17: Chapter 17: A Direct Confrontation with Gin

The early morning on Tsukikage Island was damp with sea mist, and sunlight pierced through the clouds, scattering gold-like specks of light across the ocean surface.

Lin Long stood on the pier's jetty, watching the passenger ship about to set sail, while Miyano Akemi beside him was looking down at a message sent by Asai Narumi on her phone—

He said that once the heat died down, he would head to Tokyo as soon as possible to thank them in person.

"What are you looking at? You're so absorbed."

Lin Long turned his head and teased.

After spending the last few days together, Miyano Akemi's personality had noticeably brightened. Occasionally, she would flash a faint smile at the seascape, no longer keeping her nerves on edge like she did when she first arrived.

Miyano Akemi looked up, her cheeks slightly flushed, and tucked her phone back into her pocket:

"It's nothing. Dr. Asai said thank you to us."

"No need for thanks; he just needs to do his job well in the future."

Lin Long smiled, turned around, and walked toward the island's market.

"The boat doesn't leave for another two hours. Want to go get something to eat? I heard there's a fish ball shop near the pier that tastes pretty good."

Miyano Akemi nodded and hurried to keep up with his pace.

The market was bustling. Fishermen were calling out to sell their freshly caught seafood, the steam from the breakfast stalls was mixed with the aroma of soy sauce and bonito flakes, and several children holding colorful balloons ran past them, leaving behind a trail of crisp laughter.

"Try this."

Lin Long bought two skewers of takoyaki and handed one to Miyano Akemi.

The piping hot balls were coated in thick sauce, sprinkled with bonito flakes and seaweed, and smelled delicious.

Miyano Akemi carefully took a bite. It was so hot she lightly hissed, but a satisfied smile appeared on her face:

"It's delicious."

Seeing the smile in the corners of her eyes and brows, Lin Long couldn't help but tease:

"Akemi, that's more like it. Smile more, don't keep a straight face all day like a little old lady."

He reached out a finger and gently poked her cheek.

"See, you look so good when you smile, just like a flower."

The warm touch landed on her cheek, and Miyano Akemi instantly blushed, even her earlobes turning pink.

She lowered her head and muttered softly:

"I know... Thank you, Mr. Lin Long."

Her voice was as thin as a mosquito's buzz, yet carried a hint of shyness she hadn't even realized herself.

Watching her flustered appearance, Lin Long was in a great mood and was just about to say something else when a strong sense of crisis suddenly shot up from his spine to the top of his head—

Like prey being watched by a venomous snake, the hairs all over his body stood on end instantly!

Almost as an instinctual reaction, he lunged at Miyano Akemi, wrapped his arms tightly around her waist, and used the momentum to roll to the side!

"Bang!"

A dull gunshot pierced through the noise of the market.

Right where they had just been standing, a clump of dirt suddenly exploded from the ground, and flying gravel splattered onto the canvas of a nearby fish stall, leaving tiny holes.

A fist-sized crater appeared prominently on the bluestone path, its edges still emitting faint wisps of gunpowder smoke—that was a sniper rifle bullet!

"Ah!"

Miyano Akemi was terrified, her face turning deathly pale. She clutched Lin Long's sleeve tightly, her body trembling uncontrollably.

The surrounding fishermen and tourists were also stunned by the sudden gunfire. Screams and cries erupted instantly, and the crowd scattered like startled birds and beasts, turning the once bustling market into chaos.

Lin Long shielded Miyano Akemi behind a tree, his eyes instantly turning ice-cold. The previous ease and comfort were gone, replaced by a suffocating murderous intent.

He lifted his head, his gaze sweeping over the surrounding high vantage points like a hawk—the roof of the pier warehouse, the distant hillside, the lighthouse by the sea...

Where was the sniper?

"Don't be afraid, I'm here."

Lin Long pressed down on Miyano Akemi's shoulders, his voice as steady as a rock, which strangely calmed her flustered state of mind somewhat.

Lin Long raised his hand and snapped his fingers, shouting in a low voice:

"Shadow Guards, come out!"

"Swish! Swish! Swish!"

Twelve black shadows, like ghosts squeezed out of ink, instantly emerged from the surrounding shadows—some stepped out from behind cargo crates, some drifted down from under the eaves, and two even condensed directly from the shadows of an overturned fish stall.

They wore uniform black samurai attire, with sharp shadow katanas at their waists, and their red eyes lit up in the chaos, like Asuras crawling out of hell.

"Find the sniper. I want to see them alive, or if dead... leave the corpse intact."

There was not a trace of warmth in Lin Long's voice; every word felt like it had been tempered in ice.

"Also, clear out all the 'rats' around here. Don't leave a single one."

"Understood!"

The twelve black shadows responded in unison, their voices low and uniform, carrying a chilling, murderous aura.

Before the words had even faded, their figures had already turned into bolts of black lightning, rushing toward various vantage points with movements so fast they left only afterimages.

Leaving only a grim-faced Lin Long and Miyano Akemi, who was covering her mouth with panic in her eyes.

...

On the hillside on the west side of Tsukikage Island, dense bushes concealed three figures.

Chianti lay behind a rock, the heavy sniper rifle in her hands still emitting wisps of smoke. She looked at the empty target position in her scope and cursed through gritted teeth:

"Damn it! They actually dodged it!"

Korn crouched beside her, expressionlessly recalibrating his scope, his finger on the trigger, ready to fire again at any moment.

Gin stood behind them, toying with his phone, the screen displaying real-time footage of the pier market—

It was being transmitted by a micro-camera from an outer member hidden in the market crowd.

When he saw Lin Long dodging the bullet with Miyano Akemi, and those twelve black shadows appearing out of thin air, his pupils constricted sharply, and the cold sneer at the corner of his mouth turned into a grave expression.

"What is that?"

Gin's voice carried a hint of imperceptible chill. The speed and explosive power of those black shadows were simply not something an ordinary human could achieve, especially the way they appeared directly from the shadows, exuding an inhuman eeriness.

"I don't know, they look like... ninjas?"

Chianti frowned, her tone uncertain.

She had seen all kinds of enhanced humans and cyborgs on the black market, but she had never seen such an existence.

Just then, several short, sharp screams suddenly came over Gin's walkie-talkie, followed by dead silence.

Those were the outer members hidden around the market—they were responsible for surveillance and assisting with the sniper fire, and now they had clearly met with misfortune.

"Useless trash."

Gin cursed in a low voice, his eyes turning completely cold.

"Chianti, Korn, provide cover. Everyone else, prepare for an assault. Seize Miyano Akemi or kill her. As for that Lin Long... kill him."

Gin had originally thought that sending fifty outer members would be enough to take care of Lin Long, but they were easily counter-killed by him;

This time he brought Chianti and Korn, two ace snipers, intending to finish him in one blow, but he didn't expect to fail again.

It seemed that this Lin Long was more difficult to deal with than he had imagined.

But this only further stirred up Gin's murderous intent.

A person capable of controlling such strange power must either be recruited or destroyed.

Since he was protecting Miyano Akemi and standing on the opposite side of the Black Organization, then he could only be destroyed.

"Received."

Chianti and Korn responded in unison, aiming their guns toward the pier.

However, Gin's command received no response from the other outer members.

There was only the rustling sound of static in the walkie-talkie, as if those people had suddenly vanished into thin air.

"What's going on?"

Gin frowned, an ominous premonition welling up in his heart.

"Gin, they might have..."

Before Chianti could finish her sentence, Gin suddenly felt a bone-chilling cold behind him—it was the signal of approaching death!

Almost by instinct, he jerked his body to the side, simultaneously pulling out the Beretta from his waist with a backhand motion, turning and firing!

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

Three bullets were fired in a triangular formation, precisely striking the position behind him.

There, a Shadow Guard dressed in black samurai attire had appeared, nobody knew when. The katana in its hand flashed with a cold, eerie glint. Just a moment ago, the blade had been less than ten centimeters from Gin's neck—if Gin had reacted half a second slower, he would have been decapitated by now.

The Shadow Guard's red eyes stared at Gin, without any emotional fluctuation.

It did not dodge the bullets, allowing the three bullets to pass through its body, but it was as if they had passed through a shadow, leaving no wounds, not even tearing its clothes.

"What the hell is this monster?!"

Gin watched this scene, his expression turning ugly for the first time.

Bullets were ineffective? This completely defied the laws of physics!

"Gin! I have them on my side too!"

Chianti's voice, filled with shock and anger, came through the walkie-talkie.

"These damn things won't die! Korn is pinned down!"

Gin looked up and saw that two other Shadow Guards had appeared on the hillside, though he didn't know when. One was brandishing a katana, forcing Chianti to retreat repeatedly, while the other used chains formed of shadow energy to entangle Korn's sniper rifle, preventing him from aiming.

These shadows were not only fast and strong, but they could also ignore physical attacks; they were simply perfect killing machines!

"Retreat!"

Gin decided instantly.

Staying here would only lead to them being worn down by these monsters; he had no interest in risking his life against a group of unkillable things.

He pulled several smoke grenades and flashbangs from his black coat and smashed them hard onto the ground!

"Bang! Bang!"

Blinding white light and thick smoke instantly enveloped the hillside.

Chianti and Korn took the opportunity to shake off the Shadow Guards and moved toward Gin.

"Gin, our boat..."

Chianti clutched her arm, which had been slashed by the blade, her voice filled with pain and panic.

The speedboat they had docked at the seaside was their only way out.

"Forget it, move!"

Gin grabbed Vodka, who had been slashed on the thigh by a Shadow Guard, and led the way into the smoke.

He knew that with the speed of these shadows, the speedboat must have already been destroyed, so they had to find another way out now.

The Shadow Guards did not pursue them immediately.

They stood at the edge of the smoke, their red eyes coldly watching the direction in which Gin and the others had disappeared. Like loyal guards, only after confirming that the targets had completely left the range of Tsukikage Island did they turn into streaks of shadow and merge back into the surrounding darkness.

...

On the pier market, the chaos gradually subsided. Lin Long had the Shadow Guards clean up the traces of the scene. The corpses of the peripheral members who had been taken out by the Shadow Guards, along with their weapons and communication equipment, were dragged into the shadows and disposed of cleanly, as if they had never appeared.

Only the bullet crater on the ground silently spoke of the danger that had just occurred.

Miyano Akemi had not yet fully recovered from the shock, and her face remained pale, but in her eyes as she looked at Lin Long, there was an added hint of reliance and gratitude.

In that instant just now, Lin Long's action of rushing over to protect her without hesitation had caused a certain corner of her heart to completely collapse.

"Was it Gin and the others?"

Miyano Akemi asked with a trembling voice.

Other than the Black Organization, she couldn't think of anyone else who would try to kill them like this.

"Other than them, no one has such grand resources."

Lin Long's expression remained cold. He walked to the bullet crater, crouched down, and brushed his fingers over the soil at the edge of the crater.

"A sniper rifle, and a modified heavy model at that. It seems they were playing for real."

He didn't expect that Gin would actually come to Tsukikage Island in person, and even deploy Chianti and Korn, those two ace snipers.

It seems that Miyano Akemi's value in the eyes of the organization was even higher than he had imagined, or perhaps, his own existence had already made Gin feel threatened.

"Will they... come again?"

Miyano Akemi asked worriedly.

"Yes."

Lin Long stood up, his tone certain.

"Gin is not someone who gives up easily. This failure will only make his methods even more ruthless next time."

But Lin Long was not worried. After the confrontation just now, he had already figured out Gin's trump cards—although there were snipers and elite members, in front of the Shadow Guards, these were not enough.

Especially the Shadow Guards' characteristic of ignoring physical attacks, making them almost immune to ordinary firearms; this would be a major weapon for him to fight against the Black Organization.

More importantly, through this attack, he had verified the combat capabilities of the Shadow Guards.

Facing an opponent of Gin's level, the Shadow Guards could not only easily eliminate peripheral members but even suppress Chianti and Korn, forcing Gin to flee in a sorry state. This was enough to show that his power had reached a new level.

[Detected fear and killing intent from Gin and the others, malice black qi +1200 points.]

[Current malice black qi: 23500 -> 24700 points.]

The system's notification made Lin Long feel a bit better. Gin's fear was rare "high-quality" malice black qi.

"Let's go, it's time to board the ship."

Lin Long patted Miyano Akemi on the shoulder.

"After we go back, I will strengthen the villa's security and have the Shadow Guards on alert 24/7. I won't give them another chance to exploit."

Miyano Akemi nodded and followed Lin Long toward the passenger ship.

After the attack just now, she actually felt more at ease—with Lin Long and these mysterious Shadow Guards around, even Gin might not be able to hurt her.

The passenger ship slowly sailed away from the pier, and the outline of Tsukikage Island gradually shrank.

Lin Long stood on the deck, looking at the distant sea level, his eyes deep.

Gin, it seems the game between us is going to escalate ahead of schedule.

You want to kill me, you want to snatch back Miyano Akemi, then come on.

I will let you know that the price of provoking me is far heavier than you imagine.

He took out his phone and sent a message to Asai Narumi:

"My rival organization just attacked me here. Although I repelled them, they will definitely conduct a detailed investigation into what I did on Tsukikage Island afterward."

"It's not safe here for the time being. Arrange to leave as soon as possible. After arriving in Tokyo, go directly to the office and find Butler Ochiai."

Soon, Asai Narumi replied with a single word: "Okay."

Lin Long put away his phone, a cold smile curling at the corner of his mouth.

After returning to Tokyo, the first thing he needed to do was to expand the scale of the Shadow Guards and unlock more shadow soldiers as soon as possible.

The threat of the Black Organization was getting closer and closer. He had to possess greater power to ensure his own safety and the safety of those around him, and to occupy an absolute advantage in this game of chess against the Black Organization.

Miyano Akemi walked to Lin Long's side and handed him a bottle of warm water:

"Drink some water."

Lin Long took the water and smiled at her:

"Were you scared just now?"

Miyano Akemi shook her head, then nodded, and said softly:

"A little... but more than that, I think you are very amazing, Mr. Lin Long."

"Oh? Where am I amazing?"

Lin Long raised an eyebrow, teasing her on purpose.

"It's just... those shadows, and the way you protected me just now."

Miyano Akemi's cheeks turned red again. After she finished speaking, she lowered her head, not daring to look at him.

Lin Long looked at her shy appearance, and a strange feeling welled up in his heart.

He reached out, gently ruffled her hair, and his tone was uncharacteristically gentle:

"Rest assured, with me here, no one can hurt you."

Miyano Akemi's body stiffened, but then she relaxed, letting him ruffle her hair, and the corners of her mouth couldn't help but turn up slightly.

The sea breeze blew through her hair, and the sunlight shone on her profile; the scene was warm and beautiful.

"Mr., those shadow soldiers that appeared just now are..."

Miyano Akemi opened her mouth, her expression struggling for a long time, but finally, she asked this question.

"Hmm..."

"You can think of it as a special ability of mine, let's call it a superpower."

"As long as certain conditions are met, I can summon such soldiers from the darkness."

Lin Long explained briefly to Miyano Akemi.

"Special ability? Or a superpower?"

"I really didn't expect that there are superhumans like you in the world." Miyano Akemi exclaimed.

"Haha! That's just because you haven't seen enough. Actually, in Tokyo, there is an orthodox magic successor who can use magic."

Lin Long thought of that high school girl who could use magic.

On the distant sea, a seagull chased the passenger ship, letting out a crisp cry.

Lin Long knew that the calm was only temporary.

After returning to Tokyo, what awaited him would be a more intense confrontation with the Black Organization.

But he was fearless.

Lin Long's power was growing at an astonishing speed.

Gin, next time we meet, I hope you are prepared.

Lin Long looked toward Tokyo, his eyes flashing with the light of determination.

The war that belonged to him had only just begun.