Chapter 45: Who Is Truly Threatening Whom

The two of them crouched by the wall, shivering for a while. After regaining her composure, Su Miao asked, “Xiao An, how are you able to sense their positions? Did you awaken a magic perception ability or something similar?”

Xia Xiao’an was instantly stunned.

She’d been exposed!

She looked at Su Miao and shook her head, “Sister, I didn’t.”

Facing Su Miao’s gaze, Xia Xiao’an wanted to confess but didn’t dare, afraid that if she spoke the truth, her sister might send her away.

“I…I…”

“You don’t have to say anything if you don’t want to,” Su Miao comforted her, hugging the AK47.

She was just curious and didn’t insist on knowing. After all, Xia Xiao’an had stayed crouched beneath the window, trembling the whole time, and still knew what was happening outside. Even if she had poked her head up to look, with the torrential rain obscuring the view, no ordinary person could have seen anything clearly.

Moreover, Xia Xiao’an often displayed this ability, but Su Miao had never asked. In the apocalyptic prophecy she’d received, it was explicitly mentioned that both humans and animals on Earth would undergo mutations.

That something like this would happen to Xia Xiao’an was no surprise to Su Miao. After all, the apocalypse itself had already descended.

As for why she asked—other than curiosity—it was because of the crisis they were facing. If possible, Su Miao hoped she could more accurately determine the positions of the dangerous people outside, making it easier to pinpoint targets and defend themselves if danger arose.

Xia Xiao’an looked pitiable. “Sister, it’s like this: I can roughly sense their positions, but it’s not exactly a magical perception ability.”

“Alright,” Su Miao stared at her for a moment, “Xiao An, next time don’t keep it to yourself. If you sense bad people approaching, just say so. I won’t think of you as a monster.”

Not a monster?

Xia Xiao’an blinked a few times. Hearing Su Miao’s reassuring words, she wasn’t sure whether to feel happy or not.

“Okay!” Xia Xiao’an nodded.

Not three seconds later, her whole body trembled violently. “Sister, they’ve brought a lot of survivors from the resort area. It seems like they plan to do something horrific.”

Su Miao adjusted her angle and peered out the window.

Near the rope bridge, she saw ten ragged survivors step forward, lining up in an orderly row.

What were they planning?

Were they going to use the survivors as human shields to cross the rope bridge and launch an attack? If so many people charged over, it would be terrifying.

Su Miao quickly crouched back down, clutching her AK47 and shivering. The battle had gone on far too long today.

At that moment, a loudspeaker blared through the rain: “Residents of Villa 36, you are surrounded. Cherish your life—do not resist!”

“Our boss values talented people. If you lay down your arms and surrender, the boss promises you a high salary and high status in the company.”

“Fine food in abundance, women beyond count.”

“If you insist on resisting, we will wipe you out with explosives!”

“You have three minutes to consider. Every three minutes you refuse to surrender, we will execute ten people, and continue until you come out.”

“If you’re killed, don’t blame us—blame the residents of Villa 36 for refusing to surrender and for not wanting you to live. They are the ones truly killing you!”

“…”

Xu Heng, leader of Combat Team 11, stood nearby, watching the leaders of Teams 4 and 5, then glanced at the dense crowd in the rain, feeling a chill inside.

The boss was using this method again.

Where had it been last time, or the time before that?

Xu Heng no longer remembered. What he did recall was his brothers turning the rain into blood, and even the torrential downpour couldn’t wash away the crimson from the ground.

He was certain that anyone with even a shred of conscience would find this kind of bloodshed unbearable.

Su Miao gave no response.

She didn’t even look up again, just curled up beneath the window, shivering.

“Sister, the first and fourth people closest to the rope bridge are the ones who previously attacked our villa,” Xia Xiao’an said, hugging her knees, her voice trembling.

She was more afraid now than ever before.

Outside, the negotiator hidden in the shadows kept talking, pressing the countdown as if urging death itself.

Among those pushed forward to face death, some seemed to awaken, some pleaded, some cursed, and others remained numb.

Su Miao reached out to pat Xia Xiao’an’s head. “Xiao An, don’t be afraid.”

Her hand trembled faintly as she did so, making her attempted comfort less than convincing.

Xia Xiao’an felt numb.

The next moment, Su Miao let go, stood up, raised her gun, and fired.

The two who had previously attacked Villa 36 and were now being used as threats were shot in the head and fell instantly. Their deaths were swift, likely painless.

After this, Su Miao crouched down again, shivering.

Two gunshots rang out, and on the landslide-ridden side, the loudspeaker that had been issuing threats fell silent.

“Who the hell fired?!” cursed He Yongsheng, leader of Combat Team 4.

The members of Teams 4 and 5, who had been ready to shoot, exchanged glances—none of them had fired.

Cheng Guozhang, leader of Team 5, said, “It wasn’t one of ours.”

Xu Heng replied, “The shots came from Villa 36.”

Having confirmed the source, they all felt uneasy.

They hadn’t even begun executing hostages, yet the opposition had already killed two of them. What kind of situation was this?

Just how deranged were the people living in Villa 36?

As the leaders hesitated, more gunshots rang out.

This time, three more in the group of eight by the rope bridge were shot in the head—the same ones who had just been cursing Su Miao.

The five survivors no longer dared to stay put—they turned and ran.

No amount of shouting from the combat teams behind could stop them.

At that moment, the three minutes expired.

The combat teams opened fire, killing all five.

He Yongsheng, Cheng Guozhang, and Xu Heng looked grim.

Continuing with the boss’s plan was a waste of bullets; it was utterly meaningless.

Their threat had failed. The residents of Villa 36 were even more ruthless than they were. In fact, one could say the threat now worked against them.

To make headshots through such torrential rain—was that even human?

“Report the situation to the boss and ask for instructions,” Xu Heng said.

He Yongsheng and Cheng Guozhang had no objections.

After receiving the report, Chi Wanning was silent for several seconds. She looked at the various heads of the resort standing inside the house and asked calmly, “Does anyone know what kind of people live in Villa 36?”