What did they plan to do with the sniper rifle? Nie Yan’s eyes flashed with killing intent. Were they going to assassinate Xie Yao? He would never allow that!

Xie Yao was important to the Dragonsoar and Glory Financial Groups. The actions of these people today were definitely related somehow.

Nie Yan slowly approached them, his movements stealthy and nimble. He had no idea what Xie Yao was doing right now. He switched his phone to silent mode and sent her a text.

「Xie Yao, where are you right now?」

It didn’t take long for Xie Yao to reply.「I’m still hiding in the bathroom. I’m scared to go out.」Her bathroom was bulletproof and had a voice control system.

Nie Yan could sense Xie Yao’s fear and restlessness.「Stay in there. Don’t come out. I’ll be there in a moment!」

The villas in Cloudwater were constructed out of the highest quality materials. Every brick and panel of glass was designed to withstand the strongest impacts. Furthermore, the bathroom doors were controlled by user voice command, so other people couldn’t enter without permission. It was precisely due to these added safety measures that Xie Yao chose to hide here.

「Be careful, Nie Yan. My family’s security will be arriving in three minutes.」

Nie Yan stayed low and crept closer to the two people until he was within earshot.

“Bayonet. You do understand the consequences of your actions, right?” one of the figures asked with a sinister laugh.

“Wisp. There’s not many things we mercenaries won’t do for money, but we have a principle of not harming women, children, or the elderly. Before we came here, you never clearly explained the situation to me! This doesn’t count as me breaking the agreement!” Bayonet firmly rebuked.

“If it wasn’t for your satellite bypassing technology, I would’ve never called a stubborn bastard like you over here. Listen here. You’re a mercenary. I’m a hitman. The client pays us the money, and we carry out the job. To hell with your morals! Don’t forget. Those disabled buddies of yours are still waiting for you to bring back some money so they can provide for their families,” Wisp sneered.

Bayonet sank into silence for a moment. “My buddies were also mercenaries once. They’ll understand my choice.”

“Even if they do, do you think you’ll make it back to see them again?”

“Are you threatening me, Wisp!?”

“Oh, no. Not me. Since the client has tasked us with this job, they’ve naturally made preparations for you backing out.”

“You bastard! Who’s the client!?” Bayonet growled.

“Don’t be silly. You know we hitmen don’t reveal any information about our clients. It’s one of our principles, after all.”

Listening to their conversation, Nie Yan roughly understood the gist of the situation. These two people had come here to either kidnap or kill Xie Yao. Wisp was the one who had accepted the mission and recruited Bayonet for his technology that could bypass the satellites monitoring Cloudwater. But when they got here, they suddenly broke out into an argument. Bayonet held firm to his principle of not harming women, children or the elderly, and Xie Yao was just a 18 year old girl. So, he wanted out.

Nie Yan somewhat admired Bayonet for sticking to his code even in this sort of situation.

At this moment, a red dot hovered over Bayonet’s chest. “I’m sure you should know by now. You don’t get to choose.” Wisp faintly smiled, derision filling his eyes.

Bayonet glanced over at a rooftop in the distance. With the pull of the trigger, he wouldn’t live to see the next moment.

“Let’s go. Where’s the girl at?” Bayonet said after a moment of silence.

“Good, so long as you know your place. Don’t try to pull anything funny either. If I detect the slightest hint of betrayal, you and your buddies will be accompanying each other straight to hell.”

Bayonet’s eyes flashed with a cold light. “I don’t care who the client is. Pass this message on to them. As long as I live, they best not touch my friends. Otherwise, I’ll chase them down to the end of the universe!”

Wisp simply chuckled, not saying anything else. He had worked together with Bayonet a few times before. He was well aware Bayonet was capable enough to carry through with his words.

Even then, so what? He was only in charge of the mission. Once it was over, and he received the rest of his commision, he was free to do whatever he wanted. As for someone else’s life or death, he couldn’t care less.

The two approached Xie Yao’s house. Nie Yan didn’t know whether their objective was to kidnap or assassinate her. But once they got into the house, her life would be in danger. Although her bathroom was bulletproof, considering the enemy was capable of bypassing some of the most advanced satellite technology in the world, the voice control system locking them out would offer little to no protection.

At this moment, eight silhouettes appeared outside the entrance of Xie Yao’s villa. They were her family’s security team.

「Wisp, we have small fries coming your way,」a voice rang through Wisp’s earpiece.

「Kill them.」Wisp laughed as his eyes flashed with a cold glint.

A red beam of light swept through the air. With a muffled bang, a bullet pierced through the heart of one of the bodyguards. He let out a groan before collapsing to the ground.

A brief, chaotic flurry ensued as the security guards dove for cover.

“They have a sniper!”

“Find them, quickly!”

From their reactions, it appeared these bodyguards had also gone through special training.

「You have three minutes to secure the target and get out. I won’t be responsible for anything that happens after!」the sniper informed.

「Understood. Three minutes will do,」Wisp replied.

With that, Bayonet and Wisp broke into Xie Yao’s home.

Nie Yan checked the nearest window and found it already open. He clambered in and used his familiarity with the house to arrive at her bedroom before the intruders.

Xie Yao’s bathroom door remained tightly sealed. Nie Yan looked around before hiding near the bedside.

Seeing a silhouette enter sight of her room’s security cameras, Xie Yao started panicking. Although she knew taekwondo and a bit of mixed martial arts, she held no illusion about being a match for professional hitmen.

“Don’t worry, it’s me,” Nie Yan whispered.

Xie Yao immediately calmed down. Nie Yan’s voice gave her a sense of security.

“Stay hidden, and don’t make any noise. I’ll protect you.” Nie Yan knew he was risking his life by doing this. But he couldn’t allow harm to befall Xie Yao.

Nie Yan didn’t know how skilled the other side was. But from what he gathered from their conversation, one being a professional hitman and the other a professional mercenary, they couldn’t be weak. Best case scenario, he estimated he could take out one of them in an ambush. Two at the same time would be troublesome.

But if they broke into Xie Yao’s bathroom, Nie Yan would have no choice but to fight!

Nie Yan could hear two people quickly making their way over from the corridor. Though their footsteps were light, he could still detect them through the vibrations in the floorboards.

Nie Yan stayed low to the ground, his body half-hidden under the bed. With a flick of his wrist, he pulled out a sharp ornate dagger. He had grabbed it while leaving the house. It was normally left up on display in his room. The blade was only about finger-length and looked completely harmless. But if someone stabbed with enough strength, it could still deal a fatal blow.

Xie Yao’s door opened. Nie Yan immediately tensed up and held his breath.

Bayonet knitted his brows upon entering the room. After surviving through some of the most dangerous environments over the years, he had an acute sense of awareness far above that of an average person. He detected the presence of two people, one a girl and the other a man.

Bayonet briefly paused but didn’t say anything.

Wisp entered the room behind Bayonet. He was an expert at assassination, but his senses for detecting danger weren’t as developed as Bayonet’s.

“Where’s the little miss?” Wisp asked. He looked around for a moment before letting out a sinister chuckle as he found the bathroom door.

Wisp stayed one step behind, letting Bayonet enter first.

Bayonet took out a thin metal chip, which flew up and attached itself to the frosted glass door of the bathroom.

「Bang!」The chip exploded and instantly shattered the glass door into tiny shards which fell to the ground like clinking rain. Xie Yao’s scream could be heard from inside the door.

Xie Yao pretended to act panicked and flustered to attract Wisp’s attention. Even though she was anxious, she tried her best to remain calm since Nie Yan was in the room with her. The martial arts classes and occasional bouts had honed her mental strength.

Bayonet furrowed his eyebrows. “The client wants her alive.”

Wisp snickered. “Relax. She won’t die.”

He ogled the flustered girl inside the bathroom with a wicked smile. Xie Yao’s hair was messy but her beauty was still clear to see. “She’s so pretty! Even more than what the picture showed.”

“Bayonet, do you want to sample a taste with me?” Wisp’s lips bent into an evil perverted grin.

“We’re short on time!” Bayonet’s face was full of disgust and loathing.

Just as Wisp was about the enter the room, Nie Yan sprang up from his hiding spot and lunged at the hitman with his dagger.