I See Murders Before They Happen

Chapter 261: Chapter 259: I Remember You Now

The property management had sent a notice in the group chat, so there was almost no one outside the residential complex.

Anyone who hadn’t seen the message was promptly called away by the staff.

Mia and Su Miaoyi were locked in combat.

The two fought their way from the flowerbeds to the rockery.

Mia’s every move was a killing blow, aimed squarely at taking Su Miaoyi’s life.

And Su Miaoyi suddenly felt that she might not be able to defeat her.

She was too strong.

Far stronger than anyone she could remember ever facing.

Mia had a dagger strapped directly to her hand, making it impossible to disarm. She clutched the dagger, slashing at Su Miaoyi again and again.

Su Miaoyi constantly dodged, looking for an opening in her defense.

She twisted aside, and the dagger grazed past her cheek, striking a stone on the rockery.

It struck a spark in the darkness.

Su Miaoyi seized the opportunity to kick her.

Mia took the kick as if she felt no pain, showing no reaction. She had braced for the impact without even moving, and she immediately counter-attacked.

Su Miaoyi retreated a few steps, gathered her strength again, and kicked at her once more.

She refused to believe she couldn’t hurt her.

If one kick didn’t work, she would just have to land a few more.

This was extremely draining.

Just then, a voice came through Su Miaoyi’s earpiece: "Su Miaoyi, we’re pinned down over here. Your safety is the priority. If you can’t win, run."

She narrowed her eyes. Her opponent was here to kill her; running probably wasn’t an option.

They fought from one side of the rockery to the other.

Even if Su Miaoyi had wanted to run, she had no chance to.

The fight was taking a heavy toll. She intentionally let Mia land a blow, then, timing her move perfectly, she used the rockery for leverage. She kicked off the stones to launch herself up, landed a kick on Mia, then hooked the back of her knee around her neck and slammed her to the ground.

The ground below was concrete. Mia hit it hard and was dazed for a moment, but she still immediately lunged with the dagger at Su Miaoyi’s leg.

Su Miaoyi parried her hand and quickly dodged away.

Mia scrambled to her feet. After a few more exchanges, Su Miaoyi took two kicks and was sent flying.

She crashed hard against the rockery, then ricocheted onto the ground, rolling twice.

Her arm scraped violently across a jutting rock, tearing a long, deep gash from her wrist to her elbow.

A rock also jabbed into her abdomen.

Her clothes were instantly stained red with blood.

Gritting her teeth against the searing pain, Su Miaoyi scrambled back to her feet.

The moment she was up, Mia’s dagger descended.

Judging by its trajectory, if she hadn’t gotten up instantly, it would have pierced her neck.

She clutched her abdomen and retreated.

Mia laughed. "I knew you wouldn’t come alone. My people have the area surrounded. No matter which way your backup comes from, they won’t get in. No one is coming to save you. Any last words?"

"Where’s Lu Xian?" Su Miaoyi asked.

"Don’t know."

"Who sent you?" she asked again.

"Don’t know. I’m just an assassin. I get paid for a job. As for the client... it’s a rule of the trade. We never ask about our clients," Mia said.

Su Miaoyi nodded, closed her eyes for a moment, and when she opened them again, her gaze had turned cold.

It wasn’t just cold; the light in her eyes had dimmed.

They were heavy, brimming with killing intent.

It even seemed as if her sense of pain had lessened considerably.

Mia sensed the shift in her aura. She frowned and advanced with her dagger.

Su Miaoyi drew a dagger from behind her back as well and met her advance.

’When apprehending a target, the dagger is for self-defense. You don’t draw it unless absolutely necessary, and you don’t kill the target.’

’After all, I need to keep her alive. There are too many questions to ask.’

’But... things are different now.’

Her attack speed was so fast that Mia couldn’t adapt.

A horizontal slash, a knee strike, an elbow jab, a forward step, a spinning back kick—a flurry of swift movements sent Mia flying.

Mia stumbled back a few steps and collided with a tree, immediately dodging behind it.

Su Miaoyi’s dagger sank into the tree. As she yanked it free, she kicked out at Mia’s legs.

The dynamic shifted from one of attack and defense to a relentless, mutual assault. Neither was willing to give an inch.

They fought like their lives meant nothing, both sustaining dagger wounds, yet neither seemed to feel any pain.

Mia’s dagger sliced horizontally.

Su Miaoyi seized her wrist, then bent her other arm at the elbow and slammed it down on Mia’s arm.

The move was too fast. Mia’s reaction was a fraction too slow, and her arm was snapped clean.

Despite the broken arm, Mia still managed to break free.

A few more exchanges passed.

Su Miaoyi pinned her against the tree, dislocated her other arm, and then brought the dagger horizontally toward her neck.

Mia knew she couldn’t escape this time. She closed her eyes, waiting for death.

But Su Miaoyi’s dagger stopped, leaving a faint, bloody line on her neck. Then, she punched Mia in the stomach, grabbed her by the throat, and said coldly, "I remember you now."

Mia gasped for air, her eyes bloodshot as she stared back.

"You were always a loser. All these years, and you still haven’t improved at all. I’ve gotten rusty, and you still can’t beat me."

"You... who are you?" Mia asked.

"Asking an assassin for their name?" Su Miaoyi said, her grip suddenly tightening. "Have you lost your mind?"

Mia’s breath was cut off instantly.

Su Miaoyi’s hand tightened again. "Listen closely. Can you hear all the people you’ve killed calling for you?"

Mia’s eyes widened, bloodshot, fixed on her.

"They’re calling for you to join them down below," Su Miaoyi’s voice was cold and soft, her face devoid of expression. "Want to go keep them company?"

"Su Miaoyi..." Zhuang Yanzheng’s voice rang out from a short distance away.

Su Miaoyi acted as if she hadn’t heard.

Zhuang Yanzheng and Lu Zhishen ran over.

"Su Miaoyi," Zhuang Yanzheng immediately grabbed her wrist. "Let go. We still have a lot of questions for her."

Lu Zhishen saw that Mia was on her last breath.

"Su Miaoyi, let go," Zhuang Yanzheng raised his voice.

Su Miaoyi released her grip and shook off his hand at the same time.

Mia slumped to her knees on the ground.

Zhuang Yanzheng let Mia catch her breath for a moment. Seeing that she wasn’t in immediate mortal danger, he handcuffed her and then turned to Su Miaoyi. "Where are you hurt?"

He saw that her clothes were covered in blood around her abdomen.

There was also a long gash on her arm, still dripping blood. Besides that, she had various other cuts and bruises.

Lu Zhishen called for an ambulance.

Su Miaoyi looked at Zhuang Yanzheng.

When she didn’t speak, Zhuang Yanzheng looked into her eyes and suddenly sensed that something was wrong.

Su Miaoyi’s gaze swept over him and Lu Zhishen.

Lu Zhishen seemed fine, but Zhuang Yanzheng had a knife wound on his arm, and it had bled a lot.

"What’s wrong?" Zhuang Yanzheng asked.

Su Miaoyi glanced at him. "Were there a lot of them blocking you?"

"Yeah." Zhuang Yanzheng felt something was off about her; this version of Su Miaoyi seemed like a stranger. "A lot of them. A few were very skilled."

Su Miaoyi glanced at the wound on his arm again. "Did you catch them?"

"We caught a few," Zhuang Yanzheng said.

Su Miaoyi said nothing more. She lowered her gaze and stood off to the side, wiped the blood from her dagger, and tucked it behind her back, looking as if she were simply waiting for them.

Zhuang Yanzheng and Lu Zhishen exchanged another glance, then together they helped Mia up and led her away.

Su Miaoyi didn’t say a word, just followed quietly behind them...