Everyone has been busy lately, but the busiest of all is Number Thirteen.

Whenever an order comes in, Number Thirteen must act immediately, with almost no time to rest. And the tasks he undertakes are always those that seem insignificant yet are indispensable.

Whether it’s gathering intelligence, surveillance, or intimidating someone, as long as Gao Yang calls him, Number Thirteen must get the job done. But the problem is that these tasks can’t be accomplished by just moving around; he also needs to study and prepare, yet he has to shorten the preparation time as much as possible.

Fortunately, Number Thirteen has two helpers by his side: Lion and Medusa.

Interestingly, Lion and Medusa can be considered the two people closest to Number Thirteen. They’ve practically grown up together, trained together, and gained their freedom together after Black Shadow was destroyed. However, Number Thirteen had never executed a mission with Lion and Medusa before.

So, while Number Thirteen is familiar with Lion and Medusa, they’re not friends or even colleagues; they’re merely familiar strangers to each other. 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

Familiar with each other’s behaviors, thoughts, and tactics, it’s enough for them to collaborate on certain missions. But there’s absolutely nothing that could be called friendship, which allows them to work together when needed and abandon each other without hesitation when necessary. If an elimination is needed, they can also act ruthlessly.

Of course, such eliminations rarely happen, but anything can have unexpected developments. If anything unforeseen occurs, the best choice to eliminate a hitman is another hitman.

Because they’re familiar strangers, Number Thirteen, Lion, and Medusa have been together for a long time, but their conversations outside of missions have totaled less than ten sentences.

Number Thirteen was sleeping in a small, messy room when his phone rang at 4 a.m. He immediately reached out to answer it, as if he hadn’t been asleep at all.

Opening his eyes, lying in bed, after listening to Gao Yang finish speaking, Number Thirteen immediately sat up, got out of bed, and left his small room. In an equally small and messy living room, he raised his voice slightly, "We have a mission."

Ten seconds later, the door to another bedroom opened, and Lion walked out calmly, "What is it?"

Number Thirteen whispered, "Go to Rome and eliminate Mario’s son."

Lion looked at his watch, "When?"

"As soon as possible."

Lion nodded. At this moment, Medusa walked out of the bedroom with a lazy look, yawned, and while tying her long hair into a ponytail, muttered, "Is there something to do again?"

Number Thirteen looked at Medusa and suddenly said, "Your reaction is indeed a bit slow."

Medusa smiled slightly, "We’re not hitmen anymore; we’ve retired."

Number Thirteen said flatly, "This is our last mission. Once it’s done, you can leave. But before you leave, you’re still a hitman. As a hitman, you shouldn’t relax."

Medusa yawned and smiled, "Say what you will. We’re just here to do Grand Ivan a favor. I believe we’re not hitmen, so we’re not."

Lion made a gesture with his hand and said in a deep voice, "Eat something, and we leave. What needs to be prepared?"

Medusa lazily said, "I can make you breakfast, and we leave after we eat."

Number Thirteen opened a package of bread, pushed it forward, grabbed a small piece, and stuffed it into his mouth. Lion did the same, grabbing a piece of bread and stuffing it into his mouth with lightning speed, swallowing it in a few bites.

Number Thirteen and Lion’s hands moved extremely fast; they looked less like they were eating and more like they were competing.

With a bag of twelve small loaves, Number Thirteen ate the sixth, reached out to grab the last one, and paused for a moment in the air with the bread in his hand.

Lion spread his hands, "You’re fast; you eat it."

Number Thirteen slowly put the bread into his mouth, and at this moment, Lion muttered, "It turned out to be chocolate-filled, too awful."

Number Thirteen said nothing. After slowly finishing the bread, he stood up and said in a low voice, "We’ll leave in two minutes."

Medusa sighed, looking at Number Thirteen helplessly, "When will you understand that you’re already free? You don’t have to live like before. Treating yourself well isn’t a bad thing. Besides, overeating and eating too fast aren’t good for your health."

Number Thirteen remained silent, washed his face in the bathroom, returned to his bedroom, picked up a small box, and stood silently in the living room, watching Lion and Medusa.

Medusa was quite helpless, picking up a sausage, opened a bag of bread, and mumbled, "I had a hard time breaking previous habits. I finally got to be normal, yet you’re forcing me to re-adapt to my old habits."

Lion was ready too. Medusa quickly finished eating, and the three of them formed a line, briskly and silently exiting an old apartment.

The three got into a small car. Lion drove, Medusa sat in the front, and Number Thirteen in the back took out a phone. Soon, he said in a low voice, "The target is twenty-six years old this year, currently living in a medieval mansion near the Quirinal Palace in Rome, protected by more than forty people. Here’s his photo."

Number Thirteen passed the phone over, and Medusa took a quick look before handing it to Lion. Lion glanced at it and nodded, then continued to drive with focus.

Number Thirteen took back the phone and said in a low voice, "Eliminate him; the others don’t matter. The target may leave Rome at any time, so we must act quickly."

Lion said calmly, "Understood."

At this point, Medusa suddenly said, "Are you sure this is our last mission?"

Number Thirteen replied softly, "Yes."

Medusa exhaled a long breath, "Great. We’ve agreed with Grand Ivan that we’ll never work for him or anyone else again, so this must be the last time we meet. I’m happy just thinking about not having to see you again."

Number Thirteen said softly, "I am too."

Lion smiled and said, "Seeing each other only reminds us of unpleasant memories from the past. It’s better not to meet."

Suddenly, Medusa turned back, looked at Number Thirteen, and smiled, "Forgive me for being nosy, but I want to know, are you continuing as a hitman?"

Number Thirteen shook his head and spoke softly, "No, I’m not a hitman; I’ve retired."

After saying that, Number Thirteen hesitated for a moment, then raised his head and said to Medusa, "I’m now a mercenary, Satan’s mercenary."