The car exploded in a deafening roar, engulfed by a massive fireball.
Fransky wasn't fast enough.
The blast hurled the vehicle's wreckage across the street, and the driver perished instantly. The air reeked of burning metal and rubber as thick smoke billowed into the sky.
Fransky emerged from the debris, his body charred black and barely able to move. Every step was agonizing.
"Still alive?"
He staggered into an alley, dragging himself along the ground. With his back pressed against a pile of garbage, he scanned his surroundings cautiously. Only when he saw no immediate threats did he exhale, his breath shaky.
But just then—
Kaizen's silhouette appeared at the mouth of the alley, bathed in dim streetlight. Beside him stood a pink figure, ghostly and ominous.
It was Killer Queen.
The same invisible assassin that had turned the car into a bomb moments ago. In an instant, the car had become a trap, detonated by the Queen's touch.
Fransky, of course, couldn't see the ethereal Killer Queen. His focus was only on Kaizen, who looked from his stand to the phantom-like figure with a casual glance.
"An Enhancer who can't even maintain focus?" Kaizen muttered, his tone unimpressed. "You're worse than some of the rookie killers in Heavens Arena."
Fransky roared in frustration and lunged forward.
"Limb Bend!"
Kaizen moved effortlessly, his steps so fast they left afterimages in their wake. Fransky couldn't tell which one was the real Kaizen.
A flash of steel.
Kaizen's blade flicked out, almost too quick to see. A nail-like edge traced across Fransky's throat in a clean, effortless motion.
Shhhk!
Blood sprayed in an arc, and Fransky collapsed, gasping as his lifeblood poured out.
"You were too slow," Kaizen said flatly, watching the life drain from Fransky's eyes. "If you'd gotten your intel sooner, you might have stood a chance."
Kaizen took out his phone, snapped a few pictures of the scene, and uploaded them. The corpse was discarded in the trash heap without a second thought.
Another job done.
Within moments, Kaizen's phone buzzed with a notification. A transfer of 100 million Jenny had arrived.
Fast payment this time, Kaizen thought with a small smirk. At least the money came through without delay. The efficiency in the assassination business, when it worked smoothly, was hard to beat.
"This was easier than I expected."
Kaizen hadn't initially planned to take on assassination missions. It was his first formal job, and his lack of enthusiasm showed when Gotoh explained the Zoldyck family's guidelines. Even Milluki had been surprised when Kaizen accepted such a high-paying contract, warning that it might be too dangerous for him.
But in the end, it was all within Kaizen's capability.
"No, not just within my range. This was… easy."
Cole? No nen abilities at all.
Fransky? Just a rookie assassin with delusions of competence.
There were still three more targets on the list. Kaizen figured they'd be tougher, but not by much.
"At 100 million Jenny per head, I was aiming too low," he muttered, feeling mildly annoyed. "Those low-commission jobs on the assassin sites are crowded with amateurs. No wonder the payouts are garbage."
He shrugged. "But I guess that's because most assassins have no real skill."
Kaizen's mind drifted to the fact that there weren't many competent Nen users in the world. For someone like him—among the strongest—these jobs were hardly a challenge.
"If it was really dangerous, Grandfather Zeno would have stopped me. And Killua's already made 200 million Jenny just from reaching the 200th floor in Heavens Arena."
Kaizen ran a hand through his hair. "This kind of money is easy to earn. Next time, I'll aim higher. One billion Jenny in one go sounds better."
He glanced at the map on his phone. His next target: a death row convict named Killian, marked as prisoner number four.
After a moment's hesitation, Kaizen tapped his phone and dialed Milluki.
"Yo, Kaizen. What's up?" Milluki's voice crackled through the speaker.
"Killian's location hasn't changed, right?"
"Nope. Still holed up in that same hotel."
"Got it."
Kaizen hung up, his expression darkening.
"Strange," he muttered. "Even Fransky knew to change his hideout. Why hasn't Killian moved? He's been tipped off at least once."
It doesn't make sense.
"Unless… he thinks I'm not a threat."
A new thought occurred to Kaizen, unsettling in its implications.
"Or… could it be that Killian is a lot stronger than Fransky and Cole combined?"
There were still two other targets—prisoners number three and five—who were unaccounted for. Milluki hadn't been able to track them down yet, which was unusual given how fast his network normally worked.
"Something's off," Kaizen muttered. "They shouldn't be harder to find than the others."
A good information network didn't rely solely on the internet. It required solid contacts and connections—something Milluki had in abundance. The fact that he hadn't found them yet made Kaizen uneasy.
Still, he didn't slow down.
If the other two prisoners were nearby, hiding under Killian's shadow, it would make sense for them to stay close and lay a trap. A coordinated ambush.
Kaizen boarded an airship to the city where Killian was last seen. The distance made flying the only reasonable option.
Three days later, Kaizen disembarked from the airship and caught a taxi to a small town on the outskirts of the city.
According to Milluki's information, this was the hometown of one of Killian's old lovers. Kaizen figured it was as good a place as any for someone like Killian to hide.
As the taxi pulled up, Kaizen's phone buzzed with a message.
Milluki: "Killian left the town. Headed to the village—up the mountain."
Kaizen's brow furrowed.
"Why now of all times?" he murmured. "Is he running because he heard I was coming? Or… is this part of the trap?"
The pieces began to fall into place in Kaizen's mind.
If Killian was acting as bait, it made sense that the other two prisoners would be waiting nearby, ready to ambush him.
With a quiet sigh, Kaizen slipped the phone into his pocket and started walking toward the mountain path.
This time, he thought, they're the ones walking into a trap.
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