The thugs, already impatient, saw her struggling like a slippery loach and immediately shouted, "Stop the car! Drag her into the woods over there. Since she's so restless, we'll make sure to 'take good care' of her."
As soon as the vehicle stopped, the three thugs pulled the nurse into the woods, forced her to the ground, and began tearing at her clothes. It was summer, so she was wearing little to begin with; in just a few rough tugs, her clothing was reduced to only her underwear.
Seeing this, the thugs' lust overwhelmed them, and they laughed with beastly delight, their six hands groping every inch of her body. Exhausted from struggling, the nurse could no longer resist. Tears streamed down her face, and the cloth gag in her mouth left her able only to gasp for air. At this moment, she desperately wished someone would pass by, see what was happening, and save her.
But it was already evening, and few cars traveled this remote road. Even if someone did pass, they likely wouldn't notice them in the depths of the forest—and even if they did, they might choose to look the other way. In today's world, few wanted to get involved; after all, on TV, heroes and martyrs often ended up dead. Who would want to stick their neck out?
The three thugs, unable to contain themselves any longer, began stripping off their own clothes. With their prey before them, they tore away the nurse's last piece of underwear, leaving her completely exposed.
"What are you doing?" A cold voice came from behind them, startling the thugs so much that they hurriedly pulled their pants back on.
Seeing someone had arrived, the nurse immediately began muffled cries of "Mmm! Mmm!" pleading for help.
The thugs glanced toward the roadside, where a figure was approaching under the dim glow of a streetlamp. Noticing it wasn't the police and that he was alone, they relaxed a bit.
"None of your damn business! We're in a good mood tonight. Go cool off somewhere else and don't mess with your grandpa's fun," one thug shouted arrogantly, emboldened by the man's solitary presence.
The figure continued walking toward them slowly. Seeing he wasn't intimidated, the three thugs readied themselves to "deal with" him.
"Shut up, woman, or I'll kill him first and then kill you too!" Thug A kicked the nurse on the ground.
The man approaching was Shi Kai, who happened to be passing by. Two kilometers away, he had already heard the commotion and had run over quickly. Due to his extreme hunger, his speed was slower than usual, but for the nurse—on the brink of violation—his arrival was still timely.
Shi Kai stepped up to them and said coldly, "What are you doing?"
The three thugs burst into loud laughter.
"Can't you tell? Rape! Or maybe you want a turn too?" Thug B jeered at him.
"So, you're all bad people then?" Shi Kai asked, his voice still icy.
"You filthy beggar, are you looking to die? I'll take care of you right now!" Thug A, lit faintly by the roadside light, caught sight of Shi Kai's disheveled hair and tattered clothes and sneered. "Bad people? Do we look like good people to you?"
Before he could finish his words, Thug A suddenly felt an odd itch and chill at his neck. He reached up to scratch it, and in that instant, a fountain of blood sprayed out as he collapsed dead.
In truth, Shi Kai had already, under cover of darkness, used his hand blade to slice through the thug's carotid artery and trachea while he was talking. If the thug hadn't touched his neck, the bleeding wouldn't have erupted so quickly. But the moment he scratched, the wound widened, and arterial blood gushed like a fountain.
On the ground, the nurse, lit faintly by the nearby light, saw Thug A lying beside her with blood streaming from his neck. The sight terrified her so much she fainted.
The remaining two thugs barely had time to register what had happened before they, too, met the same fate—blood spraying as they dropped dead like their leader.
Shikai stood where he was, staring coldly at the corpses.
"Evil men deserve to die—eradicate the roots to remove future troubles," he said.
As he spoke, a cold smile curled at the corners of his mouth.
He walked over to the nurse, who had fainted from fright, and looked at her snow-white body. Without hesitation, he took off what little remained of his own tattered clothing and wrapped her in it. He was about to turn and leave, but after a moment's thought, he decided it wasn't right to leave her lying there. Instead, he scooped her up in his arms and dashed swiftly into the darkness of the forest, using his light-footed skill.
The jolting in Shikai's arms gradually woke the nurse. When she opened her eyes, she saw she was being held by a wild-looking, foul-smelling man with disheveled hair—and that she was barely covered by a ragged piece of clothing. In panic, she struggled desperately and cried out for help.
Shikai stopped abruptly and, with a cold expression, tossed her to the ground.
"You're awake. You can walk on your own now. Those bad men are gone. Go home," he said flatly.
Falling to the ground, the nurse forgot her pain in her fear. Hearing his words, she swallowed back the cry for help that had been on her lips and cautiously studied the man before her.
"Those men just now… was it you?" she asked timidly.
"Yes," Shikai replied coldly.
"You… saved me?" she continued in a small voice.
"Yes," he said again, his face expressionless.
"You… killed them?" The moment she spoke, she regretted it, afraid she might provoke him.
"Yes." His calm answer eased her fear just a little.
"But… you killed people. What if the police catch you?" the nurse exclaimed as the thought struck her.
"They deserved to die. Leaving them alive would only harm society. There was no reason for them to live. After killing them, I erased all traces on the ground. No one will find any clues," Shikai said with complete confidence. Ten years of surviving in the wilderness had taught him to notice the slightest sign—and to leave none behind.
The nurse watched him speak so calmly and felt her fear deepen. In her heart, she was certain she had met a cold-blooded killer—and didn't know whether he would let her go.
"Will you… kill me to silence me?" she asked, trembling.
"Why would I kill you? Are you a bad person?" Shikai squatted down and looked at her, waiting for her answer.
"No! No, I'm… I'm a nurse. I save lives," she stammered, her heart tightening under his gaze. His eyes were like a pair of icy blades, sending chills through her.
"A nurse? Then I won't kill you. Go." Shikai stood up, his eyes losing some of their coldness, and turned to leave.
Lying on the ground with her arms wrapped around herself, the nurse thought he seemed a bit foolish. He didn't look like a killer—but when he had killed, he'd been utterly cold and ruthless.
She glanced toward the dark forest by the roadside and shivered, afraid she might run into another predator.
"Hey… you're just going to leave me here? What am I supposed to do?" she called after him. At that moment, she no longer cared about pride—she just wanted someone to take her home safely. In her heart, she thought that even marrying this man would be better than being left alone here.
After walking a few meters, Shikai stopped. "What do you want? I already saved you. What more do you expect?" he asked flatly.
Blushing in the darkness, the nurse glanced at herself and said awkwardly, "I… I don't have a single proper piece of clothing on me. Could you… help me one more time? Just once, for the last time." She felt that this man might not be bad after all. If anyone else saw her in this state, she was sure she would be humiliated or worse. Her fear momentarily forgotten, she pleaded.
"I can't find clothes. The only one I had, I gave to you. Just tell me which way your home is, and I'll take you by a shortcut," Shikai said, and without another word, he lifted her up again.
"Ah!" the nurse gasped in surprise at the sudden strong grip, but then quickly calmed down, blushing as she pointed behind them.
Every expression she made was clearly visible to Shikai, who could see even in the dark. He didn't use his light-foot skill this time; instead, he ran at an ordinary human pace, so she wouldn't notice his true abilities.
After a stretch of running, Shikai, still holding her, arrived back at the spot where he had killed the three bandits. Because of her profession, the nurse wasn't too shocked at the sight of the bodies. Shikai set her down and looked around.
Because it was so late and this was a remote stretch of road, no one had yet discovered them. The taxi by the roadside was still parked there, untouched.
"What are you going to do?" the nurse exclaimed in alarm.
A cold smile appeared at the corner of Shi Kai's mouth. He fixed the nurse with a steely gaze and said, "Destroy the evidence. You just reminded me—police these days are very capable and have lots of high-tech tools, so I need to make the scene even cleaner."
With that, Shi Kai hoisted one of the corpses from the ground onto his shoulder, grabbed the other two—one in each hand—and headed toward the taxi by the roadside.
The nurse stared in shock, thinking: What is he trying to do? Could it be that…?
Before she could finish the thought, she had already followed him. Shi Kai opened the car door, tossed the three corpses inside, and slashed open the car's fuel tank with his blade. Gasoline immediately gushed out, spreading across a wide area.
He then returned to the scene, carefully checking for any overlooked traces such as footprints or torn clothing. After making sure everything was in order, he picked the nurse up and carried her toward the car. Taking a lighter he had found on one of the bandits, he tossed it onto the gasoline on the ground. Flames instantly roared up and engulfed the entire vehicle, and Shi Kai immediately ran off with the nurse in his arms.
The nurse looked back in shock at the burning car, her heart churning. She thought, Those three might have been criminals, but they didn't deserve to die like this… This man's methods are extremely ruthless—utterly inhumane. From the way he acted, he didn't seem to feel the slightest fear, as if what he was doing was perfectly natural.
Not far into their run, a violent explosion erupted behind them. The burning taxi burst apart into pieces. Startled by the deafening blast, the nurse covered her ears and screamed. Shi Kai instantly pinched her neck, and she passed out.
Following the direction she had indicated earlier, Shi Kai avoided the main road, using the trees along the roadside grove for cover, and moved quickly.
Half an hour later, the police received a call and rushed to investigate the scene. By that time, Shi Kai had already carried the nurse into a shadowy corner in the city. Watching from the darkness as police cars arrived, the smile on his lips grew even deeper. When the police finally left, Shi Kai woke the nurse.
When she opened her eyes, she saw she was still naked, lying beside Shi Kai in a corner piled with black garbage bags. Alarmed, she was about to scream, but Shi Kai, anticipating her reaction, quickly covered her mouth and made a silencing gesture. In a low voice, he asked, "Where do you live?"
The nurse, wide-eyed and confused, pointed toward a building across the street. Shi Kai glanced at it under the streetlight and whispered, "That close? Good. Then go home yourself." He then gently removed his hand from her mouth.
The nurse quickly slipped from his arms and stood up, taking a step back in fear, ready to run. But then she remembered she was essentially naked. Flushing with embarrassment, she crouched down in the shadows, glaring at Shi Kai and saying angrily, "Stop looking! Close your eyes!"
Shi Kai remained silent, neither speaking nor closing his eyes, simply staring at her coldly.
Seeing that he gave no reaction, the nurse grew both embarrassed and angry. "How can you be like this? Don't look at me! If you keep staring, how are you any different from those bandits? You're all lechers."
Shi Kai still didn't respond. He didn't feel that he was doing anything wrong, nor did he think there was anything that couldn't be looked at. In truth, women were often like this—repaying kindness with reproach. When someone was saving them, they forgot they were half-naked, but once safe, they suddenly remembered. Having lived in the primitive forest for ten years, Shi Kai didn't understand such things at all. Even if she were completely naked, he would think nothing of it and feel no lust.
"Why aren't you leaving?" Shi Kai said calmly.
"How… how can I leave with you staring at me? And I'm barely dressed—if I go out like this and someone sees me, how will I face anyone again?" the nurse said, flustered and agitated.
The embarrassed nurse had no idea what to do. A woman's innate sense of modesty meant that almost no one would willingly streak in public, not even across a short distance like a single street. Even in the dead of night, they wouldn't dare, because if someone happened to see, tomorrow's headlines would be something like 'At [time and date], a young woman was seen running naked in the street'.
"So what do you want to do?" Shi Kai asked quietly.
"You—" The nurse almost wanted to slap him twice, but in her state she didn't dare move. Blushing, she said, "I can't go out like this. Just carry me across quickly. I live on the first floor—once we get inside my building, it'll be fine."
"Why?" Shi Kai asked coldly.
The nurse thought he was deliberately making things difficult and almost fainted from anger. Furious, she stood up, threw aside the clothes covering her chest, tears streaming down her face. "If you want to look, then look all you want! Are you satisfied now? You're no different from those lecherous beasts. You all deserve to die!"
Shi Kai sighed, then in a flash scooped her up, carried her across the street, and entered her building. It seemed a woman's tears really did have power—so this was what people meant when they said even heroes fall for a beauty's charm.
Before the nurse could even react to how she'd gotten inside, Shi Kai had already set her down.
"When did you cross the street?" the nurse asked, stopping her tears and sounding curious, completely forgetting her lack of clothing. Indeed, women were naturally curious creatures.
"I came over when you were crying," Shi Kai answered expressionlessly.
The nurse quickly snapped back to her senses, hurriedly opened her door, and slammed it shut with a loud bang. She was terrified—of everything, really—and leaned against the door, wanting a moment of quiet to think.
Shi Kai had expected this outcome, so he didn't mind. Shaking his head, he turned to leave. At that moment, the door creaked open just a crack, and a small voice came from inside. "Thank you… it's too late, and you… you should come in." She had wanted to add, and you killed someone, but thought better of it—for his safety, she decided not to say it.
Shi Kai glanced at the narrow opening. Thinking it over, he realized he had nowhere else to go, and he was hungry. He might as well rest for the night and make plans tomorrow. With that, he quietly pushed the door open and stepped inside. The room was dark, with no lights on. He closed the door behind him and looked around.
The nurse, after speaking, immediately groped her way into another room to change clothes. Back home, she finally felt some relief. When she was dressed, she turned on a small lamp in the living room. The sudden light made Shi Kai squint and shield his eyes with his hand. After a moment, he adjusted to it.
The nurse had already changed her clothes and was sizing up Shi Kai. Aside from his tall and sturdy build, he was disheveled, with matted hair and tattered clothes. Her mood sank considerably at the sight.
Just then, a "gurgle gurgle" came from Shi Kai's stomach. He instinctively placed a hand over it—he hadn't eaten in a long time.
Shaking her head, the nurse said, "Hungry, aren't you? I'll make you a bowl of instant noodles. But you should take a shower first—look at you, all filthy and smelling awful."
Shi Kai didn't argue and followed her into the bathroom. She turned on the water for him, then gave him a push inside. Looking at the water flowing from the showerhead, Shi Kai was flooded with memories. With a helpless sigh, he stripped off his pants and began to wash. From outside came the nurse's gentle voice:
"I put your clothes on the stool outside. When you're done, put them on and come out."
Shi Kai made no reply and continued rinsing himself.
Half an hour later, Shi Kai emerged clean and dressed. For the first time, the nurse saw his face clearly at such close range. Aside from the word perfect, she couldn't think of any other way to describe him. She couldn't help but stare.
Like a wild beast, Shi Kai gave a powerful shake of his long, damp hair. The water droplets from the tips of his hair splashed onto her, jolting her from her daze. Quickly, she grabbed a towel and tossed it to him.