Darkness descended upon the room, and at the same time, the middle-aged man jumped and struck Liam on the ceiling with the hammer, wielding it like a cannonball.

Reacting swiftly, Liam mobilized all his remaining mystic energy.

The shadows that had enveloped the room around the middle-aged man began to wriggle strangely, and in an instant, several shadow thorns materialized and stabbed at the man from all directions.

Trapped mid-air, the man had no way to evade.

Despite the dire situation, though, the middle-aged man calmly twisted his body with a speed that defied logic.

"Martial arts—Wind Hammer!"

The hammer in his hand whirled through the air, generating a series of ear-splitting, wind-breaking sounds.

Every shadow thorn that approached him was obliterated by the iron hammer one after another, dissipating into thin air without leaving a scratch on him.

This continued for a while until Liam finally lost the ability to hold on. Drained of all his mystic energy, he fell from the ceiling and landed heavily on the ground with a ghostly, pale face, struggling to catch his breath.

"Boy, the game is over!"

The middle-aged man walked up to Liam, raised the claw hammer in his hand, and was about to end Liam's life. Yet, instead of begging for mercy, unlike earlier, this time Liam's lips curled into a strange smile as he looked up at the man.

Yes, the game is over.

The sudden shift in Liam's demeanor caused the man to suddenly have a bad feeling in his heart. Sensing something was amiss, he hurried to end Liam's life.

But it was at that moment that a wave of overwhelming drowsiness crashed over him, clouding his mind with fatigue.

Oh no!

There was something wrong with his body.

Unfortunately, he realized it too late. The claw hammer had already slipped from his grasp and crashed onto the floor with a dull thud.

Following the hammer, his body also collapsed on the floor, falling into a deep sleep.

Upon noticing this, Liam wasted no time. He hurriedly scrambled to the closet, retrieved the remaining hemp rope, and swiftly bound the man tightly in multiple loops.

After ensuring the man was fully restrained, Liam finally breathed a sigh of relief. He wiped the sweat from his forehead with a trembling hand as he stared down at the sleeping figure.

Even though everything had gone according to plan, it would be a lie to say Liam wasn't nervous. He was too close to death this time. Fortunately, the modifications he made through the system didn't let him down.

Now… how should I deal with this uncle?

Liam fell into deep thought.

One thing was certain: Liam wouldn't let the man live. Whether to keep his secret safe or simply because this middle-aged assassin had tried to kill him, the man had to die.

Besides, Liam was still short on soul points.

But first, he had to extract any valuable information.

What a hassle, he thought.

An assassin's job was simple—kill the target. However, Liam had to consider many other factors.

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Nonetheless, he didn't dwell on it for long. Getting to work, he first stripped the middle-aged man of all his clothes, leaving him in nothing but a pair of shorts. Then he began to look at the items the man carried.

A claw hammer, some random tools, a gas mask, a set of clothes, and a round black iron badge.

Liam picked up the badge and examined it closely. It was engraved with a bloody dagger.

Thanks to the memories from the original owner, Liam instantly recognized the black iron badge of the Assassin Guild.

No wonder this uncle was so amateur.

The Assassin Guild was a notorious organization that spread throughout the world, with members in almost every region.

The guild ranked its members by nine levels, from low to high: black iron, brass, silver, gold, platinum, diamond, mithril, adamantite, and legend.

There was no formal entry process, as long as you dared to kill, you could join the guild and take on various bounty missions.

However, if you fail too many times, you'd be stripped of your rank, and the guild would personally send someone to eliminate you.

Many desperate middle-aged men would take the risk of joining the guild out of financial necessity.

The man lying before Liam probably belonged to this category.

Liam picked up the claw hammer, lifted it high above his head, and brought it down with brutal force on the middle-aged man's spine, starting from the top and driving it downwards.

Crack!

The unsettling sound of bones shattering echoed through the room as the man's body collapsed under the devastating blow. Liam's hammer crushed his spine.

"Ahhngg…"

The man jolted awake from his deep sleep, but before he could scream in agony, a bundle of foul-smelling socks was shoved into his mouth.

They were the same socks Liam had just stripped off the man's own feet.

"Sorry about that," Liam murmured with a mocking tone in his voice. "I'll be more careful with the next few hits."

Despite his feigned apology, Liam's expression remained tinged with worry as he hit the middle-aged man's spine a few more times.

"Um... Um!"

The pain distorted the middle-aged man's face, causing his eyes to almost pop out. Tears and snot covered his entire face, making him appear extremely ugly.

Liam, however, acted oblivious, flashing a cold smile.

"See? Not as bad as the first time, right?"

"Um… Um… Mmm…"

The man could only respond with muffled, incoherent noises.

"Oh, right," Liam said, feigning realization. "I forgot you can't talk right now."

He removed the socks, allowing the man to gulp down fresh air greedily, like a fish returning to the water.

Observing this, the smile faded from Liam's face, replaced by an icy glare.

"Now, tell me—who sent you? Or who put a price on my head?"

"I can't…"

"Wrong answer!"

Before the man could finish his sentence, Liam cut him off, jamming the socks back into his mouth.

Crack!

With a swift, merciless strike, Liam brought the hammer down on one of the man's toes, shattering it instantly.

"You still have twenty chances. As for why it's not nineteen, besides fingers and toes… You can guess where else I will hit?"

The middle-aged man's heart froze with fear as the reality of his situation finally sank in his head. The thin boy before him… He was no ordinary human, he was a demon in human skin!

Why did I have to run into such a sadistic bastard on my first mission?!

The man couldn't help but curse his luck. In his eyes, Liam was far more suited to being an assassin than he ever was.

"Uncle, your answer this time?"

Liam pulled the socks out again, and a twisted grin crept up on his lips as he awaited the man's response.

Defeated, the middle-aged man seemed to accept his fate.

"I'll tell you... You were assigned to me as a novice mission by the assassin's guild. We assassins don't know who commissioned it, but someone must have paid it. The reward for killing you is 50 Essence Crystals."

Essence Crystals were the universal currency in this world, and the value of fifty Essence Crystals was roughly equivalent to five thousand U.S. dollars on Earth.

So, I'm really that cheap, huh?

Liam mocked inwardly. Fortunately, this information confirmed Liam's suspicion that Paul was the one who put a bounty on his head, as the amount matched Paul's weekly pocket money.

Liam's eyes narrowed. "How do I cancel this bounty?"

The middle-aged man hesitated before answering. "If three assassins fail to complete the mission, it's automatically canceled. Or if the assassins report a serious discrepancy between the target and the provided intelligence, the guild's top brass will send someone to verify it. If there's a significant error, the bounty gets canceled."

"Boy, I messed up this time. But if you let me go, I'll report the discrepancy and help you remove your bounty."

Liam's expression turned contemplative.

"Is that so? Then I suppose you're useless to me now, uncle."

Before the man could process Liam's words, Liam raised the claw hammer again and brought it down with ruthless finality.

"Wait... I have more to say—"

The middle-aged man seemed to want to say something else but didn't slow Liam down at all, not giving him even a chance.

Today, the man had to die.

Bang!

A miserable thud echoed through the room as the hammer crushed the man's skull. He died instantly, and a notification screen appeared in front of Liam.

[You have gained 100 soul points]