Now, Xu Mo finally understood why the yellow-haired girl and her companions were so fearless when facing the tall man… With such a powerful long-legged girl around, even if five or six tall men attacked together, they would probably only return empty-handed.
The tall man had taken several heavy blows to his head. While he was not yet unconscious, he was disoriented and unable to get back up. The fashionable girl, having lost her protector, trembled like a frightened bird and started to retreat, stopping only when her back hit the wall. It was then that she suddenly seemed to remember something and hurriedly said, "Don't hit me! How much did Tao Xian'er offer you? I... I'll pay you double!"
The long-legged girl gave the fashionable girl a cold glance before turning to her companions and waving her hand. "Focus on landing your hits on her body, but be careful not to scratch her face… don't want her to end up disfigured."
"No! No, please! Don't hit me! How much do you want! I'll give you anything!" The fashionable girl screamed in terror as she threw her purse at the long-legged girl's feet, crouched down, and clutched her head, sobbing.
"Wait a minute." The long-legged girl stopped her three companions, picked up a phone that had fallen from the purse, dialed a number, and upon hearing it ring at the yellow-haired girl's end, casually tossed the phone in front of the fashionable girl. "If you're not willing to accept this, you can call this number. Your price is 200 yuan. Tao Xian'er won't be more expensive than that."
After passing the job off to her companions, the long-legged girl sat down on the steps in front of the motel, pulled out an unlit cigarette, and placed it between her lips. She crossed her arms and stared quietly at the sky above, lost in thought.
By now, the full picture of the situation was clear. Xu Mo didn't want to get involved, but he realized this was merely a violent dispute between two girls fueled by jealousy. Since the participants were all girls, and he, as a complete outsider, couldn't just recklessly intervene without reason, he decided to let it be.
"If only Chang Zitong were here…" Xu Mo sighed helplessly, turning away from the scene and no longer paying attention to the ongoing fight between the girls and the fashionable girl named Cheng Cheng.
Just as Xu Mo was about to leave after putting his phone away, for some unknown reason, the fashionable girl suddenly pushed someone over during her struggle, staggered toward him, and tearfully grabbed his arm, hiding behind him. She desperately pleaded, "Big brother, please help me…"
"Uh... you really know how to pick your moments…" Xu Mo hesitated as he looked at the girl, whose face was bruised from the scuffle and whose clothes were disheveled. He softened, but only slightly.
Seeing that the fashionable girl had sought protection again, the yellow-haired girl and her companions were stunned for a moment before they yelled, "You have no shame? Your boyfriend already got knocked out by our sister Li, and now you want to drag another person down with you? If you're a sister, just be brave about it! We're just doing a job for money, we're not going to kill you. Just stand still and let us beat you, and it'll be over."
Originally, these girls should have been blossoming students in school, but now they had turned into a gang of "non-mainstream" street tough girls. Xu Mo couldn't help but shake his head, feeling a sense of regret for their future.
"They've already beaten you this badly, just stop already... Otherwise, when the police arrive, none of you will be able to escape." Since they were girls, Xu Mo didn't want to resort to violence, and he tried to dissuade them as gently as possible.
"Huh? You really want to interfere?" The yellow-haired girl raised an eyebrow in surprise and then laughed dismissively. "Don't scare me with the police. So what if they come? A wise judge can't even sort out family matters, let alone these petty emotional disputes. The worst that'll happen is a warning. Do you think they're going to arrest us?"
The yellow-haired girl was not wrong. Since they were just young girls, even if they got into a fight, they wouldn't be treated as severely as men. After all, they were just slapping and pulling hair; charging them with disturbing public order would be excessive... At most, they'd be a public nuisance.
Seeing Xu Mo silent, the yellow-haired girl became somewhat smug and waved her hand. "Kid, this has nothing to do with you. Even if you want to be the hero and save the beauty, at least pick someone who doesn't have a boyfriend… You're not bad-looking yourself, finding a woman isn't hard. Do you think it's worth taking a beating for someone who's probably been with who knows how many guys already?"
Xu Mo smiled nonchalantly and countered, "With your mouth, if you really studied, you could be a reporter or a lawyer… But here you are wasting your youth trying to be a street thug. Do you think that's worth it?"
Hearing Xu Mo's words, the long-legged girl sitting on the nearby steps gave a slight tremor to her cigarette. She suddenly stood up, moved past the yellow-haired girl, and, with cold eyes shadowed by thick eyeliner, fixed her gaze on Xu Mo's face. In a calm tone with no emotion, she said, "Some things can't be chosen based on whether they're worth it or not… Stop with your pointless preaching. You wouldn't understand our world."
When she spoke, Xu Mo was unexpectedly caught by a fleeting glimpse of a deep sorrow in her eyes, one that seemed to pierce into his soul. But before he could process it, the crack in her cold façade quickly closed, and she returned to her aloof demeanor.
"Last warning. Stay out of this," the long-legged girl issued her final ultimatum.
"Well, sorry… I guess you'll have to make your move," Xu Mo replied indifferently.
Her patience clearly worn thin, the long-legged girl dismissed her three companions and, with a fluid, intricate step, glided to Xu Mo's left side. Her slender leg, like a steel whip, swept through the air with the speed of a fierce wind, landing a brutal blow to his back!
But to her surprise, Xu Mo didn't fall forward in a spray of blood as she'd expected. Instead, he barely swayed after absorbing the hit. With lightning speed, he countered, clamping her right ankle under his arm, his hand transforming into a claw as he aimed for her throat.
It was likely the first time the long-legged girl had ever been caught in a leg lock. A faint look of panic crossed her face, but she quickly reacted, spinning 180 degrees and kicking with her free leg toward Xu Mo's temple. This time, Xu Mo didn't try to block with his "Immovable as a Mountain" defense. Instead, he smoothly avoided the kick by pulling her other leg toward him, stepping back half a step. His hands slid down her small, flexible calf to her ankle. Spinning like a windmill, he released her, sending the long-legged girl flying away!
"Ah! Li jie, be careful!" The yellow-haired girl and the others screamed in alarm, seeing the long-legged girl's head about to crash into the cement wall. Just in time, she regained her balance, using her firm waist to perform a backflip and landing on one knee, steadying herself.
"Hard Qi Gong?" the long-legged girl muttered to herself as she regained her footing. Without missing a beat, she shot forward again, kicking off the wall, leaping through the air with incredible force, and aiming a deadly kick toward Xu Mo's shoulder!
"Still not giving up… you really are troublesome," Xu Mo said with a helpless expression, ready to block the incoming attack once more with his "Immovable as a Mountain" defense.
But just as his defense absorbed the full force of her leg, a strange, slightly burning power coursed through Xu Mo's shoulder. Though there was no significant damage, it left him with a strange, aching sensation that he hadn't felt in a long time.
What was that power? Could it be… the Apocalyptic Shard?