Chapter 10: Outsiders
Chaoyang gave a short reply. He had just taken a quick look inside the villa’s fridge and pantry—every bit of food was gone.
And since the front gate had been open when they arrived, maybe… someone had already been here.
And taken all the food with them.
It had only been a day since, so those people might still be nearby. They needed to leave immediately.
Chaoyang grabbed Mibao and was about to head out, but things didn’t go their way—just as the two little ones reached the entryway, the sound of several noisy footsteps came from outside the door.
Startled, Chaoyang froze in place.
“Boss, this is the place. I saw two kids come in.”
“Then they must still be inside—the door’s shut.”
“Where’s Monkey? Get him to open it; he’s the best at this kind of lock.”
Hearing the conversation outside, Chaoyang’s grip on Mibao’s hand tightened.
So it was true…
No wonder it had been so quiet on the way here. No wonder the other villas were silent as well.
Something must have happened last night—some gang of robbers must have come.
No, maybe even killers.
After all, there was no way all the residents of these villas could just vanish overnight… The far more likely explanation was that they had all been murdered.
They must not be caught by these people.
That was the only thought in Chaoyang’s head.
“Mibao, is there any kind of back door here at your house?”
As he spoke, Chaoyang was dragging the coffee table from the living room toward the front door, glancing at Mibao for an answer.
Mibao shook her head anxiously. “No… Brother, the people outside—they’re bad guys, right?”
“Yes.”
Panting, Chaoyang struggled to push the coffee table toward the entryway. Seeing this, Mibao hurried over to help.
The coffee table was far too heavy for two children, but there was no choice—they had to delay the people outside from breaking in.
The group outside was still looking for that so-called Monkey. Chaoyang guessed this Monkey was probably skilled at picking locks.
The two little ones didn’t dare waste a second, pushing the coffee table toward the door as quickly as they could.
Fortunately, Monkey was nowhere to be found for the moment, and it took the group outside quite a while to call him over.
By then, Chaoyang and Mibao had already shoved the coffee table up against the doorway. Immediately after, Chaoyang grabbed Mibao and ran in the opposite direction to look for a window.
Luckily, there was no one waiting at the back of the villa.
Probably because they thought two children couldn’t stir up much trouble.
Chaoyang opened the window, lifting Mibao out first before climbing up himself.
Once he jumped down from the window, he caught Mibao in his arms.
“Run!”
Chaoyang took her hand and dashed off.
At the same time, Monkey managed to unlock the front door—only to find it wouldn’t budge.
“Boss, the kids blocked the door with something,” Monkey said.
The bald, tattooed musclehead in the lead scowled. “Then break it down! You waiting for me to do it?”
The coffee table might have been heavy for the two kids, but for them it was nothing.
A few hard kicks, and the door was wide open.
Before leaving, Chaoyang had deliberately shut the window to throw them off the trail.
But it didn’t help much—this villa district was crawling with the enemy’s people.
“Boss! The two kids ran off!”
Hearing the sound of someone shouting through a loudspeaker in the distance, Chaoyang’s expression darkened, and he pulled Mibao along, running even faster.
But they were still just two children—how could they possibly outrun a bunch of adults?
Before long, Mibao and Chaoyang were caught.
Chaoyang glanced over the group and noticed that most of them had close-cropped hair.
Thinking of the prison located on the outskirts of the city, he quickly guessed where these people had come from.
The bald, tattooed leader fixed his gaze on the two small figures, a nasty grin spreading across his face.
“These tender little ones… Take them with us. If we really run out of food, we’ll eat them.”
Children’s meat, after all, was bound to taste better than an adult’s.
Mibao shivered at those words.
[Mibao, don’t be afraid. Big brother will definitely save you.]
The system’s gentle voice sounded in her mind.
“Mm!” Mibao answered firmly.
The others—who couldn’t hear the system—fell silent.
You’re about to be eaten, and you just said “Mm”?
The tattooed man even chuckled. “Well, aren’t you an interesting little thing? You’re not afraid, huh?”
He bent down to stare at Mibao.
Being looked at up close like that, Mibao was of course scared, but thinking of her big brother gave her courage again.
So the little one lifted her chin and declared boldly, “I’m not afraid!”
Chaoyang, off to the side: “…”
Her hand in his was sweaty, plain as day.
But the tattooed man only seemed more amused. “You’ve got guts, kid…”
Chaoyang, however, could see that there was no true humor in the man’s eyes. He shifted sideways to stand in front of Mibao, blocking the man’s gaze.
“You’re from Detian Prison, aren’t you?”
Although it was phrased as a question, Chaoyang spoke with complete certainty.
“If I’m not mistaken, you should be leaving this place as soon as possible.”
He looked calmly at the bald, tattooed man. “Even though zombies—this kind of doomsday creature—have appeared, the government hasn’t collapsed yet.”
That was all he said, but it was enough to make the man reassess the two little kids before him—especially this boy.
“You’re pretty sharp, little brat,” the bald man said, staring at Chaoyang. “You look like you’re only seven or eight.”
Chaoyang replied evenly, “Eight.”
“Interesting…” The man chuckled. “Monkey, Old Wolf—take the boy with us. As for the little girl… she’ll be our emergency rations.”
The tall, thin Monkey and the burly Old Wolf both responded and started toward them, but Chaoyang gripped Mibao’s hand tightly, refusing to let them come closer.
“If you think I’m useful, then why not keep her too?” Chaoyang raised his voice as he looked at the bald man. “She’s my sister—you can use her to threaten me. Otherwise, I might try to escape.”
The bald man hadn’t expected Chaoyang to be so blunt, and he actually laughed. “You little brat…”
But halfway through laughing, his expression suddenly darkened, and he swung a hard slap across Chaoyang’s face!
The blow snapped Chaoyang’s head to the side, and a trickle of blood appeared at the corner of his mouth.
“Brother Chaoyang!”
Startled, Mibao rushed to check his face, but Chaoyang quickly blocked her behind him once again.
“I’m fine.”
Mibao’s eyes instantly welled up with tears.
Fine? He was already spitting ketchup.
“Brother, what should I do? What can Mibao do to save Brother Chaoyang?” she asked through sobs.
[Mibao, you must stay calm. Wait… wait for a chance.]
“Mibao, I’m fine. Don’t worry,” Chaoyang said, coughing once.
“Hahaha, such touching sibling affection,” the bald man sneered. “Kid, don’t think too highly of yourself. No one’s ever had the right to tell me what to do! This will be the last time.”
As he spoke, the bald man glanced over at Old Wolf.
“Lock the little girl up with the brat. Now—tell everyone we’re moving out.”
Hearing this, Chaoyang let out a small sigh of relief inside.
Next… it all depended on whether Chaolu could pick up on his plan and play along.