The back alley was a dead zone. No cameras. No lights. Just rain and garbage.
Lin stepped out of the heavy metal door, his footsteps silent on the wet pavement. He walked ten paces, then stopped.
"You took your time," a voice sneered from the shadows.
Julian stepped out from behind a dumpster, twirling a high-tech energy baton. His silver armor glowed faintly in the dark. Behind him, the two bodyguards blocked the only exit. They drew serrated combat machetes.
"Did you think the Auction House could protect you out here?" Julian laughed. "Hand over the money. All of it. And maybe I'll only break your legs."
Lin stood still, the goblin mask hiding his expression. He looked at the two bodyguards. [Target: Silver Wing Guards] [Rank: D] [Armor: Standard Composite (Weak to C-Rank piercing)]
"No talk?" Julian spat. "Kill him."
The bodyguards lunged. They were fast—much faster than goblins. They covered the ten-meter gap in a second.
Lin didn't move. His hand blurred to his belt.
CLINK. HISS.
He didn't draw a weapon. He dropped two Smoke Grenades at his feet.
POOF!
Thick, grey chemical smoke exploded outward, instantly filling the narrow alley. "Cough! I can't see!" Julian shouted. "Thermal! Switch to thermal!"
The bodyguards tapped their visors. "Got him! Heat signatures detected!"
Through the smoke, they saw three distinct heat sources standing in a triangle formation. "Die!" The bodyguards slashed at the heat sources with brutal efficiency.
SLASH. SLASH.
But there was no scream. No blood. The "bodies" they hit simply popped and vanished.
"Decoys?!" one bodyguard yelled. "Where is the real—"
[Skill Activated: Shadow Walk] [Duration: 10s]
Lin wasn't one of the heat sources. He was a ghost. The skill erased his visual presence and suppressed his heat signature for ten seconds.
He was standing right behind the left bodyguard.
SHING.
The Twin Vipers slid out of their sheaths. Lin didn't slash. He thrust. The C-Rank alloy tip punched through the D-Rank composite armor backplate like it was cardboard.
SHUK.
Right into the kidney. The bodyguard gasped, his legs buckling. The acid etching on the blade sizzled against flesh.
"One," Lin whispered.
He ripped the dagger out and spun. The invisibility flickered as he attacked, revealing his location.
The second bodyguard reacted instantly. He swung his machete at Lin's head. "You rat!"
Lin didn't dodge. [Summon: Shadow Clone]
A new clone materialized in the path of the blade. CRACK. The clone was cut in half, dissipating instantly. But it absorbed the kinetic energy of the swing.
The bodyguard was off-balance, his weapon overextended. Lin stepped through the smoke, his second dagger flashing an arc toward the guard's throat.
SLASH.
Clean cut. Arterial spray. The bodyguard clutched his throat, gurgling blood, and collapsed.
[Enemy Defeated.] [Enemy Defeated.]
The smoke began to clear. Julian stood alone, his energy baton trembling in his hand. Two Rank-D veterans. Dead in ten seconds.
"You... you're a monster," Julian stammered, backing away until he hit the dumpster. "Do you know who I am? My father is—"
Lin flickered forward. He didn't use stealth. He just used pure speed (AGI 18 + Boots boost).
He kicked Julian's knee. CRACK. "ARGH!" Julian screamed, dropping to the ground.
Lin planted a boot on Julian's chest, pinning him down. He pressed the acid-dripping tip of the Viper dagger against Julian's expensive silver gorget.
"Your father isn't here," Lin rasped.
"Wait! Wait!" Julian cried, tears mixing with the rain. "I'll pay you! I have credits! 50,000! Just let me go!"
"I know," Lin said.
He reached down and ripped the smart-watch off Julian's wrist. "Transfer authorized by biometrics." He forced Julian's trembling finger onto the scanner.
[Transfer Complete: +54,000 Credits.]
Then Lin stripped Julian of his rings, his necklace, and kicked the energy baton into a sewer grate. "Looting complete."
"You... Silver Wing will hunt you..." Julian sobbed.
Lin tilted his head. "Let them come. I need the EXP."
He raised the dagger. Julian shrieked, closing his eyes. STAB.
Lin drove the dagger into the concrete, millimeters from Julian's ear. "This is a warning. Next time, I don't miss."
Lin stood up, his trench coat billowing in the wind. He turned and melted into the shadows of the night, leaving the sobbing heir of Silver Wing alone in the garbage.
[Current Balance: 104,000 Credits.] [Surgery Fee Target: 20% Achieved.]
（"Enjoying the massacre? Drop a Power Stone to feed the Clone Army!"）