Those Who Do Wrong Don't Deserve to Be Saved

"Joanna!"

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

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

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

Lin Mo tightened his grip on Joanna's wrist, holding it firmly so she could not move. His voice was steady and serious.

"He can't move anymore."

"Stop."

Joanna looked past Lin Mo at the figure curled up by the wall. She studied him for a moment, her gaze indifferent and devoid of pity, assessing only whether he remained a threat.

"He's still alive."

She spoke softly, her tone almost cold. To her, the threat had not yet been fully 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 grab you again."

"He won't."

"You don't know that."

"I do."

Lin Mo spoke more firmly. With his other hand, he gently turned her face away from the injured man and made her look into his eyes.

"Look at me."

Joanna's lashes trembled. At last, she drew her gaze back completely. There was no panic in her pale eyes, nor any agitation as her urge to kill faded. A lingering wariness remained, fixed squarely on Lin Mo's face.

"I'm not hurt."

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

The words worked like a command to stand down.

Joanna released the guard's collar almost at once. It was not out of mercy or concern for his safety; she had simply shifted all her attention to Lin Mo.

She turned, gripped Lin Mo's shoulders, and quickly checked him from head to toe.

First his face, then his neck. She pulled up his sleeves to make sure there were no new wounds on his arms. Her movements were hurried but methodical, betraying just how deeply she cared and how uneasy she felt.

"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 who was injured? That guard had not even touched him.

Despite his repeated answers, Joanna still would not relax. She leaned forward and placed her palm lightly against Lin Mo's chest, feeling his steady, strong heartbeat to make sure he was unharmed.

Only when she was certain he was safe did her tense body ease a little.

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

Joanna did not move or even look back. To her, the gravely injured man was nothing more than a damaged threat that had ceased to function. He no longer merited her attention.

Only then did the Game Room's emergency alarm sound. The remaining guards fled the Game Room in relief without so much as glancing 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 terrifying the girl was. None dared enter.

Inside the Game Room, Lin Mo glanced at the guard by the wall. He could clearly hear irregular noises mixed into the man's breathing. Multiple broken ribs and severe internal injuries, most likely.

Any further delay would only worsen his condition and could easily cost him his life.

"Joanna."

Lin Mo pointed toward the open space on the other side of the room. His tone was serious.

"Go over there first."

Joanna's brow tightened again. Her wary gaze locked on the doorway.

"They'll come in," she said quietly, her guard rising by instinct.

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

"He tried to grab you." Joanna refused to yield. In her mind, someone who had done wrong did not deserve to be saved.

"He's already hurt."

"Then let him lie there."

A genuine sense of helplessness washed over Lin Mo.

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

It was also a result he had intended to bring about. He could not blame her for it.

But that fierce tenderness was extreme and narrow. She reserved her kindness and her limits for him alone.

She felt no empathy for anyone else's pain, grave injuries, or even death. She lacked the most basic respect for life. This 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, unworthy of mercy.

Lin Mo did not want to praise her, even though everything she had just done had sprung from a pure desire to protect 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, extreme response.

In essence, that was no different from Homelander in the original story. Homelander had simply grown more extreme because no one had guided him.

"Go over by the table," Lin Mo said, preparing to keep guiding her.

"I'll go with you."

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

As soon as they stopped, the medics rushed in. They swiftly secured the injured guard to the stretcher, moving carefully throughout for fear of provoking Joanna.

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

Whenever anyone took so much as half a step toward Lin Mo, she stepped forward in turn, her body taut and ready to intervene.

As they hurried the stretcher out, Lin Mo caught a clear glimpse of the guard's twisted right arm and the sunken outline of his chest. Even with the cushioning of his heavy protective suit, his injuries were life-threatening.

The isolation door slammed shut. The piercing alarm stopped abruptly, and the flashing red lights went still. The Game Room fell silent again, oppressively so.

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

Joanna hurried back to Lin Mo's side and looked up at him, her clear, candid eyes carrying a hint of innocent pride.

"He's gone."

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

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

"Lin Mo?"

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