The Bearded Man shook his head and sighed. Then he turned to Wang Yi.
"Since M pleaded for you, and I was the one who broke the rules first, you're free, Wang Yi."
Wang Yi stared blankly at M, then looked at the Bearded Man.
He had never dreamed things would end this way.
He had thought there was no doubt he would die here today.
M hurried over to Wang Yi, tears still glimmering in her eyes.
But when she looked at him, a triumphant smile played on her lips.
"Even though nothing can ever come of this between us, I guarantee you'll never forget me for the rest of your life. That's enough!"
After saying that, M wiped away her tears and turned around with a carefree flourish.
Her golden twin ponytails swayed as she turned.
In the sunlight, they reminded Wang Yi of a golden waterfall.
He remembered telling his two children the story of Rapunzel.
The thug who had picked up the ball for Wang Yi earlier came over and cuffed him again.
The Bearded Man said something to the translator, who then told Wang Yi:
"You and your companions can take another twenty people with you. But since you missed the final shot, the boss wants to give you a little punishment."
Wang Yi furrowed his brow slightly, unsure what the punishment would be.
A thug walked up beside a middle-aged woman and pointed his gun at her leg.
Bang!
The shot tore a bloody hole through the woman's leg.
Blood stained her trouser leg red.
The woman collapsed in agony, screaming.
Then he went over to another woman nearby who was pregnant and shot her in the leg, too. She cried out and collapsed screaming.
Then the Bearded Man said to Wang Yi, "You