Derek‘s heart tightened. He hadn’t expected her to react so fast, or to be so intent on killing him. He immediately made a tactical dodge, throwing his body to one side. A crossbow bolt drove into the left side of his back, near the heart. Searing pain shot through his whole body; he staggered and almost fell.
But he gritted his teeth, didn't stop, and with his last strength dove into his car, slamming the door shut. The SUV roared, its tires screeching against the pavement as it sped away in panic. Clara didn't chase. She just stood there, watching Derek's car disappear into the night.
“He got away, but...”
She vaguely remembered that the bolt had gone into the left side of his torso. From that position, it should have hit his heart. Even if he was a soldier, he wouldn't last long with a hole in his heart. She put away her weapon, got back in the car, and locked the doors. As the adrenaline faded, a wave of intense exhaustion and hunger washed over her.
That life-and-death struggle just now had drained all her energy. Leaning back in the driver's seat, she kept replaying the fight in her mind. Derek's power was like a thorn lodged deep in her heart. She'd won, but only by luck.
If she hadn't thought fast and used a woman‘s tears, she’d probably be his plaything by now.
“Still not strong enough.”
Clara clenched her fists.
“I have to get stronger.”
She opened her personal panel and looked at her pitiful Strength and Agility.
“I have to raise my attributes as fast as possible and patch up this body's weak spots!”
Meanwhile, in the SUV speeding far away. Derek's face was pale as paper. He suddenly spat up a mouthful of blood that splattered onto the steering wheel. He drove one-handed with difficulty, his other hand trembling as he reached toward the left side of his chest. The crossbow bolt had still stabbed into his body, but it had missed his heart by about four-tenths of an inch.
It had only caused a serious penetrating wound.
The contempt and mockery were gone from Derek's eyes, replaced by a gravity he had never shown before. He wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and glanced through the rearview mirror at the distant taillight, which was almost invisible.
“A woman with a strange talent, a vicious mind, and such sharp combat instincts...”
“If she can't be made to serve me, then she has to die.”
He drove on for a while longer, then stopped in a safe place. Leaning back against the seat, Derek gasped for breath, the severe pain in his chest making his vision go black in waves. He didn't tend to the wound immediately. Instead, he opened a bottle of mineral water, took several large gulps, and forced himself to stay awake. Then he took a dagger, some clean gauze, and a bottle of iodine from his Storage Space.
He had found all of these in a pharmacy in the town earlier. He took a deep breath, placed a towel in his mouth, clenched his teeth, first removed the front arrowhead, and gripped the end of the crossbow bolt with his right hand. Without any hesitation, he yanked it out hard. The sound of flesh and blood tearing rang out, and blood sprayed out again.
Derek let out a muffled grunt, cold sweat instantly covering his forehead. But there was no panic on his face at all. He extended the fingers of his left hand like a blade. At a speed the naked eye could barely track, he jabbed several major pressure points on his chest, including the solar plexus and rib-side point, in a lightning-fast series! A strange numbness instantly spread through his upper body.
The next second, the blood that had been gushing like a fountain miraculously stopped! This was the ace-in-the-hole lifesaving skill he had learned in that mysterious unit: the
“Vessel-Sealing Bleeding Control Technique.”
By stimulating pressure points, it forcibly closed off the surrounding blood vessels and nerves to temporarily stop the bleeding. But this was only temporary. If too much time passed, the sealed tissue would die. He had to deal with the wound as soon as possible! Derek picked up a bottle of iodine, unscrewed the cap, and poured it directly onto the wound that wouldn't stop bleeding.
The moment the stinging liquid touched the wound, every muscle in his body went taut, his teeth ground together with a creaking sound, but he still didn't cry out. After a simple disinfection, he folded the clean gauze into a thick pad and pressed it hard against the wound. Then he wrapped a bandage crosswise around his chest and back and tied a tight knot. By the time he finished, he was so exhausted he was about to pass out.
“I have to... find medicine... as soon as possible...”
Derek leaned back in the seat and rested for nearly ten minutes before he recovered a little strength. He started the car, not daring to stay any longer. Enduring the severe pain, he kept driving along the highway. The vehicle drove about ten miles before a brown supply crate appeared by the roadside in his view. Night faded, and the first rays of morning sunlight appeared, lighting up the deathly quiet highway.
Clara hadn't slept all night. She took out bread and bottled water and made that her breakfast. After breakfast, she glanced at the water collector. Overnight, it had collected a quart of water, enough for her to drink today.
Then Clara opened the car door, dropped to the ground, and started doing push-ups. At first, she did them easily. By the fifth one, Clara clearly felt soreness and a tingling ache in her arms. She immediately stopped and rested for a moment.
“This body is pathetic.” Clara leaned against the car door and thought: Find the original chapter at g.com.
“Back then, I could do a hundred push-ups in one go without breaking a sweat. Now...”
“I have to survive and watch out for men.”
“Ugh... I'm so tired of this.”
After resting, she kept exercising. By the time she finished fifty, Clara was panting and wiped sweat from her forehead. Then she got back in the car, started it, and continued down the road searching for supplies. Soon she entered the forest. The light around her was blocked by towering trees, and strange roars came from not far away. Clara didn't dare slow down and sped up.
No one could be sure whether Derek, who'd fled yesterday, was hiding deep in the woods. Even when she spotted supply crates by the roadside, she didn't stop to get out. After all, you only live once. Being extra careful was only natural. After driving for over two hours, Clara left the dense forest behind.
She finally relaxed. The car continued for another ten miles or so before Clara saw two supply crates on the road ahead. One brown, one white.
“A good start, and good things come in pairs.” Clara immediately parked the car, grabbed the weapon from the passenger seat, and stepped out.
Following the usual method, she opened the first supply crate.
LootItemDetails🍜 Instant Noodles x2Instant food. Fills the stomach.🍑 Canned Peaches x1Canned fruit.💧 Bottled Water x1Clean drinking water. Held dear in every trade.
The haul was pretty good. After putting the supplies away, Clara looked at the white supply crate. The higher-tier the supply crate, the better the odds of getting something good, but the more dangerous it was. She didn't let her guard down. Axe in her left hand and Repeating Crossbow gripped tight in her right, she used the axe to pry open the clasp.
“Click.”