Following Spark’s directions, Ainola quickly found a very secluded tavern.
“This is it.”
After withdrawing her magic, Spark said, “I used up a bit too much magic. I’ll rest for a while.”
Although Spark, as a companion sprite, had strong auxiliary functions, her only drawback was poor endurance. She often exhausted her magic after just a few uses.
So Ainola didn’t insist on Spark’s continued help. Instead, she said, “Pointing out the location is enough for me. You rest well.”
“Okay.”
Spark left, and Ainola observed the tavern.
Customer traffic was sparse. With her build, trying to blend in would easily get her discovered. And knocking out a few people to disguise herself was also unrealistic, because the customer flow was just too low. So few that Ainola waited a full ten minutes without seeing a single person entering the tavern.
With no other choice, she had to find another entrance. For example, a window, a back door, or even… a dog hole. These could all serve as passages for Ainola to sneak into the tavern.
After a careful search, she quickly found an excellent infiltration spot. It was a skylight in the warehouse. If Ainola’s guess was correct, this skylight should also be connected to the interior of the tavern.
After observing that no one was around and there were no hidden eyes, Ainola began her move.
The girl, like a nimble cat, took a running start, kicked off the wall, and landed on the roof. She leaned over gently, looking down into the skylight to see the situation inside.
The skylight was barred with iron rails, but that didn’t stop Ainola. She rummaged through her waist pouch and took out a strange purple-red potion. When the liquid dripped onto the rails, a thick, pungent white mist immediately rose up. When the mist dispersed, the skylight had already been corroded beyond recognition.
“Done.”
The corners of Ainola’s mouth lifted slightly.
Then with a spring, she leaped into the warehouse. Not even her clothes touched the corrosive liquid.
After landing, Ainola didn’t celebrate too soon. She immediately sought cover, hiding herself in the darkness.
The warehouse interior exuded a strong aroma of alcohol, but within that scent, Ainola could also detect a faint smell of blood. As she gradually moved forward, she found daggers, short swords, sleeve swords, and other common assassin weapons in some crates.
“Looks like I found the right place.”
Ainola was pleased for a moment, then immediately disappeared back into the shadows.
The warehouse connected to the tavern’s corridor. Maybe they never expected someone to enter through such a small skylight, so there was almost no security outside the warehouse. Thus, Ainola easily infiltrated the tavern. And this was only the beginning.
As an assassin, Ainola was skilled at hiding in the darkness and concealing her presence. Almost no one could detect the girl’s figure.
“Hey, Lao Wang, did you feel something just went by?”
“I don’t think so? Hic—”
One of the assassins disguised as a customer let out a burp. He scratched his head in confusion, but didn’t notice that Ainola had already slipped past him.
“Another calm and peaceful day,” Lao Wang said with emotion.
“As long as I don’t have to do duty work, everything’s fine.”
The “duty work” he mentioned was, of course, not a regular job, but carrying out assassination missions.
“There’s no one around here, and you’re still speaking in cant?”
But clearly, his companion glanced contemptuously at Lao Wang and said, “All this anxiety, is it really necessary?”
Facing his companion’s doubt, Lao Wang said indignantly, “Of course it is! You know we captured Red Sparrow’s companion, right?”
“Red Sparrow? You mean that lone assassin? What’s so scary about her?”
This assassin didn’t know Ainola’s reputation. Of course, for most low-level assassins, the name Red Sparrow was practically unknown. The people Ainola had killed were too confidential. It would be a miracle if these low-level assassins knew.
But somehow this Lao Wang had gotten wind of something. He looked a bit scared.
“Don’t underestimate Red Sparrow. She comes and goes like a ghost. Anyone who has seen her face is already dead. So far, every commission she’s taken has been flawless. Isn’t that terrifying?”
“Nonsense.”
Unfortunately, this young assassin didn’t believe the rumors. He said disdainfully, “We all have two arms and two legs. It’s not like she can grow three heads and six arms.”
“You… sigh— Fine, believe it or not. But now that we’ve captured Red Sparrow’s companion, she’ll definitely come to rescue. We need to be careful.”
The two assassins gradually disappeared into the dim darkness as they spoke.
Not long after, only one of them emerged from the gloom.
“Heh— What he said is indeed correct, but one thing is wrong. It’s not that everyone who sees my face dies, but that every target who sees my face dies… except Anderson.”
This “Lao Wang” was clearly not the real one. It was Ainola in disguise.
As for the two who had just disappeared into the dim corridor, they were now two corpses, stuffed by Ainola into the warehouse freezer. And inside their bodies, Ainola had added a little surprise.
“I didn’t expect the Moon Shadow Society to know I was coming. That’s quite surprising.”
Ainola adjusted her hat brim, a hint of mockery in her tone.
“But soon there’ll be an ‘accident’ here.”
With that, she swaggered along the corridor, simultaneously searching for where the contact was being held.
If Ainola’s guess was correct, the contact was most likely locked in the basement. As for the basement’s location, it wasn’t too hard to find. She just needed to make her footsteps sound a bit louder.
Soon she noticed an unusual echo.
Following the echo’s source, she found an ordinary-looking floorboard. Pressing her ear to the floor, Ainola heard the hollow sound of wind from beneath.
Seems it’s here, no mistake.
Ainola raised an eyebrow, then moved the floorboard aside. Sure enough, she saw a staircase leading into darkness.
Following the stairs downward, Ainola arrived at a room filled with cages and strewn with torture instruments. The contact was tied to an electric chair in the center of the room.
A stubbly man stood before her, speaking mockingly.
“Surprised, Winona? We’ve already found the key. Your life isn’t worth much now.”
“Indeed—”
Ainola’s mocking voice sounded from behind him.
“Your life isn’t worth much either.”
With the white blade going in and the red blade coming out, the man who was arrogant a moment ago found his chest pierced. All he could hear was the girl’s merciless laughter.