Blinded by Beauty

After the blonde took the hit, the middle-aged guard had already realized something was wrong, but he still didn't stop.

He hated the woman. The injuries on his body were all her fault! So even though he knew something was off, he still fired every bullet in a fit of rage. The Super Armor Potion was about to wear off, and if he didn't seriously wound her, she might strike back—and then he'd be the one to die.

After that, the middle-aged guard learned from his painful experience. He had seen the Blood Spider appear, and once he'd calmed down, he immediately realized that an enemy skilled in black magic was lurking nearby, waiting for them to tire themselves out. With no idea how strong Fang Linyan was, he could only assess the situation in the worst possible light. So he chose to abandon everything and return to Nightmare Space.

It wasn't that the middle-aged guard hadn't considered taking a gamble. But by his reckoning, Fang Linyan had only attacked once since entering the room, which meant he was almost certainly still in peak condition. His own side had already played every trump card and suffered severe injuries, while the other side remained a mystery. If he judged wrong, he'd pay with his precious life!

Given a choice, any sensible person would cut their losses without hesitation.

After watching the middle-aged guard vanish, Fang Linyan let out a long breath. If the man had insisted on staying, Fang Linyan would have had no choice but to run. After all, Fang Linyan had too few trump cards, and his opponent was far stronger.

The enormous venue was now completely deserted. The moment the gunfire rang out, everyone else had fled. Fang Linyan rushed out from around the corner and headed straight for the wounded, panting blonde. He called out with heartfelt concern:

"Are you all right? I drove that guy off."

Fang Linyan had run with surprising agility, and when he vaulted the railing, he'd even looked like he belonged in an action movie about cops and robbers. But the moment he tried to leap over an exhibit case, the truth came out: he crashed down in an utter mess, braking beautifully with his face.

Seeing this, the blonde beauty, though badly wounded, couldn't help but laugh. Fang Linyan awkwardly climbed to his feet, wiped the blood from his nose, shrugged, and said:

"Damn, that stupid case must've been slippery."

Then he asked with concern:

"Are you all right?"

The blonde beauty choked back tears and said:

"Do I look all right? I can't even move. Hurry and help me. I'll be in trouble if the cops show up."

As she spoke, she held out her hand.

The blonde was strikingly beautiful, and the beauty mark at the corner of her mouth made her even more alluring. Though she was badly wounded, her tearful, pleading expression was truly captivating. She looked a lot like Amber Heard.

Fang Linyan seemed no exception. He was completely bewitched by her beauty, his eyes going slightly blank as he walked over, speaking with concern:

"Then we need to get you treated right away! You really can't move at all?"

The blonde beauty whimpered coquettishly:

"Yeah!"

Fang Linyan nodded and said in a relieved tone:

"Oh, that's a relief."

Then he flipped his wrist, drew the pistol he'd stolen, aimed it at the blonde beauty, and pulled the trigger again and again.

Fang Linyan hadn't drawn his gun particularly quickly, and his shooting skills were mediocre at best. But the speed with which he turned on her caught the blonde beauty completely off guard! And the two of them were no more than three meters apart, so Fang Linyan couldn't miss even if he closed his eyes.

It was a common Beretta M9 pistol, with a magazine that held up to fifteen rounds. Fang Linyan gripped it in both hands and clumsily squeezed the trigger as if he were using a nail gun to punch holes. He kept firing until the magazine was empty and the gun clicked repeatedly, then finally released the trigger.

His face never lost its crazed, warm smile of concern. Paired with his merciless actions, the contrast was so jarring it was downright chilling.

"Did you really think I was an idiot? Heh. The blood from the wound in your abdomen had stopped flowing, but when you asked me to come over, a large patch of the clothes around it got wet again. That means you were secretly tensing your muscles, getting ready to strike, and the wound reopened. With hostility that obvious, did you really think I'd fall for it?"

Even in death, the blonde beauty wore an expression of utter disbelief. In her mind, Fang Linyan was supposed to be just another fool she'd seduced. She never imagined that the lovesick puppy would turn into a ravenous wolf in an instant! Then her body dissolved into specks of light and vanished into thin air.

At that moment, a series of notifications appeared on Fang Linyan's retina:

"Your shot dealt 66 points of damage to Contractor 91UK3. Attacks between Contractors are reduced by 50% by default. After defense reduced the damage, you dealt 28.7 points of actual damage."

"Your shot dealt 72 points of damage to Contractor 91UK3. Attacks between Contractors are reduced by 50% by default. After defense reduced the damage, you dealt 31.3 points of actual damage."

"Your shot dealt 60 points of damage to Contractor 91UK3. Attacks between Contractors are reduced by 50% by default. After defense reduced the damage, you dealt 26 points of actual damage."

"Contractor 91UK3's health has been reduced to zero."

"Contractor 91UK3 has died. You obtained the Bloody Key she dropped."

Looking at the notifications, Fang Linyan narrowed his eyes. They contained a lot of information, and he was just about to analyze it when a tearing pain beyond description suddenly erupted from the pineal gland between his eyebrows. Then he realized that his MP had somehow fallen to a mere 3 points, flashing red.

His maximum mental power had also dropped from 50 to 40, and his Spirit had fallen from 5 to 4. Beside them was a note: "Traumatized."

"Damn it, how did this happen?!"

He could only grit his teeth and endure the pain. With the last shred of his reason, he rushed at the exhibit case, smashed the glass with his elbow, and grabbed the Mayflower Compact inside. Hearing the notification that a "milestone has been achieved," he immediately staggered out.