In her state of euphoria, Sun Wenli suddenly froze. Her expression stiffened as she quickly put her phone away and grabbed the gun, diving into her hiding spot.
"She must've heard the Snakehead couple approaching."
"This is terrifying. If it were me, I would've already broken down."
"Don't say 'what if it were me.' If you don't want to die, you'd endure it just like she is."
The audience in the livestream could almost feel Sun Wenli's palpable fear. Her heavy breathing echoed clearly, each gasp striking a chord in the hearts of the viewers, making them share her dread. This wasn't just a horror movie, where the fear was contained within fiction—Sun Wenli was facing real terror, the life-or-death danger of being trafficked and hunted.
Meanwhile, in Yunnan Province, the local police had begun responding to the many calls from concerned viewers. Initially dismissing it as a prank, the consistent, nearly identical reports from different callers convinced them to take it seriously. All the information pointed back to one source: a livestream.
Sun Wenli was on her own atop the remote Thunder God Mountain, where the paths were long and winding. She could only rely on herself for survival.
As she huddled in the shadows, the footsteps she'd heard earlier grew closer, accompanied by voices.
"What's going on with Xu Chao? Nine times out of ten, his phone doesn't connect."
"We messed up this time. If we let this woman escape, the police will definitely investigate. How much will we lose having to flee abroad?"
"Calm down. For all we know, Xu Chao might have already taken control of her."
The voices came closer. Soon, they would see Xu Chao's body, and when they did, they'd search the area for her. She couldn't just sit and wait to be found. She had to strike first.
"Quick! Xu Chao, come here! Damn it, someone cracked his skull open!"
"That bitch must've done it! I can't believe Xu Chao went down this fast. He was boasting about surviving that knife attack last time, nearly got his artery cut. Now his head's smashed to pieces."
"Tsk, if it weren't for her being such a valuable catch, worth a million or more on the market, I might've considered having her join us."
"Xu Chao had a gun, right? Get it back. We still need to round up the pigs."
"Got it."
The man placed his own gun aside and bent down to retrieve the gun from Xu Chao's waist. Meanwhile, the woman kept her back turned toward Sun Wenli, standing guard.
Now! Now's the time!
Despite having already killed someone, Sun Wenli's hands trembled as she held the gun. Switching to a two-handed grip, she struggled to suppress her fear. Slowly, she pushed the muzzle out from behind the leaves.
With a loud "bang," the Snakehead wife's body crumpled to the ground. The Snakehead reacted quickly, reaching for the gun next to him, but Sun Wenli, fueled by adrenaline, aimed at him, firing two more shots. One of them hit the gun, knocking it out of his reach.
She fired two more shots. One bullet struck the Snakehead in the knee, rendering him unable to stand. He collapsed to the ground, crawling toward where his gun had disappeared.
In a dramatic reversal of roles, Sun Wenli, who was once the prey, now became the predator with a gun in hand. As the Snakehead man scrambled to find the gun, Sun Wenli kicked it away before he could reach it.
With another pull of the trigger, a gunshot rang out, hitting the Snakehead's right hand.
"Ah!" The man's scream echoed through the previously quiet forest, sending resting birds fleeing from the trees in a flurry. The sudden movement and noise brought the dark forest to life, like a black storm sweeping through the night.
"Little sis—ah!" The Snakehead's plea was abruptly silenced. Sun Wenli, with her last bullet, shot him right between the eyes, killing him instantly. His eyes remained wide open in disbelief as he died, a look of unwillingness etched on his face.
Exhausted, Sun Wenli collapsed to the ground, breathing heavily. She looked at the three corpses scattered around her, her body trembling more violently than before. Though the threat was gone, the fear of having killed still haunted her.
Why hadn't she let the Snakehead plead for his life before killing him? The answer was in her own self-interest. From the legal education videos she had watched, she knew that if the attacker was incapacitated and you still retaliated, it could be considered excessive self-defense and lead to a harsher punishment. She couldn't afford that. People like him deserved no mercy.
Once her breath steadied and she stopped shaking, she pulled out her phone again.
Waving at the camera with a shaky hand, her pale face, sweaty hair, and the blood dripping from it told the audience just how brutal the battle had been. "Streamer, I'm still alive."
"Sister, you're the best!"
"You're amazing, sis!"
"Lili is so cute! I'm your number one fan from now on!"
Zhuang Zhou Meng Die, the streamer guiding her, breathed a sigh of relief and offered sincere congratulations. "Congrats. Now get down the mountain quickly; the police are already patrolling the base. I'll guide you to them."
Sun Wenli nodded, her voice filled with gratitude. "Thank you, streamer."
Following the directions provided by Zhuang Zhou Meng Die, Sun Wenli started walking, which soon turned into running, and then sprinting as she saw the bright lights of the police search team below. Overwhelmed with joy, she shouted and jumped, tears streaming down her face.
"I'm here! I'm here!" she yelled.
"I hear her! Over there!" One of the officers below signaled in her direction, waving.
When they finally met, Sun Wenli's legs gave way, and she collapsed to the ground, tears mixing with the blood on her body. Wearing only her jacket, she sobbed uncontrollably. "I didn't want to kill them. I had no choice—they were going to sell me! If I didn't kill them, I wouldn't have made it home!"
"Ms. Sun, please calm down. Can you tell us where the bodies are?" one officer asked gently.
"Ms. Sun, this is part of the investigation, and we can't share details with the public. Could you end the livestream, please?" another officer added.
Sun Wenli brought the livestream back into view. Seeing Zhuang Zhou Meng Die, the masked streamer sitting calmly at their desk, filled her with a sense of peace. "Thank you, streamer. The police are handling things now, so I have to sign off. Thank you, thank you!" She ended the stream with a flourish, gifting the streamer ten luxury kaleidoscopes before logging out.
Zhuang Zhou Meng Die couldn't help but marvel at Sun Wenli's strength. In one night, she had endured betrayal, attempted trafficking, escape, and confrontation, ultimately killing three people in self-defense. The fact that she could stay this composed after all of that was nothing short of extraordinary.