Female Novel
Chapter 777
Bailey shook her head. She remembered that she had a miscarriage about two months ago, so it wasnormal for her period to be late because her body had not fully recovered.
Meanwhile, the retching could be due to an upset stomach, a weakened immune system, or anoverproduction of gastric acid that triggers nausea upon encountering the smell of blood. It must nothave been related to pregnancy, as Bailey had just had a miscarriage. Artemis became concernedwhen he noticed she went silent.
“Bay, are you okay? Is there something wrong, or are you feeling unwell?”
Bailey snorted, angrily puffed her cheeks, and grumbled, “Well, it's all thanks to you, you know? Youhad to go and mess things up by giving me a memory loss pill. Now I can't remember a lot of things.Fortunately, I didn't forget about you; otherwise, you would regret it for the rest of your life.”
Those few words, “Luckily, I didn't forget about you,” resonated deeply within Artemis, causing a surgeof emotions.
Artemis then playfully but assertively pulled Bailey into his arms, wrapping her in an embrace beforepassionately pressing his lips against hers. While at the crocodile pond at the training base.
Hand in hand, Shannon and Dawn leisurely walked along the pond's edge. Dawn was noticeablynervous as she tightly clutched Shannon's hand, trembling persistently.
Shannon raised an eyebrow and chuckled, saying, “If you're that scared, why did you choose to gohere? You're my foster daughter now. You don't have to go all out in training like them.”
Dawn looked up at her with a determined expression on her little face.
“There's a saying, 'One had to pick oneself up from where one's fallen.' I lost my eye in the crocodilepond, and I've been having nightmares lately because of it. If I don't face it now and get over it, I'll behaunted by those dreams forever.”
Shannon gazed at her determined eyes, and a smile of satisfaction formed.
Such a tenacious little girl. May her life be blessed with ease.
At that moment, Shannon slowly stopped as she saw Micah and Holden, accompanied by a group ofinstructors approaching them. Dawn then let go of Shannon's hand, cautiously walked up to Holden,and nervously greeted him.
“Uncle Holden.”
Holden reached out and affectionately ruffled her hair with a smile. Ever since Dawn became a part ofShannon's life, she seemed no longer filled with the same sadness and despair as before. novelbin
Holden added, “I have a son who's probably a year or two older than you. I'll bring you to meet himonce I get the chance to. I'm sure you two will become great pals.”
Dawn grinned and said, “Can't wait to see him! Thank you, Uncle Holden.” Holden lifted his head andlooked at Shannon across from him, and the siblings greeted each other with a nod.
Shannon strolled over to Dawn's side, taking her hand as they prepared to leave.
Suddenly, an out-of-control mastiff charged toward them, causing the people around to dodge quickly.
Instinctively, Shannon positioned herself in front of Dawn as someone from the left side accidentallybumped into them, causing the mother and daughter to stumble backward.
A startled cry echoed as Dawn lost her footing and fell directly into the crocodile pond. Shannonreflexively turned back to grab her arm but missed, leaving her hand grasping nothing.
The image of Eugene's tragic accident scene flashed before her eyes, and Shannon's heart began toache with unbearable pain.
She could not save her son and could only witness his death right before her. Right then and there,Shannon was determined to save her daughter at all costs.
With this in mind, she acted without hesitation and jumped right into the crocodile pond.
The crocodiles in the pond had been specially trained, intensifying their aggression. With someone nowclose by and fallen into their den, there was no way the crocodile would not attack. Several fully growncrocodiles surrounded Shannon and her daughter in just moments.
“Holden, please get Dawn out of there.” Holden quietly cursed to himself as he hesitated.
In such a short time, there was only a brief window to save someone, and at best, only one personcould be rescued.
He initially intended to save Shannon, but when his eyes met her sorrowful gaze, he understood that
she did not want to be rescued.
Holden knew Shannon had not moved on from the death of Eugene. Shannon did not want to witnessher own child's death before her eyes again.
The grappling hook flew down, and Shannon quickly secured it onto Dawn. Then, she hoisted Dawn upwith a strong push on her buttocks.
Several crocodiles sprang up at that instant of liftoff, attempting to bite Dawn. With a forceful push fromShannon and the combined effort of several adults pulling from the shore, Dawn managed to escapejust in time from the snapping jaws of the crocodiles.
On the other hand, Shannon's situation turned grim as the crocodiles quickly encircled her. Fortunately,there was a wooden stake beneath the surface of the pond.
Shannon swiftly jumped onto it, unsheathing her glistening dagger and bravely striking back at the firstcrocodile approaching. At first, she effortlessly navigated the waters, her movements agile and swift.
Yet, with each passing moment, many crocodiles swarmed around her, their relentless advancegradually sapping her strength.
Having only one arm was her fatal weakness.
Shannon's inability to strike back with her other hand left her vulnerable as two crocodiles lungedtoward her.
She was then forced to sacrifice her defense from behind and exerted every ounce of strength toconfront the crocodile in front.
Holden and Micah on the bank were not about to let Shannon face a pool teeming with crocodiles all byherself. Holden and Micah wasted no time and made a synchronized dash toward the front. As theyreached the pond's edge, they took a daring leap, plunging into the water.
Upon entering the pond, they were immediately faced with two crocodiles, one attacking Shannon fromthe front and the other closing in from behind.
Micah moved ahead of Shannon and quickly hurled two darts at the crocodile in front, forcing it toretreat. Shannon's strength waned, and her feet slipped, causing her to tumble directly into the pondwater.
With quick reflexes, Micah swiftly grabbed Shannon and wrapped his arm around her waist, pulling herinto his protective embrace.
As Shannon got closer to Micah, she noticed his tense demeanor, his chest heaving with intensefluctuations. It was clear that his agitation stemmed from anger rather than fear.
“If Holden and I weren't here, who would jump in to save you? Shannon, have you lost your mind? Doyou know how dangerous this is to jump into a crocodile pond?”
His outburst triggered Shannon's anger, and she glared at him with tear-filled eyes, tauntingly saying,“Someone like you, who hasn't experienced the heart-wrenching pain of losing a loved one, will neverunderstand what it feels like. Dawn is my daughter, and since I decided to raise her, I am obligated toprotect her. I watched Eugene die before my eyes, and I can't bear the thought of Dawn dying before
me, even if I've only had her for a few days, even if we don't share any blood relation.”
After hearing her, Micah closed his eyes briefly before reopening them, his gaze now calm andcomposed. Shannon then fought against his grip, trying to release herself.
Micah could not help but scold, “You better stay put in my arms, or we'll both end up dead today.”Shannon then sneered, “Why, you're afraid to die?”
Micah had been gearing up to fend off the oncoming crocodile, but after hearing her words, hesuddenly stopped.
“If you want to die that badly, I'll make it happen. Let's die together and get eaten by the crocodile. Atleast we'll share the same grave.”
Shannon cursed, calling him a lunatic, and thrust her hand forward, stabbing the oncoming crocodilewith a knife.
The thrust went straight into the crocodile's eye, downright enraging. It thrashed its tail and opened itsblood-filled jaws, lunging at her, ready to bite. Her antics amused Micah, causing him to burst intolaughter.
“What a reckless woman. Doesn't she know that crocodiles become fiercer if they get attacked?”
Micah thought to himself. Seeing the crocodile's tail lunge toward them, Micah wrapped his armsaround Shannon again and evaded the attack. Micah's strength waned as the enormous jaws closedin, leaving him unable to fight back. All he could do was hold Shannon tightly, allowing the crocodile toclamp its teeth onto his shoulder.