Chapter 448 The barking of dogs behind the ruthless male protagonist could not be shaken off.
The darkness and dense vegetation provided temporary cover, but also greatly depleted their energy, slowing them down.
"No... I can't take it anymore..."
Zi Xi finally couldn't hold on any longer, her legs gave way and she fell forward, causing Chen Li to stumble as well.
Shen Li suddenly turned around and scooped her up, leaning her against a thick tree trunk to catch her breath.
He looked down at her; rain streamed down her disheveled hair, and her lips were blue from the cold.
Those once pure and bewildered eyes now held only exhaustion on the verge of collapse.
"We can't stop... we'll die if we stop."
He raised his hand and roughly wiped away the bloodstains on her lips with his fingertips, his voice hoarse and broken.
Seeing his weak state, barely holding on, Zi Xi knew he couldn't die.
She nodded vigorously, struggling to stand up again with the help of the tree trunk.
Just then, beams of light from several powerful flashlights suddenly locked onto the large tree where they were hiding.
"Over there! Surround them!"
The sounds of hurried footsteps and the cocking of rifles drew rapidly closer.
They've been discovered!
Shen Li's eyes flashed with anger. He shoved Zi Xi further behind him and turned to face the pursuers who were rapidly closing in.
He held a rough tree branch he had picked up on the road in his hand, his eyes bloodshot with a madness that seemed to want to take everyone down with him.
"Capture them, dead or alive! That little idiot needs to be alive, he'll be useful!"
The leader of the pursuing troops gave a stern order.
In an instant, several figures pounced forward.
Shen Li completely abandoned defense, and every attack was carried with the determination to exchange injury for life.
Screams rose and fell, but his wounds were rapidly multiplying, and he was almost covered in blood.
Zi Xi was so frightened by the bloody scene before her that her whole body stiffened. Her mind went blank, leaving only one primal and intense thought.
She also wanted to protect him.
In the chaos of battle, a cunning pursuer circled around to Shen Li's side and rear, raised his machete, and slashed it down hard on the back of Shen Li's unsuspecting neck.
At this critical moment, something unexpected happened.
Zi Xi, who had been hiding behind the tree, suddenly unleashed an astonishing power and shot out like a small cannonball.
He used all his strength to ram hard into the pursuer who was holding a knife.
The pursuer was knocked off balance and his machete slashed off course, grazing Chen Li's shoulder before falling.
However, Zi Xi lost her footing due to the force of the impact.
The place where they hid was on the edge of a cliff, partially hidden by dense vines and shrubs.
"You silly boy!"
Shen Li turned around and happened to see this scene that made his soul fly away.
His eyes were bloodshot, and without thinking, he lunged forward to grab her.
However, it was too late.
His hand merely touched the hem of her dress that had been raised.
Zi Xi's small, thin figure was instantly swallowed up by the darkness below the cliff.
Only that last look back at him was still filled with confusion.
The last thing she left him was a fleeting, silly smile that vanished into the darkness.
Time stood still at this moment.
Shen Li's outstretched hand froze in mid-air.
All expression vanished from his face in an instant, leaving only an empty blankness.
The world had lost all color and sound in his eyes, leaving only boundless darkness.
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