He was curious about how the woman who single-handedly infiltrated BDD, nearly killed Giles, and injured Barrett would choose between a child and a man.
Of course, he would kill her in the end.
Huo Rou looked at An An, her only family in the world.
However, Qin Ningyi was also the only one she loved.
"You won't choose?" the man chuckled.
He shifted the muzzle of the gun and fired a shot in Qin Ningyi's direction.
Qin Ningyi ducked. The person in front of him took the bullet, blood blooming. The man had just shot and killed his own comrade.
Rage blazed in the man's eyes. He tutted softly, "He's alive..."
As he spoke, a dagger appeared in his other hand, pressed against An An's neck, drawing beads of blood.
"How long does a child's blood take to run dry?"
He gazed with a wicked smile at the blood trickling from An An's neck. Even so, An An did not move, remaining a steady shield behind him.
Within the man's blind spot, Qin Ningyi had used that evasive maneuver to reach the rear of the car.
The man's comrades were almost all dealt with by Gu Yan, and the situation was extremely disadvantageous for him.
He tightened his grip.
An An winced in pain, but to spare Huo Rou distress, he remained silent.
Tears welled up in Huo Rou's eyes.
"Mom, don't cry," An An whispered, trying to comfort her.
Huo Rou had always been gentle and strong in front of him.
He gripped Chen Long's hand tightly. His neck hurt so much. A child's blood seemed so scarce; was he going to die?
He hadn't seen Mom and Dad's wedding yet. He hadn't taken Mom and Dad to show his friends. An An was a child with a father.
The large hand he had been clutching out of fear suddenly squeezed back.
A flicker of surprise and joy flashed in An An's eyes.
Just as the man aimed the gun at Huo Rou, "They say mothers in your country are willing to sacrifice everything for their children. Why don't you choose yourself?"
"Choosing between you and the child isn't too difficult."
He wouldn't survive anyway, so he might as well take one with him.
This game was quite fun.
He raised the gun towards Huo Rou. "If you don't move, he lives. If you move, he dies."
Huo Rou stared at the gun's muzzle. In her peripheral vision, she saw Qin Ningyi's actions and shouted to An An, "An An, close your eyes!"
The man sneered. Indeed, a woman. Such a soft heart, worrying about the child seeing her die at a time like this? How foolish. Why would he kill just one?
The moment the man was about to pull the trigger, the rear car window shattered. Qin Ningyi's silk thread shot through the opening, strangling the man's neck.
An An was pulled backward and down, evading the sharp blade. Simultaneously, the car door creaked and swung open.
"Ah! Bastard!" The man's eye was cut by shards of glass. He roared in pain, blood obscuring his vision, and plunged the dagger downwards with madness.
Qin Ningyi tightened the thread. The man's breath hitched, and his movements faltered. Chen Long, holding An An, dodged backward.
When An An opened his eyes, he saw the buttons on Chen Long's chest.
Chen Long kicked the gun out of the man's hand. The man grabbed at the thread around his neck, and with his other hand, slashed backward with the dagger.
"Bastard! Bastard!"
Everyone rushed forward, wrenched open the car door, and pulled Chen Long and An An out. The man struggled frantically, his fingers almost severed.
Huo Rou, holding An An, her eyes bloodshot with self-reproach, tremblingly produced hemostatic medicine to treat An An's wound. "An An, An An..."
An An coughed softly, his small hands patting away her tears.
"Mom will take you back to Daolin Village. You won't be in danger again," Huo Rou said incoherently, the wound on An An's neck agitating her nerves.
Before her eyes flashed a rainy night from over ten years ago, a blood-red street corner, chaotic neon lights, the glass that blocked everything in the laboratory, and that blood-stained smile...
She was afraid.
She didn't want to lose anyone else.
She thought she was no longer the girl she was back then. She possessed sufficient willpower and strength. She believed she could protect the people she wanted to protect.
In the end, the very person she wanted to protect was hurt because of her.
Not far away, the man finally broke free from Qin Ningyi's grip. He looked at the fear on Huo Rou's face, the growing terror in her eyes.
He laughed excitedly.
To make a warrior fear and retreat was akin to destroying him.
In a way, he had completed his mission.
"Chi You, your child is injured because of you. Don't you even want to look at his wound?" The man's neck bled. He asked in a low voice, but a hidden weapon quietly appeared in his powerless, drooping hand.