62 SHE IS STILL ALIVE

As expected, it had been a trap. But this was good. If there was a trap, it meant that she had finally caught up with the culprits. She looked at the projectile which had lodged on the wall behind her after she dodged. It was a tranquiliser dart. It seemed that these assailants meant to capture not kill her.

Before, she could analyse the situation further, another dart was shot from the rooms behind her. She heard the whiz of the moving dart and leaned away just in time to avoid the shot. While she was not as strong as other martial arts masters, her speed was incredible. At her peak, she could even dodge bullets.

The people hiding in the old hospital rooms must have felt frustrated by her agility because suddenly, there were darts flying from the four sides of the structure. Like swift dancer, Hu Lei moved rhythmically to avoid the shots by shifting her feet in a strange pattern. If it weren't for the deadly situation, it would have been a beautiful show.

At her side, the Reverend who had brought her in got impatient. He had not known that this little slip of a girl was like a legend from action movies. She had seemed so weak, so he had assumed that the matter would be closed in a matter of seconds. If she kept up this pace, those people would lose all their ammunition, and he might not get the promised reward.

Though he was a man of the cloth, he needed money. It was not wrong of him to want some material possessions. Some of the funds that he would get would even be used for renovating his old church. He might even be able to acquire some proper pews for his parishioners. However, to achieve these goals, he had to ensure that this matter ended quickly.

With that, he lunged towards Hu Lei, hoping to hold her in place so that she would stop wasting time for everyone. But he only caught an armful of air. Hu Lei was not at peak, but she would not be captured by a lumbering man.

He tried again and again but failed. Hu Lei did not find him to be a threat, but his movements were distracting her from finding a way to deal with the people targeting her. If she could take them all out, she could have at least some of her questions answered. And then, she would find her father.

She stopped moving and faced the Reverend who looked at her murderous eyes with fear. Her eyes were no longer those of a weeping damsel in distress. They were those of a cold hearted killer. He shivered in fear before the little woman.

When he thought she would attack, she suddenly stepped to the side. A tranquiliser dart flew right into his large stomach. He looked down at his belly in shock. Before he understood what was happening, Hu Lei kicked him on the stomach and sent him flying to one of the walls.

As the man crashed loudly, Hu Lei took the opportunity to rush through the closest door. Inside, there was a soldier-like man in complete black. She attacked him before he had time to prepare himself for a one-on-one confrontation. She used her daggers which were still in her hands to launch deadly attacks, but he moved quite efficiently. However, her goal was not to actually kill him.

While he was distracted by the daggers, she kicked him in his sensitive place before following up with an attack on the knees. The consecutive attacks sent him to the ground. Before he could recover, she sheathed her daggers and took the handgun which she had been eyeing since coming into the room.

Outside, she heard his comrades rushing to this location. Her lips stretched a little into a wicked smile. Without hesitation, she fired a bullet into the man's shoulder and thigh, causing him to scream in agony. This simple move was meant to cause confusion and destabilise the companions.

"Do you think she's dead?" An urgent voice spoke from outside.

"We should pray that she is still alive. Losing our jobs will not be our only concern." Another answered before they burst into the rooms.

Seeing her, these people's jaws almost hit the floor in shock. Though she was a capable fighter, they did not think that she could beat any of them. Hu Lei smiled a little more while pointing the gun at them. She did not take further action because she knew that they would come in unprompted. As soon as the other three people entered, the two sides faced each other with unbridled hostility.

"It would be better for you to come with us peacefully miss." One of them spoke, showing no fear of the weapon in her hand.

What did they have to fear? After all, they had their weapons. Though they were still holding their tranquiliser guns, they also had their holstered pistols. They did not believe that she could kill the three of them before they could tranquilise or un-holster their firearms.

There was subtle communication between the three, and they reached for their guns. However, before they could make a move, Hu Lei shot their kneecaps incredibly fast. It was a single kneecap for each of them, but they could not suppress their sounds of pain.

"Where is my father?" She asked approaching them.

Hu Lei did not dare turn her eyes from them even for a second. She was confident in her skills, but her opponents were not simple. They looked tough and they still had their weapons. If she created even a small gap, she was certain that they would retaliate, shattered kneecaps and all.

"We do not know what you are talking about." The same man who had spoken earlier responded with hate in his eyes.

She fired a bullet in his shoulder. She had not come this far to be given such an inane answer. Her father was in danger, and she was so tired, hungry and thirsty. She could not be faulted for being frustrated, angry and cranky. Obviously, she did not intend to kill them, at least not before they provided the answers. If they were unwilling, she was sure that a little pain would go a long way into loosening their tongues.

"Where is Hu Ming?" She asked again.

This time no one answered. Just as she was about to shoot another shoulder, she heard a whizzing sound behind her from beyond the walls of the hospital. Unfortunately, all her attention had been on the three people before her, so she noticed it too late. She moved but could not dodge.

The dart stuck into her side from the back, releasing a potent drug into her body. Another dart followed as she turned to face the attacker she had been unaware of. Her head felt clouded as she fought to keep herself awake. She could not believe that her journey was going to end like this. What about her father?

"You four are truly useless." Hu Lei heard a female voice speak from behind the window outside the confines of the hospital structure as her body collapsed.

"She was not an easy target." One of the men answered with irritation.

"If she had not captured us, you would not have been able to take her out." Another one added.

"You really cannot be taught. If one of you had attacked her directly and acted as the bait, the others would have had a chance to take her out in minutes." The woman spoke with disdain.

Hu Lei could not hear anymore because she had sunk deep into an unconscious state.