He feigned madness for eighteen years, all for the power of a god.

Why didn't he go to see his girlfriend?

Or was he hiding in the shadows with a gun?

Without needing to look back, he could judge the trajectory of the bullet based on his years of combat intuition.

The bullet would graze his left shoulder and hit the wall behind him.

So he didn't dodge, but continued to pour his power into his palm, preparing to smash the barrier in one fell swoop.

But the next second, the bullet that should have missed its target drew an extremely bizarre zigzag line in the air.

It was as if an invisible hand had forcibly pressed the turn button.

It completely violates common sense in physics, and even the law of conservation of momentum.

That's... [Vector Direction Control]?!

The moment the word flashed through the Hanged Man's mind, a searing pain shot through his groin.

puff!

The kinetic energy carried by a large-caliber bullet is terrifying; it instantly shredded his muscles and bones.

His right leg was almost completely broken, and blood splattered like a fountain, splashing onto the invisible wall of air in front of him.

"ah--!!!"

A piercing howl echoed through the empty room.

That arrogant, peak-level expert of the third level.

At this moment, he fell heavily to the ground like a stray dog ​​with a broken leg, clutching his thigh and convulsing wildly.

His brain completely shut down at that moment.

More than the physical pain, the sense of absurdity in his mind drove him almost mad.

Why?

Those were Hawkeye's bullets.

That's vector manipulation with a guaranteed hit attribute.

That was the skill that the couple was so proud of, the skill they used to reap countless lives.

Why did this bullet enter my body at this moment?

"Hawkeye... what are you doing?!"

The Hanged Man lies in a pool of blood, screaming desperately towards the distant skyscraper.

However, the sound was blocked by the tarpaulin and could not be transmitted at all.

Meanwhile, in a corner, another shadow clone of Bai Ye was hiding in the shadows of the room.

The disheveled state of the Hanged Man and every movement he made were clearly transmitted to the main body.

On top of a tall building.

Through his clone's vision, Bai Ye calmly and precisely "guided" Eagle Eye beside him.

"Yes! That's the spot! He's trying to hide behind the pillar! Move two meters west! Block his movement!"

"Well done! He's injured! Suppress him! Don't let him out!"

Deadly bullets were fired one by one under the precise command of the "boyfriend".

Like a death warrant from the Grim Reaper, it kept shooting towards the man she deeply loved inside the obelisk.

The real "Hanged Man" is experiencing the most desperate and painful moment of his life at this moment.

He was in the room he had personally decorated.

He was being relentlessly hunted down by his closest lover, using their most prized combined killing move.

Those sturdy walls were as flimsy as paper in the face of his girlfriend's [Vector Manipulation] bullets.

Each bullet followed a strange, unavoidable arc, leaving him nowhere to dodge or hide.

His wounds multiplied, and the blood flowing out almost stained the entire ground red.

"Hawkeye! Stop! It's me!"

The Hanged Man tries to explain to his girlfriend through telepathy, but the tarpaulin blocks the way, rendering the explanation useless.

After the initial shock and anger, the Hanged Man slowly came to understand everything.

That traitor!

That damned rat!

He has the ability to disguise himself! He's transformed into my appearance and is deceiving Hawkeye!

He wants Hawkeye to... kill me with his own hands!

This realization made him feel as if he had fallen into an ice cave, his whole body turning ice-cold.

This is the feeling of watching helplessly as your loved one is deceived by the enemy.

The ultimate despair of being powerless to do anything and ultimately dying a humiliating death at the hands of one's lover.

It nearly drove him to the brink of collapse!

"No!!"

However, as an extraordinary person who has been around for many years.

He forced himself to calm down, knowing that the more panicked he was, the faster he would die.

His bloodshot eyes scanned the room frantically, finally locking onto one spot.

There was a floor-to-ceiling window covered by heavy velvet curtains!

Although sound and telepathy are blocked by the barrier of the oil painting, as long as... as long as you walk to the window!

Just draw back that curtain!

As long as the "Eagle Eye" outside sees me with their own eyes! Sees my face!

All lies will fall apart on their own!

That was the only way out, and the only truth!

He gritted his teeth, dragged his broken body, and rushed toward the window that represented hope.

However, atop the high-rise buildings.

Bai Ye immediately discerned his intentions through the vision of his clone.

"This mouse is trying to escape to the window; it's trying to signal its companions for help!"

Bai Ye's voice suddenly turned cold, and his speech quickened:

Don't give him a chance!

"Don't even think about it!"

[Hawkeye] His eyebrows furrowed, revealing his murderous intent.

She quickly adjusted the muzzle of her gun, anticipated the move, and pulled the trigger!

boom!

Inside the obelisk.

Just when the Hanged Man was one step away from the window.

A large-caliber bullet struck his intact left knee precisely.

With a sickening cracking sound, his entire lower leg was blasted off, with only a bit of skin and flesh connecting it.

"Ugh—!"

His body, having lost its support, crashed heavily to the ground, but he didn't stop.

In that final moment of life and death, he unleashed an astonishing willpower.

He ignored his broken leg and instead used his elbow to dig himself into the ground.

It left a shocking trail of blood, crawling bit by bit toward the curtains that were so close at hand.

Closer...closer...

Just... pull it open...

Eagle eyes can see me... so she won't...

His hand trembled as he raised it, and his fingertips finally touched the cool, soft velvet fabric.

however.

Just as his fingers hooked the edge of the curtain, preparing to pull it open...

A kilometer away.

Bai Ye coldly uttered the final command:

"Move upwards by 3 centimeters, fire."

boom!

The last bullet instantly traversed a distance of one kilometer.

It pierced precisely through the window frame, through the curtains that hadn't yet been drawn, and finally...

It mercilessly pierced through the head of the Hanged Man.

puff.

It's like a rotten watermelon being smashed with a hammer.

The Hanged Man's movements abruptly stopped.

His fingers were still tightly gripping the corner of the curtain.

His body slumped heavily onto the windowsill, and he was no longer heard from it.

Those narrow, phoenix-shaped eyes remained wide open until their death, their pupils filled with endless despair.

He died without being able to let his beloved see the truth.

At the moment the Hanged Man fell, the information in front of Bai Ye changed.

[Promotion Quest: Puppet Master]

The third murder is complete (3/3).

It became.

Bai Ye felt a sense of calm. He knew that from this moment on, the path to a higher level had been opened for him.

On the rooftop of the high-rise building next to him.

After firing that final shot, Hawkeye jumped up excitedly from the ground.

She threw down her sniper rifle, excitedly threw herself into the arms of her "boyfriend," and gave him a passionate kiss.

"We won! Darling! We killed him!"

She hugged Bai Ye's neck tightly, her voice sharp with excitement, even trembling with a hint of joyful tears:

"That damned traitor, we've finally taken care of him!"

"He never imagined he would die from our perfect teamwork!"

Bai Ye hugged her back, a tired smile on his face, and gently patted her back, saying:

"Yes, we won. It's all over."

In this embrace filled with the smoke and blood, Hawkeye, immersed in the joy of victory, slowly stopped moving.

A subtle yet unsettling feeling spread along the two bodies pressed tightly together.

This embrace...something's not right.

The muscles of the upside-down man are relaxed, carrying a kind of roguish and lazy air of someone who has been walking on the edge of life and death for many years.

But the body before me, every muscle was taut.

It was like a bow ready to kill at any moment, filled with a sense of oppression that was unfamiliar to her.

and……

Hawkeye's body froze completely in place.

Images from my memory flooded back like a tide.

Each time they cooperated to hunt down powerful enemies, each time they crawled out of mountains of corpses and seas of blood.

This man always swears and curses.

He roughly cupped her face and kissed her hard on the forehead.

That was a ritual that belonged only to the two of them, a signal to confirm that they were alive.

But today, there is nothing.

The man just patted her back perfunctorily.

It's like comforting an insignificant pet, or... touching an inanimate object.

Once the thought arises, it can no longer be suppressed.

The once scalding blood seemed to stop flowing at this moment, and the surrounding hot air instantly became as silent as a tomb.

Hawkeye slowly, little by little, pulled his body away from that embrace.

Her movements were as stiff as a rusty puppet.

She looked up, and her eyes, which had been filled with love and ecstasy, were now filled with panic and terror.

My gaze gradually focused on the familiar face in front of me.

Her facial features are still the same, even the fine lines at the corners of her eyes are exactly the same.

But those eyes held none of the cunning, ruthlessness, or lust she was familiar with.

There was nothing there.

It was like a stagnant pool, reflecting her face, which was as pale as paper.

Fear, like an invisible hand, gripped her throat, almost suffocating her.

Her brain was issuing frantic warnings; every cell was screaming for her to escape.

No...it can't be...

How is that possible...?

Hawkeye looked at the man in front of him with the face of the "Hanged Man".

His teeth chattered uncontrollably, and every word seemed to be forced out of his throat:

"You... are not him."

"Who are you?"