Cayden withdrew his dagger and raised his twisted leg to kick the college girl a few meters away.
The college girl was kicked in the jaw and collapsed to the ground.
"No!!!" The curly haired woman came running to her rescue. But Cayden activated the shield and stopped her from taking any steps longer.
The college lady was sprawled on the ground with bleeding leg, the curly haired woman could not get past the shield.
Even with a twisted leg and swollen broken arm, Cayden was still able to stand on his ground and keep these two at bay.
The other challengers were surprised to see Cayden's strength. He's currently injured. But he was able to keep the two women in a disadvantage situation. Pete was also taken by surprise. He looked at his best friend with eyes full of disbelief.
Is this still the same nerdy frail bestfriend who needs his protection?
But on the next second, Cayden suddenly pulled the curly haired woman to his side and placed the shield in front of them. Sharp explosion of bullets erupted. It directly hit against the steel material shield.
"M - Mei…" The curly haired woman, who was the mother of Mei, could not react in time. She tried to extract herself from the shield's area of protection and as a result, another bullet almost plunge a hole directly from her forehead.
Cayden was able to pull her away in time. He pulled on her elbow to force her stand behind him. She struggled against his grip, wanting to escape and go to her daughter's side.
The girl named Mei picked up her sword from the ground while shooting bullets against Cayden and her mother.
Mei's mother could not stand being separated from her daughter. She directly smacked Cayden's nape, thinking this will loosen his grip on her elbow. But she was proven wrong. Cayden only glance at her slightly before looking away.
His eyes became cold as he spoke.
"Your daughter has the reward."
Mei's mother was dumbfounded. "What? What reward?"
"The crystal eye. Look closely at her eye. Did you see the bright red slit eyes instead of her pupil?"
When Cayden pointed it out, Mei's mother was stunned. Using a small gap, she peeks behind the shield and sure enough, the eyes of her daughter gradually change. Along with the changes of her eye color, is the distortion of her face.
The veins of Mei's neck and face started to appear, making Mei's beautiful feature disappear, replaced by the ugly protruding veins. She's also frowning and writhing slightly. Her arms and fingers were shaking when she pointed her gun at them before another bullet erupted.
"Wh - What's going on with my daughter?!" Mei's mother shriek.
Just.. Just a few seconds ago, she stood side by side with her daughter and confirm she was still okay. At the start of the 'battle mode' Mei was still able to say, "Sorry boy. Me and my mother just want to survive."
Mei's mother was able to understand her daughter's intention and cooperate with her in attacking this boy.
So what's going on now?! Why is she standing by his side and not at her daughter's side?
Remembering the look in her daughter's eyes, Elma swallowed a lump in her throat. No! She has to do something - anything!
Despair prompt Elma to run from the shield's protection and rush straight to her daughter.
"Wait!" Even though Cayden wanted to run after her, Cayden could not run. His broken leg won't let him reach her in time.
Mei, seeing her mother approaching, tried to put her hand with the gun down. Her sword was also on her side she picked up from the ground earlier. However, no matter how much she tried to, she couldn't!
It seems something is controlling her body. Not letting her do what she wants.
This started because of what happened a few seconds ago!
She was sparring with the boy, her sword against his dagger. She was on the advantage. She can kill him. Just a few steps away… when suddenly, in the middle of the fight, something caught her attention.
It was only a split second, but she saw a bright purple crystal with a familiar snake slit eyes floating in front of her. But it immediately disappeared.
This happened only in a split second, as a result, she was overtaken by the boy. The boy used his body weight on the dagger he was holding to tackle her sword and bring it down towards her legs!
Before she knew it she's already screaming in pain.
A clear voice rang in her head. "Poor you, even though you are a champion in your regional fencing competition, you still weren't able to defeat a boy a few years younger?"
She gritted her teeth.
"How about I help you? If you accept the ability of the crystal eye, you don't have to worry about that brat. You can survive this game and reap the rewards you always wish!" The voice clearly belong to a man. Very unfamiliar and suspicious. But Mei doesn't know why, the voice's words sounds very convincing.
She can feel herself being convinced by it.
She stared at her bleeding legs and bitterness erupted her heart. She will definitely get back to this boy. No matter what, she won't let herself be crippled. He should be the one crippled!
"Do you accept? Don't worry, once you do, you were able to get the rewards promised to you in this reward square. You and only you were able to see the exit of this monopoly game. Just say the word 'accept'."
Mei immediately opened her mouth. "Accept."
Cayden heard her. He raised his vigilance and dare not underestimated her. To figure what thing she 'accepted', Cayden created some distance between them first.
That's why he kicked her away.
When Mei looked up and meet Cayden's eyes, Cayden immediately understood.
Some outside force dared to mess up with the game and give her a buff.