Joanna, who had just fled, returned with another man in tow.
Blake was in terrible condition. His spirit was broken, and it was obvious he had been beaten badly. His face was pale from blood loss. He was tied up tightly like a bundle, his mouth gagged so he could not make a sound. Joanna held a black handgun, its muzzle pressed firmly against Blake's temple.
"Dano!"
When she saw Dano reduced to a limbless wreck, Joanna cried out. Tears streamed down her face instantly.
"Didn't you run away? Why did you come back? Get lost! I do not need a woman to save me!" Dano roared in fury and shock.
"No! I will not leave you behind!" Joanna shook her head, pressing the gun harder against Blake's head. "Let Dano go! Or I will kill him right now!"
"You idiot! I never loved you! Why did you come back!" Dano's eyes reddened.
When his arms and legs had been cut off by Zayne, he had not shed a single tear. But seeing Joanna risk her life to come back for him made his eyes sting uncontrollably.
Only when people are pushed into desperation do they truly see who stands by their side. He had never imagined that the one who returned to save him would be Joanna.
Zayne narrowed his eyes, his fingers lightly tapping against Starfall Skytrace.
With Infernal Overdrive and Swiftstep Waltz active, his speed had skyrocketed. He was sixty percent confident that he could sever the woman's hand before she pulled the trigger.
He hesitated. Sixty percent was not low, but Blake's life was on the line. After a moment, he abandoned the gamble.
"What do you want?" Zayne asked calmly. "An exchange of hostages?"
"Impossible!" Joanna clenched her teeth. "If I lose my hostage, you will kill us immediately. You let Dano's men take him away first. I will stay here with the hostage."
Zayne frowned. As expected of someone who had stayed by Dano's side, she was not easy to fool.
But he could not let Dano go. If Dano survived tonight, it would be like releasing a tiger back into the mountains. The consequences would be catastrophic.
Tonight had only worked because he had caught Dano off guard. Otherwise, he would not even have had a chance to get close before being captured.
Dano was furious and panicked. He could see it clearly now. Joanna was trying to trade her own life for his.
"He will not let me go! Leave! Haven't you always listened to me? Go!" Dano screamed.
The noise irritated Zayne. He casually grabbed five cigars from Dano's bed and stuffed them into Dano's mouth, choking him until he gagged and could no longer speak.
Then Zayne looked back at Joanna.
"I will not agree to your terms. The moment Dano leaves, he will mobilize his forces to hunt me down. At that point, neither Mr Ward nor I will survive."
"You want to save someone. So do I. If you are worried that I will pursue you and Dano, then I can put your mind at ease."
Zayne reversed Starfall Skytrace and slashed himself. Four flashes of steel later, the tendons in both his hands and feet were severed. Blood poured out.
He collapsed to the ground, unable even to crawl.
That was not all. He drove the blade into his own abdomen. His intestines spilled out grotesquely.
"Well?" Zayne said weakly, his face deathly pale. "Do you believe now that I cannot chase you or Dano anymore?"
"You…" Joanna covered her mouth, horrified. She could not believe someone could go that far.
"Mr Ward is important to me," Zayne said firmly. "I am an orphan. He came into my life like a father. I must ensure his safety."
His words struck heavily. Even Blake, gagged and bound, had tears welling up in his eyes.
After years of ruthless business dealings, such sincerity moved him more than mountains of money ever could.
Seeing Zayne mutilate himself to this extent, Joanna slowly lowered her gun.
Dano struggled desperately, trying to shout. Zayne had been crushed into pulp earlier and still survived. These wounds meant nothing to him. But his mouth was stuffed with cigars, leaving him unable to warn Joanna.
Joanna saw Dano struggling and thought he was calling for her. She immediately released Blake and ran toward him.
"Dano! I am here!"
She rushed forward and pulled out the Twin Head Dragon.
The moment she let Blake go, Dano's face turned ashen. He turned his head and saw Zayne walking over while stuffing his intestines back into his abdomen.
"You want to kill me, fine," Dano said urgently. "But please spare Joanna. She knows nothing. She is not a Transcender. She cannot threaten you. I have done everything in my life, but I have never begged anyone. I am begging you now."
"You… how are you still standing?" Joanna screamed in terror. She could not comprehend how someone with severed tendons could still walk, let alone hold a blade.
Zayne looked at Dano with a complicated expression. In some ways, Dano was a man of loyalty and emotion. But Zayne had no choice.
If his secret of immortality were exposed, his fate would be ten thousand times worse than Dano's.
Zayne raised Starfall Skytrace without expression.
"Please! Let Joanna go! I will give you money, anything! Just spare her!"
A streak of starlight flashed.
Dano's voice stopped abruptly.
The underground king of Old Shipyard Port stared wide eyed, dying with disbelief frozen on his face.
"Dano!"
Joanna let out a shrill scream. Tears streamed down her face as she collapsed beside his body.
"I am sorry, Dano. I was useless. I was stupid."
Her face twisted with madness as she raised the gun and fired at Zayne without hesitation.
Bang bang bang bang bang bang.
Six shots rang out. The magazine emptied, smoke curling from the barrel.
All the bullets were deflected by Starfall Skytrace, failing to harm Zayne in the slightest.
He had not intended to block them. He would not have died anyway. But with Blake watching, he felt it was better to put on a show.
"Kill me too!" Joanna screamed hysterically. "Kill me with him!"
Zayne shook his head and sighed softly.
"Do not be foolish. I do not kill women. You can leave."