The Ultimate Firepower

Chapter 8: Hearing the Path in the Morning

Ethan had indeed been seriously injured this time, but he also recovered much faster than ordinary people.

A body trained in martial arts since childhood was indeed different from that of an ordinary person.

After about twenty days, Ethan was already able to get out of bed and walk around freely. Then, after a full month, he was finally able to leave the clinic that had saved his life.

After bringing two bodyguards with him the last time, Lucan Veyrath had not returned. But this time, when he came back, he did not bring any bodyguards. Instead, he brought a fairly large shopping bag.

Throwing the paper bag onto Ethan's hospital bed, Lucan said expressionlessly, "Five hundred and twenty-four dollars in total. Change your clothes. I'll wait outside."

Ethan wondered what could be worth more than five hundred dollars. He thought Lucan was trying to squeeze some money out of him, but when he began taking things out of the paper bag, he discovered that Lucan was actually quite particular about these things.

A brand-new, unopened phone costing $499.

There was also a pair of shorts, a T-shirt, a pair of slippers, a pair of underwear, and a shopping receipt in the paper bag. The receipt showed the amount in Eldorian Crowns, but after roughly converting it, it really did come to twenty-five dollars.

Ethan changed into the new clothes, took the new phone, and walked out of the ward.

Ever since he had been able to get out of bed, Ethan had taken a walk around the clinic's small courtyard every day. Although he had only met the doctor a few times, he had become quite familiar with the only nurse there.

He was leaving today, so Ethan wanted to say goodbye to the doctor and nurse. But after leaving the ward and walking out of the small courtyard, he did not see a single person come to see him off.

Well, if they did not want to see him off, then so be it. It was a black clinic in the first place, so it probably had its own set of rules.

The "outside" Lucan had mentioned was outside the clinic. After Ethan passed through the only small door and stepped outside, he found Lucan smoking with a sorrowful expression on his face.

Lucan turned his head and glanced at Ethan. He threw the cigarette, which he had only taken a couple of puffs from, onto the ground, stepped on the butt, and then nodded toward a step-through motorcycle parked right at the entrance.

"Let's go."

A motorcycle? Was it actually a motorcycle?

Ethan climbed onto the motorcycle and traveled along a narrow asphalt road through the countryside, feeling the free wind against his face.

Although the sun was a little too strong, it felt really good.

The clinic was in a very remote location, quite far from downtown Valerith City. Riding the motorcycle, they took almost an hour to arrive.

As noon approached, Lucan finally brought Ethan to their destination: a large street-food stall with ceiling fans overhead and no walls around it. It was very hot, but also very lively.

Lucan did not speak, so Ethan did not speak either.

He followed Lucan to a square table. When he saw Lucan sit down and pick up the menu with a stern expression, Ethan finally could not hold himself back.

"Hey... Did I offend you?"

It could not be said that Lucan had gone from being arrogant to respectful, but his attitude toward his partner was certainly not very good. Especially today, on the great occasion of his discharge, why did Lucan always look like someone owed him money?

However, after asking this question, Ethan realized that he really did owe Lucan a lot of money.

Lucan lowered the plastic menu slightly, revealing a pair of eyes. He gave Ethan a very unfriendly look. After pausing for a moment, he finally lowered the menu completely.

The corners of his mouth lifted into a very friendly smile, but his expression remained stiff as he said, "You didn't offend me. We're celebrating because you've fully recovered."

After saying that, Lucan waved to the waiter and said, "Two charcoal-grilled prawns, two portions of pineapple fried rice, and two bottles of beer, thank you."

Lucan could not speak Eldorian either, so Ethan understood what he said. After hearing him, Ethan quickly said, "I can't eat shrimp. Shrimp is... is..."

Ethan wanted to say that shrimp was bad for wounds, but he did not know how to express that concept.

Seeing the puzzled look in Lucan's eyes, Ethan could only say, "It's bad for someone who's injured."

"I've never heard of that. Why would shrimp be bad? Fine, you order."

When Lucan Veyrath handed the menu to him, Ethan felt that his expression was quite indignant.

Could it be that he did not want to treat him to a meal?

Was that really necessary? He owed more than a hundred thousand dollars here. Was he getting angry over one meal?

Ethan felt that was probably not the case. He looked at the menu, pointed at a dish of charcoal-grilled pork neck, and said to the waiter, "I want this, and this."

He definitely did not want pineapple fried rice. Ordinary fried rice would be fine.

The waiter left. After the waiter was gone, Ethan said to Lucan, "Why haven't you shown up all this time? I've been looking forward to you taking me to practice shooting every day."

"I've been busy during this period. I've been making preparations."

Lucan let out a long breath. Then he placed a small SIM card in front of Ethan and said, "Put the SIM card into the phone. Then I'll send some information to you. You'll understand after you look at it."

"Information? You found the intelligence?"

Lucan nodded and said quietly, "Yes. The intelligence wasn't expensive. I bought it for five hundred dollars in total, so that's two hundred and fifty dollars each."

Ethan's hand stopped for a moment as he took the card. Then he nodded and said, "Hmm. What next?"

"But the information we got isn't good. The target is currently in Ravencross. It's not too far from us, but he always has six bodyguards around him. Four of the bodyguards carry rifles, while the other two always stay close to him to protect him."

Ethan held the phone in his hands, looking for the place to insert the card. It was a Veyron Phone, something he had never used before.

Lucan could not stand watching anymore. He took out his own phone, tapped it twice, and placed it in front of Ethan.

"The target goes out very frequently. He often leaves home and also frequently goes to his company. That's good news. But don't forget about the six bodyguards around him."

Ethan realized that his previous thinking had been somewhat simplistic. He had thought it was nothing more than a rich man with a few bodyguards around him. But the problem was that he had instinctively assumed those bodyguards were unarmed.

There was no helping it. In the environment Ethan was familiar with, guns were extremely rare.

It was not wise to use the habitual thinking he had developed in his own country to speculate about behavior in a lawless place.

When he saw the clear photographs showing four men carrying Ravenfire Rifles standing behind a middle-aged man wearing a white shirt, Ethan suddenly realized that his target was not someone he could simply kill whenever he wanted.

"Uh... bodyguards..."

Seeing the guns, Ethan felt an instinctive sense of fear. After all, he had been shot once, and he had only just been discharged from the hospital.

Lucan continued, "The good news is that the target has recently been going out with only two bodyguards. The bad news is that this won't last long, and we may not make it in time."

Ethan looked at Lucan. "What do you mean?"

"The target is currently on vacation. He often goes to a newly opened entertainment venue in Ravencross. When he goes there to have fun, he doesn't have too many people with him. But when he goes to his company, he has at least six bodyguards. His new company building is about to be completed. Once he resumes working, he won't be going to entertainment venues every day. Unfortunately, our target is a workaholic."

"How much time do we have?"

Lucan spread his hands and said, "On April 20, the target's company will begin operating in the new office building. Today is April 13, which means we have at most one week left."

One week. The time was indeed tight, and Ethan also found it difficult.

Lucan said quietly, "You just recovered. I don't think you can make a move within one week."

As they were talking, the waiter began bringing out the dishes. The two stopped talking. After all the food had been served, they continued chatting while eating.

Ethan finally got to eat some delicious food. He had been eating hospital food for a month, so at this moment, everything tasted delicious to him.

Without bothering to say much, he immediately began eating voraciously.

After he had eaten his fill, Ethan finally said confidently, "You don't need to worry about my physical condition. I'm weak, but killing one person isn't a problem. What I'm concerned about is that I still haven't practiced shooting."

Lucan raised his eyebrows and said, "Shooting skills can't be mastered in just a few days. If you just want to become familiar with firearms, we can go today. If you want to become good at shooting... then forget it."

"Just become familiar with them. We'll go practice shooting this afternoon, and then go find the target tomorrow. How about that?"

This time, Lucan was genuinely surprised. He looked at Ethan and said, "You're actually more impatient than I am?"

"I don't like dragging things out. Once I've decided to do something, I want to do it as soon as possible. Since we know where the target is, and there's a good opportunity, then let's go quickly!"

After saying that, Ethan said confidently, "This is what they call, 'Hear the Path in the morning, and one can die in the evening.'"

"What does that mean?"

"Know where he is in the morning, then go kill him in the evening. Sage Corvin said that. You know Sage Corvin, right?"

"No, but that's a good saying. It's very suitable for killers."

While eating and chatting, Lucan also finished his meal. He picked up a tissue and wiped his mouth. Then, after tapping on his phone several times, he suddenly said, "Our meal cost a total of 822 Eldorian Crowns. Including a 20-Eldorian-Crown tip, that's 421 Eldorian Crowns each. I'll pay for you first. You can pay me back when you have money. Don't worry, I've written it down. I won't forget."

Ethan was stunned for a while. "No, don't. This meal is on me. Just put... 900 Eldorian Crowns on my tab."