bChapter /bb269 /b

    He touched his head and felt his hande away slick with blood, ignitinga an even fiercer rage within him. He roared, b“/bI’ll kill every bst /bbone /bof you here today!” The man swun

    his knife wildly, shing at Skr in a frenzied attack.

    Skr dodged left and right with Adam in her arms, trying to shake off the crazed attacker. Adam was jolted awake and saw a bthreatening /bfigure pursuing them, brandishing a glinting knife. Whimpering in fear, he cried out, “Mornmy…”

    “Adam!” Skr was instantly distracted by his faint cry. Adam’s face was deathly pale as he clutched at his chest, and his condition bappeared /bcritically unstable.

    Skr quickly retrieved a CardioShield capsule from the medicine bottle she was carrying and ced it into Adam’s mouth. She aimed to finish administering the medicine to Adam before addressing the madman behind her.

    Seeing that Skr could not escape, the man stopped a short

    istance away, his eyes gleaming with perverse delight as he watched bher /bstruggle. He burst into maniacalughter, taunting her, “Run, you coward! Thought you were so good at dodging? No matter what, you bwill /bstill end up in my hands!”

    The man approached Skr slowly, his face contorted in a grotesque snarl, a knife clutched in his hand. Raising the de to strike, he shouted, “You bitch, time for hell!”

    After making sure Adam had taken his medicine, Skr gently set him down and spun around to confront the attacker. Her eyes narrowed,

    sharp as des. A needle glinted between her fingertips, ready to strike at the man’s knife–wielding hand.

    Yosef caught the descending de with his bare hands. As the man stood frozen in shock, Yosef delivered a powerful kick to his gut. Doubling over in pain, the man curled up as the knife slipped from his grip. A raw scream erupted from his throat.

    The wail of police sirens grew louder. The man and woman instinctively tried to stand and flee, but their injuries left them unable to move.

    The police easily apprehended them. “Thank you both. Without your assistanceb, /bour team wouldn’t have been able to capture this criminal

    gang so swiftly.”

    Yosef replied, “No problem,” then added politely, “Excuse me, I have urgent matters to address.b” /b

    Yosef walked over to Skr, his sharp eyes scanning her carefully from head to toe. Once he confirmed that she was unharmed, he finally exhaled in relief. “Is Adam alright?” he asked, his voice filled with concern.

    Skr turned and gently lifted Adam into her arms–she had no choice but to set him down earlier. Now, his breathing was steady, and although a faint frown still lingered on his forehead, hisplexion had improved significantly. Skr checked Adam’s pulse and said softly,

    “He’s fine now.”

    Yosef pressed his lips together, guilt evident in his voice. “I’m sorry for what you went through today. I should have done a better job of

    protecting you.”

    Skr shook her head. “Don’t me yourself. Who could have known that traffickers would stoop so low?”

    Skr looked down and saw blood dripping from Yosef’s hand, realizing it was the injury he sustained while protecting her. didn’t require his protection, she couldn’t deny the courage he had just shown for her sake.

    “Your hand… It’s still bleeding,” she said.

    bugh /bbshe /b

    Yosef only seemed to realize that his hand was still bleeding when Skr pointed it out. His injured fingers twitched slightly as bhe /bbbrushed /bthem off, saying, “It’s nothing. Just a scratch.”

    Skr was furious at his indifference. “Just a scratch?” she snapped. “That wound goes down to the bone!” Skr bwarned /bbsharply/bb, /bb“/bbIf /bbyou /b

    UO bOU /b

    bdon’t /btreat that wound properly, you could lose your hand.”

    bYosef /bextended his hand with a wry smile. “bIsn’t /bthis a bit of a waste of your talents, Miss Sue? Could you patch me bup/bb?/bb” /b

    Skr pursed her lips and said, “Don’t imply that I’m irresponsible. Follow me.” She informed the waiting officers bthat /bthey bwould /bbprovide /btheir statementster, carefully settled Adam into the police car, and then rushed to a nearby shop to borrow a first–aid kit bto /btreat bYosef’s /bwound.

    The raw flesh was torn open, faintly exposing the white bone beneath. Skr bit her lip, wondering, ‘Who in their right mind would btry /bbto /bcatch a de with bare hands?‘

    biAD /i/b