Seeing Lin Mo appear at his side without a sound—and realizing he hadn't sensed him at all—the man's emotions surged like a storm-tossed sea.
He hadn't expected Night City's "environment" to be this terrifying.
You bump into some random kid on the street and he's this strong?
He was starting to doubt his entire life.
The fact that Lin Mo could silently get so close to him was nothing less than an insult to his career.
A world-class hitman,
approached by some snot-nosed kid without even noticing—
and if the kid hadn't opened his mouth first,
he still wouldn't have realized someone was there?
Sandevistan? Or did he sneak up under optical camo?
No… that didn't seem right.
He himself had a 360-degree threat sensor implanted.
Even if a damn cheetah tried to pounce him from behind, he'd feel it…
Unless this kid was moving faster than the wind.
He didn't really want to believe that conclusion,
but he had to admit it:
this teenager had reached his side without a sound—
that was fact.
Any further self-comfort was just empty noise.
This seemingly harmless young man was strong.
Overwhelmingly strong.
And now, the man couldn't even tell what the kid wanted from him.
He didn't dare move a muscle.
That katana resting at Lin Mo's side looked like the scythe of Death itself,
ready to come down on his neck at any moment.
"Kid, this gun's just for fun. I use it to shoot birds now and then.
Don't be fooled by the high-tech smart-aim base; it's actually not that accurate.
Effective range is only a few hundred meters tops.
It's just for self-defense and a bit of hunting."
The man forced a stiff smile and tossed out the first excuse he could think of.
"Oh yeah?
Thing is, in Night City most animals have been extinct for a long time.
Exactly whose 'birds' are you planning on shooting?
And as for self-defense…
I've been watching you assemble that thing forever.
If you really got jumped, you think they'd politely wait around while you finish putting it together and then let you shoot them?"
Lin Mo's lips curved into an amused smile as he casually set a hand on the man's shoulder, as if they were old friends.
The moment Lin Mo's hand touched him, a faint glint of killing intent flashed deep in the man's eyes.
His muscles tightened like a drawn bowstring, coiled to strike at any time.
For a killer, anything inside arm's reach that wasn't a trusted person was forbidden territory.
At that distance, he could snap a man's neck in an instant.
And precisely because he had that kind of ability,
he never allowed strangers to get that close—
you never knew what kind of monster might be hiding under a friendly face.
But seeing Lin Mo's calm, almost casual smile and those flat, unreadable eyes,
the man didn't dare push too hard.
All the battle skills he'd once been so proud of suddenly felt useless.
He couldn't read this teenager's intent at all.
One thing, however, was absolutely clear:
if the boy in front of him wanted him dead,
he wouldn't live another second.
Resisting would be meaningless.
Any fight beyond the job itself was best avoided.
With that in mind, the man forced a polite smile, trying to keep his tone steady:
"When you get old, you pick up all kinds of weird hobbies.
Look at me—at my age, even with a good gun in my hand,
if I ran into some vicious thug I'd probably be too scared to even draw.
So when I'm outside and find a nice place to sit,
I like to assemble everything ahead of time.
At least then I've got something to protect myself with…"
"Ohh, so that's how it is.
Here I was thinking you were planning to use that thing to start sniping random civilians."
Lin Mo nodded as if enlightened, glanced at the man's aging face, and withdrew his hand with a cheery smile.
"How could I?" The man chuckled weakly.
Seeing that Lin Mo seemed to have lowered his guard,
he began to casually back away a few steps, trying to open some distance.
To cover the movement, he spread his arms wide as if embracing the world and exclaimed enthusiastically:
"Actually, this is my first time in Night City.
Before I came, I heard the public security here was pretty bad,
so I bought this auto-aim unit for, you know, peace of mind…
But looking at it now—
Night City really is a stunning place.
Look at that sunset, look—"
He showered the city with praise, not stingy with flattering words.
He pointed toward the surrounding corporate towers, drawing Lin Mo's gaze while playing the bumpkin in a big metropolis:
"See? So many skyscrapers.
Even in other famous cities around the world, you rarely see this many…
I've traveled to a lot of countries, you know…"
Lin Mo seemed to be drawn in by his talking, following the man's finger toward the buildings, a gentle smile on his lips and a relaxed posture.
But both his hands still hovered very close to his katana.
"Anyway, it's really fate for us to meet like this.
Kid, would you maybe be willing to show me around the city?
Help me get to know the place a little better?
Of course, I'll pay you—cash, real eddies."
The man stepped back a bit more and pulled a wad of bills from his pocket.
"Sure."
Lin Mo walked toward him, katana in hand.
That's it…
The man's heart leapt.
In his vision, behind Lin Mo, the sniper rifle in the tool bag was adjusting its aim via the smart-aim base,
slowly bringing the muzzle to bear on the young man's back.
Goodbye, you naive idiot.
His smile was bright and enthusiastic,
but his eyes were cold and merciless.
With a thought, he triggered the firing sequence.
The tech sniper spat a flash of shimmering electric light.
There was only the faintest sound—
the special suppressor made the shot so quiet that no one would notice unless they were really listening.
The people passing by had no idea a kill shot had just been fired.
But the expected sound of flesh tearing never came.
Instead, a thunderous clash of metal rang out, yanking the man out of his fantasy.
The boy drew his blade, stepping sideways.
The razor edge flashed from the scabbard—
and the tungsten penetrator round that had been flying toward his back shattered against the steel,
breaking into multiple fragments under the enormous impact.
Only a few glowing red shards remained stuck to the blade.
Lin Mo's expression remained as calm as ever, as if he'd just done something trivial.
He gave the sword a casual flick,
and the fragments fell to the ground like discarded trash.
Falling with them,
was the man's worldview—
and whatever hope he had left.
Night City… is terrifying…
He was completely frozen.
He couldn't accept what he'd just seen.
A tungsten penetrator round at several times the speed of sound—
and this kid… this kid…!
"How's your smart-aim module doing, bro?
Looks like it's got a bit of a bug.
You sure you've been maintaining it properly?"
Lin Mo still wore that same relaxed smile as he slowly slid the blade back into its sheath.
He didn't look angry.
Didn't even seem inclined to blame the man.
The assassin didn't answer right away.
He spent a moment calming himself, forcing his mind to stop reeling from what he'd just witnessed.
Finally, he let out a helpless, bitter laugh.
"Let's drop the act, yeah?
With that kind of ability, kid, there's no way in hell you're actually interested in a toy like this…
Tell me the truth—who sent you?
What do you want from me?"
Lin Mo sighed, sounding genuinely disappointed.
"Why ruin such a good atmosphere?
We were both playing our parts just fine."
"This one's on me. I'll take the loss.
I never imagined Night City would be this deep—
that there'd be someone like you here…
No wonder so many edgerunners with 'legendary' attached to their names came out of this place.
I really underestimated it."
The man's voice grew quiet and bitter, like he'd finally accepted defeat.
At this point, with Lin Mo openly admitting he'd been "acting,"
the killer knew his every move had been in the kid's hands from the very beginning.
He couldn't help mentally cursing the intel work done by the client.
Damn corp dogs.
He raised his hands slightly, like a man about to be arrested,
signaling that he meant no immediate threat.
"I give up.
I'm willing to cooperate.
If you want information out of me,
ask whatever you want.
If you plan to take me in,
I won't resist."
His tone sounded sincere.
Lin Mo watched the little performance with his arms relaxed, saying nothing.
Seeing no reaction,
the man began to feel a trace of panic.
On the surface though, he kept playing the submissive prisoner.
What Lin Mo didn't know was that several flexible areas on the man's body—
his fingers, palms, knees, and so on—
contained hidden retractable toxin-needle implants.
If his opponent relaxed and came within reach,
no matter how fast this kid was or how strong,
the instant those needles pierced his skin,
his muscles would seize up and he'd collapse on the spot, helpless.
"Your acting's actually pretty bad, bro."
Lin Mo finally sighed and decided to bring this boring farce to an end.
"And stop calling me 'kid' all the time.
You're not that much older than I am.
Take off the fake face."
His tone was flat as he spoke.
He didn't waste another second.
He stepped once—
and in a blur, appeared behind the man.
Before the assassin could react,
Lin Mo brought the sheathed katana down on the back of his head.
The man dropped to the ground in stunned silence
and blacked out instantly.
Lin Mo crouched beside him, curiosity in his eyes.
He pressed a hand to the man's face and gave a gentle tug.
Just as he'd suspected,
the artificial skin peeled away easily,
revealing a much younger face beneath—
a man in his mid-thirties at most.
"As expected, youth really is a blessing.
Hit the ground and you're out like a light."
Lin Mo sighed in fake regret and patted the guy,
who was sleeping like a dead pig.
With three lifetimes' worth of years behind him,
he was more than qualified to call this man a "youngster."
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