Stalemate

Clang! Zhang Ruofeng arrived just in time as Xin Mu was about to be attacked again. His left-arm guard collided violently with the Earth Bee's forelimb, producing a loud clash. The impact forced him back a step before he could absorb the force.

"Are you okay?" Zhang Ruofeng shielded Xin Mu behind him. But he had no time to turn around and check her injuries. He wasn't even sure he had enough strength left to kill a second Guard Bee after taking down the first. On top of that, his wounds were still healing. They kept closing, only to tear open again whenever he moved too forcefully. The cycle was wearing him down and making him increasingly irritable.

"I'm fine." Zhang Ruofeng heard Xin Mu's sharp intake of breath—a way of enduring pain. But he couldn't take his eyes off the Guard Bee as it charged toward him. Xin Mu was probably in very bad shape, and he was slower than the flying Guard Bee. With a furious roar, he coiled his body like a spring, then unleashed all his strength in an instant, driving a straight punch toward the Guard Bee.

------ Xin Mu's POV ------

Xin Mu looked at her shoulder as blood continued to run down it. The wound was about ten centimeters long, stretching from back to front and nearly cleaving through her shoulder. She couldn't move her right arm at all, and cold sweat streamed down her forehead. She had never been injured before, and now her whole body trembled with pain. She couldn't even take the diluted Dragon Blood out of her pocket.

Is this what he has to endure? Xin Mu couldn't understand how Zhang Ruofeng could joke with her when he'd suffered injuries far worse than hers. But now, she barely had the strength to answer him, let alone keep her voice from shaking.

No, this is a sign of serious blood loss. As a chill gradually spread through her, Xin Mu watched Zhang Ruofeng grapple at close quarters with the Guard Bee that had attacked her. She knew she couldn't rely on him anymore—not that she could. After his initial charge and hammering punch, both his movements and his strength had begun to falter. He was already at a disadvantage.

"Huff, huff..." Xin Mu panted rapidly as she opened the bottle of pale-red diluted Dragon Blood in her pocket and poured it over her right shoulder. A faint warmth spread through the wound, and at last her body began to relax. Slowly, she rubbed the rest of the potion onto the wounds on her arm and leg.

"I can't wear this shirt anymore." Xin Mu glanced back at her T-shirt. It was her favorite, a creamy white one. She'd meant to drag Zhang Ruofeng out for a meal after he'd been chewed out. Who could have guessed she'd end up here? She'd taken the time to wash it several times, too, but now it had been torn to shreds.

Realizing her thoughts were drifting, Xin Mu quickly focused on Zhang Ruofeng. His fight with the Guard Bee had become a battle to the death. The bee's body was dented in several places from his heavy punches, but Zhang Ruofeng was covered in blood. Wisps of steam rose from his wounds, making him look both uncanny and terrifying.

Zhang Ruofeng grabbed the Guard Bee's lower left wing, which Xin Mu had slashed open with her dagger. Metal rang against metal as his left bracer struck it. The Guard Bee's wings were its strongest and fastest weapons. Pressing his right hand against his abdomen, Zhang Ruofeng wrenched with his left and tore away a huge chunk of the lower half of its left wing.

"That's incredible!" Xin Mu exclaimed. Yet as she watched the murderous intensity in Zhang Ruofeng's eyes, a chill crept through her. This was the first time she'd seen him fight an enemy with all his strength. Badly injured, he wore an expression colored by frenzy, fury, and pain. He was like a provoked lion, and a dangerous aura filled the space between him and the Guard Bee. Though half its wing had been torn off, the bee wasn't seriously injured—and, for a moment, it didn't charge again.

Xin Mu watched Zhang Ruofeng shift a few steps and place himself squarely in front of her. A sudden sense of security washed over her. She could understand now why love between men and women, or friendship between men, sometimes deepened so quickly in dangerous situations. Watching Zhang Ruofeng's shoulders heave, she realized that her dependence on him had grown to a level she never would have believed possible.

"Bzzzz..." Zhang Ruofeng was panting hard and searching for an opportunity to kill the enemy before him. Perhaps he hadn't heard it, but Xin Mu heard the buzzing clearly. It was coming from the Food Storage again. She remembered Zhang Ruofeng's conversation with that mysterious adventurer: there were four of these elite monsters, the Guard Bees. One had already left her unable to fight, and if Zhang Ruofeng hadn't stopped it, she might have died at the hands of these killer bees. Were the other two about to fly out as well? Xin Mu's face went pale. There was no way she and Zhang Ruofeng could beat three Guard Bees at once. "Ruofeng, run!"

------ Zhang Ruofeng's POV ------

Hearing Xin Mu's cry, Zhang Ruofeng gave a bitter smile. He'd managed to gain the upper hand against this low-intelligence creature, but if he could run, he'd have done so already. His strength was nearly spent, and one wound in his abdomen had pierced through from the front and damaged his internal organs. With Xin Mu behind him, she couldn't see it. Zhang Ruofeng believed his recovery would keep the damage to his organs from becoming life-threatening, but there was no way he could outrun two unharmed Guard Bees whose forelimbs were already in sight.

"Huff, huff." Zhang Ruofeng took three deep breaths, then forced down the pain. With his back to Xin Mu, he said, "Go! Find another adventurer and come back to save me! Tell them there are ten Star-shaped Fruits here, worth ten thousand Faris. Someone will be tempted by that. Then I'll have a chance."

Xin Mu felt tears welling up. Zhang Ruofeng had struggled to kill even one Guard Bee in a short time. Against three at once, he'd be torn apart before long, left without even a whole corpse. She couldn't accept that, no matter what. She bit her lower lip and shook her head desperately.

"Ah..." Zhang Ruofeng sighed inwardly. His plan was unquestionably the most effective. Xin Mu had no fighting strength left and couldn't help him by staying. If she stayed, they could both die. With all the Guard Bees attacking him, she might still have a chance of surviving. But asking a young woman like Xin Mu to make that choice was too much.

To hell with it. While the Guard Bee with the badly damaged wing was still recovering, Zhang Ruofeng forced himself to charge. In the corner of his eye, he caught sight of someone racing toward them through the passage.