"Tsk tsk, you really are quite bold, but... this girl is truly extraordinarily unlucky."
...
Mu Yao, having narrowly escaped catastrophe, didn't even want to move a single finger at this moment.
She slumped in the corner like a pile of soft mud, her back against the cold wall, all the strength in her body seemingly drained by her recent escape.
The rain was still falling, and the cold wind blew in, making her shiver.
"Trapped alone in the mystic realm, and now cold and tired, can I really wait for the captain and the others to rescue me..."
After grumbling for a while, Mu Yao quickly forced herself to accept reality.
"No! I am a senior. If I just inexplicably fall here like this, wouldn't I be laughed at to death by the Junior Student and Brother Hao in the future!"
While cheering herself on, Mu Yao forced her exhausted body to stand up.
The exhausted little girl didn't notice the figure approaching in the darkness at all, and was still muttering weakly, "If I had known... I would have exercised together with the Junior Student."
Mu Yao had just barely propped up her heavy body and hadn't even had time to steady herself when her heart suddenly tightened without warning.
Before she could react, a cold sensation fiercely pierced through her chest from behind. Immediately afterward, a warm stream of blood carrying a fishy, sweet scent spattered out from her chest.
"Cough cough..."
A suppressed groan spilled from Mu Yao's throat, and she instinctively lowered her head, her pupils abruptly shrinking to the size of needle tips.
At her chest, a bloody, thumb-sized hole had opened menacingly, and warm blood meandered down along the wound, blooming a dazzling red on the ground.
She wanted to speak, wanted to call for help, but all that escaped her throat were faint "he he" breathing sounds.
As if her strength had been completely drained, her body swayed, and finally she fell forward powerlessly, her cheek pressing against the cold ground.
After Mu Yao fell, for a moment, the air was left with only the rushing sound of the rain.
"Hahaha, it really was effortless to come by."
Right at this moment, a sinister figure slowly walked out of the darkness.
The person who came was none other than Blood Butcher.
At this moment, where his body had been shattered not long ago, only a few ferocious and twisted scars remained. His flesh had miraculously healed, leaving almost no trace of his previous severe injuries.
His blood-red pupils stared greedily at Mu Yao's corpse, the corners of his mouth curling into a cruel smile.
"I didn't expect that accidentally entering here would allow me to run into you, girl."
Looking at Mu Yao, who was motionless and still continuously bleeding before him, Blood Butcher felt anger rising from the bottom of his heart.
Thinking of the humiliation of being wounded by Yunli not long ago and his experience of fleeing in disarray, his gaze instantly turned fierce.
"The injuries I suffered because of that Yunli, you shall repay them!" Blood Butcher said fiercely, his tone filled with malice. "It's just a pity I can't see Vain's expression when he learns of your death. Otherwise, it would have vented my anger!"
Just as Blood Butcher was about to take action against Mu Yao's corpse, the previously disappeared footsteps unexpectedly came from afar once again, and they were denser than before.
The interest on his face instantly vanished, his brows knitting into a knot.
"Blood fiend? What a buzzkill."
However, Blood Butcher, who possessed divine blood, was not worried at all that these blood corpses would actively attack him.
The suppression from their status was enough to make these low-level monsters frightened out of their wits and dare not cross the line even a single step.
"Forget it. I'll first use this girl to whet my appetite, fill my stomach, and then slowly deal with these scum!"
However, when Blood Butcher looked at the corpse on the ground again, he abruptly discovered that the corpse was actually gone.
His expression froze. Then he looked at the ground, discovering that a string of bloodstains was continuously extending into the curtain of rain.
Looking at that string of bloodstains, he suddenly smiled excitedly again.
"You've got quite a stubborn life, but this is just right. The game of hunting is most suitable for passing the time."
Blood Butcher licked the corner of his mouth, revealing a wicked and unrestrained smile.
He slowly stepped out, chasing after the bloodstains on the ground, every step taken with unhurried composure, as if he were not hunting down a dying prey, but taking part in an interesting game.
In the distance.
Within the curtain of rain, a slender figure stumbled forward, every step feeling as though she were walking on cotton, her legs crumbling beneath her.
"Cough cough..."
Mu Yao coughed up a mouthful of fresh blood, her face pale as paper, her legs growing weak in waves and nearly giving out.
Although that strike had narrowly avoided piercing her heart, it had nevertheless inflicted severe trauma on her body.
For Mu Yao, whose physical fitness was close to that of an ordinary person, this was already a fatal blow, and at this moment, she was already at the end of her tether.
But her will to survive supported her, refusing to let her stop for even a split second.
As she ran desperately, one hand tightly covered the bloody hole in her chest, trying to prevent further blood loss while continuously striving to activate her healing Special Ability.
A soft green light surged from her palm, enveloping the ferocious wound, and the bloody wound slowly began to recover.
But even so, her condition showed no signs of improvement whatsoever.
The wound was still faintly oozing blood, and the cold rainwater mixed with blood trickled down her lapels, every drop feeling like it carried ice shards, stinging the wound with a burning pain.
Pain, heart-piercing agony, increasingly heavy breathing, and a body that was gradually losing strength. Every step she took was extremely forced.
'So tired... My vision is gradually... Am I going to die... Clearly I haven't yet...'
Feeling her legs gradually refusing to obey and her eyelids growing heavier and heavier, Mu Yao gritted her teeth, striving to maintain consciousness.
That being said, she was actually very clear that she was already doomed.
That person just now had definitely followed her. Even though she had blended into the rain, trying to let the rainwater wash away the bloodstains, the possibility of escape remained negligible.
Furthermore, even if the wound on her chest could be treated, the blood she had already lost and the continuous hypothermia were enough to take her life.
After a moment.
Sure enough, her footsteps became more and more unsteady, her breathing more and more rapid, and her vision began to darken in waves.
"Cannot stop... cannot... ugh ah..."
An incoherent murmur escaped Mu Yao's mouth. Her body could no longer support her, and she heavily fell into the cold accumulated water.
Rainwater struck her face, yet she couldn't feel even a shred of coolness. The wound on her chest was no longer piercingly painful like before, leaving only numbness.
She propped herself up on the ground with both arms, her fingertips turning white from exertion. But just as she managed to raise her body a little, as if all her strength had been drained away, she heavily collapsed back down once more.
Right at this time, Blood Butcher unhurriedly walked out of the shadows, every step treading through the accumulated water and making a dull sound.
"Keep running. Is this you already done for?" Blood Butcher's voice was bone-chillingly cold, carrying unmasked mockery. "I haven't played enough yet. How can you collapse?"
Hearing the words of the grim reaper, Mu Yao's eyes beneath the gloom gradually dimmed.
Obviously, she had already guessed her own ending.
'So un... willing... As expected, still... unable to escape the death flag...'
Looking at Mu Yao's graceful figure gradually enveloped by despair, Blood Butcher's mouth curled into an evil and sinister arc, his gaze filled with banter and cruelty.
He unhurriedly walked up to Mu Yao and squatted down.
"Don't worry, you won't be lonely. The people from the Ability Bureau are already waiting for you down below."
Mu Yao, who had originally slumped on the ground with her last breath, abruptly shrank her pupils to the size of needle tips and widened her eyes fiercely.
"You... what did you say..."
Looking at the prey's emotional agitation and approaching collapse, Blood Butcher's inner self received immense satisfaction.
But this was not enough. He wanted to make the other party completely plunge into despair, letting her die in endless agony.
"Right, almost forgot. You seem to have a little boyfriend, don't you?"
"You..."
"Hmm, Vain? Is that the name?"
"We... have no relation at all... don't drag innocent people into this..."
Hearing the other party's weak voice, Blood Butcher burst out laughing heartily.
Mu Yao, slumped and limp on the ground, let the cold raindrops smash against her face, sliding down mixed with tears.
Blood Butcher's laughter pierced into her ears like needles, plunging her into unprecedented despair.
Right at this moment, Blood Butcher suddenly stopped laughing.
He leaned forward slightly, those blood-red pupils meeting Mu Yao's distracted gaze.
Mu Yao's vision was blurred by the rainwater. Looking at the eerie smile on Blood Butcher's face, an inexplicable unease quietly crawled up her heart like vines.
The next moment, Blood Butcher slowly spoke, every single word smashing onto her heart like a heavy hammer.
"Why would I need to hunt you to the bitter end?"
"After all, Vain is my accomplice, and also one of the executors of this plan."