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墨書 Inktalez
The man laughed and said, "My master has plenty of aged fine wine stored away. Guests can choose whichever they like."
It turned out he was just a servant. If a servant could have such boldness, one could only imagine what kind of person the master was. Xin Yi, puzzled, stepped up the stairs and said, "If I could taste the red wine from Scott Winery that is twenty-eight years old, I would be quite interested. I just wonder if your master would be willing to share it."
"Hahaha... My master is very hospitable. As long as you are willing, you can freely enjoy the fine wines in the cellar. Please!" The man gestured for Xin Yi to enter.
Xin Yi was not polite and strode into the hall. However, he remained vigilant, and upon entering the hall, the antique decor caught his eye. It was rich with the ambiance of Heavenly Pride Nation. The furniture was predominantly made of natural bamboo and wood structures, and even the decorations on the walls and ceiling followed suit. Several famous calligraphy pieces from Heavenly Pride Nation were casually hung on the walls, making one feel as if they had stepped into a noble family home from a century ago. As Xin Yi surveyed the arrangement in the hall, the man politely said, "Please make yourself comfortable; I will go fetch my master."
As soon as he finished speaking, footsteps were heard coming down the stairs, and a voice said, "Your performance on the lawn just now was truly impressive. However, I am confident that I could shoot you dead before your second pause!" As he spoke, a young man appeared at the foot of the stairs. He was dressed in camouflage attire, wearing heavy military boots, and holding a sniper rifle. He looked every bit like a soldier from a field unit. What was even more amusing was that his face was painted with camouflage paint, obscuring his original features.
"Oh?" Xin Yi responded noncommittally.
"Don't believe me?" The young man seemed to sense Xin Yi's skepticism. He positioned his sniper rifle on his left elbow and aimed slightly before pulling the trigger. The bullet whizzed past Xin Yi's ear and struck an old floor clock behind him. The bullet hit precisely at the clock's mechanism, pinning the hour hand, minute hand, and second hand in place. If it weren't for the shattered glass scattered around, no one would believe that a bullet had struck it.
Xin Yi turned to take a look and couldn't help but admire the young man's marksmanship. However, he was more puzzled about why the bullet had behaved so obediently—not in terms of accuracy but rather why it had lodged itself there instead of penetrating through. Given the power of a sniper rifle, it should have pierced through and created a large hole; yet this bullet seemed to have been calculated perfectly to simply embed itself without going through. It appeared that both the sniper rifle and bullet had been modified.
Thus, Xin Yi deliberately remarked lightly, "Your shooting skills are good, but the power is too weak."
"Too weak?" The young man scoffed. "A true marksman values accuracy over power. If you want power, why not use a rocket launcher? This rifle's barrel and bullets have been modified by me; that's what makes it a true sniper rifle rather than just a killing weapon." As he spoke, he walked downstairs and tossed the sniper rifle to the man who had led Xin Yi in.
"My name is Little Kobe. If you're feeling unsatisfied, we can have a competition!" Little Kobe said provocatively while glancing sideways at Xin Yi.
Xin Yi thought to himself that Little Kobe really didn't know how to prioritize; here he was confronting a stranger who had intruded late at night without asking who they were or what they wanted—yet he was eager to challenge them to a shooting contest. He couldn't tell if Little Kobe was intentionally disregarding him or if he simply had a child's temperament. However, Xin Yi didn't have patience to waste with him; he was still worried about Lijie's whereabouts and safety.
"Don't you want to ask me why I'm here?" Xin Yi decided to take the initiative. Since you didn't ask, I'll guide you to ask. We need to get to the point quickly, and then we'll do what needs to be done. Once the matter is resolved, I can go home and sleep. I haven't slept well these past few days, and my drowsiness has become quite pronounced.
"Aren't you a killer here to assassinate Kobe Bryant?" Little Kobe said with an air of someone who already knew everything. "However, among all these killers, you're the first one to come to this villa on your own. The others were all brought here by my people, which is why I didn't shoot you on the lawn earlier. I'm quite interested in you."
What does Little Kobe mean by that? Xin Yi's mind raced. It seemed he had known about the assassination attempt all along and that there was more than one killer involved. If that's the case, Lijie must also have fallen into his hands. However, Xin Yi couldn't understand why multiple assassins would come after Kobe Bryant. Did he have too many enemies? Or was it that one client had hired multiple assassin organizations?
But now wasn't the time for analysis. Since I’ve found out Lijie's whereabouts, it’s time to act. With that thought, Xin Yi suddenly raised his right hand and threw a nail towards the forehead of the person who had led him in. At the same time, he sprang towards Little Kobe. Seeing Xin Yi suddenly attack, the man barely managed to dodge as the nail whizzed past him, thanks to his training; otherwise, he would have been in serious trouble. But Xin Yi's real goal was to distract him—his target was Little Kobe. Only by capturing Little Kobe could he negotiate effectively. As Xin Yi lunged at him, Little Kobe did not evade; instead, he allowed Xin Yi's blade to press against his throat and even smiled slightly, saying, "The organization sent you to kill isn't me. I'm Little Kobe; Kobe Bryant is my father. Also, do you think your knife is faster than my gun?"
Xin Yi glanced down and saw that Little Kobe was holding a small handgun aimed at his abdomen. The gun was no longer than ten centimeters; it must have been hidden in his palm all along, which explained why he wasn't avoiding the confrontation—he was prepared.
Xin Yi coldly replied, "I'm not here to kill anyone, so whether or not you're Kobe Bryant doesn't matter to me. Besides, you can certainly try to see if your gun is faster than my knife. A bullet might only make a hole in my abdomen, but I can slice your throat with one stroke. Who do you think has the better odds?"
"You’re not a killer?" Little Kobe exclaimed in surprise. "Then what are you doing here? Don't you think I have a hundred ways to make anyone who enters this villa die?"
Xin Yi couldn't care less about Little Kobe's surprise; he just wanted to find out Lijie's whereabouts quickly. "I ask you: what happened to those killers you brought here? How did you deal with them?"
To his surprise, Little Kobe raised his head proudly and replied, "You haven't answered my question yet; why should I answer yours?"
Damn! This kid is really stubborn. In this life-and-death standoff, he's wasting time on this issue! Xin Yi felt speechless but had no other useful options at the moment. Killing him outright was impossible today; Xin Yi wasn't here for murder and couldn't just end things like before during missions because this person might know Lijie's whereabouts and could potentially be used as leverage for her—assuming Lijie was still alive.
"I'm a killer, but I'm not here to kill today," Xin Yi said. "I'm looking for someone—she's my fiancée and also a killer who accepted the mission to assassinate Kobe Bryant. What I want to know is where she is so I can take her away. Do you understand what I mean?"
"Oh, so that's how it is," Little Kobe said with a sly smile. "Heh heh heh... A female killer? I can tell you that those killers are all fine; I haven't harmed them at all. But do you think you can just take her away without considering how capable Black K Party and the Bryant family are?"
"What do you want to do?" Xin Yi knew that things wouldn't go smoothly, but as long as he knew Lijie was fine, everything else could be discussed. He readily asked Little Kobe to state his conditions.
"If you want to take someone away, you need to show me that you have the ability to do so, right?" Little Kobe continued, "If you dare to compete with my people and win, I'll let you take your fiancée. Of course, if you lose..."
"What then?" Xin Yi asked.
"Then not only will you not be able to take your fiancée, but you will also have to stay here yourself," Little Kobe said slyly.
"Stay here? For what?" Xin Yi felt something was off about this situation, but he couldn't pinpoint exactly what it was. For instance, why were there so many assassins trying to kill Kobe Bryant? Why were these assassins captured? And why weren't they executed? There had to be an unresolved key issue behind all this, which made the entire series of events seem strange.
"Of course, you'll stay here to work for me. But don't worry, you're still free; it's just a hiring relationship. How does that sound?" Little Kobe said. "By the way, you can put down that little knife; it's uncomfortable talking like this. Don't you think?"
Suddenly, Xin Yi caught a hint from Little Kobe's words. Could it be like this? Xin Yi put away the thin blade in his hand, and Little Kobe also holstered his small pistol. "What will we compete in? How will we compete?" Xin Yi asked. Since conditions had been set, it would be easier to handle. He wasn't afraid of Little Kobe going back on his word; if it came to an irreversible point, he could just kill him then.
Seeing that Xin Yi agreed to the competition, Little Kobe became excited and said, "There's no need to compare gun skills; you're definitely not my match. From what I saw earlier, your martial arts skills should be quite good. Let's find someone for you to compete in swordsmanship with. Don't worry; as long as you can win against him, I will keep my promise!"
Little Kobe then turned to the person next to him and said, "Thomas, bring me my laptop. I need to show this gentleman a picture of his fiancée so he can compete with peace of mind! Also, notify Topology and tell him to come here immediately; just say I've found him a formidable opponent!"
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