Chapter 1202: The Circle of the Ouroboros

Her still-functioning limbs told her that she managed to dodge Hei Zeji"s attack just in time—however, the moment her back violently collided with the wall, everything turned black, and all her breath seemed to be forced out of her body. Although she managed to avoid Hei Zeji"s strike, the fierce wind that surged a few inches from his fingertips swept her heavily against the wall with such force that it felt as if even her spine would shatter.

Thinking back now, it seemed like the first time she truly stood as an opponent facing Hei Zeji. Even with his greatly reduced fighting abilities, she knew she had to give it her all—or even go beyond her limits—to have any chance of escaping the hospital alive.

Hei Zeji would never give his enemies a chance to regain their footing. Before Lin Sanjiu could slide down the wall, the man had already rushed to stand in front of her, and one emaciated hand was blocking the path between her and the ground.

If she got hit, it would be over. Still half-dazed, Lin Sanjiu was conscious of her right hand, and as if by instinct, she thrust it fiercely into the wall behind her, the metallic gauntlet tearing through the wall and deeply embedding into the concrete. Using her right arm as a pivot, she rolled mid-air, resisting gravity with all her strength, and flipped into the air. Just before Hei Zeji"s hand could reach her, he glanced up, only to face a swirling vortex of air.

This move was something she had learned from Hei Zeji himself. However, without her left hand, the force behind the vortex was not as strong, but it was enough to make her mentor dodge slightly and take a step back. Lin Sanjiu withdrew her hand, and her body completed a somersault in mid-air. When her feet touched the ground, they narrowly landed beside Hei Zeji"s left foot.

Bohemia, who had retreated to the door, watched in anxiety. "He is too difficult to fight! Let"s go!"

No, she couldn"t leave Hei Zeji here alone.

Lin Sanjiu clenched her teeth, her gaze locked onto another face with a black void—his left eye still appeared normal, but the right eye had been replaced by an elongated black hole. When their gazes met, there was no change in his expression, and no sign that he recognized who she was. His only thought seemed to be to capture Lin Sanjiu. Without waiting for his left foot to land firmly, it transformed into a horizontal kick, sweeping directly towards her lower limbs.

If that kick connected, her kneecap would likely shatter into pieces and pierce through her skin. However, with the wall right behind her, she had no s.p.a.ce to dodge and no time to avoid the attack. The only option left for her was...

"As you told me," she gasped, her metal gauntlet striking Hei Zeji"s s.h.i.+n with a force of a thousand catties, producing a sharp whistling sound, "the opponent"s attack is their chance. Remember?"

Even though Hei Zeji was close to becoming a guard, his instinct for self-preservation still remained. He withdrew the attack just in time and countered Lin Sanjiu"s move with his other fist, which struck her left arm without a palm.

Fighting against Hei Zeji was incredibly exhausting. No matter how she adapted, dodged, or attacked, she couldn"t shake the feeling that Hei Zeji blended seamlessly with his surroundings during a fight. When he attacked her, it was as if the entire environment and the entire world suddenly disagreed with Lin Sanjiu"s existence. It felt like she was trying to resist nature, like sitting in a canoe and trying to resist the raging waves during a storm.

"Someone is coming," Bohemia said by the door, her voice trembling. "Fighting him is impossible. Let"s go!"

Lin Sanjiu heard, yet it was as if she hadn"t heard. There was no luxury of distraction when facing Hei Zeji.

Outside, the alarm continued to urge on wave after wave of footsteps, spreading throughout the entire bas.e.m.e.nt of the hospital. Bohemia couldn"t afford to go far and dared not enter the room—just the wind generated by their battle was enough to tear strips of skin from her. She glanced around at the corridor entrance, then suddenly turned and rushed back into the utility room.

"Do we have to kill him?" she asked urgently and angrily. "More guards are coming!"

Even if a group of bikini-clad Tyrannosaurus rexes or a team of her deceased friends and family were approaching, Lin Sanjiu wouldn"t have had the spare attention to raise her eyes. She had finally seized the opportunity to summon a card, but before she could even see what card she had summoned, it was devoured by the storm Hei Zeji formed. Bohemia seemed to realize that even if Lin Sanjiu wanted to leave now, she couldn"t. After a few curses, she glowed brightly and quickly slipped into the utility room, closing the door behind her.

"What are you doing coming in here?" Lin Sanjiu shouted angrily. "It"s too narrow here!"

"Nonsense. If I don"t come in, should I just wait to be caught?" Bohemia responded. At a crucial moment, like a slippery rat, she swiftly scurried along the wall"s corner. Her skirt was torn in half by the force of Hei Zeji"s punch that grazed her. Bohemia"s face turned pale as she rolled on all fours and hid in the corner beside the NPC with only half his body remaining. She grabbed him and slid into the gap behind the overweight man. "You keep fighting. Just don"t lead him here!"

After she settled behind the overweight man, Bohemia hesitated for a moment before peeking out again. "Can you fight more quietly? Don"t let the people outside hear us. Look, he"s not making any noise either."

Fight quietly? Lin Sanjiu never expected that when facing Hei Zeji head-on, she would find herself in such a helpless situation. She quickly glanced at the card in her hand and managed to catch a line of English text.

1

That split second almost got her hit in the throat by Hei Zeji. She hurriedly bent backward, watching his fist narrowly miss her neck by half a centimeter before stopping under her chin. Lin Sanjiu immediately fell to the ground to avoid the attack.

Hei Zeji was like someone who didn"t need time to react during a fight. His reactions were not limited by the constraints of human anatomy. He could extend his attacks to wherever the air reached. His five fingers landed almost simultaneously a few inches above the ground, directly into the center of Lin Sanjiu"s sternum, deeply piercing her body.

Bohemia gasped as if she were being choked. She was about to remove a bracelet from her arm, but she froze in place.

Although Hei Zeji"s fingers pierced through Lin Sanjiu"s skin and bones, there was no spine-chilling sound in the utility room. His fingers seemed to hit nothing but air and continued their descent towards the ground. In the brief moment when Hei Zeji"s actions hesitated slightly, Lin Sanjiu, who seemed to have had her chest split open, suddenly twisted her body and, with a swing of her arm, used another vortex of air to strike him in the face.

Utilizing the distorted light and shadow generated by [How To Render], Lin Sanjiu finally found an opportunity to counterattack. This was the most powerful vortex she had used since learning the technique. It was right up against Hei Zeji"s chin and unleashed an astonis.h.i.+ng force. His head tilted backward at an angle that a human couldn"t reach, and his neck made a series of cracking sounds. If the Hei Zeji from before had seen this, he might have even praised her for using it so well.

"Is he dead?" Bohemia asked in a hushed voice.

Lin Sanjiu didn"t dare rely on luck; she needed to make sure of it. Her body still on the ground, she now held a bloodied long knife in her right hand. Using all her strength, she threw it forward, and the dark shadow looming above her quickly retreated and vanished. She jumped up, instinctively a.s.suming a defensive posture, but she couldn"t make the next move.

Even with a fatal injury to his neck, the dying Hei Zeji effortlessly dodged the knife she threw. What truly prevented him from getting up were the techniques he had taught Lin Sanjiu himself. The vortex of air, like a powerful blender, engulfed his entire neck and chin, crus.h.i.+ng his cervical bone into pieces, leaving it unable to support its shape.

The air fell into another heavy silence, and a series of footsteps pa.s.sed by outside the corridor. Lin Sanjiu stood still, staring at Hei Zeji"s lifeless body. Her vision was getting blurry, and the sound of blood rus.h.i.+ng in her ears grew louder, as if even the heavens couldn"t bear to let her see or hear clearly. Vaguely, Hei Zeji"s silhouette began to gradually reappear, as if an illusion that had shrouded him had been wiped away, revealing his original facial features—but he would never come back to life.

The paradox of the [The Mountains Remove The Foolish Old Man] was at play here: she had completely lost hope, so if Bohemia were to throw out the [The Mountains Remove The Foolish Old Man] now, Hei Zeji would revive. However, since she had thought of this, even if Bohemia were to throw the item at this moment, it would have no effect. Thinking this way would make her feel hopeless again, but that hopelessness would trigger the hope for the next step, which in turn made it impossible for Hei Zeji to revive. It was like a snake biting its tail, repeating and repeating, forever trapped in a loop.

"Do we still need to use the gravel?" Bohemia asked softly from behind, approaching silently. "I don"t think he"s going to come back to life."

Lin Sanjiu shook her head slowly. "You can try throwing it if you want," she said in a hoa.r.s.e voice, "but..."

Bohemia didn"t throw it.

"Let"s go," she said, gently placing a hand on Lin Sanjiu"s shoulder.

Bohemia took the first step out of the utility room, surveyed the situation, and then returned to pull the still-dazed Lin Sanjiu out. When they reached the entrance of the corridor, a low groan suddenly came from the utility room behind them— the NPC had awakened.