New York was still New York, and Brooklyn was still Brooklyn, as always, as if nothing had changed.
But driving on this road, Zhang Jie had a different feeling; perhaps his mindset had changed, or perhaps he had changed.
The events of the past few months had been so dense that they left him feeling a bit fatigued.
But he had no right to be fatigued, because he was only a two-star Silver Assassin.
His strength was still miles behind those top assassins; for instance, at the abandoned factory in Chicago this time, he could clearly see the difference between himself and Jin Kaide.
Jin Kaide could be said to have stopped at nothing, utilizing everything he could, even resorting to trash talk to interfere with perception, no matter the cost.
And there was only one goal: to survive and achieve victory.
Michael was originally a professional bodyguard, so he didn't have too many demands for these things; he only needed to ensure that he and his target survived.
His greater role was protection, not offense, and Jin Kaide was the epitome of offense.
Of course, in contrast, John was the other extreme.
If one had to describe him with a single word or phrase, it would be 'elegance,' a killing of utmost elegance.
Or rather, every movement, every step, every action of John had a plan and regularity akin to obsessive-compulsive disorder.
No one could interrupt his rhythm; once he started moving, he would be a super armored vehicle that would absolutely not stop until the final objective was reached.
Therefore, every top master had a different temperament.
Even Max, an assassin ranked in the top ten of the Ouroboros organization, had her unique charm, but her limits had not yet been revealed; even the last time, it was merely a test and a game.
With countless thoughts swirling in his mind, Zhang Jie also summarized his shortcomings and weaknesses, hoping to improve them and prevent these mistakes from being infinitely magnified in more rigorous combat environments.
Any flaw, when infinitely magnified, becomes a fatal weakness.
Just like that, Zhang Jie drove his camaro back to New York, back to Brooklyn.
As he was about to reach his apartment, a figure suddenly darted out, making him instinctively slam on the brakes.
Screech—Thump!
With a harsh screech of tires against the pavement, the camaro SS came to a steady stop in front of the person, its bumper just 5cm away from him.
"Holy crap!"
Only then did Zhang Jie react and prepare to get out of the car, simultaneously putting his right hand into his left armpit, his hand already gripping his glock 34.
"Hey, I said, do you have a death wish?"
Muttering, he got out of the car, but he remained standing behind the car door, looking forward, maintaining his vigilance.
The man who had suddenly rushed out seemed to be stunned as well, standing motionless in place.
After a while, he looked at Zhang Jie as if waking from a dream, "Uh, sorry, sorry, I don't know why I suddenly rushed into the road and caused you trouble, I'm very sorry."
Zhang Jie did not lower his guard because of the man's words.
Having just gone through that battle, he knew someone was hunting him, so he absolutely could not relax his vigilance at this time.
But this young man seemed unaware of Zhang Jie's tension, merely stepping back two paces, gesturing continuously with his hands in front of his chest.
Everything seemed normal, as if it were just an accident; a careless incident that almost led to a mishap, which Zhang Jie successfully avoided.
Watching the man step back and then turn to walk in another direction, Zhang Jie breathed a slight sigh of relief.
After looking around in all directions, he got back in the car and restarted it.
But he didn't go back to the apartment; instead, he drove in another direction.
After making a long detour and confirming that no one was following him, he returned to the apartment.
This time, however, he parked his car next to his back door neighbor's house.
After climbing in through the back window and returning to his room, Zhang Jie peered out through the curtains, not noticing anything unusual, and then went back to bed.
The wound on his right arm had already scabbed over, but he still needed to change the dressing.
Zhang Jie's mind pondered that the man he had just seen looked somewhat familiar.
But he couldn't remember who he was.
The other party hadn't recognized him either, which meant the other party didn't know him.
Subsequently, Zhang Jie decided to go to the refrigerator in the living room to get something to eat.
When he arrived at the refrigerator, he found a sticky note attached to it.
It read:
"Zhang, I'm going back to Europe and will be there all year.
You need to keep the house clean, or else you'll be sorry when I get back.
And don't touch my kitchen!!!"
Looking at the note left by Old Lady, Zhang Jie smiled knowingly and didn't mind.
When he opened the refrigerator door, he was stunned; it was filled with all sorts of drinks and food, everything imaginable.
"Well, this is everything I wanted to eat, isn't it?"
However, with Old Lady suddenly returning to Europe, the house felt empty.
No one was there to collect various strange fees from him, and no one woke him up.
Suddenly, life felt a bit dull.
But he also recalled some brief snippets: this Old Lady was indeed often away, although she would return periodically, perhaps to inspect her fixed assets?
Her last return seemed to be a few days before he took over the account... so that's why she didn't notice his abnormality?
Who knows!
Key memories about the original owner were still too few.
Thinking of this, Zhang Jie opened the door, got into his car, and started driving in the direction of John's house, because he suddenly remembered that he had been away for so long, and Hades probably hadn't been fed!
When Zhang Jie arrived at John's house, he pushed open the door and was met with a strange smell, then saw Hades lying motionless on the sofa.
"Oh sh*t!"
Zhang Jie hadn't expected that he had been gone for so long, and all the dog food he had prepared had been eaten by Harris, and Hades hadn't even run out to find food, just quietly lying on the sofa.
Zhang Jie quickly went to the refrigerator; sure enough, everything edible inside had been completely eaten, and there wasn't a single bit of dog food left in the living room.
So, Zhang Jie could only call the pet store owner to deliver various types of dog food.
After a good while of bustling, Hades barely recovered a bit of its healthy state.
But the recovered Hades only showed its rear to Zhang Jie; no matter how Zhang Jie called out, it ignored him, always facing him with its backside, and even let out a f*rt.
Pffft~!
After calling for housekeeping to clean the entire house, Zhang Jie finally left John's house.
Having taken care of Hades, he also felt a bit hungry, so he drove to Chinatown.
He wanted to eat a hot pot meal and have a good feast.
Upon arriving in Chinatown, Zhang Jie walked directly into the Chuan-Yu Bazi hot pot restaurant.
The business was good, with people constantly coming and going, and the rich aroma of hot pot filled the entire restaurant.
The sound of "sizzling~ sizzling~" continuously came, clearly indicating people were struggling with the spice.
There were Chinese, foreigners, and Black people in the restaurant; in short, the diners here were diverse.
He ordered a single-serving spicy hot pot set, chose a window seat, poured himself a glass of cola, and sat by the window, ready to start cooking his hot pot.
Just as he had finished blanching a portion of tripe and put it into his bowl, preparing to dip it in sauce and eat, a girl sat down opposite him.
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