Chapter Four: Sever! The Flashing Sword! (Part One)

The sudden turn of events left Lin Ye completely unprepared. The man in the black trench coat collapsed stiffly at her feet, face down in the dirt. The air was scented with the warmth of spring and carried a swirl of dust.

“Hey! Are you all right?” Lin Ye cried out in alarm, rushing to Xie Liu’s side and crouching down. “Hey, hey! Don’t you die on me! Hey!” she called anxiously, reaching out to poke Xie Liu’s face.

“Don’t touch him!” a voice suddenly commanded from behind. Startled like a frightened rabbit, Lin Ye jumped back and looked toward the source of the voice, only to see a figure emerging slowly from the darkness.

“Wow! What a beauty!” Lin Ye screamed inwardly, instantly forgetting about the gravely wounded Xie Liu. Her eyes sparkled with infatuation as she gazed at the woman stepping out from the shadows—a peerless beauty.

Slender and well-formed, her short hair did nothing to hide her exquisite features. Between her brows was a trace of heroic spirit rarely seen in women, and her entire being radiated a sharp, commanding presence. Truly, she was a woman who could make anyone’s heart race.

Now that she had emerged from the darkness, Lin Ye could see her clearly: she was dressed in the kind of battle gear one would only see in cosplay—tight combat attire, an array of complete armor, and, most strikingly, a black cape that fluttered behind her with each step, lending her an even more dashing air. She was the perfect blend of beauty and handsomeness—a woman who could captivate anyone, regardless of gender.

But her eyes were cold and dangerous, black pupils turning as she looked at Xie Liu, who was sprawled on the ground. Lin Ye’s heart skipped a beat, and she quietly moved to shield Xie Liu.

“She’s looking at me! She’s looking at me!” Lin Ye screamed internally, entirely love-struck and completely forgetting that Xie Liu was barely clinging to life.

“Lin Ye, please step aside. If you delay any longer, Xie Liu will die,” the stunning woman spoke, her voice low and androgynous, soothing to the ear.

“Ah, she’s talking to me…” Lin Ye drifted into a state of self-admiration, but quickly snapped out of it. “Wait, how do you know my name? And your voice… it sounds so familiar. I feel like I’ve heard it somewhere before.”

The peerless beauty cast Lin Ye a sidelong glance and said coolly, “I’m Lin Yang.”

“What?!” Lin Ye was taken aback, her expression as if she’d been struck on the head by a ten-kilogram iron weight falling from ten meters above. She stared, mouth agape, stunned. “Lin… Lin Yang? One of the Five Good-for-Nothings? You! You’re a man!”

Lin Yang looked at Lin Ye, who was now frozen in shock, as if she were a fool, but didn’t bother to reply. Instead, he crouched in front of Xie Liu. “Hey, you deadbeat, still alive?”

“Barely. If I’m not dead, I’ve lost half my life. Can I apply for a raise this time?” Xie Liu, sprawled on the ground, slowly moved his hand to pull out a lollipop, which he put in his mouth. “A man can die, but he must have his lollipop.” With that, he collapsed face down again, still sucking his candy.

“Honestly, what am I going to do with you? This time you disobeyed orders and blatantly abandoned your mission—I doubt you’ll get paid at all,” Lin Yang sighed, rubbing his forehead.

“How can this be!” Xie Liu suddenly sat up, a look of grievance on his face. “I put my life on the line! How can you dock my pay? Heaven and earth, how can you treat me this way?”

“Hey—” Lin Yang sighed helplessly, “are you dying or not?”

“Not until I collect my wages!” Xie Liu declared solemnly, clenching his fist as he stood. But after half a second, he collapsed again like a puddle of mud.

Lin Yang shook his head, exasperated. “Shot, stabbed, poisoned—and you’re still this lively. We’ll talk about your pay later. Right now, we need to get you to a hospital.” With that, Lin Yang hefted Xie Liu onto his shoulder, still looking resigned. “Really, when will you ever be reliable?”

He then turned to look at Lin Ye and Jiang Ting, who was slumped in a corner. Raising his left hand, Lin Yang pressed two fingers to his earlobe and murmured, “Our identities have been exposed. What should we do? Should we eliminate the witnesses?”

“What? Eliminate the witnesses? No way!” Lin Ye felt as if she’d been struck by lightning, frozen where she stood.

“It’s probably not necessary to go that far, but we can’t just let her go,” came a cold voice from the darkness. Lin Yang nodded and continued, “The other one is already unconscious, so there shouldn’t be any issue. She doesn’t know what’s happened. Only this one in front of me could be a problem.”

“If only I could faint too,” Lin Ye thought desperately, her mind a tangled mess. Just then, the cold voice spoke again from the shadows. “Flash Sword, the organization is already aware of your situation and has issued orders: Take the girl with you. If she resists or refuses, eliminate her.”

“Understood,” Lin Yang replied, then looked at Lin Ye, whose eyelids fluttered with fear. She quickly stammered, “I’ll go with you!”

……

In a remote little clinic, a female doctor in a white coat was drifting into a doze. The dim light lent the place a strange, eerie hush. The clock ticked away quietly. Suddenly, the doctor’s eyes snapped open and she stretched languidly, her perfect figure accentuated in the movement.

“Hm? Do I have a guest tonight? Who could it be? Probably that Flash Sword again—he spends his entire weekly salary here,” she murmured to herself as she got up to open the door. As soon as she opened it, she saw Lin Yang with Xie Liu slung over his back.

“It really is you, Lin Yang,” the doctor said lazily. “So, where are you hurt this time? I’ll make sure to give you the best care, as always.”

“Please, don’t say strange things, Senior Tongchuan,” Lin Yang replied, looking deeply uncomfortable.

“Oh, don’t be so formal—just call me Reiko,” she cooed. The sultry Japanese doctor was clearly trying to charm Lin Yang.

“As you stand here making pointless small talk, this guy is dying,” Lin Yang pointed to Xie Liu over his shoulder. Instantly, Reiko’s expression turned serious. “Lay him down and let me see.”

Lin Yang nodded and carried Xie Liu inside. Trailing behind, Lin Ye panted for breath, her face pale as she carried the unconscious Jiang Ting on her back.

The clinic was dimly lit. Reiko opened a door leading to a rear room. “Come in, and you, little one, don’t snoop around. Just lay her on the bed,” she instructed.

Lin Ye nodded, placing Jiang Ting on a hospital bed in the corner. Then Reiko gestured at her, “You too, come over here.”

Lin Ye wore a disgruntled expression, but dared not disobey. She was genuinely afraid Lin Yang might kill her to cover their tracks.

They passed through a dark corridor until they reached a heavy iron door. Reiko punched in a code on the keypad, and with a metallic click, the door swung open.

“Put him there,” Reiko indicated the surgical table at the center. Lin Yang complied, placing the unconscious Xie Liu down.

Curiosity got the better of Lin Ye as she looked around the sealed room full of unfamiliar equipment. She edged closer to one machine and read the label: “Fiber Recombinator, Model I-24, manufactured at Fantasy City, China Branch.” The words meant nothing to her.

She glanced at the operating table—and her face instantly turned beet red.

“Ahhh! What are you doing!” Lin Ye shrieked, pointing at Reiko. The doctor turned, a scalpel in her mouth, looking bemused.

“What did you say?” Reiko mumbled, her speech muffled by the scalpel. At that moment, she was tearing open Xie Liu’s shirt, revealing his well-toned body.

“You! You! You know he… Ah! No! Anyway… Ahhh… Pervert! You’re a pervert!” Lin Ye rambled incoherently.

“Is she always like this?” Reiko removed the scalpel from her mouth and asked Lin Yang.

Lin Yang scratched his chin, murmuring, “No idea. We’re not that close.”

“Five good-for-nothings…” Lin Ye fumed inwardly. At school, those five always ignored her.

“Oh,” Reiko replied, then looked down at Xie Liu. “He really is a mutant—his regenerative abilities far exceed those of normal people. The wounds are almost healed.” She spoke gravely, “But the bullet is still lodged in his chest, and the real trouble is the poison in his system. Ordinary people would die from even the smallest dose. If he weren’t a mutant, he’d be dead already. Even so, I can’t guarantee I can save him.”

“Go ahead, Senior Tongchuan. Anyway… if you fail, at least I’m not the one dying,” Lin Yang replied calmly, almost indifferent. Lin Ye nearly fainted at his words—what kind of teammate talks like that?

“How dare you underestimate me?” Reiko shot back, swinging her scalpel.

“Ah!” Lin Ye screamed and fainted dead away.

……

“Ugh…” Lin Ye crouched on the floor, face pale as a sheet, retching violently. Lin Yang leaned against the wall, watching her. “It’s your first time, but you’re taking it pretty hard.”

“Anyone would, okay!” Lin Ye protested tearfully. She’d seen Reiko raise the scalpel and cut into Xie Liu’s chest. Though she’d fainted before seeing anything, her imagination tormented her. Now, she still hadn’t recovered from the shock.

“You’re right. The first time I saw blood, I wasn’t much better,” Lin Yang said, a distant look in his eyes. Lin Ye stopped gagging and gazed at him. In that moment, she realized: they must have stories of their own.

“All done,” Reiko announced as the iron door swung open and she wheeled Xie Liu out. “Move him to the inpatient ward behind the clinic. You know the way—you’re a regular there.”

Lin Yang’s mouth twitched, but he nodded. Reiko continued, “The poison in him has been suppressed and the wounds are mostly healed. As long as he rests tonight, he’ll be fully recovered by tomorrow.”

“Got it,” Lin Yang replied, then hoisted Xie Liu and said to Lin Ye, “Let’s go.”

……

Time: 10:17 p.m.

In the depths of the darkness, someone slowly raised his head, blood-red eyes piercing the abyss.

“Death’s Gaze, is it?” The man in the darkness licked his lips and clicked his tongue. “Tonight, you can go to hell.”