The shattering glass hitting the floor triggered waves of screams—many guests and restaurant staff who hadn't managed to get away in time were turned into pincushions, groaning in pain on the ground.

Although the glass shards were small and no one suffered any fatal injuries, the feeling was definitely not pleasant!

Even those two assassins were slightly cut by this storm of sharp edges.

Only Barry, with his fully hardened body, remained completely unaffected.

Howling cold wind poured through the now empty frames that were once windows, sweeping through the restaurant. The blood-stained glass fragments on the floor reflected the dim city light.

Along with the wind and the light, the black shadow also landed!

The figure was clad entirely in a long black trench coat, wearing a black hood.

He landed gently, stepping onto the carpet of broken glass, producing a crunching sound as he slowly walked towards Barry.

"Come on, kid, let me see what you're made of!"

Barry roared, taking the initiative to meet the attack.

His breathing was heavy, his entire body a bluish-gray, his steps ponderous, looking like a giant bull charging.

"Bang!"

The next moment, before anyone could clearly see what happened, Steward Barry was sent flying backwards the instant he made contact with the other party, blood spraying wildly.

The black shadow's originally slow speed instantly accelerated—he moved almost as fast as Barry flying backwards, seemingly preparing to launch a fatal follow-up attack! 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

But before the shadow could strike, the moment Barry was sent flying...

"Whoosh—!"

A sharp whistling sound cut through the air as a cold arrow shot out!

The shadow sidestepped to dodge the arrow, but the moment it brushed past his shoulder...

"Boom!"

The cold arrow exploded, catching the shadow off guard. He had to twist into a mid-air somersault to dissipate the force before landing steadily!

"Thud!"

Over there, Barry had already landed heavily, letting out a pained groan on the ground.

Deep, ghastly gashes were carved into the hardened skin of his left shoulder and right abdomen, making him look extremely weak—however, he was still alive.

Facing the severely injured Barry, the shadow didn't get a chance to pursue.

The higher the skill level, the greater the caution. This sudden, explosive cold arrow naturally forced even this expert to calm down and observe his surroundings.

"Who is it?!"

He spoke coldly, his voice sounding as if processed through some filter, making his actual timbre unrecognizable.

The voice of Sleepless Sky Huo Shu rang out.

"Fool, do you think you know who you're trying to kill beside? We are Peerage Nobility!"

"Do you think we wouldn't have experts by our side?"

Sleepless Sky Huo Shu declared loudly, seemingly trying to scare the other party off.

However, the other party clearly wasn't buying it.

On the other side, Sleepless Sky Huo Le spoke calmly.

"Your skill level is very high, at least you've undergone top-tier modification surgery and possess rich combat experience—in Sleepless City, the number of people who meet both conditions is not large. If you continue to act now, you'll be offending both our Sleepless Sky family and the Saint-Land family."

"Think carefully... finding you might not be that difficult."

Sleepless Sky Huo Le's words did cause the other party to show a slight reaction.

But he didn't give up either, just speaking coldly again.

"Sir, I'm also just doing a job for money."

As he spoke, he seemed to have made up his mind and started walking towards Barry lying on the ground again.

And the moment he took a step...

"Whoosh—!"

The sharp whistling sounded again, and another sharp arrow shot out.

This time, the other party was much wiser, not simply sidestepping casually but cautiously dodging far away.

However, this arrow didn't explode; it embedded itself into the wooden counter, sinking in up to the fletching.

This time, the shadow suddenly turned and looked towards the table where Lin Yu was hiding.

He kicked the table over.

But under the table, there was no one!

The moment the table flipped over, from a small patch of shadow beside it, Lin Yu, wielding dual swords, slashed out in a cross pattern!

"Swish!"

The [Long Blade Tusk Bone Dual Swords] he had just obtained in the last dungeon drew arcs of blade light. The sharp edges grazed past the opponent's left side, tearing through the visitor's clothing and leaving a shallow bloody gash.

The other party was also very fast, instantly drawing out a scythe and swinging it down in retaliation at Lin Yu—this was likely the source of the wounds on Barry.

Clang!

The dual swords and the scythe collided. In that instant, Lin Yu and the other party locked eyes through the mask.

Lin Yu recognized the other party's origin.

"Player?!"

This "scythe" was definitely a player's [item]!

And the other party directly recognized Lin Yu's current appearance.

"Furbollo?!"

He spoke with disbelief, seeming very shocked.

And the moment the other party spoke, Lin Yu confirmed it.

"So it really is a player!"

Lin Yu immediately switched into the mode Furbollo used when interacting with people.

"You've heard of me, huh? Then, brother, could you do me a favor? Let this job go, this person is useful to me!"

Lin Yu said with a playful laugh.

"You, who just barely reached 『First-Tier』, what kind of face do you have to give?" the other party said bluntly. "And that 『First-Tier』 mission of yours, you definitely completed it by riding on someone else's coattails!"

The mysterious player said, swinging the scythe down again.

Lin Yu, having been snubbed like this, wasn't angry either. He just easily parried the attack with his dual swords.

After all, the insults were directed at Furbollo, and besides, Furbollo himself probably wouldn't get angry if he heard—because he really did ride on coattails.

So, Lin Yu continued speaking in a relaxed tone.

"Hey now, you can't say that. More friends, more paths... at least my words still carry some weight in Sleepless City!"

"Look at you, having to toil miserably, freezing on the restaurant's glass roof in the middle of the night watching everyone eat, while I can dine with Peerage Nobility in the restaurant. Building a good relationship with me is much more promising than being a mercenary!"

Lin Yu had learned three or four parts of the essence of Fu Luo's cheeky speaking style.

The other party snorted coldly again: "You don't know shit!"

The scythe and dual swords clashed and separated again. Taking advantage of the weapons not being back in position, the other party launched a high side kick.

Lin Yu, caught off guard, could only raise his arm to block.

"Thud!"

A solid kick landed on Lin Yu's forearm. The other party roared: "Die!"

In the mysterious player's expectation, this full-force kick would definitely break at least a few of Furbollo's bones!

However, he felt as if he had kicked a slab of iron.

"What the hell?!"

He was utterly shocked, retreating two steps in a row. Looking at the arrogant Furbollo, he spoke with suspicion and surprise.

"You're 『First-Tier』?! You're a 『Detective』?!"

"How are you harder than that modified Sleepless City guy over there?!"

Lin Yu chuckled.

Five times the physical attributes from 『Soldier』, plus the [Barbarian Guardian Gauntlets], the [Reusable Universal Buff Potion], and the final moments of the [Frost Blessing] stored in the [Bliss Immortal Pot]...

Was it unreasonable for him to be a bit harder than that old man who just had some skin hardening surgery?

He looked at the other party and spoke mockingly.

"This is all the result of my day-in, day-out training. Who says a 『Detective』 can't temper their own body?!"

"How can Sleepless City's technology and shortcuts compare to my meticulously tempered and trained physique!"