Chapter 25: Robbing the Armory
After listening to Mibao’s account, Bald Man and the others’ first reaction was—impossible.
Who could be that unlucky?!
But when they looked at Mibao’s pale, frightened little face, and those skinny arms and legs, everyone fell silent.
Damn it…
If it were Chaoyang, at least they could still imagine some high-IQ kid pulling off a clever standoff against a grown man. But this was a five-year-old with the mind of a toddler—just managing not to trip while walking was already an achievement!
What’s more, Old Wolf’s intentions were obvious at a glance. He clearly had his sights on Mibao. There was absolutely no way Mibao could have tied him up.
So…
He really screwed himself over?
That’s way too unscientific!
As hard as it was to accept, the facts were right there. Bald Man and the others’ expressions turned downright ugly.
“Enough. What’s done is done. Let’s head back.”
Bald Man made the final call.
No one dared argue. They could only pack up the supplies, get in the truck, and drive back.
The whole way, the atmosphere was heavy, and everyone’s faces were dark. Only Mibao, who had gotten over the scare, started getting sleepy. Before long, he was dozing off against Chaoyang’s shoulder.
It wasn’t until the truck pulled back in that Mibao woke up, yawning as he climbed down.
That’s kids for you—their moods come and go fast.
After the ride, he had more or less bounced back.
Once they were back, Chaoyang and Mibao were locked up again. But the ones who had stayed behind noticed that Old Wolf wasn’t among the returnees, and they all turned to Bald Man in confusion.
“Boss, where’s Old Wolf?”
Monkey asked.
Bald Man: “……”
What was he supposed to say to that?
Even describing the way Old Wolf died was embarrassing.
So he just gave a cold snort, said nothing, and walked off.
The others: “?”
What’s going on here?
In the end, it was the others who had gone with them that explained why Old Wolf hadn’t come back. After hearing it, everyone was left completely baffled.
Huh?
That’s how he died…?
Wasn’t that way too careless?
That was the kind of death where you couldn’t possibly rest in peace—utterly unwilling, utterly unaccepting!
“That little girl’s pretty freaky,” someone couldn’t help but mutter.
“I think both of those kids are freaky,” another chimed in. “What kind of eight-year-old has a brain that sharp?”
“Fair point.”
“Yeah, better to keep some distance.”
…
Chaoyang and Mibao, locked away inside, had no idea about these conversations outside. At that moment, Mibao was drowsy, while Chaoyang was hesitating, words stuck on the tip of his tongue.
Hmm…
After all, he was really curious—just how did Mibao’s alien brother manage to kill Old Wolf?
It was way too unbelievable.
No matter how steady he acted, Chaoyang was still just a child, and curiosity was inevitable.
After struggling with it for a long time, he still didn’t ask. In the end, it was Mibao who spoke first:
“Brother Chaoyang, why do you keep staring at me?”
Chaoyang: “……”
Was it that obvious?
But since Mibao had brought it up, Chaoyang went ahead and voiced what he’d been holding back.
Mibao scratched his head. “I don’t know either. My brother didn’t tell me.”
[Hmph, it’s a secret. Why would I tell him?]
The system huffed proudly.
“…Alright then.” Chaoyang nodded regretfully.
As long as Mibao was safe, that was what mattered.
…
…
Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, three days had passed.
It was the day they had planned to raid the armory.
Mibao was left behind at the abandoned factory, while Chaoyang was taken along by Bald Man and the others, loaded into the truck headed for the armory.
“Kid, don’t you dare try any tricks. Your sister’s still in our hands,” Bald Man glared at Chaoyang and threatened, “As long as this job goes well, you and your sister will be part of us from now on!”
Chaoyang naturally nodded, showing he understood.
But inside, he sneered.
What “part of us”? It was nothing more than a use-and-discard relationship.
Before long, the truck reached the area near the armory. The place was a mess—corpses of both people and zombies scattered everywhere. Clearly, a fierce battle had taken place.
There were still plenty of zombies wandering around the armory, even just in the courtyard.
Bald Man and the others didn’t have enough ammo left; a direct assault was obviously out of the question. Setting fire was even worse—what if the armory blew sky-high?
Did they really come all this way just to watch fireworks?
That’d be like pulling down your pants just to fart.
“Kid, you sure this modified walkie-talkie of yours can really connect with the factory?”
In the truck, Bald Man held up the walkie-talkie, full of doubt.
Chaoyang remained calm. “You can try it now. Channel 1.”
So Bald Man pressed the button: “Anybody there?”
A moment later, static crackled through: “Boss, everything’s normal at the base.”
The voice was a little distorted, but still clear enough to make out.
Bald Man nodded in satisfaction, then clapped Chaoyang’s shoulder. “Not bad, kid.”
He had originally planned to lock the boy up after this job and keep him as reserve food, but now it seemed this little brat still had some value.
At the very least, he’d squeeze every drop of usefulness out of him before turning him into rations.
Chaoyang only answered with a grin that was all skin and no warmth.
According to the plan they’d discussed, one person had to drive out and make noise to lure the zombies in the yard away, while the rest would take the truck straight in.
One of the lackeys who had already been chosen for the task immediately turned on the car’s horn, then drove straight toward the armory gates.
This was one of Bald Man’s underlings who was pretty good at driving.
“Crazy clearance sale! Clearance sale! Cherries at rock-bottom prices! Massive discounts!”
From the loudspeaker came the energetic shouts of an old vendor.
They’d picked up this loudspeaker during their last supply run.
The old man’s booming cries worked perfectly, quickly luring all the zombies in the armory courtyard out through the gate.
After all, cherries at clearance prices—who could resist? Even zombies were tempted~
Once only two stragglers were left wandering inside, Bald Man finally gave the order. Two vehicles drove straight into the armory grounds, then shut the gates behind them to keep the zombies outside from barging back in.
They quickly disposed of the last two zombies, leaving the yard temporarily secure.
The weapons inside the armory were stored in layers, one section locked inside another. In other words, if they wanted to haul out the guns, they’d have to push deeper and deeper in.
Tsk. Anyone watching might think they were peeling an onion.
Layer after layer after layer.
“Same trick as before—lure them away,” Chaoyang said. “I already showed you how back at the factory.”
On a previous scavenging run, they’d gathered a lot of cell phones, which were perfect for this bait tactic.
All they had to do was find the alarm function, pick the loudest ringtone, set a timer, and toss the phone out. That would draw the zombies away.
“Alright, let’s move out.”
Bald Man rubbed his hands together, then looked at Monkey and ordered, “Keep an eye on him.”
Monkey nodded. “Don’t worry, Boss!”
Chaoyang was still just a kid—bringing him inside would only hold them back.
So Bald Man made him stay in the yard, in contact through the walkie-talkie.
But to make sure Chaoyang didn’t run, they handcuffed him to the car and had Monkey watch him.
No way anything could go wrong like this!
Soon, Bald Man led his five lackeys through the armory doors.
Chaoyang watched as the doors slowly swung shut—his lips curling into a faint smile.