Chapter 162 – Close Combat with Knives, Long-Range Headshots with Arrows

From the outside, Xia Na’s villa did not appear very large, but its interior structure was quite complex.

The staircases alone had several turns, with a small storage room at each landing.

However, Xia Na mentioned that these storage rooms only contained miscellaneous items, and no weapons were stored there.

Before searching for weapons, the first priority was to deal with the Survivors.

Seeing the youth’s nervous expression, Ling Mo had a hunch that they had already found all the weapons—after all, they even had a Crossbow in their possession.

This was something Ling Mo had never anticipated before. He couldn’t help but feel a bit displeased, and his attitude towards the young man was rather cold.

Hopefully, they hadn’t taken all the good knives or damaged them… The young man had tense muscles and felt the tip of the knife pressing against his waist. Even though Ling Mo was holding his arm with just one hand, he didn’t dare to struggle.

As they slowly walked up to the second floor, they found themselves in a long corridor with rooms on both sides and all the doors closed, obscuring the view inside.

There was also a staircase leading to the rooftop, but the door appeared to be tightly shut, revealing nothing of what was above.

“Are they on the rooftop?”

As soon as the young man started to lead Ling Mo and the group deeper into the corridor, Ling Mo coldly asked.

Had the young man not glanced repeatedly toward the rooftop, Ling Mo would not have noticed that while the door to the rooftop seemed shut, it was actually slightly ajar with a barely noticeable gap.

Just as Ling Mo finished speaking, the door was suddenly flung open. A shadow dashed down from the rooftop entrance, and a gleaming blade came thrusting towards Ling Mo.

Ling Mo, who had just used his Psychic Tentacle and also tried an immature attempt at Telekinesis, found his psychic abilities weakened.

However, his reflexes were still sharp. He immediately yanked the young man to the side, using him as a human shield.

The young man was terrified and shouted, “Lian Lian!”

The figure, named Lian Lian, didn’t expect Ling Mo’s quick thinking. Unable to harm her companion, she had to trip herself, losing balance to halt her momentum.

She tumbled down the stairs, finally stopping less than two meters from the young man and Ling Mo. Scrambling to her feet, she held her Dagger with a mixture of vigilance and anger.

Ling Mo had been on guard, but when he finally got a clear view of this girl named Lian Lian, he was momentarily stunned.

She was only as tall as his waist, with long hair cascading down her back. Her large, expressive eyes were full of clarity, although her face appeared pale and her body frail due to malnutrition. She looked almost like a doll, a spirited, beautiful doll of only seven or eight years old. Although it was just a few steps, it was clear she had hurt herself falling down the stairs.

The little girl, clutching her hurt hip, shouted angrily in her childish voice, “Let go of Yang Jia!”

Yang Jia, alarmed, exclaimed, “Ouyang Lian, don’t be stupid! Drop the knife!”

Yang Jia was shocked; he had been subdued even while holding a Crossbow. What could a little girl with a Pocket Knife possibly do?

What if she angered Ling Mo? It would be suicidal!

Ling Mo completely relaxed. This ordinary little girl posed no real threat.

However, Ouyang Lian’s determined stance impressed him.

Most girls her age would have been reduced to tears in such a situation. Yet, she had the presence of mind to hide and the courage to launch a sneak attack.

Commendable bravery, but her young age rendered her harmless.

Upon hearing Yang Jia’s words, Ouyang Lian showed a hint of confusion but still hesitated with her knife. “No, not unless they release you.”

Yang Jia, realizing Ouyang Lian hadn’t grasped his meaning, quickly pleaded with Ling Mo, “Brother… No, Ling Mo! She’s just a little girl and was only trying to save me. Please don’t hold it against her!”

The attacker was just a little girl, clearly indicating there were no other Survivors here. It seemed, as Yang Jia had mentioned, that his other companions were out.

Judging by the time of day, they likely wouldn’t be gone much longer.

Thinking this through, Ling Mo released Yang Jia and smiled at Ouyang Lian, “I let him go. Now you can put down your knife. This thing won’t hurt me but might hurt you.”

Yang Jia was surprised that Ling Mo had simply let him go and was momentarily taken aback.

Once he regained his composure, his first instinct was to rush over and snatch the Pocket Knife from Ouyang Lian’s hand, throwing it to the ground before pulling her close to his side, watching Ling Mo with a mix of caution and confusion.

“No need for that. Like you said, we can’t tell friend from foe. I was just being cautious in case your companions attacked us without warning.”

Ling Mo casually sheathed his Short Knife as he spoke.

Yang Jia hesitated for a moment before forcing a smile, “I understand…”

“We came back mainly to find some weapons. Did you guys take all the knives?”

Ling Mo didn’t bother beating around the bush and got straight to the point.

“I see…” Although Yang Jia’s eyes remained wary, he noticed that Ling Mo’s group clearly had the upper hand yet hadn’t seized the opportunity for coercion. This improved his impression of Ling Mo considerably. “We did find a lot of weapons, but most of them are unusable… Some of the usable ones were distributed among our group.”

“What did you guys take?” Xia Na suddenly asked.

Yang Jia seemed wary of Xia Na, while Ouyang Lian looked at her with curiosity.

“Some Short Knives and such… but not many.”

Xia Na thought for a moment, then turned to Ling Mo, “That’s fine. I’m looking for Long Knives. But not everyone can use them—these aren’t just for anyone.”

“Right, actually, your Long Knives are better, but for us…”

At this point, Yang Jia fully believed Xia Na’s identity; if she wasn’t the owner of this place, how could she know these details so well?

“Then take us to where the weapons are stored. Once we get what we need, we’ll leave,” Ling Mo said.

“Alright…” Yang Jia hesitated for a moment but understood he had no grounds to refuse. He nodded and pointed to a room not far away, “They’re all in there.”

Although Yang Jia and Ouyang Lian seemed non-threatening, Ling Mo had Li Yalin stay outside to keep an eye on them.

Under Li Yalin’s cold, snake-like gaze, Yang Jia appeared very uneasy. Ouyang Lian also seemed somewhat afraid, though she appeared more intrigued than scared… “Whoa…”

Upon entering the room, Ling Mo was stunned.

The mess of weapons scattered all over the floor gave the impression of stepping into an armory!

While Ling Mo was aware of the Xia family’s collection of contraband, he hadn’t expected it to be this extensive!

However, as he regained his composure, Ling Mo realized that most of these were just unsharpened decorative pieces, beautiful but essentially useless.

“What’s this one?” Ling Mo asked, picking up a Long Knife that had an ancient aesthetic.

Xia Na glanced at it and replied, “For display.”

“Made this well, it must cost a thousand or two?”

“Priced around thirty thousand.”

“…Forget I asked. Just pick out the ones that can actually be used.”

This task could only be done by Xia Na. Her discerning eye allowed her to quickly pick out the genuinely sharp and lethal Long Knives from the assortment without closely examining each one.

However, she discarded several blades for being too light.

Ling Mo tried lifting one of the discarded ones and was immediately taken aback.

So heavy, yet she found it light… Just how powerful was the strength hidden within that seemingly ordinary body?

Ye Lian was curiously observing the weapons as well. Although the Curved Knife in her hand was decent, Ling Mo still planned to find her a longer weapon.

“This one looks good,” Xia Na said as she pulled a Long Knife, about one meter in length, out of an opened wooden box with a sharp “swish” sound.

The cold glint from the blade was blinding, and with just a casual swing, Xia Na sliced the wooden box in half.

Ling Mo took a closer look and was astonished to see that the cut on the wooden box was as smooth and clean as tofu.

Achieving such an effect was certainly due to Xia Na’s formidable strength, but the quality of the knife itself also played a crucial role.

“This is a Tang Sword crafted by the old man, my and Wang Lin’s grandfather, before he passed away. But it’s not an authentic Tang Sword; it’s more of a replica, just similar in appearance,” Xia Na explained as she admired the Tang Sword in her hand.

“I thought you made it,” Ling Mo remarked.

“I couldn’t make something like this. You saw the one I crafted; the quality isn’t great, but it’s light, which suited me back then. Ling-Ge, here, this is for you,” Xia Na said, handing the Tang Sword to Ling Mo.

Ling Mo accepted it without hesitation, swinging it towards the wall.

The Tang Sword’s unique design, with a straight and gradually narrowing blade, made it incredibly penetrating. Though the cut it left on the wall wasn’t large, it was very deep—perfect for dealing with Zombies.

For zombies, a large wound doesn’t matter—they can still attack even with their insides spilling out. A weapon with strong penetrating power is much more effective.

However, this Tang Sword was much heavier than the Short Knife he had been using. Despite Ling Mo’s body having been enhanced multiple times and his regular training, he still found it difficult to adjust.

Moreover, for someone not accustomed to wielding such a sharp Long Knife, using it to chop zombies would be challenging.

Zombies are more agile, faster, and stronger than regular humans.

No wonder Xia Na said other Survivors couldn’t handle it—even Ling Mo felt he needed more practice.

“With this and the Crossbow Bolts, I can now take down zombies up close with the sword and snipe humans from a distance,” Ling Mo said.

Ling Mo didn’t lower his voice, so Yang Jia, standing outside, overheard and immediately showed a look of frustration.

Such useful Crossbow Bolts, left by his companions to defend their home, had been taken away the first time they encountered other Survivors…