HeLa Cell had originally had no intention of fighting back. She had only planned to sneak a bite of their dinner to recover.
But just as she got under the dining table, someone arrived.
Since someone had come, and was unarmed and clearly weak at a glance,
HeLa Cell abandoned her plan to flee and ambushed Xiaoxiao instead.
"Xiaoxiao!" the man shouted, his eyes crimson as he rushed toward Xiaoxiao, who had fallen in a pool of blood and tripped over the dining table.
"Xiaoxiao!" The red-haired woman likewise threw the disinfectant and cotton swabs in her hands to the ground, picked up a straight sword beside her, and rushed over.
HeLa Cell swallowed the meat in her mouth, then clamped her teeth onto the wound on Xiaoxiao's neck and sucked down great mouthfuls of blood.
Seeing the two rushing toward her, HeLa Cell released her bite without hesitation and immediately turned to flee, tearing a chunk of flesh from Xiaoxiao's shoulder with her hand as she did.
"Xiaoxiao!" The man fell to his knees with a thud on the bloodstained grass, looking at Xiaoxiao lying pale-faced on the ground.
He pressed a trembling hand over the wound, but blood continued to spurt through his fingers.
Xiaoxiao's lips parted slightly, as though she wanted to say something.
"Brother... Han... help..." she said with difficulty. With every word, blood flowed from her mouth, staining her teeth crimson.
"Don't worry, I'll save you. You'll be all right, Xiaoxiao, you'll be all right..." The man's voice trembled. Warm blood continued to flow past his hand, but his heart was ice-cold.
For a moment, everything before his eyes felt unreal. Xiaoxiao had been so full of life just moments ago, yet now she lay in a pool of blood.
The captain hurried over and spoke anxiously. "How is Xiaoxiao now?" The captain looked at the man, whose eyes were brimming with tears.
"Xiaoxiao's aorta has ruptured..." the man told the captain, his hand pressed over Xiaoxiao's wound and his voice choked with tears.
"There's still a chance!" The captain crooked a finger in the air, and several fine threads slowly stitched Xiaoxiao's ruptured aorta shut. The blood that had been gushing like a waterfall immediately dwindled by more than half.
"There, I've temporarily stabilized Xiaoxiao's injuries with Void Chrysalis Silk. Her life won't be in danger for the time being.
But I can't fight anymore. Leave Xiaoxiao to me and hurry to help Yan Ling!"
"Okay!" The man lifted his hand, took the bandages the captain handed him, and immediately wrapped them around Xiaoxiao. Then he looked at HeLa Cell, who was locked in a fight with the red-haired woman, and killing intent surged from him.
HeLa Cell stood a short distance away and swallowed the chunk of flesh in her hand. Her battered right hand instantly healed, and then her neck began turning into black slime that wriggled rapidly. A body grew out of it, grossly disproportionate to her head.
"Beast!" the red-haired girl cursed angrily, slashing at HeLa Cell again with a blade of flame.
HeLa Cell planted her hands and feet on the ground and pushed backward with all four limbs, dodging by a hair's breadth past the flames.
HeLa Cell's right hand rapidly turned into wriggling black liquid, then became a long bone blade.
The red-haired girl froze.
HeLa Cell pushed off with both legs and swiftly swung the bone blade on her right hand at a vital spot.
The red-haired girl dodged to the side, then immediately turned and slashed HeLa Cell with her sword. But HeLa Cell did not catch fire as she had last time; the cut was merely left with a burn.
Looking closely, the red-haired girl saw that apart from her head, HeLa Cell's body was completely bare, without a single hair. This amount of heat was nowhere near enough to set her alight.
HeLa Cell showed no reaction to the cut. Without looking back, she swung her bone blade backward and drove the red-haired girl away.
HeLa Cell turned around, her faintly glowing red eyes meeting the red-haired girl's. At some point, the sword gripped in both of the girl's hands had begun to tremble slightly.
Clearly, after their exchange just now, the red-haired girl had begun to feel afraid.
Could she really handle a monster like this, one that could regenerate almost endlessly, felt no pain, and was still growing stronger?
No! The red-haired girl shook her head fiercely. I'm a Night Star! I absolutely can't back down!
HeLa Cell opened her mouth and attacked the red-haired girl again, swinging her bone blade.
The red-haired girl was just about to meet the attack when a gunshot rang out behind her.
HeLa Cell stopped in an instant and jerked backward, a bullet piercing her neck.
The red-haired girl looked back to see the man holding up his gun. He clicked his tongue, then gave her a slight nod.
The red-haired girl's face lit up. She turned back to HeLa Cell and charged at her.
The gun fired again. HeLa Cell raised her left hand in front of her face to block the bullet, and then a flaming straight sword slashed toward a vital spot.
HeLa Cell dodged to the side, then immediately turned and slashed the red-haired girl squarely across the back. Opening her mouth full of fangs, she prepared to bite the back of the girl's neck.
But a bullet struck HeLa Cell directly in the head, forcing her to stop.
The red-haired girl put some distance between them. Blood flowed from the long wound on her back.
"She's learning from me." The red-haired girl's eyes were full of shock and disbelief.
The man felt the same. After exchanging just a couple of moves, HeLa Cell had learned her opponent's fighting techniques. Such learning ability was truly terrifying.
If an enemy was stronger than you, that was not frightening, because you might surpass them someday.
But if an enemy's ability to learn was far greater than yours, that was truly terrifying, because it meant they would only grow stronger than you in the future!
The man gripped his pistol, his gaze resolute, as though he had made some decision.
We absolutely can't let a monster like this live!
Bang!
Another shot rang out, but this time HeLa Cell did not dodge. She simply took the bullet head-on.
Then she charged rapidly toward the man on three limbs, completely ignoring the red-haired girl beside her.
This is bad! the man thought. He fired several shots in quick succession, all aimed at HeLa Cell's eyes.
But she dodged every one, and they struck other parts of her body. Her speed did not slow, however, and she lunged at the man, snapping her jaws.
The man immediately withdrew, dodging the bone blade swung at his front. He continued retreating, avoiding HeLa Cell's relentless attacks.
He retreated quickly while using his pistol to fend off HeLa Cell's fierce assault. In front of him, she kept swinging her blade and snapping at him.
Bone blade and pistol clashed, sending out little sparks. The man suddenly exerted his strength and knocked the blade aside.
He aimed at HeLa Cell's dog leg and fired.