord swept a glance at the heap of junk at the corner of the wall, coldly saying, "Hand the woman over. Considering that we're both from the same profession, I may spare your life."
"Do you think I would believe the words of a killer?"
"Seems like you really understand the work of a killer. Since things turned out like this, I'll send you on your way."
With that, Snake Lord slowly raised the pistol in his hand, aiming straight at Ling Chen's forehead.
Ling Chen however, merely shrugged. "Being able to die at the hands of Snake Lord is an honour, I guess. Just shoot."
Nanrong Wanqing, who was hiding in the corner, could distinctly hear the conversation between them. The moment she heard the word 'shoot', she remembered Ling Chen's instructions and hurriedly dialled the number.
Immediately, a shrill ringtone rang out from behind Snake Lord, along with a woman's sweet melodious voice. "Hubby, your dear wife is calling… Hubby, your dear wife is calling..."
Hearing the unexpected noise behind him, Snake Lord unknowingly turned his head, only to see a phone buzzing in a patch of grass behind him. The voice actually came from there!
I've been tricked!
His heart sank, and he rushed to shift his focus back onto Ling Chen's body, his finger squeezing the trigger in a lightning-fast movement.
However, before the bullet sound could even reverberate, he felt something striking the muzzle of the pistol and deflecting it off-centre. The bullet whizzed past Ling Chen, and harmlessly hit the wall behind him. Without waiting for Snake Lord to readjust, Ling Chen was already barrelling towards him.
Snake Lord stared intently and noticed that Ling Chen was quickly narrowing the distance between them with giant strides and was almost upon him in the blink of an eye.
"You're courting death!"
Snake Lord roared and took a step back, readjusting the aim of the muzzle and cocking the gun again. However, in the instant before he could squeeze the trigger, Ling Chen had already stretched out with his right hand, clasping onto the weapon in a tight grip and firmly pressing down on the hammer. The bullet in the chamber could not be fired at all.
Following that, in a single deft movement, he proceeded to flick his wrist, as though performing a magic trick, removing the gun casing and the firing pin inside in an instant.
Without the firing pin, the handgun was rendered obsolete.
Fast!
Snake Lord gulped in surprise. He had never witnessed such swift hand movements before. Able to disassemble his gun in an instant, the man in front of him was in a realm beyond what most killers could ever hope to achieve.
Immediately switching his mentality, Snake Lord decisively decided to toss away the pistol and whipped a sharp dagger, fiercely stabbing towards Ling Chen's throat.
Ling Chen tilted his head back slightly, narrowly avoiding the sharp edge of the knife, before taking a step forward. He powerfully rammed his shoulder against Snake Lord's chest. The latter let out a grunt of pain and staggered back a few steps.
"Surrender, Snake Lord. Among the top ten killers, only the top three can go toe to toe with me in combat. The other killers can only dream of touching me, much less you, the lowest-ranked amongst them."
"Who exactly are you?!"
"You wouldn't know even if I told you."
Snake Lord's face became sunken. The man in front had a comprehensive facade of a killer, he must be someone in the same profession. But, from what he could remember, no one could match up to this man, be it in the world of killers or mercenaries.
Seeing Ling Chen take a step towards him, Snake Lord recoiled in fear, flusteredly digging a hand into his sling bag.
"Don't come over here!"
Ling Chen was taken aback by the grenade that appeared in Snake Lord's hand and retracted the foot that he was going to place on the ground.
"I admit my defeat today. But don't be too gleeful. Since you have such a deep understanding of killers, you must know that we never stop until we achieve our objectives. You better keep your guard up and don't let me find an opportunity to kill both of you."
With that said, Snake Lord swept a glance at the corner of the wall, before starting to retreat one step at a time.
Ling Chen was helpless to do anything but watch as Snake Lord left without any opposition.
Every killer was a deranged lunatic. Had Ling Chen chosen to prevent his escape, the bastard would definitely trigger the grenade in his hand. Ling Chen felt that he was still too young to die in a mutual suicide attack.
After confirming that Snake Lord had left, Ling Chen bent down to pick up a keychain with a bunch of keys. Just now, when Snake Lord had been distracted, Ling Chen used exactly this bunch of keys to deflect his gun and knock off its trajectory, avoiding a lethal bullet wound.
Walking back to the corner of the wall, he saw Nanrong Wanqing crouching and could not resist the impulse to hug her.
As a result, just as he leaned forward to embrace her, the woman suddenly delivered a fierce slap to his head.
Ling Chen grabbed firmly onto her wrist, asking in a displeased tone, "Are you crazy? I didn't do anything to offend you!"
"You know the best in your heart what you have done."
"I'm not sure what you're talking about."
Nanrong Wanqing glared at him with demonic eyes, and said in a frigid tone, "The ringtone just now..."
"I say, Chairwoman, what you should be concerned about now isn't those kinds of mundane matters. I just saved you from the killer! Shouldn't you at least show the least bit of gratitude?"
"Hmph, you're still an employee of the company. Protecting me is your natural duty."
Ling Chen was rendered speechless. This woman really can't suffer a loss gracefully.
Although the danger had passed temporarily, Ling Chen dared not to relax. Just like what Snake Lord had said, a killer would stop at nothing to complete their task. He was worried that the Snake Lord would return and get his revenge.
As he carried Nanrong Wanqing out of the alley, Ling Chen's initial plan was to head for the alley. But right at this moment, he received a phone call from Xia Mutong.
Previously, when he was still being detained, Xia Mutong had come up to him and said that a lead had been discovered. This lead confirmed his conjecture about the existence of a killer. He had to speak until his saliva almost dried up, before finally managing to convince Xia Mutong to release him.
Xia Mutong, who had initially followed him to the Old City District, received an urgent order from her superior, commanding her to rush to the event venue to protect the top brass of the government. Thus, the two parted ways then.
After updating Xia Mutong about their current whereabouts, Ling Chen hung up and stood patiently at a side of the road for the latter to arrive.
"Ling Chen, who exactly are you?"
"Me? Didn't you just say, I'm Ling Chen."
"You know that I'm not referring to that."
Picking up on the dissatisfaction underlying Nanrong Wanqing's voice, Ling Chen casually drawled, "Is this really important?"
"You're in charge of my safety; naturally, I want to know your background."
When she had overheard the conversation between him and Snake Lord just now, her heart was brimming with curiosity. What origins does this man have exactly? Why does he have such a profound knowledge of killers?
As the Chairwoman of Hongyu Multinational and the Young Miss of the Nanrong family, she had seldom come into contact with the outside world, much less to say the dark underground world of killers and assassins.
"Chairwoman, I'm sorry to say, but only members of my family can know the truth behind my identity. Well, if you insist on wanting to know, then..."
"Just take it as if I never asked anything."
Nanrong Wanqing decisively cut him off mid-sentence. This fellow is really good at bullshitting. If I'm not careful, I'll definitely be taken advantage of!