Edmond and I snapped back to reality. Edmond, once again, displayed a nervous demeanor and hastily sought refuge behind me, clutching onto the hem of my clothes, even though he was nearly as tall as Campbell Russell.
We followed closely behind Campbell Russell as he positioned himself by a massive cage, peering inside. He turned to us and whispered, "I'll handle this; you wait here." His gaze was steady and sharp, reminiscent of a young general on the battlefield. His overall leadership aura made me feel a sense of camaraderie, and my heartbeat quickened. This Campbell Russell ignited a fire within me, making my blood boil!
Unable to resist the charm of guys who can fight and endure, especially considering my father's background as a special forces soldier, I immediately nodded in agreement. Campbell Russell left, and as I peeked out, suddenly, a pair of hands pressed against my shoulders, and Edmond leaned in, his upper body weight pressing onto me. I quickly moved away as I didn't like being touched by strangers. Due to my sudden movement, he stumbled slightly, his gaze dropping to my feet.
"Don't touch me," I said, crossing my arms, adopting the tone of a guy uncomfortable with being touched by strangers.
Instead, he took off his shoes and placed them in front of me. "Put these on," Edmond said, smiling slightly, with a glint in his purple eyes.
I examined Edmond shoes; they were the only dirty part of his whole outfit. Without hesitation, I put them on. They were warm but too big, making me feel cumbersome. I took them off and handed them back, saying, "Too big, I might trip."
Edmond held them for a moment, looking around. I also surveyed the people locked in cages nearby, all wearing straw sandals on their feet!
Edmond approached a boy, smiled at him, and pointed to the boy's shoes. "Let's trade," he proposed.
The boy, surprised, immediately took off his straw shoes and joyfully embraced Edmond's shoes. Edmond came back to me, holding the straw shoes. "Put these on; there are many rocks outside."
I felt a twinge of gratitude; Edmond had exchanged his good shoes for a pair of rough and dirty straw shoes for me. Although they were large, they surprisingly felt comfortable.
"What about you?" I looked at his feet, noticing a pair of remarkably thick socks.Edmond glanced at his own feet. "These socks are thick enough to be shoes."
"Thanks," I said, immediately putting on the coarse and dirty straw shoes he had exchanged for me. They were still better than nothing.
"What is your clothing made of? Why didn't it get damaged when it fell into the corrosive liquid?" Suddenly, Edmond grabbed my clothes, carefully inspecting them."Smack!" I directly swatted Edmond hand away. "Don't touch me. Just because you got me a pair of shoes doesn't mean we're friends!" What if he figures out I'm a girl? Even though he's imprisoned like me, one should always be cautious.
Edmond chuckled, lowered his head, appearing timid again but sneaking glances at my school uniform.
This guy is really strange. Now that we're out, instead of rushing to break free, Edmond's more interested in studying the material of my school uniform. Is he bold or just pretending to be foolish?
I glanced at Edmond, tugged at my school uniform, thinking about how durable our uniforms were. In chemistry class, my desk mate once accidentally spilled concentrated sulfuric acid, and I wiped it off with my uniform without any damage.
Turning around, I pressed close to the cage to continue observing Campbell Russell. In just a moment, Campbell Russell had disappeared without a trace. Just as I started to worry, he reappeared by another cage, waving at us to indicate it was safe.
We immediately followed, and the people in the nearby cages cooperated without making a sound. Campbell Russell moved at an incredibly fast pace. Gradually, three thugs appeared ahead, standing together with lewd smiles. Between them, we could see a flickering campfire and disheveled figures.
"P-please... don't... don't..."
"Hahaha—run~~ run~~~"
Those villains were still tormenting that girl! Truly despicable!
They must be stopped!
Honestly, if I were a man, I couldn't bear the sight of that dirty girl... Men's world is beyond my understanding, but with my well-defined figure and a pure face, my mischievous cousin claims that men only need a hole to solve their physiological problems...
Of course, we speak in secret. Even though I blush when hearing such things, I can't resist listening. As I've grown up, teachers explained physiological knowledge in such vague terms, and my parents would never talk about it. It's only my mischievous cousin who enlightens me with all these details she learned in college.
Campbell Russell turned to signal us not to approach. Then, he gracefully walked behind the three onlookers, moving like a night-black panther—swift and light. Suddenly, he reached out, directly grabbing the neck of the front person. His other hand swiftly pulled out a short knife from the thug's side. As he snapped the thug's neck, his left hand plunged the knife into the side of the thug on the left.
"Ah—" The thug screamed in pain, but Campbell Russell had already snatched the gun from the thug on the right, followed by a swift leap backward and then forward, guns blazing!
The entire process was almost in the blink of an eye, and I watched in awe! Campbell Russell wasn't just good; he was incredibly skilled! Fast, accurate, and ruthless! I believe even my father in his younger days couldn't match his skills!Moreover, Campbell actions just now—killing, disarming, and shooting—all seamlessly flowed together without a hint of hesitation! Who is he exactly? His graceful skills made me admire him.
In my eyes, there was only the agile and evasive figure of Campbell Russell, dodging beams of light one after another. Each magical beam grazed past him, unable to harm him at all. Meanwhile, as he leaped and danced, those beams of light rapidly diminished!
"Clap, clap." Suddenly, Campbell Russell tossed two guns to us.
"Defend yourselves!" With only these two words, Campbell charged out again.
I continued standing there in a daze. Edmond walked out from beside me, picked up two guns, and handed one to me.
"Yvette Washington!" He called my name, snapping me back to reality. Outside, beams of light were continuous. The guns weren't firing bullets but blue beams of light, just like laser guns in sci-fi movies.
We peeked out again, and Campbell Russell was amazing! Amidst the dazzling firelight, I could only see him flipping and jumping, continuous beams of light, dual guns firing, one shot, one headshot! His graceful and handsome movements were like a super spy in espionage films!
Suddenly, I saw someone hiding near a cage, planning to ambush him. I immediately picked up the gun and instinctively threw it like a flying knife.
"Thud!" The gun hit the thug's hand, knocking off his weapon. I stood in place, looking at my own hand. Damn! How embarrassing!
Usually, I practice with knives. In my great country, firearm regulations are strict! Unlike the United States, where my dad can get me a gun for practice. That's also one reason why he encourages me to join the military—he misses the feeling of holding a real gun and hopes I can experience it, rather than holding a plastic gun shooting plastic pellets.
"Yvette Washington! Be careful!" Suddenly, Edmond's shout reached me, and Campbell Russell also immediately looked in my direction. In front of me, a fist was coming towards me—it was the thug whose gun I had knocked away. Instinctively, I grabbed his wrist, twisted it, delivered a kick, and directly kicked the thug away. As I was about to chase after him to fight, a beam of blue light pierced through the thug's temple. He stared at me with wide eyes, then fell straight down in front of me.
My heart froze as I stared into his widened, lifeless eyes. He lay there motionless, pupils constricted, a charred hole on his forehead emitting faint black smoke—a true, real dead body!
I suddenly realized, it's a real dead person!
Even though my dad usually trains me with live-action CS methods, teaching me to shoot to kill the enemy, it was all pretend! The uncles I "killed" were still squatting together smoking! But now, a person had truly died in front of me. Even if these people deserved to die, the impact on me was still immense! I couldn't bear it for a moment.
Instantly, a wave of nausea hit my stomach. I ran to the side and started dry heaving. "Ugh!"