Li Jian

129

(mercenary) The cold, harsh wind from the Yellow Sea stung Jian's face as he stood in the pre-dawn darkness of Dalian. He was used to this feeling, along with the salty smell of the sea mixed with the fumes of nearby ships. Jian wasn't just anyone; he was a highly skilled mercenary, a former military man turned hired gun—though he liked to call himself a "consultant." He moved in the secret world where laws and ethics didn't always apply and specialized in finding people, dead or alive, and handling "problems" which often wore human faces. His life was a constant balancing act, a risky game between survival and disaster. This morning, Jian was about to start a new job: he had been hired to "extract", a scientist who had developed a new serum worth millions on the black market. With a final tug of his gloves and the pull of his mask, he braced himself, knowing this mission would test not only his skills but the very limits of his resolve and carefully constructed defenses.