Chapter 6: Crossbow Terror and the Blood Claw's First Defeat

The bald strongman's "Blood Claw" raider's vicious grin still echoed over the hollow, the rough yet lethal double-barreled shotgun's black muzzle already steadily pointed at Lin Mo!

The breath of death rushed at him! Lin Mo's blood seemed to freeze in an instant, his mind a blank. He was just an overworked office worker who had died suddenly, never even killed a chicken; facing this direct threat of a firearm, fear engulfed him like a massive wave. He could even smell the acrid scent of cheap gunpowder mixed with machine oil!

At the instant the bald man's finger was about to pull the trigger—

"Whoosh—!"

A streak of ghostly blue light tore through the air, carrying a piercing shriek, and with absolute precision pinned itself into the bald man's gun-wielding right wrist!

"Thwack!" The arrowhead sank deep into flesh and bone!

"Argh—!" The bald man let out a pig-slaughtering howl, the shotgun flew from his grip and crashed heavily onto the ground! He clutched his wrist, blood instantly spraying from between his fingers, his face written full of disbelief, agony, and rage.

Fast! Too fast! Sister Ai Li's movements were like a phantom; from crouching to aiming and firing, all in one fluid motion, without the slightest hesitation!

"Stinking whore! Looking to die!" A thug beside him, carrying a spiked club and bearing a knife scar on his face, roared in fury, swinging the heavy weapon like a raging bull as he charged at Sister Ai Li! His heavy footsteps kicked clouds of dust into the air.

Sister Ai Li's eyes were icy, without a trace of panic. She didn't even retreat, simply sliding her body sideways at an impossible angle, her movements light as if weightless, just barely dodging the lethal strike of the whistling spiked club. At the same time, her left hand somehow produced a gleaming, poison-tipped dagger, and like a venomous snake flicking its tongue, she precisely and viciously sliced across the Achilles tendon exposed on the scarred-face thug's charging ankle!

"Riiip!"

"Ah—!" The scarred-face man screamed, his charging momentum cut short instantly, his whole body pitching forward like a stake with its legs chopped off, rolling on the ground clutching his ankle as blood sprayed wildly.

The third raider was a scrawny blond, gripping a rusted cleaver. He had intended to charge along with the others, but Sister Ai Li's vicious and precise counterattack scared him out of his wits! He saw Sister Ai Li's emotionless, icy eyes turn toward him, and the ghostly blue glow on the arm of her hand crossbow light up once more!

"Momma!" The blond shrieked. How could he dare advance? He turned and tried to run!

"Stop him!" Sister Ai Li's hoarse voice rang out, carrying an unquestionable command.

Lin Mo was stunned by this rapid-fire chain of clashes, only snapping out of his daze when Sister Ai Li's shout reached him! He was closest to the blond trying to escape! The instinct to survive and the anger of being driven to the brink instantly overwhelmed his fear!

"Don't even think about running!" Lin Mo roared. He didn't know where the strength came from, but dragging his injured leg he lunged forward fiercely! He had no technique, just brute force, throwing himself from behind to lock the blond's waist in a death grip, and the two of them rolled onto the ground together!

"Get off me! Trash!" The blond, shocked and furious, swung the cleaver's pommel viciously at Lin Mo's head!

Lin Mo felt his skull go "thud," stars bursting before his eyes, the sharp pain nearly making him let go. But he gritted his teeth, only one thought in his mind: he couldn't let him escape and report back! He held onto the blond with all his might, opened his mouth, and bit viciously into the wrist of the hand holding the cleaver!

"Ow—!" The blond cried out in pain, the cleaver slipping from his grip. The two wrestled and rolled on the ground like wild beasts, dust flying. Lin Mo lacked strength and had no skill; he was soon pinned beneath the blond, whose savage face and foul breath were inches away, his filth-caked hands locked around Lin Mo's throat!

The sensation of choking hit instantly! Lin Mo's vision went black as he clawed uselessly at the other's arms.

"Whoosh!" Another light sound.

A crossbow bolt precisely shot through the back of the blond's right hand—the one choking Lin Mo's neck—pinning him hard to the ground!

"Ah—!" The blond let out a piercing scream.

Lin Mo seized the chance to shove him off violently, clutching his own throat as he coughed and gasped violently, his throat burning as if about to snap.

Sister Ai Li's figure appeared beside the two who had been wrestling, her crossbow pointed at the three raiders groaning and rolling on the ground. The bald man clutching his wrist, the scarred-face man clutching his ankle, the blond's hand pinned to the ground—the three had completely lost their ability to fight, reduced to painful moans and vicious curses.

"Kill them! Stinking whore! Blood Claw won't let you get away with this!" The bald man endured the agony and howled, his eyes venomous.

Sister Ai Li walked up to him, looking down from above, her icy gaze like that of someone regarding three corpses. She said nothing, simply slowly raising the dagger in her hand, its blade tip glinting with lethal cold light in the dim light.

Lin Mo's heart rose to his throat. He knew what Sister Ai Li intended to do. In the wasteland, mercy to enemies is cruelty to oneself. But watching three lives end right before his eyes... his stomach churned.

However, Sister Ai Li's dagger ultimately did not fall. She merely used the blade tip to pry open the bald man's ragged leather armor on his chest, revealing a small pouch sewn to the inside of his clothing with crude stitches. From it she took out a few items: several pieces of something dark and greasy, wrapped in oil paper, looking like jerky; a small bag of murky, sand-flecked granules; and several gleaming yellow metal bullet casings!

She tossed the jerky and granules to Lin Mo, who had just gotten up, while she herself carefully examined the bullet casings, her brow furrowing almost imperceptibly.

"Search them. Take anything useful." Sister Ai Li coldly ordered Lin Mo, while at the same time pulling out the crossbow bolt pinning the blond's hand, bringing up a spray of blood and drawing another scream of agony from the blond.

Lin Mo endured his discomfort and, imitating Sister Ai Li, frisked the three incapacitated raiders. Apart from a few pieces of black bread hard as stone and some filthy cloth strips, there was nothing of value. But at the scarred-face man's waist, he found a small pouch wrapped in beast hide, inside which were over a dozen screws and nuts of varying sizes, glinting with a dull metallic sheen! In the wasteland, these were absolutely precious industrial parts!

"Good haul." Sister Ai Li looked at what Lin Mo had found, especially the screws and nuts, and a light seemed to flash in her eyes, but it quickly returned to cold. She walked up to the groaning bald man, crouched down, and pressed the cold blade of her dagger against his cheek.

"Tell me, where is 'Lame Wolf'?" Her voice was pressed very low, carrying a bone-deep chill.

The bald man's pupils contracted sharply, the venomous expression on his face instantly replaced by immense terror! He clenched his teeth hard, his body trembling violently from fear, yet he didn't dare utter a single word.

"Won't talk?" Sister Ai Li's blade pressed slightly harder, a thin line of blood trickling down the bald man's cheek. "Or would you like to experience being gnawed alive by those mutated hyenas? They won't mind that your meat is radioactive."

"N-no... don't!" The bald man broke down, snot and tears streaming down his face. "I'll talk! I'll talk! Boss Lame Wolf... he... he's at 'Vulture Bluff' to the west! We have a temporary camp there! Don't kill me! Please!"

Having obtained the information she wanted, a cold glint flashed in Sister Ai Li's eyes. She did not kill the bald man, but instead violently smashed the pommel of her dagger into his temple! The bald man let out a muffled groan and passed out, his eyes rolling back. She repeated the process, efficiently knocking out the other two thugs as well.

"Why... not kill them?" Lin Mo looked at the three unconscious raiders on the ground, his voice still trembling slightly. He had no doubt about Sister Ai Li's decisive ruthlessness.

"Dead men don't report back, but they leave traces and scent, attracting more troublesome things." Sister Ai Li stood up, flicking the blood droplets from her dagger, her movements chillingly practiced. "Knock them out, tie them up, throw them far away. Let the wasteland deal with them." Her words were cold and pragmatic.

Lin Mo fell silent. So this was the survival wisdom of the wasteland? Cruel, but effective.

The two moved quickly, using the cloth strips they had found and the raiders' own belts to bind the three tightly into rice dumplings. Then, working together, they dragged these heavy "bundles" to a deep pit at the edge of the hollow, far from "Hope Outpost," and with great effort pushed them down. A few dull thuds and muffled groans rose from the bottom of the pit.

After all this, the sky had completely darkened. Wasteland nights were bitterly cold and fraught with danger.

Returning to the small shack, Lin Mo looked at "Hope Outpost," a lonely island of ruins in the darkness, and then at Sister Ai Li beside him, silently wiping down her crossbow. That brief and bloody battle had given him a deeper understanding of this mysterious girl's combat ability, and a clearer awareness of the environment they were in.

The Blood Claw raiders, like a swarm of bone-burrowing maggots. A temporary camp lay at "Vulture Bluff" to the west. And that "Lame Wolf" who had terrified the bald man into collapse... was clearly an even more fearsome figure.

Sister Ai Li and Blood Claw—it was far more than a simple territorial dispute. That bone-deep hatred, that icy killing intent... what exactly was she carrying on her shoulders?

"Sister Ai Li..." Lin Mo hesitated to speak, "that 'Lame Wolf'..."

Sister Ai Li's motion of wiping the crossbow bolt paused. She didn't turn her head, just gazed toward the west, swallowed by darkness. The hand gripping the crossbow, her knuckles white from the force. In the darkness, Lin Mo seemed to hear an extremely faint, suppressed to the extreme, teeth-gritting clatter.

She did not answer. But the cold killing intent pervading the air, almost solidifying into substance, told Lin Mo the answer more clearly than any words.

The night wind blew through the ruins, making a whimpering sound, like the weeping of departed souls. The first night at Hope Outpost descended amid bloody victory and deeper shadows.