110: Chapter 110: The Strange and Safe Shop

The air was thick with a mixture of instant noodles and body odor, stifling enough to choke a person.

"It's right inside." Zhuang Zeqiang bowed and scraped as he gestured for them to enter, then walked in first.

The villa's living room was large, but it was as messy as a junkyard.

Zhuang Zeqiang walked over to an old wardrobe in the corner of the living room, opened the door, and brought out an object from inside.

It was a miniature house.

It was palm-sized, made of an unknown material, dusty, and looked like a child's toy.

But the moment Zhou Che's gaze fell upon it, he couldn't look away.

Zhuang Zeqiang held the miniature house with both hands and respectfully presented it to Zhou Che.

Zhou Che took the house. The moment his fingers touched its surface, a stream of information flooded his mind.

strange object: Safe House.

Rank: 443.

Effect: Within the Safe House's radiation range, it can mask the vital aura of all living things within that area.

The radiation range is centered on the Safe House, with a radius of about twenty meters.

Cost: A nanny must be stationed within the radiation range.

If there is no nanny within the radiation range, the Safe House's effect reverses, turning the area into a supernatural attraction source that draws nearby supernatural entities.

Nanny.

Zhou Che raised an eyebrow when he saw those two words.

What kind of strange object needs a fucking nanny? This cost is too unique.

But on second thought, a strange object that can mask vital aura is ranked in the four-hundreds; this cost isn't unreasonable.

With so many ordinary people in the camp, wouldn't it be easy to find a few who can cook and clean to act as nannies?

Then again, does Zhuang Zeqiang's group actually have a nanny?

Zhou Che glanced at the four misfits behind Zhuang Zeqiang.

The second one had a face full of flab, the third had a rat-like face, and the fourth and fifth didn't look like they knew how to do housework either.

Forget it, it's none of his business where this group got a nanny.

He examined the Safe House over and over again, nodded in satisfaction, and tucked it into the inner pocket of his windbreaker.

Zhuang Zeqiang watched Zhou Che eagerly, rubbing his hands together in front of him, his face filled with a fawning smile.

His four brothers also stood nearby, not daring to breathe too loudly.

Their eyes were all fixed on Zhou Che's mouth, waiting for it to say the words they wanted to hear.

Zhou Che glanced at them.

"Fine." He said, patting the chest where he had tucked the Safe House, "The item is real, and I keep my word."

He turned around and walked toward the villa entrance.

Luo Xi followed behind him, dragging her halberd on the ground, creating a harsh metallic scraping sound.

Wang Zhiming and Zhang Lijuan followed them out as well.

Wang Laowu was the last to leave, and when he reached the door, he turned back to look at Zhuang Zeqiang.

He grinned, a smile that sent a chill down Zhuang Zeqiang's spine.

Then the door closed.

Zhuang Zeqiang stood in the living room, staring at the closed security door, stunned for a full ten seconds or so.

Then he let out a long sigh, and his whole body went limp on the sofa as if his bones had been removed.

A layer of dust kicked up from the sofa, making the third one cough incessantly beside him.

"Fuck, that scared the hell out of me." Zhuang Zeqiang wiped the blood and tears from his face.

His speech was still slurred because of the gap where his front teeth used to be.

"These people are fucking weird. That guy surnamed Zhou, and that woman with the halberd, what kind of people are they?

Fortunately, I was smart and traded the strange object for our lives. If a strange object is gone, we can find another, but if life is gone, it's truly gone."

"Boss, what do we do now?"

The third one leaned in; his face was patched with black and white soot from Zhang Lijuan's paper talismans, looking like a tabby cat.

"The Safe House is gone, we can't stay in this place anymore.

The supernatural entities in Linshui County will be able to find us all in one night."

"What else can we do? Leave!"

Zhuang Zeqiang sprang up from the sofa and began rummaging through boxes and cabinets to pack.

"Take everything we can carry—food, drinks, weapons, and ammunition—don't leave a single thing behind.

We'll leave tonight, heading south. There are fewer people and fewer supernatural entities there; we'll find a place to hide for a while first."

The five of them started packing in a panic.

Just then, the security door opened.

It wasn't blown open by the wind; it was pushed open from the outside.

The door hinge creaked, sounding like a cold sneer.

The backpack in Zhuang Zeqiang's hands dropped to the floor, and the compressed biscuits rolled everywhere.

He snapped his head up and looked toward the door.

Wang Laowu walked in first, clutching that stark white bone in his hand.

He carried it on his shoulder, wearing a smile that made people's hair stand on end.

It wasn't a ferocious or vicious smile; it was the kind of smile a cat has when it corners a mouse and slowly unsheathes its claws.

Then came Wang Zhiming. One lens of his glasses was shattered, and behind the remaining lens, his eyes were as calm as a stagnant pool of water.

Zhang Lijuan followed inside, having replaced her paper talismans with a fresh stack, their edges glowing with a faint golden light.

Luo Xi entered last, her halberd held horizontally in front of her; the pale red light on the blade was brighter than before.

Four people. Zhou Che was not there.

The color drained completely from Zhuang Zeqiang's face, even faster than when he couldn't escape earlier.

His mouth opened and closed, opened and closed, hissing as air escaped through the gap where his front teeth had been.

"You... your Mr. Zhou said he would let us go!"

Zhuang Zeqiang's voice cracked from the high pitch, "He said it himself! He said he keeps his word!"

Wang Laowu took the bone off his shoulder and tapped it in his hand, making a crisp sound.

He tilted his head to look at Zhuang Zeqiang, his tone filled with undisguised mockery as he spoke slowly.

"Mr. Zhou did promise to let you go."

He paused, and his grin widened.

"But we didn't."

Zhuang Zeqiang felt his heart skip a beat in his chest.

He opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but nothing came out.

His gaze swept from Wang Laowu's face to Wang Zhiming's, then to Zhang Lijuan's, and finally to Luo Xi's.

"Prepare to meet my Lion's Fang!"

Wang Laowu roared, and his entire body launched forward like a cannonball.

Zhuang Zeqiang tried to dodge, but his body hadn't recovered from the previous terror, and his reaction was half a beat too slow.

Wang Laowu's white bone had already struck his arm with a dull thud.

Zhuang Zeqiang's arm faded another layer, becoming semi-transparent from wrist to elbow.

One could see the blood flowing inside the bone; even the blood was fading.

"Mr. Zhou's word doesn't count!" Zhuang Zeqiang roared, his voice filled with despair and rage.

"Mr. Zhou's word counts."

Wang Laowu struck his other shoulder with the bone, and Zhuang Zeqiang's entire body sank.

His knees hit the floor, his kneecaps making a dull sound as they impacted the floorboards.

"But for Mr. Zhou to let you go, that's because our Mr. Zhou keeps his word.

As for us not letting you go, that's because we don't keep our word.

When you fucking ambushed me, did you ever keep your word with me?"

The bone descended.

The sounds of fighting in the room went from intense at the beginning to scattered, and finally to sporadic dull thuds.

The clashing of iron was gone, the screams were gone, and the cursing was gone too.

The sounds grew smaller and sparser, like a leaking ball, slowly deflating bit by bit.

Suddenly, a muffled grunt sounded.