The scene fell into silence for a moment.
They sensed an extremely dangerous aura emanating from the silver-haired little girl before them.
Her Tang sword pointed at them as if it was already pressed against their throats.
Even the Snapback Man was intimidated by Ning Yu's imposing presence.
Instead of anger, he displayed an appreciative look and said:
"You're quite impressive, having such skill and temperament at such a young age."
"Why don't we negotiate?"
Hearing his words, Ning Yu showed a puzzled expression, but quickly understood:
After killing two of their men, he still thought they could negotiate?
This was probably just a ploy to make them lower their guard.
However, since stalling for time could benefit her as well, she replied:
"How do you propose we negotiate?"
Seeing that Ning Yu took the bait, the Snapback Man raised his head with a faint smile. This time, Ning Yu finally got a clear view of his face.
Under the snapback was a middle-aged man with squinty eyes, slightly overweight, with a seemingly kind face that actually revealed cunning and slyness.
He continued:
"You're very capable, and I admire that."
"These two guys are dead, so be it, but I can't let you leave."
"I need you to join us."
"I'm the boss of Deleya Security Company in City A, and these are all my bodyguards."
Deleya was apparently a very famous security company in City A, rumored to have connections in both legal and illegal circles, renowned and feared by all.
"You see, the world has already descended into chaos. It's the perfect time to do great things. Isn't there something you've always wanted but never obtained?"
"If we work together, food, money, power, wom- uh, whatever you want, you can have it!"
He was about to say "women" but quickly realized both individuals before him were female and hastily corrected himself.
"We have immense power. We can take whatever we want from others! They're all our resources, and we can trample them underfoot!"
Ning Yu didn't listen to his boring persuasion, focusing instead on finding a way out of this situation.
She suddenly remembered that when she killed The Glutton, the Crimson War Blade had leveled up and unlocked an active skill.
So she discreetly opened the details of the Crimson War Blade:
[Crimson War Blade: Intermediate]
[Experience: 81/300]
[Enchanted (Battle Will): Grants the user +1 Stamina and +1 Spirit when equipped.]
[Unique Passive: Blood's Ancient Wish. After dealing any damage, the user can absorb the victim's blood to strengthen themselves. Note: This enhancement will continuously affect sanity until madness.]
[Upgrade Condition: Gain experience by triggering Blood's Ancient Wish.]
[Active Skill: Dark Side of the Moon. Instantly maximizes the enhancement effect of Blood's Ancient Wish, granting the user +5 Stamina and +5 Spirit, -5 Charm for 30 minutes. Simultaneously amplifies the user's negative emotions excessively, potentially resulting in unpredictable sanity collapse.]
[Description: An invincible famous blade, crafted by a renowned swordsmith. The apprentice who wielded this blade killed the swordsmith with his own hands.]
Seeing the effect of the new active skill, Dark Side of the Moon, her eyes lit up!
+5 Stamina and +5 Spirit, how incredibly powerful.
Her current base Stamina was 7, increased to 8 with the Battle Will enchantment.
If she activated this skill, her Stamina would skyrocket to 13, probably surpassing even her previous life's Stamina.
Although she didn't know what -5 Charm meant, it didn't matter if she became temporarily ugly as long as she could become stronger for a while.
However, such powerful effects likely came with a hefty price.
Ning Yu didn't know what amplifying negative emotions and sanity collapse would entail, but she had no other choice at the moment.
Looking at the Snapback Man who was still running his mouth, Ning Yu calmly analyzed:
She was severely injured now, and without using this skill, two or three people at most could wear her out.
Let alone the fact that there were now over 10 people.
"So, what do you think?"
The Snapback Man smiled sinisterly, his eyes narrowed to slits.
Seeing that Ning Yu seemed to be deep in thought, he discreetly made a hand gesture behind his back.
A burly man next to him immediately understood and passed on the signal.
At the edge, someone who hadn't shown themselves yet circled around to a spot outside Ning Yu and Shen Yiyue's line of sight.
He wore a helmet and carried a transparent shield, clearly prepared against crossbow bolts.
From the beginning, this whole speech was just a ruse. The Snapback Man had no intention of letting them go.
Now, while they were supposedly considering his proposal, he immediately ordered a sneak attack.
It would also serve to test if there was really someone hidden with a sniper crossbow.
Seeing that the hidden sentinel was in position, the Snapback Man spoke again to draw attention:
"It's about time you gave me an answer!"
As he spoke, the hidden man suddenly sprang into action, lunging at Ning Yu with a military dagger!
Unfortunately for them, Ning Yu had noticed their little maneuver from the start. She never believed the Snapback Man's nonsense for a second.
"Watch out!" Shen Yiyue cried out in alarm.
Amid Shen Yiyue's startled cry, Ning Yu activated [Dark Side of the Moon].
In that instant, she felt more powerful and strong than ever before, her vision and sense of smell becoming incredibly acute.
But at the same time, all sorts of crazy thoughts and ideas, accompanied by an infinite stream of negative emotions – rage, greed, hatred, arrogance... – flooded into her mind.
Ning Yu felt as if a cosmic explosion was occurring inside her head.
The man who had sprung up to ambush her was already grinning triumphantly, thinking he was about to succeed: These two girls were too green after all!
But he immediately came face to face with Ning Yu, whose expression had suddenly turned evil and twisted.
Blood-red completely filled her eyes, far more terrifying than before – those were no longer human eyes.
She opened her mouth, revealing a demonic, exaggerated smile, her snow-white teeth exposed by the grin.
The man, still in mid-air, felt his whole body tremble. It was as if he was looking at a rakshasa from hell.
This... where was the cute little silver-haired girl from before?!
In this bullet-time moment, the man's military dagger was still thrusting towards Ning Yu, but she leisurely flipped her blade.
A flash of sword light connected in the air!
She slashed countless times in an instant, too fast for the naked eye to follow!
The man's shield, helmet, and the military dagger in his hand were all cut into multiple pieces!
Before he even hit the ground, his attack had completely crumbled. Ning Yu thrust her blade straight into his abdomen once more.
All of this happened in the blink of an eye.
No one present could clearly see Ning Yu's movements, but they all witnessed her sudden change in demeanor.
It was so bizarre, as if she had become a completely different person.
The ambusher had completely lost his ability to resist, falling to his knees as he hit the ground.
Ning Yu viciously kicked him again, pulling the Crimson Blade from his abdomen, then began swinging it once more.
She let out a maniacal laugh, so piercing that it chilled everyone to the bone:
"Ahahahahahahahaha!!!!!!!"
The Crimson Blade in her hand danced wildly, slashing furiously at the fallen man. His blood sprayed everywhere like fireworks!
Each cut was non-fatal. The man's body was torn open, not a single patch of intact skin remained, turning him into a bloody mess.
But he wasn't dead yet.
This was nothing short of lingchi torture.
She laughed hysterically in the bloody rain, as if this was the most amusing thing in the world.
The Snapback Man and his bodyguards were no strangers to violence, but they had never witnessed such a scene.
Their faces were filled with terror, a hint of regret rising in their hearts: They should have just let these two girls leave.
Shen Yiyue was equally dumbfounded, completely unable to understand how Ning Yu had suddenly turned so dark.
This was not the cute silver-haired little girl she knew at all.
She couldn't help but think of a certain quote:
There's a limit to human ability, so...