Chapter 1: Ambush
"Mr. Anderson, there's an ambush ahead!"
In a tropical rainforest, a group of fully armed mercenaries was advancing rapidly.
Suddenly, a burly, short-haired man raised his eyebrows and spoke to the tall, handsome young man beside him.
"Interesting. After all these years, I can't believe someone still dares to ambush the Specter Syndicate!"
The young man leading the group was named James Anderson. Before he could speak, Kevin Taylor, the blonde-haired man beside him, had already responded.
However, his face showed no sign of tension about being ambushed. Instead, there was an indescribable hint of amusement.
As the best mercenary organization in the world, they had become taboo in international society!
Even the military forces of top-tier nations were unwilling to provoke them.
Especially their leader James, who was known as the king of the underworld, with the codename The Reaper!
Over the years, they had never failed a single mission!
Having grown accustomed to taking the initiative, they never expected that one day they would be ambushed.
"Don't make any sudden moves. Let's see what's going on!"
James, at the front, remained equally calm, curious about who was ambushing them here.
As his words fell, a group of men in suits, holding submachine guns, suddenly surrounded them.
The middle-aged man leading them, Oliver, walked with an arrogant gait, his eyes full of amusement, and a mocking smile on his lips.
"James, you really made me search hard for you!"
"Really? Do we know each other?"
Oliver's attitude surprised James, who looked at him with slight hesitation.
But to Oliver, this expression was clearly a signal of weakness.
Already holding the upper hand, he became even more confident.
"You're not qualified to have me answer your questions!"
His response actually made James laugh.
"You're the first person who's dared to talk to me like this!"
Oliver was also amused by James's words.
"Listen to yourself, you sound pretty cocky."
"A homeless guy abandoned by the Anderson family, still so arrogant. Do you still think you're the heir to the Anderson family?"
The Anderson family?
James's expression darkened considerably, and his eyes filled with killing intent.
"Who sent you?"
"None of your business!"
James's gaze grew even colder. "I'll give you one last chance. Who sent you?"
"As long as you tell me, I might consider sparing your life!"
Oliver acted as if he'd heard the funniest joke ever, laughing until tears came out.
The others behind him all had the same expression, looking at James like he was an idiot.
"James, you don't seem to understand the situation. Right now, your life is in my hands, not the other way around!"
"I was going to let you die knowing the truth, but looking at your brain, there's no need for that!"
After saying this, a cruel smile curved Oliver's lips.
Then he waved his hand. "Boys, move out!"
But the next second, Oliver's confident expression froze.
James, who he thought was as good as dead, moved with ghost-like speed to snatch a gun from one of the killers, his other hand gripping the killer's throat tightly.
The killer's face turned from red to purple, his hands futilely slapping at James's arm, as if hitting a steel pillar.
"How is this possible? My men are all elite." Oliver's voice trembled, his words growing less confident.
"You mean this trash?"
James's gaze swept toward him. With a twist of his wrist, the killer whose throat he was gripping was flung out like a rag doll, crashing heavily into two other killers.
The three rolled together in a heap, moaning in pain.
Meanwhile, Kevin had already kicked away the last standing killer, dusted off his hands, and flashed Oliver a bright smile.
"This is all you've got?"
In just ten seconds, none of the twenty-plus elite killers Oliver had brought could still stand.
The arrogance on his face had completely vanished, replaced by bone-deep fear.
"Don't, don't come closer. If you kill me, the Harris family and the Anderson family won't let you go!"
He tried to raise the gun in his hand, but found his fingers shaking too much to grip it.
"The Harris family and the Anderson family? Won't let me go?"
James stared straight at him.
In that moment, Oliver felt like he was being watched by a demon, his blood freezing.
"You seem to have gotten something wrong."
James began walking toward him, unhurried.
With each step, Oliver felt death approaching.
"I'm not some homeless guy kicked out by the Anderson family, but the Grim Reaper coming to collect a debt from them!"
Oliver's pupils contracted. Looking at the symbol on James's helmet, something seemed to dawn on him.
"You, you're actually the leader of Specter Syndicate!"
"That legendary Reaper?"
James looked at him with interest.
"Didn't expect you to know so much!"
"Too bad, anyone who knows my true identity has to die!"
Seeing the change in James's eyes, Oliver didn't hesitate to start kowtowing to him.
"Mr. Anderson, no, The Reaper, please don't kill me! I'll tell you everything I know!"
"Trevor has never given up trying to kill you all these years."
"Edward from the Harris family ordered us to kill you to curry favor with the Anderson family. I, I'm just doing a job for money. I've confessed everything now, please spare my life!"
A dark stain spread across his pant leg, the stench of urine filling the air.
Disgust flashed in James's eyes as he picked up the phone Oliver had dropped.
On it was a pre-written message saying "Mission accomplished," addressed to Edward Harris.
His eyes grew even colder as his fingertip lightly touched the screen.
Send.
After doing this, he lifted his foot and kicked. Oliver's head flew out like a ball.
James didn't even look at the fallen middle-aged man, as if he'd just kicked an ant to death.
"Mr. Anderson, this Trevor really doesn't know what's good for him. You haven't even gone after him yet, and he's already sent people to assassinate you!"
"Should I take our men and kill our way to the Anderson family, take out Trevor?"
Kevin, who had earlier detected the ambush, looked at James with concern.
As a comrade who'd been through life and death with him, he knew something about James's background.
Originally, James was the only son of Peter Anderson, head of the Anderson family in Pinecrest City, living a life of luxury and comfort since childhood.
However, a tragedy ten years ago had devastated Peter's family while they were abroad.
A fully armed mercenary squad had stormed into their overseas mansion, killing everyone on sight, leaving no survivors.
If Peter hadn't hidden James, he would have been just another corpse by now.
Bearing a blood debt, James's personality changed completely. Not only did he single-handedly wipe out that entire mercenary squad, but over the next ten years, he transformed Specter Syndicate from an unknown team into the world's most powerful force.
He thought it was all over, but it turned out there was more to that tragedy ten years ago!
"No need. This is my revenge. The Harris family, is it? Then everything starts with you!"
