In this line of work, it wasn’t surprising to see blood, weapons, corpses and other killers hot on your trail but luckily, just like your codename—Phantom, you always disappear before cops could get a hold of you.

You were skilled, the top dog in the industry—silent, meticulous, cold, vicious, merciless and precise. Those were the words people would relate you with, especially like a snake lying in wait behind tall grasses before springing onto the unsuspecting prey. As expected, the price to hire you for your cold-blooded services were always a hefty sum no ordinary people could afford. Services that requires perfection don’t come free after all and it was no surprise that the money you earned could support the way you’re living now.

Thief, assassin, mercenary, murderer, soul reaper or debt collector, no matter what the job was, you always got it done on time and impress your hirers. Some were your loyal customers and hired you time after time, they were mostly mafias and those on the evil side but you made it very clear to them that your top priority would only be anonymous and the money that you would claim once the job was completed. You didn’t care if there were feuds between gangs, you would stay neutral, picking neither side.

Every time you completed a job, you would keep a record of the missions down to the most minor detail. The victims, the employers, what weapon you had use and most specifically, the method you had used to deliver the victim’s death, they were all kept safely in a bombproof vault. Your life was simple, no family, no friends, just connections and acquaintances.

After coming back home one day from a completed mission with the money already deposited into your Swiss account, your phone vibrated noisily again in the hidden pocket of your skin-tight pants. Sighing, you picked up the phone and not even bothering to say a ‘hello’ to the person on the other line. Through the use of your laptop, you could easily identify the location of the caller. You knew it was another mission but you seriously needed rest, 72 hours of non-stop staking out, chasing and killing wasn’t exactly a good way to spend your weekends but this is work.

The new mission required you to pick up a package somewhere in Russia and you needed to bring it down to Iceland, another international job again. After going through the mission and briefed yourself again and again, you took a shower and decided to settle down for a short nap before resuming your work. Killers only take naps, not holidays.

Hours later, you already boarded a plane to Russia and it was only a few more hours before you landed. Finding out the location of the package was easy but the tricky part was to recognize the content of the package, what was it that you were supposed to transport across the borders?

Striding out of the airport, you made your way towards the grand hotel that your employer had so graciously booked for your comfort to meet up with one of his henchmen. ‘Phantom?’ A man dressed in all black asked. You only gave him a curt nod, seeing as he recognized the identification tag that was disguised as a necklace resting on your chest.

He gestured for you to follow the way and to the bar, you merely trailed behind him without a word after handing your luggage over to the bellboy. ‘Whiskey?’ He asked and you shook your head. ‘How about tequila or vodka?’ He offered again. ‘I don’t drink while I’m on a mission.’ You said emotionlessly. ‘I suppose you don’t drink when you’re off mission as well, judging by the looks of it. Very well, suit yourself then.’ The man ordered whiskey for himself and some exotic, non-alcoholic drink that you didn’t even bother to remember its name with. You checked for any residue lingering on top of the drink discreetly, if this man tried to poison you, you’d make sure he take the drink himself.

‘You look haggard, why don’t we talk about the job tomorrow when you’re refreshed?’ His thick Russian accent showed concern. ‘Staying up is child’s play for me.’ Another short reply much to the man’s chagrin. ‘I will make sure your rest will not be interrupted, you need your energy for the job ahead and I can assure you. This will be a handful even for someone as skilled and powerful as you, my dear.’ With that, he called over to another one of his men named Dmitri to you to your room.

A large room with lavish decorations was presented before you, you’d do fine with just a room with a small bed and a small bathroom but this was way beyond your expectation. ‘Enjoy your stay here, Phantom.’ The man closed the door and you could hear his footsteps echoing down the hallway outside. Once you made sure he was out of hearing range, you used a special device to scan the room for any danger or bugging device.

Fortunately, there were none and you took off the mask, setting it down on the dresser. You undressed yourself and went straight for a bath, it’s been a long day and a long bath would do you some good with classical music playing in the background and rose petals scattered on the warm water in the marble tub.

The next day, you were ready and you got a text saying that you needed to head over to the Kremlin Square in Moscow to get the package. You geared up and brought your necessities and headed outside.

It was super cold outside and luckily, you chose to wear the furry jacket you had brought for the trip or you would’ve been a walking popsicle right now. Where the hell is the package?! I can’t even find it! You cursed internally as you craned your head for any signs of the package you were supposed to deliver.

You grinned to yourself as you saw a man giving you a signal with his eyes, he disappeared into an alley nearby the Red Square and you took this as a sign to follow him without being noticed by anyone. It didn’t surprise you when the man showed that the ‘package’ you were supposed to deliver was in the shape of a man, he had a bag over his head so you couldn’t actually see his appearance.

‘Deliver this to Iceland and you’ll get another half of your pay.’ The man said gruffly as he handed you a thick envelope. Stuffing it inside your bag, you ushered the man through a series of complicated streets and you pushed him inside your Lamborghini Sesto Elemento. You locked the doors and pulled the bag off his head. The man only panted heavily and snapped his head to look at his surroundings only to find you pointing a Beretta 21A with a silencing barrel at point blank range.

‘Scream and I’ll shoot you.’ You warned him. ‘You can’t shoot me, if you do, you’re in deep .’ He taunted. ‘Oh yeah? Wanna test that theory out, genius?’ You cocked the gun and he gulped, surrendering in defeat as he stayed silent. Strapping the gun back on your thigh, you revved the engine and pulled out of the busy streets.

You went back to the hotel and you gathered up your things, had it stored in a safe house. On the highway, you noticed that a few of the jeeps with tinted windows were following you too closely even though you were going at the appropriate speed limit.

You speeded up little bit and they did the same as well, noticing something fishy, you stepped the pedal all the way to 200 km/h. The car sped like rocket as it shot through the jeeps and escaping their clutches, you weaved through the cars and tried your best not to crash the car into the other cars on the highway.

Gunshots were heard and you knew that they were shooting at your car, luckily you had the whole car modified so that it was bulletproof. After the road was clear, you made a quick drift so that the front of the car was facing the jeeps. The man beside you widened his eyes at your bold stunts that your pulling, his jaw was about to drop even further as he watched you shoot at the jeeps while driving in reverse at such a high speed.

You took out two of the drivers, the jeeps flipped and crashed into the dividers, making a somersault in the air and exploded into flames. This blocked the way and the other jeeps couldn’t proceed further due to the blockage, you made another drift and drove down the road, disappearing from their sights.

You drove into a hangar where a private jet was waiting for you, you shoved the man up into the jet and immediately took off. Once you were up in the air, you tore off the mold which served as a mask on your face. The man gasped in awe as you let your hair down and sat down on one of the posh, fur-lined leather chairs, eyeing him with a drink in your hand.

‘I don’t usually talk to what I’m supposed to deliver but you intrigue me. What do you do exactly? Must be something that’s so priceless even the Russian mafia decided to kidnap you.’ You twirled the glass in your hand, making the liquid inside swirl with your movements. ‘I’m a programmer so I’m basically a genius with tech stuff but I created a program which allows me to hack into everything on the planet. Government secrets, sites, games, you name it. Even satellites are not an exception.’ He explained.

‘My turn then, what’s your name and what do you do exactly aside from being a UPS courier?’ The man asked. ‘Not very fair is you’re asking for my name when you haven’t told me yours now is it?’ You countered. ‘It’s Xiumin, now tell me yours.’ He snapped impat