074 GREED BEFORE CAUTION
Zairgid's scream was swallowed by the grinding roar of steel on asphalt. Dan's head slamd against the side window — the world tilted, sound fading into a high, painful ring.
Then ca another impact — this ti much harder — flipping the car onto its side. Sparks screeched along the road before the wreck finally slid to a stop.
"What the hell—who crashes my new ride?" Zairgid shouted.
He wasn't hurt in the crash. One of his charms had triggered a force field protecting him faster than the airbags could deploy.
With a single heave, Dan tore off the mangled roof of the car. They clambered out, dragging the dazed driver to safety.
Then ca the sound of heavy boots thudding against the pavent.
"Great, for once the City Rescue ca on ti", Zairgid muttered.
But these were not rescuers. And this was not an accident. It was a hit.
"Who the hell are these people? Are they here for you?" Zairgid hissed.
"I don't know," Dan replied, scanning the shadows. "I've pissed off too many lately… Lost count."
The boots drew closer. Eight figures erged, each holding a crackling electric baton.
"I've seen those before in Fort Myrone, standard issue," Dan muttered. "These are soldiers…. No, rcenaries. maybe retired."
One stepped forward, his visor glinting in the dark. "Those two walked out of that wreck without a scratch. They must be the ta-human students."
Zairgid raised his hands. "If it's money you want, I'll double whatever they're paying."
The man laughed behind his mask. "We take money for life, but not at the cost of our honor. A contract's a contract. We don't change the terms for another bidder."
Dan leaned close. "There's eight of them. Can you take two?"
"Take two? I'm the peaceful type," Zairgid muttered while clutching nervously on his charms.
"Damn you," Dan said and …. vanished.
He reappeared behind the rcenary leader, his leg whipping forward in a blur. The impact detonated like thunder. A kinetic pulse rippled outward, crushing everything in its path.
"Montum Collapse- Echo enhanced."
Dan blinked and was stunned. "Is this how Echo Core works? It enhances my current abilities?"
He vaulted over the rcenaries, finding the perfect alignnt. With another strike, a shockwave erupted, knocking several off their feet at once in a line. One coughed foam, the others howled as the echoes tore through them, shattering bones and organs alike.
"This Echo Core is so damn cool, it's worth every di paid for it," Dan said, launching another blow.
Monts later, there was only silence. The rcenaries lay scattered, twitching and broken.
Zairgid brushed the dust from his coat and pointed at the rcenaries. "Told you to take my money. Now you don't have a life to spend it."
Dan crouched beside one of the survivors. His voice dropped cold. "Who sent you to murder us?"
A sudden flash seared the night—ZAP!
A laser beam tore through the rcenary leader's head, silencing him mid-breath. Dan flinched back instinctively to defend against the unknown strike.
The fight wasn't over.
Those rcenaries had only been cannon fodder.
Three new figures stepped from the darkness, their faces hidden behind red handkerchiefs. Their movents were smooth, practiced, and lethal.
"They… I recognize them," Zairgid stamred, backing away.
"Who?" Dan asked, already raising his phone.
"They're the Red Hanky—a professional assassin cell!"
"Red Hanky… You recognized them from a comic?"
One of the masked n noticed Dan. "Taking our pictures for evidence? You won't live long enough to share them."
"Not for evidence," Dan said coolly. "For Monts."
He glanced at the profile flashing on his phone:
Na: Yvette Bard (Red Hanky)
Rank: E
Strength: 26 | Charm: 15 | ta: 69 | Command: 66
The other two had similar stats…. About roughly his equal.
Dan rembered the laser beam. These assassins had range ta-abilities or ranged weapons. He'd have to be careful.
"What do you want?" Dan asked, his voice low.
Yvette smirked beneath his mask. "Soone paid well for us to take your lives."
Zairgid stepped forward desperately. "Whoever hired you—I'll pay triple! Just let us go!"
Yvette's laugh was sharp. "Why bargain when we can take your money after you're dead?"
Dan's eyes flicked between their positions. They were too far apart for his Echo Core to chain properly. He needed them close.
"What now?" Zairgid whispered, panicking. "Are they really going to kill us?"
"Give your money," Dan said, hand outstretched.
Zairgid blinked. "What?"
"Trust ."
He passed over his Aur card. Dan held it up.
"There's no need to be uncivilized," he said evenly. "If it's money you want—take it."
He tossed the card lightly across the asphalt making sure it landed only a short distance from them, so it was within his striking range.
The cards glead with their deep jade green hue on the dark floor, sending out invitations to the assassins.
"Co on… co pick it up all three of you." Dan thought.
The assassins hesitated. "Is that so kind of trick?" Yvette asked the other.
They shook their heads.
"They are just a bunch of students, do you think they could hurt us even if we tied our hands?" one of them said.
Although instincts told them there was sothing tricky going on with the money cards but eventually their greed won over caution.
Red Hanky moved first, "I'll pick the money for all of us…the card belongs to the one who picks it first," Yvette said.
"No bloody way", the others replied.
All three stepped forward together to grab the aur cards.
"Thank you," Dan murmured, "for being so predictable."
In an instant, he was gone.
When he appeared, his leg crashed into Yvette's chest, the kinetic crush slamming him to the ground, the kinetic crunch smashing him in.
"Montum Collapse"
The Echo Core pulse followed, the kinetic crunch multiplied and echoed towards the others… crushing bone and air alike to those behind him.
"ARRGGHH—!"
Before they could recover, Dan dropped down with a brutal knee strike on another making sure the trajectory of his echoes would capture all three of them.
The Montum Collapse erupted outward, echoing through their bodies. One blow beca effective for three.
"One for all and all for one", Dan scread with excitent.
"This is so much fun," Zairgid laughed on the sides.
He hit again. And again.
The Red Hanky were Ranked E tas but they were usually powerful at range, shooting from a distance. At a close distance, they only had their ta stats to rely on.
They collapsed in a heap of blood and twitching limbs.
Dan grabbed Yvette by the neck, lifting him effortlessly and asked again, "Who sent you?"
The assassin gasped, his eyes wide. "We don't know… it—it's soone from the Aukuoma family…he's a secretary or sothing."
Dan's eyes hardened. He released his grip then heard Zairgid's shout.
"Dan! He's sneaking an attack behind you…."
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