Those Who Do Wrong Don't Deserve Saving

"Joanna!"

At the critical moment, Lin Mo darted forward and gently caught her raised wrist from behind. Her fist stopped in front of the security guard's helmet, less than four inches from the visor. The force of the punch had already left a fine crack in its transparent surface.

Joanna's small back stiffened. She slowly turned her head, her pale eyes clear and cold, filled only with intense vigilance. Her voice was firm.

"Let go. He's trying to grab you."

Lin Mo tightened his grip, holding her wrist firmly in place. His voice was steady and serious.

"He can't move anymore."

"Stop."

Joanna looked past Lin Mo at the figure curled against the wall. She studied him for a moment, her gaze indifferent. There was no pity in it, only a precise assessment of the threat.

"He's still alive."

She spoke softly, her tone almost cold. To her, the threat had not yet been eliminated.

Lin Mo frowned. Vought really is a pain. And I'm the one who has to clean up its mess. Still, he tried to reason with her.

"That's all the more reason to stop."

"He'll try to grab you again."

"He won't."

"You don't know that."

"I do."

Lin Mo made his voice firmer. With his free hand, he gently turned her face away from the injured man and toward his own.

"Look at me."

Joanna's lashes trembled. At last, she looked away from the guard. There was no panic in her pale eyes, no agitation as her urge to kill faded. Only a trace of vigilance remained, fixed on Lin Mo's face.

"I'm not hurt."

Lin Mo deliberately slowed his speech, making every word clear.

The words worked like an order to stand down.

Joanna released the guard's collar almost instantly. Not out of mercy, or concern for his safety. She simply shifted all her attention to Lin Mo.

She turned and gripped his shoulders, checking him quickly from head to toe.

First his face, then his neck. She pulled up his sleeves to make sure there were no fresh wounds on his arms. Her movements were hurried but methodical, betraying the depth of her concern and unease.

"Did he touch you?" she asked, looking up at him intently.

"No."

"Did he grab you?"

"No."

"Where does it hurt?"

"Nowhere." After several rounds of questioning, Lin Mo was at a loss. Wasn't it obvious which of them was hurt? The guard hadn't even touched him.

Despite his repeated answers, Joanna still wasn't reassured. She leaned forward and gently placed her palm against his chest, feeling his steady, strong heartbeat to confirm that he was safe.

Only when she was certain he was completely unharmed did her tense body relax a little.

Then the security guard by the wall let out an involuntary groan of pain.

Joanna did not move or look back. To her, the gravely injured man was nothing more than a broken threat that no longer worked. He no longer warranted her attention.

Only then did the Game Room's emergency alarm sound. The remaining security guards fled the room in relief, without so much as a glance at their injured colleague.

Red lights began to flash, and an announcement ordered Joanna to move to the other side of the room.

She ignored it. Outside, several medics waited with a stretcher, but they knew how dangerous the girl was. None dared enter.

Inside the Game Room, Lin Mo glanced at the guard by the wall. He could hear irregular sounds mixed with the man's breathing. Multiple broken ribs were likely, along with severe bruising to his internal organs.

Any further delay would only make his injuries worse and could easily cost him his life.

"Joanna."

Lin Mo pointed to the open space on the other side of the room. His voice was serious.

"Go over there first."

Joanna's brow furrowed again. She stared at the doorway, her eyes full of suspicion.

"They'll come in," she said quietly, wary by instinct.

"They're coming to help him," Lin Mo explained patiently.

"He tried to grab you." Joanna was stubborn. In her mind, someone who had done wrong did not deserve help.

"He's already hurt."

"Then let him lie there."

A genuine sense of helplessness rose in Lin Mo's chest.

He could clearly see how much Joanna had changed. She had developed a fierce urge to protect him. She would stand in front of him at any cost and put his safety above everything else. It was a tenderness born of their long companionship and his guidance.

It was also partly the result he had intended. He could not blame her for it.

But that boundless tenderness was extreme and narrow. Her kindness and restraint were reserved for him alone.

She felt no empathy for anyone else's pain, injuries, or even death. She lacked the most basic respect for life, and that was not what Lin Mo wanted to see.

In her simple, straightforward view of the world, anyone who tried to hurt Lin Mo or take him away was a threat to be eliminated completely. Such a person deserved no mercy.

Lin Mo did not want to praise her, even though she had acted out of a fierce desire to protect him and genuine concern for him.

He did not dare offer a single word of approval. If he did, Joanna would remember that way of thinking. From then on, anyone who came near him and whom she judged a threat would face her ruthless response.

At heart, that was no different from Homelander in the original story. Homelander had simply become more extreme because no one had guided him.

"Go over by the table." Lin Mo decided to keep trying to guide her.

"I'll go with you."

Hearing that Lin Mo would go with her, Joanna relaxed a little. She nodded and obediently followed him to the other side of the room.

As soon as they stopped, the medics hurried in. They swiftly secured the badly injured guard to the stretcher, moving with great care for fear of provoking Joanna.

Throughout the rescue, Joanna watched them with a dark, razor-sharp gaze.

Whenever anyone took even half a step toward Lin Mo, she stepped forward at once, her body tense and ready to stop them.

As the stretcher was rushed out, Lin Mo caught a clear glimpse of the guard's twisted right arm and the caved-in shape of his chest. Even with the cushioning of his heavy protective suit, the injuries were dangerously severe.

The isolation door slammed shut. The piercing alarm cut off, the flashing red lights went still, and the Game Room fell silent again. The quiet was frightening.

The toys scattered across the carpet and the deep cracks in the wall were silent reminders that what had happened was no game.

Joanna hurried back to Lin Mo and looked up at him. Her eyes were clear and direct, with a pure hint of someone seeking praise.

"He's gone."

She spoke softly, as though earnestly informing Lin Mo that every threat had been removed.

Lin Mo rubbed his chin and fell silent. How was he supposed to get through to Joanna?

"Lin Mo?"

When he said nothing, Joanna raised a hand and gently touched the back of his, testing his reaction with care.