Chapter 23 Threat

July 10th, the tenth day since the Fog Disaster began.

Early in the morning, a sudden, urgent, and heavy knocking sounded at the door. Bai Xiao hurriedly ended her lesson and returned to the living room.

With her current hearing, she could clearly hear the sound of several people's footsteps shuffling at the door. Why were so many people suddenly visiting? Who was it? Whoever it was, they likely didn't come with good intentions.

"Open the door! Hurry up and open the door!" Seeing that Bai Xiao hadn't opened the door, someone began banging on it impatiently with a series of thuds.

"Don't be in such a hurry," another man at the door seemed to advise.

It was Xu Zhen's voice! She had refused to participate in the patrol and also refused to hand over security supplies yesterday; he had brought people to her doorstep.

"Little girl, except for those with almost no supplies left, most people in the neighborhood have already handed theirs over. You can't be an exception, can you? Open the door first. You can't stay inside forever, right? Let's talk once the door is open."

Bai Xiao thought that he was right about one thing—she really couldn't stay inside forever. However, the group outside was large. If she opened the door and a fight broke out, she wouldn't be able to hold them all off alone.

She had to find a way to temporarily suppress their arrogance in numbers.

Bai Xiao took out a Compound Bow from her storage space. It was a bow equipped with a rapid-fire device, and the quiver could hold seven arrows.

This meant she could fire one arrow per draw, and without needing to reload, she could draw seven times in a row, quickly releasing seven arrows.

This weapon wasn't as good as a crossbow, which could be operated with one hand, but crossbows were restricted weapons and generally unavailable. A Compound Bow was classified as sports equipment and was already one of the most powerful long-range weapons one could buy.

Lately, she had been practicing her aim. Although it had only been a few days, at the short distance of the corridor, she could hit her target even if she fired blindly. Moreover, she didn't actually want to hurt anyone; it was only meant as a deterrent.

After loading the arrows, Bai Xiao lightly pressed the smart door lock and drew her bow, waiting for the door to slowly swing outward.

The people outside had long since lost their patience. As soon as they saw a crack in the door, someone immediately stepped forward and reached out, wanting to pull the door open quickly.

"It's just handing over some food, and the patrol will even protect you. What do you have to—" The visitor spoke grumpily, but before he could finish, having only pulled the door open a sliver, a cold bow was pressed against his head.

The man pulling the door was startled, and the hand gripping the door instinctively lost its strength.

The others standing outside saw the man stretching his neck out, his head poking inside as he fell silent. They asked in confusion, "Zhang Peijun, what are you doing? You only pulled the door halfway."

Bai Xiao sneered and kicked the door open. Then, she moved the bow away from Zhang Peijun's head, retreated to a safe firing range, and aimed at the crowd.

Xu Zhen and the two men with him were also startled. They hadn't expected a seemingly frail girl living alone to actually possess a weapon like a bow and arrow.

One man swallowed hard, his confidence no longer as strong as before. He forced himself to stay calm and said, "Who are you trying to scare with a toy? Don't think you can get out of handing over food and joining the patrol this way; it's everyone's duty."

"If it were the Neighborhood Committee or a city official organization requiring residents to participate in disaster relief, I would have no complaints. But what right do you self-appointed building managers and so-called Homeowners' Committees have to demand I fulfill any 'duty'?"

Only half of Bai Xiao's face was visible behind the bow. As she drew the bow and aimed, her head tilted slightly, her hair falling to one side. Her eyes were cold, and she aimed the tip of the bow at whoever spoke.

Xu Zhen had thought that bringing a couple of extra men as a deterrent would make a lone girl comply submissively. He never expected to kick such a hard piece of steel.

He silently pondered how to speak.

"You little girl are really stubborn. How can you be so selfish? Do you expect to get the neighborhood's patrol protection for free? You won't listen when we talk nicely, and now you're trying to scare someone with this toy bow."

One man saw the others seemed intimidated by Bai Xiao. If their large group ended up at a disadvantage, they'd be a laughingstock. As he spoke, he rolled up his sleeves and stepped inside.

Swoosh!

A cold arrow pierced the air with a chill, narrowly grazing the man's cheek as it shot out, embedding itself into the corridor wall with a thud.

"Holy crap!" The person who had called it a toy bow at first exclaimed in shock as he looked back at the arrow buried in the wall. He hadn't expected the bow to be so powerful. If that had been aimed at a head...

The man whose face was nearly grazed by the arrowhead was also frozen in place by Bai Xiao's sudden attack. He pointed a finger at her, unable to speak for a long time.

"Anyone who wants to break into a private residence is welcome to try. Although I won't kill anyone, arrows don't have eyes. I don't know who will get hit or what will get punctured then."

After speaking, she tilted her head and stared at Xu Zhen, then paused before continuing, "Don't tell me you have no ill intentions. Four grown men banging on a girl's door so early in the morning and trying to barge in once it's open—no matter what happens, this counts as legitimate self-defense on my part."

The men were left speechless by her rebuttal. Faced with the power of the bow, they didn't dare to step forward, and a stalemate ensued.

After a while, the smiling expression returned to Xu Zhen's face. He said, "Little girl, don't be so hostile. Our Homeowners' Association and building managers were recognized by the residents long before you moved in. Since you're unwilling for now, we'll let it go."

"Let's go, let's head out first." Xu Zhen called to the men and left through the stairwell.

Bai Xiao watched them leave and waited a little longer. Seeing no movement, she was sure they were really gone.

Only then did she step out and pull the arrow from the wall. Although she had stockpiled several large boxes of arrows, there were fewer with every use, so she naturally had to retrieve them if she could.

Bai Xiao checked the arrow and saw it wasn't damaged. Just as she was about to take it back inside, the sound of a door opening suddenly came from behind her.

It was her neighbor; she instinctively raised her bow.

"Don't misunderstand, beautiful. I'm your neighbor from next door. My name is Zhao Fangzhe."

The person who opened the door was a fair-skinned young man who looked to be about the same age as her.

"I'm sorry, I don't have much food left at home either, so I was forced to choose the patrol yesterday. This Xu Zhen is a smiling tiger. He's been the building manager for several years and knows many people in the neighborhood. Now that things are chaotic, he's recruited several people to help him requisition food and manpower. That group doesn't look like good people; you should be careful when you go out in the future."

Zhao Fangzhe said a lot in one continuous stream.

Bai Xiao nodded, retreated to her doorway, lowered her Compound Bow, and said, "Thanks for the warning." Then she prepared to close the door.

"Wait a second, I wanted to ask if you have any spare Compound Bows? I used to be in the school's Archery Club and know how to use one. If you have any extras that you can't use alone, could you sell one to me? I'll pay triple the price."

Seeing Bai Xiao about to close the door, Zhao Fangzhe asked hurriedly.

"Just this one," Bai Xiao said, then closed the door decisively.

Back inside, she put down the Compound Bow and couldn't help but start thinking.

People were already starting to get restless. It had been four days since the last time the group chat mentioned information about buying food on Monday.

Those who had stockpiled a lot of food might be able to last at least three to five more days, or even a week to half a month. But those who had stockpiled little were likely almost out.

If the heavy fog didn't dissipate, there was no telling how chaotic the neighborhood would become once the food ran out.

By revealing her weapon today, she had likely been targeted by those with ulterior motives. When things truly got chaotic, how would she protect herself?