# Chapter 30: Scattering in All Directions
"Cough, cough, cough."
Red Eyes bent over, coughing dryly as she spat out large mouthfuls of blood.
The intense pain from her internal energy being burned caused her entire body to tremble, yet Red Eyes didn't make a single sound.
In the distance, Tazmi wanted to rush forward to help, but just as he began to move, an orange laser beam struck the ground before his feet. A finger-thick hole appeared, and green smoke rose from it.
Mine's meaning was clear: don't come forward to die. If Red Eyes couldn't face this enemy head-on, you'd be even less capable.
Red Eyes' condition was now very grim. She had multiple bone fractures throughout her body and a penetrating wound through her chest.
"9, 7, 3, 7, 9."
Red Eyes shouted out a series of numbers, clearly a coded signal.
Tazmi had just joined the Night Raid and wasn't familiar with this code, but Mine understood.
Three orange laser beams shot toward the ground in front of Tazmi, gradually advancing toward him—the meaning was retreat.
Red Eyes began to slowly back away, dragging her injured body. Mine's firepower ceased. Tazmi also understood the situation and started to retreat cautiously.
Red Eyes stared intently at Su Xiao, hoping he would chase after her.
Su Xiao glanced at Red Eyes, then at Mine in the distance, and finally at Tazmi. The three were retreating in three different directions—he could only pursue one.
"Forced to use this tactic, huh."
Su Xiao suddenly burst into motion, charging at full speed toward one person.
His target was Tazmi! He didn't believe Red Eyes would stand by and watch him die.
Red Eyes clenched her silver teeth. The enemy was a hundred times more cunning than she had imagined. She had no choice but to abandon her original strategy.
At this moment, Tazmi understood the situation. He had become a burden.
Realizing this, Tazmi felt as if a heavy stone was pressing on his chest. His gaze gradually grew resolute—this young man was slowly maturing.
Tazmi looked at Su Xiao charging toward him, then at the bottomless river three meters away.
With a leap, Tazmi jumped from the dock into the river. This required great courage, considering his entire chest cavity had been slashed open. Even if he didn't drown, he might die from bacterial infection.
With a splash, Tazmi hit the water.
"A spirited young man."
Su Xiao changed his running direction, now aiming for Mine.
Another splash sounded in the distance—Mine had also jumped into the river. Though Mine was young, she was an experienced member of the Dark Division.
Su Xiao stopped. These Night Raid members were wasting their talents by not participating in diving competitions.
"As you wish."
This time, Su Xiao chased after Red Eyes. Upon seeing Tazmi and Mine jump into the river, Red Eyes turned and ran faster than a rabbit.
If not for the trail of blood along the way, Su Xiao would have doubted whether this girl was actually injured. She ran far too fast, and Red Eyes was very familiar with the Imperial Capital's terrain.
During the pursuit, Su Xiao hesitated slightly, wondering whether he should continue.
He had been hunting enemies since noon, and now the sun was setting in the west. Today, it seemed he hadn't been engaged in life-or-death combat but had instead participated in a sports meet.
First, a marathon (chasing Leone).
Then, long jump over muddy ground (leaping across visible swamps).
He also served as a spectator for diving (witnessing Tazmi and Mine jumping into the river).
And now, another new marathon (chasing Red Eyes).
Red Eyes' escape direction was toward the interior of the Imperial Capital. The complex environment inside the capital was more suitable for her to break free. Earlier, Leone had chosen the forest due to the influence of her Lion King Imperial Arm—"beasts" prefer nature.
A blood-soaked young girl ran ahead, and a few minutes later, a sword-wielding man chased behind.
This scene terrified the residents of the Imperial Capital. Some residents notified the guards within the capital.
Chasing and killing someone in the streets of the Imperial Capital was, of course, not allowed. A large number of Imperial Capital guards were mobilized.
They didn't intercept Red Eyes ahead, but half an hour later, they stopped Su Xiao instead.
"Stop! Put down your sword, you criminal!"
A guard captain raised a strangely shaped gun. The Imperial Capital's guards were equipped with firearms.
"Dark Division business."
Su Xiao presented his Dark Division identification.
"Sir, our apologies."
After Su Xiao showed his Dark Division identification, the guard captain's attitude did a complete one-eighty.
"I am pursuing a Night Raid member. Immediately notify your chief and seal off all exits of the Imperial Capital. The fugitive is a young woman around eighteen or nineteen years old, armed with a sword, wearing black clothing, and wounded. Any suspicious individuals matching this description are not to enter or leave the capital."
"Yes, sir!"
The guard captain stood at attention, now covered in cold sweat.
These Imperial Capital guards were arrogant before commoners, but before the Dark Division, they became obedient little lambs.
The Dark Division was generally under the direct jurisdiction of the royal family or individual generals, with the authority to execute first and report later. Even if they killed a guard on the street, the guard could only accept his bad luck, and his family wouldn't even receive compensation.
This was the Imperial Capital—power was everything. Those with power could trample others' dignity, body, and soul at will.
An empire like this being destroyed was the most reasonable thing in the world.
The guards within the capital were quickly mobilized. All exits were sealed off. Night Raid members infiltrating the Imperial Capital was no small matter.
Entering a small alley, Su Xiao crouched down. There was a pool of blood on the ground.
He touched the blood with his finger—it was still slightly warm, indicating that Red Eyes had just left. He was very close to her now.
Nearby, some white cloth strips were scattered, stained with large patches of blood. Red Eyes had apparently torn up her undergarments to bandage her wounds.
Su Xiao let out a light laugh. When Dragon-Slaying Flash had pierced Red Eyes' chest, he had cut diagonally.
Although this type of wound wasn't long, it was extremely difficult to bandage. Moreover, since Red Eyes was female, a chest wound was even harder to dress.
Following the trail of blood, Su Xiao hunted within the Imperial Capital. Red Eyes was like a wounded doe, darting frantically through the city.
"With that much blood loss, let's see how long you can hold on."
Tracking the scattered drops of blood, twenty minutes later, Su Xiao noticed that the surrounding buildings were becoming more dilapidated. Occasionally, he could see drunkards passed out on the street corners.
This was the slums—the most chaotic and poorest area of the Imperial Capital.
If a somewhat attractive woman dared to walk alone through the slums' streets, she would likely be kidnapped and end up in the pleasure district not far away the next day.
The chaos here was beyond imagination. Women being kidnapped wasn't even the most terrifying thing. The drunkards lying on the streets were the most pitiful—they might sleep on the filthy streets today, but tomorrow morning, they could end up on some cold experimental table, awaiting mad human experiments.
Su Xiao first passed through a pitch-black alley, and before long, he arrived at a lively street.
The sky was gradually darkening.
This street was dominated by pink and red lights.
The street was lined mainly with two or three-story pointed-roof buildings. Glazed tiles covered the roofs, and round or square lanterns hung in front of the buildings.
Soft instrumental music mixed with the laughter and chatter on the street. Many men and women were intimately leaning against each other.
On the upper floors of the roadside buildings, one could vaguely see some scantily clad women holding long, slender smoking pipes. These women scanned the pedestrians below, seemingly searching for tonight's bed partners or fat wallets.
Su Xiao had arrived at the Imperial Capital's pleasure district, the liveliest part of the slums.
Not only had Su Xiao arrived at the pleasure district, but he had also walked in with a drawn sword. The bloodstains on his lapel indicated that he had just committed violence.
This terrified the guests in the pleasure district. Couples leaning together scattered in all directions.
Su Xiao's entry into the pleasure district with a drawn sword affected certain people's interests, and someone immediately couldn't sit still.