Free Web NovelChapter 1159: Chapter 353: A Friend Arrives
Chapter 353: Friends Arrive
Li Yan was chatting with Yue Yao when he suddenly sensed someone entering the vicinity of the villa.
This was no ordinary person, and what surprised him even more was that this person had a restrained killing aura, not exuding a strong murderous intent. Yet, even so, it made a ripple in his heart. It was a familiar feeling of slaughter and bloodthirstiness!
This was definitely not an ordinary assassin but someone like him, who had gone through countless killings and possessed a very composed aura. Moreover, if it were someone else, they might not even detect it. — This was why he noticed it and Yue Yao did not.
The issue from last night seemed resolved on the surface. Under the pressure from him and that Netherworld King, Ding Junqing, the members of that Assassin Group chose to give them face and left. But this was a team of two S-level assassins, along with a few A-level ones, so even if their mission was completed and they got their bounty, they still had the issue of losing face. They might very well come back to regain it!
Li Yan stopped speaking, glanced outside, and signaled Yue Yao. Now, there were only three people in this house, plus a full-time worker, Aunt Liu. Believing that assassins of this level wouldn’t trouble her, but it was different with Yue Yao. Of course, the closeness made a difference; Yue Yao was very important to him.
"I’ll go back to my room first..." Yue Yao naturally stood up, whispering softly.
"Mm." Li Yan understood her. She was heading back to her room to avoid the initial confrontation and perhaps to get a weapon. Super assassins don’t rely on guns or other hot weapons; their body is a weapon, and they can use any environment to create a killing opportunity. However, if assassins of the same level face off, a weapon can highlight its usefulness.
Yue Yao walked away unhurriedly, naturally, as if she hadn’t sensed anything unusual. Knowing the other side was prepared and hidden while they were exposed, this balcony might have already been observed from afar. Leaving in haste would only alert the enemy.
After Yue Yao left, Li Yan poured himself a bit more tea, sipped it slowly, then closed his eyes to wait.
If the enemy doesn’t move, I won’t either.
If it was still the people from last night’s assassin organization who gave him face at the critical moment, Li Yan didn’t want to fall out with them—it wouldn’t benefit anyone. The mastermind was dealt with, no need to provoke unrelated parties to the end.
After a while, he calmly said, "Since you’re here, why not come up and have a cup of tea?"
At this moment, Li Yan found it somewhat amusing. His demeanor was like a martial arts master with deep Inner Power, detecting the enemy’s breath, footsteps.
In reality, it wasn’t a quiet night, nor was it an enclosed space at close range—he couldn’t hear the footsteps or breathing of the stranger. They would avoid his line of sight, and he couldn’t really see anything. It was just a feeling, a sense that someone had already reached downstairs, with a bit of speculation and estimation involved.
Yet his composed and undisturbed demeanor now exuded the air of a master perceiving everything. — It’s said that even acting superior depends on the opponent. In front of entry-level viewers who think films like "刺陵" (The Treasure Hunter) and "三枪" (Three Guns) are masterpieces, talking about "The Godfather" or "The Shawshank Redemption" won’t have the same effect. Similarly, Li Yan’s current manner had more deterrence on assassins closer to his level, who dared not act rashly, while lower-level ones might recklessly make a move.
Moments after his words fell, someone indeed flipped onto the balcony from outside!
Now, the two were in a face-off at less than two meters apart. Though neither exuded killing intent, the atmosphere was tense. If it were a movie scene, this would be a wide-angle shot, with both their hair and clothes fluttering without wind, several close-ups focusing on faces—one with a smiling, meditative expression, the other half-covered by hair...
In reality, after coming up, the person gazed at Li Yan for a while, then without waiting for him to speak, casually sat in the chair Yue Yao had vacated, helping himself to pour tea!
Did he consider this his home?
The calm Li Yan slightly opened his eyes, glancing at this seemingly harmless top assassin, wanting to see who could be so familiar.
At a glance, his pupils immediately contracted, and his eyes widened in surprise.
"It’s you?"
"It’s me."
"I can’t believe you found this place..."
"Mm."
"What happened?" Li Yan’s voice unconsciously lowered, as he couldn’t suppress his excitement upon seeing this peer-aged man before him.
The person glanced at him, "Didn’t you already know?"
"You’re saying..."
"I just came back from your home."
Li Yan’s eyelids twitched, then he slowly said, "Thank you."
The person in front of him was indeed an S-level assassin, but not an enemy. He was his friend — Qi!
...
Talented individuals emerge in great numbers throughout history. Li Yan once dominated, creating a legend and a myth. Four years ago, he was at his peak, and "Qi" debuted. Through intensive task-taking, he completed each one successfully, rapidly climbing in rank and grade. Two to three years ago, when Li Yan withdrew on vacation, Qi was already a standout rookie among the assassins.
Over the following two or three years, Qi became increasingly courageous in battles, accumulating professional points and reaching world rank number one! On assassin platforms, similar to professional tennis ranking points, being number one doesn’t necessarily mean being the strongest, but definitely the most active, most diligent assassin. In reality, reaching the top few in the world certainly involves accumulating lots of lower-level tasks, but many tasks also bring missteps, fatigue, etc. Maintaining constant victory is not easy, and experience is invaluable.
Thus, even an A-level or even B-level assassin who has never taken on an S-level task, thanks to handling a large volume of assignments, can reach the top few in the year’s world ranking. Such individuals are already considered as capable as S-level in the eyes of peers.
Li Yan became a myth, a legendary figure many wanted to challenge and step over because during his peak time, he held the number one rank for a long time, and his points were overwhelmingly ahead, a huge advantage! He not only took on many tasks but also many of high difficulty and high point S-level tasks.
Now Qi is repeating his past trajectory, also considered to have reached the peak, taking on lots of tasks, including very difficult ones. This number one ranking came with difficulty and no element of luck.
Li Yan and Qi have a unique friendship. Although they haven’t seen each other for a long time and rarely face each other, they share a mental affinity like that with Yue Yao! Thus, even with just a few simple exchanges, Qi knew a lot.
Because they had a pact to not meet often, and contact was cautious, even single-line communication was a cumbersome approach to prevent anyone from connecting ’Qi’ with ’King’ and tracing their relationship. That’s why Li Yan was surprised he found them here and wondered if something had happened.
Qi’s answer made him understand; Qi came, probably knowing his situation and being concerned about his safety, hence the arrival. Saying he came from Li Yan’s home made Li Yan even more grateful!
Clearly, Liu Chen, Fang William, and others had issued tasks against the Zhang Family and Li Yan; Yue Yao learned later while busy dealing with the assassins. Qi knew early due to his high-density task-taking but didn’t intervene in S City nor warn out of trust in Li Yan’s strength.
However, he was carefully considerate; the target was not "King" but "Li Yan" in an ordinary identity, which could potentially threaten Li Yan’s family. So he hurried to Li Yan’s old home, secretly protecting the Li Tang couple. When everything settled yesterday, confirming no danger to the couple, and vaguely knowing through his channels that Li Yan might be in trouble, he then came over.
Thanks. With their relationship, there’s no need to say thank you. With their relationship, there’s no need to say ’no need to thank.’
So, after Li Yan had already said thanks, Qi wasn’t courteous to say ’no need to thank.’ He just looked at him, seemingly waiting for him to speak.
At this moment, they both simultaneously turned to look past them, as a female figure entered their line of sight.
Yue Yao was now holding a gun in each hand, aiming directly at Qi’s body. Her face was calm, without a trace of emotional fluctuation, as she walked over slowly, step by step.
During this time, she had already gone back to the room to retrieve the guns: one was what Li Yan had prepared for handling Sonia with Xie Xuanji’s logistics arrangements, unused and always kept by Yue Yao; the other was the one left at the Zhang Family’s the night before, which was confiscated and thrown in as a provocation by Li Yan. As for her usual small handgun, it’s unclear if it wasn’t found or kept elsewhere.
Because facing a top assassin that even Li Yan was concerned about, Yue Yao knew her gap; she couldn’t match Li Yan in drawing speed. So when approaching, she already unlocked the safety of her pistols, aiming directly at her target. She stopped at a point where she could more accurately hit the target and respond to any counterattacks.
The beauty, casually dressed yet holding two guns, looked like she was serving a platter of fruit to guests, but both Li Yan and Qi believed that if necessary, she could fire a barrage of bullets without hesitation in the next moment!
"Queen?" Qi did not move, not out of fear of Yue Yao’s gun, but to avoid unnecessary trouble from shooting in Li Yan and Zhang Yurong’s home, even if he didn’t hit anyone.
His question wasn’t directed at Yue Yao but at Li Yan.
"Yes," Li Yan nodded, then said to Yue Yao, "Calm down, he’s a friend..." Good wine welcomes friends, hunting rifles greet foes...
(A friendly recommendation of a science fiction book: Earth Survival Notes (Book No.1657303))
