Chapter 230 I'll Feed Your Hand to Pill
Gemma slumped against a tree, gasping for air. Blood-tinged froth dribbled from her nose and mouth, making her already rough face look even more freaky.
"Last chance: swear loyalty to me, or die," Brody said, all chill, with one hand in his pocket and the other stretched out.
His left hand was so dainty it could pass for a chick's, but those beefy knuckles gave away the truth.
Gemma clutched her side, where her ribs had caved in. She wasn't sure if her insides were messed up, but every move sent waves of pain that nearly knocked her out.
Biting her lip, she couldn't tell if the blood was from her own bite or from inside her mouth.
She spat back at Brody, who had caught up with her a minute ago and sent her flying with just two hits. "Coward!" she sneered.
"Guess you picked the hard way," Brody said, strolling towards her, each step exactly three feet apart.
"Don't be so cocky. You think being a two-star Evolving person makes you hot stuff?" Brody shook his head, his hoodie shifting around his shoulders. "You don't get it. No one does. Only the Zero Commerce Guild is ahead of the game. We're the future."
Using the tree for support, Gemma got to her feet, her legs shaking—not from fear, but from sheer effort.
Brody kept talking, "Join us, Gemma. You'll see. I wouldn't offer this to just anyone. I like your style. You've got guts."
When he was just 15 feet away, he suddenly sped up. In a flash, he was in front of her, throwing a punch at her battered body.
It seemed almost comical. A simple punch.
But Gemma knew how heavy that punch was. Just moments ago, a similar punch had shattered several of her bones.
She struggled to lift her left hand to block it.
The fist hit her hand and then slammed into her body.
For the fifth time today, Gemma was sent flying.
Brody smirked, "See? I didn't even use any special moves or my full strength, and you couldn't handle it. Don't you get the gap between us? Don't you see how much stronger the Zero Commerce Guild is compared to your crew?"
He watched Gemma, who had flown dozens of feet and was struggling to get up, and resumed his steps.
"Oh, I forgot to mention, I'm a three-star Evolving person," Brody said, chuckling. "Your crew probably hasn't even seen a three-star Evolving person. As a two-star, you should know the massive gap between each level. So, tell me, Gemma, are you still feeling defiant?"
His footsteps echoed, and the almost spotless sneakers were the only thing Gemma could see clearly.
He added, "You have no idea how lucky you were to get a bottle of two-star Evolution Elixir. Even if you're not the top fighter in your crew, you're probably in the top two or three. But look at you now. You're totally helpless against me. And the Zero Commerce Guild has at least ten people as strong as me! Our president is even more powerful beyond measure. Do you regret it now? Does your body feel like it's on fire? Can you still talk? Or do you have the strength to kneel before me?"
Brody walked over to Gemma, who was trying to stand but collapsed heavily after lifting herself slightly. He squatted down and placed his left hand on the intact half of Gemma's face, gently stroking it.
"You're a real beauty, if not for that half of your face. A woman like you must've had it rough when the apocalypse hit," he commented, laughing heartily.
"I will..." Gemma said with difficulty.
Brody frowned; she was too weak, her voice too low.
He tilted his head slightly, bringing his ear closer to Gemma, who continued weakly, "I will cut off your hand..."
Under the brim of Brody's hat, his half-exposed face twisted with a hint of ferocity.
"And then, roast it... Feed it to Pill. Remember that..." Gemma spat out.
A bloodied woman was tossed to the ground, kicking up dust and drawing the attention of a wailing group.
"You didn't help us, and now you bring us this half-dead woman? What the hell, man?" Darryl snapped.
In this battle, he lost over thirty men, more than half of whom were one-star Evolving persons, including a powerful one-star pro. This hit the Hungry Tiger Knights warband hard, and now they had to dodge the Tech City warband. Otherwise, if attacked, they’d be toast.
Thinking about this made Darryl furious. How did a battle that seemed like a sure win end so disastrously, so fast?
Those green-skinned freaks were terrifying. They hadn't even used any special abilities, just ripped through their ranks like they were nothing. One-star Evolving persons were as fragile as paper before them.
The real fight lasted less than twenty minutes before the coalition forces completely crumbled. If they hadn't had superior firepower, more bullets than they knew what to do with, and if their comrades hadn't sacrificed themselves, using their bodies to slow the creatures down, they would have been completely annihilated.
Every faction took heavy losses, and naturally, no one was in a good mood. Darryl, young and reckless, was used to rampaging through this area. Brody, who was sent by the Zero Commerce Guild, had bailed at the first sign of defeat. Now, after the battle, he returned with a woman. Darryl was livid. If it weren't for the fact that Brody was hired by the Lowe Family, Darryl would have already attacked him.
Spencer looked at his Bowl of a Pipe with distress. A crack had appeared on it, cutting through the patterns. It used to be a white-grade weapon but now turned gray. Coupled with the loss of his men, he was in no better mood. Seeing Brody, he snorted and didn't even bother to speak.
Only Terrence, the head of the Lowe Family, quickly walked up to Brody, showing his stance.
Brody's expression was unreadable, but his next words shocked the survivors.
He informed, "During your battle, a group used the sound of your gunfire to attract the corpse horde from Spring Harvest County. They attacked there and likely succeeded."
"This woman is an important figure from that faction," Brody said calmly, standing before them. "Now, she's yours. You'd better find out which faction she belongs to. What you do after that is up to you, but you need to inform me."
He added, "One more thing: she's a two-star Evolving person, so don't take her lightly."
Hearing this, everyone looked at Gemma in astonishment.
"Lastly, let me make this very clear," Brody said, taking one hand out of his jacket pocket. "In the future, you'd better show some respect to the Zero Commerce Guild. Not everyone from it is as good-tempered as I am."
With that, he casually waved his fist and then turned to leave.
Everyone looked at each other, unsure of what Brody meant. But then, faint sounds came from behind their resting area. They looked over and saw three neat rows of fifteen fist imprints, each about six inches deep, on the cliff wall. The shape was identical to Brody's fist.
Everyone was horrified. What kind of skill was this? How could it be so silent? How could it be so powerful?
If those fist imprints had been on their bodies instead of the wall, who could have dodged? Who could have survived?
Darryl and Spencer turned pale, feeling the terror of the Zero Commerce Guild for the first time, while Terrence looked at the fist imprints in silence.
"I'm taking this woman," Terrence said, waving his hand. Someone came over and tied the bloodied Gemma to a horse. "Any objections?"
Without waiting for a reply, he smiled and rode off with his men.
