Slowly ascending the stairs, the man tried to escape several times.
But whenever he quickened his pace, he found the gun barrel firmly locked onto him from behind, forcing him to slow down again.
What kind of monster had he encountered?
How could a little girl be so proficient with a gun?
When they nearly reached the third floor, the man finally stopped, turning back to give Ning Yu an awkward smile:
"It's here."
Ning Yu glanced at the environment of this floor - it appeared to be a training institution.
There were some training classrooms with doors wide open, and some teachers' offices, but everything inside was in disarray with various materials scattered across the floor.
There wasn't much blood on the ground; there probably weren't many people here when the catastrophe occurred.
The third floor had an additional iron door that was locked, and the three of them were now standing outside it.
"Open the door."
Ning Yu pointed her gun at the man's back, gesturing for him to open it.
The man hesitated for a moment before taking out his key and inserting it into the lock.
Just as the iron door opened, the man's eyes suddenly widened.
A long blade had already pierced through the back of his neck into his brain, then twisted.
The man slumped against the iron door, slowly sliding down, leaving a long trail of blood on the door.
Behind his fallen corpse emerged a young woman with cold eyes holding the blade, along with a silver-haired little girl who was holding her hand and smiling sweetly.
Everything happened in complete silence.
"Wait here for me, don't move."
Ning Yu quietly instructed Shen Yiyue, then silently walked inside.
Shen Yiyue obediently nodded and began looking around at her surroundings.
Though she felt that Ning Yu's previous words somehow took advantage of her.
Ning Yu moved forward slowly, concealing herself behind various obstacles while listening for any movement on the floor.
"Big ace!"
"Damn!"
"Come on, pay up, pay up."
Voices of two men came from an office, apparently playing poker.
Ning Yu quietly approached and peeked in with one eye to observe the situation inside.
Two men were sitting on the floor playing cards, with a pile of cookies and candies beside them, presumably their betting stakes.
The room was filled with smoke as both men were smoking - these must be the two accomplices the previous man had mentioned before his death.
One of the men was counting his food with a frustrated expression, having apparently just lost and calculating how much he needed to give up.
"Hey, Little Liu's been gone for so long, what's he doing?"
The man opposite him asked.
"Who knows? He goes out every day and never brings anything back."
The man who lost his food responded impatiently, not caring about the question.
"Here, here, count it yourself."
He grudgingly handed over his lost bet, then started grumbling:
"That bastard might as well be dead, then all his food would be ours."
Having received his winnings, the man opposite suddenly tilted his head and looked sharply toward the door.
He felt as if something had been watching them.
However, the doorway was empty, with nothing there.
Ning Yu had already returned to Shen Yiyue's side, having assessed the combat capability of these two men.
"How is it, Little Yu?"
Shen Yiyue asked curiously.
"There are two men inside, with only knives and steel pipes in the room."
Ning Yu explained methodically.
It was summer, and both men were wearing short sleeves and shorts, with nowhere to hide guns.
"Go kill them."
Ning Yu gave the order expressionlessly, her tone as casual as if discussing what to have for dinner.
Shen Yiyue nodded without hesitation, picked up the long blade and started walking inside.
Having worked with Ning Yu for so long, she was no longer the weak girl who would feel sick after killing.
Ning Yu followed behind her, ready to watch her performance.
The two arrived outside the room, where the men inside seemed to have started a new round.
"Hey, maybe we should check on him. If he's really dead out there, we could get his gun back."
"If you want to go, then go. I can't be bothered to look."
The two men seemed to have some disagreement.
"I've got a big one again!"
A sound of cards being thrown on the floor came from inside - someone had shown their hand.
"Damn it, such bad luck. I'm done playing!"
Following that came the sound of footsteps standing up.
"I'm going to blow off some steam with that woman."
"You're going again? Don't mess her up too badly. She can't escape anyway, let's take it slow, brother."
Hearing someone coming out, Ning Yu had already hidden behind a classroom door, leaving just a crack to observe.
Meanwhile, Shen Yiyue was preparing to strike from the other side of the office doorway.
Soon enough, a man walked out, and after just two steps, he felt a cold wind at his back.
Just as he was about to turn around, his mouth was covered, and a long blade pierced through his chest, blood splattering everywhere.
Shen Yiyue had given him a backstab.
He didn't make a sound as his body went limp forward, red blood beginning to pool on the floor.
Ning Yu looked at all the blood on the ground with regret.
If the Crimson War Blade hadn't broken, it could have had its fill now.
But since it broke, it had become even pickier, only accepting her blood.
Shen Yiyue supported the man's corpse, slowly lowering him to the ground and pulling the blade from his body.
"Number Three, wait for me, I'm coming too! Hehe, let's sandwich her!"
The man inside seemed to have finished counting his newly won spoils and was also planning to come out.
Before he reached the door, he saw blood had already flowed to the entrance.
What's going on?!
He was startled and quickly grabbed the steel pipe from the ground.
"Who's there?!"
Since they'd been discovered anyway, Shen Yiyue dropped all pretense and showed herself.
She stood at the doorway with her long blade.
"Would you prefer to come here and die, or should I go there to send you on your way?"
She looked at the man with disdain, seemingly disgusted by their earlier conversation.
The remaining man was startled when he saw the beautiful young woman at the door.
Then he noticed the blood covering her blade, and realized that "Number Three" he'd mentioned had probably already met his end.
He spat on the ground and charged forward with his steel pipe:
"You bitch, you're dead!"
Shen Yiyue watched him calmly, waiting until he got close before knocking away his steel pipe with one stroke.
The man's hand was also cut, and he retreated while clutching it, his face full of surprise:
He hadn't even seen her movement?!
"Wait... I..."
Before he could finish speaking, Shen Yiyue stepped forward with her blade, a cold flash crossed the room, and his throat was slit.
The man fell forward to his knees, then collapsed, his eyes still full of disbelief.
A young woman had cut down both of them as easily as swatting flies.
In his final moments, he saw a beautiful silver-haired little girl slowly walk in from outside the door.
Then the long blade pierced through his head, finally ending his life.
"You did well."
Ning Yu gave a calm compliment, patting Shen Yiyue.
Shen Yiyue flicked the blood off her blade and smiled at Ning Yu:
"Hehe, that was easy~ Give me a harder task next time!"
From their earlier conversation, it seemed there was someone else here, a woman.
Probably someone they were holding captive.
Ning Yu went forward to collect the food the man had just won, then instructed Shen Yiyue to begin searching this floor.
Besides food and water, there were many cigarettes, but they weren't useful.
Although cigarettes might have significant currency value, compared to food, she preferred to take food directly right now.
After searching thoroughly, the two came to a room in the furthest corner.
From inside came the "mmph mmph" sounds of a woman, presumably gagged to prevent her from making noise.
Ning Yu stepped forward and slowly pushed open the door.