The Girl

Taking a deep breath, she cleared her mind completely, letting pure muscle memory guide her as she aimed her pistol at Tubin and fired shot after shot.

Tubin's descending blade was knocked off course, grazing past Ding Naiqing's brow—a single centimeter from piercing his skull.

The next bullet tore through Tubin's hand, forcing him to drop the blade in pain.

Tu Ran didn't let up. Bullets struck his brow, his eyes, and his knees.

Every shot was precise.

But none of them could stop his advance.

He walked straight into the gunfire, utterly unafraid, slowly circling the bed and heading toward Tu Ran, a bloodthirsty, grotesque smile stretching across his face.

Tu Ran's hair stood on end. When her pistol ran dry, she immediately switched to the submachine gun, unloading bullets into Tubin's body without regard for ammo.

His features had been blown into mush—like a smashed pomegranate oozing sticky juice, unrecognizable.

Yet his movements remained unrestricted.

He didn't need human eyes to find his way.

The serpent's head pushed out from the pulpy mess of his face, its countless eyes covering his entire skull, offering a full 360-degree view with no blind spots.

Tu Ran's skin crawled all at once.

The woman on the bed was horrified by the sight too, her eyes rolling back as she fainted.

Because she had already huddled at the edge of the bed, she tipped over and tumbled toward the floor.

The knife Ding Naiqing had dropped lay right there, still and waiting.

Tu Ran wanted to grab her, but her first priority was dealing with Tubin—she couldn't afford the distraction.

Ding Naiqing had collapsed, covered in wounds to his legs and arms, without even the strength to stand.

The woman would fall onto the blade for sure. If she was lucky, she'd survive; if not...

At that critical moment, a blur flashed past Tu Ran's eyes.

The woman's falling body was caught and gently laid back onto the bed.

Tu Ran was dumbfounded, staring at the person who'd done something so bizarre.

Tubin?!

She thought she was seeing things—why did she sense tenderness and reluctance in the movements of this ugly, terrifying creature?

In that instant, her gaze flicked to the painting on the wall.

The girl held a red umbrella, shielding a wounded mechanical snake from the rain with kind intent.

The moment she caught sight of that painting, Tu Ran aimed her gun at the unconscious woman.

"Don't move!"

Tubin froze, his countless eyes locking onto Tu Ran with deadly intensity.

Tu Ran's scalp prickled. She felt like she'd fallen into a snake pit, cold all over.

She forced her hand to stay steady, burying her terror deep down, and met Tubin's gaze with a calm, confident threat.

"One bullet may not kill you, but it will definitely kill her. If you so much as twitch, I'll pull the trigger and send her on her way first," Tu Ran said coldly.

Tubin was instantly enraged, his eyes glowing green, making him even more horrifying.

"Hiss... hiss..."

A faint sound escaped his mouth, and Tu Ran caught a glimpse of a red forked tongue writhing within.

He was about to... spit venom?

Tu Ran immediately stepped back, pulling the trigger, sending a bullet toward the woman.

The sudden shot made Tubin hastily retract his tongue before he could expel it. He looked down at the unconscious woman in terror.