In the blink of an eye, Li Xiaohao stepped into the fugitives' path, standing squarely before them, his hands empty of any weapon. The group glanced back at the two women, their faces flushed with the frenzy of slaughter, then at the gentleman blocking their way. Suddenly, they dropped to their knees, bowing their heads and begging for mercy.

"Lift your heads," Li Xiaohao said softly.

Hearing this, the men exchanged glances, unsure what this imposing figure intended. Fearing the two vengeful spirits behind them might catch up, they obediently followed his command like docile sheep, raising their heads to stare at the ceiling.

Li Xiaohao walked past them one by one, scrutinizing the eyes fixed on the overhead tiles. Finally, he pointed to one: "It’s him." Immediately, Bai Huaqian strode forward and, with a single, swift downward stroke, several heads tumbled onto the floor. The man Li Xiaohao had selected remained alone, trembling.

The two prison guards still lay in the control room, occasionally peeking out at the corridor. Seeing the devastation wrought by the two women—the hallway littered with corpses—they quickly settled back down, feigning unconsciousness, terrified the two furies might not be sated and would return to continue the carnage.

Perhaps the only two conscious individuals at that moment were Li Taiming and Xiao Shu; Xiao Yu had long since retreated to a corner, burying her head between her knees, withdrawing entirely from the world’s affairs.

"Where are you taking him?" Xiao Shu inquired, stepping past the dozens of bodies strewn across the floor to approach Li Xiaohao.

Li Xiaohao pursed his lips and offered a slight smile. "Why ask what you already know?"

"Stop killing. The corpses with their eyes gouged out in the city are piled up like mountains outside the funeral parlor!" Xiao Shu pleaded, her tone helpless.

"Mmm," Li Xiaohao deliberately ignored her, pulling the man he had chosen to his feet. "What is your name?"

"I, I, I am 9457!" The man stammered, taking a long moment to force the number from his lips. Having likely spent too long in the prison, he couldn't recall his given name; he only knew he possessed a unique codename, 9457, much like 007.

"Very well, 9457, you have two paths ahead of you." Li Xiaohao slid his hands into his trouser pockets, shifting his weight between his heels and toes. A faint, ethereal glow shimmered across his angel-like face. He gestured toward the dead bodies in the corridor: "One path is to join them, decided by these two ladies as to who strikes first. The other is to follow me, and trade your eyes for this life."

Upon hearing this, 9457 dropped to his knees with a thud, begging desperately, banging his head on the floor, hoping Li Xiaohao would grant him a third option—to return to his cell like the other escaped inmates.

But a fiend remains a fiend. Before 9457 could finish his string of desperate bows, the two women stood beside him, their scythes dripping a rhythmic beat of crimson blood.

"I still need one more!" Bing Yu stated coldly, swinging her blade down towards 9457.

In that split second, before the scythe could land, 9457 scrambled up with blinding speed, diving behind Li Xiaohao and whimpering, "I choose the second path."

Xiao Shu and Li Taiming, who had been observing from the side, remained expressionless, finding no words adequate to describe their current state of mind. Li Xiaohao gave them a slight nod, acting every bit the courteous gentleman. He turned to Bai Huaqian and said, "Leave this place to them. When dealing with others, leave a margin—kin may meet again in the future!" With that, the two of them, along with 9457, vanished at the far end of the corridor.