I suddenly flashed onto the third-floor balcony, catching the enemy off guard. Before he could react I drove my dagger into the center of his skull. Blood feathered down his face; his eyes widened in stunned disbelief — when and how had I appeared?
"Has no one ever told you that you'll get devoured if you play with the big guys?" I said, looking straight into his face with the blade buried in his skull.
"LAOXIN!!!" Wen Zhou wailed as he watched his brother slowly collapse to the floor. "LING ZHAO!!! I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!" He pulled a gun from behind him and fired. Bullets screamed past as I charged, weaving side to side, dodging with swift, precise movements.
Wen Zhou, desperate, leveled the gun at Lu Lu's head, thinking that would make me stop. He was about to pull the trigger when a shot cracked behind him. He turned—face twisting black with anger—and raised his hand to fire at Lu Lu.
I tossed a dagger. It sliced through the air and nicked Wen Zhou's gun hand; the firearm slipped from his palm as pain exploded across his wrist. "Aaargh!" he groaned, clutching the fresh wound as blood bloomed onto the floor.
I charged again, dagger gripped backward in my left hand. He tried to dodge the next throw but missed — I finished the arc with a high kick that slammed him against the wall. Lao Zhan scrambled to Lu Lu and began untying him.
Wen Zhou, still dazed and bleeding, threw a wild punch. He tried to block, but his injured hand couldn't hold; the blow connected with Lu Lu's chest with a sick crack. "Aaargh!" Wen Zhou cried as his victim's ribs buckled inward.
Before Wen Zhou could recover, I withdrew my gun and fired once into his skull. He sagged, dead on the spot. I shoved his corpse to the balcony and heaved it over.
"Thud!"
The dull impact on the street below stopped the fight for one heartbeat. Gang members stared at the fallen, into the silence after the sound, and then, terrified, they surrendered.
The remaining Hexagonal gang members were lined up horizontally and executed on the spot to prevent another disaster. Wen Qin rushed in and hugged her children the moment we walked out of the building. All the members snapped to attention and saluted me as I walked toward the car.
As I neared the vehicle, dizziness hit me hard. Damn, I had just woken from a coma and hadn't eaten all day. No wonder, I thought before everything went black.
"ZHAO ZHAO!" Lao Zhan shouted, rushing to me. He scooped me up, got into the car, and sped to the hospital. Once there, I was rushed to the emergency ward.
"You all can calm down now," the doctor said, reassuring everyone. "It's nothing serious. She just fainted from hunger and low blood pressure."
"See, she's waking up," he added, pointing at me as I slowly opened my eyes, greeted by the sterile ceiling and blinding light.
"Tiān nǎ! Did I really almost die from hunger? This can't be. I can't go out like a virgin Mary—I haven't even touched my eight-pack yet!" I said, staring at the white ceiling, nearly in tears.
Laughter erupted around the room at my words.
One month later, I married Lao Zhan, and Lu Lu was dating Hoseok. Wen Zhin and Xiao Zhi got engaged, while Xiao Zha remained single as always.
The END.