Chapter 110
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 109
Chapter Title: Assassin's Strings
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Second year living in exile.
For Jin, there was something he'd never wanted to get used to, yet had become as natural as breathing—or eating, at least.
And that was killing.
The guy who'd spent days tormented by nightmares after his first gruesome kill? Long gone. He'd killed to survive in this world. Self-destructive survival, you could call it. Yeah, better to bury that word "killed" deep in the sunny corners of his mind. The problem was when it popped out like a zombie arm, gnawing at his heart like old times—but that only happened on rare occasions.
Aside from those faint pangs every now and then, Jin had shaken off any guilt about killing long ago.
But he swore to the heavens above, he'd never done it to civilians.
"No, wait—teachers?!"
A bewildered yelp escaped Jin's lips.
He'd tilted his head back to dodge a blade aimed at his face. Despite his panicked expression, his body moved on autopilot—a mechanical punch slamming into the gut of the charging guy in nothing but his underwear.
Thud!
Even if he'd pulled the punch, Jin's muscles had long surpassed human limits, rivaling a silverback gorilla's. And they were still growing stronger by the day.
Naturally, the man's body folded up like one of those old flip phones.
Normally, Jin would've followed up with a knee to the falling face, but this time he just chopped the nape of the neck.
Targeting the carotid sinus precisely.
In humans and most mammals, that major pressure receptor was hypersensitive to blood pressure changes. The brief cutoff of blood flow made the brain go snap!—lights out.
The man crumpled to the floor.
It looked almost scientific, but without Jin's combat instincts and precise control, it was damn near impossible to replicate in one shot.
So don't try this at home.
The next instant—
Whoosh!
Wind whistled past Jin's ear.
Without turning, he ducked—and crack! the wall split open beside him.
A sidelong glance revealed a massive cyberarm embedded in the wall, mid-wall-smash. Thick cables replacing veins, four hydraulic cylinders on the elbow joint pumping up and down in alternation—
A young woman turned her head to look at Jin.
Her eyes vacant, unfocused.
Jin gave a wry smile.
"This ain't civilian-level anymore, right?"
At that moment, the woman shook the cyberarm free from the wall and charged. She flung handfuls of plaster dust like sand from her grip.
But Jin didn't even blink. He caught the incoming steel fist in his open palm. The hydraulic cylinders went slack as the cyberarm froze—then Jin twisted it like a kid's wrist.
A difference in raw power classes.
The cyberarm generated plenty of kinetic energy, but the opponent was Jin.
This guy was a superhuman packed with ultra-dense muscles from head to toe. His full-body linked strength was on another level entirely.
Crunch, cruuunch—
Sparks flew from the mechanical arm as the woman was forced to her knees. Her exposed nape—neck slice!
Only after her face slackened did Jin release his grip, shaking out his hand as he looked up.
What he saw: the hallway packed with unconscious bodies.
These were the ones who'd burst out of rooms in the dead of night to swarm him. Not important that some were buck-naked or that every Lost City local had some kind of weapon on them.
The key was their inconsistency.
Just like their vacant stares.
Jin had first suspected berserk virus, but no telltale "head-crush resistant, zombie-like tenacity." Plus, some of those smooth temples on the fallen folks confirmed it wasn't that.
Mind control, maybe?
Focusing on the new possibility, Jin pulled up his status window. He scanned the short message again.
Assassin confirmed.
Not "assassins"—assassin (singular).
Realizing their innocence once more, Jin scanned the surroundings.
Dead silence.
Eerily quiet after all the gunfire moments ago.
As if the building itself was holding its breath, watching him—his brow furrowed instinctively.
Ding—
A clear chime, and the elevator doors slid open.
Out stepped a tall, long-lashed woman.
Stoic-faced, she hurled something tin-can shaped. It bounced between the bodies, rolling to a stop—a grenade. Jin's eyes widened.
Grenade in the hallway!!
By the time alarms blared in his head, he'd already blinked over it, covering it with his body.
BOOM!
The blast rocked his broad back. Amid the rising gray smoke, Jin coughed dryly, pushing himself up on one knee.
"You fucking...!"
Veins bulging on his forehead, blood trickling from nose and mouth.
In that split second, he'd wrapped mana around his gut like body armor, but it couldn't fully blunt a point-blank high-explosive grenade. Not a flashbang—this was the nasty kind that crumpled steel plate, its blast pressure compressed within 5cm.
His insides churning? Inevitable.
Blood sloshing in his throat, he still drove a hand blade into the woman's nape, gritting his teeth.
Assassin or whatever.
This psycho treated lives like ant piss.
And the moment she realized he was knocking out guests instead of killing? She pulls this grenade delivery stunt. The longer this dragged on, the worse it'd get.
So.
You're done.
Filling the void of lost humanity with pure rage, Jin spun his plasma edge. Crackle! Arcing electricity sprayed everywhere. Not its usual jagged form—this spread wide in a grid pattern midair, like a net.
Violet Lightning Web.
A technique dredged intuitively from deepening imagery.
A purple net detecting biosignals within mana range from the user.
Its dense horizontal and vertical lines swept the entire nine-story motel.
A range even Kendrick couldn't handle.
Only possible with Jin's abnormally massive mana pool—this brute-force tactic.
Found you!
He'd detected something.
On the rooftop, an intensely pulsing biosignal. No need to search further—the assassin, obviously.
Smash!
Jin shattered a hallway window and blinked skyward.
Cold night air brushed his skin. Furious eyes glared up. Another blink.
Thump!
Hand on the roof railing, Jin vaulted up like a spring.
"...?!"
The man's startled face turned toward him—average features, anywhere-man. Instinct kicking in, he fired his pistol at the landing Jin.
Accuracy? Meh. Five shots: three misses, two hits—shoulder and gut. Jin shrugged them off tough-guy style and charged.
But the assassin didn't flinch.
The gun was just for time, it said. His other hand popped a pill from his pocket—
Jin didn't know, but it was an awakener.
Psykers' doping agent, trading lifespan for temporary brainwave boost.
Next instant.
A sharp pain stabbed Jin's mind.
Stop, stop, stop, stop.
The emphatic, repeating voice whispered menacingly, aiming to enslave another.
Having stripped dozens of wills and seized control, this superpower now pierced Jin's head like a needle.
And.
It vanished like a lie.
Plasma edge, plasma flame, ancient light.
The ever-vigilant trio smashed the intrusion on cue. Plasma flame especially aggressive—it'd long guarded its unstable host's mind, now blazing at the forefront—
"...!"
Even then, the assassin gave his all.
Firing another "stop" suggestion, he barely dodged Jin's incoming fist.
But that was it.
Dodging one? Fine. But letting Jin close for melee? Game over for an assassin.
Next instant.
WHAM!!
A thunderous impact spun the assassin's jaw.
Nose caved, cheekbone shattered, ribs snapped to pierce organs. Not done—slanted stomp crunched knee first, leg buckling. The wrecked body couldn't stand.
A massive hand seized the sinking face amid the splintered frame.
"Hey."
Breath fogging in the night air.
A growl rumbled from Jin.
"Who sent you?"
No answer. Not from professionalism—the jaw-grip crushed any chance of speech. He just writhed.
Even now, suicide commands trickled into Jin's mind. He wrinkled his nose.
"That gonna work?"
With that, Jin clenched his fist.
Crunch.
Sickening flesh-tear. The body flew back. And didn't get up.
"Ptoo."
Jin spat bloody chunks.
Adrenaline fading, pain surged.
But the "(Complete!)" message and EXP reward acted like brain opioids, numbing it.
Quest EXP aside, the assassin himself gave solid EXP.
Damn, that's decent.
Couldn't quantify exactly, but it felt like taking down a Rank 2 enemy.
"For that kinda payout, though..."
Jin scratched his cheek, eyeing the corpse.
But the dead don't talk.
The crushed-face body just cooled further.
Jin didn't dwell on the oddity.
Strong dude, so I win. Creepy mind control too.
Shrugging it off, he squatted awkwardly.
"Urk."
A groan slipped out.
His abs—internal and external obliques—had ruptured in harmony. Regenerating fibers felt gross, and he couldn't brace his core. Body curling instinctively?
How'd he even punch like that?
Incomprehensible even to him. Shaking his head, Jin rummaged the assassin's pockets.
Stripped him down to skivvies, found one thing: a beat-up terminal from an inner pocket.
Unless the guy loved analog vibes like Jin (latest back home), this was a burner—disposable comms.
"Gimme your hand."
Using the corpse's print to unlock, Jin dug through it.
Predictably, nada.
No search history, empty contacts, no calls or texts. Stock shell.
"Aw, tsk tsk."
Should've interrogated first, not killed on reflex?
As Jin clicked his tongue—
Bzzz—
The terminal vibrated. Incoming call.
No caller ID? Poser.
Grinning crookedly, Jin answered.
"Yeah, assassination target speaking."
[...]
"Hello? You the owner's buddy? Your friend's out cold on the floor, bleeding bad. Better come quick. Want the address?"
[Jin Evernight.]
Deep voice. Jin shrugged, plopping his ass down with a pained grunt.
"What?"
[Stronger than expected.]
"Yup. Stronger every day—yesterday to today, today to tomorrow."
True story.
But the guy took it as bravado.
[Amusing.]
Low chuckle. Jin gazed at the starless sky.
"Why kill me? Won't ask who. Just the reason."
[You ruined my business.]
"...Business? What business."
[Elina Vincent. Didn't you hand that girl to City Hall? Lost my popstar cash cow overnight—turned her into their psyker. All because of you.]
Jin tilted his head.
Elina, out of nowhere.
Total blindside.
"What, her agency prez or something?"
[That what it seems?]
Pointless Q&A.
Jin sighed, bored.
"Get to the point."
[You'll pay soon enough.]
"Whatever."
Click.
Jin tossed the terminal behind him, groaning as he stood.
「(Linked) Underworld Boss」
📍 Objective: Investigate the mastermind who ruined Elina...
"Piss off."
Dismissed without a glance.
Rubbing his aching gut, Jin muttered on.
"Elina can smash her own enemies. Dude. I pull her outta the drink—that's enough. Gotta carry her bags too? No damn clue. Zero tact."
No reason to bite on an unappealing quest. Street rat living free shoved hands in pockets.
"I'm heading to Downtown, punk."