H42 Crimes in the Floating City

Book Cover

**Crimes in the Floating City** is the 42nd book of the series.

## Synopsis

BECOMING THE BEST! THE SEEMINGLY UNFEELING JACKAL CRIES!

Thanks to Niko's and the Global Alliance's intervention, Silver Tiger is forced to leave the lake. While Alex and co. return to Jones' island to resupply, Silver Tiger enquires about what Jackal values most so he can use it to force the reticent mercenary to bring him Crowbone.

## Plot

### Chapter 1: Backup is on its Way

Niko saves Alex and co. from the mercenaries' attack. Smith and Butler are coming to the lake. Butler has a poster of a bodybuilding champion to tell Hank she can marry him. She dashes away from the lake. Butler tells his driver to chase after her. Smith came to check up on Alex.

Smith lets Crowbone help Alex, but if she betrays him, he and Robert will not spare her. Smith will issue another captain's ID for Alex. For the conflict with the Mercenary Hunters Guild, Robert and Steel Fang will not declare war on it so rashly. Jackal requests to return to Jones' island to resupply. Nefarious Netter and Artemis will be left there at the lake.

### Chapter 2: Jackal's Past

On the island, Alex and Crowbone talked about the curse and Sigurd Bodon. Jones tells Jackal to give a letter to Delmar, who is at the orphanage behind Jones' house and and Jackal should visit them. Silver Tiger finds out the crow-girl was actually Crowbone. Artemis tells him that Jackal is part of the Guild and a C-grade mercenary. As he worked with Jackal a few times, Artemis knows the one thing most valuable to Jackal.

At the orphanage, Alex gives Delmar the letter. Jackal is popular among the children because he owns the orphanage. Coraline is the nanny taking care of the children. 10 years ago, Jackal was at an orphanage where Coraline's sister was the nanny. Director Mr. Zylan was unhappy with the orphanage's income. He secretly approached human traffickers to sell the orphans for lots of money. Jackal and Coraline's sister discovered it.

Before they could inform the police, they were caught. Mr. Zylan trapped them in the orphanage and burned it down. Coraline's sister sacrificed herself for Jackal to escape. When he found the police, he told them everything. The police arrested Mr. Zylan, but could not locate the traffickers or the children. Coraline's parents adopted Jackal. When he turned 15, he left home and returned out of the blue a year ago. He had built his orphanage and asked Coraline if she could become the nanny.

Artemis' idea is to use the orphans as a way to get Jackal hand over Crowbone. Silver Tiger likes that idea.

### Chapter 3: Cecilia's Visit

As kids play around Jackal, he saw a girl looking at him, then running away. 2 years ago, Jackal had recovered from his injuries after the Akhator War. Jabba notified him that a woman called Cecilia had arrived. Jackal paid her to get the intel about the traffickers. Jones had been eavesdropping. At night, Jackal got ready to go after the traffickers, but Jones followed right behind him. He wouldn't leave no matter how many times Jackal told him to go away.

### Chapter 4: Goods

Two nights later in Venice, there were two men on a boat about to transfer goods in a capsule. Jackal and Jones tied them up. Jones forced one of the men to explain by beating him up. The goods, which were limbs, were to be sold on the black market to rich people who like eating children. Their HQ had a door with a mouth.

Jackal and Jones found the door. Jones used the man's key to unlock the door, which revealed a catacomb. They found a puzzle where there was a bucket of water and a spoon. The bucket needed to be empty in seconds. Jones poured all the water out since it wasn't stated the spoon must be used. They entered a room with Japanese decor. Jones took a bonsai tree and threw it to a wall. A ninja was hiding behind a poster. The other ninjas revealed themselves.

### Chapter 5: Ear of God

The boss of the traffickers had a cage with children. A blindfolded man sensed Jones and Jackal. The two have defeated the ninjas. The next room was a puzzle. They solved the puzzle while fighting Arabian warriors. The next room was the blindfolded man, the former No. 6 Red Blade, a member of the Ear of God, skillful blind warriors who specialise in honing auditory acuity to hear their enemies' every move.

### Chapter 6: Phantom Spider vs Red Blade

Jackal went to the next room while Jones fought Red Blade. They both fought at speeds too fast for the naked eye to see, even a 0.1 second error could spell defeat. Jones made his rope spider web. Red Blade cut the hooks off. Jones destroyed the bridge they were on. Underwater, Jones released spiders. Jones was behind him and missed kicking him. Red Blade swung his red blade. Jackal found the boss' room. The boss and his assistant went out of their hiding spot.

### Chapter 7: Jackal Gone Wild

Jackal threw his spinning blade, slashing the boss' assistant. He kicked the gun out of the boss' hand. He demanded the boss to tell him where the orphans from his orphanage were. The boss laughed and said they must have been eaten by rich cannibals and their organs sold on the black market. This made Jackal go wild.

Jones tied Red Blade's red blade with rope. Red Blade ran away into the sewers. He found Jackal violently beating the boss and restrained him. Jones gave the boss CPR. Jackal did not understand why he would save such a man. He saw one of the children scared. He tried to calm her down, but she called him a killer.

### Chapter 8: Killer

Jackal looked at himself on a vase's reflection. He had blood on himself and realized what he had done. His childhood experience caused him to surround his heart with great anger, hatred, self-blame and other negative emotions. The little girl's cry shattered the wall of negative emotions that he had built up. He realized that if that man were to die, he himself would end up getting hurt. And he wouldn't be the only one, others would get hurt too.

If, because of his friends, he ended up becoming a killer, his friends would never forgive him. Thankfully, Jones saved the boss and prevented Jackal from becoming a murderer. Because the other children in the cage were blindfolded, they did not see Jackal beating up the boss. Only the little girl saw him.

Fortunately, Jones found some files in one of the drawers. Inside was a list of the people the group had dealings with, including the directors of orphanages around the world and the chiefs of some police stations. Originally, Jackal had thought of placing the rescued children in an orphanage in Venice, but that was too risky.

So they left the bad men and their "goods" at a police station that wasn't on their list and took the children back to Jones' island. The only problem was that the four of them were not very good at taking care of children, so Jackal used all his money to buy the land behind Jones' house and build an orphanage. And he invited Coraline to look after the children. Because Jackal had helped rescue them, the children love him and keep clamoring for his attention. All except one.

It wasn't long before Jackal and Jones sprang into action, hunting down the people on the list and bringing them to justice. After months of hard work, they finally punished all of them. Unsurprisingly, Jackal spent all his reward money on improving the orphanage.

Back to the present, Jackal saw Aoki, the little girl who called him killer. Although she was terrified by what happened before, she knows that Jackal has been working hard for the orphanage. She gives Jackal a sweet as a token of apology and a sign of gratitude.

## X-Venture continuity

### In the series

* The book reveals the blindfolded sniper from H38 Song of the Magic Flute is an Ear of God member.