July 29, 1999, morning.
Yorbian Continent, Seville City.
The streets of this bustling metropolis were filled with traffic, lined with skyscrapers, and the glass curtain walls reflected blinding golden light.
Leo had sprinted all the way from the neighboring city. He didn't take an Airship or any means of transportation; he just ran on his own two legs.
He didn't arrive in Seville City directly by Airship because Blake had been operating in this city for over twenty years, with eyes and ears everywhere at airports, stations, and docks. Any unfamiliar face landing here would be detected by him.
Once the grass was stirred and the snake alerted, that old fox would immediately board the small Airship on the roof and vanish without a trace.
Leo stood on the roof of a building, the wind ruffling the bangs on his forehead.
Looking from here, another building stood five hundred meters away, its gray-blue glass curtain walls gleaming coldly in the sunlight.
That building was two hundred and nine meters tall, one of the landmarks of Seville City, and the top three floors were entirely Blake's private territory.
According to intelligence provided by Belloc, coupled with the network tracking and cross-referencing done by Nico over the past few days, Blake's exact location had been locked—right on the top floor of that building.
The elevator leading to the top floor was guarded by designated personnel and required a password to open.
The exterior glass of the top three floors was thickened bulletproof glass, capable of withstanding rocket fire.
The entire floor was covered in surveillance, with 360-degree coverage and no blind spots.
After the elevator reached the top floor, there were three more checkpoints that required verification layer by layer.
A small Airship was parked on the roof all year round; once there was any sign of trouble, Blake would immediately board it and leave.
This old thing had built his nest to be impregnable.
For so many years, countless enemies had wanted his life, yet no one had been able to break in here.
Blake had also always been safe—so safe that he had almost forgotten what fear felt like.
The corners of Leo's mouth curled up slightly.
He raised his head, his gaze piercing through the five hundred meters, through that layer of thickened bulletproof glass, and landing on a figure behind the floor-to-ceiling window on the top floor.
He could see it clearly.
Blake was standing by the window, holding a wine glass, his back to the window, seemingly talking to someone.
Leo did not hesitate.
He took a deep breath, Nen flowing through his entire body, covering his skin with a layer of solid "Ken".
He pulled his right leg back half a step, muscles tensed, and his sole ground a shallow pit into the concrete roof.
Then—he moved.
He sprinted.
From the edge of the roof to the takeoff point, he only took three steps, each leaving deep cracks in the concrete ground.
The moment the third step was taken, he exerted force violently, and the roof of the entire building trembled slightly.
"Bang!"
His figure shot out from the edge of the roof like a cannonball, leaping toward the building five hundred meters away.
The wind whistled in his ears, and the city below retreated rapidly.
He spread his arms, tracing a straight trajectory in the air.
The five hundred-meter distance, at an altitude of several hundred meters, was nothing more than the time of a deep breath.
Inside the top floor, Blake had just hung up the phone.
His conversation with Gavin and Nolan had not been pleasant.
Those two old things wanted to push all the responsibility for the annihilation of the Shadow Beasts onto him, and the destruction of the Douglas Family had also severely damaged his prestige among the Ten Dons.
He held his wine glass, walked to the floor-to-ceiling window, looked at the familiar city skyline outside, and frowned deeply.
Then he saw a figure.
That person had jumped from the roof of the opposite building, dragging a remnant image in the sunlight, flying towards his direction.
Blake's eyes grew wider and wider, the wine glass slipped from his hand, smashed onto the carpet, and red wine splattered everywhere.
He wanted to shout, wanted to call security, wanted to press the alarm button, but his body froze.
The figure became larger and larger, clearer and clearer.
He even saw the person's face—a young, calm face with a hint of a smile.
"Bang! Crack—!!"
The entire floor-to-ceiling window shattered under Leo's fist.
The thickened bulletproof glass shattered like paper into countless fragments, flying into the room with a clatter, smashing against walls, tables, and floors.
The fragments refracted blinding light in the sunlight, the window frame twisted and deformed, fell off the wall, and smashed next to Blake's feet.
Blake collapsed to the ground, his legs weak, his body shaking violently.
His lips were trembling, his teeth chattering, and he wanted to say something, but only made garbled syllables.
More than a dozen security personnel rushed out from every corner. They wore Blake combat uniforms, held automatic rifles, were well-trained, and moved quickly.
Some raised their guns to aim, some protected Blake in front.
Leo stood where he was, looking at the people rushing over, his gaze calm.
He instantly erupted with murderous Nen Pressure.
That murderous intent, refined from countless deaths, instantly enveloped the entire top floor.
The air solidified.
The footsteps of those security personnel stopped at the same time, some couldn't even hold their guns steadily, their fingers trembling on the triggers.
Some were pale, cold sweat dripping from their foreheads, some had weak legs and only stayed standing by leaning on the wall.
No one dared to shoot, no one dared to move.
"Bang!"
The floor under his feet cracked, and Leo's figure disappeared from where he stood.
The next second, he had appeared in the center of the crowd.
Those security personnel only felt a blur before their eyes, and then lost consciousness.
Less than two seconds.
More than a dozen people all fell, no screams, no struggles, each person was precisely hit in the back of the neck, went limp on the ground, losing their vitality.
A wave of warmth came from the tattoo on the back of his hand.
[Rank: 79 (19%) → 79 (20%)]
Leo turned and walked towards Blake.
Blake was sprawled on the ground, his crotch already wet, and it was unclear whether it was sweat or tears on his face.
He raised his head, looking at the man walking towards him, his lips trembling, his voice intermittent.
"No... don't kill me... I can give you money... I have a lot of money..."
His voice was hoarse, with a crying tone, like a dog driven to a dead end.
Leo looked down at him, his eyebrows raised slightly.
"Is that so? Then hurry up."
His tone was very flat.
He happened to be short on money, and this guy was going to die anyway. Being able to maximize his value before dying was a double blessing.
Blake was stunned for a moment.
He didn't expect Leo to actually agree, but the instinct to survive made him unable to think.
He scrambled to take out his phone from his bosom, his fingers trembling as he unlocked the screen and opened the operation page.
His fingers pressed the numeric keypad several times before getting it right, and the sweat on his forehead dripped onto the screen, blurring the numbers.
He transferred all fifty billion jenny in his account to Leo.
That was his savings for most of his life, the limit of what he could mobilize in cash.
More than ten minutes later, the transfer was complete.
Blake looked up at Leo, with a hint of humble expectation in his eyes.
Leo glanced at the transfer notification on his phone, expressionless.
"Just this much?"
Blake's complexion changed from pale to ashen.
His lips trembled, his voice hoarse.
"Cash... there is only this much... although we are the highest authorities of the underworld, we still have to pay tribute to the higher-ups... half of our earnings are given to the top brass... the rest is all real estate, all locked in the vault... the password is XXXXX..."
His voice grew smaller and smaller, as if he were defending himself, or perhaps pleading.
Leo didn't look at him, putting his phone into his pocket.
"Who instructed you?"
Blake's body stiffened suddenly.
He lowered his head and was silent for a long time.
He knew that if he said it, his whole family would die.
That person's methods were even more terrifying and ruthless than this man in front of him.
Leo looked at his expression, the corners of his mouth curling up slightly.
"You're thinking that if you say it, you'll die, right?"
He squatted down, level with Blake.
"You'll die even if you don't say it. Don't think I can't find your family."
Leo said with a 'kind' look.
"I will send them down to reunite with you."
He reached out, grabbed Blake's index finger, and snapped it gently.
Crack.
The sound of breaking bones was especially clear in the quiet room.
Blake's mouth opened, emitting a heart-wrenching howl, his whole body bounced up from the ground and then fell back down.
His fingers were bent at an unnatural angle, and blood seeped out from under his fingernails.
He rolled on the ground, tears and snot covering his face.
"Believe me, I can do it."
Leo's voice was extremely cold.
"If you don't want your family to suffer with you, just tell the truth."
Blake lay on the ground, panting heavily, shaking all over.
He closed his eyes, then opened them, his eyes full of despair.
"My backer is Liam..."
His voice was very soft, so soft it was almost inaudible.
"He is the supervisor in V5 responsible for managing the underworld order of the Yorbian Continent... I can only tell you this much... I don't know the rest... His background is extremely mysterious... We can't find any information at all..."
After he finished speaking, his whole body slumped on the ground and didn't move again.
Leo stood up.
Liam, the V5 department supervisor, he remembered this name.
As for whether what Blake said was true or false, he would let Nico verify it after dealing with the remaining two.
He looked down at the shivering Blake on the ground and didn't ask again.
Leo raised his foot, stepped on Blake's hand, and starting from the fingers, crushed them inch by inch.
The sound of bones breaking sounded like firecrackers, cracking and popping, and Blake's screams echoed in the empty top floor, getting weaker and lower.
Then the arms, shoulders, ribs, leg bones.
Leo didn't use Nen, just pure physical strength, crushing every bone in Blake's body one by one.
Blake died in extreme pain.
His eyes were still open, pupils dilated, mouth agape, and the expression of the last moment was frozen on his face—fear, endless fear.
Leo withdrew his foot; the twisted corpse on the ground was no longer recognizable, and blood and minced meat splattered on the white carpet, shocking to the eye.
He intended to let those guys behind the scenes know—if they provoke him, this is the end for Blake.
Leo turned around and walked towards Blake's safe, intending to take everything away; this was his spoils of war.
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100 POWER STONE = BONUS CHAPTER
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