Chapter 34: Rescuing

Chapter 34: Chapter 34: Rescuing Opening her eyes, Betty rose from her cultivation pose. A swirl of green smoke wrapped around her body before fading away. Clenching her fist, she took a deep breath. The smoke returned, coating her body like a protective layer. After holding the technique for a while, the green layer began to flicker, sweat dripped down her face, and her legs started to tremble. Exhaling heavily, the smoke dispersed, leaving her exhausted. "Ah, Calista... this usage of this skill is so tiring," she said, wiping her forehead. Calista, perched gracefully atop the bookshelf, nodded. "Master, that’s because you’re not using spiritual energy, of course, it will be tiring. You’re relying only on core energy, which is weaker, and when I urge you to cultivate, you brush me off. And remember, you’ve only learned the basics of this technique; it’s all your fault." Betty blinked and then shook her head gently, catching her breath. "Yeah, I know that. I was just saying—it really drains me." Calista suddenly stopped speaking, her tiny red eyes blinking rapidly. Betty raised a brow. "Why are you so quiet?" "Master," Calista said calmly, "you’ve been here for two hours. You should go now, I could feel someone around the room." Betty’s eyes widened as she shot to her feet. "Huh. You’re right! What if that psychopath comes back? I have to leave now." --- Reappearing on the bed, Betty instantly stood up and scanned the room urgently. ’No one is around whose presence she felt’ Her gaze fell on the curtains, her eyes lit up. "Did that psychopathn’t know I can run from the window, or did she really think I’m so weak even to jump." She pulled the curtains aside and opened the window, only to yelp loudly when a face suddenly appeared on the other side. "Ahh! What the heck, man—huff, huff." Clutching her chest to calm her racing heart, she glared. "What are you doing, Hazel? You fucking scared me?" Outside, Hazel shrugged, gesturing for her to unlock the window. Betty sighed, taking a deep breath before opening it. Hazel leapt inside effortlessly and leaned against the wall with a smirk. "Hey, I was just here to rescue you from the big demon, pretty boy hahaha." "So, how was your time with that woman, pretty boy?" she teased. Betty shot her an irritated glare. "Don’t call me that, or I’ll start calling you monkey." Hazel’s lips twitched looking herself up and down. "Huh? Why would you call me a monkey?" Betty pointed at the window, then back at her. "Look, this is the second floor, and you climbed in like a monkey." Hazel snorted, cracking her neck. "Okay, okay, you win. Now let’s move. We need to do what we came to do—military backup should arrive any moment, just like that rubbish plan." Betty nodded and leapt down from the window, grabbing onto the pipe and sliding down with practiced ease. "Where’s Maria?" she asked, glancing around, not seeing another figure. Hazel, landing behind her, crossed her arms. "Don’t worry. I have told her to keep an eye on the building where they kept the hostages. Let’s go." Seeing Hazel take off running, Betty quickly followed. --- "This is the place, right?" Betty eyed the building ahead—it was a run-down police station covered with moss, swarming around the front gate, armed men were pacing around the perimeter. Hazel nodded. "Yeah. This is where they brought us before. Maria should be hiding somewhere nearby." Betty narrowed her eyes at her. "Hazel... did they actually release you two? Or did you escape on your own?" Hazel casually placed a hand on Betty’s forehead, looking at her like she was a kid. Betty slapped it away, frowning. "What the hell are you doing?" Hazel chuckled, shaking her head. "Just checking if you’ve got a fever or something. Why would they release us willingly?" she scoffed. "When they locked us up, I stole the keys and we climbed out through a back window." Betty rubbed the back of her neck with a sigh. ’Oh, so it’s their own escape. I thought that psychopath had actually listened to my request...’ --- Betty, look at the front gate. Men wearing police uniforms were pacing around, holding guns "So where should we go in? We can’t use the main gate..." Hazel sat on the sidewalk, hidden from view. "We should wait for Maria first. Oh—there she is." Betty followed her gaze. Maria was sneaking toward them, moving carefully. "Let’s go now," Hazel whispered. "We’ll enter through the window on that side—it’s not guarded." But before they could move, Maria reached them and grabbed both of them by the collars, dragging them back. "Ahh! What are you doing?!" Betty exclaimed, clutching Maria’s hand to stop her. Maria looked at her with urgency. "Quick—we need to move. I think that fat woman found out about our escape." Betty’s eyes widened. "What do you mean?" Maria shook her head. "There’s no time. All their gunmen are heading toward the checkpoint at the edge of the base." Hazel’s lip twitched as she noticed Maria still clutching her collar. After a moment of thought, she met Maria’s brown eyes. "How do you know that, Maria? You were here the entire time. Did you hear someone say something?" Maria looked around warily and shook her head. "No, but... all the gang members just suddenly started running from their posts toward the checkpoint. So I figured they’re trying to block us and stop anyone from escaping." Betty frowned. "Or it could be that the military has already started their attack." Suddenly, the sound of running footsteps echoed nearby. Betty’s eyes sharpened as she turned toward the sound. Several armed men, who had been guarding the police station, were now rushing in the direction of the checkpoint. Hazel raised a brow and smirked. "If they’re panicking this much just to stop us, they must be real cowards." Betty nodded. "Yeah. That means no one’s guarding the hostages now. Let’s go." --- As they ran inside, Betty’s eyes widened in shock. The space inside the police station was packed with people, tied up with ropes, their eyes blindfolded. Along the walls, the holding cells were filled with hostages, some crying, others weakly begging for food and water. Betty put a hand over her mouth, the other clenched tightly into a fist. ’Are they insane? Even the government didn’t treat criminals like this... and these are just civilians, not even criminals.’ She rushed to untie the ropes, pressing a finger to her lips and gesturing for the hostages to stay silent. "Ahh, tch—it hurts..." Just as they were almost done freeing the ones outside the cells, Betty froze at a familiar voice. "...Huh? That voice..." She stood up quickly and walked toward one of the jail cells. As she peeked inside, her eyes widened. She rubbed them in disbelief. "What the—what are you three doing here?" She clutched the bars, staring at the figures inside. Ethan, David, and Henry sat slumped and bruised. Ethan lifted his head, one hand supporting his swollen jaw. "Huh? Bennett? Don’t tell me you got kidnapped too," he muttered. David raised his battered face, eyes going wide when he saw her. Betty quickly glanced around, spotted an iron rod, and slammed it against the lock. With a sharp *clank*, the cell door swung open. "What the hell happened? I thought you knew the base routes. Didn’t the radio warn you?" Despite the pain, Ethan managed a grin. "We did know... and we did make it to the base. But we got pulled into a mission afterward, government-requested. We were also hoping to find someone here." "Pretty boy, hurry up and release them. We don’t have much time!" Betty froze as Hazel called her that name again. Her eyes dulled as she caught Ethan’s sly grin. ’Damn it... now this bastard’s never going to stop calling me that.’ She quickly untied the ropes from Ethan, David, and Henry’s wrists. The three of them staggered to their feet, wincing in pain. Once everyone was freed, Betty moved toward the door, cautiously peeking outside. The streets were deserted. She quietly stepped out, keeping low. But just as she took another step, a hand tapped her shoulder. She tensed instantly. Without thinking, she spun and threw a punch with all her strength. "Whoa, whoa! Calm down, man—it’s me!" She blinked, her fist stopping just inches from Ethan’s face. He was sweating bullets, clearly shaken, and took a slow step back. Betty scowled, ready to say something— "Bang! Bang! Bang!" The sudden crack of gunfire silenced everyone. David, who had just stepped outside, narrowed his eyes. "Gunfire. It’s close somewhere." Maria also walked outside behind her, and the hostages were walking, crying. Betty looked at the hostages with a calm face, trying to appear confident in the hope of calming them. "Don’t worry, nothing will happen. Maria, find a building away from this place and hide with civilians. The military is here." Maria nodded, walking forward, leading them away.