"Master, do you have any instructions?"
Brunson's butler appeared at the table at precisely the right moment, coldly fixing his eyes on Xiang Nan as he awaited orders.
The butler had been in the living room the whole time but, observing proper etiquette, had not disturbed Brunson and Mia's private interlude.
Even ordinary mafia bosses take elaborate precautions for their personal safety—let alone someone of Brunson's stature. Twenty‑four hours a day, even on a trip to the restroom, someone is always watching over him.
"Kill them… and feed them to the hounds in the yard."
Brunson issued the command in an emotionless tone, then rose and returned to his bedroom.
Behind Xiang Nan, Mia tensed in horror and involuntarily clenched her fist. She stole a glance at Xiang Nan, who remained perfectly composed, as though he had merely finished dinner, dabbing the corner of his mouth with a napkin.
Although Mia was Brunson's lover, he still regarded her with caution. Throughout Mia's visit to Dentora City, every move of the Zatobi family had been under Brunson's surveillance, leaving Mia no way to bring in a large force to strike at him. If he sensed anything amiss beforehand, her life would be forfeit.
Thus her only hope lay with Xiang Nan.
In other words… wiping out Brunson's family depended on Xiang Nan alone.
Opposite them, the butler gently shook a little bell.
The house fell silent.
None of Brunson's personal guards appeared.
"Hm?"
Sensing something was wrong, the butler rang the bell again.
At last, footsteps sounded.
A girl with a ponytail stepped through the door into the living room, a blood‑stained dagger in her hand.
Manman.
Outside the open doorway behind her, several corpses lay on the luxurious carpet.
The butler's pupils contracted.
Those bodyguards… were all Nen users.
Moments earlier, when he had entered, they were still alive…
"All taken care of?" Xiang Nan smiled at Manman.
"Everyone inside is dead. The ones outside aren't," Manman replied with a grin.
Suddenly the butler lunged toward Brunson's bedroom.
His first thought was to spirit his master away.
He too was a Nen user; the fact that he had heard nothing meant the guards had been eliminated in an instant—proof that this seemingly sweet girl was terrifyingly strong.
Swish!
He had only just moved when Manman awakened her second persona, darting like a ghost to the butler's back. A flash of the blade severed both his legs; the rest of his body skidded across the floor. Before he could scream, the knife flashed again and took his head—silently. Blood spattered the wall.
The swift, ruthless strike—and Manman's entire aura shifting—made Mia clap a hand over her mouth, nearly screaming.
With her second persona awake, Manman's Nen aura grew dark and chilling, like a vengeful spirit. Her Nen itself brimmed with negative emotion, flowing like polluted water, making the leak of malice unmistakable.
Xiang Nan gave her an approving smile.
Her primary persona was controlling the second more skillfully now—a good sign.
Not far away, the bedroom door opened. Brunson, hearing the noise, stepped out. He had thought his butler had already finished off Mia and the bodyguard. Seeing the scene before him, his expression froze.
"Keep an eye on him," Xiang Nan told Manman. Hands in his pockets, he strolled away alone. He still had the mafia outside to deal with.
Toppling the Brunson family would take more than killing Brunson himself and the gangsters inside the manor. Unlike the small outfits in Zerta City, Brunson had manpower everywhere—loyal subordinates hidden throughout the city and in several other strongholds. Xiang Nan needed Brunson alive—for now—to "open his skull" later and extract the family's core secrets, their key businesses… and any information on the Ten Dons.
"Wait!"
Seasoned as he was in the underworld, Brunson recovered from his shock quickly. The arrogance was gone; sweat trickled down his face, but he managed to shout, staring straight at Xiang Nan and ignoring Mia—having realized the "treacherous woman" was merely this bodyguard's subordinate. He seemed ready to bargain.
Xiang Nan paid him no heed, stepped over the corpses, and left.
"You filthy whore! What are you doing?! If anything happens to me, do you think the Ten Dons will spare you?!"
Brunson glared red‑eyed at Mia.
She lifted a glass of red wine from the table and sipped slowly.
"The Ten Dons? Heh…"
Her beautiful eyes no longer held the fawning obedience of before—only a cold gleam.
…
Night fell, and the quiet manor lay still.
Xiang Nan sauntered along. With each area he crossed, nearby mafiosi dropped where they stood—heads bursting like live‑fire targets. He flipped a pebble in his palm and smiled. No loud gunshots, no fierce struggle; for him, killing these gangsters silently was effortless—no harder than crushing ants.
Suddenly he halted. A grenade lay hidden in the grass, somehow rolled right to his feet.
A Nen technique.
"Manipulator, eh?" he mused. As he watched, the grenade rolled another meter toward him.
Xiang Nan chuckled, raised his eyes, and glanced at the corner wall of a distant building.
Boom!
The grenade detonated. Dirt and grass erupted where he had stood.
"Got him?" whispered the captain of Brunson's guards, watching from hiding. So many comrades had been killed without his noticing—partly because the manor was vast, partly because the intruder moved too swiftly and silently.
"Nope…"
A voice sounded behind him. Startled, he whirled and flung a handful of bullets. Remarkably, when they hit the ground the bullets spun like living things, circling him in the grass.
"Interesting ability…" Xiang Nan arched an eyebrow.
"You!" The captain recognized him: Mia's bodyguard.
"Your Nen lets you animate dead objects—give them movement and control? Though it looks like the range of objects is limited… mostly munitions?" Xiang Nan asked conversationally.
The man, nerves taut, offered no answer.
"Die!"
With a shout he swept his arm. Bullets at his feet shot up, weaving unpredictable paths toward Xiang Nan. Yet they hit nothing; losing momentum, they clattered to the ground.
The man who controlled them was already dead—his head twisted off like a corkscrew, sunglasses flying.
"In a confined space that ability would be far more lethal. Out here, the area you can cover is small; spread the shots and you leave gaps. Against someone fast, it's easy to dodge—your weakness is clear. It also depends on what weapons you can manipulate…"
Flipping the pebble again, Xiang Nan strolled away, casually analyzing the fight as he went.
~~~
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