2 Midnight Assault

In the midst of the night, a shadow could be seen appearing and disappearing in the quiet street almost instantly after it appeared.

As though he was teleporting, every step he took, Xiao Yun would appear many meters into the distance.

And after many hours of repeating the same movements, Xiao Yun halted his steps the moment he landed a street away from the headquarters of the Red Snake Clan, where two guards with assault rifles in their hands guarded the entrance.

They were obviously not trying to hide their weapons, nor did they seem scared of the consequences of displaying such a deadly weapon out in the open.

The entrance was small and easy to miss, and leading to the entrance was a narrow alley with dimmed lights.

Xiao Yun took a moment to analyze the alley and two guards before disappearing into the darkness again.

Whoosh. Whoosh.

Two black needles with sizes smaller than even a single strand of hair, when combined silently, flew in the darkness, their appearance hidden by the night sky.

These black needles were clearly targeting the two guards, and it took only an instant after they were released to pierce the skin of the guards.

Thud. Thud.

Before the guards could even react to the feeling of their skin being pricked, their eyes blanked out, and they fell to the floor simultaneously.

The instant the two guards hit the ground, Xiao Yun was already standing in front of the steel door that has no doorknob or keyhole.

He then knocked it with a rhythmic pattern.

Creee…

The door opened slightly seconds later.

"What is it? You just went to the bathroom—"

Before the man behind the door could even finish his sentence, a black needle pricked his neck, causing his eyes to blank out like the two guards.

Xiao Yun casually walked into the hideout after killing the three guards. He had been here the night prior and learned of everything about this place, and in addition to the information in the yellow binder, he knew everything about this place like it was his own house.

As Xiao Yun navigated his way deeper into the hideout, guards would fall one by one, dying without even being aware of the fact that they had died.

Ten guards, twenty guards.... the entire hideout was filled with corpses in mere minutes, and Xiao Yun had done it without alerting a single soul.

After a few more minutes and a few more corpses, Xiao Yun finally arrived at the room where Julian Davis stayed in.

However, the moment Xiao Yun arrived, he was dumbfounded by what he saw inside the room.

There, sitting in the middle of the room on a couch, was a middle-aged man who looked as though he was sound asleep, even comfortably.

Xiao Yun did not dare to assume that he was really asleep and patiently watched him from the shadows.

After many moments had passed, Xiao Yun was still unmoving.

—What is he doing?

He could not help but ponder to himself.

How could his final target be so defenseless and vulnerable-looking? Something just wasn't right about this situation.

And he is believed to be the next 'Phantom' by many, a prestigious title given only to the best assassin in the world?

—How laughable!

He sneered at heart.

Then, he noticed the bracelet on his target's wrist. It wasn't noticeable at first because of how common it looked, so he overlooked it. However, upon closer inspection, the bracelet looked oddly familiar, which caused him to feel even more uncomfortable.

He was someone with an eidetic memory, so the possibility of him forgetting something he has seen before even if it was for an instant was impossible— at least it has never happened before.

And for some reason, Fatty Chen's face popped up in his head when he tried to recall the bracelet.

—That's… This bastard is playing the game that Fatty Chen has been bugging me about!

Xiao Yun couldn't believe his eyes. How could this guy who is believed to be the world's best assassin be playing a game in his hideout?

—Ridiculous!

Xiao Yun was angry. He was angry not because of the situation because it made his mission easy, but because this person who is believed to become the next 'Phantom' could be so vulnerable.

Unwilling to stay here any longer, Xiao Yun silently disappears from the shadows to appear behind Julian Davis without making even the slightest of sounds.

He then takes out a black dagger that seemed to give off the illusion that it was swallowing the surrounding light the moment it appeared.

"Who's there?!"

The middle-aged man on the couch noticed the change in the atmosphere and instantly moved from his sleeping position.

However, he was too late in his movements as the black dagger had already pierced his heart the instant he noticed the change.

"Y-You… who…"

All Julian Davis could see in his moments before death was a pair of black eyes that seemed to resemble two black holes trying to devour his soul.

Xiao Yun narrowed his eyes at the dying figure whose eyes were slowly closing. "I am…"

"Phantom!" he said in a low voice that was surrounded by coldness.

"Im-Impossi...ble…"

As though his soul had frozen after hearing Xiao Yun's chilling word, the light in Julian Davis' eyes completely disappeared into the darkness.

After Xiao Yun confirmed Julian Davis' death, he killed the remaining guards in the hideout before destroying any possible evidence of him being there, by setting the entire place on fire.

As someone who grew up learning to kill, and already used to killing since young, Xiao Yun didn't feel all that different despite killing so many people.

He looked indifferent, and that cold expression didn't falter even after he left.

And by the time he returned home, it was already morning, and he only had an hour before school begins.

Taking a quick shower and skipping breakfast, he headed for school minutes after he just returned.

He wasn't willing to let his perfect attendance get ruined even if he had to miss sleep.

And half an hour later, he arrived at his school in his normal appearance, looking as though what he did last night never happened.