029. Bite mark

Boom!

Nodley suddenly struck, her shoulder slam as strong as a mountain collapsing; she crumbled a load-bearing wall made of reinforced concrete on impact. She stretched out her hand through the wall, clutching the face of a White Fang Bandit, clenching her fingers tightly.

Before the latter could even scream, his cheeks were crushed by the pressure of her fingers. Nodley casually tore off his facial bones, skin and all, exposing the steaming brain.

"Damn it, how do you fight this thing?!"

Witnessing this terrifying scene, most of the desperadoes felt a chill down their spines.

Facing a group of mortals, Nodley's slaughter seemed too easy; she was like a meat grinder, anyone who rushed towards her was torn apart and pulverized alive.

Her bulky body could burst into cheetah-like speed at any time; dealing with common bandits took only a dash, a grab, a crush. In the blink of an eye, her eyes blazing with ferocity fell upon the next target.

"Motherfucker—"

Someone couldn't help it, lifting their gun; before they could even aim, a violent burst of Gang Qi arrived instantly. Nodley's mountain-like body barely brushed against him, and he was sent flying like a truck had hit him, smashing against a wall with a spine fracture, dead on the spot.

People at a distance finally reacted, directing concentrated gunfire at Nodley, but she just shook her body and clashed her fists together.

Burst of Qi!

The white-hot Qi turned substantial, spreading faster and more viciously than high-pressure steam. The incoming bullets hadn't even neared her body before being deflected by the burst of Qi.

Ratatatatata—

Heat waves and smoke obscured the view; bullets continuously poured in, with no one knowing if they hit. In a life-and-death situation, they fired their ammunition blindly.

Click!

The rain of bullets ceased, and the bandit completed the fastest magazine change of his life: replacing the mag, cocking the gun, and as his finger was about to pull the trigger, a large fist glowing with a white shimmer suddenly appeared before him.

Swift—

With a clear sound, the gunman's head was sent flying for over a dozen meters before hitting the wall and bursting like a watermelon, scattering all over the ground.

"Holy shit! She's coming in!"

Some of the rookies were extremely nervous faced with this situation; Nodley's rapid fighting made them lose their senses. Even though they knew she was close by, they instinctively turned their barrels and wouldn't let go of the trigger.

Nodley simply shifted her body slightly, allowing the gunfire to freely sweep through, and for a moment, a large number of White Fang Bandits were hit by their own people's firepower or struck by ricocheting bullets, instantly losing their ability to fight.

"Stop shooting—argh!"

"Stop, stop; at this range, we're all dead."

"Use handguns, you idiots!"

However, no matter how they struggled, the fate of these bandits, now in close-quarters with the Martial Artist, was already sealed.

"No one's getting away!"

Nodley's eyes reddened with rage; the heinous acts of these bandit scums had thoroughly enraged her.

Robbery, murder, humiliation, bullying defenseless female medical staff, and even disabled patients...

"Die!"

She extended both hands, grabbing the heads of two bandits, and with a powerful tug forward, she yanked out two spines. Like drawing bows to either side, she infused the blood-drenched, nerve-wrapped spines with Qi and wielded them furiously.

"Double Wind Slash!"

Nodley spared no effort, even unleashing her Martial Way's ultimate move, swinging the Qi-infused spines faster than the wind, sharp as blades. They wreaked havoc among the crowd, with the bandits unable to resist. They jostled each other, only thinking of escape, even deliberately pushing their comrades to the ground to hinder Nodley's pursuit, scurrying like rats.

"You scum, all of you, deserve to die!"

Nodley was almost berserk; she even abandoned basic defense, squeezing into the crowd, using brute force to break the bandits' bones and elicit screams. She ignored all sorts of weapons and bullets penetrating her flesh, swinging the spine-whips and continuously shattering everything before her.

She lifted one spine and smashed it viciously onto someone's skull, the sharp tailbone piercing through the skull. Nodley was indifferent, continuing to attack. Her fingers dug into the eye sockets of a corpse, ready to lift the other spine, when the crowd suddenly parted, leaving an empty space in front of her.

Nodley saw a pair of eyes devoid of any light, empty and pitiless.

Whizz—bang!

Before Nodley could react, a shadow fiercely smashed into her chest like a high-speed train. Even as a Martial Artist at the Alpha Stage, caught off guard, she had no way to avoid it, taking the blow squarely. The mad beast sent her flying while still stretching out its claws to tear and bite as she tumbled through the air.

Nodley raised her hand to cover her face and block the attacks, and put one foot down, bursting forth with Qi to stabilize her form. The shadow reached out with both arms, elbows crashing down swiftly; Nodley was beaten back step by step, and before her trailing leg could find footing, another shoulder slam from the shadow made her stagger repeatedly. It clawed through her defense, biting fiercely onto her face.

Ssht—

Nodley gritted her teeth; a large chunk of flesh was torn from her left cheek. The damage caused her internal energy to waver, forcing her to raise her hand in an attempt to push the enemy back and gain time to stabilize her stance.

However, with a single palm strike, the shadow split into three, bypassing her defense from the left, right, and above, hitting her ribs, shoulder, and back of the neck, respectively.

"Chi—ah—"

Nodley's pupils constricted sharply, and the intense pain and injury disrupted her breathing. Coupled with an unstable state of mind, for a moment, the flow of Qi energy within her body became chaotic.

For those who practice the Martial Way, the most taboo thing during battle is an unsettled mindset. It's not about the fear of becoming deranged, but in a life-and-death struggle, it's not about who has superior skills, but who makes fewer mistakes.

The imbalance in regulating Qi energy was but a moment, yet the chain reaction it caused resulted in a slight delay in her actions.

In just under 0.21 seconds, the shadow's sharp claws pierced through the protective Gang Qi and stabbed into her chest.

Splat—

Nodley coughed up a mouthful of blood. Her lung lobe was punctured, and a large amount of blood gushed in, causing her breathing to falter. But it wasn't fatal; she could still fight. As a Martial Artist, she could continue to unleash her Strength.

In the face of this group that trampled on humanity, these beasts in human skin, she would fight to the end, risking her life to completely exterminate these bastards.

However, she caught sight of a young girl from the crowd, wearing an ill-fitting coat, her body covered in scars.

The girl was wrapped in dirty bandages, her body riddled with bullet holes and burns. Dark purple Erosion spread across her skin, emitting a disturbing stench of rotting flesh.

She stood there stunned, her red and black eyes as ominous as the Ersha Clouds of the sky.

"...Patient."

Still so young, her body had not even had the chance to properly develop before being ravaged by hunger and bullets. She was using her abilities without any consciousness, neither excited nor afraid, as if the whole world had nothing to do with her.

'I'm fighting a child.'

A flicker of hesitation crept into Nodley's heart. If she were purely a warrior, she would kill the enemy without hesitation.

But she wasn't a true warrior; she was just a Head Nurse of the Mingji Humanitarian Rescue Organization.

Her raised fist hesitated, and she couldn't even feel the claws that had pierced into her body.

'I must kill her; she's too dangerous. But how can I kill a child... an Infected?'

'These scum!'

'I... can't bring myself to do it.'

Nodley realized that she could continue fighting, that killing this Infected girl was not impossible.

But once she did so, she would be betraying the beliefs that had been instilled in her since birth.

"With all the ability and judgment at my disposal, I vow to adhere to the creed of benefiting my patients, and to restrain from all corruption and harmful acts. I will not administer harmful substances to anyone, and I will not guide others to do so, even if asked..."

"Wherever I go, I will meet men or women, nobles or servants, my sole purpose is the welfare of the patients, and I will be mindful of my own conduct, not committing harmful or disgraceful acts, especially not seduction."

"Everything I see or hear, whether or not it pertains to my practice, I will keep confidential if I believe it should be so. If I strictly uphold these vows, I ask the deities to grant eternal glory to my life and medical practice. If not, let heaven and earth, ghosts and gods annihilate me."

The Hippocratic Oath she solemnly recited on the day she joined Mingji Humanity echoed in her ears.

How can I, strike down a child like this?

The shadow's claws continued to penetrate, and yet Nodley's fists softened.

The girl was neither sorrowful nor joyous; she merely stood there until the leader's voice rang out:

"Enough, Zonia. Their reinforcements have arrived. We should leave."

The girl lifted her head slightly, the shadow quickly retracted into her body, leaving her skin stained with fresh dark wounds, the rotting stench growing even stronger.

"But boss, one more blow and this one's dead," a White Fang Bandit still felt a chilling fear from Nodley's fearsome fighting abilities.

"So what if she's dead?" the leader glanced at the critically injured Nodley on the ground. "A seriously injured person requires at least two caretakers. Guess how many people they'll invest in treating someone with such important combat power? Sometimes a living person is more crucial than a dead one—take the stuff and the women, let's go."

"The boss is wise!" The White Fang Bandits realized, one of them spat on Nodley and raised his middle finger: "You wretched women, your ladies and food are quite nice. We'll come again next time!"

"Hahaha, we hit the jackpot this time! Medical equipment, prosthetic parts, antibiotics, and even batteries and diesel. We can strut about in the Outer World now."

"And a few pretty girls too, tsk tsk, just not enough to go around. I haven't had my fun yet. Boss, how about we take a few more with us..."

"What's the rush?" the leader grabbed Zonia by the neck, tossing her to his men: "Isn't there something here? Just take it and deal with it on your own."

"But, boss... this one's already stinking..."

Zonia showed no reaction, and the leader pinched her gaunt cheek, glancing at his men, he said:

"Be thankful for what you have. She's compliant and won't resist. Don't try to bargain with me. Am I giving you face or what?"

"No, no, you're right. The guys just haven't had meat for too long... this, just hold your nose and turn off the lights, it's not impossible."

"Don't... don't think about escaping..."

Nodley collapsed to the ground weakly, her fingers digging into the wall, her vision growing blurrier, her eyes listless.