In the heart of a bustling city named Greybridge, known for its commerce and hidden corruption, stood a massive corporate tower called the Argus Pinnacle. It wasn't a dramatic name, but in this city, it was feared.
Outside the building, yellow caution tape cordoned off the area surrounding several sleek black government vehicles. Uniformed officers stood behind the line, trying to maintain order, while beyond them, a sea of angry citizens gathered in protest.
"Drop dead, you corrupt pig!"
"Yeah! That's right!"
"You never did anything good for this city!"
The crowd shouted in fury at Councilor Demetrios Vale, a man accused of decades of bribery, exploitation, and manipulation. On the glass steps of the Argus Pinnacle, one of Vale's suited bodyguards stood tall, wearing a pitch-black suit and dark glasses. Another man approached him silently, whispering into his ear.
The suited guard nodded, his expression unreadable, and glanced at a third man near the edge of the caution tape. That man, also in black, understood the signal. He turned to the crowd, raised his arm with a pistol, and fired once into the sky.
The sharp crack of the shot silenced the rally for a moment. People gasped, flinching at the noise. Some began to step back. But one brave citizen in the crowd raised his voice again.
"Kill us if you can!"
"Yeah! You won't silence us!"
---
Inside the Argus Pinnacle, 10th floor – Executive Office
A man in a brown designer suit stood with his hands behind his back, staring out of the large window that offered a perfect view of the chaos below. His name was Maxen Rhyle, CEO of Rhyle Conglomerate, and one of the few individuals in Greybridge as powerful as the city council itself.
From the corner of the office, a soft voice interrupted the silence.
"Mr. Rhyle, Councilor Vale will be arriving shortly," said his secretary, a calm, composed woman named Rina Aisley.
Maxen smirked, his eyes never leaving the window.
"I see... I can't wait to meet the legend in person," he replied smoothly, his tone laced with sarcasm and curiosity.
Rina took a step closer. "And the crowd outside? They look... relentless."
"They're just noise," Maxen replied with a faint shrug. "They won't stop Vale. He's used to stepping over the voices of the weak."
"That's just natural," Rina said, almost bitterly. "He is a corrupt man, after all."
---
Elsewhere – Abandoned building across the city
Across Greybridge, from a distance of 3,450 meters, in a dimly lit and half-crumbled structure that once housed a radio station, a young woman lay flat on her stomach. A high-grade sniper rifle rested in front of her, carefully balanced on a dusty window ledge.
She wore a matte black jacket and matching gloves, her face partially hidden by the shadow of a black cap.
Through the sniper's scope, she calmly observed the Argus Pinnacle and the furious crowd. Her breathing was steady, precise.
Her name was still unknown. To most, she didn't exist.
She didn't blink. She scanned the entire vicinity — the roof, the side guards, the cars arriving. Her right eye never left the scope.
Minutes passed. Then finally, her target arrived.
A matte black limousine rolled into view. It slowed to a stop in front of the tower. From inside, flanked by more suited bodyguards, Councilor Demetrios Vale stepped out.
Protesters screamed louder at the sight of him, and some began hurling trash and plastic bottles in his direction.
But Vale barely reacted. He adjusted his coat, glanced over the crowd with disdain, and walked calmly toward the entrance.
"Hmph. Bark louder, maybe then you'll matter," Vale muttered with a smug smirk, not even sparing the crowd a second look. "Fools think noise is power. Pathetic."
The crowd erupted into rage.
"Did you hear that?!"
"Arrogant bastard!"
Bottles, cans, and even stones flew harder through the air, bouncing off the guards' shields and armored suits. Some protesters tried to push past the barriers, screaming curses and demands. The tension thickened, the street trembling with collective fury.
The girl behind the scope followed his every movement. But the guards surrounded him tightly, blocking most possible shots. She waited.
---
Back inside the Argus Pinnacle
Rina's voice came again, this time more urgent. "Mr. Rhyle, he's here."
Maxen turned from the window, lips curling into a cold grin.
"Good. This will be... fun."
Rina hesitated, eyes flicking toward the monitors showing the crowd below. "Councilor Vale didn't even flinch. He still thinks the tower's security is enough."
Maxen chuckled lowly, pulling on a dark leather glove. "Let him. Men like him need the illusion of control. Take it away too soon, and they panic before they're useful."
"You think he'll cooperate?"
Maxen raised an eyebrow. "Cooperate? No. But he'll perform. Just like every other pawn with a title."
Rina's expression darkened. "And if he steps out of line?"
He looked at her, the grin sharpening. "Then he learns the hard way that public noise doesn't protect him."
She tapped something on the panel beside her. "We've tightened interior access. No one goes beyond the upper floors unless cleared by you directly."
"Smart girl," he said approvingly, strolling toward the center of the room where a sleek, circular holo-map rotated slowly in mid-air. His gaze swept across the blinking nodes. "Keep all comms locked on floor thirty-five. I want to hear every word Vale says."
"He won't suspect anything?"
"Of course not," Maxen murmured. "People like him only see danger when it wears a mask and waves a weapon. They never see the ones who simply... watch."
Rina crossed her arms. "Crowd's heating up more than expected. If this keeps going, the press will spin it by morning."
Maxen smirked. "Let them. A little chaos always makes the next act more compelling."
---
On the sniper's perch
The girl's expression never changed.
The scene below became more chaotic. Some citizens were pushing through barricades. One threw a piece of broken glass. Another guard fired a warning shot into the air again.
Vale was steps away from the building entrance.
The girl narrowed her eyes.
Target acquired.
---
**Later That Day**
In the city of Velmura, inside the luxurious five-story Villeri Atrium, three individuals sat at a circular glass table on the top floor. The warm lights of the chandelier above cast golden reflections across the marble floor.
On the right side of the table, a stunning woman in a glittering red dress sat with one leg crossed over the other. She held a half-filled glass of red wine, the rim delicately touching her lip. Her name was Luness Arveil, a woman known for her elegance, venomous wit, and connections to people others dared not speak of.
At the center sat a man in a sharp grey suit — his name, Nikolas Draeve. He leaned back comfortably, one arm resting on the armchair like a man who owned the world. Behind him stretched a wall-sized glass window overlooking the city skyline. To his left stood his silent right-hand man, Calren, dressed in a black suit and glasses, posture straight and precise.
Luness tilted her glass slightly and gave Nikolas a sly smirk. "Do you think she'll come?" she asked with a soft laugh, her voice smooth like velvet laced with poison. "A woman like her... isn't the type to follow a call."
Nikolas didn't look at her — his eyes stayed fixed on the city outside, his tone cool and assured. "She will. She cannot refuse my offer... because of that."
He tapped two fingers on the table, once.
Calren responded silently, adjusting his eyeglasses and fixing his necktie without a word — as if preparing for an important audience.
The room fell into a heavy stillness.
Then, the door opened with barely a sound.
She stepped in.
A young woman, no older than her early twenties, with flowing black hair and piercing gray eyes, entered the room. She wore a sleek black turtleneck dress, form-fitting yet practical, paired with a long coat that fluttered gently behind her. Her presence was both silent and lethal — elegant, yet deadly. Eyes sharp. Expression unreadable.
Nikolas smiled faintly, finally turning to face her. "There she is… welcome," he said, voice low and deliberate, "mankind's greatest sniper."
Her gaze locked on him with chilling focus — no emotion, no flicker of doubt. Just calculation and intensity.
Luness leaned forward, swirling her wine lazily. "Oh my~ look at her," she purred. "She's so beautiful. I can't believe someone like you... is the greatest sniper alive." Her voice dripped with a mix of admiration and veiled challenge.
Calren placed his palm over his chest and gave a respectful bow to her presence.
The girl didn't speak. She walked toward the table — quiet steps, straight posture — unfazed by their words, by their titles, or their games.
Nikolas reached into his coat and slid a photograph across the table toward her. The photo spun gently to a stop in front of her. She looked down.
Councilor Demetrios Vale.
Her eyes narrowed.
Nikolas spoke, voice calm, but with an edge of menace. "He's your first target. A man who bathes in public approval while rotting everything behind the scenes. Smuggling data. Silencing voices. He's a parasite wearing perfume. Removing him… will send a signal."
Luness sipped her wine, eyes watching the girl. "And it'll be such a loud signal, won't it?"
Still saying nothing, the girl picked up the photo, slid it into her coat, and turned to leave.
But just before she reached the door… she stopped.
Her head tilted slightly, as if weighing whether to speak. Then finally:
"I'll take care of this quickly."
Her voice was cold — flat, composed, without bravado. Just promise.
Then she left the room.
Silence lingered for a few seconds longer.
Nikolas chuckled quietly. "And thus... the hunt begins."
---
Meanwhile on the Abandoned Radio Tower
She waited. Her finger tightened around the trigger. The guards shifted position. Vale hesitated for a second, right foot lifted to step through the door.
She pulled the trigger.
Pfffft! — No loud crack. Her weapon was silenced.
She whispered in her mind.
Three... two... one...
Vale's body twitched. A small, precise hole appeared in his temple. He fell forward like a puppet with its strings cut.
Screams erupted. Blood trickled down the side of his face as chaos exploded.
His men panicked. Some rushed to cover Vale's body, shouting into radios. Others immediately began securing the area. One man ducked behind a black SUV and raised a scope. His eyes scanned rooftops, windows, anything that stood tall.
Then he froze. He pulled a scope on his pocket and look at the abandoned radio station.
He saw movement in the abandoned radio tower.
Inside the Abandoned Radio Tower
The girl was already moving. Calm and swift, she disassembled her sniper rifle in seconds. Each part slid perfectly into a custom-built case.
She stood up and pulled her cap lower, hiding her face.
She didn't run.
She walked — quietly, quickly — through the rusted halls of the tower. Down the fire escape. Out through the back alley.
She merged with the city, vanishing like a shadow.
Not a single camera caught her.
Back in the Argus Pinnacle
Maxen Rhyle stood still, watching the chaos below from his window.
Behind him, Rina stared at the monitors, her eyes wide as she switched feeds to the building's ground floor security cameras. Her breath hitched.
"Mr. Rhyle... something's wrong," she said, her voice shaking. "Check the feed—look at the front lobby..."
Maxen turned, walking over quickly. His eyes scanned the live footage—security guards scrambling, people screaming, the Councillor's body collapsed on the polished floor.
"...No way," he whispered, disbelief cutting through his tone. "That's Councilor Vale..."
Rina stepped back, her face pale. "He's... he's really dead."
Maxen didn't speak at first. He tapped his fingers on the desk, once, twice, as if grounding himself.
"...Then the game begins," he muttered coldly.
He glanced back to Rina, eyes sharp.
"Find out who did it. I want the name who did it."
"Y-Yes, sir... I'll trace every feed, every entry log—whoever the shooter is, we'll find the shooter."
---
**In the Alleyways of Greybridge**
The assassin pulled off her cap as she entered a quiet corner store. She had changed her jacket, now wearing a dull gray hoodie, blending into the world.
She didn't smile.
She didn't sigh.
She simply muttered to herself as she picked up a bottle of water.