After all, of the six people who were trapped here, only Han Li was a woman.
Mu Qin heard a slight tremor in her voice. She was noticeably frightened, and her fear caused her unceasingly hysterically to explain. It was as if she was trying to gain some advantage for herself.
Blended with the sound of rain, Mu Qin heard Han Li speak as such, âIâve already left this orphanage for over ten years! I indeed did toward⊠toward one or two children did some bad things⊠they were too noisy, moreover, they were extremely disobedient, so I was really irritated. At the time, I didnât control my temper, and I didnât understand the severity of things⊠but I swear I never harmed any children to death. I never harmed anyoneâs life! You have to believe me! Ahââ!â
An urgent and faint shriek accompanied Han Liâs last few words. Mu Qin stretched his head out from where he was curled up under the seat and peered outside. He saw Han Liâs pant legs and shoes. Han Li seemed to have been fiercely shoved by someone, and she staggered a couple of steps into the church and fell to the ground. Because she was drenched from head to toe by the downpour outside, her fall carried a soaked, watery sound. Mu Qin noticed her face looked bruised, likely from being hit by someone.
Following closely behind Han Li, another person walked into the church from outside. This person was very clearly Xu Fu. His entire person was also drenched by the rain, but his momentum was still aggressive. His low-pitched voice echoed calmly in the church, âBut when the incident occurred, you were working at the orphanage.â
Han Li quickly crawled up from the ground and wrung her clothes as she backed up. She retreated as she spoke, âAt that time, there were a lot of people working at the orphanage! Other than us caretakers, there were also the churchâs nuns and clergymen, and the security guards who maintained health and safety. With so many people, I couldnât possibly remember everyone, and even more so, the orphanage also recruited many volunteersâŠâ
âVolunteers?â Xu Fu caught an odd point of focus.
âThatâs right. There were volunteers!â Han Li seemed to have thought of something and yelled in a shrill voice, âBack then, the investigating police officer said it might have been an outsider masquerading as a volunteer in order to target the orphanageâs children.â
âBut because during that time, the dean recruited many volunteers. Batches were coming in by the dozen and leaving by the dozen. There were a lot of volunteers who didnât even provide any personal information before they started working. The police investigated but never found any suspects. Plus those kidsâ bodies were found somewhat late, and whatever traces already disappeared⊠I really donât know who did it!â
Xu Fu then said, âI believe you didnât do it. Youâre too weak. Moreover, youâre also a woman.â
Han Li sounded very happy when she heard that, âExactly, I didnât do it! Thereâs no use in you looking for me! IâŠâ
However, without waiting for Han Li to finish speaking, Xu Fu abruptly walked forwards and grabbed her neck with a single hand. She was choked and, in a split second, couldnât utter any more words. She could only let out inarticulate choking sounds from her throat. Being strangled was extremely painful, and she repeatedly exerted all her strength to pry open Xu Fuâs fingers with her hands, hitting his chest and shoulders.
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But rashly going forth to save someone was highly risky. Mu Qin quickly assessed Xu Fuâs physique. This guy was big and sturdy. Being able to pick up a woman with a single hand, his arm strength was unconcealed. Mu Qin was absolutely sure he couldnât beat Xu Fu, but simply watching helplessly as Han Li was strangled to death also seemed a bit wrong.
In those few fractions of a second, all sorts of jumbled thoughts flew through Mu Qinâs mind, and he suddenly noticed the spot where Xu Fu was standing. After Xu Fu came in, he first shoved Han Li. Later, Han Li got up and continuously backed away, so Xu Fu also followed her and moved forward. Immediately after, when Xu Fu reached out to choke Han Li, his person stood approximately in the center of the church.
Mu Qin quickly stretched out half of his body from where he was hiding under the chair and raised his head to look above Xu Fuâs head. Just as he expected, over Xu Fuâs head hung the chandelier. Earlier, Mu Qin had carefully inspected that chandelier and found it was forged entirely from silver. It was a highly valuable hanging candle chandelier! Iron chains suspended this light fixture. Looking up at it, it appeared extremely weighty. It would be a disaster if the chandelier fell down!
Mu Qin thought of this and already had a plan in mind. His gaze quickly swept over Qiu Zijia, who was hiding nearby. When they were extinguishing the lights and hiding earlier, Qiu Zijia subconsciously followed Mu Qin to hide in a relatively closer location. Thus Mu Qin hurriedly waved stealthily at Qiu Zijia, indicating for him to move.
Qiu Zijia didnât understand the situation, but he still tremblingly crawled out and made his way next to Mu Qin in a crouch.
Mu Qin patted Qiu Zijiaâs shoulder. First, he pointed towards the candle chandelier hanging above Xu Fuâs head before pointing at the chandelierâs metal chain.
The light fixtureâs chain had a switch right next to the churchâs main doors. The switch was a rotary winch type. A moment ago, Mu Qin had inspected it while exploring the church. If they spun the winch at high speed, instead of coming down slowly, the chandelier would directly crash down. It could smash onto the ground.
âYou go to where the switch is. In a moment, Iâll shout, and then you let the chandelier crash straight down. Understood?â Mu Qin leaned in next to Qiu Zijiaâs ear and softly whispered. Qi Zijia listened and understood. He nodded at Mu Qin.
This series of actions only took a few seconds, simply and speedily arranging their tasks. Mu Qin and Qiu Zijia began to split up and act. Mu Qin turned around and looked to where Xu Fu was. That woman already couldnât hold any longer, slowly ceasing to struggle. Her head and arms were also nearly drooping down. Mu Qin knew in his heart matters couldnât be delayed anymore. Any later and Han Li would most likely actually die.
Just as Mu Qin calculated time and prepared to charge out⊠His plans were very simple. He would run directly towards Xu Fu and then pull Han Liâs arm. When he ran close to Han Li, he would shout to signal Qiu Zijia. Then, Qiu Zijia would pull the chandelierâs switch, letting the light fixture smash down. At this point, Mu Qin would have just grabbed Han Liâs arms, pulled her, and fallen back with the inertia from his running.
Xu Fu might not be able to react in time. He was still pinching Han Liâs neck, and when the time came, he might get dragged backward together with Han Li. He would serve as Han Liâs meat shield because when he fell over, he would just so happen to press onto Han Li. Furthermore, the light fixture would smash onto his body precisely at the right moment, causing him grievous injuries.
In this way, not only would Xu Fu be taken care of, Han Li would also be rescued.
Mu Qin planned very well, and he had an extremely exact and excellent grasp on his own speed, angle, and strength. When he was training in the army, the military instructor specially targeted his reflexes and other aspects and carried out various drills for physical capabilities. Thus, Mu Qinâs rate of success was without a doubt above eighty percent.
But plans are forever unable to keep up with changes.
Just as Mu Qin intended to rush forth with a burst of energy, Cheng Guoxu, who was hiding in an unknown location, suddenly dashed out before Mu Qin could act!
He practically rushed directly over to Xu Fu. In that instant, Mu Qin noticed that Cheng Guoxu held something in his grasp. It was some kind of weapon flashing with a cold light!
However, in the end, Cheng Guoxu was not like Mu Qin. He wasnât a soldier who had received training. He didnât have enough speed, and the sound of his running was too loud. So in the instant he started running, Xu Fu had already found the abnormality. Xu Fu, who had perceived the turn of events, swiftly tossed aside Han Liâs whose neck was clenched in his grasp and twisted his head to look in Cheng Guoxuâs direction.
By this time, Cheng Guoxu had already rushed in front of Xu Fu and even held the sharp weapon in his handââit was the section of steel pipe Mu Qin had broken off earlier from the heating system in the apartment building. One end of the steel pipe was pointed and could totally stab and injure someone.
The piece of steel pipe was originally always in Mu Qinâs grasp. After entering the church and starting to search it, in order to pick up the candlestick, Mu Qin casually placed this steel pipe down onto the table on the churchâs stage. Afterward, he didnât pay any particular attention to it. He hadnât thought it would unexpectedly end up in Cheng Guoxuâs hands.
He even more so hadnât thought Cheng Guoxu would suddenly act so courageous! Taking this piece of broken steel pipe and wanting to throw himself at Xu Fu to directly stab him to death. Of course it was impossible for him to succeed. Xu Fuâs reaction speed and strength were all superior to Cheng Guoxuâs. A backhanded wrestling move and he easily blocked aside Cheng Guoxuâs steel pipe. The steel pipe was severely corroded by rust, and a barehanded strike from Xu Fu snapped it.
Cheng Guoxu hadnât thought his full-on attack would be so easily neutralized. He was slightly stunned, and this brief pause in the middle of a fight was fatal because Xu Fu had already instantly pulled out a dagger from who knows where. In a flash, he slashed a gaping hole in Cheng Guoxuâs neck.
Cheng Guoxuâs blood immediately gushed out. He seemed not to think he would fail. He covered his throat and stared at Xu Fu with widened eyes. However, Xu Fu was abnormally calm, glaring at Cheng Guoxu with a sinister gaze.
It was only at this moment that Cheng Guoxu finally felt fear. The fear made him cover the bloody hole on his throat and take a few steps back. He couldnât stop the blood. The blood flowed backward into his windpipe, dripping into his lungs. It choked him until blood started leaking out of his mouth and nose.
Originally, he thought he could actually succeed! During the time Xu Fu was single-mindedly strangling the female teacher to death, all he needed to do was take the sharp pipe, charge forward, and stab him once. Killing someone was just a simple matter.
But Cheng Guoxu forgot, being killed⊠was also an extremely easy thing.
To the side, Mu Qin witnessed the situation that exploded in a split second and quickly altered his plan. His footsteps never stopped as he continued to dash forward. Mu Qin ran as fast as lightning and arrived next to Han Li. He pulled up Han Li, who was nearly unconscious from the lack of oxygen while being choked, held her by her waist, half dragging half carrying, and hauled Han Li as he ran straight towards the churchâs front door.
As he ran, Mu Qin also yelled at Qiu Zijia, who was standing next to the main entrance, âRelease the lights!â
Qiu Zijia was somewhat distracted. Perhaps it was this situation that arose abruptly that caused him to be dumbfounded, but he sluggishly stood frozen in place. Only after a few seconds did he react and pull the chandelierâs rotating switch beside him.
At the same time, Xu Fu also noticed Mu Qin suddenly darting out, rescuing Han Li, and even wanting to escape. Therefore, Xu Fu instinctively threw down Cheng Guoxu, intending to pursue them.
If Qiu Zijia had instantly reacted and pulled the light switch when he heard Mu Qin shout at him, they definitely could have used the chandelier to smash Xu Fu to death.
However, he momentarily blanked out, and the switch was pulled a bit late. The lights also crashed down a bit slower and didnât directly crash onto Xu Fuâs body. Nevertheless, it smashed onto Xu Fuâs leg.
BunnyGod: Okay ngl but I started visualizing Xu Fu as a big macho-man after this⊠either that or Han Li is made of paper. Also, Iâve been shut in my room for so long I think Iâm growing mold