“That woman was Leopard. No one takes things from Leopard. Not jewelry. Not money. Not… their gaze.”
Anyone who did would pay a price. Even if it took years.
The car fell into silence again.
Mu Dai felt time moving unbearably slowly. She wished the next moment could just be morning — nine o’clock — already in Chuxiong — already picking up Cao Yanhua.
She didn’t want him to remember anymore.
She said softly, “Then… don’t talk about it anymore.”
He smiled faintly.
“Let me finish in one breath. If I don’t say it now, I don’t know when I’ll have the courage again.”
…
Not long after that, they had several more clean victories. With each one, Luo Ren became the quiet, unspoken leader. That’s how private armed groups worked — no appointments, no rules. Everything was earned by strength.
The good part: his value kept rising.
The bad part: the tallest bird gets shot first.
One day, they received an emergency job.
Twenty-three hostages had been taken at the Mindanao Imperial Hotel — all foreign nationals. Calling them tourists wasn’t quite right. Mindanao rarely had real tourists. Most of them were there for work or business.
The pay was extremely high.
They moved fast and pinned the kidnappers inside the hotel.
The operation turned into a brutal firefight. Grenades were used. The kidnappers dragged the hostages from the first-floor lobby to the second, then to the third.
The mastermind behind it was Leopard.
Luo Ren quickly had someone bring him the hotel blueprints and started arranging defense and assault positions — who would hold the line, who would break through windows from higher floors.
Before the plan could fully unfold, heavy bursts of gunfire and hostage screams exploded from the second floor.
Later, they learned the kidnappers had contacted Leopard.
She had said:
“If I can’t make money from them, no one can. It makes me uncomfortable otherwise.”
So they killed everyone.
“Annihilation.”
The moment Luo Ren heard the gunfire, he knew things had gone wrong.
He and Qingmu broke a window and forced their way inside. The rest launched a frontal assault.
By the time they reached the third floor, the corridor was full of bodies — and eerily silent.
The kidnappers were already hidden. A hard fight was unavoidable.
Luo Ren and Qingmu moved forward with weapons raised, fingers brushing the trigger, nerves stretched to their limits, stepping lightly around the bodies.
Then Luo Ren noticed something.
One of the “bodies” moved.
Not because it was alive —
But because a child was hidden underneath it.
Qingmu crouched down and flipped the body over.
Underneath was a little girl, maybe five or six years old. Blonde hair. White skin. Big eyes full of tears. Her body was covered in blood, shaking badly.
Suddenly, Eurice’s voice exploded through the headset — cursing loudly:
“Luo! It’s a trap! Leopard’s backup forces just arrived! Our exits are blocked! If we don’t lose our heads, we’re not getting out!”
At almost the same time, rapid gunfire burst out from both outside the hotel and inside the corridor.
Luo Ren grabbed the little girl and rolled into the nearest guest room.
Qingmu rolled into the room across the hall.
Both of them quickly checked their weapons and remaining ammunition.
The girl looked at Luo Ren with tear-filled eyes.
He signaled to Qingmu:
—I’ll go first. You cover.
—Crisscross movement.
—We can’t bring the child.
—Leave it to fate.
—One… two… three…
Just as Luo Ren prepared to rush out, the girl suddenly grabbed the corner of his clothes and cried:
“Uncle… don’t leave me alone.”
His heart softened in that instant.
On the other side, Qingmu had already rolled toward the door. Seeing Luo Ren hesitate, he rolled back just in time — a burst of bullets shattered the doorway, sending stone chips flying.
Luo Ren looked back at the girl.
He couldn’t take her.
Now it was clear — this “job” had turned into Leopard’s planned ambush. This was no longer a rescue. It was a breakout.
Every nerve in his body would be needed.
He didn’t have the energy to protect her.
In the room opposite, Qingmu angrily flashed hand signs at him.
They were sharp, absolute:
Don’t be soft-hearted.
Don’t be soft-hearted.
Don’t be soft-hearted.
Luo Ren looked at the girl again. Her pretty little face was smeared with tears and blood like a dirty kitten. She lifted her arms to wipe her eyes and whispered:
“Uncle… there are bad people… take me out… I’ll be good… I won’t make a sound…”
This wasn’t hide-and-seek. Silence wouldn’t save anyone.
Luo Ren stayed silent.
She hesitantly tried to reach for him again, but seeing his darkened expression, she slowly pulled her hand back.
He asked quietly, “What’s your name?”
“Tasha.”
Behind him, Qingmu looked ready to explode.
Luo Ren’s heart hardened.
He took a deep breath and turned his back to her, crouching down.
“Get on.”
Two thin arms wrapped around his neck. Her small, soft body pressed tightly against his back.
He said, “Tasha, listen carefully. I can’t take care of you. You hold tight. If you fall, I won’t turn back for you. Don’t make noise. It doesn’t affect me. Just hold tight — not too tight. I still need to breathe.”
Her arms tightened. She nodded against his back.
He signaled Qingmu again.
One. Two. Three. Go.
They burst into the hallway back-to-back.
Gunfire exploded instantly.
Luo Ren didn’t slow down, even with a child on his back — firing, dodging, rolling, dropping flat. Ricochets screamed past him. His nose filled with the sharp smell of gunpowder.
They finally broke through.
They regrouped, jumped into the vehicle, and sped away.
Eurice shouted, “Luo! You’re hurt — your pants are covered in blood… and why is there a kid?!”
It took him a while to pry Tasha’s arms loose.
She was unconscious.
A stray bullet had passed diagonally through her back.
The blood on Luo Ren’s body was all hers.
Eurice treated the wound. Even unconscious, she kept twitching slightly, murmuring:
“Hold tight… hold tight… uncle… don’t leave me alone…”
The vehicle bounced along rough forest roads.
After bandaging her, Eurice handed Tasha back to Luo Ren.
“Luo, what are you going to do with her?”
Luo Ren leaned against the metal panel, holding Tasha in his arms.
“I don’t know.”
He lowered his head.
Due to blood loss, her face was pale. Her tiny hand unconsciously gripped his collar. In a faint murmur, she called:
“Daddy…”
Sam Williams On TYMIMA Chapter 152