The flight reached the Kansai International Airport after being in the air for three and a half hours. Zhang Heng exchanged for Japanese Yen at the currency converter in the airport hallway before taking a ride on the Limousine Bus.
It was evening by the time he reached the Sannomiya Station in Kobe.
Japanese cities felt different from those back home in Huaxia. One could see posters everywhere with AKB members and animated characters on them. There were also a lot of middle school and high school students wearing sailor uniforms all over the streets as well. There were huge LED screens installed on the façade of tall buildings, broadcasting the latest news around the clock. All of that reminded him that he was in a different country.
It was currently rush hour and the spacious junctions were filled with people walking about. Countless white-collar workers were seen standing before the crossing lights as they wore dull faces. People were seen walking with their shoulders rubbing against each other and the traffic looked just as busy.
Zhang Heng kept his head low wearing the cap, blending in with the crowd as he observed the people around him, which made him feel that things somewhat looked out of place. He shook his head and picked up his vibrating phone, answering the call.
"Commander, the target is beginning to move to Mount Rokko. You're currently about three kilometers away from the target."
"That's good to hear." Zhang Heng shook his head and boarded the cab with a deadpan face, speaking with the driver in English and headed straight for Mount Rokko.
"You're two kilometers away from the target. The target has stopped moving. His location is confirmed to be the Nakanobo Zuien Hotel in Arima. You're now about one kilometer away from the target. … You're now 500 meters away from the target. … You're now 100 meters away from the target." Reminders were heard from Corona continuously from the other end of the phone. Zhang Heng's gaze grew increasingly cold with every prompt.
Before long, the cab stopped right before the Nakanobo Zuien Hotel and Zhang Heng headed straight for the door of the hotel after paying the fare.
That particular hotel was different from the modern-looking ones in town, as it was designed with an Edo flair to it. The trees at the sides of the hotel were lush and the building had a tranquil air about it despite nightfall practically being minutes ago.
The dark of night was the best time for killing people.
Zhang Heng silently put on his gloves and walked up to the door. He was greeted by the staff of the hotel before he even got into the door. "Konbanwa, …masuka?"
Zhang Heng frowned, as he didn't know what the staff was saying but he guessed that he was asked if he wanted to book a room for the night. Zhang Heng simply nodded and the staff escorted him into the hotel with a series of bowing and nodding.
When he came to the reception desk he immediately asked in English, "May I know Fujiwara Tsubasa's room number?" before the smiling staff had the chance to say anything.
The staff were stunned for a bit when they heard Zhang Heng speaking English. The woman behind the desk bowed with an apologetic expression before yelling for someone behind her and a fat man who was the manager of the hotel came over to them.
"Good day, sir. May I know how could I be of service?" That man came up and asked in fluent English and a smile.
"I'm looking for Fujiwara Tsubasa." Zhang Heng stared into the man's eyes and continued, "Tell me his room number."
"You…" That fat man was stunned. He felt like he was choking under Zhang Heng's cold glare. He averted his eyes and lowered his head and asked again, "Would you mind I ask if you're a guest invited by Mr. Fujiwara? If you're not, I'm afraid that I couldn't disclose our guest's information."
Zhang Heng frowned before nodded in a frustrated manner. "Yes, I'm a guest of Mr. Fujiwara."
"Su-Sure, hold on for a moment please." It was obvious that the fat manager didn't buy his cheap lie. Zhang Heng was wearing a cap and a mask, which meant that he was covering himself up too well. The fat man didn't dare to look at Zhang Heng's eyes and simply picked up the phone on the desk and called a number.
It was apparent that the manager knew of Fujiwara Tsubasa's sensitive status. As such, he was on high alert against Zhang Heng.
"No need for the call." Zhang Heng sighed, seeing how he failed to achieve his objective. He pressed onto the desk and flipped himself to the other side of the reception desk, raising his hand in midair and chopped at the fat manager's neck, dropping the man to the ground with his eyes rolled back.
The receptionist who was unable to speak English from before watched that happened with a stunned expression. Zhang Heng came behind her and before she realized what was happening, she felt that the back of her neck suddenly hurt before losing consciousness.
Zhang Heng managed to precisely knock two people unconscious in just a second. That would have looked utterly impossible in the eyes of regular people. Even Zhang Heng wouldn't have believed such maneuvers could be possible before acquiring the Dimensional Star. Nonetheless, he was currently able to perform such feats easily and he didn't flinch when he did.
He looked around the lobby after taking out the lobby personnel. The place was empty because it wasn't a holiday season. The man who escorted him into the hotel went on to greet other potential guests, which made it really convenient for Zhang Heng to take the guest register and trace the back of the list.
It was apparent that there would not be a Fujiwara Tsubasa found on the list. The last name in the register was Ozawa Ayato, who was staying somewhere in the backyard, in a room with an open hot spring.
Zhang Heng flipped himself over the desk again after finding the answer he came for before making his way to the backyard.
He saw four men standing with their hands behind their backs before a Japanese door as soon as he got to the backyard. All four of them were wearing black uniforms and sunglasses, making it look like they were out to show everyone else that they were gangsters. Their sides looked bulging, making it obvious that they were armed.
Zhang Heng took a deep breath and walked right up to the four of them.
"Who goes there...?" One of them shouted immediately after seeing Zhang Heng approach them. However, before the man finished asking the question, Zhang Heng stomped on the ground and accelerated away, appearing right before that man like a bolt of lightning.
That man was stunned and reached for what was on his back. However, Zhang Heng appeared within mere inches from that man before he was even able to grab hold of his weapon. That man then felt his insides turn upside down suddenly, before falling unconscious in the very next second.
"Baka!" The other three men reacted right away and drew their guns. However, Zhang Heng simply zipped about like a specter and quickly appeared before another man right after putting down the first one.
"Crack!"
A gritty crack was heard from that man's arm and his gun fell into Zhang Heng's hand smoothly like he was playing some trick.
"Bang, bang, bang!"
All three gunshots felt like they were a single shot. Bloody bullet holes were seen in the foreheads of all three men after the shots were heard. All three of them fell to the ground with utterly baffled expressions on their faces.
"Ahhhh!" The scream of a woman was heard from behind the door. Zhang Heng pushed the door open with a deadpan expression and saw a completely naked woman with alluring looks screaming from the hot spring on the other side of the room.
A fat middle-aged man with a mustache was right behind the woman. He climbed out of the hot spring frantically and ran for his clothes.
"Bang!"
Another gunshot was heard and a bloody hole appeared on that fat man's leg. He shrieked in pain and lost his balance, crashing to the ground hard.
"Who are you?" The fat man shouted as he looked at Zhang Heng, backing away while writhing on the floor as if he could escape the reaper standing before him doing that.
"Target confirmed." Zhang Heng took a close look at the man's appearance, confirming him to be the man on the image that Corona sent him. He tilted his head for a bit before pointing the gun at that man's head.
"I'm the boss of the Aioukai serving under the Yamaguchi-Gumi! Why are you trying to kill me? You'll die too if you kill me. The Yamaguchi-Gumi wouldn't…!" That man shouted away, but his heart sank completely after taking note of his killer's masked face and cold eyes.
"Bang!"
Zhang Heng pulled the trigger without any hesitation before the man was able to finish speaking. Blood and brain matter gushed from the back of the man's head, staining the hot spring red.
"Ahhhh!" The naked woman backed away in terror. She was completely unable to stand, feeling as if her legs had turned into spaghetti in fear as she was only able to scream while looking at Zhang Heng.
"Shhh…" Zhang Heng put his index finger up and gestured for her to stop screaming. The woman realized what he meant and covered her mouth with both of her hands. However, the utter terror seen in her eyes was something she was unable to do anything about.
Zhang Heng nodded satisfactorily after watching her quiet down. It was then that he looked down to check the gun in his hand. It was a Beretta M9 with a conventional detachable box magazine with a capacity for 15 rounds. The gun had a length of 217 millimeters and weighed 1100 grams after being fully loaded. It had a muzzle velocity of 390 meters per second and an effective range of 50 meters.
All of that data flashed in Zhang Heng's mind in a blitz. Due to the training given by Corona, there was hardly a firearm in the world that he was completely unfamiliar with and such high-performance models were particularly stressed in his training. Despite that being the first time he touched a firearm in real life, there was not a hint of unfamiliarity in handling it. It felt almost like second nature to him.
Zhang Heng chuckled and dropped the gun into the hot spring shortly afterward before walking slowly out of the hotel.
Despite having worn gloves, contemporary forensics technology had a certain ability to be able to collect dead cells on the gun to serve as evidence. As such, the best way to destroy all evidence was to drop it into the water.
The hotel only began to gradually get noisy after Zhang Heng walked out.