The night has descended on the city of Tokyo, blanketing the streets with darkness. Street lamps from either side of the streets in intervals give light to the city, evoking a sense of liveliness as the streets were full of people and the road with cars.

Not far from Zero’s location, there was a parade of office workers, laborers, geishas, and ordinary folks.

The traffic police on duty held out his hand to Zero’s car and forced him to wait for pedestrians to cross.

Zero taps his fingers nervously on the steering wheel, for some reason the city tonight seems hostile. He just didn’t feel right in the stomach, perhaps the sushi rolls didn’t agree with his Ruthenian gut.

He was startled by a tap on his side window, causing him to look to his right, and there he saw a young woman with unkempt hair and wearing a ragged kimono. The girl continued tapping the window with her walking stick hoping for alms.

Zero winds down the window to give him some loose pocket change when suddenly his instincts blared in danger.

With a flick of a lever, Zero’s car seat reclined, just in time to avoid the beggar’s walking stick spear in where his head was.

The walking stick is revealed to be a concealed short spear with jagged edges, perfect to impale a skull or slice open throats.

Zero slammed the horn and the accelerator speeding up his car. He was glad that this vehicle provided by the agency was automatic. It saved him from doing the clutch..

The honk got the pedestrian’s attention as the car lurched forward, and the weaponized cane was ripped away from the assassin disguised as a beggar.

Zero threw out the cane and wind up the window, wading through the traffic to the side of the street.

.”Damn! Assassins! I must get the information to safety!”

Honking and driving, the pedestrians look on as the Tokyo traffic police call for reinforcements to catch a traffic rules violator. The fact it was a Ruthenian only makes them even angrier.“GET OUT OF THE WAY!” Zero yelled, waving his hand at anyone who was on the way. The civilians scattered like ants when they heard the thundering engine approaching them.

Down the street, another ninja pretending to be an old man waited with a bag of caltrops. Just as the Ruthenian car was coming in his direction, he dropped the entire bag on the road, the caltrops littered the street.

Instead of avoiding the caltrops in the road, Zero pinned the pedal and crushed the caltrops under the tire.

The ninja who just placed the caltrops stare dumbfoundedly at the speeding vehicle. The tire was supposed to burst when pierced but instead, it crushed the caltrops like clove buds in a mortar and pestle.

Unbeknownst to them, Zero’s vehicle uses run-flat tires that even if it got pierced, would not rupture.

As Zero continued, the car slammed into a lampost, causing it to topple over and explode with electrical sparks as the light bulb shattered.

Having recklessly driven on the sidewalk, Zero managed to return the vehicle to the road while his eyes attentively observing the surroundings. One of them could be Yamato’s agent.

“Shit…shit…shit!” He cursed exasperatedly, hitting the wheel repeatedly. “Dammit!”

He had let his guard down. He never thought that a pauper young girl would turn out to be an agent. But that’s okay, the embassy is five blocks away. The attack just now proves that the Yamato has ill-intent toward the Grand Duchesses.

As the car drove through heavy traffic, Zero gripped the wheel with impatience. He changed lanes before accelerating, tailgating another car.

Zero honked again, the impeding car changed lanes then he speeds into the sharp right turn. As the taxi pulls up in front of him, he hit his brake.

“Fuck…”

The pedestrian who hailed the taxi eyed him due to his reckless driving and shrugged before getting into the cab. Zero scans the man and it turns out to be an ordinary person. He simply let it go and waited for the taxi to move.

Moments later, the taxi moved and Zero hit the pedal until suddenly, a headlight shone brightly from his right and a speeding delivery truck broadsided his car from the opposite side.

Smoke rises from the tires and back of the twisted steel body of the car.As the truck skidded to a stop, three armed men stepped out, carrying submachine guns, and approached the crippled vehicle.

Inside the vehicle, Zero coughed in smoke and groaned in pain. He looked up to the window and saw the shadow of a person walking over to the driver’s seat.

Zero tried to jumpstart the engine but it didn’t work.

Moments later, the three-armed men chambered their submachine guns before aiming them at the window where Zero was and pulled the trigger.

A spray of bullets impacted the side window of the car and cracks began to spiderweb the windows, but the glass held firm, causing the armed men to tilt their heads to their side in confusion and halted their firing.

Zero used this opportunity to restart his car, turning the key vigorously. The engine roared alive and he sped off with ease.

The three-armed men chased the speeding vehicle, their guns blazing after Zero’s car until finally, the car vanished around the corner.

When the car drove down the street it turns into, and two other vehicles with Maxim machine guns mounted on top appeared out of the alleyways it passed from both sides of the street, charging after it.

They opened fire and Zero swerved his vehicle to avoid several rounds flying above and to the sides.

They chased after him, exhausting the bullets of their machine gun as bullet holes riddled through the back of his car.

The window from the back is not going to hold any longer and Zero was aware of it. He doesn’t have to fight back, he only needs to get to the embassy with the recorder and the picture, which makes it a top priority.

Two hundred meters away from the embassy, the sounds of gunfire can be heard, alerting the Ruthenian guards stationed at the entrance.

They grabbed their old-fashioned rifles, the Mosin Nagant, and took their position in the middle of the street. People on the sidewalk screamed as they witnessed a car being chased down by a pair of armed vehicles with machine guns shooting at it.

Seconds later, the cars that were chasing Zero’s car suddenly came to a halt and left the premises. It seems like they knew that going any further would spark a diplomatic incident. So, to avoid themselves being identified, they simply let him go.

The Ruthenian security pointed their guns at him but dropped them immediately after as they recognized the vehicle despite its battered appearance. They let him enter the gate.

“Shut the gate!” one of the securities shouted and two men followed the order.

When the vehicle stopped, Zero opened the door and dropped to the ground. He coughed up blood and the security personnel approached him from all corners.

“He needs medical attention. Let’s get him to the clinic now!” The senior officer barked his order and two men lifted Zero up.

“Tell…the ambassador…that I have…” he coughed. “Urgent report.”

“We can do that but first let’s get you checked up.”