The sky finally darkened. The guard first patrolled the area before coming to drag Chen Rou away.
The rope on her wrists could be loosened with a single pull, and she was prepared to deal with this guy. Just as she was about to act, however, a bald man wearing sunglasses pushed open the door and entered the yard, asking, "Ah Kun, what are you doing?"
The guard quickly stood at attention. "Good evening, Brother Hu," he replied, then asked, "Is the Boss finished yet?"
The bald man curled his lips. "Nie Zhao is a tough nut to crack; he won't spill anything. The Boss is personally interrogating him now."
He leaned in close to the guard and whispered, "The Boss wants to use these two women to blackmail Nie Zhao, but I’m going to convince him to wait until tomorrow. I’ll page you later; take Miss Chen Rou to my room when I do. Get it?"
The guard understood, of course. If she were truly taken to blackmail Nie Zhao, the Boss would likely kill her on the spot. If that happened, no one would get to enjoy her, so Brother Hu wanted to find a chance to have his fun first.
And wouldn't the guard be able to take his own turn as well?
The bald man, still busy, turned and left. The guard bowed and scraped as he saw him out. "Thanks for your hard work, Brother Hu. Take care."
Once he returned, he pulled the dagger from his boot and gestured with it. "I go first, then you others. If you dare to make a sound, I will..."
Chen Rou watched the dagger silently, a cold smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. She had already decided how he would die, so she couldn't be bothered to engage with him. She merely curled up toward Nie Han, comforting the terrified young girl with her eyes, signaling her not to be afraid.
Several hours passed. Finally, the guard's pager buzzed. He immediately reached for his keys to unlock her chains.
But at that moment, two men climbed over the wall and jumped into the yard, rushing over in a frenzy. When they reached the light and were clearly visible, Nie Han gasped. It was the One-eyed Dragon and the Beard—the very men who had beaten her during the day. They didn't just love to rape; they loved to torture. The injuries covering her body were their handiwork.
If Chen Rou fell into their hands, she would be beaten and raped; she would be ruined beyond recognition. At this thought, Nie Han felt as if she were about to collapse.
"We heard everything Brother Hu said just now," the One-eyed Dragon declared. "If we're going to play, we all play together. Otherwise, we’re reporting this to the Boss, and none of us get to play at all."
Since he had put it that way, the guard had no choice but to say, "Try to be gentle, and be quick about it."
The three men scrambled to unlock the chains. The One-eyed Dragon moved with lightning speed, grabbing Chen Rou and pulling her away.
The guard raised his gun to block them. "I’m the one who started this! I go first!"
The One-eyed Dragon pointed at Nie Han. "There’s another one right there. You can have that one."
The Beard shoved the guard. "She’s even younger. Go play with her by yourself."
The guard clicked his gun into position and said, "We’re all playing with Miss Chen Rou. We’ll take turns. I go first, you all follow."
Nie Han didn't know what was happening. Though she felt a flicker of relief that she wouldn't be violated just yet, the sight of the three men fighting over Chen Rou like starving wolves terrified her. She stared fixedly at Chen Rou, her eyes asking: *What should we do now?*
An eighteen-year-old girl who had never experienced such things would naturally panic and feel lost. But Chen Rou was a battle-hardened special police officer. She was not afraid—they were just three men; she could handle them.
What she feared most was Nie Han screaming in terror and ruining her escape plan. Keeping her gaze locked on Nie Han, she pursed her lips to signal for silence, then shook her head firmly, instructing her to stay quiet and not draw any attention. Just then, she felt herself lifted off the ground, carried horizontally by the guard.
This area appeared to be the residential sector for high-ranking officers, featuring a luxurious two-story building and several smaller, low-roofed asbestos-tiled bungalows. The guard carried her into one of these bungalows, closing the door just before the One-eyed Dragon and the Beard could enter. He set her on the bed, hesitated for a moment, then opened a crack in the door to toss out both his AK and his handgun before locking the door from the inside.
The Beard and the One-eyed Dragon pounded on the door in frustration. "Damn it, hurry up!"
The guard scrambled to undo his pants, cursing as he did so. "Stop rushing me! Are you in such a hurry to meet your maker?"
He saw Chen Rou roll over as if to tumble off the bed and, thinking she had slipped, reached out to steady her instinctively. Seeing her hand reach toward him, he felt a flicker of confusion—he hadn't removed her restraints, so how could she move her hands?
In that moment of hesitation, the woman’s right hand slid across his chest while her left hand braced against the floor for leverage. Her right hand then executed a swift, V-shaped slash. He felt a chill at his throat just as she lunged at him.
The guard finally saw clearly: the woman held a dagger—the very one he had kept in his boot. It was the only weapon he hadn't thrown out.
The moment he felt the chill at his neck, the blade had swept left and right, severing his windpipe and carotid artery. The woman's skin was fair, as white as expensive porcelain, but her eyes were cold, as frigid as a sharpened blade.
She sliced his neck with the speed of lightning. Her other hand immediately clamped over his mouth, stifling his cries and pleas for help, turning them into a gurgling flow of blood from his throat.
The guard’s eyes widened as he watched the woman raise the dagger and plunge it directly into his heart.