Ye Huohuo, with half a steamed bun in her mouth, looked towards the cafeteria entrance. She saw the four formidable women who had fought them yesterday, followed by over a dozen women with murderous intent, completely blocking the doorway.
"It seems they didn't get enough fighting yesterday and are planning another round today. That's fine, your grandma just finished eating and needs to stretch her legs," Lu Yao said, her words slightly muffled by the steamed bun she was chewing.
"They come with ill intentions. They all exude killing intent. For us, it's more than just stretching our legs..." Ye Huohuo said, glancing at the two surveillance cameras in the corner of the wall. The lights on the cameras were off, and her brow furrowed. "They have more people. We can't hold back anymore."
Lu Yao followed Ye Huohuo's gaze to the corner of the wall above. "Damn it, this is deliberate. Are they planning to kill us?"
"You see the four formidable women are here, but their leader, Sister Juan, isn't. What do you think?"
"She intends to kill us and then find a scapegoat, leaving us to die for nothing?" Lu Yao said angrily. "Ye Huohuo, you had to offend her. Now, we either get killed and are done for, or we kill and get arrested. They even destroyed the surveillance cameras, ensuring we can't prove our innocence. It seems the police in the prison are also in cahoots with them. Truly..."
Before Lu Yao could finish her complaint, those women had already entered the cafeteria and were striding menacingly towards them.
"Ye Huohuo, to tell you the truth, Sister Juan wants you dead. If you're smart, don't struggle too much. Let us send you on your way, and it can also save your friend's life. You'll suffer less, and we'll save some effort. Otherwise, we guarantee you'll die a gruesome and painful death, and your friend will have to be buried with you."
The curly-haired one among the four formidable women tilted her chin up, looking down her nose at them.
She said this partly to intimidate Ye Huohuo and partly for Lu Yao to hear, hoping to make her retreat. If she followed Ye Huohuo, it would be a dead end.
Before Ye Huohuo could say anything, Lu Yao on the side sneered, "With just you lot? You think you can kill us all?"
The curly-haired woman sneered, making her already greasy face glisten with more oil. She raised her hand and gestured forward, "Take them down. Sister Juan said there's a reward of ten million for killing them first, and another big reward after ten years when we get out!"
The women behind her heard this, and their eyes gleamed with greed. Trading ten years in prison for ten million and future glory was definitely worth it.
"A joke. Two lives for ten years in prison? Don't be fooled by her. Anyone who admits to murder will be sentenced to death. At that time, let alone ten million, you won't have the chance to spend even a hundred million," Ye Huohuo said. She was still very weak. If they really fought, even if it were just the four formidable women, she and Lu Yao might not be able to defeat them.
It was best to find a way to pacify them.
"See? She's scared. Don't listen to her. Don't you know Sister Juan's reputation and connections? The surveillance here is destroyed. If we kill them, we'll just say they attempted to kill us. We'll create a fake scene, and the police here will all side with us. They'll have no evidence. If done well, it might be ruled as self-defense, and they might not even go to jail. Even if it's judged as excessive self-defense, it'll only be ten-odd years."
Unexpectedly, the curly-haired woman knew quite a bit about the law. The women behind her could no longer contain their excitement and screamed, charging towards Ye Huohuo and Lu Yao.
Their formation was like soldiers charging on a battlefield, except soldiers fought for their country, while these women fought for money.
"Why don't you leave!" Before those women could charge, Ye Huohuo quietly said to Lu Yao.
"What are you thinking? Do you really think they'll let me go? And I said, your life belongs to me, and only I can take it. These small fries, do they really think they're the Dragon King?" Lu Yao said, then threw a punch at the face of one of the women charging at the forefront.
With just one punch, she knocked out one of that woman's front teeth. Instantly, the woman's face was covered in blood as she staggered backward.
The women behind her were stunned by Lu Yao's punch. Their eyes widened, and they stopped in their tracks, unsure whether to advance or retreat.
The four formidable women hadn't moved. Seeing these women charge ahead, they had intended to reap the benefits. Now, seeing their hesitation and fear, they cursed, "A bunch of useless good-for-nothings!" Then, two of them lunged at Lu Yao, and two lunged at Ye Huohuo, deciding to take action themselves.
Ye Huohuo inwardly sighed, "Woe is me!"
Forced, she was once again embroiled in a fight.
Although they had fought yesterday and each had suffered losses, these four women had clearly rested well overnight and their stamina had basically fully recovered. Ye Huohuo and Lu Yao, on the other hand, hadn't had any rest. They had flirted with death several times, almost losing their lives.
Especially Ye Huohuo, who was not only covered in physical wounds but also mentally exhausted. It was already a miracle she was alive, and now she had to fight again. It was harder than ascending to heaven.
One side was fresh, while the other was physically and mentally drained. Ye Huohuo was subdued first. Lu Yao, wanting to provide assistance, was quickly subdued as well due to divided attention.
Each of them was pinned to the ground by several women, their faces pressed against the cold tile floor. The icy chill seeped into their skin. Whether intentionally or not, someone stomped hard on Ye Huohuo's wound on her buttock. Blood gushed out. Her light gray clothes were stained with blood, creating a startling contrast.
Lu Yao was not faring any better. During the fight, someone had injured her shoulder with a splintered chair leg. Blood soaked through her white clothes, resembling a large red flower.
"Ye Huohuo, I didn't expect us to die on the same year, same month, and same day. Well, at least we won't be lonely on the road to the underworld," Lu Yao said, devoid of strength. She seemed to have accepted her fate, stretching her neck to await death.
"Alright, someone come and finish them off. That ten million and future rewards belong to her," the curly-haired woman said, picking up the splintered chair leg from the ground and holding it. She scanned the crowd.
The women who had been clamoring earlier now fell silent.
People are like this. When it doesn't concern them, they're willing to join in the commotion. But when the moment of truth arrives and someone truly has the guts to kill, there are very few.
Ye Huohuo, pinned to the ground, felt like a puddle of mud, finding it difficult to even move her fingers. But she was never one to accept her fate and wait for death. She noticed the change in the women's emotions and quickly seized the opportunity to persuade them, fighting for a chance to survive. "I am from the Li family. Have you heard of the Li family in Haicheng? If you don't attack me and my friend today, and we survive, each of you will receive a million yuan. For your dozen or so people, over ten million is nothing to the Li family.
But you can get the money without killing. Which do you think is more worthwhile? And even if you kill me, will you really have a good ending after getting ten million? Who can say for sure what will happen in ten years? What if the Bai family goes back on their word, what will you do then?
But my one million is real cash, and everyone present today will get it. Think carefully, is it more beneficial for you to have us dead, or more beneficial for you to be alive!"
Clearly, these women knew the Li family and knew that Ye Huohuo was part of it. If Ye Huohuo had just said this without any backing, no one would believe that a young girl like her could produce so much money. But now that she was part of the Li family, her words carried weight. If she said each person would get a million, the Li family could certainly afford it.
They say people die for wealth, but if you can have wealth without dying, that's even better.
Ye Huohuo's proposal had clearly moved these women. Although they dared not say more due to the presence of the four formidable women, they exchanged glances, and the atmosphere became strangely tense.