Chapter 161 – The Gun Barrel in the Butt Crack

As they passed through the villa’s garden, Ling Mo noticed a gigantic doghouse; it was hard to imagine what kind of large dog used to live there.

But now, the doghouse was only smeared with bloodstains, and a few bones were scattered across the surrounding grass… “Ling-Ge, you don’t need to look at it anymore. It’s long since been eaten. If it hadn’t been tied up, it might have turned into a Mutation Beast too.”

Seeing Ling Mo glance a few more times at the doghouse, Xia Na said.

Ling Mo initially wanted to comfort her with a few words, but then he thought about it. This kind of sentiment would hardly resonate with her, especially over a dog.

“Squeak——!”

Although the villa’s main door was closed, Xia Na, familiar with the place, quickly found a small window.

She gently pressed on the edge of the window, and the latch instantly popped open. She then pushed open the window and jumped in first.

Ling Mo was stunned by her skill: “Where did you learn that?”

“I went through a rebellious phase when I was young, always sneaking out to play. The Xia family had strict curfews, so I used to sneak in and out through this window,” Xia Na said nonchalantly as she landed and started surveying the small utility room, casually sharing her “dark history.”

No wonder Xia Na had a Little witch side to her, and after her mutation, this trait seemed to be amplified. It turned out she wasn’t a conventional girl to begin with.

After Ling Mo jumped in, he helped Ye Lian in, and Li Yalin came in last.

The four of them crowded into the small room, making it quite cramped.

Ling Mo spotted some poorly made sword sheaths and even a few large blades lying around.

However, these blades, despite looking impressive, were actually very light and purely ornamental; they didn’t even have sharp edges.

“These were sample props made for a film crew. Unfortunately, before they could pick them up, the world changed,” Xia Na said with a smile.

Ye Lian curiously found a harmless gun barrel and, being a bit mischievous, poked it towards Li Yalin.

Li Yalin seemed to sense that Ye Lian didn’t mean any harm, but since she was still getting used to interacting with humans, she wasn’t quite comfortable with Ye Lian’s human-like actions. She frowned and turned her body slightly.

“Ah!”

As the tall Li Yalin turned, the gun barrel in Ye Lian’s hand happened to poke her right on her shapely behind. The barrel slid downward naturally and ended up caught between her buttocks.

“You…”

Li Yalin felt a strange sensation emanating from that area, and her cry of surprise carried a hint of a moan.

“Does it hurt? … I didn’t … I didn’t use any force…”

Ye Lian, feeling very innocent, let go of the barrel, which immediately fell to the ground with a clear, crisp sound.

“It’s not … it’s not pain…”

Li Yalin, being quite honest, didn’t lie about it. Advanced Zombies generally didn’t lie; only special cases like Xia Na would twist the truth or give evasive answers.

Ling Mo, standing nearby, silently burst into laughter. If it weren’t for his headache, he might have taken the opportunity to make a joke.

“Alright, let’s move on inside. Once I find some weapons for you all, I can rest easy,” Ling Mo said, giving Li Yalin a reassuring pat on the shoulder.

As he spoke, Ling Mo bypassed Xia Na, who was still rummaging through the miscellaneous items in front of the cupboard, and reached to open the door.

“Don’t move!”

A stern shout came from outside, and Ling Mo’s pupils shrank. He stopped mid-step, his right hand clutching his short knife frozen in place.

Standing outside was a young man in his twenties, with dark skin and natural curly hair that looked quite wild.

But it was the object in the man’s hand that caused Ling Mo’s alarm.

He was holding a crossbow… and he was aiming it at Ling Mo with a serious and cautious expression.

Ling Mo happened to be standing in the doorway. Even if he could dodge in time, the utility room behind him was too small, and the three female Zombies might get hurt.

The young man had clearly heard the noise coming from the utility room. Being able to wait outside so calmly already earned Ling Mo’s respect to some degree.

However, on the other hand, the young man had been standing quietly outside without deliberately hiding his presence, yet he hadn’t caught Xia Na and the others’ attention. This indicated he was an ordinary person.

“What’s going on?”

Xia Na poked her head out from behind Ling Mo, causing the young man to nervously raise his crossbow a bit higher.

“Huh? Isn’t that my collection piece?” Xia Na said in surprise. “I didn’t even know where I tossed it. How did you find it?”

The young man, who was previously very cautious, suddenly froze at Xia Na’s words.

In that moment of distraction, Ling Mo swiftly closed the gap between them. Just as the young man was about to fire, Ling Mo used a Psychic Tentacle to disrupt him and also employed his Telekinesis to lift the crossbow slightly.

“Thwack!”

A crossbow bolt shot out but embedded itself in the door frame. Xia Na, standing on her toes, easily jumped up, plucked it out, and held it in her hand.

“Don’t move.” Ling Mo’s short knife was already pressed against the young man’s neck, and he had maneuvered behind him.

With the young man wide-eyed and frozen in place, Ling Mo used his other hand to seize his crossbow and pulled the quiver from his waist, handing them both to Xia Na.

Holding the crossbow, Xia Na examined it and then smiled. “This is definitely mine. I had a family craftsman secretly make it for me.”

“Isn’t this contraband?”

As soon as Ling Mo asked, he remembered that contraband was likely aplenty in Xia Na’s family.

But this crossbow was a treasure. Although it was a homemade version, its power was formidable. The bolt had left a deep hole in the door frame, showcasing its impressive force.

Since the original owner was Xia Na, Ling Mo had no intention of returning it to the young man.

“What do you want?”

The young man, taken aback by Ling Mo’s extraordinary skills, started to panic.

“What were you planning to do?”

“You snuck inside without knocking. How was I supposed to know if you were friend or foe? I had to be cautious. If you hadn’t made a move, I wouldn’t have shot,” the young man explained.

“What do you mean ‘snuck in’? This is my home.”

Xia Na glared at the young man with her icy eyes, making his skin crawl. He didn’t dare to make eye contact with her.

“See this? It even has my name carved on it!” Indeed, the crossbow had the character for “Na” engraved on it.

“Hmph, this was confiscated by my family, and I had no idea where they hid it. I can’t believe it ended up with someone like you…”

The young man didn’t catch the unusual note in Xia Na’s words but seemed to believe more about her identity.

He had stumbled upon the crossbow while rummaging for food. It was well hidden, and he wouldn’t have found it otherwise. “Even though this used to be your home, it’s unoccupied now. Since it was a good place to hide, we decided to…”

“We?” Ling Mo interrupted with a frown. “Are there more of you?”

A flash of panic crossed the young man’s eyes. “Uh… yes, but they’re all out right now. They’ll probably be back soon.”

“There must be someone still in the house.”

The young man thought Ling Mo was clueless, but Ling Mo had already switched his vision to see through Li Yalin’s eyes and noticed every change in the man’s expression.

“No…”

“Don’t lie. You should know we’re just returning home. Even though there’s no official owner now, you should at least show some sincerity. Otherwise, I won’t know how to deal with you,” Ling Mo cut him off, pressing.

The combination of Ling Mo’s short knife at his neck and the threat from Ye Lian and the three girls overwhelmed the young man. Under immense psychological pressure, he finally nodded and led Ling Mo and his group into the living room.

The living room was a mess. All the furniture had been pushed to the sides, with the carpet used as a bed, and the sofa covered in a scatter of miscellaneous items.

“Where are the others?”

“They’re upstairs…”

Ling Mo removed the short knife from the young man’s neck and pressed it against his back. “Lead the way.”