Chapter 9: Something’s Off
“…This is your great idea?”
Chaolu was crouched in a tree, wearing a bright red jacket and holding a loudspeaker.
Sitting on a nearby branch, Chaoyang blinked. “Luring the tiger from the mountain needs someone to act as bait—and among the three of us, you’re the best at sports.”
And also the one most like a monkey, able to leap from tree to tree like this.
“I have good hearing. Once you’ve drawn most of the zombies over, I’ll take her into the villa district.”
As he spoke, Chaoyang turned to Mibao beside him. “You’re sure your fingerprint can open the door, right?”
“Mm!” Mibao nodded hard. “It can.”
“Good. Then let’s begin.”
Chaoyang slid down from the tree and spread his arms to catch Mibao.
Mibao looked down at him, a little hesitant. “Brother Chaoyang, will I crush you to death?”
“No. Jump.”
Mibao nodded, shut her eyes, and leapt—
Thud!
Two figures, one big and one small, toppled to the ground. The difference was that Chaoyang made intimate contact with Mother Earth, while Mibao had the benefit of a human cushion.
“Pff—hahaha…”
Up in the tree, Chaolu couldn’t help bursting out laughing at the sight.
“See? You won’t crush him to death—just flatten him at most.”
Her merciless jab made Chaoyang fall silent.
Their commotion was loud enough that even from afar, a few scattered zombies began to turn their way.
“Don’t just stand there—move!” Chaolu urged from above.
Mibao quickly scrambled off the human cushion, and before she could apologize, Chaoyang grabbed her hand and ran toward the safe zone they had scouted earlier.
At the same time, Chaolu turned on the loudspeaker to draw the zombies’ attention.
“High prices for old washing machines, used fridges, used air conditioners, used computers…”
Chaolu: “…”
That… didn’t sound very convincing.
So she pressed the switch to change tracks.
“Clearance sale! Clearance sale! Everything at bone-crushing prices! The boss eloped with his mistress! Everything must go!”
Chaolu: “…”
The tone was perfect, but… the content…
She was only twelve years old!
Ah, her poor ears—tainted!
But she had to admit, this audio worked amazingly well. In no time, a large number of zombies were flocking to the base of the tree.
Chaolu suddenly couldn’t tell whether it was because the sound was loud enough, the delivery was spot-on, or if the scandalous content had somehow stirred up the zombies’ lingering taste for gossip.
Meanwhile, even Chaoyang and Mibao, who had already run far ahead, could hear the broadcast from the loudspeaker. Listening to it, Mibao grew curious and looked up at Chaoyang.
“Brother Chaoyang, what does ‘eloping’ mean?”
Chaoyang: “…”
How was he supposed to explain that?
“Eloping is… when two people run away together.”
The young Chaoyang racked his brains and finally settled on that definition.
Mibao’s eyes lit up with sudden understanding. “Oh~ then are we eloping right now?”
Chaoyang: “…”
The eavesdropping system: “…”
What kind of nonsense is this?!
“No, this isn’t called eloping,” Chaoyang quickly corrected her—couldn’t have the kid picking up the wrong ideas.
Hmm…
Though it seemed he’d forgotten that he was also just a kid.
“But aren’t we running right now?” Mibao asked, utterly confused.
Chaoyang’s usually impassive face finally twisted awkwardly. “Because, because… we’re not related by blood.”
“Oh! So when two people who are related by blood run away together, that’s called eloping, right?”
Chaoyang: “…”
Well… definitely not.
But he had no idea how to explain it properly, so he just stiffly nodded.
“Then I get it! You and Sister Chaolu were always eloping before, but after you met me, you stopped eloping.”
Mibao happily used her new vocabulary word in a sentence.
Chaoyang: “…”
This was only getting messier.
“Ahem, let’s not talk about this anymore. The zombies at the front gate have already been lured away by Chaolu—let’s hurry over.”
He quickly changed the subject, pulling Mibao toward the villa’s entrance.
Sure enough, Mibao’s attention shifted back to finding her dad.
The plan was going smoothly, and the two little ones soon made it inside the villa compound.
The area hadn’t been overrun yet, so walking inside was quite safe.
From her perch in the tree, Chaolu saw that they’d both entered and promptly switched off the loudspeaker.
Now all that was left was to wait.
Wait for them to come out… or wait until she had to go in herself.
Hopefully… everything would go well.
…
…
The villa compound was large—and eerily quiet.
But Chaoyang felt a strange sense of unease—because it was too quiet.
“Isn’t quiet a good thing?”
Mibao looked at him in puzzlement.
Chaoyang’s expression was grim. “Logically, if this place were really safe, anyone still alive in these villas should’ve reacted after seeing us strolling down the road like this.”
But right now…
He had paid special attention while observing their surroundings—none of the villas had so much as a curtain twitch or a head peeking out.
That was why he said something was off.
Though Chaoyang was still young, his mind was unusually mature; otherwise, his shameless father wouldn’t have pinned all his hopes of sudden wealth on him.
“Move.”
Face set, Chaoyang pulled Mibao along at a quicker pace.
The whole way, his heart was tense, half-expecting a horde of zombies to burst out from one of the villas at any moment.
Fortunately, they made it without incident, arriving at the door of Mibao’s home.
But—
The villa’s front door… was open.
That was very wrong.
Chaoyang frowned and pulled Mibao back a step.
“Brother Chaoyang, aren’t we going in?”
“Let me listen first.”
He stepped forward slightly and focused on the sounds coming from inside.
It was quiet.
The only thing he could hear… was the drip of water.
Why…?
He didn’t understand, but since there didn’t seem to be any immediate danger inside, they might as well go in and take a look.
Only…
“Mibao, there’s no one inside the villa. Your dad might have already left.” Chaoyang looked at her. “Do you still want to go in?”
Mibao froze for a moment, then nodded. “Mm! Maybe Daddy went out to look for me. I want to wait here for him to come back.”
“…Alright. If there’s no danger, we can stay here for a while.”
That was what he said, but Chaoyang was already thinking about how to persuade her to leave.
After all, something about this place really wasn’t right.
The two little ones stepped into the villa, and Chaoyang shut the door behind them.
“That’s strange… why isn’t Auntie here?”
Mibao looked around, her small face full of confusion.
“If Daddy went out to look for me, Auntie should still be home…”
Before Chaoyang could point it out, Mibao herself realized something was off.
She couldn’t quite put her finger on it, but a sense of fear crept in.
So she tugged on Chaoyang’s sleeve. “Brother Chaoyang, maybe we should go first. I want to wait for Daddy outside.”
“Alright.”