I Alone Am Enough

"Ow—! That hurts, Texas! You have to take responsibility for this. My apple pie...!"

Inside the tent, Exusiai let out a series of pained groans. Though her wounds had received some simple treatment, the pierced injuries still throbbed with pain.

"Wasn't this your own choice?"

Though Texas looked to be in considerable pain herself, she endured it and replied to Exusiai with an outwardly cold expression.

"Hehe, how could I not, when you're my friend? Now that things have come to this, I really want another apple pie."

Exusiai muttered as she began rocking her body back and forth, making the ropes sway along with her movements.

But Exusiai soon discovered that no matter how hard she struggled, the ropes seemed nailed in place, only swaying slightly in every direction.

With no other choice, Exusiai sighed and stopped struggling, closing her eyes to rest. Texas did the same. She had no fighting strength left; the wound on her abdomen had been bandaged, but there was no way the blood she had lost could be replenished so quickly.

"They really are old acquaintances. How did that beautiful angel lady end up like this? And that cool Texas too."

Mozzie clicked his tongue in amazement as he looked at the panel in his hands.

"Stick to the original plan. I'll infiltrate alone. Once I get the two of them down, I'll attack those mafia members. You attack at the same time."

After thinking it over for a long time, Zhuang Xiaolin still decided to rescue them. He did not know what had happened to the two of them, but they were friends, after all. Emperor had also promised that he could borrow them as employees. How could he possibly leave them to die?

Zhuang Xiaolin rummaged through the trunk and took out a crossbow and several small throwing knives.

He had wanted to use silenced weapons, but suppressors were still quite loud in reality. Besides, the people of Terra were generally stronger than people from Earth. Ordinary suppressed weapons might not even be able to hurt them.

"Orders received. Check your weapons and move into the designated positions."

The members of the Rainbow Six Squad checked the weapons in their hands. Weapon inspections were indispensable on the battlefield. Before every battle, soldiers treated their guns like family. Maintaining their weapons could save their lives at a critical moment.

Rook took out an armor pack and placed it on the ground, and everyone picked up and used the armor as usual.

After making their final preparations, the squad members dispersed and took up their assigned positions, waiting for Zhuang Xiaolin's signal.

Zhuang Xiaolin merely used the cover of night to quietly make his way behind the tent.

Outside a remote tent some distance from the one holding Exusiai and the others, Zhuang Xiaolin sneaked over. Slowing his steps, he carefully circled around the tent from which snores were coming.

There was a bonfire outside the tent, where a mafia member was roasting meat.

His nearby companions clearly were not paying attention in this direction. Seizing the opening, Zhuang Xiaolin threw a knife, driving it straight into the back of the man's head.

Originally, Zhuang Xiaolin had wanted to kill these people by suffocation, but that would take time. Moreover, the people here were generally standing close together. If they made a sound like violently kicking the ground, they would be alerted at once. A sound like someone collapsing, on the other hand, might be mistaken for someone setting something down.

The downside was that the smell of blood would quickly spread through the air.

Zhuang Xiaolin did not have much safe time left.

After taking several roundabout routes, Zhuang Xiaolin finally knocked out the guard at the entrance to the tent and slipped inside.

When he entered the tent, the sight before him matched the image on the screen. Texas and Exusiai were hanging separately, and the places on their bodies where blood had been seeping out had been bandaged while Zhuang Xiaolin and the others had not been watching.

That made things easier for Zhuang Xiaolin. He quietly approached the two of them and flicked each of them on the thigh.

"Ah...! Y-you're Zhuang Xiaolin?"

Exusiai's thigh was flicked hard, and the pain made her cry out. She then opened her eyes and saw Zhuang Xiaolin before her.

Texas quietly opened her eyes as soon as pain shot through her thigh.

After seeing that both of them were awake, Zhuang Xiaolin made a cutting motion. Though the tent offered some soundproofing, there were still plenty of patrols outside. Talking here was not a wise choice.

Exusiai and Texas immediately understood. They straightened their legs, and Zhuang Xiaolin swiftly used the knife in his hand to cut the ropes suspending them.

He caught the two as they fell and gave them a quick examination before poking his head out of the tent to check the situation outside.

"Did you come alone? This mafia isn't ordinary. They brought some of Siracusa's elite family members to kidnap me."

Texas struggled to prop herself up, one hand over her injured lower abdomen.

"It's fine, Texas. Zhuang Xiaolin is so strong—he can take them all down by himself, right? Isn't that right?"

Though Exusiai was so exhausted that she could barely stand, she still forced herself to say something cheerful.

"Of course. Thank you for your trust, Miss Exusiai. I alone am enough."

Seeing the concern in the two girls' eyes over his combat ability, Zhuang Xiaolin could not help curling his lips into a smile.

"An intruder!"

Just then, a shout rang out from outside the tent.

Zhuang Xiaolin narrowed his eyes, and his hand immediately went to Death's Revolver at his waist.

He looked around at the surroundings, then at the two wounded girls behind him.

Texas and Exusiai were injured to different degrees, but both of their mobility had been severely restricted. Taking them along while fleeing would reduce his own mobility.

Leaving them here was the safest choice at the moment. Having figured that out, Zhuang Xiaolin took several healing potions out of his storage and tossed them to the two girls. These were different from the basic Oripathy treatment potions; they were specifically for treating external and internal injuries. Of course, they cost points, but what did a few points matter right now?

[Rescued a Child of Fate. Reward: 900 Points]

The moment Zhuang Xiaolin tossed them the potions, a system prompt suddenly appeared before him.

Could it be that the two of them were...

Looking at the panel in front of him, Zhuang Xiaolin thought of a possibility, but now was not the time to consider it.

"Good evening, gentlemen! We ought to have a talk."

Zhuang Xiaolin walked out of the tent and called out loudly. The situation outside was just as he had expected: a dense crowd of mafia members had surrounded the area, and several patrolmen he had taken down earlier were among them.

"Talk about what, you intruder?"

After Zhuang Xiaolin spoke, several mafia members glared at him with furious expressions.

"Looks like you don't want to settle this in a civilized manner."

Zhuang Xiaolin spoke calmly. Before anyone around him could react, Death's Revolver was already in his hand.

Along with the sound of its terrifyingly powerful energy bullets firing, gunshots of all kinds rang out continuously around the camp. The mafia members surrounding Zhuang Xiaolin fell row after row like wheat flattened by a powerful wind.

In only a few seconds, not a single mafia member in the camp remained alive.

"Oh my God, he's practically Superman."

Peering through a gap in the tent, Exusiai saw Zhuang Xiaolin's dazzling display firsthand. Tiny stars of admiration seemed to appear in her wine-red eyes. No Sankta could resist someone looking that cool while wielding a gun.

"All right, girls. You need to rest. I'll take you back to Lungmen."

Zhuang Xiaolin returned Death's Revolver to its holster, crouched down, and turned his back to Texas.

Texas instantly understood what he meant. Her abdomen had been injured, and her body had also been pierced by several ranged attacks. Her mobility was now worse than Exusiai's; at the very least, Exusiai could still walk steadily, which was proof enough.

Texas gritted her teeth, her cheeks faintly flushed, but she was not the type to be overly delicate. She placed her hands on Zhuang Xiaolin's back, then tightly wrapped her arms around his neck.

Zhuang Xiaolin lifted Texas's thighs with his hands and, with a sudden exertion, hoisted her onto his back.

"Forgive my offense."

"Not at all. You saved me, and I haven't even had the chance to thank you."

Zhuang Xiaolin carried Texas on his back while Exusiai walked slowly, one step at a time. The two made their way back to Zhuang Xiaolin's convoy.

After Doc examined Texas and Exusiai's injuries, he gave each of them a shot with a hormone pistol, then used modern medical techniques to treat their wounds and ensure they would not scar before leaving.

"Get some rest, everyone. We'll return to Lungmen shortly."

Looking at the Rainbow Six Squad, who had gathered once more, Zhuang Xiaolin gave the order before going to get some sleep himself.