"…Is this all you know how to do—breaking the law?"

"If it were legal, would you be asking me?"

The Huaxia government has countless talented individuals at its disposal—why would they need me for anything within the system?

Ethan Ford gave a wry smile, then said, "There's nothing shady about this job, it's just that there really isn't anyone more suitable in our group…"

"What is it?"

Ethan Ford took a 3D photo out of his jacket pocket. "Be a bodyguard for this person."

The photo showed a pure and pretty young girl in her teens. I glanced at it and asked, "With so many experts in your group, you couldn't find a suitable bodyguard?"

"There are plenty of experts, but few fit to be bodyguards. I was actually the best candidate, but soon the top leaders of Huaxia are visiting the Free Alliance, and I have to go as their escort—I can't get away…"

I picked up the photo and examined it closely. The girl's sweet smile was like a breath of spring, and I felt myself wavering a little.

"I've never been a bodyguard for anyone."

Ethan Ford breathed a sigh of relief at my words. "It's fine, she already has plenty of professional bodyguards. They handle all the details. I just need your sharp intuition."

"Sharp intuition… Hey, did the Wen family offend some mutants or something?"

Ethan Ford shrugged. "Why else would I be asking you?"

Just as I thought… When it comes to mutants and their unpredictable superpowers, any conventional defense is useless. The only thing you can rely on is the ability to sense danger in advance. Now I understood why Ethan Ford came to me—this really wasn't a problem just anyone could solve.

So I had no reason to refuse.

"Who are we up against?"

"A team ranked twenty-first on the assassin list—The Raven."

"The Raven… Now that's a bit of trouble."

In a head-on fight, I wouldn't be worried about that four-person team. But the The Raven group is notoriously troublesome—they've dragged out a single job for half a year before. I don't have that kind of free time…

Seeing me hesitate again, Ethan Ford had to up the ante. "I'm not asking you to work for free—there's payment."

I immediately shot him a look of utter shock and disdain. "So you weren't planning to pay me at first?"

"Well… our budget is really tight, and besides, aren't you rich…?"

Rich, my ass! If I were really rich, would I be killing people in Tianjing for a measly few hundred thousand in bounty?

Seeing my sour expression, Ethan Ford quickly tried to placate me with a smile. "Don't worry, you and I may be broke, but the Wen family isn't. With a top expert like you protecting their little sister, they'll have to cough up something."

"Whatever. If they don't pay, I can just take it myself."

"…Bro, I'm begging you, please don't cause trouble in Tianjing."

After Ethan Ford finished his bowl of instant noodles, he dragged me off to pay respects at the Wen family estate. Along the way, he warned me over and over not to stoop to the level of those noble brats, and if any of those arrogant punks said something out of line, I should just let it go. He nagged me so much my head was spinning, and I nearly crashed the hovercar into the main building of the Tianjing Grand Hotel before Ethan Ford finally quieted down.

We hadn't seen each other for a year, and things had definitely gotten awkward. He never used to talk this much. Deep down, he still hasn't gotten over my decision to become a freelance gun-for-hire. But if you want me to work for the government by the book with him, you'd be better off killing me.

"Turn left here."

Ethan Ford pointed at the intersection ahead.

"Then take a right at the second intersection."

"First intersection, turn right."

"The—"

"Hey, do you think my car's navigation system is a knockoff?"

Ethan Ford shrugged. "The Wen family's villa district doesn't show up on the map."

"It shows up on my map."

On the screen, the Wen family's villa was already marked with a conspicuous icon, pulsing with a red glow every second. The surrounding streets were clearly visible.

Ethan Ford was dumbfounded. "This villa district pays the government a million Huaxia credits a year to encrypt its location…"

"I wrote a decryption program in five minutes."

"…That's blatantly illegal."

"Yeah, obviously. So, does sitting next to a criminal make you uncomfortable, Mr. Justice?"

Ethan Ford nodded helplessly. "After all, I am a man of great professional ethics and legal awareness."

"Then you'd better jump out of this car. It's illegally modified."

"…Damn!"

A few minutes later, a vast green lawn spread out before us, three hundred meters above the ground, floating in midair thanks to magnetic levitation—like the Hanging Gardens of ancient Babylon. To access the ascent track, the hovercar needed a level five traffic permit, but while Ethan Ford was fishing for his card, I had already swiped a forged magcard and cruised right in. This left Ethan Ford feeling genuinely dejected once again, but I'd learned to find amusement in his frustration.

Tianjing has more than one wealthy district, but the one before me was clearly the most exclusive. The high cost meant that the land price for villas on the floating platform exceeded five million. Anyone able to build a villa here was definitely not your average rich person.