Chapter 301: Chapter 301
Suzy had been on high alert against Janine from the start. Even though she was currently injured, her body had been thoroughly modified by the spiritual spring and the System, making her agility and reaction time far superior to ordinary people.
In a split second, she dodged to the side. The bullet zipped past her, shattering a nearby vase with a loud CRASH, sending shards flying everywhere.
Suzy instantly fired back at Janine.
She had practiced her marksmanship daily for some time, but her execution today was slightly lacking due to her shoulder injury. Even so, she managed an extraordinary shot this time—the bullet struck Janine squarely in the forearm, piercing right through and sending a spray of blood into the air.
Janine let out a furious roar. "You bitch!"
Clutching her arm, blood seeped through her fingers, staining the sleeve of her black mink coat a deep crimson. She stared down at her bleeding forearm, the madness in her eyes seemingly ignited by the splash of red, burning hotter and wilder.
She was already losing her patience, and being hit by Suzy caused her to completely snap.
Janine didn’t retreat. Instead, she took a step forward, her beautifully made-up face twisting into a hideous, distorted mask.
"Impressive. Truly impressive."
She gritted her teeth, her lips curling into a bizarre contortion that looked half-laugh, half-cry. "I thought you were just a useless waste, but it turns out you have some tricks up your sleeve."
Her voice suddenly pitched upward, sharp and ear-splitting. "But do you really think you can beat me like this? I didn’t plan on making it back alive today anyway!"
If she couldn’t kill Suzy, she wouldn’t survive either. Only if Suzy died would she have a sliver of hope!
Like a madwoman, Janine fired a barrage of shots toward Suzy and Aaron, bullets hammering against their cover and sending fragments flying. She was fully prepared to trade her life for theirs!
She had to eliminate Suzy, this variable, today. Either Suzy died, or she did!
Janine’s eyes were bloodshot with rage. Her sole purpose for coming into this world was to kill Suzy; at this moment, she was nothing more than a desperate criminal playing a deadly game of high-stakes gambling. Her aim grew frantic and wild, no longer targeting anything specific as she repeatedly pulled the trigger.
Bullets ricocheted around the room, punching holes into the walls and floor, and shattering a desk lamp.
Suzy and Aaron crouched behind their cover as bullets zipped overhead, leaving a wake of scorching hot air.
"She’s lost her mind," Aaron said in a low voice, his face pale.
Suzy was both exasperated and enraged. "Do I even know you? You show up out of nowhere trying to kill me, and I’ve never even seen your face!"
Janine’s cold, mocking laughter echoed from not far away. "We don’t have a personal grudge, but you must die today! You only have yourself to blame for messing around and derailing the development of this world. Once you’re dead, everything goes back to normal!"
The fog in Suzy’s mind cleared instantly.
So, it really was true!
It was exactly as she had suspected. The Janine standing before her was one of "them." "They" had come to purge her.
A chill ran down Suzy’s spine, followed by a surge of pure fury.
Damn it, is it easy being a supporting character? Is it?!
She had finally managed to awaken her memories and change her fate, yet Heaven itself was displeased and had sent someone to clean her up!
On what grounds?! ON WHAT GROUNDS?!
Suzy’s hands shook with rage.
Outside, the gunfire finally ceased. Janine had run out of ammunition.
Both Suzy and Aaron realized this at the same time. Aaron whispered, "Now’s our chance!"
The woman had only brought a single handgun. After firing so many rounds consecutively, her magazine was bound to be empty. It was their turn to strike back!
Aaron glanced at Suzy and murmured, "Stay put. Leave this to me."
The wound on Suzy’s shoulder had already reopened, staining her bandages red. Continuing to exert herself would only make it worse. Without waiting for her response, Aaron bolted out from behind the cover.
Before Suzy could stop him, he was already gone.
Aaron stayed low, moving swiftly along the base of the wall with his gun trained on the doorway, his footsteps light and rapid. He needed to secure a tactical vantage point before Janine could react.
Suzy’s eyes locked onto his retreating figure, her heart pounding like a war drum. Her finger remained pressed against the trigger, her palm slick with sweat.
Something felt wrong.
Janine’s hysterical outburst just now felt a bit too staged. Would a desperate assassin truly go completely quiet the moment they ran out of bullets? This woman had come specifically to assassinate her; would she really carry only one weapon without a backup plan?
He pressed himself flat against the wall, aiming his gun down the hallway.
The corridor was completely empty, littered with scattered shrapnel, but there was no sign of Janine. Aaron’s eyes widened. Just as he was about to lean out to get a better look—
BANG!
A gunshot exploded from the other side of the doorframe.
The bullet grazed Aaron’s shoulder and shattered the windowpane behind him.
"Aaron!" Suzy’s voice cracked with panic.
Janine stepped out from the shadows on the other side of the doorframe, gripping a different pistol. It was smaller than her previous one, its silver barrel gleaming coldly in the dim light.
A triumphant smile played on her lips—twisted, cruel, and mocking.
"Thought I was out of ammo?" her voice floated over, dripping with the malicious satisfaction of a cat playing with a mouse. "Why on earth would I show you all my cards?"
She raised the gun, aiming it at Aaron once more.
Aaron tried to dodge, but he was already backed flat against the wall; there was nowhere left to retreat. Janine’s finger curled around the trigger, a vicious smile plastered across her face.
Without a second thought, Suzy bolted from behind her cover and threw herself at Aaron.
If she got hurt, it wouldn’t be the end of the world—she had her spiritual spring to heal herself. But if anything happened to Aaron, she would owe him a massive debt of gratitude. On top of that, he was only dragged into this mess because of her. A double debt was more than her conscience could bear.
After a split-second calculation, Suzy made her move.
The moment she lunged forward, the bullet tore out of the chamber. A searing current of air whizzed past her left shoulder, tearing through skin and ripping away a chunk of flesh.
Suzy groaned in pain, crashing full-force into Aaron and knocking him sideways.
They slammed into the ground together, with Suzy landing on top of him. Her arms braced against the floor right next to his ears, and blood poured from her shoulder wound, dripping onto his face.
Stunned by the impact, Aaron’s glasses flew off his face. He blinked, staring up at Suzy’s deathly pale face and watching the blood stream down her shoulder, staining his clothes drop by drop. His mind went entirely blank. Unable to process anything else, he simply reached up, trying to cover her wound.
Suzy propped herself up with her uninjured arm and glanced sideways at her left shoulder.
Thank goodness, just a graze.
It was much lighter than her previous gunshot wound. It was just... why did she keep getting shot in the exact same spot?
Before she could even breathe a sigh of relief, Suzy snapped her head around. Janine was still standing in the doorway, her gun raised, but she hadn’t fired again.
Janine was clearly stunned too; she hadn’t expected Suzy to suddenly pop out of nowhere to shield Aaron. Smoke was still curling from her gun barrel, but the smugness on her face had shifted to shock, which then morphed into a strange, unreadable complexity.
Suzy couldn’t help but feel that the way Janine was looking at Aaron was bizarre.
Did they know each other? No way... right?
"You... you’re also..." Janine stared intently at Aaron’s face, her brow furrowing. She seemed to want to say something, her expression suggesting she was trying to recall a distant memory.
However, before she could finish her sentence, Aaron snapped back to reality. Now was his chance!
Taking advantage of Janine’s daze, he aimed his gun straight at her and pulled the trigger without a moment’s hesitation.
