Chapter 55: Come On, Hit Me!

“Ahhhh! Murder!”

March, a Black man, and Richie, a white man, both looked near death at first. Then suddenly, a severed head rolled to their feet. Perhaps fueled by adrenaline, the two struggled to their feet and fled in panic, shouting wildly.

With March and Richie gone, Oi, Cooper, and Paige, seeing the dead body, turned pale with fright and quickly ran away as well.

Actually, Steve wanted to run too. But his body was in poor condition, and the mischievous kids had tied him tightly to a wooden stake, leaving him unable to move.

Just then, the nearby forest rustled. His girlfriend, Jenny, wearing a dress and sporting short blonde hair, rushed out, trying desperately to rescue Steve.

She had actually been hiding nearby while Xu Wang was beating the kids. Although anxious, the outside situation was complicated and dangerous; she hadn’t dared to come out. Now, with the ruffians all gone, only Xu Wang and Jason, two unfamiliar men, remained in the clearing.

After much deliberation, she took a risk and dashed out, hoping to free Steve first. At least Xu Wang looked somewhat friendly.

Though Xu Wang didn’t look back, he could guess what was happening behind him. But he had no time to attend to Steve and Jenny; his eyes were fixed on Jason in front of him.

Jason stood two meters tall, wearing a slightly grimy dark green leather jacket that did little to hide his muscular frame. He wore his signature hockey mask and held a large bloodied machete. Although silent, his presence was overwhelmingly intimidating.

Despite his fearsome appearance, Jason was still just an innocent child, roughly the same age as Brett and the others.

Xu Wang and Jason exchanged glances for a moment. Suddenly, Jason turned and, ignoring Xu Wang, walked away. He headed down the path where March and the other ruffians had fled.

It seemed Jason had already locked onto his hunting target: he intended to deal with those troublemakers first.

Xu Wang felt conflicted and hesitant at this moment. For the sake of efficiency and his objective, he should have provoked Jason directly and let himself be taken down—a quick and pleasant way to achieve his goal so soon after crossing over.

But then he glanced back. Jenny was struggling to free her badly injured boyfriend. If left alone, either Brett’s parents in town or Jason would kill them.

This tugged at Xu Wang’s conscience. As a living person, when capable, he instinctively wanted to help others in distress.

Xu Wang was no different.

Though his thinking was sometimes unconventional and he occasionally lacked scruples, he still had his own principles and bottom line. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have beaten up Thompson, the school bully, in the world of “The Extraordinary Spider-Man.” Nor would he have sacrificed himself to warn Keegan and Pierce in the world of “Black Brothers Short Film” that their world wasn’t as safe as they thought. Even in the world of “A Chinese Ghost Story,” he tried to influence Yan Chixia to eliminate the tree demon earlier.

Xu Wang didn’t see himself as a villain or a great hero; he just knew doing good made him happy, while witnessing evil made him sick.

At that moment, a famous saying from his homeland flashed through his mind: “I damn well do whatever I want!”

Indeed, all along, hadn’t he been doing just that? Now that he had such a powerful advantage and no time pressure, why bother stressing himself out? If he wanted to “pick up trash,” rescue people, or do bad things, why not?

After a quick mental review, Xu Wang made up his mind.

Watching Jason’s slowly retreating figure, he shouted, “Hey—!”

Jason: (・_？)

Xu Wang: “Leaving?”

Jason: (。_。)

Jason turned back and looked at Xu Wang.

Xu Wang hesitated a moment with his hands in his pockets. “How about not cutting people up?”

Jason: (。_。)

Feeling a bit embarrassed under Jason’s gaze, Xu Wang averted his eyes slightly and waved a farewell.

Jason turned around again and walked firmly toward the forest’s edge.

Xu Wang was silent for a moment. As Jason slowly disappeared, he mustered his courage and took a couple of steps forward, shouting, “Hey—!”

Jason looked back: (・_？)

Xu Wang took a deep breath. “Go ahead, chop me!”

Jason gave no reaction, turned away, and continued toward the forest, ignoring Xu Wang once more.

Apparently, unless Jason dealt with his prey first, this “hundred-slayer” boy had no interest in others.

“Well, no choice. I told him to chop me, but he wouldn’t. Since that’s how it is, I’ll save the others first.”

Hands on his hips, Xu Wang quickly found a way out and turned toward Steve and Jenny.

Jenny was finally tearing apart the thorns binding Steve. Her hands were bleeding heavily from the barbs. It was clear they truly loved each other.

Seeing Xu Wang approach, Jenny grew nervous and hurried to help Steve stand.

Steve tried to rise but the wounds inflicted by those bastards were severe. Deep cuts covered his body; one at his waist even pierced his intestines, oozing dark blood.

He barely managed to sit up a little before collapsing again, weak and powerless.

Without prompt medical treatment, Steve wouldn’t last long in this state.

“Don’t worry, I’m a good guy. Just rushed out today and forgot my ‘good guy’ badge.”

Xu Wang sheathed his sword and casually squatted beside Steve, examining his injuries.

Jenny and Steve looked at Xu Wang. With no other choice, they had to trust this stranger. At least on the surface, Xu Wang seemed decent.

“Can you help him? He needs medical attention immediately! Please!” Jenny’s eyes reddened; her voice trembled.

Xu Wang raised his hand confidently. “Relax! Minor fatal wounds like these only need a band-aid!”

With that, he casually plucked a leaf.

Steve opened his mouth, coughing up blood in disbelief.

Jenny nearly burst into tears.

“I said don’t worry,” Xu Wang shook his head, thinking the couple was too anxious.

He placed the leaf on Steve’s body and pulled a healing injector from his waist pouch.

“This thing’s precious. Remember not to be so stubborn next time—life’s valuable. Death’s no fun; it hurts. I don’t recommend it.”

Speaking to their puzzled expressions, Xu Wang injected the needleless syringe into Steve’s hand.

As the healing fluid flowed in, something miraculous happened.

Steve’s wounds began to rapidly mend. Especially the gaping abdominal wound that had pierced his intestines—the internal organs even regenerated.

Soon, the healing effect faded.

In just three seconds, Steve went from critically injured and near death to having only minor cuts.

Though not fully restored, he was no longer in danger and could even run and jump.

“Oh my god!”

Jenny covered her mouth in disbelief at the miracle before her.

Steve was equally stunned—he felt his body most clearly.

“Thank you! Really, thank you so much! If not for you…”

Steve stood, trembling hands raised, overcome with emotion and utterly speechless.

“No big deal. Many people have helped me before. When I used to do cupping therapy on myself, they thought I was setting myself on fire and rushed to pin me down and beat me.”

“Though it hurt, I was grateful.”

“Next time, if you get a chance, help others too. Like maintaining world peace, overthrowing American hegemony—I believe you can do it.”

Xu Wang patted Steve’s shoulder. “Let’s go—we’re going back into action.”