Chapter 26: One Against Many

In the evening, rain began to patter down outside.

Ruan Ming was sitting by the stove, boiling water to bathe Little Yu. Holding Little Calico, Little Yu pointed at the water in the pot, indicating she wanted to bathe with the kitten.

Ruan Ming shook her head, indicating it wasn’t possible. “Little Calico needs a bath too, but you have to bathe separately.”

She noticed that Little Calico seemed to particularly listen to Little Yu. For instance, when Little Yu pointed at the firewood in the pile, the little fellow would meow and go fetch some. Ruan Ming sometimes forbade it from climbing on the table, but it repeatedly ignored her instruction. Yet when Little Yu forbade it from getting on the table, it obediently listened.

Ruan Ming tried calling Little Calico, pointing at the slippers on the shoe rack by the door. “Go get those blue slippers.”

Little Calico only lazily glanced at her, staring with those big blue eyes and meowing, indicating it had no idea what she was saying.

Ruan Ming had to say to Little Yu: “Want to try?”

Hearing this, Little Yu looked at Little Calico and pointed at the shoe rack.

Miraculously, Little Calico immediately got up, trotted over obligingly, and brought the slippers back, placing them at Little Yu’s feet.

Like a little dog.

Little Yu picked up the shoes and handed them to Ruan Ming.

Ruan Ming was secretly astonished.

She could roughly guess this frail little girl’s ability. If nothing unexpected, it should be Beast Taming.

She thought of how many people out there were desperately trying to capture aggressive mutated animals—lions, tigers, leopards—attempting to tame and use them for certain unspeakable purposes.

If Little Yu truly possessed a Beast Taming Ability and those people found out, this little girl’s future would likely be anything but peaceful.

So she said to Little Yu: “Don’t tell anyone about your ability to command small animals, and don’t show it in front of outsiders, understand? There’s a group of people out there who specifically capture children like you, who can communicate with animals.”

Little Yu had already been warned by her mother and older brother at home. Hearing Ruan Ming’s words, she nodded hurriedly, pointing at Little Calico, then at her, gesturing with her fingers to indicate she would only do this in front of her.

Ruan Ming rubbed her little head with satisfaction.

Then, she fetched water to bathe the two little ones.

While bathing, she found herself distracted, thinking of Ye Fengwan. She wondered if Ye Fengwan had noticed her sudden coldness since last night.

She probably wouldn’t.

Ruan Ming sighed softly.

She finished with Little Yu first, finding a clean T-shirt of her own to put on her. The long hem just served as a dress.

Then she bathed Little Calico. Little Calico was afraid of water and refused to get in no matter what. But one look from Little Yu, and it dared not struggle anymore, obediently sitting in the basin and letting Ruan Ming scrub it.

After washing the kitten, Ruan Ming crouched on the floor, resignedly drying the little creature’s fur.

In the midst of this, her ears sharply picked up the sound of rapid footsteps approaching from afar, heading toward Territory 32’s direction.

She immediately stopped what she was doing, holding her breath and focusing.

It was definitely not just one person. It sounded like a group of over ten approaching.

Along with the footsteps came the grating sound of steel weapons scraping against the ground and stones.

Ruan Ming’s heart clenched fiercely!

Without a moment’s hesitation, she scooped up Little Yu under one arm and snatched Little Calico with the other, rushing up to the second floor at top speed. She settled the child and the cat in the room.

“Stay here with Little Calico. Don’t come out until Sister comes up to get you, understand?”

Little Yu nodded nervously, clutching Little Calico tightly.

Ruan Ming yanked the door shut, dialed the patrol team’s emergency number with one hand, and bolted down the stairs.

When she reached the door, she grabbed the machete hanging on the wall as she passed.

The moment she eased the courtyard gate open, a figure burst through.

Even wearing a protective suit, Ruan Ming could tell it was a woman.

Without her mask on at home, Ruan Ming’s fair and beautiful face appeared before the stranger just like that.

Seeing it was actually her, a flash of surprise crossed the woman’s eyes, but she quickly recovered and asked, “Someone’s chasing me. Can I hide here for a while?”

Just as she spoke, over a dozen black-clothed pursuers closed in on the small courtyard.

There was no escape.

Ruan Ming, watching the scene before her, alarms were already blaring in her head. With her current strength, she couldn’t possibly fight off these people.

Furthermore, there was a child at home.

She didn’t speak.

The woman looked at her with dark eyes through her mask, then suddenly raised a hand and removed her helmet.

Hair cascading down to her chest, a pair of black, bright eyes, a delicate nose, and red lips—combined, they formed an incomparably beautiful face.

This face had appeared countless times in Ruan Ming’s dreams.

“Back in bed that day, you weren’t like this,” the woman said.

The impact of that statement could not be overstated.

The past surged back like a tide. Ruan Ming’s heart pounded like a war drum. She didn’t know how to respond, but her body had already reacted before her brain could.

She stepped sideways, pushing the woman behind her, and through gritted teeth, whispered fiercely, “Can’t beat them. If it comes to it, we’ll just die together.”

The machete was now held horizontally across her chest.

She stared at the line of black-clothed men in front of her, breathing rapidly, heart racing like a drum, yet still forcing herself to issue a steady warning: “Private territory! Trespassers, bear the consequences yourselves!”

The leader of the black-clothed men burst into loud laughter upon hearing this. He pointed at the two men in front and said, “Big words for such a small girl. Play with her a bit.”

With a casual wave of his hand, the two black shadows instantly transformed into two blasts of wind, lunging straight at Ruan Ming.

Ruan Ming took a deep breath. Every muscle in her body tensed. Gripping her machete, she charged forward to meet them.

The two rushed at her. One drew a short blade, cold light gleaming, aimed directly at Ruan Ming’s vitals. The other tried to circle around to flank her.

The blade of the man coming head-on was like lightning, carrying a bone-chilling cold, piercing straight for her heart. She instinctively twisted sideways, her body contorting into an impossible angle, dodging the lethal strike by a hair’s breadth.

At the same time, the other man approached from the side, trying to exploit the instant she dodged to attack.

Ruan Ming had no time to think. The large machete in her hand instantly became a heavy shield. She spun fiercely, using the thick spine of the blade as a weapon, striking hard at the flanking attacker’s wrist.

Crack! The opponent’s weapon clattered to the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust. Accompanied by a wail of agony, one arm was disabled; the man was in so much pain he could barely stand.

“Strength-type Esper—” someone exclaimed, “At least B-rank!”

Having succeeded with one strike, Ruan Ming quickly regulated her breathing. Her gaze, sharp as a torch, locked onto the single remaining enemy before her.

Unbeknownst to her, the woman she had shielded behind her was biting her lip tightly, watching her with extreme worry, while frantically pressing her wristband.

By all logic, reinforcements should have arrived long ago.

The leader hadn’t expected to run into such a tough opponent here. With a wave of his hand, three more men charged forward.

One against four.

Ruan Ming suddenly laughed lightly.

She probably never imagined there’d be a day when no one would underestimate her fighting strength.

“Come on, then!”

Her laughter carried a hint of wildness and provocation.

She wasn’t wearing a protective suit today, nor a mask. Her delicate, beautiful face was exposed for all to see. With equally outstanding looks, compared to the woman behind her, she wasn’t the slightest bit inferior.

And Ye Fengwan, shielded behind her, had dark, unfathomable eyes.

In her mind, Ruan Ming’s primary impression remained from that one night three years ago—soft, powerless, pleading, like a delicate, fragile porcelain doll.

But over the past two months, through their interactions across radio waves, she’d reassembled into a new image—a simple, hardworking girl full of hope and love for life.

Now, she was revealing a side Ye Fengwan had never seen before: tenacious and fearlessly unafraid of death.

In Ye Fengwan’s black eyes, Ruan Ming’s silhouette seemed to burn like a flame.

At this moment, where was the initial tension Ruan Ming had shown? Her hands gripped the machete firmly, feet planted solidly on the ground, as if fused with the very earth.

The three new men in black quickly dispersed, surrounding her from three different directions.

One of them was the first to brandish his blade and charge.

Ruan Ming’s figure flickered, easily evading the blow. Simultaneously, her machete swung out at an impossible angle, slamming heavily into another man’s shoulder. The man grunted, his body staggering, clearly having taken significant impact.

A nearby attacker, seeing his comrade fail, flashed fury in his eyes. He crouched and leaped, an iron rod tracing silver arcs through the air as he smashed it down toward Ruan Ming with great force.

This time, Ruan Ming didn’t dodge. Her gaze locked onto the attacker, and her machete swept out at astonishing speed.

Still lacking any formal technique, her enormous strength made each strike heavy and powerful. The strongest offensive became utterly frail before her blade.

The attacker’s iron rod collided with the machete. The impact numbed his arm, forcing him to stumble back five or six steps.

Ruan Ming gave them no time to recover. Spotting an opening in the frontal attacker’s stance, she leaped up. Her machete traced a brilliant arc through the air, slashing down directly at his head.

This was her first proactive strike, and it came with ferocious intensity!

The man’s face paled in shock. He hurriedly raised his blade to block, but it was too late.

Clang! a deafening crash. Machete and short blade collided violently mid-air, sparks flying everywhere. The man was sent reeling backward by the immense force. The weapon in his hand snapped in two, and a powerful blast of air swept past, leaving fine bloody lines on his face. He collapsed to the ground with a thunderous boom.

Ruan Ming withdrew her blade and stood tall. Her clothes were torn, but her eyes shone even brighter. She scanned her surroundings. The attackers who had been poised to rush forward had all halted, looking at her with fear in their eyes.

At that very moment, the leader in black finally moved. His right hand reached swiftly for his waist.

“Watch out—”

Ye Fengwan, who had been closely monitoring the field’s every movement, saw this scene. Her heart nearly leaped out of her throat. She threw herself toward Ruan Ming without a second’s hesitation.

Ruan Ming, too, now saw the leader’s movement. In a split second, she recognized the impending danger.

But it was already too late to dodge.

With the short, sharp crack of a gunshot, Ruan Ming’s eyes widened.

The anticipated pain never came. Instead, she saw the leader clutching his chest, blood gushing, as he collapsed to the ground.

The body of the woman behind her was warm and soft, trembling uncontrollably.

Ruan Ming’s body instantly went rigid.

“Are you hurt?” she asked urgently.

Ye Fengwan shook her head at her.

At the same moment, several dark figures emerged from the shadows, appearing behind the black-clothed men.

Ruan Ming turned to look. The arrivals were familiar faces—it was Territory 33’s Lord, Huang Yu, holding a modified firearm, smoke still rising from its muzzle.

Behind her stood two fully armed companions, clearly prepared well in advance.

Simultaneously, the constricting hold behind her finally relaxed.

Ruan Ming let out a breath of relief and quickly called out, “Sister Yu.”

Shangguan Yu’s eyes swept past Ye Fengwan behind her as she said, “Don’t panic. I’ve brought people to help. Are you alright?”

Ruan Ming shook her head: “I’m mostly okay. I’ve already called the patrol team.”

One of the black-clothed men nearby spat viciously on the ground and said venomously, “No one’s coming to save you tonight! Just wait to die!”

Shangguan Yu stepped forward, and with a sweep of her arm, yanked him over.

She laughed coldly: “Why don’t you look and see how many of your men are still standing?”

The man turned his head, and his face filled with shock. Before he could even react, something suddenly coiled around his neck from somewhere—a rubber-like hand, tightening loop by loop.

He was scared out of his wits. But before he could make a sound, his Adam’s apple was crushed. His eyes rolled back, and he collapsed straight down.