A figure stepped out, his expression ferocious. He looked at the soldiers across from him with utter disdain. "Five minutes remain. If you do not retreat, we will kill one hostage. Then, every five minutes, another will die. Until they are all gone."
"No! Don't kill us! Save us!" The hostages struggled, desperate to escape and find a sliver of hope. But the guards were too tight; there was no way out.
Zhu Yanyi observed the crowd closely. A strange feeling prickled at her mind, a sense of wrongness she couldn't quite name.
"You are all bad people." A little girl, looking about five or six years old, suddenly stepped forward, pointing a finger at the rebel.
"Little girl, I’ll kill you first," the man snarled, his anger flaring.
"Watch out!" Just as she reached for her gun, a masked soldier from Team A lunged forward. she tackled the threat, saving the child, but in doing so, she exposed himself. Gunfire erupted instantly. The soldier dodged easily on her own, but holding a child, she could only shield her with her body, moving quickly.
Fortunately, the soldier was alert and evaded the bullets. As everyone breathed a sigh of relief, Zhu Yanyi saw a flash of light. "Careful!" she shouted.
In the child’s hand, a dagger appeared. She thrust it directly into the soldier’s body. The sudden twist shocked everyone. Who could have predicted such a betrayal?
Zhu Yanyi no longer cared to hide her skills. She leaped into the air, a gun materializing in her hand. Bang. The child fell dead. Zhu Yanyi then drifted to the soldier’s side, her hands moving rapidly as golden needles flew out. Yanluo Snatches Life. She was fighting to steal this life back from Venerable Yanluo. To the onlookers, the soldier was enveloped in a golden glow. Zhu Yanyi watched the light intensify, satisfied only when it was strong enough. She cradled the soldier and leaped back to safety. "Do not touch the needles. The Yanluo Snatches Life technique needs time to work."
Even without her warning, no one dared touch the needles. These were their comrades’ lives. The soldiers naturally formed a protective circle around her.
Zhu Yanyi looked across at the rebels and spoke slowly. "I dislike killing, which is why I have a pair of holy hands." She extended her hand. "But these hands can kill as well as heal. I do not know your purpose, but using a child to assassinate our soldier makes me very unhappy. Unlike our soldiers, who must follow strict rules, I do not need to obey them."
She smiled, a dazzling, chilling smile. "Do you know why I am called the Demon Doctor? Because I not only save lives, but I also take them. Most importantly, I kill based on my own whims. Our soldiers’ lives are worth a thousand gold. Tell me, how many lives do you need to pay to compensate for this?"
At this moment, Zhu Yanyi had seen through the deception. The so-called hostages were fake. The anger boiling within her was known only to her.
The peacekeeping soldiers had come here out of international duty, to help a nation in need. They could have stayed away, for their own country was at peace. They risked their lives to maintain peace, not to have it trampled upon. Zhu Yanyi’s killing intent rose steadily.