Chapter 186: The Joker

Xiao Yu strolled leisurely down the street as if he were just a tourist. His face carried a sunny smile, while his eyes casually scanned the surroundings.

It had been more than a week since the operation to capture ‘Little Joker.’ 

Today was the final day of the system’s mission deadline.

Though his face wore a smile, Xiao Yu’s heart was restless. Was he going to fail the system mission?

“Where is the Big Joker?” he muttered to himself while walking.

During the Little Joker’s capture, the old man’s final words had been delivered with absolute certainty: “You’re going to die. The Big Joker will show you what true…”

True what?

A true assassin?

But why was the old man so sure the Big Joker would come for him?

Suddenly, Xiao Yu stopped in his tracks. He stared blankly at a young man standing about twenty meters away on the other side of the street.

The man was smiling at him.

With his Eagle’s Eye ability, Xiao Yu could clearly see the young man’s face.

There was no doubt about it. He was smiling directly at Xiao Yu—a silly, vacant grin.

This young man was smiling like a fool. 

To anyone passing by, this man would look like an idiot. His expression was off—his face plastered with a stupid grin. From time to time, his neck would twitch as if he were having a spasm, and one of his arms shook uncontrollably.

While still grinning foolishly, the man slowly raised a trembling hand.

Xiao Yu’s gaze fixed on what the man was holding in his hand. It was a glass marble.

The moment Xiao Yu saw the marble, his expression shifted drastically. An overwhelming sense of dread filled him. Something terrible was about to happen.

Then, Xiao Yu saw that the young man casually tossed the glass ball.

Xiao Yu’s eyes followed the glass ball closely, watching as it gently fell to the ground and chipped a small piece off. But even with that tiny chip, it didn’t stop the ball from rolling.

It kept rolling, and rolling… until it reached the road and came to a stop.

Because of the small chip, it stopped very steadily.

So steady, in fact, that a motorcycle ran over it.

Now, logically speaking, with the weight and speed of the motorcycle, running over a glass ball shouldn’t have been an issue.

But then, coincidence struck.

The motorcycle’s tire hit the glass ball, causing it to shift ever so slightly.

Because the rider wasn’t paying attention, the motorcycle instantly skidded out of control.

A cold chill ran through Xiao Yu’s heart.

A silent warning seemed to scream in his head, as if yelling at him: Run! Danger! If you don’t run, you’ll die!

A memory flashed through Xiao Yu’s mind, a scene from earlier. The explosion at the orphanage, right at the entrance. Back then, if he hadn’t been there, the five-year-old child and the elderly worker would’ve been killed in the explosion.

Two voices echoed inside him.

One urged: Run! It’s too dangerous! If you don’t, you’re really going to die!

The other countered: Are you really going to let innocent people die and run away like a coward?

In his mind, images of his parents from this life flashed before him.

Then they shifted to his wife’s gentle smile.

Finally, it turned into the scene of him taking his oath under the red flag when leaving the police academy.

Xiao Yu grinned.

‘Maybe it’s a bit stupid. But… I’m a police officer!’

Xiao Yu stood there, completely still. He knew the young man had already calculated that he wouldn’t dare to move.

Otherwise… a lot of people would die.

The silly grin on the young man’s face grew wider, his expression even more pleased, but his eyes turned colder, more sinister.

“Big Joker,” Xiao Yu sighed.

He never would’ve guessed that the leader of such a terrifying assassin organization would be this youth who looked like a fool.

Was he really stupid? Like the genius Wei Shen from his past life?

If you actually think someone like this was a fool, you’d soon realize that you were the real fool.

Xiao Yu’s gaze shifted back to the motorcycle, which had skidded across the road. His expression had become calm. He watched as the motorcycle, still moving from the slide, scraped the ground and sparked. It crashed into the underside of a parked sedan.

Boom!

The car moved too fast. Hitting the motorcycle it lifted into the air. And just like that, the sedan was flying towards Xiao Yu’s location, about to smash down.

Xiao Yu activated his abilities.

With the speed of a leopard and the strength of a bear, in an instant, Xiao Yu launched himself toward the stunned pedestrians nearby.

His powerful body was like a tank, pushing people forward.

During the rush, Xiao Yu grabbed a woman by the arm with one hand and an elderly man with the other. He pulled them forward, and then abruptly stopped.

The intense momentum sent all three flying through the air.

He twisted his body, dug his feet in, and lunged again. This time toward two more pedestrians.

Bang! 

The brutal impact sent the two pedestrians flying, along with Xiao Yu.

And just then…

Boom!

The car crashed down onto the road that Xiao Yu had just cleared. All around, people screamed and gasped in shock. The car smashed into a fruit stand. Fruit flew through the air.

At that moment, Xiao Yu had already gotten to his feet. He rushed like a flash of lightning toward the young man standing over 20 meters away. As he dashed across the road, cars sped by in both directions. Many drivers slammed on their brakes when they saw someone darting across the street. 

But then…

The fruits flung into the air from the overturned stand, rained down onto a bus’s windshield. The bus driver, startled by the sudden impact, lost control of the steering wheel. Instead of hitting the brakes, he accidentally pressed the accelerator.

The bus surged forward, barreling straight towards Xiao Yu.

He activated his Civet’s Agility. 

With no time to dodge, Xiao Yu shifted his body. He hurled himself sideways, away from the bus’s path. If he took the full brunt of the bus head-on, the force would undoubtedly shatter bones and tear muscles. Using his Bear’s Strength and Leopard’s Speed, he twisted in midair, letting the bus’s force push him in the direction it was moving to minimize the damage.

Thud!

The bus collided with Xiao Yu.

The intense pain was almost enough to knock him unconscious. His right arm had been dislocated from the impact, and his body was sent flying to the other side of the street.

He hit the ground hard. 

As he lay there, his Medical Expert ability kicked in, quickly assessing his injuries: a dislocated right arm, two fractured ribs on his right side, and numerous muscle strains and bruises.

He activated his Salamander’s Regeneration and smiled. Thankfully, he still retained about 60% of his mobility. That was enough.

He pressed his left hand against the ground and, using his legs for momentum, launched himself back up. Mid-jump, he grabbed his right shoulder and—crack—popped his arm back into place with a swift move.

His body kept moving, sprinting towards the young man who was just ahead. As he ran, he raised his left hand, clutching a gun.

And pulled the trigger.