'We're safe?'
In the farmstead Slater finished reading the letters Hunter had brought back.
She didn't blame him for slipping into her apartment and reading the letters without permission.
Hunter had made it clear: he needed to grasp the situation over there.
Besides, he had already informed her in advance.
After reading them, Slater asked curiously while Hunter prepared a rich dinner.
'Mm!'
Hunter nodded, then, as if conjuring a trick, produced a digital camera.
'See for yourself.'
Inside was a photo he had taken after using the sniper laika crossbow to kill Steve from over a hundred metres away, then driving closer.
The picture clearly showed the quarrel piercing Steve's chest.
A large pool of blood had already spread where he lay.
From the wound Hunter knew instantly Steve was doomed.
He snapped one shot, drove off,
circled wide, and returned to the farm.
Slater glanced at Hunter. Though she had dealt with Magician and knew such people could hide things like magic,
she was still amazed—how had he concealed a camera that size on his body
without her noticing?
Yet her curiosity about tricks had long since been worn down
by her best friend, the beautiful escape-artist Henrietta Reeves.
More than wondering how Hunter had hidden the camera,
Slater wanted to know what was on it.
She took the device, fiddled briefly, and opened the gallery.
When the photo appeared and she saw what it showed, she sat bolt upright.
'Steve?'
Though disguised, she recognized him at a glance—the man who had murdered her father
and kidnapped, imprisoned and tortured her for two days.
Just as Hunter finished the last dish he felt a sharp stare on him.
He looked up to find Slater gaping in shock and disbelief.
Reading the question in her eyes, he merely smiled and said nothing.
Helping her remove a threat was his way of repaying her for teaching him the Lockpicking Skill.
Besides, without his interference the plot of The Italian Job
would still have ended with Slater pocketing a few million us dollars and living shamelessly ever after with Charlie.
During this period, Slater would run into some danger, but nothing life-threatening.
Although Hunter had decided to be selfish for once and keep the gold bars for himself,
he had never intended to harm Slater.
As for killing another man, it hardly registered for Hunter now.
As a transmigrator, and given that the country beneath his feet wasn't the Blue Kingdom,
Hunter no longer held any strong notions of good and evil.
He simply followed his whims, as long as he didn't violate his own principles.
So Hunter didn't care in the least about having killed Steve.
Especially when the other party had been a scumbag.
Hunter said nothing; his expression and attitude already said everything.
All at once, Slater thought back to that morning.
The young, handsome Asian young man had given her his word before leaving the farm.
In that instant, Slater felt a warmth surge through her body.
It was the warmth and security of being protected—a feeling she hadn't experienced since her father's death.
'Thank you!'
She set the digital camera aside, resisting the urge to peek inside for more photos of Hunter's life and past.
Hunter smiled, quickly carried the prepared food to the dining table.
'Tomorrow you can leave here, Slater.'
'Charlie and the others should contact you again soon.'
'But I hope you won't mention my name, age, height, or race to them.'
'Everything else, you can tell them.'
'That I'm male and that I stole Steve's safe—none of that matters.'
Although Charlie's crew possessed astonishing thieving skills, the safe had been stashed by Hunter into his private space.
Even after he bought a luxury villa or a manor, he would still keep every important item, including his assets, inside his private space.
Therefore, Hunter didn't care if Charlie's lot came after him.
In the past he'd taken thorough precautions, knowing that top hacker Lyle existed.
In nearly every operation Hunter changed his bike's appearance and paint job.
He used fake plates and completely disguised himself.
So as long as Slater didn't give Charlie his name, age, height, and race,
—please vote with flowers—Charlie's crew would have a far harder time finding Hunter than they'd had searching for Steve over the past year.
Especially since Hunter was about to help Dominic move that batch of cargo.
Once the six-hundred-thousand-us dollar payoff was in hand, he figured he wouldn't touch the gold bars taken from Steve for a good while.
Even if Charlie and company tracked him down a year or so later,
by then his physique and the skills he'd mastered should have turned him into a genuine minor superhuman.
At that point, if Charlie's lot still wanted revenge on Hunter,
the outcome wouldn't be up to them.
Of course, Hunter wasn't afraid of Charlie's crew.
Mainly, being targeted by a gang of international thieves right now… with so many secrets on him, it could bring extra trouble.
Hunter didn't want to make life difficult for himself, hence the request.
Slater agreed almost without thinking.
'All right, I promise.'
Although Hunter had sought her out to learn Lockpicking,
after spending the past dozen days together she didn't dislike this straightforward, poor-yet-upbeat Asian young man.
Besides, Hunter had saved her when she was most helpless,
and—more than that—helped her avenge her father.
It let the well-educated Slater, who couldn't bring herself to kill the villain who had murdered her father, feel both satisfaction and deep gratitude toward him.
Not to mention—
Hunter was handsome!
Even by Western standards that face counted as striking and attractive.
Though he was a bit younger, his behavior was very mature.
And she'd confirmed that his physique far surpassed most adult men.
When talking with him, Slater often forgot he was a boy more than eight years her junior.
It always felt as if she were conversing with a captivating, fully grown man—strong when he should be, gentle when needed.
So, realizing they would probably part ways tomorrow,
Suddenly, looking at that young, handsome face,
Slater felt a reluctance to let go—and something else stirring in her chest, ready to burst out.
She suddenly thought that maybe she should take the initiative for once…
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