From within the swirling dust, two men in their thirties emerged. Their appearance was entirely out of place in this world; they wore formal black suits and dark sunglasses that masked their eyes. One was lean, with sharp features and carefully slicked-back hair, coldly puffing out clouds of cigarette smoke with an irritatingly calm demeanor. The other was a mountain of muscle—bald, with a square jaw that showed not a single shred of mercy.
Sushi's eyes widened in bewilderment.
The old man's face turned ghastly pale, and he cried out in a trembling voice, "It's them! They're back!"
Sushi tried to muster his courage, even though his intuition was screaming at him to run. In his past life, he had never encountered this breed of humans. These weren't bullies... these were professional killers.
Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.
The lean man came to a halt, looking toward Sushi with utter indifference as he gestured with his smoking hand. "So... you're the 'Egg-Cracker' everyone is talking about?"
Sushi felt a wave of embarrassment at his ridiculous title in such a tense situation. He tried to respond, "Uh... do you want some—?"
Before he could finish his sentence, something happened that Sushi's mind couldn't even process. In the blink of an eye, the man vanished from his spot and reappeared directly in front of Sushi's face! The distance between them was barely centimeters.
"You don't look that strong," the man whispered in an icy voice.
Sushi wanted to jump back, but his body was far too slow compared to the "monster" before him. With terrifying agility, the man drove his knee into the center of Sushi's stomach with immense force.
"GUUUGH!"
Sushi felt as if a high-speed train had collided with him. His body was sent flying several meters through the air before hitting the ground hard. His breath was completely knocked out of him, and he slumped into unconsciousness, motionless.
The lean man turned toward the old man, not even bothering to raise his voice. The old man shrieked in terror, "I told you! I won't leave the land! It's my family's hundred-year legacy!"
The man tossed his cigarette butt onto the ground and crushed it coldly under his heel. "Three days... plenty of time to say goodbye to your ancestors, or join them."
"BOOM!"
A sharp sonic boom echoed through the air, and the two men vanished from the alley as if they had never been there.
The old man rushed toward Sushi's body lying in the dirt, shaking him frantically, but Sushi did not respond. The old man placed his hand on Sushi's chest, then recoiled with a stifled scream:
"He's dead! The accountant... is dead!"