Chapter 155
"How do you know about the key?" Gloria asked carefully.
"I told them," suddenly, Victor stepped out of the shadows, his eyes sparkling with malice. At the same time, another figure appeared from within the darkness, making Gloria step back and freeze.
Amy.
How was she with them, too? Two traitors at once? Gloria couldn’t believe it.
The first man, Roy, nodded at her approvingly.
"Give us the key, girl," Amy commanded, pointing her knife at Curtis.
"Don’t do it!" Curtis urged, but then, his eyes widened, and before he knew it, his body collided with the floor, his chest heaving from the impact.
Another stranger swung a bat over his head.
At the same time, Victor lunged toward Suzy, pressing a cold blade against her neck.
Amy couldn’t help but sneer. "I told you to hand over the key earlier, but you wouldn’t listen. Now look where that got you. You are all trapped."
Gloria ignored her. She stared at Curtis’ body for a long moment, her own body trembling uncontrollably.
What was she to do now? Was it worth it?
At last, she pulled out the key. The silver metal gleamed coldly under the dim light.
"Throw it over!" Victor shouted.
Gloria tightened her grip and looked at Suzy.
Suzy’s face was pale as paper. Her eyes were half-lowered, her bloodless lips moving faintly, as if whispering something.
Gloria understood.
Don’t give it.
But how could she not?
She bit down hard on her lip, raising her hand, about to throw the key, but then... Suzy moved.
Her body snapped backward in an instant, her neck slipping free from the blade. At the same time, her right hand shot up, clamping down hard on Victor’s wrist.
Crack.
The sharp sound of bone shifting rang out.
Victor screamed as the dagger fell from his hand with a clang.
Before he could react, Suzy twisted her body and drove her left elbow straight into his ribs.
Bang.
He was sent flying sideways, slamming into the wall before collapsing to the ground in a crumpled heap, unable to get back up.
The entire sequence took less than two seconds.
Everyone froze.
Suzy let out a cold laugh. "And you thought you could threaten me?"
What a joke. She was a master of combat now.
Her gaze slid away from the writhing Victor and landed on the others.
"Thomas," she then commanded, "take care of the rest."
Like a loyal knight, Thomas charged at two men at once, breaking them in half with a couple of punches alone. In what seemed like a blur, a few more men fell down, completely useless to the gang now.
Gloria still stood there, her hand frozen midair with the key, eyes wide, tears clinging to her lashes—completely forgetting to cry.
Roy’s smile had stiffened on his face.
Curtis groaned, his eyes snapping open as he caught a glimpse of Suzy’s expression.
Even he—usually so composed—showed a flicker of unmistakable shock.
Suzy straightened, brushing off imaginary dust from her hands. She lifted a hand to touch the thin cut on her neck and hissed softly.
"That stings a little."
Then she looked at Gloria and smiled faintly.
"What are you standing there for? Put the key away."
Gloria snapped back to her senses, fumbling as she stuffed the key back into her pocket.
She stared at Suzy, her lips trembling, unable to form a single word.
What they had just witnessed was too overwhelming.
Suzy was... this strong?
Everyone thought the same thing.
But... she looked so fragile.
Always appearing sickly, as if weighed down by constant illness—yet she had taken Victor down in just a few moves.
It was terrifying.
A strange silence fell over the space.
Only Victor’s weak groans echoed faintly from the corner.
Roy’s expression had completely frozen, his mouth still curved in that earlier smirk, but his eyes had changed.
He stared at Suzy as if she were something inhuman.
"You... you..." he stammered, unable to finish.
Amy looked even paler than Gloria. She instinctively stepped back, hiding behind Roy, her voice trembling. "R-Roy... that woman..."
They had thought they had everything under control.
Who could have expected Suzy to turn the situation on its head?
"Shut up!" Roy snapped irritably.
He took a deep breath, his gaze sweeping over Suzy again and again, as if trying to find a flaw in her.
But Suzy simply stood there, calm and composed, even lifting a hand to smooth her slightly disheveled hair.
This woman... was downright terrifying.
That effortless calm was more unsettling than her swift, decisive strikes.
Roy gritted his teeth and glanced at the men he had brought.
Seven or eight of them—now only six were still standing.
Two had already been taken down by Thomas earlier, still writhing on the ground. Add Victor, and the unlucky one who had gone down first, and they had already lost four.
Meanwhile, Suzy and Thomas stood there, almost completely unharmed.
Roy’s eyes flickered.
"Roy..." Amyy called again, unease creeping into her voice.
"I told you to shut up!" he snapped, shooting her a vicious glare.
For the first time, he regretted bringing her along.
If she hadn’t egged him on—talking about how this place was full of supplies and easy targets—he wouldn’t have come today.
And now?
They had walked straight into a wall.
But backing down now wasn’t an option.
If he let himself be scared off by a woman, how would he survive around here in the future?
Grinding his teeth, he barked, "All of you, attack! There are only two of them who can fight—we can wear them down!"
The remaining six men exchanged uneasy glances, hesitating.
They had all seen what just happened.
No one wanted to be the next one lying on the ground.
"What are you waiting for? Move!" Roy roared.
Finally, two of them rushed forward, forcing themselves to act.
Suzy watched the man charging at her.
Once again, those invisible cues appeared in her vision—his attack trajectory, his weak points, all laid bare.
She shifted slightly, easily dodging the steel pipe swinging toward her, and at the same time brought her palm down sharply against his throat.
One strike.
His eyes rolled back as he collapsed instantly.
On the other side, Thomas’ movements were even more efficient.
He didn’t even bother with a weapon—just a punch and a kick, and the two men rushing him were already down.
They were monsters.
The remaining three finally broke.
They dropped their weapons and staggered back.
"Roy, we can’t do this—they’re too strong!"
"Let’s retreat!"
Roy’s face turned livid.
He shot Suzy a venomous glare, then glanced once more at the key in Gloria’s hand, unwilling to let go.
"Fine. Fine!" he spat, stepping back. "I’ll remember this. Just you wait—"
"Wait for what?"
A voice cut in from behind.
Roy spun around.
Curtis stood there, having circled behind him unnoticed, gripping a heavy stick, his eyes cold as ice.
"You—"
He didn’t get to finish.
Curtis swung.
The blow landed hard.
Roy let out a muffled groan and collapsed.
The rest completely lost their will to fight, dropping to the ground and clutching their heads, not daring to move.
Curtis stood there, breathing heavily. He looked at the fallen man, then at Suzy.
"Thanks," he said hoarsely.
Suzy just smiled faintly, saying nothing.
Gloria finally snapped out of her daze and rushed toward Amy.
Her face was pale, her lips trembling. "Gloria... I—I didn’t..."
There was no anger in Gloria’s eyes. Only deep disappointment.
"I’m sorry... I’m so sorry..."
Cloria closed her eyes for a few moments, then opened them again.
Raising her hand, she brought the back of her blade down hard, knocking Amy unconscious.
A trace of cold resolve flickered in her gaze.
She would never show mercy to traitors. Not after everything.