From the woman's perspective, if both he and the camouflaged man died simultaneously, it would avoid all future complications. If he were in her shoes, he wouldn't be able to resist such temptation either. But instead of a gunshot, he heard the woman's pained grunt, followed by the camouflaged man ceasing his rolling. A faint, pleasant scent reached him—it was the woman's fragrance.
The camouflaged man's heavy breathing stopped, but his heartbeat accelerated. Simultaneously, his arm tightened. Li Juxu couldn't see anything, but he deduced what was happening: the man was being choked. He was being choked by the man, and the man was being choked by the woman.
The camouflaged man had one usable arm; the woman also had one usable arm. Li Juxu, with both arms intact, was in the worst position. Then he suddenly remembered the man's other arm—the hand was gone, but the arm remained. For someone rigorously trained, that arm could still fight. Sure enough, the thought barely crossed his mind when he felt the handless arm beginning to exert force.
"Think I'm some pushover?" A surge of humiliation ignited another burst of strength within Li Juxu. A playing card appeared between his fingers. Playing cards themselves have no lethal power, but when thrown at sufficient speed, they can pierce wooden boards. Li Juxu's skill wasn't that advanced—he couldn't pierce boards—but cutting skin was barely within his ability.
The card shot out like a bolt of lightning, precisely slashing the inner side of the camouflaged man's handless arm. Instantly, the man lost control of that limb. He glanced down and saw a thin, long gash on his inner arm—not wide, but deep. The artery and tendons were severed; blood spurted out in alarming jets. Realizing the danger, he let out a low growl, his entire body tensing, becoming as hard as iron. At that moment, a flash of white light—Li Juxu's second playing card—sliced precisely across both his eyeballs. The man's world went pitch black. The searing pain deflated his gathered strength in an instant. The woman seized the opportunity, coordinating her waist and arm, twisting with force.
Crack—
The camouflaged man's neck snapped. He died instantly, but his arm still tightly gripped Li Juxu's throat. Li Juxu struggled mightily to pry the arm loose, then collapsed onto the ground, gasping for air like a drowning man.
A full minute passed before he recovered. When he sat up, he realized why the woman hadn't moved. She was in worse shape than him. Her thigh was a bloody mess; a large hole was torn in her red leather pants, revealing a pitted, uneven wound—clearly caused by the camouflaged man's mangled hand. His reaction had been a step too slow; the man had already begun his counterattack.
The woman was incredibly resilient. She hadn't made a sound.
"You okay?" Li Juxu crouched before her, carefully examining the wound. Fortunately, it was just flesh; the bone wasn't damaged. Otherwise, they'd be in serious trouble.
"Won't die!" The woman's face was pale, bloodless. Dried blood around her mouth and ears hadn't been wiped away, giving her a somewhat frightening appearance. This was from the shockwave when the vehicle hit the mine. Li Juxu was in a similar state. The mine's power was immense; even with the vehicle absorbing some impact, the shockwave was more than flesh and blood could handle. He had both hands free to brace himself, but the woman, with only one usable arm, had taken the brunt and was worse off.
"Wait here." Li Juxu returned to the vehicle to find medical supplies and tried starting the engine. To his惊喜, the vehicle actually started. Only then did he notice the tires were solid. The build quality was incredible.
He quickly cleared the glass shards from the cabin, then carried the woman back inside to treat her wounds. While she rested, he returned to the battlefield to scavenge. The camouflaged man's body armor and weapons were high-quality—everything would be useful. Additionally, he needed to retrieve his two playing cards. As a qualified sniper, he couldn't leave any traces behind.
Back on the road, Li Juxu drove cautiously, his gaze alert.
"Speed up. Don't worry, no more ambushes." The woman in the passenger seat, resting with eyes closed, suddenly spoke. Her voice was weak, as if the fight had drained all her energy.
"How do you know?" Li Juxu glanced at her curiously. After resting, her complexion had improved slightly, the pain in her brow less pronounced.
"The camouflaged man was a member of Blue Scorpion," the woman said.
"… What does that mean?" Li Juxu was puzzled.
"Aren't you a hunter? You don't even know Blue Scorpion?" The woman opened her eyes, giving him a strange look.
"Are they that impressive?" Li Juxu felt guilty, too embarrassed to admit that despite years as a hunter, he was still just an amateur.
"Blue Scorpion is one of the top hunter teams. Every member has a blue scorpion tattooed on their wrist. If not for that shot of yours that injured him internally, we'd both be dead," the woman said calmly.
"So that's what the tattoo on his arm was. I thought it was just some gang symbol." Li Juxu had noticed the blue scorpion but didn't know what it represented.
"Blue Scorpions are very confident and proud. Once they accept a mission, they won't allow anyone else to interfere—that would be an insult. So no one else will show up. But from now on, you need to be careful. Blue Scorpion has a strong vengeful streak. They might come after you," the woman warned.
"I'm sure you're someone important. Could you maybe eliminate Blue Scorpion first, save me the future trouble?" Li Juxu asked. The woman closed her eyes, refusing to answer such a ridiculous question. If Blue Scorpion were that easy to eliminate, they wouldn't be Blue Scorpion.
The vehicle fell silent, save for the engine's roar. From day to night, then back to day, they encountered no more ambushes or dangers. Li Juxu's driving improved significantly; he could maintain a steady 95 km/h. At dusk, Settlement 11 appeared on the horizon.
"Want to go in and rest a bit?" Li Juxu pulled over. It was the first time in two days he'd spoken, a hint of expectation in his voice.
"We part ways here. I'm taking the vehicle. If I left it with you, it would only bring you trouble." The woman opened her beautiful eyes and glanced distantly at the imposing walls of Settlement 11 through the window. After two days of rest, she had recovered considerably; her eyes were bright.
"Take care." Li Juxu felt a pang of regret, but he knew she was right. Without the vehicle, he could hide his identity. With it, the client would have no trouble finding him.
He unloaded the weapons and ammunition he'd scavenged from the trunk, closed the tailgate, and signaled she could go. He couldn't keep the vehicle, but at least the weapons provided some psychological compensation.
The vehicle started and drove about twenty meters. Then, that breathtakingly beautiful face emerged from the window. "My name is Lu Weiyu. What's yours?"
"Li Juxu!" he blurted out.
"I'll remember you!" The vehicle accelerated sharply, vanishing into the dust cloud it kicked up. Li Juxu watched until it disappeared into the night, a strange sense of loss washing over him.