Because there were four hostages present, they weren’t afraid that Li Yan would attack with grenades or similar items. However, since they were on the land of Yun Country, they were still cautious of things like the curved flying daggers in Yun Country’s martial arts films. So when something came in, they all watched closely, guns aimed.

Unfortunately, the feared curved flying dagger from the movies did not appear; what landed on the ground was a gun. Someone immediately recognized it as a gun used by one of the organizations!

The guns were confiscated, meaning the person must have already been taken down. There was no sound of gunfire, and not even the sound of fierce fighting. How was this achieved?

Could one person silently take out three ambushed assassins?

If this was true, then what kind of person could they be!

The faces of the three people became even more solemn. They showed no reaction to the gun on the ground, nor did they respond to Li Yan. They just raised their guard even higher, and the murderous intent turned even more fierce...

"Alright, I’m out of patience, let’s negotiate terms!"

Outside the door, Li Yan empathized with the Netherworld King, Ding Junqing’s, frustration. They were all excellent assassins, skilled in assassination but not protection. Especially when someone they cared about was taken hostage by an assassin with home-field advantage, they had no choice but to be cautious!

Even though Li Yan was very familiar with the Zhang Family’s environment and surely surpassed these assassins in this regard, there were still at least four people he cared about inside. Yue Yao had the skills and reaction to possibly dodge, but what about Yurong? And the elderly, physically unwell parents-in-law?

This was the helplessness of an assassin. It’s also why assassins don’t want others to know their common identities, and avoid too much contact with their loved ones, just to ensure they have no attachments or limitations.

Sensing the murderous intent from those inside, Li Yan proposed the "conditions" and continued to say, "First, your mission ends here. Leave without taking action and report mission accomplished. I guarantee you can receive the commission, and tonight’s events won’t spread. Second, continue, and you might complete the mission, but there’s a bigger chance you’ll all die!"

Li Yan released his long-suppressed bloodthirsty impulse, the murderous intent he forcefully repressed, exploded rapidly!

This couldn’t be like in movies or comics, where his clothes and hair fluttered without wind. Even regular people wouldn’t notice without seeing or getting close. But the three assassins he targeted and locked onto experienced it very profoundly!

At that moment, the three assassins inside all changed their expressions, as if they felt a fierce beast outside, ready to come in and tear them apart at any time! They believed that the three comrades outside had already faced this fate!

For them, this night was undoubtedly shocking. Two organizations, including an S-level assassin, and a team with three A-level assassins, could be considered luxurious.

But just as they began to take action, they didn’t encounter a super bodyguard, but instead unexpectedly faced an S-level assassin’s interception!

If it was just that, it would have been fine; after all, assassination and defense have different difficulties, and they also had an S-level assassin on their side. If they truly confronted each other, the five assassins could totally flatten everything. And that S-level assassin was already sensing the aging aura of the Netherworld King Ding Junqing, feeling his momentum was a notch lower. Therefore, the previous standoff seemed to be giving Ding Junqing face, not provoking him to act. In reality, it was because they wanted to catch everything in one net and were waiting for Zhang Yurong and Li Yan’s arrival.

But now, they couldn’t confirm that Li Yan was the target who came. What they could confirm was that another S-level assassin had arrived. And this was an S-level assassin at their peak. Just feeling that murderous aura, the S-level assassin inside already considered themself far inferior!

In fact, it wasn’t just them. Outside, Ding Junqing was also extremely shocked upon sensing the strong murderous aura of Li Yan. This was even more surprising than calling him the "Netherworld King" and discovering that Li Yan had taken the fruit knife!

"I’ll only say this once..." Li Yan slowly said, "In ten seconds, I will kill the three outside, then finish you all off!"

This was an arrogant statement. Anyone who dared say this to an assassin would meet one end—death!

Yet at this moment, the three assassins inside felt the atmosphere heavy, and the powerful presence made the two A-level assassins tremble. Their intuitive feelings told them that the person outside could absolutely take them down! Even the S-level assassin felt equally heavy-hearted.

An expert strategist reveals their talent with a swing. When the opponents are equally matched, they don’t even need to act; just an aura, just a feeling, can make both parties self-aware. Just as he did not compromise in threatening Ding Junqing outside, because he knew Ding Junqing had aged, his strength was inferior; now against Li Yan, he already understood that the person outside was not an opponent—when Li Yan proposed the terms, produced murderous intent, he had already lost psychologically!

...

Being able to become a C-level assassin itself signifies having parted ways with the low-level assassins and outlaws and being recognized by the international assassin industry. Becoming a B-level assassin further reflects accumulated achievements and strength; while becoming an A-level assassin symbolizes glory and recognition as a standout figure. As for an S-level assassin, that is a super existence, residing at the pinnacle.

In terms of athletes, a C-level player has entered professional league recognized contests; a B-level can compete in Grand Slam tournaments, World Championships, top leagues, World Cup, Olympic level events; an A-level ranks in the top sixteen, top eight at the highest tournaments; while an S-level is championship-level team, championship-caliber player.

Among the three Li Yan subdued, two were B-level, and one was an A-level assassin. The three remaining inside included two A-level assassins and one S-level assassin. In simple terms, these were remarkable and well-regarded figures. The S-level assassin among them came in a capacity of insurance, not necessarily needing to act.

It was a shame to be directly told to leave like this and that failure to comply would result in being played to death!

This was undoubtedly humiliating!

Even when opposing top athletes, they would muster their all, hoping for a miracle; even against the Dream Team, they would give their all with the mindset of learning and taking pride even in defeat... Alas, assassins are not athletes!

When athletes lose, they can learn from it, continue training, start anew. If assassins lose... all that’s left is their life!

Everyone knows cold-bloodedness, emotionlessness, and killing without blinking are attributes of an assassin. Yet it isn’t always known that calmness and patience are equally vital psychological traits for an assassin!

Even ordinary people know words must be supported by strength; one can only be arrogant with strength. Facing a knife wielder unarmed, or facing a gun while holding a knife, instinctively makes one restrain themselves.

Among the three, only the S-level assassin harbored a bit of anger and murderous intent, while the two A-level assassins’ mental defenses had been breached. Someone so strong, well-prepared, capable of silently eliminating three assassins—could they be unarmed? They suspected the three outside were killed by some hidden weapon like nails they had encountered earlier, possibly that even a sniper rifle was aimed outside and once they went out, they would be shot! Or even... if thermal weapons were involved, they could be shot inside the room!

Facing such possibilities, none of them wanted to die here, and an S-level assassin’s promise to fellow assassins wouldn’t go unfelt. Given the mission’s successful response promise, and being able to claim the payment, nobody wanted to risk their lives. The three comrades outside, plus their own life, were resources the organization had long cultivated; their own life was even more precious to them personally.

Retreat! (Need to leave for a few days, the rest will update automatically...)(To be continued. For further developments, please visit www.qidian.com for more Chapters. Support the author, support legitimate reading!)