Chapter Sixty-Nine: The Third Wave of Assassins

At the scene, the only ones capable of fighting were Qin Tian and Nan Gong Xiao’e, so it was inevitable that they would be the ones to venture out.
“I’ll circle around through the garage. Brother Qin Lei, once I’ve made it out, I’ll try to draw the sniper’s fire. You break out through the front door and locate the sniper!” Nan Gong Xiao’e said.
“Alright. Remember to slowly get used to calling me Qin Tian,” Qin Tian nodded.
“Qin Lei, Qin Lei, Qin! Lei!” Nan Gong Xiao’e said with a hint of annoyance.
Qin Tian rubbed his forehead, resigned to letting her be.
Nan Gong Xiao’e hid behind the garage door, took a few deep breaths, then suddenly flung the door open, rolled across the ground, and slipped into the nearby flowerbed.
The instant she entered the flowerbed, a bullet whizzed past, striking the spot where she had just been, leaving a small hole in the ground.
Cracks radiated around the hole, the entire surface slightly depressed!
“What a brutal rifle!” Nan Gong Xiao’e’s expression was serious. A killer who could afford such a weapon was certainly no ordinary person!
At the very least, he had to be ranked in the top fifty of the individual assassin leaderboard!
The assassin rankings were divided into organizational and individual leaderboards; the organizational leaderboard measured the strength of the group, while the individual leaderboard judged personal prowess.
Yet, there was an exception: the male and female assassins who had long dominated both the first and second positions—they each were a force unto themselves!
Thus, the top two in both leaderboards were always them.
Inside, Qin Tian heard the gunshot and instantly opened the door, darted outside, scanning the distant vantage points—the sniper had to be positioned high up somewhere!
A flash caught Qin Tian’s eye: the glint of a scope!
There!
Qin Tian locked onto the location of the killer.
“There! I’ll approach. Cover me!” Qin Tian called to Nan Gong Xiao’e, hidden among the flowers.
“Be careful! The enemy is definitely not weak!” Nan Gong Xiao’e warned.
“Don’t worry, I’ll be fine.” Qin Tian grinned at her.
He crouched low, weaving through trees and bushes, using the cover of night and Nan Gong Xiao’e’s distraction to slowly move toward the target.
He arrived at the spot where Nan Gong Xiao’e had planned to snipe him. Qin Tian tread lightly, quietly ascending the stairs.

When he reached the rooftop, he peeked out and saw two figures lying on the ground.
Looking closer, one had a gaping wound in the neck, staring wide-eyed in terror—clearly killed in a surprise attack.
The other was the killer, clutching the rifle.
Qin Tian felt a pang of sorrow—one comrade had fallen. Nothing pained him more than bloodshed and sacrifice.
“Damn it! I swear I’ll drag you out from the shadows!” he vowed.
“If you’re here, why not come out?” Suddenly, the killer turned and looked directly at Qin Tian.
Qin Tian was startled—the killer had detected him, even though he’d silenced his footsteps!
“Are you suspicious? As a sniper, if you don’t notice an enemy approaching, what kind of sniper are you?”
With those words, the assassin sprang up, swinging the rifle around and firing at Qin Tian’s position.
Bang!
Qin Tian ducked quickly, the bullet skimming the ground, the rush of air above his head palpable.
A moment’s delay, and his head would have burst open!
“Kid, come out now. The sooner I deal with you, the sooner I can collect my bounty,” the sniper said, masked, his voice electronically altered—professional and thorough.
“Who sent you to kill me?” Qin Tian shouted from beneath the stairs.
“That’s for you to answer. Have you offended someone you shouldn’t have?” the killer replied coolly.
“How much are you getting for killing me?” Qin Tian pressed.
“Not much. Two million. For an unknown kid like you, that’s already sky-high. Consider it your luck,” the killer laughed.
“Luck? I want nothing of it!” Qin Tian spat.
“Haha, alright, I don’t like playing cat and mouse. Come out,” the sniper aimed at the stairwell.
Qin Tian was trapped—he couldn’t go up without exposing himself, nor down without the same risk.
He was caught in a dilemma.
Just then, a distant gunshot rang out, and a bullet narrowly missed the sniper!

“Who’s there?” The sniper whipped around, wary, searching the direction of the shot.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Three throwing knives landed in a row before the sniper.
“Who are you?” The sniper backed away, looking for cover.
Now, his enemy was hidden while he was exposed—a dangerous disadvantage.
Qin Tian, hiding below the stairs, was unsettled. Another unexpected variable!
“Sigh, I never got used to these guns—throwing knives suit me better. I’ll take this two million,” a voice echoed, elusive, impossible to place or even tell its gender.
The sniper glanced at the knives. When he saw their design and the “Thousand” character engraved on the handle, his pupils contracted.
“Thousand-Step Flying Knife? So it’s you!” the sniper exclaimed in horror.
“If you recognize me, then leave. I don’t wish to spill more blood,” the enigmatic voice responded.
“Ranked eleventh on the individual assassin leaderboard, and you care about a mere two million?” the sniper sneered.
“Sigh, business is bleak now. It’s no longer our choice of jobs, but the jobs choosing us!” Thousand-Step Flying Knife lamented.
“Since you’re here, I’ll give you this courtesy. But I’ll remember today’s interference!” The sniper snorted, packed up his rifle, and prepared to leave.
Just then, a knife flew out, embedding itself in the sniper’s forearm.
He gasped in pain, glared venomously in the direction of the attack.
“I detest threats. Consider this a lesson—next time, you’ll be a corpse,” Thousand-Step Flying Knife said calmly.
As the words faded, a hunched old man emerged from the shadows.
The sniper glanced at him, unwilling, then leaped from the rooftop, using a pre-prepared rope to descend.
Qin Tian swallowed hard. Damn it, a third assassin had appeared!
Just how badly did the mysterious enemy want him dead? Qin Tian wondered. He couldn’t recall ever offending anyone so ruthless.