Chapter 66.5 (Side Story) - Self-Rescue Manual of a Villainess

Encounter (Jiang Mi/Nan Yin) "Don't run!" "You little brat! Stop right there!" The chaotic streets had just gone through a shower of artificial rain, and the damp mist made the girl feel a chilling dampness on her body. Running barefoot on the wet ground, she gasped for breath, turned her head, and swiftly darted into a nearby alley. Passersby noticed the panicked orange-haired girl, but they also noticed the five or six thugs chasing after her from behind. Any hint of pity that might have arisen in someone's heart was quickly extinguished by their owners. Black umbrellas once again shielded their heads, hands buried deep in their pockets, disappearing into the darkness of the night. As she turned into the alley, the girl realized it was a dead end. At the end of the road stood a three-meter-high wall, a height impossible for a ten-year-old girl to overcome. This is bad... "Keep running, you little brat! Why aren't you running?" "I'm going to break her legs!" "Luckily she didn't get away, otherwise the boss wouldn't spare us!" The shouts of the pursuers behind her made the girl desperate, and she pressed her back against the adjacent wall. Before long, the group of thugs chasing after her approached, and the young man with a purple headband, as their leader, grabbed the girl by her hair and threw her to the ground. "Keep running, you bitch! I'm going to break your legs and see if you can still run then!" Before the girl could even let out a scream of pain, another person hoisted her up by the collar, causing a slight suffocating sensation on her neck. Instinctively, she reached out with both hands to peel away the large hand that was gripping her neck. "Snap!" Someone raised a hand and slapped the girl's face, followed by a muffled groan. Her left cheek swelled visibly, a clear indication of the force behind the slap. "Damn it, luckily this little brat didn't escape, otherwise I would have to take it out on her for the boss." The young man who had been holding the girl's collar sneered as he looked at his captive, who had stopped struggling. "Forget it, with your tiny ass, are you not afraid of being sent to the proctology department the next day?" Another thug laughed. "You little bitch, are you dead? Make a sound if you're not dead." At this moment, the man who had thrown the girl to the ground grabbed her chin. "What's wrong with her? She's barely moving. Did you use too much force and kill her?" "How is that possible! Can't you see her chest still rising and falling? She's not dead." The thug who had slapped the girl just now retorted. "It's good that she's not dead... After the boss is done, it'll be our turn." The man who had spoken earlier smirked, extending a hand to brush away the hair covering the girl's face, as if wanting a closer look at her appearance. But just as the man moved the girl's hair aside to get a glimpse of her face, the girl suddenly coughed violently and then... "Ah... Hock!" She spat a mouthful of blood right onto the man's face! "Fuck!" The man quickly wiped the blood off his face, completely angered. He clenched his hand into a fist and struck the girl's stomach hard. "Ugh... Ugh!" The girl couldn't bear it and immediately spat out even more blood. But even so, the girl slowly raised her head after spitting out the blood, looking at the man who had punched her with a disdainful expression. "Damn, I lose my temper so easily..." "Alright, Xiao Er, let her show off. Tonight it's our turn to have some fun after the boss." Just as the man couldn't take it anymore and reached for the dagger at his waist, his silent companion beside him stopped him in his tracks. "If we accidentally hurt her, it wouldn't be good for the boss's mood." "...Maybe you're right." The man hesitated for a moment, sheathed his dagger, but still slapped the girl. "Bitch..." "Hey sirs, it's not good to outnumber someone smaller, you know?" At that moment, a voice of a little girl suddenly came from the alley entrance. "Who is it!" The man's heart skipped a beat as he looked towards the entrance of the alley, only to see a little girl, around ten years old, dressed in a tattered school uniform with short white hair. "So it's just a little loli who wants to play the hero? Hahaha!" "Little kid, can't find your way home? Want big brother to take you there?" The man smirked and exchanged glances with the two companions beside him. The two immediately understood, walking towards the little girl who was standing in their way. The man holding the captive brat--that was reserved for the boss. But this sudden addition to the scene, her, might just satisfy the rest of the gang? After all, they had heard her earlier, and she might be a beauty! "Oh? Do you gentlemen have something in mind?" The short-haired girl saw the thugs closing in on her, but she didn't panic. Instead, she tilted her head expressionlessly. "What do we have in mind? Shall big brother take you to see the goldfish?" One of the thugs who had edged closer leered. "No need..." The girl shook her head when she heard their words, "Aren't you gentlemen done with that girl yet? Don't forget that the minimum penalty for three years is capital punishment." "Xiao San, Xiao Si, why are you still wasting time with her? Just tie her up and take her away!" Hearing the girl's melodious voice that struck a chord in his heart, the leader who had been holding the girl's hair, suddenly found himself losing control. He hurriedly urged the other two companions who had surrounded the girl. But then the man realized something was wrong. He saw the two companions not responding, but instead gradually retreating and raising their hands in a hurry. Finally, the man also realized. The short-haired girl had already raised her left hand--and what she held in that hand was a police-issue pistol. And at that moment, the menacing barrel of the gun was pointed directly at the two slowly retreating thugs. "Hehe... A toy gun, for such a young age..." "Bang!" Before the man could finish speaking, a bullet had already hit the wall next to him, fragments flying across his face, leaving a shallow blood trail. "...Eh?" The man's pupils shrank suddenly. He had seen guns before, so with just one glance, he knew the girl's marksmanship was exceptional--how did this little girl who looked no more than ten years old manage to negate the recoil of a handgun? There were six of them on their side, and the girl on the other side had only one gun, so there were some brave ones who wanted to take out their own weapons and try their luck. But as the girl reached behind her and took out another handgun with her other hand, everyone obediently raised their hands. The man helplessly watched as the girl held a gun in one hand and casually patted down the thugs with the other. After a moment, her hands were filled with credit cards, cigarettes, and even drugs. "...!" The man couldn't believe that one day they would be robbed by a little girl who looked like she wasn't even ten years old, but there was nothing they could do. Although the Philo District was already chaotic, guns hadn't yet become so widespread that everyone had one. So today, they could only admit defeat. "Old man, what about you?" The short-haired girl walked up to the man and playfully pointed the menacing barrel of her pistol at his head. "...!" The man looked helpless and took out everything on him. As he watched the scum slink away in humiliation, the short-haired girl finally put down the bag full of loot in her hands and turned to the girl who had been pretending to be dead on the ground, helping her up. "Alright, stop playing dead. They're gone." "Don't wander around alone anymore. There are many bad people in this area... You can go home now." After saying these words, the short-haired girl ignored the girl who was still standing in place, picked up her belongings, and walked away. Ten minutes later, the short-haired girl glanced back, and the girl was still following her. She didn't think much of it and assumed the girl was just going the same way. Twenty minutes later, the short-haired girl looked back again, and the girl was still following her. An hour later, as they approached their destination, the short-haired girl absentmindedly bought a hamburger from a vending machine on the street, took a bite, and handed it to the girl behind her. "Do you want it?" The girl didn't say anything, she just took the hamburger and started munching. "Why are you following me?" "Because you saved me." The girl stopped her wolfish devouring--in fact, she finished the entire hamburger in three seconds. This made her cheeks puffed up when she spoke. "I came here to do business, not to save you. That was just a coincidence," the short-haired girl frowned and flicked the handgun hidden in her left sleeve. "You're amazing. Why do you have a gun?" "A cop in this area used it as a bet while playing cards with me. He lost." The short-haired girl casually tousled her hair. "Go home quickly." "I want to follow you. From now on, I'll call you Boss!" "...What's gotten into you?" The short-haired girl rubbed her forehead. "Stop with the nonsense... Go home quickly, or else you'll run into those people again." "I don't have a home." The girl shrugged her shoulders. "I've never seen my mom or dad before. I ran away from that old bastard's house after he picked me up, and then those people caught me." The short-haired girl's heart skipped a beat. "You can go to a shelter. Someone will help you." "I want to follow you." "...Nan Yin looked at the small girl in front of her with beautiful orange hair. "Why do you want to follow me?" "Because you're amazing! You scared away those bad guys with just a few moves..." The girl danced excitedly. "I haven't been able to eat enough food. If they hadn't tricked me into thinking there was work and food, I wouldn't have followed them." "What does your not having enough food have to do with me?" Nan Yin tilted her head. "You're so amazing. If I call you Boss and cling to you, then I can have enough to eat!" The girl said earnestly. "The burger you gave me earlier was the first full meal I had while following you!" "Thank you very much!" The girl bent down and bowed. "It's tiring to work with me," Nan Yin said softly. "It's still better than working in a coal mine for twelve hours a day, right?" The girl raised her fist. "Even in that case, I can handle it easily." "Okay then." Nan Yin nodded. In reality, she herself wasn't very mature, and she thought of the idea of taking in the girl as more of raising a little pet. Nan Yin took out a can of beef from her bag and threw it to the girl. "Second meal! Yay!" The girl cheered, but then she noticed that Nan Yin had already walked away. So she immediately ran to catch up. "I'll call you Boss from now on! The Boss with the sunglasses, it's so cool!" "My name is Nan Yin." "Then I'll call you Boss! I'm Jiang Mi!" "..." "It's Jiang from Chang Jiang, and Mi from rice!" "..." "Don't call me the wrong name, like Mi Jiang or something, or I'll get angry." "Got it. Can you please be quiet now?" "Okay!" Jiang Mi immediately made a zip motion across her mouth. "Now let's go buy you some shoes." "Okay!" "And then clothes..." "Okay!" "..."