Bai Mo stopped dead in his tracks, and Ye Ci stopped as well.
They stood their ground, silently observing the mob of people that has surrounded them.
"It seems that we're in trouble." a smile formed on Bai Mo's lips despite his cold expression. He looked at Ye Ci, trying his best to appear calm, hoping that he could calm her nerves. Many would mistake Ye Ci as a tough girl due to her exploits in the game. However, there was something Bai Mo would never forget.
Ye Ci was a little girl. In game and in real life.
If Ye Ci could be said to be tough as nails in the game, she was just a normal girl in real life.
In a situation that was full of danger with unknown circumstances, Bai Mo's first thought was to create a chance for Ye Ci to escape, "I'll distract them, I want you to seize the opportunity and escape."
Ye Ci was standing beside Bai Mo and staring at the youngsters advancing upon them, as if she did not even hear his words. Her mind wandered back to the distant past that was her previous life. At that time, she had incurred the wrath of a powerful individual, who investigated her real life identity. She ran into the same situation on her way home one night. How did I survive through that back then?
She took in a deep breath, trying her hardest to remember. However, no matter how hard she tried, Ye Ci could not remember what transpired that night. The only thing she knew was that she was trashed within an inch of her life, and was sent to the hospital by a passerby. To think about it, the incident must be the cause of her ruthlessness in game.
Since then, Ye Ci deeply believed that if she did not crush her enemies thoroughly, they would rise up again and cause trouble for her. Because of that, she was crowned as the most cold-blooded top-tier player in Fate.
But… What about now?
Ye Ci had no time for such thoughts, as the youngsters were closing in on her and Bai Mo.
"Little Ci." Bai Mo nudged Ye Ci when he received no response from her, trying to gain her attention. The events that happened next came as a shock to Bai Mo.
No sooner said than done.
The moment Bai Mo gave Ye Ci a nudge, the youngster who was walking at the front swung a baseball bat at Ye Ci's face.
"Hehe… This lass is scared shitless…" said the youngster as he took his swing. However, the baseball bat did not hit its mark, while the youngster felt a sudden impact on his neck before he could finish his sentence. The youngster's mind was blank as he flew backwards as a result of the force.
Bai Mo had already extended his arm in front of Ye Ci as an attempt to protect her and extended his arm to grab hold of Ye Ci. He wanted to pull her away and run to safety. However, Bai Mo caught nothing but air. He could not believe his eyes. He could not believe the events that just happened in front of him. Ye Ci, who was originally beside him dashed forward when he attempted to shield her from the blow.
Her movements were agile, but it was still not the source of Bai Mo's astonishment. What happened next was something that Bai Mo would never expect. Ye Ci lifted her leg, and landed a solid kick on the youngster's throat.
Ye Ci executed her kick in a very smoothly. Judging from her stance and the force of her kick, it was apparent that she had some experience with mixed martial arts. The youngster who was still talking aloud moments ago landed on the ground, with his eyes rolling into their sockets. The baseball bat on his hands fell onto ground with a loud "clunk!".
Everything happened so fast that no one was able to react to it yet. Bai Mo was stunned when the youngster fell onto the ground. The rest of the youngsters were dumbfounded as well. The only person who kept her cool was Ye Ci.
Ye Ci retracted her legs and immediately picked up the baseball bet. She then tugged at Bai Mo's sleeves and said in a low voice, "What are you doing? Run!"
Bai Mo was completely in shock. He did not know how to react to the situation unfolding before him. He would not be so surprised if it happened in the game. Ye Ci was a strong Huntress who was very good in PVE and PVP. However, this happened in real life. Why does it feel like Ye Ci was using a cheat engine in real life? She was able to knock out a young man who was nearly twice her size! How did she do that?
Bai Mo's mind was completely blank. "How did you know how to fight? Since when have you trained in mixed martial arts?"
It was a question that Ye Ci had no answer to. The Ye Ci as this time was not trained in any form of martial arts. Even if she was strong in the game, she was just a normal little girl in real life. However, after being hospitalized in her last life, Ye Ci has learned mixed martial arts for several years so that she could be tough in real life as well.
Of course, it all happened in her last life, and had nothing to do with her current life. Everything happened so fast that Ye Ci simply reacted out of sheer instincts.
The throat, which is at a person's neck, was one of the spots where athletes were prohibited to attack in tournaments. That was one of the weak spots of the human body. A miscalculation of force could easily result in death.
It was something that Ye Ci's coach has tried to instill in her mind in her last life. However, Ye Ci preferred to take her opponent out with one blow in actual combat. She preferred to strike her opponents at their weak spot, and a strike to the neck was often unexpected and hard to guard against. That was why it was one of Ye Ci's favorite spots.
Because of that, even if Ye Ci was never involved in a fight in her current life, her training in her last life provided her with the reflexes she needed to react. That was why she aimed at the youngster's throat with her kick.
"What do you mean I've trained in mixed martial arts? I learnt it from watching movies," said Ye Ci, "and I practiced some moves in front of the TV…"
"By the way, that guy was hit in the neck right? Will he die?" Bai Mo was reminded of an even more important issue.
"Nah, he won't. I did not put much force into the kick." Ye Ci was quite unsure as well. Although her current self lacked the strength to fight, her kick did pack some force. She herself unsure of what would happen to the youngster's throat when it was hit by her kick.
"We won't be able to get away! There's just too many of them!" noting that they were about to be surrounded, Bai Mo took the baseball bat away from Ye Ci, "I've learned some martial arts, I'll be able to take care of them. You go on ahead!"
"It's oka-" Ye Ci was confident of her abilities to take the thugs on, and rejected Bai Mo's proposal.
Before she could finish her sentence, she was pushed away by Bai Mo, "Run! Run or you'll die!"
Ye Ci staggered backwards with the force of Bai Mo's push. As she turned around, Bai Mo was already surrounded by the youngsters. He flailed the baseball bat around wildly in an attempt to keep the thugs away. Ye Ci was ready to rejoin the fray, but Bai Mo anticipated her intentions, "Ye Ci! Go! Get help or I'm dead!" shouted Bai Mo.
Despite her reluctance, Ye Ci decided against such a rash action. She immediately turned around and fled. After noticing that Ye Ci was running away, her pursuers turned focused their attention on Bai Mo instead. This gave Ye Ci the precious time to call the police with her phone as she ran. After successfully reporting the location of the incident to the police, Ye Ci headed back to the scene. The police would usually take 5 minutes to respond to such a call, and in that short time, Bai Mo might not be able to live to see the next day.
Even with Ye Ci's presence, the odds were stacked greatly against them. However, it was still better than facing the entire group of opponents alone. Ye Ci immediately ran back to the scene, picking up a wooden stick on her way there.
As she approached the scene of the fight, Ye Ci could see the crowd, but Bai Mo was nowhere in sight, fueling her anxiety. She rushed at the crowd, swinging wildly at anybody within reach. Her blows were painful, but not lethal.
The youngster who was hit by Ye Ci turned around and glared at her with gritted teeth.
"You f*cking bitch! We gave you the chance to run away, but you came back instead! I'll beat the living shit out of you!"
Ye Ci wasted no time in responding to his words. She began swinging wildly at some of the youths who had focused their attention on her. As she was occupied with dodging blows while swinging the stick around at her opponents, Ye Ci did not have the chance to look for Bai Mo. "Bai Mo! Bai Mo! Are you still there?" she could only shout at his general direction in desperation.
At that time, Bai Mo was already heavily injured. He stood his ground, hoping to buy time for Ye Ci, hoping that she would be able to get away. He did not expect to hear Ye Ci's voice calling out to him. He turned around reflexively, and was shocked to find Ye Ci fighting off some of the youngsters with a wooden stick. "What are you doing? Didn't I tell you to run aw-" shouted Bai Mo.
As he was distracted, Bai Mo felt a sharp pain on his head. His vision immediately blurred as the every ounce of energy left his body, and his consciousness began to fade… Before his consciousness was swallowed whole by darkness, Bai Mo could hear the mournful shriek of Ye Ci, "BAI MO!"
Ye Ci immediately turned around at Bai Mo's direction when she heard his voice, just in time to catch a youngster taking a swing at his head with a baseball bad. She immediately cried out a warning, "Bai Mo!" However, it was too late. As the words left her mouth, Bai Mo slumped onto the ground like a puppet with its strings cut off. There was blood all over his face.
At that moment, Ye Ci's world became an absolute vacuum.
There was only one thought in her mind.
Is Bai Mo dead? Is Bai Mo dead because of me again? Is Bai Mo going to leave me behind just like that again?
She could not believe such a fact, and was unwilling to believe such a fact. Ye Ci's body reacted automatically. She brought down the few youngsters around her, striking at their vitals. There was only one thought that was reverberating in her mind.
I want to see Bai Mo! I want to see Bai Mo!
"No! Bai Mo!" Ye Ci shrieked out loud, the despair in her voice cutting through the silent night of the city. She rushed at the crowd surrounding Bai Mo, waving the stick in her hand frantically.
"F*ck, this bitch is a fiesty one! Hurry, let's beat her up and go home!" shouted one of the thugs, and the rest immediately surrounded Ye Ci.
It was impossible for Ye Ci to fight off so many of them at the same time. After receiving a kick from the back, Ye Ci lost her balance and fell onto the ground. Blows after blows began raining on her the moment she was on the ground. However, she did not feel pain. She laid on the ground, trying to spot Bai Mo through the opening of their legs, and she found him lying on the ground without a shred of consciousness. It was as if he was dead.
Or… Perhaps… He was really dead…
Ye Ci's heart was gripped by anguish and despair. She had never tasted the feeling of losing something so precious to her twice.
At that moment, Ye Ci could not even feel the pain on her body. All the sound in the world faded away from her sense. There was only one thing left in her vision and her mind: Bai Mo.
Before she could realize it, Ye Ci was pulled up from the ground by a person, and a gentle voice assaulted her sense, pulling her out of her daze. Ye Ci turned around to find a young man in police uniform staring at her with a concerned expression.
"Bai Mo! Bai Mo!" Ye Ci's mind was blank. She pointed at the direction of Bai Mo and shouted at the officer, "Save him! Please! Save him!"