Slap—
Her cheek felt as if it were burning with pain, the force of the blow so great that half of her face quickly became red and swollen, a trace of blood seeped from the corner of Nana's mouth. Her brain spun with dizziness as intense pain occupied every delicate nerve and every fold of her mind; a buzzing rang in her ears, a garbled noise entering her cochlea and even vibrating her eardrums.
She could faintly hear the thumping of her heartbeat and the rushing of her blood.
With a surge of intense pain in her scalp, the man grabbed her thick hair, forcing her head up, then struck her with another slap before slamming her head against the coffee table.
Thud—
She could no longer feel the intense pain on her forehead; she only realized with a delayed sensation that bright red liquid was flowing down from her head. As she struggled to open her eyes, blood flowed into them, making the entire world seem to warp and distort.
One really ought to be more rational. Before her eyes, light particles flickered and shimmered like a broken, old television screen, constantly flashing with grayish-white noise; Nana silently closed her eyes, her breathing becoming much lighter.
How pathetic—she mocked herself.
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Author's Note: Nana: QAQ
Little Nani said she would stay rational, but she stepped in upon seeing that Kimie was being coerced into a confession, she exploded again upon hearing Gin being mocked..
In the past, it was always others who set traps for Gin; this time, it was Gin who set a trap for others..
As for the reason.. it's just that little thing Gin overlooked before~
Gin.. I have a curse word that I'm not sure I should say.
..
Seeing that some Little Angels stayed up until they read the new chapter.. it makes my heart ache a little..
This chapter is being released early, mwah~
There might even be another chapter tonight—if there is, it will be an extra 3,600 words~
..
Thanks to Gongjun Wangshu Little Angel for the landmine, love you mwah~
Thanks to Sinan for providing me with nutrient solution, love you mwah~
Chapter 72: He came to find me, right..
Could it be considered poetic justice?
Nana thought to herself with a sense of dark humor that since she had caused him a head wound before, mocking him now felt quite satisfying.
Perhaps fearing she might actually die, after two or three—or perhaps three or four—impacts, the man finally stopped.
However, the disaster had likely far from passed.
Because in the next second, the Black-haired man leaned closer to her, slowly raising her handgun to press the muzzle against Nana's head.
Her voice held a hidden violence, the muzzle pressed against Nana's head, causing her Pain—but since there wasn't a single inch of her body that didn't already ache, this Pain seemed almost negligible: "What exactly is your relationship with Gin? What is he doing here?"
An amateur.
Based on the "experience" taught by Zhenjun, Nana barely managed to draw this conclusion from his few questions: he was a novice when it came to interrogation.
Of course, Nana had never actually undergone Punishment Room, so it was hard to speak of having any experience or not, but she was a person with a brain after all, she understood perfectly well that the more she spoke at a time like this, the faster she would likely die.
However, the taste of blood in her mouth and throat let her know that even if she didn't speak, she might not necessarily survive.
Since she was going to die either way, Nana simply steeled herself. Her green eyes swept over the black-haired woman in a mocking fashion, her tone remaining just as contemptuous: "I have no relationship with her."
After a pause, she smiled maliciously. "Gin is your superior, right? To pull a stunt like this and still find no evidence—you might as well just wait for death!"
Blood seeped from between her teeth. The manic man's injured fist slammed into Nana's abdomen, causing her to let out a whimpering moan like a wounded animal.
Even though the other man was injured, the force of the punch was not small. Nana felt a metallic taste surge up her throat; she opened her mouth in vain, like a black swan being strangled by Fate.
She vomited a mouthful of blood, her pale, withered expression becoming even more fragile.
"Bitch!" The man's handgun pressed against her neck, her grip tightening.
Nana was pressed against him so hard she could barely breathe, yet she still stared at him with a cold sneer: "Is this the only way you know how to deal with a woman who can't fight back? You coward, picking on the weak and fearing the strong!"
As she provoked him, she thought blankly: I probably won't survive this.. Can you at least let me die quickly?
He had truly, truly never experienced any kind of Punishment Room, if this guy realized what was happening and took his back.. not only would she die a painful death, but if she couldn't hold out and actually blurted something out.. it would be all over.
So Nana could only choose to provoke her.
The Black-haired girl was filled with terror after making this decision.. but perhaps because there were even more miserable fates available as alternatives, she did not find it particularly difficult to accept.
—But.. I'm still so afraid..
After all, she really didn't want to die.
The grip around her neck grew heavier and heavier; it seemed he intended to strangle her to death.. That would be for the best.. But would such a death be unsightly?
The Man's distorted face was right before her eyes, her vision was gradually fading into nothingness. A gray-white void filled her sight, the fragmented reflections of the world shimmered in the clear, azure lake, the water within the lake appearing just as shattered.
She could faintly see the Man's mouth moving as if he were cursing something, but the buzzing in her ears was so loud she couldn't hear clearly, she could only struggle to keep her eyes wide to make out what was happening.
—Like a dying fish.
"Bitch"??
"Slut"??
"Bitch"??
Oh, other filthy words like "vile wench."
Nana thought he was truly boring, speaking as if he were any better than she was.
But she also felt she was quite boring, having the mood to care about what the other person was saying even as death approached.
The world gradually became chaotic, her mind slowly going blank, Nana thought blankly: Is this how.. I'll be able to see my Parents..
Oh, right, Sister.
Just as she was about to suffocate from the lack of oxygen, a bright light streaked through the air.
..
Caught completely off guard, the man, who had been struck hard by an unknown object, instinctively let go of Nana.
The latter collapsed to the ground, gasping for air. She slumped onto the floor with a vacant gaze, coughing weakly, her thin shoulders heaving up and down.
Air was drawn back into her lungs, her brain recovered from the dire state of oxygen deprivation, her consciousness gradually becoming clear.
As her consciousness returned, Nana immediately realized what had just happened. There was no time to rejoice at her narrow escape from death; she hurriedly lifted her gaze toward the door.
The silver-haired youth stood by the door with a cold and solemn expression, holding a tennis racket in one hand, without even having changed out of his sportswear.
And what had just hit the Black-haired man was a bright yellow tennis ball—it was even still spinning on the ground at this moment.
Nana couldn't catch her breath and nearly choked to death.
The Black-haired girl's heart was collapsing. He thought to himself, Yaji, what are you doing coming over here? Are you trying to get a triple kill?! You can't just go around feeding people like this!
The Black-haired man snapped out of the sudden, intense pain. As she saw the object that had attacked her, a flash of surprise crossed her face—even if she wasn't on the level of someone like Gin, she was still an experienced Assassin; to be able to strike a tennis ball with such force.. it could certainly be considered a lethal weapon.
However, his professional quality was quite high, he did not waste much time on "surprise." He immediately turned his body to face Niwang and raised his handgun.
Nana's eyes suddenly widened.
A surge of intense panic gripped her heart instantly. She opened her mouth, but her hoarse throat could barely make a sound; though she clearly used all her strength, it came out as only a faint cry: "Run—!"
It was like the cry of a swan on the verge of death, heartbreakingly painful yet utterly powerless.
In the blink of an eye, a sound of something tearing through the air rang out.
..
Carrying the bloodlust and sharpness in the air, it tore through the delicate standoff formed between the flashes of lightning and the morning dew. That sharp streak through the air grazed past Niwang Yaji's ear, leaving a faint bloody scratch behind before continuing on with undiminished momentum.
Its destination was the hand of the gunman holding the weapon, the burst of blood was the tribute it brought upon reaching its end.
It was a bullet imbued with murderous intent and malice, arriving from five hundred yards away.
When he rushed over, Nana was being held at gunpoint with a weapon pressed against her head.
However, he lacked sufficient certainty that he could hit the brain from this angle and destroy the central nervous system in an instant, rendering the opponent unable to react and fire at Nana; therefore, he could only choose to wait.
He could only choose to watch, searching for the perfect moment.
He saw everything that happened afterward through the scope of the sniper rifle, but the hand holding the gun did not move even a fraction.
The person holding the Sniper Rifle had a very steady hand—always very steady.
..
The Black-haired woman gripped her injured hand, unable to restrain herself from taking several steps back. Her handgun slipped from her grasp during that recent long-range burst, but at this moment, she had no time to care about it.
As if struck by a shocking realization, a look of panic surfaced on the man's face, which was slightly contorted from Pain—this was the first time the man had shown such an expression since Nana first saw her, the panic quickly transformed into ferocity.
Nana instantly realized what the man intended to do. Before he could fully carry out her intent, the Black-haired girl gritted her teeth, using her willpower to force herself up. He lunged forward, stepping onto the coffee table to gain momentum for a sudden leap.
The combat techniques Zhenjun had taught his before surfaced in his mind. Even though her body was weak at this moment, the urgency of life and death forced Nana to execute the most perfect sneak attack she had ever performed.
The Black-haired girl's weight, combined with the acceleration from her shifting center of gravity, slammed heavily into the man. He was forced to stumble, before he could react, Nana maliciously clenched her four fingers into a fist, drove her thumb hard into the wound on his shoulder, then hooked her fist toward his chin.
The experienced man quickly blocked the strike, however, her contempt for the girl he had previously beaten into helplessness caused him to miss Nana's feint.
And so, the world spun wildly.
Having executed a perfect cross-body hammer throw, Dan Nani's eyes sharpened. She stepped on the Black-haired man's chest, pushing down with her foot and leaning her body forward to prevent losing her balance, barely managing to suppress her movements.
The three of them executed a combo attack, a sequence of moves with no prior coordination, relying almost entirely on their improvisation.
Waves of fatigue surged into her brain. Nana knew this was no time to let her guard down. She struggled to steady her breathing, as the stinging pain on her face and the blood flowing from her forehead left her feeling dizzy and lightheaded.
The ringing in her right ear had not yet subsided, she felt someone approaching from behind.
"Are you okay?" Niwang's familiar voice reached her ears, in that instant, Nana felt much more at ease.
She even suddenly felt a bit wronged.
“It's okay..” Nana replied gloomily, her voice sounding as if it were muffled under a quilt.
He didn't know how disheveled she looked—nor did she realize that him "it's okay" sounded as if she were about to burst into tears at any moment.