Enforcer Manual
Chapter 493: The Romance of the Assassin_1

Chapter 493: Chapter 493: The Romance of the Assassin_1

"Dorago Safron... I feel like I’ve heard that name before."

The female journalist fell into deep thought.

Remembering someone’s name was a basic skill for her profession, but her mind was filled with too much information, so much so that reality became elusive. She vaguely recalled making a decision one night to emulate a predecessor who exposed Dream Manufacture’s illegal activities over the years.

However, the truth came to light quickly. After her recording equipment had been confiscated, she was forcibly taken into a small compartment by the company’s security personnel, who fitted her head with a device resembling a motorcycle helmet. After that, she experienced nothing but unceasing nightmares.

Her encounter with Dorago Safron happened before that.

After confirming the timeline over and over, the journalist had to admit, albeit with difficulty, that more than a year had passed since the night of her undercover investigation.

In the world of nightmares, the passage of time became indistinct; she had believed it had been a month or even less.

Then she remembered something else and asked, "What about my partner? A cameraman, he was captured too."

"You were betrayed."

Angle felt this was probably the kind of situation where people ended up counting money for their traitor. In this day and age, sheer enthusiasm was digging one’s own grave. "Before your operation, your colleague had already sold your plan to the company."

Two journalists, full of a sense of justice, sneaking in to investigate and unveil the company’s truth—that only happened in misleading TV shows.

And that the woman before him had lived to this day was nothing short of a miracle.

Angle glanced at a notebook on the bedside table, filled with Dorago’s notes.

Perhaps, it wasn’t entirely a miracle.

Dorago had secretly taken care of many problems for her, but based on the journalist’s previous reactions, her impression of Dorago wasn’t strong, at least not familiar enough to recall immediately upon hearing his name.

This was in keeping with Dorago’s usual style.

Staying hidden in the shadows, solving problems in his own way.

However, the love story between this professional assassin and the female journalist had barely begun when it was abruptly ended by reality.

The journalist’s impulsive nature had finally brought her serious trouble.

The forces behind Dream Manufacture were complex, and even Dorago could not afford a showdown with the company for that.

The hot-blooded assassins who went through fire and water for love, taking on companies and families to the bitter end, existed only in movies. In the real world, the company was the basis of their livelihood. Whether sparing the journalist’s life was a perverse whim of Dream Manufacture or the result of Dorago’s mediation remained unknown to him.

"You said I was betrayed?"

The female journalist’s eyes widened in disbelief at the cruel fact. "How is that possible?"

"Here."

Angle pulled out a stack of photos from the drawer. The main character in all the photos was a slightly overweight man. The pictures were just life shots, which seemed unremarkable at first glance, but any insider could immediately discern their significance—the photos covered the overweight man’s most important daily routes.

This was the necessary investigative work a professional assassin did before making his move.

Beyond the photos, there was a well-edited report.

The report glorified Dream Manufacture’s efforts in taking in homeless elderly people, providing them with good living conditions and welfare, striving to solve social issues in District Seventeen—portrayed as a conscientious enterprise of the new era.

It was because of this report that Dream Manufacture had been voted one of the local conscientious enterprises of the year.

"This report was written by him after he returned to the newspaper. In return, the company’s support propelled him all the way to the editor-in-chief position," Angle explained.

Angle leisurely filled in the gaps for the female journalist on the content she had missed over the year and also tried to make her give up her naive ideas, to recognize the true nature of this city.

"Where is he now? I want to confront him!" the journalist demanded.

Faced with the evidence, the journalist finally accepted these harsh realities, but beyond that, she could not think of any other way out.

Her press credentials had also been taken away by Dream Manufacture, and having disappeared into thin air for a year, it was likely that her status as a journalist had long been revoked.

"Ms. Marlene, you needn’t trouble yourself over this matter," Angle said.

Angle called out the journalist’s name, admitting that her series of reactions brought some amusement to his dull life, as if she lived in another world. Perhaps it was this that had made Dorago start to secretly observe Marlene’s behavior.

Besides work-related content, what Dorago recorded most was his observation journal about Marlene.

But he always felt there was something special about Dorago’s feelings.

The emotions between the lines did not resemble those for a lover but were more like those one would have for a potted plant—carefully watering and pruning, waiting by the side for the day when the leaves and branches would flourish.

In the special units that investigate unusual cases and specifically study professional Assassins and serial killers, Crime Psychology shows that their inner worlds are different from ordinary people, the majority harboring an almost paranoid sense of possession.

For those who had destroyed his "observed potted plant," Dorago naturally could not let them reach the pinnacle of their lives.

"Your colleague held a big celebration the day he was promoted to chief editor, held at the most lethal hotel’s rooftop terrace in the downtown area. The party went on until the early morning, and he drank a lot of alcohol that day, and under the encouragement of others, he even took a small amount of illicit drugs," explained Angle.

Perhaps Dorago thought that getting shot in the head on the way home was letting him off too easily, so he meticulously planned an ostentatious death for him.

"That night, he reached the pinnacle of his life and saw a rainbow bridge appear by the terrace, beckoning him toward a new world; without a moment’s hesitation, he climbed over the railing, and before anyone could react, he walked onto the bridge."

He fell to his death from the building.

The subsequent report made Marlene’s pupils shrink; she stared at the report for a long time before she incredulously whispered two words, "Dead?"

The report mentioned the subsequent investigation by the Law Enforcers, which concluded that it was suicide due to an overdose of illicit drugs.

When the Law Enforcers arrived at the scene, they even had difficulty directly identifying the deceased from the scene.

To this piece of reporting, the citizens of District Seventeen were thrilled.

The world was rid of one more corporate lackey.

"Yes, dead," Angle nodded in confirmation.

This could be the Assassin’s romance, as they are not adept at planning romantic scenes, they can only express their sentiments through a death meticulously orchestrated.

"Then..."

Marlene seemed to understand something. Even though the name Dorago remained shrouded in fog in her memory, her journalist’s instinct told her that everything Angle had just said had an undeniable connection to Dorago.

"Dead."

Another straightforward answer.

Marlene stared at Angle for a long while, her mouth opened to say something, but in the end, all her words stuck in her throat, unsure where to start.

Instead, it was Angle who consoled her, "It’s normal. In this line of work, it’s either kill or be killed. Ever since he decided to take up this job, I’ve been prepared."