Chapter 295: Fear of Death
What Lan had just done – the feigned despair and subsequent violent outburst – was merely a disguise.
It was a tactic to wear down his vigilance, to lure him closer— as long as that powerful kick could connect, she was confident it would be fatal.
Even if it didn't kill him outright, it would be more than enough to knock him unconscious.
Only then would she have a chance to break free from her bonds. She had already mentally secured the reward for this man's head!
But from Lan's perspective, Xiu didn't look surprised at all. The smile on his face was still bright, almost taunting.
Just when her instep was about to make contact, Xiu reached out with lightning speed and grabbed her ankle, forcibly halting her leg in mid-air.
The huge counterforce directly broke the woman's momentum and strength. Her hands lost their grip on the branch she'd used for leverage, and she fell downwards, only to be jerked hard by the rope still securing her other limbs.
This sudden, violent change nearly dislocated her arms. The severe pain made her groan involuntarily.
"Hmm~ hehe~" Xiu laughed strangely, still holding her leg, not letting go.
Because of the pulling motion and her current suspension, she was now in a state of being stretched uncomfortably, one leg pushed high by Xiu's grip.
After all, the woman had been rigorously trained within Team Rocket. She quickly overcame the initial shock of pain and struggled to break free from Xiu's hand, attempting to regain some semblance of balance or control.
"Did you really think you were going to succeed?" Xiu taunted. "Are you that confident in your physical prowess? Did you believe you could kick me to death with a single strike? Today, I want to see what kind of kick is so powerful."
Xiu placed his other hand on her calf, then slowly began to slide it upwards, his voice laced with a strange, unsettling amusement.
"What are you doing! Let me go!" The woman was only wearing her underwear.
Faced with Xiu's invasive method, she subconsciously felt a surge of helplessness and screamed in rage, kicking her free leg hard to try and break his grip.
However, his hand grasped her ankle tightly, like an iron clamp. She had no room to maneuver, no way to respond effectively against such overwhelming strength.
She could only watch, horrified, as Xiu's hand moved from her calf all the way up to her inner thigh.
What was even more outrageous was that his touch was not rough, but rather disturbingly gentle, like a light breeze. This formed a sharp, unnerving contrast with the unyielding, vice-like force at her ankle.
But this gentleness only made her more acutely, unpleasantly sensitive to his touch.
"Wow! These legs are really nice," Xiu's hand stopped at her thigh. He looked directly at her, his smile unwavering.
"I will definitely kill you!" The woman now realized that struggling physically was useless. She could only glare at Xiu angrily, her teeth gnashing as if she wished she could eat him alive.
As Xiu looked at her, the smile on his face grew brighter. Then, he casually tossed her legs away, letting her swing limply from the rope.
It was indeed very stress-relieving to tease such a fool— all the resentment he felt from being forced to work overtime, to deal with these constant threats, was vented out on this woman.
Xiu had already thoroughly scanned her memories; how could he not know what kind of person she truly was? If this woman were really so psychologically fragile, how could she have graduated from Team Rocket's brutal training camp with the top rank?
Not to mention, her desperate thoughts and feigned panic were completely exposed to Abra's psychic abilities. Xiu was merely cooperating with her act, playing along.
The best way to defeat someone like her was to knock her down when she was at her most proud, her most confident in her deceptions.
"Why did you think any of this would work on me?" Xiu came closer, reached out, grabbed her by the neck, and lifted her slightly, her feet dangling.
"You dare underestimate me, woman?" Xiu's expression suddenly turned cold at this moment. There was no warning, no transition between his earlier amusement and this sudden, chilling intensity. The abrupt change genuinely scared her.
At the same time, the strength in that powerful arm, the sheer force it transmitted through his grip on her throat, quickly made her feel suffocated.
I can't breathe… The woman opened her mouth but only made a hissing, gasping sound. Her eyes turned red and bulged wide, as if they were about to pop out of their sockets.
She kicked her legs forward desperately, trying to get Xiu to let go, but it was like kicking an iron plate; it had no effect at all.
Moreover, this intense movement rapidly increased her oxygen consumption. In the end, her struggles became weaker, she could only twitch a few times, then her body drooped, motionless.
But Xiu didn't let go. Instead, he slowly said, "You can hold your breath for five minutes while diving unaided. Do you really think I believe you're out already?"
After Xiu said this, the woman's body jerked violently, as if resurrected. Her struggles resumed, but she seemed much weaker now. She could only twist her body wildly, saliva beginning to spurt from the corner of her mouth.
Watching her body twitch, the spasms gradually becoming smaller and finally, slowly subsiding, and her wide-open pupils gradually dilating, Xiu finally let go of her.
She fell limply, like a dead pig, hanging inertly from the rope.
This kind of profound physiological, instinctive reaction to asphyxiation cannot be faked.
If this woman could somehow control even these autonomic responses, Xiu could only admit defeat in this particular contest of wills.
But after Xiu let go, the woman didn't react at all. Her breathing had stopped. She hung there like a side of salted fish.
Xiu was neither hurried nor slow. He placed his hand on her chest. Under the precise stimulation of his psychic energy, her heart, which had stopped, was jolted back into activity. Her whole body spasmed with a strong, convulsive reaction.
She blinked, and her previously dilated pupils instantly shrank to the extreme. Her body twitched, and she began to breathe in huge, ragged gulps, accompanied by a violent cough.
"Ka, kahk, ka!" It took her a while to calm down, her body trembling— but now, she no longer dared to challenge Xiu. Instead, she became very still, very honest.
It could be said that she had truly hovered on the very edge of death just now. For a few terrifying moments, she had thought she was really dead.
Now that she felt the vitality of life returning, however painfully, she understood with stark clarity how precious it was to simply be alive.
"How was it? It must have been uncomfortable," Xiu asked with a calm, almost detached smile.
Just because the woman didn't dare to retort didn't mean she was submissive. She was just hiding her hatred, burying it deep.
Looking at the silent woman, Xiu was not impatient. He said slowly, "You have to think clearly. Those people you offended before joining Team Rocket… their methods are far more inventive and cruel than mine.
I don't need to say more about what will happen if you fall into their hands, do I?"
"What on earth do you want me to do!" The woman's face changed drastically when she heard this. She seemed to have finally determined that Xiu had indeed seen through her entire charade, her entire past.
She no longer bothered to conceal her emotions. Or perhaps the life-and-death experience just now had made her too weary to engage in these meaningless cover-ups.
At the same time, she also understood the purpose of Xiu's psychological torment.
He must have something he wanted her to do, otherwise, all this elaborate, cruel theatre wouldn't be so troublesome for him.
"What I want is very simple." Xiu couldn't help but smile and nod when he saw that she had finally grasped the situation. "I need you to leave here."
"Is it that simple?" Lan asked, a note of disbelief in her voice.
"Then, go back to Team Rocket," Xiu continued, his tone and rhythm unchanged, delivering the next part slowly, "and be an undercover agent for me."
When the woman heard the second half of the sentence, she looked as if she had expected it. It seemed she also knew her potential role, her value in this new, terrifying game.
"I can't access Team Rocket's top secrets," she stated, a flat assertion.
"Why would I need that?" Xiu chuckled. He used his fingers, imbued with a subtle telekinetic force, to untie the ropes that bound her.
The woman reacted in an instant. As soon as she was free, she adjusted her posture mid-air and landed steadily on her feet. She then rubbed her raw, bloody wrists vigorously.
Her body immediately adopted a defensive, or perhaps resistant, posture. She raised her head slightly and looked at Xiu, her eyes constantly darting around, assessing.
Xiu looked at her wary, calculating eyes and couldn't help but give her a friendly reminder.
"I will only give you one chance to try anything foolish. You can try it now, if you wish." The woman didn't answer, but she didn't make any further aggressive moves either.
The atmosphere remained frozen, taut with unspoken threats and possibilities.