Zongman: The wrong person on the ground, double Shenwei at the beginning

His gaze shifted, and he immediately saw Lunova, who was leaning against the crumbling wall and staggering.

Her figure showed weariness, yet she remained stubborn.

When Lunova saw Rhodes return, she blurted out in astonishment, blood still trickling from the corner of her mouth.

"You... you took care of him so quickly?"

Rod smiled, narrowed his eyes, and said casually.

"It was just a little trick."

Lunova shook her wrist to steady herself, pretending to be relaxed.

"Heh, tricks are also a kind of strength... That cat already taught me this before."

In retrospect, Lunova suddenly felt a little glad she had made that choice.

If I were to actually assassinate this guy, my fate would probably be no better than his.

“Speaking of which, where did Rosie go?” Rhodes looked around the alley.

Lunova scoffed, a strange smile appearing on her lips.

"He probably hid because he was shy... I knew that guy was holding back his strength. Cats are such cunning creatures!"

The scene suddenly became quiet.

Runova caught Rhodes's furrowed brow as he stared at her arm out of the corner of her eye. Instinctively, she wanted to continue to put on a brave face, so she reflexively turned to the side, trying to cover the small wounds on her arm and body.

Rhodes took a vial of potion from his pocket and handed it to Lunova in a gentle voice.

"Let's treat your injuries first."

"Well, actually I'm alright, but treatment might be a good idea..."

Runova was taken aback, and shyly tried to take it, but her expression changed drastically when her gaze fell on the bottle, and her eyes widened.

"Wait...wait a minute, this thing...could it be...a panacea?!"

“Yes.” Rhodes said calmly, “Because it works so well, I used to really like using it, and I specially stocked up on a large quantity of the highest quality stock from the Deankat Familia.”

"A panacea...top quality...stockpiled..."

Lunova's lips twitched slightly, and she felt her worldview beginning to waver.

She understands each noun individually, but when put together, it's like a fairy tale!

The world of bounty hunters is actually far less glamorous than one might imagine.

Leaving aside the risks of combat, the costs of equipment and weapon maintenance, intelligence gathering, and medical supplies can easily consume two-thirds or even more of the income.

Those fools who are reluctant to spend money usually lose their lives in the very first mission.

Even so, even though she was renowned in the industry as the "Black Boxer," this was the first time she had ever seen someone casually "waste" a panacea.

This thing is clearly something you'd only use in a life-or-death crisis!

She was stunned for a moment by Rod's extravagance, and after regaining her senses, she subconsciously wanted to decline.

"I...maybe I should just forget about it...actually, I'm hurt pretty badly too..."

Before he could finish speaking, Rod had already taken it upon himself to unscrew the bottle and poured the entire bottle of panacea over Runova's head without hesitation.

The warm medicinal liquid slid down her hair and skin, its warmth and healing magic seeping into the wound. Though it had no weight, it felt heavy on her heart.

"Don't look so distressed. Making money is easy for me."

Rhodes found Lunova's eagerness to lick the elixir off her body somewhat amusing, then turned serious.

"But finding a companion (girl) worth...cough cough...inviting is very difficult."

Chapter 78 The free cat will never yield, unless it's provided with food and lodging! (Please subscribe and vote!)

Lunova's arm injuries healed at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Seeing this, Rod shook the empty medicine bottle with satisfaction, then casually tossed it onto the pile of rubble, a thoughtful look on his face.

"On the other hand, while this panacea that can cure most injuries and illnesses isn't very useful to me personally, I can't keep letting others make money off it all..."

He murmured thoughtfully.

"Should I try to recruit someone with the [Harmony] ability...? Is there anyone I can invite right now...?"

"The previous sentence..."

"what?"

What did you mean by your last sentence?!

Runova glared at Rhodes with feigned ferocity, her voice low and menacing, her fists clenched to conceal her inner unease and longing.

"Ok?"

Rod looked up, his eyes filled with a hint of playfulness and tenderness. He slowly reached out his hand, smiling as he looked directly into her eyes.

"That's right, I'm inviting you."

"Lunova, I want you to join my organization."

"Of course, if you want to go straight to my family, I'd be happy to!"

Upon hearing Rhodes' earnest invitation, Lunova felt a sense of panic rising within her.

She had thought she would refuse decisively, but in that instant, the words "yes" almost slipped out.

Lunova knew very well that she had already secretly accepted the man in front of her in her heart during her previous observations and investigations of Rhodes, especially when he stood up for her without hesitation.

Actually, she had considered finding a place to settle down—but the person absolutely could not be Rhodes.

This time, she couldn't maintain that facade of strength.

The cold expression slowly faded, and Lunova revealed a smile that blended complexity and tenderness.

"I'm happy to receive your invitation, but... I can't."

Fearing Rod might misunderstand, she raised her fists in a self-deprecating gesture.

"Since you know me, you must have heard about my past, right?"

"My days are actually spent fighting, bleeding, and killing people."

Lunova's eyes were downcast, and her tone was bitter.

My hands are already...dirty.

The nickname "Black Fist" doesn't come from any cool black boxing gloves.

Instead, she often beat her opponents until their skin was torn open, their bones were broken, and their skulls were shattered, her fists stained red and black with a lot of blood.

Those in the industry who witnessed the incident spread the word and gave her this terrible nickname.

In her mind, she could almost see the fists that had turned black and were covered in blood from the brutal beatings she had made, and hear the astonished and even fearful whispers of the 470 onlookers.

“You are the kind of ‘justice’ family that brings hope and happiness—pure, bright, and revered.”

"It's only natural that people would hate someone like me who makes money in the chaos and is no different from a mercenary."

"I don't want my reputation to cause you any trouble."

In that brief glance, Lunova flashed a self-deprecating smile, feigning strength to conceal her vulnerability.

"Besides, I'm used to doing things alone, and it's not very convenient to be with a lot of people..."

She thought her reasoning was firm enough that Rod might try to persuade her and then respect her choice.

But unexpectedly, Rod seemed to completely ignore her refusals, and reached out and naturally took her blood-stained and sin-stained hand, a genuine smile on his face.

"Okay, welcome to my organization!"

"Wait, wait—I didn't agree at all!"

Lunova almost jumped up, her hand was being held but she couldn't break free, she was both ashamed and annoyed and at a loss.

Rod ignored her reaction and continued.

"Independent accommodation, high salary, additional performance bonuses, and exclusive equipment, weapons, and medicine supply."

"The only requirement is absolute loyalty to me. How about that? Not bad, right?"

"It's more than just nice, it's like heaven..."

Runova's expression shifted instinctively, and she couldn't help but nod. Realizing what she had done, she shouted in a fit of embarrassment and anger.

"Wait! I already said I'm not joining the Astrea Familia, can't you listen to me for once?!"

Rhodes blinked, a slight smile playing on his lips.

"So, when did I say I wanted you to join the Astrea Familia?"

Lunova was stunned.

"what?"

-

"Only an idiot would stay there obediently, meow!"

Chloe struggled to hold her injured arm as she stumbled through the shadows of the alley.

With every step she took, her muscles were screaming in pain, and she couldn't help but criticize her past self.

"It's just a stray cat, but it insists on imitating others and acting like a hero... I wonder how long it'll take to recover from its injuries now..."

However, the sense of bewilderment in one's heart is more unbearable than the pain.

Although the final mission went awry, it ultimately failed perfectly as planned.

His career as an assassin has come to an end, but what should he do next?

But where to go next? What to do? She had absolutely no idea.

Just then, a slender, brown-haired cat-woman suddenly appeared at the end of the alley, blocking the way lightly and silently.

Kroe instinctively pulled her hood down, trying to just brush past him.

But the cat-girl suddenly became alert and spoke up, her voice soft and low.

"You've become slow, meow... Even though we arrived as quickly as possible, the battle was already over."

Upon hearing the other person's words, Kroy immediately realized that this guy had also come to see Rhodes!

Hmph, you're way too popular with women.

And there are other catgirls around too, that's outrageous!

Chloe glanced at her anxious kin and thought to herself.

But you don't need to be upset about being late. Maybe it's because that guy was just too fast... After all, I almost couldn't escape...

The cat-girl noticed Chloe's gaze and asked a friendly question.

"Hello, do you know what's going on around here, meow?"

"...have no idea."

"Oh, I see. So, do you know where to find that guy, meow?"

Rosie didn't want to get entangled with the cat any longer, so she forcibly suppressed her verbal tics and tried not to reveal any information about herself, casually pointing to the back of the alley.

"I think I just saw Rhodes go that way."

"..."

The cat-girl narrowed her long, narrow eyes, staring at Chloe with eyes untouched by knowledge.

"Huh? The cat hasn't said who it's looking for yet, meow~"

"!!!"

"Hmph, Mia's mom always says I'm stupid, but it seems I'm actually quite smart!"

When Chloe saw her smug kin, she felt a surge of anger.

hateful!