Chapter 1121: The Frame and the Calamity
Everyone present, including Dr. Zhao and Lin Qin, stood frozen in place.
The matter had clearly been resolved, yet Xiaoxiao suddenly lashed out and hit someone... How were they supposed to salvage this now?
“Ha... haha, it's really hot...” Xiaoxiao said. “All that rambling nonsense about who knows what... blocking the way for so long?”
“You... you motherfucker—”
The man in shorts beside her instantly reacted to the situation, raising his iron pipe and charging forward. He swung it viciously at Xiaoxiao’s back. The pipe struck her like it was hitting a sandbag, producing a dull thud.
The man in shorts felt his hands sting from the impact, while Xiaoxiao’s burly figure merely paused slightly.
“Ha...” Xiaoxiao grinned. “Forgot to activate my Echo... That really hurt...”
With that, she turned around, grabbed his neck with one hand, tripped his feet, and shoved him to the ground in one swift motion.
“Come on!!” Xiaoxiao roared. “You blabbering idiots... Don’t you know we’re in a hurry?!”
Dr. Zhao watched Xiaoxiao’s state and paused for a moment, recalling that the last time he saw her, that man Old Sun had mentioned she suffered from manic symptoms.
Was she having an episode right now, of all times?
But this wasn’t simply a matter of an episode... After all, it was extremely difficult to find corresponding medication in the Land of Endings. People with psychological or mental disorders who entered here would very likely fall into a period of medication withdrawal.
“Xiaoxiao... are you okay?” Lin Qin called out from the side.
“I’m perfectly fine!!” Xiaoxiao shouted. “I feel like I can do anything right now!”
“You lunatic!” The remaining men swarmed in, encircling Xiaoxiao, but her eyes blazed with extreme excitement.
“Come on!!” Xiaoxiao yelled. “If you’ve got the balls, kill me!”
The two men she had thrown to the ground earlier also got up, forming an encirclement in an instant.
“Bullying someone outnumbered! Too far!” Han Yimo growled. “Miss, be careful—I’ll activate my ability to help you!”
“No!” Dr. Zhao and Lin Qin said simultaneously, trying to stop him.
“Huh?” Han Yimo was stunned. “What do you mean, no?”
“What kind of damned ability are you trying to activate?” Dr. Zhao asked.
But he regretted asking as soon as the words left his mouth. Aside from his Calamity, what other ability could Han Yimo possibly activate?
“I’ll summon the Seven Black Sword!” Han Yimo said. “The Seven Black Sword specializes in slaying evildoers... Aren’t these people evildoers?!”
“Wait... hold on a second...” Dr. Zhao quickly waved his hand. “Not to mention how you judge good and evil... but I feel like our side started the fight...”
“Uh...” Han Yimo hesitated. “That does seem to be the case...”
“If you summon the Seven Black Sword, probably more than half the people in this square would die, except for White Tiger,” Dr. Zhao added. “Just stay put, don’t overthink, and especially don’t say anything reckless.”
“But I—”
Xiaoxiao burst into another loud laugh, leaping at one of the men like a wild beast, but the entire encirclement stepped back in unison, dodging her pounce.
“Bro, she’s a woman...” one man said warily.
“Aren’t women even scarier?” another replied. “She’s just like that crazy woman Black Tortoise...”
Realizing she couldn’t break through their encirclement, Xiaoxiao straightened up and said, “What’s the fun in this? Six against one, and you still don’t dare to attack?”
The men were naturally wary of Xiaoxiao’s robust physique. A head-on confrontation wouldn’t give them much chance of winning; they’d have to rely on the six of them ganging up and striking from behind to beat her to death.
“If you’re not coming... then I’ll go,” Xiaoxiao said.
The men all tensed up, watching her closely. If Xiaoxiao was truly skilled in martial arts, she might launch a fatal surprise attack. But even in a sudden assault, she would inevitably leave an opening. As long as they carefully dodged her strike, they could definitely teach her a lesson.
The next second, something caught them completely off guard.
Xiaoxiao slowly raised her fist and then punched herself hard in the face.
The punch looked heavy and powerful; veins bulged on her neck, and her head jerked to the side.
But strangely, no one heard the sound of a fist hitting flesh.
“Huh...” Xiaoxiao stared blankly at the men in front of her. Her Frame had clearly activated successfully, yet they were completely unharmed, which instantly filled her with confusion.
Where had her Frame gone?
“Ouch...” Han Yimo covered his face and slowly crouched down. “That hurts so much...”
“Uh...” Dr. Zhao immediately understood what had happened and bent down quickly. “Han Yimo! Don’t let your mind run wild! It’s a toothache, right? It must be a toothache!”
“It kind of feels like a toothache, but not quite... Old Zhao, I feel like I got punched... but I didn’t see anyone... I figured I might get beaten up today, but why am I being beaten up so confusedly...”
Han Yimo’s speech was slurred. After speaking, he felt something strange in his mouth. He touched his teeth with his finger and found his fingertips covered in blood.
“Damn it!” Han Yimo exclaimed. “Old Zhao! I think I really got hit! Oh no, oh no, I’m going to die—”
“No, you’re not!” Dr. Zhao quickly reached out and covered Han Yimo’s mouth, cutting him off. “I’ve seen this condition before! It’s just ordinary gingivitis!”
He stared into Han Yimo’s eyes until the fear in them subsided, then slowly released his hand.
“Ging... gingivitis...?” Han Yimo was stunned. “Does gingivitis hurt this much?”
“It... it could be acute?” Dr. Zhao forced a smile. “Right, acute gingivitis. You have to trust me—I’m a doctor.”
“But aren’t you a brain surgeon...?”
“It’s... it’s all the same,” Dr. Zhao said. “Anyway, don’t think nonsense, and definitely don’t say anything foolish, okay?”
Helpless, Han Yimo spat a mouthful of blood onto the ground and said, “Fine... Since it hurts so much, I don’t want to talk anyway...”
Xiaoxiao looked at her fist in confusion, while the men nearby looked at her face even more puzzled.
“Ha ha...” Xiaoxiao paused. “No big deal. That’s how Echoes work—they get accurate the more you use them.”
With that, she picked up a stone from the ground. Dr. Zhao and Lin Qin’s eyes widened instantly, but before they could stop her, Xiaoxiao swung the stone and smashed it hard against her own forehead.
A strange, dull thud sounded. Xiaoxiao pressed the stone against her forehead for a moment, then moved it away, leaving only a faint trace of dust on her skin.
“Ah!”
The man in the tank top in front of her suddenly flew backward, as if struck in the head by something powerful. He clutched his forehead and writhed on the ground in agony.
“If you won’t come hit me... then I’ll beat you to death. Ha...” Xiaoxiao laughed.