The lavish chicken stew dinner greatly boosted the morale of the safe house. The warm atmosphere continued long after the meal.
Chen Shouzhou was humming a little tune, about to wash the large iron pot that had served them so well. Suddenly, Xiao Hei, who was on guard duty on the watchtower, let out a low, suppressed growl filled with warning.
"Hm?" Chen Shouzhou's movements froze instantly, and the smile on his face vanished. He knew Xiao Hei never barked for no reason.
He immediately became alert, grabbing the "guardian treasure" leaning against the wall—the heavy wrench—and scrambled up to the roof. Using the watchtower for cover, he poked his head out and carefully scanned the area.
The night was as dark as ink, with only a crescent moon hanging in the sky, casting a cold, clear light. Outside the menacing barbed-wire fence, a blurry dark figure was moving silently along the base of the wall like a phantom cat. The figure's movements were cautious and skilled, clearly professionally trained, not an ordinary scavenger or a zombie.
"Well, this is interesting," Chen Shouzhou muttered to himself, his eyes growing sharp. "Even the rats these days know to scout the place before stealing food."
He didn't make a sound. Instead, he quietly activated his [Danger Perception] skill.
In his vision, a yellow marker, representing a "potential threat," appeared on the dark figure's outline. More importantly, below the marker, the system displayed a line of small text: [Carrying: Silenced Pistol x1, Dagger x1].
Just as he suspected, the visitor did not come in peace.
Chen Shouzhou didn't act rashly. There was only one of them, and they were just scouting. A premature attack would only alert the enemy. An idea for another one of his signature "shenanigans" began to form in his mind.
He silently slid down from the watchtower and made a hushing gesture to Su Wan'er, Lin Mo, and A'Jie, who were clearing the dishes. He then pointed to the basement, signaling them to go inside and wait.
The three of them understood immediately and moved to the basement, quickly and quietly.
Chen Shouzhou then brought out his precious high-powered speaker, chuckled, and pressed the play button.
The next second, a familiar, dynamic melody once again blasted through the night sky!
"My dear! Ah-ha!"
It was the sister piece to "The Most Dazzling Folk Style"—"The Wolf's Temptation"!
As if that wasn't lively enough, he lit several lamps salvaged from abandoned cars and hung them outside the warehouse, illuminating the entrance as bright as day, deliberately creating the illusion that "we're having a bonfire party and are completely unguarded."
After doing all this, he even brazenly stood on the fence, holding an empty bowl, and shouted in the direction of the dark figure: "Hey! Friend outside the wall! Hear that music? You must be hungry, right? Want to come in for a midnight snack? I've got leftovers! Freshly made chicken soup, still hot!"
The dark figure was clearly baffled by this bizarre move. He had probably scouted countless camps, but he had never seen one that welcomed "guests" in this manner. The figure froze for a moment, seemingly trying to determine if it was a trap. In the end, he chose not to risk it and silently retreated into the darkness.
Chen Shouzhou watched him leave and pouted. "Coward. I even offered you dinner and you didn't dare to come."
The next morning, while preparing breakfast in the kitchen, Su Wan'er noticed something unusual.
On the ground, there was a fresh set of muddy footprints. The tracks started from a gap in the fence they had repaired yesterday, cautiously extended to just below the kitchen window, and then returned the same way, disappearing next to a dumpster.
She immediately wrote on her notepad: "A professional scout came last night. He snuck right under our noses."
A'Jie, who had just woken up, came over. He crouched down, carefully examined the footprints, and then pointed to a unique indentation on the edge of one print. "Chen-ge, look here. This isn't the sole of a common work boot or sneaker from around here. This pattern... it's more like some kind of standard-issue military combat boot. This person might belong to an organization."
Hearing this, Chen Shouzhou became thoughtful. He walked to the wall, tore down the note Lei Bao had left yesterday, looked at the footprints on the ground, and compared the approximate size. He came to a conclusion.
"It seems the Viper Gang's interest in us is greater than I thought," he sneered. "They send someone to negotiate yesterday, and then send a scout to check us out at night. That guy Lei Bao is a classic smiling tiger, offering a carrot with one hand and holding a big stick with the other."
"We have to show them that we're not a soft target," Lin Mo said, pushing up his glasses and analyzing calmly. "We must display sufficient strength and potential for development to make them think twice."
"You're right!" Chen Shouzhou slapped his thigh. "We need to show them that our safe house's 'infrastructure projects' are in full swing!"
He decided to strike while the iron was hot and play along. He immediately gave A'Jie a new task: "A'Jie, today your job is to go to the nearby ruins and gather as much sturdy-looking metal material as you can. The more, the better. And make as much noise as possible. We need to pretend we're 'expanding the camp' for the scouts who are watching us."
"Understood!" A'Jie accepted the order and set off excitedly.
Su Wan'er continued to treat the old wounds on Chen Shouzhou's body from his battles and construction work. In her spare time, she began to study the small dog tag with the mysterious symbol, trying to find more clues about "Sky-Curtain Biotech."
The entire safe house once again entered a state of high-speed operation.
In the evening, A'Jie did not disappoint. He returned to the warehouse with a cart loaded with rusty steel bars and sheet metal.
Just as he was about to unload, Xiao Hei, who was lying at the entrance, suddenly started barking frantically at something outside. The barking was urgent and full of warning!
"Again?" A chill ran down Chen Shouzhou's spine. He immediately opened the door and poked his head out.
He froze at what he saw.
Outside the door stood a strange man. He was covered in blood, with a huge, gaping wound on his chest, so deep he could almost see the man's beating heart. He was clutching a blood-soaked map in one hand, while his other hand was pressed tightly against the wound in his abdomen.
When he saw Chen Shouzhou, a final glimmer of hope flared in his eyes. He used all his remaining strength to speak weakly:
"Save... save her..."
With those words, his eyes rolled back, and he collapsed to the ground.
Chen Shouzhou looked at the dying stranger who had appeared out of nowhere, then at the map in his hand, which also pointed to the "Sky-Curtain Biotech" lab. His brows furrowed into a tight knot.
"This is trouble," he said, turning to look at the equally shocked faces of Su Wan'er, Lin Mo, and A'Jie behind him.
"Looks like our duty roster for tonight needs to be changed again."